Vogue 8870

I couldn't wait another minute! My studio has been completely dismantled so I set up camp in the dining room.

I just had to sew!

Rather than picking up one of my outstanding projects, I decided to tackle a "Very Easy" Vogue pattern that my sweet friend sent me for my birthday.

Vogue and Very Easy... that's an oxymoron, right?

 

 

I've been holding on to the perfect fabric. A lovely crepe de chine in a coral and neutral tribal print.

I absolutely love, love, love the way it turned out!

 

The only major change I made was omitting the pockets. This is such a light, sheer-ish fabric and I just didn't think they were necessary.

 

So, was it easy? Well, fairly easy... I struggled with the slippery fabric more than anything. The neckline gave me some trouble.

Necklines are always my Kryptonite. 

And darts. Lawd, I hate darts...

I would say the weirdest part about this pattern is the back of the skirt. It is in two pieces with a center seam. I just think that's a bit unnecessary. There is no functional reason that it should be cut into two pieces. One piece cut on the fold would have worked perfectly. 

Maybe Vogue was concerned about fabric conservation?

I used a French seam down the back of the skirt because of the high-low hem. I didn't want a serger seam shining through. The French seam gives it a nice polished finish.

Easy, breezy, cute, and very me!

I have lots of house updates to share with you this weekend. The sun is shining, the temps are warm, and we're finding ourselves more "at home" everyday.

Sending love and hugs! Have a happy Thursday!

No Sew: Taking Bedskirt from Queen to Full

Our second guest bedroom is lacking an identity.

Ultimately, I'd like it to have a more masculine feel. I especially LOVE this Swiss Army blanket-inspired room that Cooper Boone featured on his blog, "Cooper's Table."

It's strong, masculine, and... simple!

As a start, I've set up a full-size bed with a few accessories. I guess you could call it, "The Land of Cast Off Furniture."

I sorted through all of the bedding that we've accumulated over the years and found a queen set that will temporarily fit the bill - until I gather my thoughts and inspiration for the space.

I thought I'd share with you how I adjusted the queen bedskirt to fit the full bed. It's a no sew solution that is completely non-committal!

Does it get any better?

Here's the before.

Continue to pinch, fold, and pin the fabric down the length of the skirt.

 

And here's the after!

It's now a perfect fit!

This solution worked especially well with this style of bedskirt. The gathers help to disguise the folds at the foot of the bed.

I hope this is helpful! I'm always eager to use what I already have on hand. I was so pleased to customize the fit without sewing a seam!

I hope your week is off to a great start!

This Ugly House: The Guest Bedroom 1

Just as quickly as I set up my studio in the new house, my husband threw himself full-force into redoing all of the flooring. Every square foot of it.

He's now laid temporary claim to my creative space as a catch-all for his tools and equipment.

How can I complain? The renovations are already amazing.

We've decided if we had a show on HGTV, it would be called, "This Ugly House." I've mentioned some of the oddities of this particular home in a few past posts.

So, in the absence of fun, engaging projects to share with you, I thought I'd begin revealing the work we've done.

Starting with the first of two guest bedrooms.

This room started drab and bleh. New carpet, paint, lighting, and lots of very personal, meaningful, girly accessories have now transformed the space.

We painted the walls a lovely grey, which suddenly turned almost lilac when I added the bedding! But, it's still a lovely and serene color.

If the art arrangement above looks familiar, it's because I replicated what I did in my previous home. Do you find yourself recreating beloved spaces when you move?

I made some simple panels from a heavy decorator fabric that I've had for ages. It already had a scalloped edge so all I had to do was hem the top and bottoms.

It may be weird, but I only hung one panel per window. The room is rather small and I was afraid that anything heavier would be too much.

The dresser is a piece that I painted myself. I keep reassigning it in my home. I bought it in college {I think?}. I used it for both of my boys in their nurseries. It now fits in perfectly in this eclectic room.

Among the accessories that I'm using is part of my collection of old bottles {although I think I stole some of these from my mother's collection. Sorry, mom!}. It's so hard for me to resist an old bottle! They have a history of their own, don't they?

I've also hung some of my grandmother's artwork. She painted the poppies in the first photo and also the ceramic cameo below. It's weathered and old and just perfect for this room.

And, finally, to welcome our guests, some of my childhood lovies. They love being the welcoming committee.

 

The rest of the house may be a total disaster, but this room is ready for company!

Looking Forward

I'm traveling this week, but found the time to do a little fabric shopping! I picked up this Tracy Reese pattern and fabric at Hancock today.

The dress is so cute, light, and summery.

Hmmm... I don't know why the model looks so disgusted...

The Studio is Coming Together!

**Squeal!**

I made major progress on the studio this week. In fact... I've. Been. Sewing!!

I'm working on window treatments for our family room. Nothing too fancy, but it feels so good to be working with my sewing machine again.

And, rediscovering all of my supplies.

I thought I'd share a few pics of the progress that I've made - all carefully shot to hide the mess that's really there.

**wink-wink**

  

Those are my grandmother's hats hanging on the side of the shelf. I used non-permanent 3M hooks. LOVE those!!

See my Tiffany box peeking through? Yeah, it was just a T & Co plate, but the box made it sooo special.

 

I bought this gorgeous wrought iron blanket stand several years ago and I've always used it for fabric storage - usually hanging the fabric that I'm working with. Right now, it's full of vintage goodness that is screaming to be used for summer fashion.

And... above my working table...

There is still much to be done, but I'm so inspired. I have a lot of momentum behind me and things are moving along.

I'll gladly take the small victories as they come along!

Hope your weekend is lovely, restful, and full of recuperative peace. Take care!

Finding Inspiration, Updated

Now that things are finally calming down a bit, I've been looking back over past blog posts. They remind me of home and leave me feeling warm and fuzzy inside.

So, in March, two years ago, I shared a project inspired by this mixed media art, found at Ballard.

 

I shared how I created my own versions for my studio, but I realized I never posted photos of the set of three together.

 They are now hanging happily on the wall of my new space, exactly how they were designed to be.

Click through for the how to!

Command Central

One of my most popular projects are these little bags.

I love seeing them pop up all over the internet, tagged with the ideas that people have for using them in their own lives.

One common theme that I have noticed is using them for wrangling hats and mittens.

Until my recent move, I didn't understand how out of control these necessary winter accessories can get.

I totally get it now. Good grief! They are like socks in the laundry room... how does a pair get separated?! Why can't you ever find what you need when you need it?!

So, I spent some time this weekend setting up "Command Central" in my home to gain control over the clutter building up on my countertops, benches, and any other surfaces that welcome collections of stuff.

Here's what I'm using.

Magnetic board. I covered an Ikea board in burlap using the tutorial that I shared for my Art Wall. The magnets are the same set that I created here.

Coat rack. Just your standard rack that you can purchase at Lowe's or Home Depot. I've had the one pictured above for years and it keeps reappearing in different capacities with each move we've made.

Wire Baskets. I found this set on Amazon and fell in love with them. They are the perfect muted finish. I'm using the smallest here as a catch-all for hats and gloves. The other two are being used upstairs.

Mail shelves. By far the biggest mess in my kitchen comes from the accumulation of mail that needs attention. I keep recycling these spice racks from Ikea. I have a set that I painted to use as bedside reading shelves. These were actually used for spices in my pantry in the last house. It just made sense to use them here for mail.

 

I used my Silhouette to make the wall decals. As always, I'm happy to share the Silhouette files that I create if you'd like to use them for yourself!

All in all, a great use of space! That is, as long as we use it...