foster kittens, sewing, and baby?

I thought I would finally get some pics up of the three little kittens we are fostering. The first guy on the left is the little stud. He is the only boy in the group and definitely the biggest and most dominant...but he is a big softy and loves to be cradled like a baby. The kitten in the middle is the oddest marked cat I have ever seen. She was the worst off when we got them. I could feel all of her bones and she had fleas all over her. She is extremely cuddly and sweet. On the right we have the "scaredy" cat. It has taken almost all week for her to be able to come out of her hiding spots while we are in the room. Very sweet and shy.

On to sewing...I picked up this used book at my local used book store. There were so many it was hard to decide. Let me just say that I am about halfway through it and I LOVE IT!! It is full of pictures and gives easy to understand information...a great addition to my budding collection. We got paid!! So I will be going to the fabric store very soon. I have at least three projects lined up so stay tuned.





On a more personal note...Rice and I have decided to try for baby(monster) #2. Now that I am in the right frame of mind I hope it goes quickly. Think girl!
Is anyone else just feeling "blah" lately??

Mike Tyson's Punch Out!! + sewing = Rice's pillow

So I am waiting to get paid again before I get any new fabric...budget, budget...so I took an unwearable t-shirt that Rice loves and made it into a pillow. He didn't want to get rid of the shirt and it was just sitting in a drawer. Well, that was driving me nuts so now he says he can put this pillow in his "man/gaming room" when we get a house. Mission accomplished and it only cost me $3. This was my first pillow and my first stab at applique...which was a bit of a disaster lol.

Inspired!

I got some "mommy off time" today and I am TOTALLY inspired! First I picked up some new gladiator sandals. I love gladiator sandals and I have been itching to get some so I'm really excited about that! Then I went to Joanns to browse...alone! It was great...even though Joann's selection of fabric is terrible it gave me a chance to feel different textures and learn what different fabrics are like. I also got to look through the pattern books and price some sewing tools I have been wanting. Well, I have some internet searching to do. I am interested in these two looks for this summer so I am going to try to find the patterns to make the stuff including the bag but minus the cowboy hat lol. I am SOOOO excited.

No motivation lately...

Quickie post...I have been trying to get to a fabric store because I am dying to sew my new summer dress but I am seriously lacking the motivation to get out of the house period. All I have wanted to do the last few days is get up, stay in my pajamas, eat, and watch movies all day. I have miraculously kept up with working out somehow but the laundry is piling up and I really need to do some cleaning around here. My son has to practically drag me across the street to the playground. I think he is going nuts being cooped up inside and I feel bad for him. I did happen to check out a great tutorial on making your own maxi sundress here so I took some of my scrap jersey and gave the bodice part a whirl. It turned out great. That was my first time self drafting a pattern and it wasn't actually as hard as I thought it would be. Definitely a sewing confidence boost. Sooooo, stay tuned for my new sundress and a jersey maxi sundress. Also, we finally have some new foster kittens. I picked up the three, five week old kittens today. They are so playful and such a joy to watch. We will have them for three weeks so I will put up some pics of them soon. I have some more posts lined up...just a matter of time and motivation here. I'll catch ya later.

Sunshowers

I absolutely cannot get enough of this song! I think it just may be my current favorite song. I have listened to it so many times I would feel wrong not to blog about it.

New Look 6780 patter review #2

Pattern Description: easy misses knit tops-a lot of different combinations are possible here

Pattern Sizing:size A6-16...I made size 12

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? yes!

Were the instructions easy to follow?Very

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?I love this pattern...no dislikes

Fabric Used:100% cotton jersey-lime green from Hobby Lobby. This fabric was extremely off grain on one end so I had to alter the cutting layout a little so that I could cut around it.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:No design changes just the change in the cutting layout mentioned earlier.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?I already sewed up View C of this pattern and my mother-in-law wants View A with the short sleeves and I want to make View A and D still so I will definitely be sewing this again. I love this pattern and absolutely recommend it.

Conclusion: Great pattern full of options for many summery tops. Get this one!

Simplicity 5151 review

Pattern Description: Simple purse with bamboo handles

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?Yes

Were the instructions easy to follow?Very easy--even gave special tips to help me out.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?I loved how easy it was. I didn't like that I could not find the proper size handles and I did not like the difficulty sewing the handles in. It was easy enough, just really frustrating...if that makes sense. Oh, and I was confused as other reviewers were, about if the pattern wanted 5/8 inch SA or 1/2 inch. I just tried to follow the directions to a T and it turned out fine.

Fabric Used:I used 100% calico on the outside and 100% cotton twill for the lining to give it some more body. I am wondering if I should have just stuck with the calico for the lining as well because the thickness on the seams was hard to get under my presser foot and my feed dogs were having trouble sending it through. However if I just would have sewn in the handles by hand I could have avoided all of this. I still may rip it out and do it by hand so that it will look "correct" to me.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:No design changes except that I used 6 inch bamboo handles instead of the 7 1/2 inch ones the pattern calls for.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?I have one now so I don't see a need to make another unless someone wants one(and pays me $100 for it lol). I would recommend this pattern but I would definitely say to just save your time and hand sew the handles in.

Conclusion: I have a great new purse for spring/summer and it only took me a couple of hours.