Sewing For My Trip & What I've been busy With

 I measure 40x33x40 - so why did I trace this Kwik Sew in Medium?

 Anyway, I added a half inch to the sides to make up for it.

 I made this dress View B quite a few years ago.  I fit a pattern size 12 then.

  I love the style & that it drapes so beautifully since it's cut on the bias.  And...I added 1" inch to all seams!  We'll see how it fits.  I've worked hard to eat less & work out out more since the second week of January.  Heading way south towards the end of February.  Can hardly wait! 

 Didn't have enough fabric but that's OK - I had plenty of scraps to piece together for the neck & armhole bindings.  I swear I'll post pics of the finished dress.

 At the same time, I made my eldest daughter a new pair of jammie bottoms.

 Here's the scarf I finished knitting recently.  I love the colour . It's much nicer in 'real' life!  Oh yeah... I'm working on my powder room too.

 When the sun shines in January in Vancouver, you go for a walk!  Dyke at Pitt Meadows.

 My new clogs arrived!!  Fabulous sale at Ungleboclog. I love them.

 My vegetarian dinner tonight - it was so good.  I love forgoing meat these days. This dish has pinto beans, brown rice, onions, garlic and spinach...so delish!

 Finished the dolly for my Grand-daughter.  Had to rush at the end, Auntie Jo was flying up to Quesnel to see Adelia. 

My finished crocheted shawl.  Nice and warm when sitting at the computer for hours - on Pinterest!!
Jo, my sweet daughter, has recently discovered this shawl & fallen in love with it! I'm only too happy to share it with her.She wears it as a scarf with the point in front & it looks fabulous on her!

Christmas Eve

        Merry Christmas to everyone!  These are my lights through my curtains...perty eh!!!

              Made these for my daughter-in-law & my grand-daughter -   I hope they like them!

                       This was my first completed one - flower looks a bit too big.

                                   A scarf for my man, still working on it tonight!!!

                                                  Both for my daughter Jo.

   Pj sets & washing-up hairbands for my lovely daughters. I used the thrifted flannelette I found last summer.

  I embellished the `Joe`t-shirts with an almost matching ribbon from my stash. I love how it all turned out.

                                          Sewing the spiral together to form a rose.

                                                       Without the rose,

                                                   and with the rose.

                                               Scarf for Jo. It`s long.................

                                         Me modelling it -  need to find some huge buttons for it yet.

                            I used Charisma yarn I used with a size 10 mm hook.  Will post my pattern soon.

                                               Some of my baking......yum.   A plate for Santa.

Swedish Candles.

Merry Christmas to all & to all a good night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How To Make A Web Belt

I've been needing a new belt for a while, so this morning while getting dressed I decided to whip one up.  I bought the webbing and fixings at my local fabric store.  This belt costs less than $5 to make and takes about 1/2 hour to build.

Supplies Needed

- web belting (your hip circumference plus 8-10 inches)

- two 'D' rings - mine are plastic but you can get metal ones too

- Fray Check (optional)

 Rings placed on webbing round sides up. My webbing is 1.5 inches wide as are the 'D' rings.

 Either turn over the end a bit or Fray check the ends.  If you using nylon, melt the ends with a lighter.

To avoid breaking the needle, make sure you use a size 14 or 16 .  All I had was leather needles, they worked fine.

 Fold end over about 1.5 to 2 inches.  Stitch close to folded under end.  Reinforce stitching.  Add another row of stitching if desired.

 Here is my first fitting...hehe.  I folded the free end over about 4 inches and sewed it down - make sure you fold it the opposite way than the business end.
That way you don't have to worry about the end fraying.

I hope these pics clarify what I said above.  You can see how the folded over free end looks as it's being put through the "D' rings.

    

Here's the finished product. I love it!  And it's so quick and easy.  You could make one in every colour.  This is my first tutorial.  Hope you like it.  Please let me know if you have any questions.  Thanks alot!

Awesome Thrifted Book Deals

The most expensive book was Couture Sewing @ $3.99, followed by Shirtmaking @ $2.99. The rest were all $1.99 each. Gotta love it!

Getting Ready for Summer - After Yesterday's Sunshine

I've just spent most of the morning taking my summer clothing out of storage and putting my winter clothing in its place. Of course I ended up trying on a lot of it & have resigned myself to culling my closet of some of the oldest & worst fitting pieces. It is difficult though after all the wonderful creations I've seen blogs about. It's hard not to see potential for refashioning everywhere I look!

I've been saving some fabric I bought a year or two ago for something special (like a baby quilt) but I've decided I love it too much to rarely see it again.  I'll post pics of my wonderful fabric & the patterns I'll be using.

The fabric is 100% cotton found in the quilting fabric section. I washed & dryed it to prevent shrinkage.
Both patterns are super nice and easy for the casual summer days that are ahead.