Fandango

Ooh, so excited.  I just found out that these charm packs are on the way:
 

Cute, right?  Let me tell you, they are even cuter in person.

I anticipate their arrival sometime in the middle of next week.  I went ahead and put them up for sale in my Etsy store, as a preorder.  Any preorders will ship the day after I receive them from Moda. 

I am also slated to receive bolts of fabric in the following prints, though I haven't received shipment notification yet:


Can't.  Wait.

In other news, I totally forgot to blog about the arrival of Freebird by MoMo!  These are my first Moda fabrics, and I'm very excited.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE the colors of this line.  So earthy, yet colorful, all at the same time.


As always, Moda fabrics are limited editions, so get them while you can!

Lastly, I'm embarrassed.  But I'm going to tell you about it instead of pretending it never happened.  See, a few posts down, I have this snazzy little (ahem, big) graphic regarding a sale I was having. I am pretty proud of it, all in all.  Just now, as in six weeks after hitting the worldwideinterweb, I looked it over and realized . . . I somehow forgot to spell check.  That's right, feel free, go look at it.  I apparently do not know how to spell the word collection.  Awesome.

Baby Sling

Do you see this look a lot?  I sure do.


Here, in case you're not familiar with this particular look, let me translate:

"HEY!  What the?  MAMA!  Pick me up!  Put down that (insert one of the following:  camera, laundry, sandwich, brother, shovel, makeup, fabric, and so on and so forth) and HOLD ME!  Mama?  Mama!!  It's an emergency!  I might die!  Hold me!"

Yes, this is why we call this little man my barnacle.  Because, seriously, he is more addicted to his mama than I am to sugar.  And that's saying a lot.

So on that note, I finally broke down and made a baby sling.  I have no idea what took me so long, it was ridiculously easy.  Seriously.  


I must digress for a moment, because I'm sure you're eyeing that hair of his.  I know, I know, it's rather Trump-esque.  I just can't bring myself to cut it yet.  Cutting it means he's probably going to lose the curls (I swear, it's curly, not just long and fuzzy), and I can't let that happen.  Not on my watch.

OK, back to sewing.  You're going to think I'm crazy, but I couldn't quite find a tutorial that fit the bill 100%, so I kind of used 3 tutorials to guide me in my sewing.

The first one I found was from Dabbled.   Now, let me say something about this tutorial.  See how she says you should buy 2 yards of fabric?  Then she shows a picture of 2 nicely folded pieces of fabric.  Being an idiot and not following the rule of "measure twice, cut once", I thought that surely meant 1 yard each of 2 prints, so you get a reversible design.  So I cut 1 yard each of 2 prints.  Then I figured out that, no, you need 2 continuous yards.  Dumb!  Anyway, what I like about this design is that she uses a 2 yard piece folded in half for extra holding power.  The instructions were slightly less than clear, however, which is why I got a second opinion . . .

I found the second tutorial at Sling Your Baby.  Best of all, it's a video!  Yay, it's so easy to see exactly what is going on!  I didn't follow this exactly, as I used one print folded over instead of 2 prints sewn together, but I found it wonderfully helpful.  She even shows you what a french seam is (I didn't even know there was such a thing) and how to make one (super easy!). 

I found the last tutorial at My Karma Baby.  It's helpful because it almost fell between the two above.  It's a sling made from one cut of fabric, not doubled over.  It just helped clear up what I'm supposed to do, and I preferred the measurements she provided. 

So give it a try!  If you don't have a baby, you know someone who does.  It takes 2 yards of fabric (or if you want your interior to be a different fabric, 4 yards, but it makes 2 slings), one cut, a few simple and almost straight stitches, and less than an hour. Perfect.

New Fabric

I might have gone slightly out of my mind. In a good way, I hope.

As you might imagine, browsing through fabric lines all the time makes me want to order EVERYTHING I lay my eyes on. You probably do that, right?

Anyway, I'm not going to burden you with the details, but the gist is that in the last few days in particular, I've gone a little nuts with ordering.

I met with Moda. I decided to pick up (some of) Kate Spain's Fandango, coming out in August.


My goal was to stick to one line. I'm new, I can't go crazy! But I just couldn't pass on a new MoMo line due out in October, called It's a Hoot. Here, take a look at this ridiculously small hangtag:


Can you tell it's cute? Or will this help?


Probably not. But listen, it's cute. Colorful, fun, all of that and a barrel of monkeys (or owls, I suppose, *hoot*).

