New Hot Patterns!

Ok I wasn’t going to post about this just yet but I just could not be quiet! See this is my 99th post on SLT! Can you believe it? I can’t honestly I wasn’t sure that I would stick with it this long & I am even more surprised that anyone wants to read 100 post of my babbling! Amazing, no?

Anyhoo I had hoped that my 99th post would something special to tell you about the 100th post & I plan to do something special for that milestone post. So there you go I hope to do something special for my 100th post.

Now what could be more special than new Hot Patterns patterns? Maybe new Hot Patterns patterns that are in collaboration with McCalls pattern company!

That is right finally one of the bit 4 has taken notice that most of what they delve out is crap & have collaborated with a fabulous fashion forward indy pattern company. The big draw back to the Hot Patterns patterns in the past is that they seem to require a lot of tweaking for most body types. According to the HP newsletter, they did the designing & tested the garment then turned it over to McCalls for the multi sized drafting, instruction writing (including pictures!) & more testing. So they should be a pretty decent pattern. But honestly how often to you make up a pattern right out of the envelope and it fits perfectly without having to adjust it? I am not sure what all the complaining about the HP’s were in the first place, but then to be fair I have only made one pair of the pants from them & they are more of a wearable muslin because I need to adjust a couple things for the next pair but there will eventually be a nest pair. I digress.. these patterns are also tagged as easy, printed on tissue, come in a regular sized pattern envelope & are priced at $11.95, as apposed to the higher prices of their other lines.

Alright so without any more rambling here are my 3 favs from the new HP line. Which by the way I hear is already in Hancock stores, can be purchased from McCalls site, Butterick’s site & Hot Pattern's site.

Sugar Babe Jacket, Pants & Tube Top – I think that I would probably add some kind of wide straps to the top to make a little more work wearable.


Butterfly Tops & Wrap Skirt – I have really been attracted to skirts lately I am not sure what has gotten into me. Also I think that these would look really cute with the trouser jeans from HP that I have already.


Cha-Cha-Cha Dresses – I really like the empire waist style on me & these dresses really call to me. It might be the “fabric” that they used in the drawing or what but they are cute!


Those are the three that I would buy today if I had a Hancock’s anywhere near me. The rest I am on the fence about but let me assure you if Joann’s were to get them in & they are included with the $1.99 McCalls sale I would buy the whole lot! Then again I may still, over time because the think that there are some great pieces in there that seem to be hanging a round from season to season & might be worth the investment.

The rest of the line includes:

Triple T-Shirt Dresses – Cute cute cute, but I am not sure how cute on me. Stacy is looking at these I think so I would probably wait to see what she has to say on them.

Bubblelicious Top & Skirts – Also very cute, but I am not sure about the bubble at the bottom of the skirt & if the top would look too maternity on me. Another one to see what it looks like made up. Also I am curious about to see the top made up because it appears that the elastic is not on the shoulders? Why that matters I am not sure but it caught my attention.

Geisha Girl Jacket, Pants & Short-y Shorts – I really like this jacket but I am unsure of the back zip pants for some reason I have an aversion to them. I would not wear the shorts at all but they are cute.

Good Karma Camisoles – I really like the looks of these but am unsure of how I would like them on me. Again I think that Stacy has her eye on this so I will have to see how hers turn out. We are fairly close in size, well height for sure but I think that Miz Stacy might be smaller in the bum area.

Poetry In Motion Tops – Again cute but I may have something very similar in the stash & might be too blousey on me, but they remind me a lot of Anthropologie tops. I really like the one in the middle.

So there you go! I know of one lady that has already rushed to Hancocks & bought the same 3 that I want. As soon as she sews one of them up I will be calling yous attention to Melody's Blog. (lucky girl to have Hancocks that close!!!)

New Amy Butler Patterns.

I have signed up for her e-mail newsletters I don't know how many times but I never seem to get them! Oh well.

Monkey Foot Designs as 4 of the 6 new patterns that Amy will have out this Spring & Summer on her Blog.

I really like the two bag patterns, Stash & Dash & the Frenchy Bags.

