Brother & Sister sets

I have been working on designing brother and sister shirt sets and onesies. I have never embroidered or hooped something so tiny like a onesie before so it was a challenge but I figured out an easier way to do it so that was a relief. I was using the 3 month size, there is the newborn size that is smaller so I'll have to try hooping those. I have a few more designs and also ones that work for brother and sister that are more color neutral. I am trying to come up with color combos that aren't the typical baby colors. I remember when my daughter was small EVERYTHING was baby pink in the stores for size 0-24 months. I wanted bright bold funky colors and it was hard to find. That might not be the case as much I'm not too sure, I haven't strolled around in the baby section for awhile now. I just remember when you opened her closet door it was a sea of PINK. Pink is my favorite color but I have to have more than just that in a wardrobe.

playing with jersey knits

Yesterday I pulled out some knit material and decided to make a few tops for my daughter. I have been more of a woven cotton girl over the stretch material but it is fun to mix it up. I like to try pushing myself to think out of the box. I love how both turned out. It has also been awhile since I put a zipper in an outfit but it was like riding a bike. I do have a confession, the zipper was easy to put on but I made a huge mistake! I was just about done and I was hemming the bottom and cut the bottom of the zipper off to line it up! What did I do??? I had spent the whole day embroidering designs and embellishing it, and the zipper had no stopper so when you went to unzip the hoodie the little handle flew right off! I was mortified and couldn't believe what I had just done. So long story short I had to zigzag the bottom close, super glue the end of the zipper so it wouldn't separate up from the bottom. After that mess I had to make it look visually appealing so I cut some felt to make a flower and sewed it over my BIG whoops! So it is now a pullover hoodie with a zipper;) It is still cute but not what it was suppose to be. Oh well, I love how there really is no right or wrong way, it is like art anything goes. After these 2 tops I think I might make my way over to the stretch knits area at the store a little more often to see what else I can make.

What was the first thing you ever sewed?

I was trying to think back to see if I could remember mine and I think it was a pair of shorts in home ec. I just loved going to sewing class in high school! That was the one class I never skipped....lucky for me it was an afternoon class! Oh me and mornings have NEVER been friends. With the help of my home ec teacher we sewed a formal dress for a dance for me. That is me in the little "green" number! I wish I still had that dress. I lent it out and never got it back. Wow that is 22 years ago now! 1990

So what was your very first thing you sewed and do you still have it?

tooth fairy pillows

For the last week or so I've been working on different tooth fairy pillows. I have perfected the look I was going for. They are all just so cute! I think this is my new favorite thing to make right now! I love quilting so I get a little "patchwork" fix....check.... and I love to embroider.....check, They also don't take too long to make so instant gratification....check! It is a win win for me! They are all posted in my Etsy shop.

I also reorganized my sewing room. It had slowly started seeping into the dining room little by little. My hubby took back the dining room so I was forced to organize and clean out some things to make room for everything comfortably. I think he was more concerned about the noise when I embroidered, it would drown out the TV in the evenings....one does NOT mess with a man and his TV;). I actually love being back in here, my little pink happy place!

SheSewSassy

My etsy shop is up and running! I have been busy sewing and coming up with new designs. I will be posting new things often, my head has been spinning with ideas so keeping checking back. I just ordered some new fabrics and can't wait to make a few more new outfits. I have spring and summer on my mind even though it is january and cold! Since I'm new to Etsy any tips or tricks or just advice post your tidbits!

SheSewSassy

white ruffle skirt

I had a bunch of this white fabric and so I wanted to test out this skirt pattern. It is the nie nie skirt from pink fig. The pattern still calls for 2 more layers of ruffles but I like the length of this one on her. The fabric is a little thicker than the normal cotton quilting fabric so this skirt is extra puffy and quite heavy with just the four layers. I have been doing all the ruffles on her clothes the old fashion way with a basting stitch and pulling the threads. It is soooo time consuming. I enjoy doing it, it is almost therapeutic pull gather, pull gather, pull gather. I feel like I go in a trace;) But because it is so time consuming and I'll be making skirts with ruffles for my Etsy shop I bought a ruffler foot for my sewing machine! I played around with it all day yesterday trying to figure out the learning curve for it. There are so many factors that you can change to make more or less gathers or pleats. It is really a cool little foot and I know it is going to save me a ton of time and actually be more precise on the gathering placements. I whipped up another nie nie skirt in black and it took at least half of the time or maybe even less from when I did it all hand gathering on the white skirt.

Last month I got a new machine! I have had my viking designer for about 9 years and my daughter broke the embroidery part on it a couple years ago. I thought about just getting it fixed but it is a floppy disk and I would also have to upgrade it to a USB and so I decided it was also just time for a new machine. I went with another viking, The Ruby and I love her!!! It is so nice to have my embroidery part back. Everything from my old viking I can use on my new one so all the feet and hoops I've collected over the years is not a waste. I am keeping my designer as a backup and if I get really busy I can use it while my other machine is embroidering. It has been so fun! The shirt she is wearing is an embroidered applique rudolph and then her name. So stinkin' cute!

I am hoping to have my Etsy shop up and open in the next week or 2. It is called She Sew Sassy. It will mostly be for girls clothing but also I will have a few random other things occasionally. I am nervous and excited and it has been a few years in the works and the timing is finally right now. I will post when it is open.

skeleton animal fabric

When we were out shopping my daughter said mom I love this material. So how could I not get it and make a cute dress with it! I also love anything polka-dots so I grabbed this black and white dots to got with it. I made a mistake when I was cutting the skirt part and it didn't get cut on the fold so I had a seam down the middle. Well I was just going to put it in the back but somehow it got on the front so I had this ugly seam down the middle of the dress. I sat and looked at it and decided it had to get covered so I made the ruffle and sewed it down the center. I love how it turned out and looking back many of my mistakes end up working out for the better! It causes me to get creative and it always seems to work out to my advantage! This dress might be a gift for my niece if we happen to draw her name for Christmas if not it will have a home here. It just needs a button in the center of the flower and it is done.