mad mim

My sister Eirene, and Goldie & Co.

Monday 19 Jul 2010 by Miriam | 4 Comments
Filed under: Design, Fabric, Sewing Tags: Eirene Henderson fabric, Fabric Design, Goldie & Co.

Some of you know what talented sisters I have. Man, it's undeniable. All four of them are brilliant in their own right. And today, after much prodding and pestering for her to get her blog in order, I'm jumping out of my pants to introduce ya'll to my sister Eirene Henderson, and her give you a sneak peek of her new collection of fabric with Andover fabrics available for us to sew, decorate, stash away, and generally fawn over this Fall.

Goldie & Co.!!!

It is just a tiny little taste of the full tastiness of this juicy collection, but hopefully you get the idea, and are as jazzed as I am! And check out the amazing custom artwork she created for her own kids based off the designs! You're completely awesome, Renie.

4 comments so far

Summer Floral Dress

Wednesday 7 Jul 2010 by Miriam | 9 Comments
Filed under: Clothing Tags: making your own dresses, summery floral dress

What do you think of this summery floral dress I made?

I like the pockets, and I definitely like it better with few additions i.e. the belt, etc. I was unsure about the fabric when I bought it, and I'm still not completely decided, but I do like it better as a dress, than I did as just yardage...

9 comments so far

Making Crayons (sort of)

Thursday 1 Jul 2010 by Miriam | 3 Comments
Filed under: Crafts, Educational Activities Tags: making crayons, resurrecting broken crayons

You know all those dang crayon nubbins that you find ALL over the house, that drive you insane, and usually you just throw them away? I support you in that. But maybe if you're feeling ambitious one day you can resurrect them like we did yesterday. This was a great activity for my older toddler (and kind of a nightmare for my younger one). She loved peeling off the paper, and sorting all the crayons by color. And her mind was completely blown when I put them in the oven. I can only imagine what she may have thought....crayon muffins wha??!?!

We peeled the paper off, sorted by color, baked @ 350 for 10 minutes, and then let completely cool before we peeled the liner away. The liners make the crayons have corrugated edges which are really cool to color with! Try it! Or just throw them away. Both favorites.

3 comments so far

Sewing Summer T-shirts

Thursday 24 Jun 2010 by Miriam | 8 Comments
Filed under: Thoughts

My husband, bless his heart, did laundry the other day, and MAY or may not have bleached two of my favorite shirts. I told him his bad meant two new shirts for me. I was going to just buy some, but I never get to (loathe) the mall, and there I was in Hancock's the other day, getting my swimsuit fabric, and I spied a couple tissue knits for cheap-99.

Some people ask me if it's worth it to make my own clothes. Yep. First of all, it's cheaper. But more than that, and most importantly, I like to sew. I enjoy it. And these were all fast, easy projects--just the kind I like. I spent $9 on fabric for my two shirts, and J's shirt and leggings. The other day I noticed that I've sewn more than half the shirts in my closet. That feels good in a really nerd-crafty way. You can read ALL about t-shirts in my MANY posts about sewing, embellishing and designing t-shirts.

I got the idea for this shirt from my adorable sewing student Holly. She showed my a picture off her phone of a shirt that she'd seen in Nordstroms (I think?) for like a million dollars. Seriously. One. Million. Dollars. I didn't do as many hanging pleats, but the effect is the same. What do you think, Holly?

And I may have gotten carried away with yo yos on this tee, but I was in the groove (I made a pillow for my bed recently with a ton of yo yos--I'll show ya'll soon). Hoorah yo-yos!!!

And I always have enough fabric left to squeak a little something out for J. She got a pair of leggins (a little on the short side).

And a shirt. I used one that her Grandma gave her for her birthday as a pattern.

Love that belly.

8 comments so far

Sewing a swimsuit! I can check it off my life-goals list!

Wednesday 16 Jun 2010 by Miriam | 14 Comments
Filed under: Clothing, Knits, Thoughts Tags: how to sew a swimsuit, sewing swimwear.

