Me-Made-May Day 20 - Winey good time

Welcome to the Beckley family vineyard,

We have a lovely 2006 Foch with a hand drawn label by my husband in his youth. Also hilariously incorrect vintage rubber dinosaurs.

If you have a little too much to drink we have a vehicle to get you home....though you might have to share the ride.

One other thing, the tiny host may require you to blow bubbles and then choose to leave the area.  At least you get to do it on an awesome handmade bench.

Me-Made today, self drafted kimono sleeve top and yes my FIL really did make this bench.

Me-Made-May Day 19 - Buttonhole Rage

This is usually what I feel like doing after having to use the button hole attachment. Somehow I don't think that will improve things.

Today's Me-Made is my third Archer completed at the beginning of the month. Oh Archer, you are the perfect shirt.  This one is silk/cotton in a deconstructed paisley print or as my husband calls it "moldy wallpaper print."

 

And because my son was being naughty on the other side of the window there is also this pic. 

Me-Made-May Day 18 - YeeeeeeeHaaaaaa

  

It's probably a good thing that we have major tree cover between the deck and dog walkers.  "I'm just taking pictures of me and my pony. What, is that strange?" 

Anyway today the ubiquitous Simp 2246 based shirt block rides again in some ikat cotton I wish I had a giant bolt of.  You ever have that happen?  Of course you have, so tell me what it was cause inquiring minds want to know. ;)

P.S. The boy was like, "Hey mom, these are MY toys."

Howdy Partner, how bout we rustle up those cows now?

 

Me-Made-May Day 17 - Gone with the Wind

In tonight's production of "Gone with the Wind" Heather B will be playing Scarlett O'Hara and Mr. JubJub will be playing the part of Rhett Butler.  We hope you enjoy the show.

 

I made this dress (Vogue 1027) in 2009 and it was several sizes to large for me. It fits me now so yeah?

Pros
- The fabric is awesome.
- I really like the sleeves and the full skirt.
- It's very comfortable.

Cons
- My assets are always trying to make a quick exit out of the wrap front.  I put a thread tack there but gap-itus is still a problem.
- Think the at waist tie empahesises that I'm short waisted.
- To finish the bodice I made a lining out of some stretch knit which is mostly great.  However it's a tad too big so it also sneaks out the wrap front. 

I should probably take the bodice apart again and do some fiddling with it but who wants to do that.  Sorry V1027 you'll just have to be a sometimes dress.

Me-Made-May Day 16 - Watermelons and Minis

Hey there, just hanging out on my deck taking pictures of myself eating watermelon, like you do.

Why watermelon you might ask?  Cause my new skirt has watermelons on it, it's the cutest I tells yah!

Today's Me-made are both the old and the new, my Anna Bell Cherry Cardigan and a brand spanking new Grainline studio's Moss not so mini.  I love it so let's get into the gritty details.

Pattern
Grainline Studio's Moss Mini, with two skirt length options.  I'm wearing the size 14 in the old lady...I mean sophisticated woman length.

Fabrics used
Watermelon print cotton from Gorgeous Fabrics.com. I bought this last year thinking it was blouse weight, but it turned out it was similar to a bottom weight denim.  (This was my bad, I saw watermelons and clicked the buy button immediately.)  For once I shopped the stash people and realized this would work great for the Moss Mini.

Also used a little left over polyester jacket lining for the pocket bags to reduce bulk.

Pattern changes/alterations 
Happily skirts are pretty easy to fit so the alterations were few.
1. Slashed and spread the main back piece 1" for my large tush.

2.  Took in the waist at the side seams about 1" and adjusted the waistband to match.

3. Jen drafted the pockets to kind of pop out for you hands.  My pockets do this on their own thanks to my plushy self so I removed this feature.

I love contrasting top-stitching and added it to most of the seams.  Other than that my Moss Mini was pretty faithful to the original.

Confessions/Advice
My waistband is still a little too loose, a problem I often have when sewing fly fronts.  I must pin the CF tighter on the muslin, so this never shows up until the real item is finished. The fix would be to take 1/2" out of the CB and add a seam to the waistband in that location.

Husband Comment
"It's got pockets and a button that looks like a cherry." Husband is pro pockets, he's the sensible type.

My Final Thoughts
It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Grainline Studio's patterns and the Moss Mini is no exception. At first I was a bit undecided about purchasing this pattern until I saw Jen's longer version in red.  Then I was like, "Oh Yeah, that belongs in my closet!" Actually I would like half of Jen's closet. Good things she's in Chicago or else she'd find me lurking around her apartment with criminal intentions.  Oh no, I've said too much.

I love all the little features this pattern has, back yoke, jean style pockets (my favorite) and the hem band to make the skirt longer.  We can all lengthen a skirt but this adds an interesting design element as well.  I also want to make a special note that Jen's fly insertion directions are very good.  This sewcialist has done a lot of fly fronts, but I can never remember how to without a brain jog.

So if your looking for a new skirt for your spring/summer wardrobe I highly recommend this one!
Baaaa daaaa da daaaaa, that's all folks!

Me-Made-May Day 15 - Felt Mustache

"Hellooooooo my little babuska, it is so good to see you." (Insert bushy eyebrow waggle)

It was only a matter of time until I started cutting out felt mustaches.

So I went to find my FO post about today's Me-Made, The Tova Wiksten top, and there was none.  Really?  I've made 3 of these and haven't talked about them at all?  Yes it's true. Well you'll just have to make do with my Pattern Review cause I got a mustache to comb.

Me-Made-May Day 14 - Shopping with a Crazy Person

Hi there blog readers, this is Sir Snacks the long suffering kid in this house.

Today I had to deal with my mom being even crazier than usual and to make matters worse she even took pictures of it.  See she's trying to hide behind a frozen food door.  Not amusing.

Then she took pictures of herself with Cheesy bunny snack mix, but Did Not Buy It.  What kind of evil mind games is she trying to play on me?

What's she doing now? Trying to eat my brain or something.  I'm just trying to act like this is all normal and maybe I'll get a snack out of it.

Oh good, she just threw me an apple, but I'm supposed to tell you that she's wearing Grainline Studio's Archer today....whatever that means. Crunch, crunch, crunch. Can't talk now, eating.