Off-the-Cuff-Maxi

Hoping all had a Beautiful Memorial Day.  This weekend I celebrated my 49th Bday... yahooo... nothing like feeling grown & sexy...lol   Thank You All for the Beautiful Birthday Wishes.

Yowzaaa!!! did the summer temps roll in with a bang... Is it hot enough for ya!!!.... It is for me... this weekend the heat factor was in full effect.... feeling like 90+ degrees and still going strong... seriously.

Of course, I had to make sure I stayed cool  & comfortable... and quickly sewed an off-the-cuff-maxi dress, no pattern.   The fabric was 58"/2yds, fold in half and hacked off 8" for the waist & made the bodice (12" length) using a floral on black slinky knit from Virgo fabric. I thought there was too much fullness and  pegged this one a wee bit too much, but it didn't stop my bday show....lol... please don't ask what I was about to do....lol

This dress should have taken a maximum of 2 hours, but experienced issues with the horizontal stripes, which is a repeat. I wanted to use the horizontal stripes along my waist, but once I seamed up the back, the stripes were off kilter.  Had to hack off the bodice which was solid black and ended up using the remaining piece with the large floral print for the bodice.

Which worked out perfectly... love the comfort factor... totally love it

Of course, I  couldn't stop there... had to make another off-the-cuff-maxi. This fabric was purchased at Walmart before they closed the sewing department only to have to reopen it last year.

Yes, I'm sporting shades at nite... had to keep the grown  & sexy going on...lol

Both dresses were serged (center back seam), overlocked the hemline & created a 1-1/2" casing for the waist and top edge of the bodice, inserted the the elastic and ... .. there you have it... lol

They are so comfortable... I could use one for each day of the week... but not...

I need to get cack-a-clacking on a few for my daughter... 

until then have an Awesome Week

Featured...

on BeInStyle (a/k/a Pocketchange.become.com) Best of the Web.

Sheilaz-CTK

“I like to think of myself as a citified woman during the day, working and enjoying the hustle and bustle of New York City, and transforming into a crafty suburbanite after 12 hours away from home. Almost seven years ago during a night of crafting and then reflecting, Sheilaz-CTK began as a platform for sharing my love of crocheting, which has evolved into all that is crafty and sewing-related. Sewing garments was a major learning curve for me, despite sewing home decor for years, but after sewing garments for the past five years, I am enamored with creating garments for myself and family. However, I can be found happily dabbling in a multitude of crafts, from soap making to glass painting and still squeezing in a lil more crafting. I mean seriously … my soul isn’t at rest unless I am creating. With all that said, my blog is about sharing my crafty life.”

 If you are not familiar with BeInStyle...check it out.  It has a wealth of information that features the latest women style, fashion trends  & beyond.

I enjoyed reading Japanese inspired style which offers a unique style to add to my wardrobe this year.

Another cute aspect of BeInStyle.com is Be Heeled... I know there are tons of women out there that love shoe p*rn.... here you can get the latest 411 on shoes and stay one step ahead of the game.

I am a make-up queen... and  constantly looking for the next best thing in make-up products and how to battle my oily skin... Be Beautiful is constantly on the lookout for the right products to help me get the right look.

If one is into home decor... tons of decorating tips to get the right lifestyle look.  My kitchen is the heart of my home and Dining Experience  gave me a great idea for sprucing up my dinnerware.

 One of my favorite spots is Beloved Pets, being an owner of two furry children... getting the latest info on grooming to protecting my precious ones is very important.  Creating boundaries offers ideas of keeping my furry children safe.

There is more... a wide range of lifestyle tips and techniques that I am sure anyone will find helpful.

Great Weekend w/ Friends & New Look 6967

I had a beautiful weekend, enjoying the company of fabulous ladies, great weather, good food and fabric p*rn. 

We started our day off with lunch at Andrews Coffee Shop and had our fill of delilicious burgers & sinful fries... yum.

(Courtesy of Jeremiah's)

Rosie & me checking out Rachelle's personally made cards..

her cards are gorgeous check them out @ I'm Black Martha

Alethia & Rachelle posing pretty as we await our food

With our bellies satified and in need of walking, we headed to visit the garment worker...lol

We enjoyed visiting several fabric shops and spent a considerable amount of time in 35th St. Fabric store... lovely fabrics and awesome prices...

(courtesy of Midtown Gazaette)

Osman offered great customer service & beautiful fabric selections at reasonable prices.  The ladies and I have pegged it as the go to fabric spot when we visit the city again.

While shopping we ran into lovely Opal... awww it was such a pleasure to see her... She gave us a peeksy of her beautiful fabric purchase... so stay tuned for the reveal.. Yes... I am putting you on the spot to do a post.... wink

On Sunday, we all met up again...  Rosie, Rachelle, Alethia & Andrea to check out my fabric joints.

Virgo Fabric, Silk Roads & 123 Fabrics in Brooklyn

Posing with Ms. Virgo, the owner... a beautiful woman and awesome selection of fabrics.

We had a great time @ Virgo and the ladies enjoyed themselves immensely.

Rosie getting her fabric p*rn on...