Did you think I was done? Cause I'm not. I simply was not able to pass on a killer deal I got on some premade (sewn for you, did you get that?) handbags by Amy Butler. Here's two of the bags that I picked up (I got a few colors of each). 




More on those when they come in.

I also might add that I am already planning on picking up some of  MoMo's Freebird once I officially have access to all of Moda's lines, hopefully early next week.

Somewhat pixelated hangtag:


A quilt that hopefully gives you a better idea of the feel of the line (and it's round!?!?):


Seriously, I am on a roll. So I may as well tell you that if you have not heard about/seen Amy Butler's new line due out this fall, Soul Blossoms, run, don't walk, here.


Then come back and tell me what you think. Really, I want to know, as I personally am a little tiny bit on the fence about it, and wish I'd been able to see it to market. Nevertheless, I ordered the whole thing.

Phew. I'm worn out. And frankly, so is my checkbook.

Time for a SALE!

I told you it was coming . . . my first fabric sale!

In honor of my first order of an entire collection, I am offering the following sale:


I know, you might be thinking "what, a lousy 25 cents off?" Well, since I am new to the fabric world, I am pretty much priced as low as anyone on Etsy and eBay. This will bring the price that much lower. It's like getting something on sale at Walmart (hello, does that ever really happen?).

So go for it. Order a little and make a cute purse:


Or go for the gusto and order a bunch, and make this baby:


Whatever you do, do it before the end of the day on May 30th so you can get that discount! Happy sewing!

My next project

I am going to preface by saying that no, I do not have an obsession with bags.  Yet.  That might change soon.

Guess what I found online?  A FREE pattern for a bag that's so cute, it's ridonculous.  Which, in case you don't know, is one step above ridiculous. 

The thing is, the maker of the pattern has asked that people like myself don't snag the pics of the bag off of her blog, so I can't post them here.  So you MUST go check them out for yourself!

See, I'm not lying, right?  So cute!

Here's a google search of images of the Buttercup Bag.   More and more and more cuteness!

Do you want to make one?  I want to make one.  Check out the pattern.  Doesn't seem toooooooooo hard, right?  Or am I  just losing my senses because I am blinded by the cuteness (I'm aiming to use the word cute at least a dozen times in this blog post, obviously)?

So I'm thinking . . . I know I have about 1.5 blog readers at this point, but I thought a sew-along might be fun.  You know, we all sew and then show off our amazingness on a future post?  Or should I just do it and then show you the final project so you'll all be jealous?

*tapping mike* Hello?  Is anyone out there?  Hello?

On a totally unrelated note, for the first time since opening, I ordered an ENTIRE fabric collection:  Amy Butler's newest, Love.  That's a big, huge deal for a new business such as mine, so in honor of that, I'll be having a SALE when the entire collection (minus one bolt, apparently, boo) arrives on Monday.  Keep your eyes peeled.  And start picking your favorites now, as I only have one bolt of each:

Love's HEART colorway:

Love's SOUL colorway:


Until next time!

Apron in an Hour

I don't know about you, but I don't usually keep my outfit spic-and-span when I'm cleaning around the house. I have a serious tendency to overflow water onto my pants when I'm loading the dishwasher. I wipe my hands on my jeans when I'm baking. I often lean on the jelly my kids smear on the edge of the counter. I'm sort of a mess.

Enter an apron. I was given an apron for my wedding, but it kind of looks like an old tablecloth sewn in a very frumpy manner. I've worn it, I don't know, twice. In a decade.

I did a little searching online, and found a great tutorial for an Apron in an Hour! It's just what I needed. It's super easy (can you sew a straight line?), really does take just about an hour, and requires only 1 Fat Quarter (main print) + 1/2 yard (ties, etc.)!

Hello, so cute!


Now, technically, if you are a size 2, you can wear it with those ties fashioned into a bow, (as the tutorial shows), thusly:


If you are, um, not size 2, you can use a square knot, like me. Still cute, I think!

I used fabrics from Heather Bailey's Pop Garden line. The main fabric is Pop Daisy in Red, and the coordinating fabric is Peonies in Red. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE how they look together. So cheerful.

There is one thing I'd recommend changing about the pattern. I added topstitching to the bottom of the apron, as well as on all sides of the ties/waistband. That way you can pop it out of the dryer and you don't have to iron it to make it look presentable.


Easy peasy. Got an hour? Give it a try. You'll love it.

