iveyc95

Guest room 2

2011-04-21T11:09:00.001-07:00

Here is my 2nd guest room I've finally finished decorating. Yay!!! I'm so proud of how it turned out even though I'm a little concerned that it might be too wild for selling the house......oh well, I had fun doing it! And the walls ARE neutral. This room used to be a catch all for my leftover junk. I didn't want to get rid of the pieces so I worked with them instead.It started with my cheap white Ikea curtains with the idea of adding a splash of color to the bottom hem because I knew the curtains were not long enough. The large snowball light fixture is another purchase from Ikea. I can't believe I bought this gigantic thing. I had to laugh at myself while I was hanging it. You have to admit, it is fun!

Here's a close-up of the flower arrangement I created for the window side table.

The side table looked so boring with nothing under it so I decided to make these large storage bags to add some color, and storage underneath the table.

This will probably be my color scheme for my next sewing room so I took plastic bins that stored some of my sewing asscesories and made bags to fit them. Great storage and the white container tops help hide what's in there.

Pillows I made for the room. Sorry for the cheesy rainbow "what does this mean?" pillow in the center. That video makes me laugh everytime I watch it. The design is from www.urbanthreads.com

The framed unibicycle embroideries are one of my favorites. They are from www.emblibrary.com I did change the colors around so that there was not as much shading in the design.

Ikea Billy bookcases with fabric covered doors.

This poor lamp has been 5 different colors now. I think she shines once again in the color pink.

I already had these button frames so I reused them. Mom bought me these antique glove dryers years ago.....and I've never done anything with them . Soooooo, why not wall art! Ta-da!

That's it for now! Hope everybody had a great Easter and I especially hope everybody was safe from those horrible storms we had last night and this morning.

Red,White and Blue article

2011-04-18T16:49:00.000-07:00

Before I wait too much longer to let everyone know about this,my Salute to America article is out right now in the latest Sew Beautiful issue. So go check it out!

Here's the bubble that will be available as a kit in the store webstore. This beautiful sailor dress will also be available as a kit in the webstore also. Thank you Sue for making me these to show everyone what they look like made up.

My bedroom and bath

2011-04-18T12:45:00.000-07:00

Ok, I feel kind of nervous about this post cause this room is so personal. This is my bedroom. This is where I lay my head down every night and sometimes can't sleep cause my creative brain is still dreaming of more stuff to make! And this is little ol me! I thought I'd finally post a picture on here of me since this was about MY bedroom.

My own bedroom has always been such an eyesore since I've lived here(about 10 years now). It's sort of an odd layout. I've tried moving my furniture around several times to see what works best, but this, I think is my favorite. Not perfect, but it is a BIG improvement. Sorry for all the post on my house decorating. But that's just what I have been up to lately. Hope to be done soon and back to sewing more cute kids clothing. I thought some of you might enjoy seeing what my place looks like. Whenever there are local house tours, I try to go cause I think it's so much fun to see how other people decorate their homes. Take note of all my decorating magazines too! I guess it's one of my guilty pleasures!

The "Love love love" pic used to be a formal oil painting of fruit that I snagged from my parent's old house. I still can't believe mom let me paint over it. She was nervous about it but she said she enjoys seeing how I repurpose her old stuff.

Can't believe I'm posting a pic of my toilet! How embarrassing.

Wish I had taken a before picture of this bath. It was bad! I painted almost everything in here. It was so much work!!! But it made a world of difference. Painted the cabinets,both light fixtures, all bath hardware, and touched up the wall paint. Organized the drawers so that I can keep all my makeup and hair stuff off the counters(which I should of done a long long time ago). I'm so happy this is done!

Guest room 1- Finally done!

2011-04-11T11:58:00.000-07:00

Some of you might have been wondering why I have not posted any new outfits lately so this should explain why. I am getting my house ready to put on the market! So all those unfinished projects I kept putting off around the house, well now I have to do them. And it's been ALOT of work! You know how your own house is always an unfinished project cause you're always in search of the "perfect" look. Well, this whole process of getting my house ready to sell has opened my eyes to think differently about that. I should not think so hard about decorating. I've really just kind of "let go" and worked with the stuff I already own and you know, I love what I've come up with. Yea sure, it's not perfect. But it's finished and when I look at this room now, I finally feel at peace because it's done.Should have done this a long time ago! I've got more rooms to come, but this was the first one that I feel is completed and worthy of sharing pictures of. It's my guest room. And no, I don't live at the beach. But I love the beach anyway,so that was the inspiration for this room. I love hanging out in this room cause it sort of gives me that feeling of being there.

I needed some more art work for this wall so I came up with my own using fabric and my embroidery machine. I actually covered up art canvases that no longer went with my house decor anymore. Voila!!!

Shamrockin makeover!!!

2011-03-17T10:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday evening mom called me and asked me if there was any way possible I could put together green outfits for the girls to wear for daycare. This year I had not made any St. Patricks day outfits so I jumped at the opportunity to make them something! I stayed up almost all night to get these done but it was so worth it this morning when I saw their happy faces. I just love these girls!!! I got big hugs and kisses from each one for making their dresses (Priceless!). Happy St. Patricks Day everybody!!!!

Afternoon twirling and dancing

2011-03-15T19:06:00.000-07:00

This past week I went to Atlanta to stay with my big brother and while I was visiting, I brought my sewing machines so that I could do a little sewing. Boy! It was alot of work to carry all that stuff! But it was so worth it cause I made these dresses. I cannot say enough about this wonderful dress pattern! It's called "Daisy Bell" by Ellie Inspired (available from http://www.youcanmakethis.com/ ) Jada tryed on my Dr. Suess version and I could not believe how wonderful it looked on her! She loooooooved it too! She loved it so much that she couldn't stop twirling and dancing in it. I tryed to snap a couple of pictures of her in it with my camera phone but they all turned out super blurry.Well, thank goodness for the time change! I was still able to go outside after dinner with the girls and get these pictures of them wearing their new dresses. Oh how they love modeling new clothes. If anyone is interested, all the fabrics are by Fabric Finders.

