What I did on my Staycation: Custom Colette Ginger Skirt

As you can probably tell from my serious lack of recent blog posts... only 2 last year... I've been a little busy raising a little human who just turned 1! As a celebration of his birthday and my birthday next week, I took a week off of my real life job to recharge and work on personal projects.

One of the biggest goals I had was to sew a skirt with an original pattern designed by me. For the pattern, I refreshed an old motif I doodled a few year's back:

Here's what I ended up with. It's available now on Spoonflower!

I ordered two yards of Spoonflower's new lightweight twill. It came out a little more gray than I expected... not sure what happened but I think maybe it was just how the fabric absorbed the ink? Is that a thing?

Anyways... I had two big challenges/learnings with the skirt (Colette's Ginger Skirt).

1. There's a seam right down the middle front and middle back... so some degree of pattern matching was a must. I give myself a solid A- for matching the front/back seams, but basically ignoring the side seams and waistband.

2. The INVISIBLE ZIPPER UGHGHUGHGHGU. I give myself a 4/10 for this one. I got the sucker in... but it required some hand stitching and cursing, several episodes of seam ripping... and I managed to put a hole in the fabric. Don't look too closely. GRRR. Better luck next time.

Overall, I'm very very very happy with the final piece. I was really nervous about the whole thing because I've attempted a few other things with my custom-printed fabrics... and they've always been kind of disappointing. And I've never made a fitted skirt before... and #mombodproblems.

Anyways, definitely not disappointed about this one. I plan on wearing this one A LOT :o)

The Perfect Bag: A Rifle Paper Co. Super Tote

Over the past month or so I've been working on the world's most beautiful, perfect Super Tote (a pattern by Noodlehead). I say it is the most beautiful because the main fabric is by one of my hands-down favorite designers, Rifle Paper Co.

They are primarily known for their stationary, but they've been branching out the last few years to put their patterns on a variety of things. Most recently, they launched a line of fabric with Cotton + Steel, and I basically lost my mind over it. It's so very very beautiful.

Even the selvedges are beautiful!

I own one other RPC collaboration... a dress from Paper Crown (of Lauren Conrad fame). Here I am wearing it while feeding a newborn calf... as one does.

Farming attire?

So when the fabirc came out, I was all, "AWESOME! Now I can have an entire CLOSET full of floral magicalness without completely busting my wallet!" So I started with a bag. This is my second Super Tote. I made the first with some of my block printed fabric.

Now a diaper bag.

Making the second one was great because I got to make several adjustments to things I didn't love about the first. For example, I ditched the recessed zipper (always gets in my way). I fully lined the exterior pocket plus added a Velcro closure (so that it doesn't gape open and when it does it looks fabulous). I also segmented the interior pocket into two... something I neglected in the first bag for some reason.

Finally, the straps are a bit shorter, but that was my fault because I used linen I already had... and of course didn't actually measure to make sure I had enough. But, whatever, it works.

Out of sequence, in progress short... look at those short handles.

So I can't finish this post without talking about that lining fabric. When I got the  Rifle Paper Co. fabric, I thought about using some leftover cotton for the lining... but they just didn't match and I wanted this bag to BE PERFECT. I ran to G Street Fabrics to grab something new, and I was in a hurry... I wanted to take it up a notch, so I grabbed fuchsia linen that looked amazing (of course not really looking at the price tag).

As the lady was cutting it for me, she asked what I was making... a nice blouse or skirt? "Nope, it's for a bag," I said proudly, showing her my swatch of the floral. "A BAG?!" she said incredulously. "And this is going INSIDE the BAG??? THIS is FINE ITALIAN LINEN (dummy)." (I added that subtext). "Um, a really nice bag?" I tried.

Oooooo, luxury.

So yeah, here's my fabulous bag, with the disproportionately expensive lining. I think it totally makes it ;o)

Ahoy! Sewing a Sailor Top and Checking In

Well hello there. It's just me, sitting over here pretending I haven't fallen off the face of the earth (again). Today I'm sharing my experience with CreativeBug's class from Fancy Tiger Crafts on how to make a Sailor Top.

