I Have Been Sewing My Heart Away

I Haven't posted in awhile!  But I have been a busy girl.  I'm still knitting away(even through the warmer months).  This is my time of the year to create new designs~ and I have a ball doing it!  But, I would say my passion is swaying towards sewing.  And it's a selfish passion, because aside from the occasional loop scarf, I have no plans(as of now) of selling what I sew.  It's ALL about me.  I have been with the awesome JoAnn at Just Make It Sew every Wednesday an for almost 3 years now.  I consider her a fabulous teacher and friend.  She has taken me fabric/trim shopping in the city (NYC~ us Jerseyans just call the CITY! If you're going to Philadelphia, it's PHILLY) and I finally made the trip all by myself. No Problem!!  The iPhone is a fabulous tool :)  So, I just wanted to share a few of the pieces I made with JoAnn.  She asked me to photograph them for her new flyer! JOY! SOOOO flattered and honored!!!

These three pieces are my favorites, there is also a cape that has some hand sewing that has to be done before it is ready for the limelight!  The first pic of the tank and skirt JoAnn and I decided we wanted to make brocade skirts.  This awesome fabric was quite pricey from Mood, but Oh SO worth it!!  The tank was a purchase on Etsy from Artlab.  The yellow and grey dress was my first project with JoAnn.  We altered a smaller vintage pattern to fit me.  It was a process!!  But again, SO worth it.  It is very frustrating to love vintage dresses and see them all in size xs and s.  I guess women didn't eat in the 50's!!!

And lastly, this is the current project in the works!  A Colette Macaron.  The black lace is from Mood.  My sister asked for some black floral lace, this was not what she was looking for~ lucky ME!  I think it was perfect for this dress!!  The Paris fabric I bought from JoAnn's shop~ she has exquisite taste in fabric!! The sleeves on this dress are TOO cute!!  I am ready to start on the skirt portion which will be in the Paris fabric as well.  Can't wait for the finished dress!!  I will be sure to share it here!

XO

Bebe Dress

Finished my first "solo" sewing project this week.  The Bebe dress from Serendepity Studios.  I had a little bit of trouble with the invisible zipper, it took me a couple of tries to get the second half of the zipper in, but I walked away from it overnight and in the morning I figured it out.  

I used some fabulous vintage lace around the bottom.  I have been saving it for just the right project, and thank goodness I had enough of it with about 6 inches to spare!  The dress fits well, but I think I need to tweek the bodice just a bit to get the closer fit.  All in all I will make another!  I have some Liberty Tana lawn fabric just waiting to be made into this dress.

Catching Up

I have been neglecting this blog for hmmm...a little bit over a year now.  I have been a busy girl.  Just wanted to share the *biggest* highlight of last year with you.  I completed my first triathlon.  It was awesome and I am already registered for this year!

I trained with 2 awesome coaches and the MOST fabulous group of women EVER!  It was the first tri for most of us and I would not have been able to do it without all of them!  

 I had everything laid out the night before to make sure I was ready for my transitions!

This was the smile on my face as soon as I finished the swim.  I could not stop giggling!  I knew I was in shape, and had complete faith that I was trained and going to finish!

Coach Anna had champagne at the finish line for us!  

My niece Sam had this awesome sign as I approached the finish line!

Oh and one more (well actually 2 more) awesome things..The new babies.  Olive

and

Nala

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Flea Market Finds

Thursdays are the big day at one of the local markets. I always work a long day, so when an opportunity presents itself to get a Thursday off...I leap at the chance! This sterling pendant was the buy of the day! The seller had it marked super cheap and it is a fabulous piece! The same seller had these beauties! The amber one is a button that Donna spotted! And the other I thought would be pretty with a shawl. Fabulous day at the market with my lovely friend Donna . It was chilly but we had a blast, and met some great characters~ part of the fun at the market is the people you meet! Some great vintage fabric, now that I am sewing I keep an eye out for it! This great vintage toast holder that is now a home for all my loose desk papers. Just wanted to share some of the fab finds.

