Easy Infinity Scarf Tutorial

My awesome sister has been visiting me this past month and we've been having a lot of fun spending quality time together.  Whenever we hang out, we have so much fun because we are alike in so many ways.  We have the same silly quirks, enjoy grocery shopping and free samples, love watching cheesy dance chick flicks, and are always having random dance parties around the house.

Last week, she put her high school video project editing skills to good use and filmed and edited my very first video tutorial - it's my take on how to make an easy infinity scarf.

We had a fun time making this and I hope you find it useful and easy to follow.  Feel free to use/share/pin it!

Peasant Dress

::edit:: Some of you may have seen this post earlier.  I was working on it and somehow mistakenly posted it before I had finished it.  So, it sat out there for a day or so before I realized it.  But here it is now for real!

I gave you guys a little sneak preview in my last post of my latest completed sewing project.  (You might as well know that I've got about 5 projects going right now....and I'm waiting for inspiration and motivation to finish).

This is the second dress I've made in my dressmaking class.  Lately, I've been hooked on Pinterest.  I love browsing for ideas and then the best part is being able to save these ideas to one place.  I found this dress on the j crew website:

My sewing teacher helped me draft a pattern for the dress.  I decided to add sleeves in my version and used some brown linen I had picked up in Shanghai a few months ago.   I'm happy to report that I am slowly whittling down my stash of fabrics.  This only means one thing....I get to buy more! Muahahaha.  Don't tell Andy I said that.

So I put my dress on and dragged Andy out with me on a lovely Saturday for a photo shoot.   We found a good spot by the Singapore River downtown and Andy clicked away.

When I showed the dress to my sister, she told me I looked like a peasant.  So, hence the peasant dress.  I really love the dress, it's simple, comfortable, and most of all, cool.  A good dress to wear around this part of the world.  I think I might make a version without the sleeves as a future project....but first, I'd better work on those other unfinished projects that are crowding my sewing table....

Crazy Dot Ruffle Dress

I've been busy in the sewing room and am so proud to show off my first dress!  I picked up this great polka dot fabric during our trip to Shanghai a few months ago.  It's a very thin and light cotton fabric, perfect for hot weather.   I showed my sewing teacher this dress from Ann Taylor Loft and she helped me draft my own pattern:

I love this summery casual look, but decided to lose the spaghetti straps.  I find that spaghetti straps either leave my bra straps hanging out there or force me to wear an uncomfortable strapless bra, neither of which I prefer.  I am all about comfort.  The great thing about designing your own clothing is that you can customize it however you want....as long as it fits properly and you know how to draw it (enter my sewing teacher's expertise).  So, my version of the dress turned out like this:

Then, I did a little shopping and picked up a cute belt at Cotton On to complete my new outfit:

Hooray for comfortable and cute dresses!

Bird Skirt

Been working on some sewing projects lately.  I picked up some fabric in Ikea awhile ago and finally finished making a skirt out of it.  Although I'm taking a pattern-making class with a friend of a friend, we haven't gotten to skirts yet.  I figured, how hard can it be to make a simple A-line skirt?  Well, it's a bit harder than I thought....especially since it was my first time using an invisible zipper.  I have to admit, the skirt doesn't quite fit perfectly, but it's good enough for me!

Next time around, I learned that I need to draw the pattern on a curve for the waist.  See how my skirts looks rather boxy at the waist and gaps a little at the waist?  Curving the waistband will create a more fitted look.  So, now I can tweak my pattern so that it fits better next time.  But, I'm pretty happy with it and will wear it with pride.  Maybe my pattern making teacher will show me how it's correctly done.  Right now, I'm still working on my first piece - a blouse.  She showed me how to create a basic top pattern for my own body and we drafted the pattern for this shirt together.  Right now, it looks suspiciously like grandma's pj's, but I'm hoping that won't be the case when I'm done!

In other completely unrelated news, I went shopping and picked up a pair of shoes for S$9 -that's about US$7.50! Score :-) Maybe I'll wear them with my new skirt.

Friday Funday

I've been gearing up to go out tonight for a girl's night out on the town.  A friend's mom is turning 65 and she wants to celebrate with some dancing....so a bunch of us are gonna hit up the local club tonight.  As the event has drawn nearer, I've been hit with the sad realization that the last time I got dressed up to go dancing was at least 5 years ago.....when I was in college for crying out loud.  Even sadder is the realization that a 65 year old woman is the one motivating me to go out tonight.  I guess when I first graduated, I lived at home, worked at 60 hour/week job and spent all my free time sleeping.  Then I got married, moved to a little town in NY, where there was no such thing as clubs.  When we moved to the Houston area, but I had no friends to go out with.  Now that we're settled in up here, I've finally got some girlfriends and we're going out!

Now, onto the dilemma of what to wear.  I obviously don't fit into anything I wore in college, plus I don't have any roommates to borrow clothes from....I'm feeling more depressed by the minute as the realization set in of how lame my life is.  Taking a look in the closet didn't help much, as my wardrobe consists of business casual clothing and shorts and t-shirts.  First, I decided to start with pants - I pulled out my tightest pair of jeans - I picked up these skinny jeans at a liquidation sale where you couldn't try anything on.  Big mistake - they're the perfect length but too tight, and someone had yanked the zipper pull off. So unless I wanted to look like a sausage popping out of the casing, and have someone telling me XYZ all night long, they're unwearable.  They've been sitting in my closet for the longest time, waiting for in hope that I might fix them someday (and lose a few pounds to squeeze into them).  For awhile I had gained a little weight and could not wear them at all, but much to my surprise, I tried them on and they fit (very snugly), but the important thing is, I could button them.  So, I decided to tackle this project in pursuit of an outfit that might be club-worthy.

I took a pair of my husband's old jeans, took the zipper off that and reattached it to my skinny jeans. I didn't have the right color of thread, but hey, who's looking that closely?  Here's the result:

Now, onto a top.  I stopped at a local thrift shop and picked up a beautiful Ann Taylor silk tank for only $3.39.  There's a small stain, but you really can't tell.  I couldn't believe my luck.  Paired with my skinny jeans and a pair of heels, I have the perfect outfit.

Guess I won't be chowing down for dinner.  Now, I just have to pray that they'll hold up while I bust a move on the dance floor.  Wouldn't want to bust my pants open.  All I can say is thank goodness for whoever invented spandex!

Something Not Baby-Related

I know that sometimes some of you might get tired of looking at baby bibs, booties, blankets etc.  So, here's a little project I made the other day.  I found this great fabric by Anna Maria Horner on the clearance shelf at my local quilt shop.  Only $4.99/yd, which for quilting fabrics, is a steal!  So, I made this for a whopping total of $7:

I'm proud of my skirt...can't you tell? Haha.  I also love that it's got pockets....

I might take in the waist a little so that I can wear it higher or lower for different looks.  I liked this fabric and skirt so much that I went back to the shop and picked up some more in a different color...I think I'm going to make it a less poofy version of the original.