Missing Dr.Suess outfit

2011-03-01T20:03:00.000-08:00

When I did my last post on the Dr. Suess outfits, I noticed that one was missing. I asked Toni,she works with me at the shop, and she told me it sold. I didn't even remember putting a price on it! I loved that it sold, but was sad that I didn't get a picture of it before it left. So I was so excited today when Sue brought her's in for me to snap a quick shot of it to share with all of you. This was made using the Farbenmix pattern "Celina". Thanks Sue for sharing. You did such a wonderful job!!!

Dr. Seuss

2011-02-24T12:15:00.000-08:00

Here at Sew Blessed, we have created a new holiday celebration. We're celebrating Dr.Seuss's Birthday! I had to share pictures of the store displays and front window. As you can see from this picture above, the Dr.Suess fabrics have been a big hit! Don't worry, more is on the way.

Janie B. made this wonderful quilt! Her own pattern too! She is so talented.

Whew, Christmas is over! Now on with the next.

2011-01-07T12:49:00.000-08:00

Here's a sneak peak of my next project. A dear sweet friend of mine had triplets and I wanted to make something for them. I started these little robot dolls (www.emblibrary.com) before Christmas but then things got so busy with the Holiday season that I had to put them on hold. Now I'm excited to work on them again! I had to get the dolls done first so I could get pictures of them on the fabric that I'll be using for the outfits.More to come later!

And speaking of the Holiday season....... Here's a few Christmas pictures of the kids. I usually don't get to see my cousins on Christmas morning so this year was so fun to be with them. Here's Jewel the night before, setting out cookies for Santa to snack on.

Here's EJ's reaction to first seeing all the Christmas stash! Hehe, I just love how he kept staring at all the goodies with that cute little grin on his face.

The bikes were a hit! I think it was the first thing they all went to.

Sorry I haven't been posting much lately. Alot of things have been going on around here, besides just the holidays. I've had the flu and I'm just getting over a really horrible cold. Ughhhh! My New Years resolution is to take better care of my health. Now that I'm getting better, I'm so ready to get back to my studio and sew again! Hope everybody had a wonderful Holiday!

Christmas ornament outfits

2010-12-12T12:06:00.000-08:00

I know it's been a while since my last post but I just had to share Jada and Jewel's Christmas outfits they wore this morning. I bought the red turtlenecks from my friend Tabitha with plans to make skirts that would coordinate with them. I had everything cut out but then I got the flu. Ughhhh. So, a week and a half later...... here they are!

Yay! My Christmas layout is in Sew Beautiful!

2010-10-09T11:08:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to tell all of you that my Christmas layout is out in the new Sew Beautiful magazine!!! I love it and I hope you all do too! The ladies at S.B. did such a wonderful job.

Here's a sneak peak!
There's little ol me in the profile! Who would have ever thought I'd be in a magazine!!!

Okay, back to earth.Sorry for all the bragging. Hope everybody is having a wonderful weekend.

Adventures of decorating for my parents(mom)

2010-10-03T20:29:00.000-07:00

For the past week and a half I've been helping my mom get her guest rooms decorated for her out of town guest. We picked out some of the fabrics way back before the house was finished being built.That was why we chose unusual paint colors for some of the rooms,cause we knew they would go great with the fabrics we chose.The other guest room we had painted a nuetral color so we could decide later how we should decorate it. Found these two paintings at Pier 1 and I begged mom to get them cause I thought they would be a wonderful inspiration for the rest of the room. She gave in to my begging after I found a lamp in the same red on sale.

New sheets,fake mink throw , three red plates and I made a pillow for the bed that would unite all the colors ,I think it all came together!

And look at what I did to the premade Pier 1 curtains to make them longer. Yep,I made lots and lots of ruffles! This was lots of work to do but they look so good! Now that the pain of making them is over I can enjoy them! If anyone is thinking of trying it, it took me 4 1/2 yards(of 54"width) of fabric and lots of patience.But it's worth it in the end! I'd like to make some for my house now.

Mom and I decided to paint this wood stained chair aqua so that we could bring more of the aqua color to this side of the room. I decided at the last minute to embroider the chair seat.Glad I did, cause I really think that it just completes the look.If anyone is interested in the embroidery design, it's from www.emblibrary.com and it sews out beautifully!

This was furniture my parents had in their Master Bedroom when I was growing up. The wood stain was boring and it looked a bit "dated", so mom painted it white and put new hardware on.
It looks brand new now!!! I just love what paint will do to furniture!

I made these very simple tie top curtains for the window behind the bed and could not believe how dramatic they look when you walk in this room now!

This is the guest bath and I am most proud of this room . I begged my parents to let me design the guest rooms and this bathroom back before they started building. My parents didn't give in to most of my demands, but I put up a strong battle when it came to this bathroom.I'm so glad they let me!!! This bathroom turned out so charming!

I posted pictures of the other rooms in the house on my Flickr page if anyone is interested. We haven't gotten to the Master Bedroom and bath yet but I told mom that I needed a break from decorating so I could catch up on my other projects.

So hopefully my next post will be more about cute little outfits!!!

I hope all of you are enjoying some wonderful fall weather like we are here! Bye for now!

