Happy Valentines Day

Valentines day is always fun, I loved when my daughter was young and she had to make Valentines for her classmates. We used to decorate our home with hearts and have fun.

Now that she is on the cusp of turning 24 there is no more childlike fun. However, we do still celebrate. After all it is a day to celebrate love!

This year I made 2 little canvas Valentines. One for my hubby and one for my daughter. I put them on the dinner table.










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Location:Main St,Lisle,United States

Fabric Wall Art

We are in the finishing phases of a redoing our master bath and I needed something for the walls. An idea jumped out at me from the cover of the February 2012 Making Magazine. It was so simple yet striking. Old embroidery hoops with fabric in them. Yup that's it, so simple yet so inviting and modern and chic.

It just so happened that I had some extra embroidery hoops and even if I didn't they only cost about $1.29 full price. I also happened to have the fabric that we picked out and purchased for use in the bathroom for basket liners that we ended up deciding not to use. My hubby and I both really liked the fabric so decided what a fun way to still use it and showcase parts of the print we really liked, plus such an inexpensive project.

The bathroom is painted white and gray with accents of black. I love it! The toilet sits in a little alcove and over it are hung some glass shelves with lotions and perfumes and hair necessities. The 2 walls on either side are just these big blank gray spaces that need filling. This project took care of one of the walls. Due to the placement it really is not very conducive to getting a good picture! I did my best but it really doesn't seem to do it justice. At least you will get the idea.








This last picture is of the corner on the other side of the bathroom. We found these little shelves at Home Depot that really add a nice touch staggers up the small wall space. I really want to make a tiny soft sculptured bird to add to the little birdhouse.


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Location:Maple Ave,Lisle,United States

Simplicity 0570 in maroon/cream wool double cloth

I love finishing a project. I'm calling this my Evolution Serger Coat.

I wanted to make a new coat and I wanted to play with my new serger and I wanted to push my comfort zone in my sewing skills. I noticed when I moved my sewing rooms to my new sewing studio that some of my favorite fabrics have not been used because I am a little scared of cutting into them. Not sure why.... Except for ruining beautiful pieces of fabric.



Back on track... Simplicity 0570
This pattern has several different versions and states that it is made for fleece. I went with a wool double cloth.
Due to my fabric choice I eliminated all facings and interfacing. I made some slight design changes in the collar.



I really like 95% of this coat... The only part that I am a little iffy on is how I attached the collar. But I think it will grow on me.

The Evolution portion of this project is seen in the seams, the were all done with flat locking that finished the reversed side beautifully. I was really happy with how it turned out. I finished all the edges with a 3 thread serged overlock stitch, I also used this stitch for attaching the collar. On the collar edge I used one of the Evolutions specialty stitches, the wave stitch. My new serger is amazingly awesome! It is so easy to thread and to switch between stitches.









I made a muslin out of stash fabric that I kept for that purpose. I only pinned in the zippers. I made a couple of fitting adjustments at the waist. I tried the muslin on with a thick sweater and also with a suit jacket to make sure that the fit through the shoulders and the arms was comfortable. I wanted to make sure I could wear this with warm clothes on underneath. I picked the size by finished measurements, I like this fit but I think the sleeves are overly roomy. In the picture I just had on a t-shirt, when worn with more clothes the wrinkles on the arms from the extra fabric were filled out and not so noticeable.



I like the zipper details on the sleeves and the front opening, makes it fun and a little different.






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Location:Home