The Barcelona Skirt & the Blue Sky Hats are also very cute, but I mostly likely will not be buying them. But they are pretty eye candy to look at!

Holy Detail Batman!

I just had to share this!

As I was perusing my feeds I saw Shannon's Ralph Rucci-inspired jacket & I am just speechless!!!!

Really I am blown away!

It is amazing! Even if it’s not your style the amount of work (20 HOURS!) that she put into it & the attention to detail!!!! Oh my GOSH! The appliqué is even on the front facings people!

It’s is an incredible masterpiece & should not be missed for sure!

Go check it out.

Now! Don’t wait GO!

Or you know when you have the time, I don't want to be too pushy, but really you should.

Consider the postage stamp: its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing till it gets there. ~Josh Billings

The greatest oak was once a little nut who held its ground. ~Author Unknown

You maybe be wondering what became of my pile O’WIP's from last Fridays post. Weeeeellllll I got some things done that I wanted to but as always not as much as I would have liked.

Saturday I had hoped would be super productive because John was working, but the project I was working on too much longer than I had anticipated.

After this post about recycling plastic bags into crocheted shopping totes I have really had the whole plastic bag issue on my mind. I have my plastic bags all laid out ready to be turned into “yarn” but that is as far as I have gotten on that project. I did however have another idea. Creating reusable shopping bags from re purposed materials thus eliminated plastic shopping bags by using cute & stylish shopping bags made from materials that may have otherwise ended up in a landfill! Talk about killing two birds with one stone! (not that I regularly throw stones & certainly not at birds mind you, but you get the idea.)

That is the project that was giving me fits on Sat. The bag design that I was using as my inspiration was lined & I was trying to make my bag unlined but with just as neat & tidy of a finish. I had to try & try again to get the finished product to where I was satisfied. After many a seam being ripped I am pretty happy with the way it turned out.



All the seams as stitched & then encased in bias tape for a clean finish & added strength. The sides have gussets for added roominess. I added a pocket to the front for coupons, shopping list, pen, whatever.



So here is my WIP pile for this Fri.


Back left: cut out & ready to sew – 4 Western Heritage shirts, split skirt, AB Covington Bag
Back Middle: traced patterns – Onion 5036 blouse & vest pattern for the 3 vest I have an order for. I had to add 3” in the length for this guy!
Back & Front Right: More WIP’s to be cut out, another purse (haven’t decided on a pattern yet), more shopping bags & a plain split skirt (I think, I hate making just a plain one with the other fancy soutache trimmed ones, I have my reputation to up hold after all! Bawahahahah!I crack myself up!), some more purse fabric & other assorted WIPs.
Front Left: Cut & ready to sew - Reusable Shopping bags

So I didn't do too terrible, not as much as I would have liked but I think that even if I had an entire week to work non stop I still wouldn't make a dent in all the projects I would like to get done!

Here is a close up of the pocket for another shopping bag. I had stitched the rick rack on & I really like how it turned out.


How serendipitous is this? I started this post yesterday & was starting to finish it up this morning. As usual I was checking out my new feeds on Bloglines (is it just me or are the feeds like crack? I get so excited when I see new post pop up on someone’s blog! I would have to say that the Big Dance has nothing on Feeds when it comes to squashing productivity!). Anyway I am really enjoying the Adorn Mag blog as I mentioned yesterday (almost as much as the mag it's self I might add) so anyway what would the post for the day be about? Green crafters! (Hi Linda!) I just stumbled onto Sew Green the other day & have to admit that I haven't had a chance to delve into it as much as I want to but I was intrigued. Also LP mentions that she uses a tote bag to do her grocery shopping (See great minds do think alike!)along with how several other eco-conscious craft vendors are working to do their part.

Definitely worth checking out!

Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush. ~Doug Larson

I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden. ~Ruth Stout

I know that many of you wanted to know where I find the swaps I participate in when I posted about the Pink & Brown Swap. Well the lovely Rebecca & Lucy are organizing another swap!

The Spring Fling Swap!

I might add that seeing as they have started a joint blog I would guess that they plan more swaps in the future!