Didn't get a pic of Andrea, she went to get her fabric p*rn on too... Andrea was on a serious fabric mission... that's her behind me.

We were so busy getting our fabric p*rn on, didn't get to take pics at the other locations... definitely will the next time.

A lovely time was had by all and and after 2 days I was 22 yards heavier....lol

I wore Take II of New Look 6967, which was perfect for the mild temp. Saturday. 

Used a printed sheer-poly fabric from Fulton Fabric. The fabric was really shifty and a pain to cut, but once all the pattern pieces were cut, the blouse went together nicely.

Did a 1/4" hem on the sleeves and fold again and straight stitched.

Close-up of the underside of the front & back facing.  To minimize the visibility of the serge edges, I used black biased trim along the front & back facing at the seam line & folded the free edge of the facing twice.  (I got ahead of myself and should've used black bias trim along the free facing edge as well.)

 Close-up of the wrong side of the back collar wherein I shortened the height of the back facing 

 Since the fabric is so sheer I wore a brown cami underneath and paired the blouse with brown slacks ( Loft).

Off to begin my Birthday celebration, family will be over and it will be a long weekend/week of fun, shopping, spirits  & sewing...LOL

Have a Beautiful Memorial Day

Utilitarian v. Aesthetics

I have been in search of the perfect jewelry armoire and initially considered the one pictured below:



Upon closer inspection, I realized that it would not be totally utilitarian. I needed additional space for hanging my 30" length necklaces as well as additional room for my bracelet watches & charms.  I continued on with my search for the perfect jewelery armoire.

However, my stash was getting out of control, this is a pic of some of my jewelry stash that was now spilling over into my bedroom from the sewing room (which also serves as my dressing room). Once the sewing room went through a makeover and it was decided I would get a jewlery armoire to house my stash, I moved all the jewelry into my bedroom, which became a heaping hot mess. 

I arrived home yesterday, entered my bedroom to see that one of the necklace display had fallen and with it went the jewelry that was laying flat on the dresser...uggh.... a heaping mess on the floor.

My guy heard me scream (it was more along the line of OH MY GAWD.. HOW THE HELL!!!)  and came rushing into the room... wondering if I'd fallen or something.  Only to his surprise I was having a hissy fit over the jewelry mess on the floor....lol    He left the room muttering that he was going to put an end to my silly shinangans as well as some expletives... *_0.

I really had a fit when I picked up a heap of jewelry...some of it was tangled... double dayummm.

My guy returned with one of his parts organizer from the garage, which has 60 small compartments.  He didn't even ask if I liked it... mounted it on the wall and walked out. 

Can be found via Sears

 He did return though and together we untangled and organized my jewelry and.... lalaaaaaaaaaaa

It even has dividers...cool

Looooooooooooove It !

He came back with a box for all of my wooden & metal bangles (thought I took a pic of it, guess I didn't after all the excitement over my new jewelry storage.)

Now, I'm wondering if he has an organizer for all my handbags... ^_^... but dare not ask him...lol.

Then & Now with Simplicity 2556

Happy Friday Everyone & TGIF, this week has been a loooooong one for me.  However, I have been sewing though, but very slowly with another New Look 6967 using a printed sheer and let me tell you it has been a slippery one.

Hoping to finish the top tonight and in the mean time wanted to a share a Then & Now moment.
How I wore Simplicity 2556 back then (2009), a lavender button-up with jeans...

and Now with a t-shirt & jeans... sheesh...not much has changed except the scenery... sharing a moment with my oldest furry child Roco in a virtual park before heading to work.

Until then,

 Wishing all the Mothers

A Blessed, Beautiful and Awesome

 

OOTD in Paris

I don't always have the advantage of having a photographer to take pics in a desired location.  So what is a girl to do.... surf the worldwide web and choose a location...


 Decided to venture over to Paris and strolled along several pretty streets feeling rtw fabulous wearing a black/white floral cardigan from Target, tangerine tank top from a five&dime shop and wide leg pants from NY&Co....

Uh oh there's a problem, I think I'm lost ... where did I go wrong... was it that left turn...lol 

Sheesh... had to do a lot of walking to find my hotel... lol

Friday Question... Do you have a particular person to take pics of you in your sewn garments, find that you are always on the look out for a photographer & pray all goes well, do you use the camera's self-timer, and lastly, how many shots do you take before you have the right pic(s).

Outfit of the Day

Happy Thursday Everyone...

No physical sewing going on, just a lot of sewing in my head.  How many of you do a lot of sewing in your head.. (please tell me I am not the only one)

With New York sporting an overcast day with 50 degree temp., I paired a cheery top  with an old dull suit (Loft). The top was made a year ago using McCalls 6078, the fabric is a large foral print stretch.

It's been coined the Hawaii 5-0 top.  After completing the top, I pranced into the kitchen to show the family my lastest project.... and being the funny bunch that they are... immediately asked me where was I going with that Hawaii 5-0 top?...lol   Then to make matters worst the photo I took... screams chucky cheese yall with the Hawaii 5-0 factored in....lol

Despite the funny remarks from the family.... I looooove my Hawaii 5-0 top and perfect outfit of the day for checking out my virtual car...lol

Have a Great Day All