Similar to many of my projects this year, this one took me quite a while to get off the ground thanks to our latest little addition :o) At one point (obviously before he was born) I really thought I would have gobs of time during maternity leave to work on sewing and design projects. I even thought (gasp!) that I might be bored. So I bought some extra fabric and sewing patterns and made big big big plans.

Kaufman Union Dots Chambray

Well... six months later and... now I know better. However, we decided to start our kiddo a few days early at his daycare so that he could get acclimated and I could have a little break before returning to work. So I finally busted out the sewing machine and got to it. (In hindsight, maybe I should have napped?)

I coooould have ironed this before I took a pic... but meh.

I've been wanting to make this top for a while. The pattern is free with your CreativeBug membership, but beware, the instructions are not included so you have to watch the class. Not that that is a bad thing, I just would like to be able to remake it without watching the class again.

Ugh.

The class was very straightforward and I was pretty happy with the top. It looks great with jeans and also works well for work which I was surprised by. My gathering at the neckline is maaaaybe not the most even but I'll forgive my sleep-deprived self for that one. I also had trouble catching the inside of the yoke as I was stitching-in-the-ditch... but again, that's really more about my lazy-a$$ sewing skills vs. the pattern/class.

Eat Your Vegetables: A Pattern Project Nine-ish Months in the Making

Today I wanted to talk about the creation of this veggie pattern I made because, as a creative dabbler, this is how things usually work for me... slowly but surely over a long, long time. 

Sometimes I find this really discouraging--the fact that sometimes I just don't have the time and attention span to create whole collections or see things through in a reasonable amount of time (what's "reasonable" anyways?). But sticking to something... even if it takes nine months is still a completely worthwhile and rewarding process. So here we go:

Waaaay back in the early Spring, when we were block printing up a storm, my favorite collaborator, husband and lover of all things gardening and vegetable-ly carved these sweet block prints. I immediately felt like they would make an awesome garden-inspired pattern.

(If you know Kevin, you know that he is obsessed with his garden and is known to be found on any given day out in our back yard collecting a horde of tomatoes as well as eating greens plucked straight from various plants... carrots, peas, lettuce, beets, basically anything.)

Some unspecified amount of time later (May maybe?) I finally got around to printing and scanning them. Here's what the prints looked like when cleaned them up using my computer:

The radish was definitely my favorite. Again, possibly weeks/months later (and after hassling Kevin to carve me a carrot), I finally started playing around with them in Illustrator, added some appropriate colors, and here's the half-drop, repeat pattern I ended up with:

Now we're somewhere into the Fall... maybe late September... I used Spoonflower to print out two yards of it on their basic combed cotton with two particular projects in mind... a blanket and a pillow cover for a specific, farm-y room we're working on (I know, the suspense is killing you right???). 

Here's what the fabric looked like along with other fabrics I picked out for the room. 

And TADA! After months in the making, and a lot of sitting around and doing other things like going to work and taking well-earned naps, the pillow cover and blanket were finally done. (The blanket is back at the top of the post). For the pillow cover, I used the envelope-back method because I like to be able to wash things, but zippers are hard...

For both projects, I chose to use a gold minky fabric for the backs and let me tell you... I'll be happy if I never delve in to using minky EVER AGAIN.

A Brief Aside About Sewing w/ Minky:

One, use safety pins, many many straight pins and a walking foot. Two, use a long stitch length. And three, give yourself an extra hour or two to calm down after you stop tearing your hair out. THEN PUT IN MORE PINS!

End of Aside.

Anyways, as I continue (in obvious fits and starts) to do more better, I felt like this was an important process to share, because I have to remind myself... it's ok if it takes me nine months to go from concept to finishing a final project. I can't get discouraged because I'm a little ADD when it comes to stuff and the past nine months have been particularly crazy.