My visit to NYC on Labor Day

2010-09-26T18:44:00.000-07:00

I know this is kind of a late post cause Labor Day was a couple weeks back but I was just sitting here thinking about my day in the city wishing I was there again. I love NYC! There's so much eye candy! My Sister-n-law is from Connecticut and she had to go for a wedding so she invited me to come along(cause she knows how much I like to visit the city).It ended up being such a fun and relaxed weekend getaway.
I have a secret fantasy to somehow find a way to live and work in the city. Just for a year, so I could get it out of my system maybe. Then I could be one of those people that's "been there and done that". I'd at least like to stay there long enough so I could learn the subway system.Hmmmm, anybody hiring???

This was the beautiful scene from the plane as we were landing in White Plains .

These were my first ever White Castle burgers! Yummy. Here in the South, we have Krystals, which are good, but I really wanted to try a White Castle for the longest time now. Everytime I go out of state I've tried to find a White Castle, but it never has worked out. So finally! Jenn was only joking when she mentioned we could eat there for lunch, but I was soooooo serious!

Delightful colorized beads!!!! I want to kick myself now for not buying any of these! Oh well, I'll just have to go back.

Big Leggo mega store. We went here cause my big brother loves Leggos and all day we went to all these fabric and craft stores. He was such a good sport about it,so it was only fair that he got to go here. Made me feel like a kid again, this young guy greeted us with "high fives" when we entered. It was pretty cool!

I could not believe my eyes when I saw this! Spechler Vogel is one of our vendors! I knew they were from NYC but I thought they were probably in some boring industrial part of New York. Wow, they have a beautiful building.Cause it was Labor Day, they were closed.Boo!

I know this is not a great picture, but this is Purl. They were closed too.Eeeccck! They had such a pretty store front display though. And from what I could see, the store looked lovely! Oh well, another excuse to go back.

Ooooooooooo...... loved this huge wall of buttons they had at MJ trimmings. Can you believe I didn't buy a single button?!?! I don't know what was wrong with me. I didn't buy anything here. I think I got overwhelmed.

And that was it......Now when can I go back???

For anybody wondering,yes, I've been sewing. I've got some projects going that I can't share the pictures yet,sorry. That's why I haven't posted my new things. This weekend I was working on some decorating projects for my parent's house. She has company coming for next weekend so I have been busy busy busy.I can't wait till we finish so I can share pictures of the rooms! Loving how it is turning out so far! Bye for now!

"Celina" Farbenmix pattern sewing tutorial

2010-08-23T03:09:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite patterns to make. No matter how many times I make it, I always love the results. I begged Toni(she orders our Farbenmix patterns for the shop) to order these patterns for the shop. Did not realize at the time the instructions were in German( I think it is in German).Well, I felt guilty when they came in and I took it upon myself to figure out how to sew the pattern and while sewing, I took pictures so that I could make a tutorial to go along with the patterns we sell in our shop Sew Blessed .
I've decided to share my Celina tutorial because we have had a hard time keeping the printed copies of the tutorial with the patterns in the shop. In the long run, this will save alot of time( and money) to refer here for the English directions.Plus, now everyone will have an opportunity to look at the directions and see if Celina is a pattern they may want to try! Enjoy!

This is my finished Celina jumper. Don't worry, I include instructions on how to insert the trims too! Remember, when tracing your Farbenmix patterns, they do not give seam allowances,you will have to add them yourself. I had a little difficulty with my pattern pieces lining up correctly with the bottom hem, so I included instructions on how to repair that. Another solution would be to add the difference to your original pattern pieces for #2 and #3.

Cut pattern pieces for main fabric:

#1(front top section)-x1 on fold

#2(pocket)-x2 on fold

#4(back)-x1 on fold

#7(front facing)-x1 on fold

#8(back facing)-x1 on fold

From contrast fabric cut:

#3(front middle section)-x1 on fold
#6(Shoulder strap)-x2

#5(hem)-x4 on fold

Cut and prepare the contrast trim. I cut my trim at 1" on the bias(it has to be cut on the bias because of all the curves you will have to sew around), sew the strips together, and then iron it in half lengthwise.

Sew trim to pocket curves on pattern piece #2 at about 1/8".

Place the second pocket piece #2 on top of the one you just sewed the trim to r.s.t.(right sides together) and sew your seams(all my seams were sewn at 1/4", which works well to show off the trim) at the pocket curves only.

Clip curves and turn right sides out. Then press.

Lay your pocket piece #2 on top of pattern piece #3 and pin. Then sew your trim around the top curved edge only.

Fold the pocket piece you just sewed in half and clip the top center. Take pattern piece #1, fold in half, and clip the bottom center(where my scissors are pointing).

Starting with the center marks you just made, start pinning piece #1 to your pocket piece r.s.t. Then sew your seam. Don't worry if the bottom doesn't match up like mine did.

Finish your raw edges. Press. Then trim the bottoms of piece #1 if yours did not line up.

Fold shoulder straps (pattern piece #6) in half r.s.t. and sew your seam around top and side only. Turn thru your bottom opening, press,and then topstitch.

Sew your side seams for the front to the back. Start matching at the armhole down and don't worry that the hem doesn't match yet. Sew your seams for the front and back facings. Finish your edges and press.

Serge, turn under or zig-zag the bottom raw edge of your facing.I got fancy with mine and used some of the stripe trim to finish the bottom edge of my facing.

Pin your facing to your jumper r.s.t. matching fronts to front facing and back to back facing.

At this time, only sew your seam at the top edge of the back to the back facing.

Now, slip the shoulder strap in between dress and facing with the folded edge of strap nudged up to the seam you just made.Do the same for the other strap. Then, finish sewing your seam for the rest of your facing all the way around the top edge.

Clip curves,turn and press. Then topstitch.

If your back hem did not line up, like mine did( cause I had to trim the other piece)trim it to match your front.

Sew the contrast trim to the bottom, tucking raw edges under where they meet up at the ends.