Sewing a swimsuit wasn't that hard! It wasn't the beast I thought it would be (a mere house cat I'd say) and I'm really happy with my suit. There were a couple suits that I had been eyeballing (this Landsend suit, and this suit from Urban Outfitters (LOVE those buttons!!)), but for one reason or another I was worried they wouldn't fit like I wanted--maybe squeeze my thunder-thighs, or not have enough support for the chesties. You know, the usual bathing-suit heartache. We all suffer from it, with the exception maybe of Martha who enjoys a perfect body. I've always wanted to know how to sew a swimsuit (it was an official lifegoal), and I decided it was do or die. After kicking around the web a little I found that Kwiksew is really the only company (that I could find) still producing swimsuit patterns, and apparently they're true to size and good patterns. I would have bought one despite they're hefty 15-17$ price tag, had I not scored three different vintage swimsuit patterns at DI. I ended up BASING my suit off this beauty. As you can see I altered the bejeezle out of it and made it a tankini (although there's nothing "ini" about it--that sucker is LONG). It ended up fitting just like the above mentioned Landsend swimming suit. I bought my fabric from Hancock's Fabrics--- it is a spandex/lycra blend which I'm hoping but not holding my breath that it will hold up nicely.

I got my fabric, lining, elastic, bra cups and thread for about 25$, making this sewing endeavor MUCH cheaper than buying a new swimsuit.

Most of you will be extremely grateful that I haven't posted pictures of myself IN the suit, and some of you are kinda disappointed because you're curious to see how much cottage-cheese I have. A LOT. Which is precisely why there's no chance in Holy Whoville that I'm getting in my swimsuit in front of ya'll. Sorry. Don't even ask.

SOURCES THAT WERE EXTREMELY HELPFUL TO ME WHEN I WAS SEWING A SWIMSUIT:

First of all, there's a great rundown on swimsuit fabric and selection here at True Up.

Creative Chicks has some informative tutorials part 1, 2 and 3.

Sew Forth Now has a really thorough podcast and article (or episode) about sewing swimswimwear that was for me, the most informative.

And Right Sides Together has a post about inserting a bra into your swimsuit for good support.

The only thing I would add to the above wealth-of-knowledge on how to sew a swimsuit is my experience with inserting bra cups. I sewed a shelf-bra from the lining, and inserted these bra cups from Joann's. (I actually pinned the cups on, then draped the lining over, pinned the lining to the cups, and then removed the whole thing, sewed the cups to the lining-bra, and attached it to the suit) Because the shelf-bra has elastic on the bottom edge, I thought the back piece of the suit would counter the pull of the elastic from the bra, and stretch around me nicely (This was the method used in one of the very vintage patterns my sister gave me). The elastic pulled, but the bra cups couldn't find me, and sort of just left me hangin'. So IMPORTANT ALTERATION, I inserted elastic around the back at the point where the bra enters the side seams, creating a bra. That did the trick, and really, it provides great support. Next time I'm going to try these swim cup inserts from Sew Sassy, which by the way, is a great place if you want to get all your stuff in one stop.

I also added ruching to the sides of my swimsuit, because I feel it covers and flatters my I've-had-two-kids-tummy. If ya'll want to know how I did that I might post a legit tutorial, but here's the basic method: You sew normal 5/8 seams down the side with a stretch stitch (no overlocking, I used a slight zigzag). Then secure two pieces of 1/4 inch swim elastic (the length you want you suit to end up) on either side of this seam, under the allowance on either side, on the top side edges. Press the seams open, and stitch both sides down, creating two little casings (make sure to leave a small opening at the top for your elastic to go through). Fish the elastic down, and then secure on the bottom edge. Finish the edges normally. If your swimsuit is longer than your elastic, the elastic will gather the suit, and you'll have some lovely ruched sides.

So now you all want to try to sew a swimsuit, don't you!? You should! Because you're hot! And you'll rock a homemade suit! And show me when you do, eh?

14 comments so far

Unique wedding announcement: Wowza.

