Moving on...

Right. It's been a while, no? I know I said this before, but I honestly have those evenings where I'm torn between sewing, watching TV, reading, blogging, sleeping...these are a few of my favorite things.

So, I will do a super-quick recap of my sewing projects:

Totally wrinkled, I know, but you get the point. These were my very first dresses, the Oliver + S Popover Sundress. It's a free pattern, and quite lovely, I think.

I then moved on to the Oliver + S Lazy Days Skirt. Also free...isn't that lovely? Such an easy skirt to make, and the possibilities to embellish & make this skirt your very own are endless.

I followed the pattern and added the ribbon to the bottom on two of the skirts. I like the idea of the ribbon, but was never quite happy with the end result. Perhaps I need to not buy cheap ribbon? The stuff I bought was stiff and didn't press well. Not good when you're trying to do a 1/2 inch hem on a skirt. So, for the third skirt I ditched the ribbon and just hemmed the bottom. The fabric is so adorable, I feel like it didn't need some silly ribbon anyway...so there!

I finally felt ready to try my first real pattern. The Oliver + S Tea Party Sundress. I was terrified, to put it lightly. It looked so complicated! Thankfully, my stubbornness has it's benefits.

Cute, right? Thank goodness for online photo tutorials. Another lovely person had taken pictures every step of the way...I actually brought my laptop into the sewing room for my first attempt. Sewing the bodice to the skirt was sooooo frustrating at first. Trying to attach something curved to something straight is not for the impatient (me). You may have noticed I love me some Oliver + S. Their patterns are pretty wordy, and can seem daunting at first. But their wordiness is actually what I've come to love & appreciate. They explain everything. For the beginner their patterns are wonderful...little mini-sewing classes every time.

Next came the All-ages Classic Jumper from the One Yard Wonders book.

I like it, but I still cannot figure out how to attach the straps. Seriously, I've read the pattern a million times. If there was just one little picture with the pattern...but nope. I sort of made it up as I went and it turned out OK. I do want to figure this pattern out, though. Wouldn't it be so cute in wool or corduroy?

Then, the Oliver + S Ice Cream Social dress. I did both versions. Such a cute dress, Lila is adorable in both (says the totally unbiased mom).

Gathers were not so hard! Lining up the seams when attaching the bodice to the skirt...wish I'd realized how important that was the first time around. Pockets? Hard. I am not loving pockets quite yet. It's tricky to get a perfect curve when folding and pressing, and even trickier to edgestitch. But I will say, Lila did notice and love her pockets. Several dinosaurs took up residence in them.

What I'm working on now? Both versions of the Oliver + S Jump Rope Dress. Also halfway through my first quilt! Very excited for that. Excited and terrified.

Oh! And will also have to do a post on my most favorite things: baby clothes and pennant banners.



Let's start from the very beginning...

One thing I didn't take into consideration when I decided to start this blog: that I would have to make a choice between sewing in my precious free time, or blogging about sewing. Clearly, sewing won.

The beginning. Right. Insipired my by my friend, Jen, who makes the most adorable dresses, I told my husband that I wanted a sewing machine for Mother's Day. I think we were both a little skeptical. I am NOT a crafty person. Not one bit. Add to that my zero experience with sewing and, well, I think we were both afraid the sewing machine would end up next to the ice cream maker and fruit dehydrator that occupy most everyone's basement shelves.

Thankfully, Jen guided me through my first visit to Sew to Speak, the happiest place in Clintonville. I bought my first pattern, Oliver + S's Tea Party Sundress. It is listed as a "one sissor" pattern, but it still looked rather complicated to this novice. Thank goodness for the free patterns on Oliver + S! They were very easy, but still made adorable additions to my little girl's closet.

My very first project: Oliver + S's Popover Sundress. I chose some cheap-o fabric from JoAnn and I was off!

I found making the bias tape a bit tricky the first time...maybe tedious is a better word. Thankfully, I found another blog with lovely photos for each step of the process. That really helped me deal with attaching the bodice to the dress (one piece is curved, one is straight). From a distance it actually looks like a dress, right! I was thrilled, but definitely knew I had some improvements to make. Namely...

Sewing in a friggin' straight line! I was surprised at how hard that was for me (and still is, from time to time). I've since learned to stop trying to manipulate the fabric so much as I feed it through the machine. Catching the bodice in the bias tape was also a challenge, so I tried again!

Close, but still not quite there. This is the fabric I bought at Sew to Speak. Adorable! One last try and I finally did it...

This version, I can say with pride, is as close to perfect as I could hope to get.

The greatest thing about sewing? Despite my penchant for perfectionism, I was happy to let Lila wear each version out in public. Although I knew those first dresses were riddled with mistakes, most everyone else simply saw a beautiful girl in a cute dress.

I finally had the confidence to tackle my very first pattern: the Oliver + S Tea Party Sundress...

Making it official

Here we go! I realized that my other blog was getting a wee bit scattered. Posts about my kiddos, about adoption, about my little girl's hair, and about general stay-at-home mom issues. When I started adding posts about sewing, any semblance of a theme was completely lost.

So, here is my sewing blog! I'm relatively new to sewing, but am quickly becoming addicted. I've never had a real hobby before. Honestly. Singing was what I did for so long, but it was no hobby. It was work. Gratifying, absolutely, but also so very stressful.

I remember when I first started really researching how to do Lila's hair. There are some amazing moms out there doing equally amazing things with their daughters' hair. BUT, their blogs start from the very beginning. From the first time they attempted a cornrow. It was so comforting to know that they started out just as clueless as me.

I'm definitely a better seamstres than I was when I started, but I can't wait to continue learning and sharing my experiences here. Maybe someone will be inspired to start sewing for the first time. Maybe an experienced sewer will help me out by saying, "No, silly woman, this is how you do that."

Oh, and just in time for back-to-school dresses!! I am desperately restraining myself from purchasing every single Oliver + S pattern out there. And there are some new ones coming on September 7th!

Next post I'll be sure to start from the very beginning...with pictures, of course.