The deadline to sign up is March 26th if anyone is interested. I highly recommend these types of swaps. My favorite packages have come from blog organized swaps. Not that I haven't got great packages from Swap Bot swaps but it is just a little different. Also even though I have been fortunate enough to always receive a package from the swaps that I have joined I know that not everyone does. Poor Fiona got skunked on like 3 swaps last fall/winter. How stinky is that??

I hope to maybe see some of your names on the Spring Fling Swap list or maybe on future Sweet Goodness Swaps!

McCall’s Early Summer 2007

McCall's has posted their Early Summer 2007 patterns on their website.

I didn't see anything terribly exciting. There are a couple that I might pick up if I catch a sale.

Here is my very humble opinion on the latest offerings.

Dress 5379: I would completely passed this one by except that Stacy mentioned it. I passes it by initially because I am not much for handkerchief hems for me personally. I do however like View C very much. Also it is made for knits which seem to be jumping out at me lately.


Top 5388: Another pattern for knits. This looks very Anthroplogie –ish to me. I like View C minus the ruffles or D is cute too.


Pants/Capris 5393: Oh sure now that ordered the Onion fly front pants with a draw string no one of the Big 4 comes out with one! I have been looking for this style for years! Oh well for $1.99 will still pick it up. Can a girl have too many pants patterns? John, you just never mind!


Skirt 5390: For some reason I like View B, it's kind of cute. I am not sure how I feel about those massive pockets though. Hmmmm....

Knit yoga/lounge wear 5398: I might not actually buy it or make it but for some reason I like the look of it. It's cute lounge wear that I could totally see my shelf wearing to sit on the porch drinking coffee on a Sat morning. To bad we don't have a porch. It's cute anyway, although I am not sure how I feel about the little shrug deally bob yet.


Most everything else I found either already done to death or just not worth mentioning.

However I did find this & just had to ask.....
Really? We are going to revisit the legging? Even in sewing patterns????

Yeah I don't think that this girl will be. Too I didn't save all my clothes from Jr high because it appears that it's all back in. Well & too bad that I couldn't actually fit into it if I had. Oh well......

A house that does not have one worn, comfy chair in it is soulless. ~May Sarton

I don’t know how many of you are aware that Adorn Magazine also has a blog? It’s a pretty good read. I really enjoyed Babette Blanket post from yesterday. I have always wanted to do a granny square afghan & this one is so unique & cool I might have to give it a try, because surely I need another project, right?

Sorry I digress. So anyhooo today the post is about a blog, Casapika, about two ladies that are making over a house in a year. Sounds interesting right? Well the really wild thing is that the ladies are over 9000 miles apart! There is Pink that bought a fixer up with her husband in England & Anna who is in Australian & is an interior designer. So over the net together they are redoing Pink’s house! How cool is that?

It’s like Trading Spaces without the ugly shirts & shoddy workman ship! Love it!

You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club. ~Jack London

WIP’s

Well we learned yesterday that John had has to work this Sat. Bummer! He has to work one Sat a month & it is supposed to be the 3rd Sat of the month but something with the # of Sat in March makes it work out that he has to work tomorrow. Poor thing. He was so looking forward to 2 days of rest as he is not over his sinus infection yet.

The good thing is that I should be able to get some sewing done! Lemonaid from lemons my dears!

Now I have a ton of sewing orders that I should be working on. A fellow shooter dropped off fabric for 3 additional vest to me last night. I need to draw up a pattern to fit his tall thin frame first. I might try to do that & get the vest cut out. Also I have another vest & 2 other shirts that still need cutting out for some other guys. I would like to get those cut out as well.

Then there is this WIP that I have been working on quite a bit lately.



It goes with these pockets.

When I was home sick it was the only thing that I could bare to work on because I didn’t have to leave the couch! It is the front panel of the split skirt. I need to get the rest of the skirt cut out. Maybe I will have a cutting fest & add it to the pile of cutting listed above.

I also have these WIP’s:



The 3 fabrics in the back row, left & center, are thrifted sheets & on the right pillowcases. I have an idea that I have been working out in my mind for something for my Etsy shop. You didn’t know that I had an Etsy shop? That’s because I have never put anything in it! I’ll keep you posted as to how that goes.