Sometimes out there in the cyber-insta-world it feels like other people are just cranking out amazing stuff left and right... and that is totally cool if they are. But I'm a person with a crazy, full-time job and a lot going on, and I feel like it's so important not to compare my output to full-time professional sewers/bloggers/artists.

So, I'm celebrating the completion of these small, very personal projects, taking a breather... and then jumping in to the next project!

Fall Inspiration For People Who Just Aren't That in to Fall

Oh hey there. I know I just dropped off the face of the blog/earth for a few months and BLAMMO it's Fall now. Even though I'm grateful this year in particular for the break in 90+ degree days... Fall is probably my least favorite season on average. BUT, I'm trying to be more positive, so here's a list of things I actually DO like about Fall:

1. Plaid

It's possibly because I was forced to wear nothing but navy blue plaid to school for many years, but I have a strange affinity for all things tartan.

Have you ever seen this website, Plaid Maker, that lets you generate/download your own custom plaids? It's so much fun! Maybe this year I will upload a swatch to Spoonflower and print my very own plaid fabric for EVERYTHING. Brilliant!

2. Halloween (Candy and Pumpkin Carving)

Ever since we bought a house, Halloween has become a personal favorite holiday. Like a nerd, I like to decorate our stoop with fake spider webs and tombstones and purchase too much candy to hand out eat. 

This year I felt like our decorations were insufficient so I sewed up this little front door pumpkin banner with some burlap and canvas I had on hand. I feel like one of those huge craft nerds when I say that I had all the materials for this ON HAND.

3. Baking

While baking is not necessarily limited to the Fall months (scoff)... I've recently been watching a lot of episodes of The Great British Baking Show. It is the best. Also, because of the reduction of 90+ degree days it is now bearable to turn our oven on.

We went apple picking a few weekends ago and picked about 20.5 lbs... so that's a lot to work with. I've made biscuits, apple cake, apple muffins and (ambitiously) Tarte Tatin.

So anywho, that's what I've been up to. Hopefully have some new sewing and artwork projects on the horizon, and have been skimming Creative Bug for my next class. Feel free to chime in with suggestions!

Ready, Set, Sew: Race Day Tank Top

I have to admit that I'm not always the most enthusiastic runner. My motivation has a lot more to do with the clothes than the many other benefits of running. So I decided, after my first tank top turned out pretty well, I needed to try out Spoonflower's Performance Pique fabric to make a running tank for the Pikes Peek 10K race this past weekend.

I again used an existing tank top (with a racer back) as the pattern, which worked out pretty well, but I tried another method for the binding and ended up with straps that were slightly different sizes (oops!). I also wish I had made it a little bit longer, but overall it fit pretty well.

I really loved the fabric. It was light and surprisingly great quality. I think it will hold up really well over time. I picked my Block Print Blossom pattern in Hydrangea for the task. 

Here's a pic at the finish line! I'm always the happiest when its all over. Photobombed by the Geico Gecko of course. 

It was really cold at the start so I wore my jacket through the first few miles, but was delighted when the sun came out! Good thing I remembered my sunscreen ;o)

Anyways, after all my crazy fabric design projects of late, I decided to try something a little different. Here's a sneak peek... more to come!

Feeling Just Fine & Dandelion

Hooray! Today I finally got the swatches from my Fine & Dandelion patterns from Spoonflower! You can see the whole collection here. I was so excited I made this little movie on Instagram:

A video posted by Liz Weaver (@snarkybeagle) on Apr 16, 2015 at 6:28pm PDT

This was definitely a labor of love as I put in a lot of post-full-day-of-real-work hours in to it. Here's what the primary pattern (that I shared first on Instagram two weeks ago) looks like close up...

I really like the natural/linen-looking background color and the detail in the flowers. If you are so inclined, I entered it in to the final Creative Bug Fabric Design Challenge and I would greatly appreciate your vote (no login is necessary)! Here's the other main pattern I made...