Sew your side seams for both sets of hem pieces #5. Before I do this, I like to check if my hem bands line up with the bottom of jumper dress.That way I can adjust it to fit.

Press seams open.

Turn one hem band set to the right side and then slip it inside the other hem band and sew your seam for the bottom edge( the edge that flairs out more).

Turn and press.

Pin the hem band to the bottom of jumper and sew your seam, then serge or zig-zag the raw edge.

Press seam toward the top and then topstitch above hem band but on the bottom of the contrast trim.

Make your buttonholes for your straps and sew on your buttons. Your done!!!

Wyatt, my super cute boy model !!!!

2010-08-18T15:15:00.000-07:00

Whenever Wyatt comes to see us at the shop, we all go ga-ga over him. He is such a sweet baby boy. I asked Christine(his wonderful mom) a while back if I could use him for a photo shoot for one of our store ads. So here are some of the cute pics I got!!! I thought he looked so handsome in the John-John I made. Love this car print, it's by Riley Blake fabrics and I lucked up on finding a car applique embroidery that was perfect to go on the pocket(it's from planetapplique ).

Nautical Inspirations

2010-05-22T11:59:00.001-07:00

I have big dreams that one day I will own my own boat and live near the sea.Ahhhhhhhhhhh, for now, I'll just have to settle for designing cute nautical outfits.I have been working with this nautical theme for the past couple of weeks and I cannot get enough of it! The shop has lots of trims and fabrics to go along with this theme and I already own several embroidery designs to play with so it was so easy to coordinate outfits to make up. Enjoy!

No,I have not been on Vacation.

2010-05-03T12:57:00.001-07:00

I have been working on a top secret project.LOL! So if you were wondering if I was on vacation or something because I have not posted any new projects.....well that was not the case. Here is a sneak peak of what kind of projects I have been working on. Hmmmmmm.Can you tell what the theme was? Anybody else out there working on the same type of projects??? It was such a challenge for me but it ended up being fun to do. Now I am working on a fun red, white, and navy nautical theme. Michael Miller has come out with the cutest prints with that theme in mind. I could not wait to get my hands on them! I've already made two outfits so far and I love them. I love all things Nautical so hopefully I can get it out of my system by working on this collection!!! That's it for now. Bye!

A-line ruffle front dress tutorial

2010-04-16T11:49:00.000-07:00

I've had this idea for a while now and decided to just go ahead and try it! So glad I did! Turns out that I love it! and it's so simple to do. It really does not use a lot of fabric to make but it gives you lots of opportunities to use different fabric coordinates. For my A-line I started with the pattern "Charlotte" by The Childrens Corner, but really you could use this on any A-line pattern you might already own.

Let's get started! First, you are going to trace off your front A-line pattern piece. In the picture here I am using a woven tracing material that doesn't show up in this picture very well, but it's actually laying on top of my pattern. After you have traced your pattern, line up your ruler to the center front fold line and draw a straight line on the far left side of your pattern piece that is parallel to the center front fold line.This line is going to be your new grain line, because you are about to split this pattern into two separate pieces.Also make sure you make a note on your pattern piece where you need to place on the fold line of your fabric.

Next, you are going draw out your line for the triangle split. I just had to "eyeball" it. I really don't think you can mess it up.At the hem it's about half of the distance between the side seam and center front fold line. It's slightly less than half the distance on the neck .

Once you have drawn your line to split the pattern I like to mark my new patterns with notes to add my seam allowances at the split. You could retrace your patterns out again with the added seam allowance but I just prefer to add it when I cut it out on my fabric.

Here's the triangle cut out with the added seam allowance on the fold.

Next you are going to cut your strips for the ruffles. Here, I have folded my fabric in half so that it is easier and faster to cut my strips. In my sample, I cut 3 strips sizes 3 1/2"x the 45" width of fabric.I used my serger to roll my hem but you might want to cut your strips a little wider(4" x width of fabric works well) if you are going to finish your edges with a rolled hem on your sewing machine.

At this time you should prepare all your ruffle strips by finishing with some kind of hem on one edge and gather the other raw edge. I like to use my serger to gather because it will finish the raw edge too, but if you do not have a serger, you will need to zig-zag your ruffled edge to keep it from fraying in the wash.

I did not connect my strips because I did not want any seams in the middle of my dress ruffles.Starting at the bottom of your triangle measure up about 1 1/4" from the raw edge. This will give you an idea where it needs to fall. Then at the top of your ruffle tuck under 3/8" and do this to both sides.

Then flip over your ruffle r.s.t.(right sides together), this will give you an idea where you need to start pinning your ruffle in place. I will then use my seam gauge to help me line up the rest of my ruffle.3 1/2" worked for my project.

Here's a picture of what it will look like when pinned and ready to sew.Be generous at the edges of your ruffle piece. I like to trim it after I have sewn and pressed it in place.

I sewed my ruffles down with a 3/8" seam.Flip your ruffle down and steam in place. Then trim the sides of your ruffle off.

Next, decide where you want to position the next ruffle and once you decide, set your seam gauge to the measurement and pin the rest of the ruffle in place like you did the first one.For my sample dress,I positioned my next ruffle at 2" above the first ruffle, but your measurement might be a little different if your ruffle is larger or smaller than mine.Continue sewing your ruffle strips going up the triangle.I did not worry too much about where it would end up at the top. the first one I made, I continued my ruffles all the way to the top, but on this one I stopped it about 1" from the top. Both ways look fine to me.

After all my ruffles are finished, I like to stay stitch my ruffles in place down the sides so they stay in place when I sew them in the seam.

Now, take the other front side pieces and with r.s.t. sew one on both sides of your triangle.Now, I forgot to do it here in my picture, but you should add your sash in your seam at this point.Press seams.

