a belt.

A few days ago, I decided to make a high-waisted belt out of some material that I had.  It's a little rugged in the quality of the sewing... but maybe that's charming?

I don't have any pictures of the back, but it's basically the same as the front.

I tried it on with a few casual/everyday outfits that I thought it would look nice with but was surprised with how "made-up" it made me feel.  Like too high-fashiony or something for just everyday.  I think it looks modest enough with this slightly dressier outfit.  It was easy enough to create, I think I'll make another.  Maybe a regular/lower belt?

skirt - a little nicer.

You know that skirt that I attempted to make a few weeks ago? It was supposed to be a cute ankle-length skirt with a belted/drawstring waist, but the pattern ended up being so small that I had to do some major make-shifting to get it to fit.

It ended up fitting, but it just looked like fabric hanging there. Nothing special--just fabric sewn together. I've been really disappointed about it since then.

Yesterday, I had an idea... and now it's a more interesting article of clothing.

And now I actually feel inclined to wear it!

today's skirt failures and fashions

Today, I attempted to follow a sewing pattern for the first time. It was a complete and utter failure! In short, the skirt I was attempting to make was too small to even pull over my hips. I swear... I took measurements before starting and picked the appropriate size pattern to cut out.... Booo.

Since I liked the fabric so much, I had to make something work. So, I made a few cuts and added a zipper (the zipper was a new experiment too). I still have a new skirt, but it's not like the original pattern at all and I'm pretty disappointed about it.

Even though I'm bummed, I did have a little bit of fun trying to put together a few outfits with it.

Casual:

Professional:

Bumming around:

I find myself wishing we had cable, only because I love the show What Not to Wear and I also miss watching a little HGTV in my spare time. Such small, surface needs I have. But they really give me pleasure.

a wedding gift... shh!

Adam, a good friend of mine, is getting married the first weekend of March. As a wedding gift, I decided to make them a couple of home-made throw pillows to match the bedding that was listed on their registry. Hannah, his wife-to-be, has great taste and picked out this cute bedding...

It took a little bit of thought and a few trips to the fabric store, so I'm hoping that these end up working out for them...

After seeing them in pictures, I think they both need a little more stuffing, so that will be the project for tonight. It was fun (and a little scary) trying to come up with something specifically for someone else, so hopefully it'll work out.

As part of the wedding gift, they'll receive the pillows in a basket along with a bottle of wine from Honig, which is probably our favorite winery that we visited in Napa.

I hope they'll like it. (Don't worry... I don't think they'll see it on here beforehand. But, if so, hope you like it!) I'm so excited to make the trip out to Ohio in a few weeks to see them and my other far-away friends!

A New Purse

For the past few days, I've been working on creating a new purse...

Taking these materials:

This is what I came up with:

Inside view:

It's not perfect, but I think it's REALLY cute. I'm learning quite a lot from just winging it and seeing what turns out. However, I'm discovering that I should probably learn how to read a pattern and see how things are actually supposed to be pieced together. I ran into a few little dilemmas of not knowing how to go about things best (specifically, sewing the lining into the outer shell). My solution worked--at least better than the first purse I made)--however, I know there has to be a better (and less risky) way of doing things.

But, for now, I'm happy to have learned a few things...and I have a cute new purse to show for it...