As you can tell by the grass in our backyard, the collection was inspired by all the weeds that are coming back in full force now that it is finally Spring! Pretty soon there will be clover and bumblebees all over the place (and I'm totally ok with that!)

Here are all the swatches together. I just want to say thank you again for everyone's encouragement during this process. I know it may not seem like a huge deal but this has been a fun/exhausting creative outlet, and I want to hug every single person who has shown even the tiniest bit of enthusiasm or interest. You guys are the BEST!

Tank Top Sewing and a Fine & Dandelion Sneak Peak!

Well, it's been a really exciting week! I made my first sale on Spoonflower (woohoo, $1.35! lol) and I was picked for Creative Bug's Instagram Challenge for their Fabric Design class. More on that in a minute, but first, I recently embarked on learning to sew with knit fabrics.

It actually wasn't as hard as I expected. I don't have a serger, so the seams weren't as pretty as they could be. I also made the mistake of not paying attention to the length vs. width (which really matters with knits). Luckily Spoonflower's Modern Jersey is VERY stretchy in both directions so it still fits well. Lesson learned!

I made the pattern myself (also a first!) from a Banana Republic tank top. I used this tutorial from Anna at Noodlehead as a guide as well as Creative Bug's Sewing a T-Shirt class.

Here's the design/fabric before I cut it. The design was featured this week on Spoonflower's "Hot Trends" this week and can be purchased here in fabric, wallpaper and gift wrap!

As I mentioned earlier, I've added Creative Bug's Fabric Design class to my ever growing list of online class credentials. And I was thrilled to win their Instagram challenge this past week! The feedback from folks was an AMAZING confidence booster. I seriously want to hug every person who liked or commented on the post. Here was my submission:

I've spent the last few days furiously finishing the pattern I posted and creating a whole collection around it to share on Spoonflower. I just got everything uploaded today and ordered the swatches. Here's a sneak peak of a few of the other designs and coordinates. I hope you are as excited as I am!

ZZZzzzippp! Block printed sewing projects

One side effect of doing all this block printing is creating a bunch of fabric... and that fabric has been screaming to be used. I have an over abundance of fabric already so I needed some quick projects.

I started with a little zipper pouch because there's no such thing as having too many zipper pouches. Ammirite?! I used another scrap for the inside. 

Next I took on something just a liiiiiitle more (or a lot more) ambitious... Noodlehead's Super Tote.

I printed this fabric specifically for this project and it took about two hours-ish to do. So much rolling. You can also see the lovely necklace holding frame Kevin made me for my birthday :o) Another pic of the bag:

The bag has an exterior pocket, recessed zipper and a nice elastic pocket (not picture cause I just couldn't get a good angle). It's such a great pattern and I took the bag to Charlottesville this weekend... this bag is huge! It fit a ton of stuff for the weekend.

Anyways, more fabric and projects to come!

My Greatest (Sewing) Accomplishment?

Someone give me an award… this may be the greatest sewing I have ever done and only parts of it were solid luck. I promised Kevin when we moved in to the house (about 18 months ago for those of you counting) that I was going to sew some kick-A roman shades for our windows at some point.

Well, as you can see, these are not roman shades… he got really tired of waiting for me to have motivation, and we bought shades from Ikea instead. But this motivated me to make something I thought would be less complicated (and too be fair, pretty sure it was): valances (look at all the window treatment vocab you are learning!)

I used this tutorial which was pretty easy but I took my time and read it through a kabillion times until I decided that the contrast band and the drapery lining were just too complicated. The most difficult part was doing the math for the pleats. (1.5+1.5+3+hems+allowances+sliiiightly wobbly lines=???)

But look at those corners! Glorious no? Did you see how the patterns match up between the two windows? MATH GENIUS! Anyways, pretty happy with the result and the new paint color in the kitchen. Kevin says I need to pick some non-blue paint colors when the basement is done in a few weeks. BOOO!