The purple fabric in the front right is going to eventually become the Onion 5036 Blouse. The other fabric is a slinky knit that I am not sure what I will make out if it yet. It matches a skirt that I already own & some fabric that has yet to become a skirt, but I haven’t decided on a top pattern yet.

One last item, a completed WIP! I know that you will remember how I was going on & on about my bosses’ daughter’s wedding and what to wear. I actually did finish the dress, but didn’t get to wear it. There was a wardrobe malfunction with the velvet duster jacket that I was going to wear with it. As it was in the teens the day of the wedding I did feel that I would be any where near warm enough in a sleeveless dress & no cover up. I opted for wearing something else. It was more business like than I would have liked but warm.

However when the next event that requires a dress arises I am ready! I like the way the dress turned out except for the zipper in the back. I don’t think that it was my doing but the zipper at the bottom wants to bow out. It could be because the skirt is cut on the bias I am not sure. I might be able to iron it into submission or maybe by wearing the dress it will work it’s self out? I am not sure & seeing as it is still in the 20’s I won’t worry about it right now. Here is the close up of the bodice detail.


I would love to hear what is on everyone else’s weekend to do list!

I hope that everyone has a great & productive weekend!

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you?" ~William A. Ward

Thank goodness it is Friday! What a week. Way too much drama for my liking! Drama at home, drama at work, drama with out of state family. Oy! The good thing is I won’t bore you all with it & it appears that everything is working it’s self out. Well there will always be the drama at work, I mean come on I work with the DQ (Drama Queen). How could there not be?!

So even though the rest of my world was in upheaval this week the mail was kind to me.

I received my March Coloriffic Swap-o-rama package, blues & greens, from Lyn of Florspace. Thank you!!!

What a package it is!


She made me a monogrammed bag & some adorable cloth coasters! (I have had these on the to do list for months, yeah I can check them off!).

There is candy, bittersweet chocolate (yum!), beads(love love love em), a mechanical pencil (I can never have enough of these!), a bandana, a teddy bears, wooden box, crocheted flower, cell phone leash (great idea!), fabric & a really pretty zipper pouch. Can you ever have too many bags of assorted sizes? I don’t think so!

I love the fabric My favorite is the one on the far right, but they are all so pretty!:


Also I might add that she has an Etsy Shop with some really cute pouches & bags, incase you are looking for a little something or a great little gift. Thanks Lyn!

Then I the other night I get home & John asks me who I know in New Mexico (other than the people that he knows too that is). Of course I told him my Sugar Daddy (don't I wish!!!) I look at the fat little envelope & realize that it’s from Raesha! I opened it up to find this:


I was so surprised to be on the receiving end of Raesha’s CAOK! I am so touched that she thought to include me. I love the papers that she sent & the card is adorable! It has my favorite Black Capped Chickadee on it! I am supposed to send him on to someone else. Hmmmm……..
I know that she off on vaca with little Miss S but Thank You Thank You, Sweet lady!

If you aren’t familiar with the term check out African Kelli who started, CAOK ~ Calculated Acts Of Kindness. I know that this has been said a lot lately but Bloggers are the nicest most generous people! My only regret is that we all don’t live in the same neighborhood!

I hope that everyone else had as sweet a spot in there week!

The sewing machine joins what the scissors have cut asunder, plus whatever else comes in its path. ~Mason Cooley*

In Seattle you haven't had enough coffee until you can thread a sewing machine while it's running. ~Jeff Bezos*

What a fun filled weekend!

Saturday was a waste between the Dr office & the over 1 hour & 15 minutes that I had to stand & wait for the prescriptions to be filled(Rite Aid you suck with trying to cut costs & only having 2 people on staff during cold & flu season!!!!). John has a sinus infection & a pretty bad one at that. Then it was home to load him up on a drug stores worth of meds. I made chicken noodle soup for dinner (with homemade noodles! Yum!) along with a loaf my favorite Sour Cream Banana Bread. Sorry no pictures & seeing as the bread is ½ gone & the lid to the Tupperware stuck to the top of the bread you wouldn’t really want to see it anyway, but it still tastes yummy!