Hooray for Handbags

About 2 months ago, I got this crazy notion to sew this cute Heather Bailey handbag that I'd seen online. If you knew me, you might know how ridiculous this seemed. Mom of 4 boys? Check. Wears jeans, a t-shirt, and a ponytail every single day? Check. Didn't own a purse till sometime in college? Check. Current purse: years old, hand-me-down, doubles as diaper bag? Check. Upon first glance, things were not looking good.

I'm a girl with my fair share of hobbies, but typically sewing isn't something I do in my free time (more on that later). Because again, I have four sons. When fabric arrives on my doorstep, I do not have anyone beg me to make them a cute skirt. Boo.

Anyway, I thought about it, and finally decided to order the pattern, hoping it wouldn't be crazy hard.

The pattern came in the mail, after which I hemmed and hawed (Get it? Hemmed? A little sewing humor . . . ) over fabric choices for like a week, proving my husband's point that I'm the worst decision maker ever. My mom, a good sewer, happened to come to the fabric store with me when I was picking up notions. I let her have a look at the pattern. "What do you think?" I said. "Can I do it?"

Now here comes the proof that I don't typically sew in my free time. She says to me, and I quote, "Well, you weren't exactly the Queen of Home Ec . . . "

Ummmmmmmmmmmmmm, thanks?

Well, I've proven her wrong. See?


So cute! Now, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. It's not perfect. Not even close. See those, um, less than professional looking, wavy stitch lines? Yep. Not an advance sewer.


But no one knows unless they look closely, which they don't! They look at it from afar (well, 2 feet is far enough away), make compliments galore, and tell me to sell them on Etsy. You and I know the real reason why I will not be doing that.

Just take a look at the pretty flower and pretend that this was sewn by some kind of expert, will you?


Possibly best of all, it's reversible! Hallelujah! Unfortunately that of course means that there can be no pockets of any sort on the inside, but a girl's gotta sacrifice sometimes for cuteness.


Now for the bad news. Unfortunately, it's a handbag, which literally means I have to hold it with my hands! What the? As anyone with kids can guess, I don't have a lot of time where my hands are free. So in the end, I probably won't get to use it too much. Oh well, I'll be styling once a week at church, and that should be good enough for me. Right?

So, if you're into this bag, give it a shot. You can do it. Really. You can find the pattern in my Etsy or eBay stores, along with some very cute fabric choices. Enjoy!

Let's get started

Confession time.

I opened for business 9 weeks ago. In that time, I've pretty much ignored this blog, as I've been secretly terrified nervous about what to write. I didn't think it was a big deal, since I figured no one knew my business existed, so no one would be looking at my website. Right? RIGHT? Wrong. I'm totally embarrassed, as I got an email from someone today (hi, Bridget!) who had been perusing the mess that is this blog. I vowed that today would be the day that I'd get this show on the road!

So let's start off by telling you a little bit about me, mmmmmmmmmkay? It's always more fun that way, right?

My name is Christy, and I am a stay-at-home mom to 4 (yes, FOUR) sons. Oh, did I mention that the oldest is seven? Yeah, I've seriously got my hands full. I love photography and gardening. I'm not a great sewer. But I am working on that. It's just that, seriously, what's a girl supposed to sew when she has 4 sons?

I went into the fabric biz because my sister talked me into it, sort of. She's got her own fabric business on eBay. We talked about me doing it as well, which got the wheels in my head turning. Seriously, these were among my first thoughts: "Ooh, what a great idea. I bet we could figure out some way to write off a trip to Disney World someday." Yes, seriously, that's what I thought. I have since learned that my idea was dumb (unless Quilt Market comes to Orlando--come on Orlando!). Anyway, Disney World aside, I'm really happy that I decided to go ahead and open shop!

Anyway, I'm not a girly-girl to begin with, and when you add on all the sports, weapons and dirt, you can certainly see that "pretty" isn't a word used much in my house. But I'm working on changing that, as the fabric down in my workroom is nothing short of bee-yoo-tee-ful! Love it!

See?

Amy Butler's LOTUS


More LOTUS, different color palette


Heather Bailey's POP GARDEN and BIJOUX


Amy Butler's LOVE charm packs (I'm looking to get bolts of fabric in the near future)


Amy Butler's DAISY CHAIN


And literally, as in 2 minutes ago, I got a knock on the door, and the Fed Ex man handed me these:


YAY! I made the handbag a few months ago. It is DARLING. We'll talk about that one on another day.

Anyway, please check back often, or better yet, add this blog to your reader. I'll be writing about sewing projects, new fabric, pretty things (and surely I'll be writing about non-pretty, boy things every so often), and random stuff. And of course I'll have giveaways! Who doesn't love a good giveaway? Stay tuned.