Colette Patterns

Via Colette Patterns

Have you ever seen Colette Patterns?

   I think they are by far, the cutest vintage inspired patterns for garments. This is the Violet Blouse which is my personal favorite. I love the peter pan collar, back yoke and mid-length sleeves that gather with elastic at the bottom.

Via Colette Patterns

   I also love the button-front and I even like the fabric they used for the sample. There's nothing I don't love about this blouse. If this came in plus sizes this would be the first garment I'd try to make. But someday I'll learn how to grade patterns and this will be one of my firsts victims. Buahahaha...

KAM Brand Polyresin Snaps

   I'm in love with these colorful snaps. I always use the heavyduty ones which are very practical but not as pretty. I sure will purchase a set when I have the money. This one comes with all the tools and enough pieces to make 200 snaps.

Via fabricbuttonsupplies

New Look for the Blog + Embroidery Inspiration

   I've been wanting to make a change to the blog since day one. I found the previous design to be kind of overwhelming, so I gave it a fresh look with only the right amount of cuteness. What do you think?

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   Embroidery is lately catching my attention a lot more than ever. I even bought the basic materials and I've been searching a lot for inspiration. These are some of those things that are currently inspiring me to learn to embroider.

Via doro k.

Via bekahjan

Via twinfibers

Via mellow_stuff

Aren't they cuper cute?

1st Craft Room Post! YAY!

   I've been meaning to write this post for a while now. I really wanted to tell you a little bit of how I'm doing with the craft room. I painted it purple, something between lilac and magenta on the light side, this picture doesn't show the true color. There's not much to show about the room yet, but as I told you in the last post I made the cupboard an important part of it.

   I don't know if you can tell but I took care of the weathered wood with some wood oils and dyes. It looks stunning! The closure had some minor issues which I fixed with epoxy and I cleaned it very carefully inside and out. I'd like to hang something from the closure, maybe tassels or pom poms but I'm not sure. I have to give it some thought.

   Yay! You can see all my fabric there, the first space is still random, there is a book and some notions. The second is holding my 5 yds of black gauze that I'll use for my blouse. The third has all the small cuts of super cute fabrics, you know fat quarters and scraps. I want a cute basket for the scraps but I haven't found the perfect one yet. The fourth is holding all the imported fabrics; the ones I buy from Etsy and such. They're also my favorites, you know cotton-linen blends, japanese imports, Michael Miller etc. The fifth has all the fabrics I purchase locally, Walmart, Capri and some smaller fabric shops. There's more fabric there because I take advantage of the sales, when they have $1 a yard and prices like that I like to buy 3 or 4 yards. The drawer that is pulled out has some random notions like: poly and cotton webbing, purse handles, trims, all of my cardboard patterns and all my solid colored fabrics. The bottom drawer that is closed has all the interfacing.

   As I was folding and placing my fabrics there I found out that I'm not a hoarder, not much I think. I think I'll have to fix that... :-D

Estate Sale Treasure

   I couldn't wait any longer to tell you about my first ever estate sale experience. The week before this happened I went treasure hunting to an antique store. When I went to ask for some help in the counter I found a flyer with the information of the sale. My expectations were not high, I thought I'd find super expensive stuff that wouldn't be worth the price. I was very surprised to find a house full of very interesting and curious things for a decent price. It was the house of an old lady that was going to be auctioned, so they needed to empty it ASAP. Among a couple glasses and mugs that I purchased for a super low price I found this jewel.

   I thought it needed a little bit of love because the wood looked weathered but I knew that could be done for a very low price with the right wood care products.

   Can you spot the antique portrait behind the cupboard? I loved it so much I even thought of purchasing it too but I quickly realized that it was probably the father of the person running the estate sale and I regretted it very fast. I also purchased this chair, they gave me a really good deal for purchasing it with the cupboard. I think it would look really good after a good revamp.

   Safety first right? As you can see it was a little bit tricky to transport it but I even buckled it up. The story with the cupboard was a little different, I had to pay the move guys to bring it home. But it doesn't matter because I was SO in love I couldn't part with it.

   I really wanted to use the cupboard in my new sewing room and so I did. I'll let you know more about it in another post. Stay tuned!

Happy Father's Day

   A quick note, because I wanted to wish all fathers in the world a happy day before I go see my grandpa and uncle.

I bought the fabric!

   Yay! After spending over a week without internet, I'm finally back. Not that my situation has been solved; I'm still using a neighbor's connection. For about a month my internet provider has been working mysterious magic with my account that seems to be reserved for superior eyes.

   I need to share with you that I'm nearly finished with the manatee task. There's still a few that are not assembled but that's the easy part, I hope I can be done by next Wednesday with all the papers filled and everything clear.

   Ok, now to the fun part. I'm really happy because I already purchased 5 yards of black gauze for my Easy Yoke Blouse. The pattern asked for around 4 but I wanted to make sure I had enough fabric to make up for any inconvenience, this being the first time I make a garment and use a pattern.

   I also wanted to tell everybody about this book, I find it very interesting and informative. It is very helpful for me now that I'm starting to make clothes and I think it would be to any plus sized seamstress. 

Sewing For Plus Sizes by Barbara Deckert

   It is not a new book but it sure has timeless tips and tricks, I think I'm learning a lot from it and I hope I can use all these things in the future.

Do you have a favorite sewing book that you'd like to share?