So Sunday I actually got to sew! Yeah! The only really stinky thing is that my serger is a big o’l piece of ……Well you know! My mom took it back to FL to have “our sewing machine guy” work on it because here in SW MI even though you are a Pfaff dealer you apparently don’t have a clue about them but will still charge a girl $30 to tell her that the God awful clunking that her serger is making is just because it is a noisy serger! I didn’t realize that it still made the noisy till I got it home. FL Sewing Machine Guy sent mine back & it was ok, as ok as it gets when I first started sewing my Onion 5038 T-shirt. I went over the shoulder seam when I was attaching the neck binding (not at a breakneck pace either I might add) & Hello God Awful Clunking! GRRRRRR!!! John was able to get an allen wrench & readjust the thread guide right above the needles (which is hitting the underside of the case causing the clunking) but there must be something else that is happening to make this happen because the piece that holds the needle that the thread guide screws too can’t move. Once we get that fixed. Now my stitch is all crap. So it was back to sewing & then zig zagging the edges on the regular machine. Fine serger, have it your way. You will just be used for finishing.

Ok sorry about my serger rant & on with what I have to show for all my serger aggravation:

Ta Da!


It is the same pattern that Stacy recently reviewed , only I opted for the long sleeve version with the curved hem & haven’t add buttons yet. I made the small, as my fabric is only a cotton jersey (maybe some poly) but no lycra. I was afraid that there wouldn’t be enough stretch for the x-small. When I make it again from a stretchier fabric I will make the x-small.

I made it to go with my favorite lounge pants from the Jan 2006 - Burda WOF.

Not the best picture but you get the idea. The pant color & T trim are much closer in color in real life.

I love both of these & will definitely be making more. I have a stretch terry in the same pink as the T-shirt knit to make another pair of the lounge pants & more than enough of the aqua knit from the T trim to make another T. That one will have pink trim!

Then I would like to make this T in a stretchier knit. Also I would like to see how it would look in a print with a solid trim. Also I want to make a couple in more solid color combos to showcase some really fab vintage buttons. After all the wonderful Pink & Brown Goodness Heidi bestowed on me I am so tempted to get some nice cotton lycra in pink & brown to make one of each with contrasting trim & awesome buttons!!!!

Ohhhhh the ideas abound!!!!!!!


I can see this being a wardrobe staple for years to come! I am so glad that Stacy talked me into ordering it! (I totally blame her!)








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* Quote Garden After all the wonderful Pink & Brown Goodness Hiedi bestowed on me

Do vegetarians eat animal crackers? ~Author Unknown *

Oil and potatoes both grow underground so french fries may have eventually produced themselves, had they not been invented. ~J. Esther*

I have been really inspired & made hungry by a lot of blogs & post lately. Like here & here**.

So seeing as I have nothing sewing, crafting, thrifting or in general fun to share I thought that I would show ya what I made for dinner last night after seeing LLA’s cute little square burgers, that she was inspired to make after seeing them at Never Trust a Skinny Chef.


Mine aren't square, nor are they on the all too yummy Hawaiian buns (do you think that the $%#@ store had them, Nooooooooo!). But they were very good jus the same.


I had to make a couple little changes. I haven't bought ground beef since fall of '04 when John started hunting, so I had to sub venison for that. Which is fine except because it is so lean it doesn't stick together without some help. I added ab egg & some bread crumbs along with my Montreal Seasoning. That is why mine aren't square.

I served some very excellent-if-I-do-say-so-myself homemade applesauce that Mom & I made this past fall.

Along with these little tasty gems: Alexia Olive Oil, Rosemary & Garlic Oven Fries

I hadn't seen these before but they are very good & have 0 grams of trans fats! Rock on!***


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*Quotes courtesy of Quote Garden
**Laura I can't wait till you get pictures! Hint Hint!
*** I might add that if you check out their site they have a bunch of other products & you can register to get coupons! Could it get any better??!!! Well sure, but you know the whole glass 1/2 full thing & looking on the bright side stuff. (psst LLA, coupons! ;)