My neck edge turned out a little wonky so I trimmed my neck edge to round it out more but I kept my shoulder width the same because it still needs to match the back shoulder piece.

Just so you can see that I make goofy mistakes too, I forgot to add my ribbon sash in the seam. No worries, I just opened up the seams where I wanted to insert the ribbon and resewed it in place.

Lay out your front piece you just created on your lining material and cut. For the rest of the dress you will finish up by using the directions from your sewing pattern.

That's it! Let me know if you have any questions. I'd love to hear from anybody that makes one using my tutorial.Enjoy!

I almost forgot to mention yardage. Use the regular yardage requirements from your pattern for the main fabric,lining and triangle accent piece. If you refold your fabric and cut the triangle at the far edge, you will have plenty left over to cut your ruffle strips from the other side.For the two I made,size 3 and 4, I used 5/8 yard of the main fabric and 5/8 yard for the triangle and ruffle accent piece and 5/8 yard of lining.

Charlotte tutorial

2010-04-15T20:08:00.000-07:00

Okay, Before I post the tutorial for the ruffled front A-line dress, I thought I would post a tutorial on how I make my adaptions to the "Charlotte" pattern(by Childrens Corner). Some people at the shop have been asking for this so I might as well post it now and get it out of the way.I adore this little dress pattern. A while back I used this pattern and made a mistake to the front so I was forced to move the opening to the back to try and save what I had done to the front. Turns out that I really liked the change. I like that I only have to worry about one button for the back closure. Also, I use alot of buttons for trims and with the button closure in the back, it doesn't effect how I decorate the front.My favorite thing about this dress is how well it fits. Love how it looks on my two favorite gals, Jada and Jewel.

Warning! This is a looooooooooooooonnnnggg post.Hope I can make sense of it.I tryed to take lots of pictures so that it would be easier to understand.I know I love picture instructions when I sew! Keep in mind, I am a sewer, not a writer. I'll do the best I can to make this understandible.Hopefully my pictures will explain things better than I can. Here is the finished product! In this tutorial I'm not going to show how I did the front detail, that will come later when I explain how I create the ruffled A-line.

Cut your back lining and outer pattern piece on the fold, just like the pattern has you do.

On the center back fold of your lining, cut a slit, about 6" to 7" long.

Normally, the front is cut into two separate pieces because you button down the front. Instead we are going to fold the pattern piece on the center front line and cut one entire pattern piece on the fold.Cut one of your outer fabric and one for your lining.

Sew front and back outer pieces and front and back lining pieces at the shoulders.

Cut a 1 1/8"x 4" (doesn't really matter how long) strip. Fold in half and sew 1/4" seam.Turn.

Fold your spaghetti tubing around your button you will sew in later and mark with a pin where it fits best around your button. Pin your outer and lining pieces R.S.T.(Right sides together) starting at the shoulder seams.Slip your button tube in the top left side or right(I'm not sure what side is correct). Be sure to come down at least 1/4" from the top edge and use the pin marking to help you find 1/4" from your raw edge.

Here's a better picture of what you will be sewing.

I usually sew around the neck first and then sew down my back slit last. As you sew down the slit. taper in as you sew. When you get down to the bottom of the slit, you should be right at the edge of your slit. Put the needle in the down position and turn your fabric and as you are sewing back up the slit, taper back out.It might help if you mark your fabric where you need to sew.

Here's a better picture of exactly what you will be sewing.

Cut the outer piece just like the lining has been cut. Be sure to cut as close to your stitching at the bottom without cutting through your stitches.Clip your neck edge curves.Turn to right sides and press.

I really recommend using some sort of fray check at this point cause there is not much fabric holding that seam together.I have had some of my tops fray when I went to wash them later.

Here's a picture of what it should look like after you have turned and pressed.

Next, you are going to sew your armhole seam.To me, this was a bit tricky the first time I ever came across it in pattern directions. Hope my pictures explain it well enough. You are going to take your outer and lining armhole and wrap over the other shoulder .Your lining will go under while your outer piece will go over the other shoulder is going to be "sandwiched" in between.Pin and sew your armhole seam.

Once you have sewn your armhole seam, clip your curves and pull out the shoulder that is in the "sandwich" to the right side. Repeat for the other shoulder. Press.

Open up your sides matching your lining to lining and outer pieces R.S.T. Sew one continuous seam from lining to outer pieces(sew right over the armhole seam).On one side of the lining seam, leave a 5" gap.

Now you are going to finish the bottom of your dress with an enclosed hem. Starting at the side seam away from your 5" lining gap, flip up,so that right sides are together and line up your side seam.Pin in place. Start twisting your fabric around so that you are matching right sides together and work around the bottom hem as far as you can go.It will get to a point that you can't pin anymore.Sew what you have pinned.( It will look very messy,cause half your dress will be twisted up in the other half )

I tried to get a picture of what it will look like. I know, it's kind of hard to tell.

Turn to the right side.

Reach in the hole you left in your lining and pull out the lining and outer side seams and match up and pin in place. Start pulling the rest of your hem through the hole in your lining and pin the rest of the hem that has not been sewn yet.Finish sewing the complete seam where you left off with the other.

Here's the best picture I could get of what it will look like. The other side of the dress is stuffed inside of itself. Hard to explain this until you actually try it. If you do not understand my directions, go to the Childrens Corner website. Lezette Thomason (she designs the patterns) has done a wonderful video tutorial on how to sew this kind of hem. I've watched it for myself and it is very good!

Pull your dress to the right sides by pulling back out through the hole in your lining.

Press your hem.

Hand stitch the hole in your lining closed.

Sew on your button to the back right side and you're done!

I really hope this helps. Enjoy! Please let me know if you actually use my tutorial. I'd love to hear about your experience.