Flea Market Finds

Just a quick post today to share a flea market find. I found this dress on an early morning trip to the market. I had originally spotted it for fabric. It sat in a bag for about 6 months until I took it to be dry cleaned. When I brought it home I really looked at it...And discovered it was in much better shape than I thought, and it appeared to be closer to my size than I would have guessed. Actually it needs to be taken in. I also need to replace the buttons and repair the smallest tear by one of the button holes. But I love it! I think it looks fab with my capelet that I wore alot last spring too! Another successful flea market find, that cost me about $10.00.

Cowl Loving

I'm a huge fan personally of the cowl. Big, chunky, way easier sometimes than wrapping a scarf. I wear mine on most days(confession..I have several ). So I wanted to show some ways you can wear a cowl right through the spring. It really is a versatile piece of my wardrobe. The Super Snuggly Chunky knit cowl can be worn as a scarf over a cute spring coat for chilly mornings or evenings. Once you are at your destination it makes the perfect little capelet for chilly offices or restaurants. Adds just a bit of whimsy to your outfit and gives you the warmth of a Happiknits hug!
Outfit details:
Dress: thrifted
Coat: Anthropologie (sale rack!)
Necklace: the lovely Donna sutor
Cowl: Happiknits

Month of Love Cowl Giveaway

I apologize for my extended absence. Life took over and demanded attention. The Etsy shop did Fabulous over the holidays and I want to extend a *huge* thank you to all of my wonderful customers. It truly means the world to me that you are all wearing something I made! So, a couple of things to start off the new year. I want to do a Cowl giveaway and introduce you to a fellow blogger who I met through Etsy.

Ariana is the author of Fatalefashion She approached me on Etsy, I checked out her blog and I love it! It's in the same vein as the month Marie Claire column dealing with being a bigger girl in a skinny world. I can totally RELATE! I love to dress fabulous (as does Ariana) and I hate it when I can't find something in my size. Trust me, I am not sitting on the couch eating bonbons(hey, it sounds like fun) but, I was blessed with the "famine" gene. I am serious here. Out of the mouth of my endocrinologist, someone in my family survived a famine. So all I need to survive is the smallest amount of food or possibly, none at ALL. Hahaha...are you laughing with me? So anyway, I love my body, and I like to look fabulous and fashionable ALWAYS! So please, stop over and check out Ariana, she looks fabulous and fashionable!(And she will be modeling one of Happiknits Super Snuggly knit cowls!)

Next up....Cowl giveaway. As a kiss and makeup for being absent, I want to giveaway this fabulous cowl. Easy peasey to win. Just leave me a comment for the first entry. Check out Ariana's blog for an additional entry. Give me a follow on twitter , facebook , and/or my blog for additional entries. Just leave a comment for each and good luck! **Drawing for winner will be done on 2/14/12**

Congrats to Lori who won this lovley Happiknits cowl!

xoxo

Flea Market Finds

Had a great day at the market on Thursday. This one haunted me after I walked away....I HAD to buy it just to see what was under all that DUST!!!Beautiful weather and lots of treasure trolling! Amazing what a little bit of soap and water will uncover!

Saturday Shoe Crush

I *love* shoes...what woman doesn't? Just wanted to share this *fabulous* pair I just spotted in the new Anthropologie catalog...And of course you need a pretty dress to match!Happy Saturday! xoxo

Food for Thought

I was fortunate enough to have a stunning dinner last weekend. Food so beautifully presented and prepared with love...I had to photograph it. The colors are so gorgeous! This was a delicious crab dip...mmmm..it was *so* tasty that I could have just eaten it with a spoon!

A perfectly cooked turkey! Including all kinds of beautiful vegetables and herbs.

These Brussel sprouts are so perfect that even the anti-brussel sprout kids will want to try them.

And last but certainly the BEST part of the meal, desert. My personal favorite...bread pudding. And let me tell you this was the most fabulous I have ever had the pleasure of eating. Thanks Chef for preparing such a wonderful feast.

xoxo