Better late than never?

For some odd reason, I never finished my daughter's dress until last week, even though it only took about an hour and a half to finish...

Luckily, the weather is still warm here and they were able to wear their dresses to a birthday party yesterday. They don't usually dress the same, but sometimes it is cute.



Ignore the funny face on the one in the turquoise...

Wow!

I came across this on Yahoo news this morning and had to share it. You may have already seen it, but this is Danyl Johnson's audition for X Factor (another Simon Cowell show in the UK). He is an elementary school teacher. Personally, I didn't get the whole Susan Boyle thing, but this guy has star power!

Watch the audition

Long time no sew?

I haven't posted anything here for over a month, but only because I've been busy. My boss retired last week. She announced her retirement just 6 weeks ago, and my friend Sylvie and I made her a quilt as a retirement present. A king size quilt! We actually had it finished before she left. Although I had dabbled in quilting several years ago, I had never actually finished a quilt. However, Sylvie has completed several quilts, so I learned a lot from her. We had a good time working on it, it really looks beautiful, and my boss was happy with it. Sylvie has the pictures... I'll post one when she returns from her adventure in China!

Happy Canada Day!

Another school year over...

Another apron made.

If you've been following my blog, you may remember that last year I made my daughters' teacher an apron as an end of year thank you gift. So I did the same thing this year. I made the apron from Amy Butler's In Stitches again, and this time I made it in two fabrics as she intended. I love this apron. It goes together beautifully in one evening and I think it's a cute and thoughful gift.
I took a couple of pics before I wrapped it up. My girls tell me that their teacher loved it.

The Birthday Dresses

My daughters turned 7 last week. I know that every parent says this, but seriously, where did the time go??

In honour of the occasion, I decided to make them each a dress. Of course, they weren't ready on time, but I did finish one today, and the other is half done. I used Kwik Sew 3542 View B.

Both dresses will be in the same fabric, just different colours. One is pink, the other is turquoise (aqua?).

Here's the pink one:



I hope they fit...I'll post pictures of them wearing them in the near future.

On another note (pun intended...)

Last week I had the pleasure of attending a great show at our local performing arts theatre. I hadn't heard of the artist before buying the tickets (I bought them solely based on the newsletter I receive from the theatre, and was lucky enough to get front row seats).

My friend and I were totally blown away by this fabulous show, and I wanted to share with you. He was born in Cuba, but now lives in Canada. He sings in Spanish, but as one reviewer noted “Even if you don’t understand a lick of what he’s saying, you’ll feel him” - NY Post

Check out his website at AlexCuba.com and if you have the chance, see him live. I purchased his CD the day after the show, and have already purchased tickets for a show in August in a town two hours away...

Project Runway Canada

I finally watched the last episode of Season 2. (I LOVE my TiVo!) No surprise that Sunny won. He is absolutely amazing. Especially since you consider that he completed most of his collection in 8 weeks! Unfortunately, I will never be able to afford any of his clothes...

If you didn't catch it, you can watch Project Runway Canada here.

My new acquisition

My friend Sylvie is a little obsessed with sewing machines (she has several and multiple sergers...). She is always on the lookout on Kijiji and similar sites for machines. She has sent me a couple of ads over the last couple of months, mostly because she convinced me that I must have a machine with needle down (and I agreed after giving her Husqvarna a test run...).

Well, she recently sent me an ad that I had to check out. It sounded like a good deal, and the seller lived practically around the corner from me.

Meet my new Pfaff Tiptronic 1171.



I told my BF I got him a great deal on my birthday present - LOL.

I've had it for well over a week and haven't even had a chance to play with it yet. Tomorrow is the day!

Sewing Limericks

Someone started a thread on PatternReview.com of sewing limericks...I can't resist the opportunity to write a limerick...

There once was girl who could sew
At least that's what she said, but we know
Although much money was spent
On fabric and patterns, not rent
In the end there were no clothes to show!

From the mouths of babes

I turned on Project Runway Canada last night when my 6 year-old daughters were playing in the same room. It was the first time they had seen it and I thought they would want me to change the channel, but they really got into it.

It was the episode where the contestants were designing a dress for supermodel Coco Rocha. There are 5 contestants left at this point: Sunny, Kim, Adejoke, Jessica, and Genevieve. Sunny is the only male designer left. During the runway show, they are making comments like "I can't wait to see it on Coco" and "I love the colour" and "I think that one will win" But the best line was when Sunny's dress is on the runway. One of my daughters says "Wow, for a boy, that is really good". LOL! Girl power!

If you don't watch, Sunny won that challenge...

Jalie 2449

I did it. I finished something for me. Presenting Jalie 2449.



The fabric was a great deal at Fabricland. Unfortunately, I think the top looks better on the dress form than it does on me. I'll wear it to work next week and see what the reaction is...

I have a couple of knits in my stash that I'd like to use:

I bought this one with New Look 6648 in mind after seeing Gigi's version that I can't seem to find a picture of right now.



I was thinking of making Jalie 2794 with this one, but somehow I think it may be too "cute".



And I now think I should have bought more of this one so I could make New Look 6429 but I only have 1.5 metres. This fabric is so soft...



Any suggestions??

Happy Birthday to Me

Where does the time go??

My gift to myself is to spend tomorrow sewing to make myself something to wear. I plan to make Jalie 2449. The pattern is traced and the fabric is prewashed...No excuses.

Apparently, I am a Jackie...

Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz...

You Are a Jackie!

You are a Jackie. "I do everything the right way."

Jackies are realistic, conscientious, and principled. They strive to live up to their high ideals.

How to Get Along with Me

* Take your share of the responsibility so I don't end up with all the work.

* Acknowledge my achievements.

* I'm hard on myself. Reassure me that I'm fine the way I am.

* Tell me that you value my advice.

* Be fair and considerate, as I am.

* Apologize if you have been unthoughtful. It will help me to forgive.

* Gently encourage me to lighten up and to laugh at myself when I get uptight, but hear my worries first.

What I Like About Being a Jackie

* Being self-disciplined and able to accomplish a great deal

* Working hard to make the world a better place

* Having high standards and ethics; not compromising myself

* Being reasonable, responsible, and dedicated in everything I do

* Being able to put facts together, coming to good understandings, and figuring out wise solutions

* Being the best I can be and bringing out the best in other people

What's Hard About Being a Jackie

* Being disappointed with myself or others when my expectations are not met

* Feeling burdened by too much responsibility

* Thinking that what I do is never good enough

* Not being appreciated for what I do for people

* Being upset because others aren't trying as hard as I am

* Obsessing about what I did or what I should do

* Being tense, anxious, and taking things too seriously

Jackies as Children Often

* Criticize themselves in anticipation of criticism from others

* Refrain from doing things that they think might not come out perfect

* Focus on living up to the expectations of their parents and teachers

* Are very responsible; may assume the role of parent

* Hold back negative emotions ("good children aren't angry")

Jackies as Parents

* Teach their children responsibility and strong moral values

* Are consistent and fair

* Discipline firmly

Take Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz at HelloQuizzy

Happy New Year?

Here it is already January 26, 2009(!) and I haven't posted at all. I also haven't sewn at all, but that doesn't seem to stop me from buying patterns and fabric...lol.
I think that instead of saying that I sew, I'm now going to say that I collect patterns and fabric. It's much more honest.

I do have MANY projects I want to do, I just can't seem to get to them.

And over the weekend, my main computer crashed! The one with all of my pictures on it! I do have backups, but I'm not entirely sure how recently I backed up. I hope I can recover my hard drive. After the whole Christmas picture fiasco, all I need is to lose more pictures.

I hope to post soon with something I've actually sewed.