My Weekend: Food, Painting, & Sewing

Friday night, Jessica & I went to an awards banquet that obtained tickets for through work. Even though there were only two of us at a table for ten, we made it fun.

The tickets were $100 a person, but I'm sure we
did a trade with rental items. But this salad is a
little skimpy, don't you think?



Bread is always good.








The main course, as you see
here had some sort of beef
(that was extremely tender!)
chicken (which was dry),
mashed potatoes,
carrots, and asparagus.





The dessert was the best part
(usually always is!).
This was a chocolate mousse
cake and a keylime pie. Since
there was only two of us and ten
pieces of dessert, we sampled
both of course!

Saturday, Dad & I primered my front porch.

BEFORE.

PRIMERED.

I definitely think it makes it look better. We are going to finish it up sometime this week and I'll be sure and post a picture of the final product.

On Sunday, I finally got back in to the swing of sewing. A few weeks ago, I found some awesome vintage fabric at the thrift store.

I made Beth a vest, like the ones I have already made, out of the first fabric.



And this fabric I just LOVE! I'm going to make a dress out of it.


I have A LOT of fabric that I have collected from various sources (thanks Beth!) that I'm going to start projects on soon. I am also going to start selling some things that I make at Beth's thrift shop. It's going to be hard, because I will want to keep most of it I'm sure.

These two fabrics I had something in mind for me. The first I will probably make a cute top out of. Maybe like the one I made for Jennifer's birthday.

I have been looking for awhile for a fabric to make these pants with. And I FINALLY found some!

I'm Thinking of You

I completed one project this weekend and started two more. The first was a shirt just like the one I made last week, but this one actually fits because I used a stretch material (which is what the pattern had called for, OOPS!) It's so cute!












I started on a little gift for Mom and since it's a gift, no pictures allowed! :) The last project is a vest I am making for a co-worker. She got me some awesome gifts for my birthday, so I thought I'd make a little something for her. She loves loud patterns and when I saw this, I knew she would love it! I'm going to line it with a light gray linen.
You might notice the picture quality is much better than an any of my previous posts. That's because Honey got me an awesome camera for my birthday!
G. Helen, I know you are under the weather, but just know that when I'm sewing I'm thinking of you! I got some wonderful sewing things with my birthday present from you! I also received some books from a friend that talk about thrift store finds and how to convert them into cute outfits. I'll be sure to keep you updated! Love you!

It's in My Blood

Recently when my g-mother came for a visit, she expressed her joy in the fact that one of her girls had inherited her love for sewing. She said that my mom nor my aunt wanted anything to do with it and my aunt's girls never did either. My mom actually has shared her "horror" stories with me of when she would be drug to the fabric store while my g-mother looked through pattern books and fabrics for "hours". She also hated having to try things on while my g-mother made them. I can understand being a young girl and being bored with these activities. It was kind of an accident that I started sewing I guess. I just realized that I wanted to always carry apart of my g-mothers with me. What better way then to learn one of their skills! It turns out I'm not half bad.

I have throughly enjoyed the time I have spent with them and learning new things about sewing like terms and symbols. When I finish something, I am proud of myself. That is something I think everyone forgets to feel sometimes. So, your project for the day it to be proud of yourself. It really does feel good and sometimes it's okay to be full of pride. So with all this said, let me bring you up to speed on my latest projects...

After work on Friday I went over to my g-mother's to start on my dress.

I'm using a chocolate brown for the dress and a satin magenta for the sash. We got as far as cutting out the fabric, but will probably work more on it this week.



I finished my brown vest on Saturday with some helpful advice from my g-mother and step-mom. It actually looks like something you could buy at a department store!

See for yourself...


It turned out so good, I decided to make another shorter version yesterday. It was the first time I had started and finished something in the same day.



(You will have to forgive the wrinkles ;) )
It's black with a silver lining and I love it!







I hope you all are having a great week so far!
The countdown has begun:

24 days until my birthday!

Long Time No Blog

Our baby is 14 weeks today and weighs 19 pounds! A big change from just a few weeks ago. When I look at pictures from when we first got him, I can see how he is maturing in his face.


He has been testing authority a lot more lately and it's becoming quite frustrating. He is a smart puppy though. He knows Sit, Come, No, Down, and Drop It (speaking of a toy/bone). He is really good at fetch too! Landry still doesn't know this one :( He be really excited when you throw the toy, run over to where it landed and sniff it and then run back excitedly. But Gage gets it.

I started working on my vest on Monday night. I tell ya, I'm getting good :) I got the shell done, but didn't have any fabric to do the lining. I need to get some before I can finish. But what I finished went by very quickly.



The front of the vest is on the left; a closeup of the detail on the right, and the back below. It looks really good, and will look even better when it's finished!

Thrift Store Treasures

Saturday, after work, my friend Beth and I headed over to a local thrift store for 50 % off day. We were there for about 3 hours, but to find good deals, you have to look through EVERYTHING! I found a bunch of cute clothes and got a couple of gifts too!


This is a really cute blazer I found and decided to get for Jessica. It ran small, so I'm making a couple of alterations to it so it will be a perfect fit! Can't beat $3.00!

First, I took out the lining. Most of time, just removing the lining can give you a lot more room to work with. As I studied the blazer to figure out just how I was going to approach it, I realized it was double stitched. The raw edges were sewn with a zigzag stitch and then inward from that was a straight stitch. I removed the straight stitch which provided about a 1/2 inch at each seam. I've got to make a few more adjustments, but I think
I will call this project complete!


I also found a Patagonia pullover fleece and Gap sweater for my favorite brother.

The fleece was black and very similar to this one that retails for $80

I bought it for $3.50. The sweater, which I got in khaki, retails for $128, but is on sale for $44.99 at Gap right now. I got it for $1.25.


And for myself...

I found a few things, a J. Jill 3/4 sleeve black shirt with the tags still on it that I got for $1.25. A vintage University of Tennessee t-shirt that is AWESOME for $1.25. Some shoes for $2, a belt for $.50, and a couple of other things. But my favorite is a skirt that I bought for $1.25 that I converted into a nice cocktail dress. Beth and I were having a blast giggling at all the 80s and 90s fashions in the dress aisle. Then, I came across a shirt and skirt duo. The shirt was no good, but the skirt I immediately saw potential in...

It was a super high waisted skirt that was a size small. So, I took out the seam and then the elastic in the back of the skirt. Then, I cut the skirt down and sewed the seam back up. At this point, it was a little big so I decided that I would reuse the elastic in the back in a different style to get a more fitted look. I was so surprised by the outcome of my masterpiece! I informed honey that he needed to take me somewhere I could wear it. He said my birthday, coming up next month, would be a good time. I will be sure to take pictures!

In other news, I FINALLY finished my shirt that I told you about 2 weeks ago. I have been super busy lately and didn't take the time to sit down and finish. But after all these little projects, I was in the mood to sew! Here is the finished product!



I still cannot believe I made a shirt by myself! This sewing thing is going to be a blast!







My next project is a vest. They are in style right now, but I never have been able to find one I liked. So, I'm making one. I found the perfect fabric at Wal-Mart for $1 a yard to make the longer vest on the left.