Silly Girls

2010-04-11T17:57:00.000-07:00

I had to babysit Jada and Jewel this afternoon! They are so much fun! They modeled some of my newest outfits. After our modeling session they helped me clean up my backyard furniture. Hehe, they really did help! Jada hosed off my furniture and well.....Jewel played in the water

They are such sweet girls and they are growing up so fast!

I plan on doing a tutorial post on how to make the black and white dress that Jewel is wearing.I want to try out a few more ideas using the same concept.But stay tuned for that in the near future.Bye for now!

Business trip + Taxes = No sewing

2010-03-29T18:03:00.000-07:00

This week has been busy with tax stuff and an out of town business trip,so that is why there has been no new sewing goodies to share. I have missed my sewing though. Tomorrow I have big plans to sew all day long!!! Can't wait. I had the best day at work today. Tom,our Free Spirit Fabric rep., came to our shop to show us some new fabrics.I really had too much fun picking out new fabrics!!!! I can't wait for you all to see what will be coming. I also had several visits from some of the most wonderful people in the store. Maybe it was the great weather we were having today but everybody was so cheerful and happy! Donna C. came by this afternoon to show us her version of the "Hop and Peep" stuffed animals that were in the recent Sew Beautiful Magazine. Oh how I wish I had my camera with me! They were absolutely adorable! She added the cutest tulle tutus to hers.I asked her if I could use her idea and she just laughed at me and said of course! I'm so excited to make one now that I have seen hers! Thanks Donna for the inspiration!!! Gracie and Molly are such lucky girls! Bye for now! Hope I'll have lots to show ya for next time!

Fish Bowl top and capris

2010-03-22T10:12:00.001-07:00

Fish Bowl top and capris
Originally uploaded by iveyc95

Surprisingly this was easy to sew! Yea sure, there was alot of gathering to do but I'm getting use to all that now.I think I'm kind of liking it too, gives me something to do while watching TV. Wondering how this fits??? Looks like it would make a great play outfit.

Cozy Kitten Sundress

2010-03-18T14:16:00.001-07:00

Cozy Kitten Sundress
Originally uploaded by iveyc95

Yet another "Sheri's Cherries Sundress". I can't help it!!! I am in love with making this little outfit. It's so retro,which I love. I'd love to see it modeled. I really like the color combo with this one.

Greetings from the Pathetic blogger!

2010-03-01T12:50:00.000-08:00

This pattern is my new obsession. It has been so much fun coming up with different combinations to make it up out of. The pattern is by Kari Mecca and is called "Sheri's Cherries". It was on the cover of Sew Beautiful one time and I always thought it was one of the sweetest dress ever! Has the perfect vintage look.

Here it is made up in a more modern version and I used bloomers instead of the panties.

I bought this cherry print to make it up in another "Sheri's Cherries" sundress but I stopped myself because I happen to come across this "Isabella" pattern(by Maja Heirlooms). I have always wanted to make this adorable pattern but to be honest, it intimidated me. I needed a sewing challenge so I tackled it! So glad I did! It really is not as bad as I thought it would be.I already have ideas to make it up again.

I apoligize for not blogging in awhile. I've just been a little busy. Nothing big is going on, just a bunch of small things. But I found some time to sew.Yay! Just wanted to let everyone know that Sew Beautiful has done an interview of me on their new blog! So go check it out here (Oooooo, I just learned a new trick to add a link). The article is finally out and seems to be creating a little interest in the shop cause we have had lots of webstore orders for our kits. Thank you soooooooo much for your orders! This is the first time we have had an article in a magazine ever. We all had no idea what to expect. But we are so happy with the response!!!!!!!!

That's it for now! Have a great day!

Okay my linkige skills are not working for the SB blog page. Try this link instead http://sewbeautifulmag.blogspot.com/2010/03/march-designer-of-month-ivey-crenshaw.html

Ready for Spring!

2010-02-15T11:45:00.000-08:00

I'm so over this nasty weather! It's depressing! Cold and wet! We got a little snow the other night but it did not stay with us that long.My therapy for this bad weather is to sew up spring outfits! So that is what I have been doing. I have lots of ideas for Easter outfits and I'm excited to get started on them.Here are two outfits I have done so far. This is what I have been calling "Snail friends". The pattern I used is "Ashley" by Bonnie Blue. Fabrics are all by Fabric Finders. The snail applique design is from www.appliqueforkids.com
I've actually had this fabric for a little while.One day when I was working at the shop I noticed that we had alot of trims that had that shrimp color in it. Nobody was buying it. So I went around the shop and gathered up everything that had this color in it, came up with my favorite combination , and cut a yard or two of everything. I do this alot. I really don't have a solid idea of what I am going to do but I'll buy it and then play with it when I get home. I really like how this turned out!

This outfit is what I call "Target Bunny". I used "Ashley" for the top and "Jillian" for the pants both by Bonnie Blue designs. Both fabrics are by Fabric Finders. I was thinking about this fabric one night , trying to come up with an idea of what I could do with it. For some reason I thought it would be cute to applique a pink Easter bunny on it.I know, this print does not scream Easter outfit but I like to do things that are a little unexpected. The next day at work, Tabitha was buying this same print and she told me she was going to make her little girl an Easter outfit with it! How funny! She brought it in for me to see when she finished. She did it the opposite way from what I was thinking but she still used the bunny applique embroidery , just like I was thinking of doing. I love to see what she does, we always have similar taste and I like to bounce ideas around with her.She gets me motivated!

Yesterday, mom brought me some Valentine gifts(I love Valentine goodies!).I got this big beautiful basket with all kinds of goodies in it. Sorry, I didn't get a picture of the whole thing because I tore into it right away so I could get to the cookies!!Well, it had all kind of treats in it, including this soap, which I think is just hilarious.Last night I went to mom and dad's house for supper and I found out that Daddy actually got me the big Valentine basket! I think this is sooooooooo sweet! He usually never gets us anything for Valentines day so this was super special. I asked him if he had picked out the items himself and he said no. I asked him if he knew that he got me "naughty soap" and he looked a little shocked. Mom started laughing, then I realized what he might be thinking. I explained that it spelled out naughty! LOL

Sneak peak

2010-02-12T19:01:00.000-08:00

Sooooooo,as you can see, I've been very busy this week. I've made all these outfits...................Haha,just kidding!Wish I could sew that fast. You(my very special blog readers) are getting a sneak peak at the garments that I made for a "Sew Beautiful" article for the upcoming issue. Yep, little 'ol me has her stuff in a magazine!!!! I think it is the coolest thing to ever happen to me. I had so much fun doing this.They let me pick what season to work with and I chose(of course) spring/summer.We have kept the outfits hidden so that the reveal would be a surprise for everyone.Boy has it been hard to do that! If anyone was shopping around on our webstore last night you might have come across the kits for these.That's why I decided to go ahead and post them.Hope you enjoy! Here's a link to the shop if anyone is interested in purchasing the kits. http://www.sewblessedfabric.com/ Pattern-"Retro remake" by Sew Beautiful.

2. "Emery" by Pintucks and Pettiecoats

3. "Claire" by Bonnie Blue

4. :Teaparty Sundress" by Oliver +S

5."Bibbed Romper" by Sew Beautiful Patterns

6."Lindsey" by Bonnie Blue Designs

7.Pattern is "Virginia" by The Children's Corner

8.Pattern is "Yoke Dress" by Ellen McCarn.

9. Pattern is "Penny" by Petite Poche

10. Pattern is "Macy" by The Children's Corner.

11. Pattern is "Marcy" by Bonnie Blue Designs.

12.Pattern is "Analise" by Portabellopixie Patterns.

13. Pattern is " Bibbed Romper" by Sew Beautiful patterns.

14. Pattern is "Sophie" by The Children's Corner.

15. Pattern is "Blair" by The Children's Corner.

Mom tricked me

2010-02-08T12:15:00.000-08:00

This dress pattern is from the book "Sewing with Whimsy" by Kari Mecca. It's called "Dizzy Dots" in the book. The directions were great, until I got to the part on how to finish the sleeves. It simply says to turn under edges and hand sew or topstitch.That was too unfinished for me so I had to cut some bias strips to turn under the edges .I added the tie sashes at the waist to add contrast to all the rick-rack trim. You could also use ribbon for trim cause it is not applied to a curve.I'm happy with this dress and will use it again cause I think it has lots of design possibilities! I remade this dress because someone wanted me to do a tutorial on the sash and loop holders(hey Kelly). I will get to it as soon as I can.

Love this dress pattern. It's called "the Sami dress" and is available from www.Youcanmakethis.com This pattern is great if you have a print that you love and really want to show it off.I tried something new(for me) on the ruffles by using a rolled hem on my serger.Really like the results! You'll probably be seeing me use the rolled hem more often in the future!

Somehow my mom tricked me into going to Atlanta this weekend. She had to go to an awards banquet that had to do with her job and she told me that we could visit my brother and then go shopping at Ikea(I love that store). We did all that, but what she tricked me on was the part of what I was going to do while waiting on her during the banquet.She told me there were hotels and restaurants right next to the conference center and I could just "hang out". Ughhhhhhhh. She was wrong! We got there 2 hours early too!Which means that I would have to wait 5 hours! I called my big brother and begged him to come pick me up.He lives 45 minutes away from where we were but he drove all the way down there to pick me up. He even took me out to eat! He has got to be the world's best brother ever!!!!!!! After he came to pick me up, I ended up having a great weekend. This trip cut into my sewing time though. That's why I only have 2 outfits made. Today I am working on a custom order for a friend that needed a baby shower gift.So hopefully I can finish that up so I can mail it off this week. This week should be very busy.I've got to finish up some projects for the shop for an exciting event that is about to happen!!! I'm about to burst with excitement about it!!! Promise to reveal what it is all about next week. For now, I'll share with you my latest sewing creations.Bye for now!

Tutorial for Heart tart applique

2010-01-31T12:18:00.000-08:00

Thought I should go ahead and post this tutorial , in case somebody wanted to try and make this dress before Valentines day. First, I wanted to say hi to all my new blog readers! and thank you for all the sweet comments you left me. It really means alot! Okay, first step to making the heart applique I created an outline heart on my embroidery software that was as big as my embroidery hoop.Then I randomly placed hearts within the heart outline. If anyone is wondering, the hearts I used were from www.emblibrary.com under princess hearts . It comes as a group, but I used my software editing tool to seperate each heart so I could place them one at a time. Once I had them placed, I changed the colors around. Colors that I used were baby pink, shrimp, maroon,hot pink and red.When I had my design ready, I then embroidered it out on a scrap piece of dark brown featherwale corduroy.I would suggest that you should embroider the outline heart with the same color as the dark brown corduroy(it will be easier to cover later with your satin stitching). Here's what it should look like when you finish your embroidery.

Next, you will iron on an "iron-on adhesive" bond(I used HeatnBond Lite) to the back of your heart and then cut it out following the heart outline stitch.

Peel the paper backing away from the "iron-on adhesive".

Using a temporary basting glue, start gluing your 3/8" rick-rack to the back side of the heart starting at the top center of the heart. Please don't use a regular fabric glue, cause that might hurt your machine when you sew through it.

After you have finished glueing, center your heart on your dress front pattern piece and fuse it with the iron. Put a piece of stitch and tear to the back side of your heart. Set your sewing machine to a satin stitch and start stitching around your heart. You want to cover your outline stitch but you don't want to cover the rick-rack.

Once you have finished your satin stitch, tear off the stitch and tear from the back and then you are ready to finish sewing your dress.

Hope this helps.Please let me know if you have any questions.

Heart tart dress

2010-01-29T15:00:00.000-08:00

I have a subscription to Martha Stewart's Living magazine,but even if I didn't I probably would have bought this issue cause I loved the cover.I loved the cover so much that I created a dress that was inspired by it!

Valentine outfits ( I know, I shouldn't have done it)

2010-01-25T12:35:00.000-08:00

Okay, I tried not to do it. But I love to make Valentine outfits. It's not very pratical to make Valentine outfits because it's a holiday that is for one day only, but...............The colors, the embroidery designs, and the cute Valentine prints. It was all calling my name, so I thought "what the heck, let's just have fun with it".

I did it!

2010-01-18T12:25:00.000-08:00

" Kyoko" pattern by Modkid. Loved this pattern. The sleeves were very easy to put in and I like using the bias trim to finish my edges. I can see all kind of variations with this pattern design.

"Jordan" pattern by Bonnie Blue Designs. I was really surprised at how well I like this pattern. It's simple but it's a little different from an ordinary A-line jumper. Lots of design possibilities. and I don't know about you, but I would wear something like this.

Yep, I have used up all my "Nicey Jane" fabrics. I was so tempted to move on but I didn't.

Tutorial for Jacob playsuit (shorter lining)

2010-01-17T12:30:00.000-08:00

Here is my first ever tutorial blog! This was the reason why I wanted to start a blog in the first place so I can explain some of the shortcuts I make on my sample garments. Jacob's playsuit is a boys fully lined romper that I have used here to make up in a girly version. I thought that it was not necessary to line the entire playsuit so here is where I am going to explain what and how I shortened the lining.

1. Take your back lining pattern piece and lay on top of your front yoke pattern piece, matching up the side seam where the arm starts.

2. Draw a line on your back lining pattern piece following the front yoke pattern piece.

3. Pin your back lining pattern piece and cut the top portion of your pattern out and stop where you have drawn your line, clip both sides where your line is.

4. Fold back your bottom half of your lining piece and with your ruler, match up where you made your small clips and cut the bottom half.

5. Cut out your front yoke. Begin sewing your romper like the pattern has you do.

6. After you have followed step 19, and turned your facing to the inside, finish the bottom edge of you lining by serging, zig-zagging, or turning under the raw edges. On the outside of your playsuit , following your side seam, "stitch in the ditch" and stop at the bottom of your top front piece.You do this so that your lining does not flop out while the child is wearing it.

Here is a picture of what the shortened lining will look like when you finish. Now you will just follow the pattern to finish. I used a cuff to finish the hem of mine but you could just turn up the raw edges.

That's it! Hope this helps.

For the Love of "Nicey Jane" fabrics

2010-01-14T13:23:00.000-08:00

Okay, if you cannot tell yet, I love the "Nicey Jane" fabric collection. As always, Heather Bailey has done an excellent job designing these delightful fabrics. When it arrived in the shop I just went ahead and bought at least a yard of each print so that I could go ahead and plan out what I wanted to make. This is awful to say, but I could not wait for Christmas to pass so that I could start working on these fabrics. My goal is to use everybit of my Nicey Jane fabrics before I move on to my other projects.This way, I can use them for the front store window display .Outfits made up from the same fabric group usually make for a nice window display. This dress was made using the "Charlotte" pattern by The Children's Corner. I've wanted to do something like this for awhile with stripes and I am very pleased with how it turned out. I'm going to have to experiment some more later cause I think it could be really fun to see what kind of different effects you can create . This is "Baby Annie" pattern by Primrose Lane. I tried something a little different on the pant cuff by using rick-rack to make the gathered look. I did not use the elastic like the pattern has you do.

"Playdate Dress" pattern by Oliver+S. Some more of my experimenting. The idea for the flying butterflies came from an outfit I saw that used bee buttons instead. It was so cute and such a simple idea that I just had to try it. Loved how it turned out on this dress.This is not the last time you will see this idea!

"Flouncy Tops & Pants" by Indygo Junction. Those pants are fabulous! I can't wait to see what they look like on a little one.

"Claire" pattern by Portabellopixie. I adapted the pattern for long sleeves by using a tutorial from "The Handmade Dress" blog. It's very easy to do.The ruffled apron is something I came up with on my own.( I like ruffles)I know, I need to do some tutorials to show how I've done some of these adaptions. That's it for now! Enjoy!

Yo-yo trim

2010-01-11T15:40:00.001-08:00

Yo-yo trim
Originally uploaded by iveyc95

Just tryin to figure out how all this blogging works. Cool, I figured out how to post pictures from my Flickr page.Here's a more detailed picture of the yoke on the Baby Annie outfit I just made. Love the colors in this print.

Photo session with Lily

2010-01-10T15:21:00.000-08:00

I slept in late(which is not unusual). Sharon called me and told me that she had Lily and I could come over to take the picture for our upcoming ad. When I got there, she already had the dress on,my mouth dropped. It was so cute on her! It's funny, no matter how many little outfits I make it still surprises me just how cute it looks like on.Here's some of the pictures from our photo session.We had to include Sandy(the cute white dog).I usually don't take pictures inside but it was way to cold to take them outside, so the pictures are not the best.Hopefully the ad people will know how to make it look good.

Hello World!

2010-01-08T15:11:00.000-08:00

Thought I would never be doing this( Blogging). Makes me a little nervous cause I'm just putting my thoughts out there for anybody to read. Who knows, maybe I'll get into it. I have a Flickr gallery that I keep up with pretty well and I remember when I started it I was really nervous,like I'm feeling right now.Sooooooooooo, here goes nothing!