Friday 11 Jun 2010 by Miriam | 2 Comments
Filed under: Thoughts

I got a wedding announcement from my cousin Ben last week, and man oh man, it was a real humdinger. So unique! And the stylized pictures look just like them! And I love the font. And I love the chattinesss of the RSVP. Any RSVP that includes "I'm there fo sho" is an RSVP I like. Sssssso rad, Ben and Dawn! (stuttering for emphasis).

2 comments so far

Holes. In my ears. Today.

Tuesday 8 Jun 2010 by Miriam | 8 Comments
Filed under: Jewelry Tags: piercing your ears

I'm twenty-seven, and today I pierced my ears. For the first time.

8 comments so far

Sewing for Sweet Sixteen

Monday 24 May 2010 by Miriam | 6 Comments
Filed under: Clothing Tags: altering a pattern, sewing a dress

My lovely little sister just turned sixteen. And folks, of all the sixteenagers out there, she's got to be the sweetest. For her birthday I wanted her to have a dress that she felt pretty and special in. I gotta say in all seriousness, I myself was a pretty miserable sixteen-year-old. I suffered from a low-self esteem and acne. Ughg. Don't wanna think about it. Anyway. Sixteen was a real rough year for me, and all I want for my sweet sister is the complete opposite. Sope, I think you're real great. Really wonderful. Your dress turned out ALMOST as sweet and classic and lovely as you.

I used this Butterick pattern, although I raised the neckline a good three inches, extended the darts, added different sleeves, changed and then embellished the waistband and added some flowery frippery to the neckline.

6 comments so far

Quicky Leather-Bow Headband Tutorial

Wednesday 19 May 2010 by Miriam | 3 Comments
Filed under: Accesories, Crafts, Sidebar Tutorials, Tutorials Tags: leather-bow headband tutorial

I'm really liking all the bows that girl's have been sporting lately. I decided my hair could really use one. Here's a quicky tutorial on how I whipped one up. This would work with any fabric really, but I chose leather because a) I like leather, and 2) it doesn't fray at all.
I got my genuine cow-hide from a coat I bought at a thrift store. I just cut it up and got more leather than I know what to do with. Want some?

1. Get some leather/fabric, a headband, and a marker.

2. CUT: Trace around the band, and cut out your tracing. Cut two rectangles for your bow--one about 7X2 inches, and the other about 1X2 inches.

3. SEW: Sew the short ends of your larger rectangle together to make a short little tube. My sewing machine can't handle leather, so I did some crude hand-sewing. Now sew the smaller rectangle AROUND the little tube to make a bow. This sounds confusing--just make a bow with your rectangles.

4. GLUE: (see? I'm not a hot-glue snob!) Hot-glue it all together. Glue the piece your traced from your headband TO the headband. Glue your bow to one side. Ummm...that's it. (Sorry no photos of the gluing process, but you get it, right?)

And here's me trying to take an awkward picture of myself...

3 comments so far

Visiting the Hive

Tuesday 11 May 2010 by Miriam | 4 Comments
Filed under: Art, Thoughts Tags: beehive bazaar

So, last weekend I went to the bi-annual Beehive Bazaar. It's always a lot of fun, although the only thing I've ever bought is jam (it's SO good!)

A few thoughts: I sure hope people make $$$. All the pretty handmade things! All the time involved creating them! The booths that really appealed to me were artists with artwork. Man, I was salivating over things like this from Colt Bowden Artwork. His stuff really knocked my socks off.

And seriously how DAZZLING was his booth!?

Wow.

I also really liked Samantha Kelly, especially this piece:

There was one booth however, I won't name names, because a) I don't know the name, and b) it would be mean to link them here. Their clothing is on first encounter cute and fresh and fun. Tons of rack-appeal. BUT ON FURTHER INVESTIGATION one notices (at least I did), that all their embellishments were HOT GLUED on. Folks. I am NOT a hot glue snob. I can hot glue with the best of them. BUT REALLY?!? You're going to charge 47$ (!!!!) for a cardigan that's being embellished with HOT GLUE?! There were already several little embellishments that were falling off, or had already as I was looking through their stuff--it's highly doubtful that their stuff would survive ONE wash. I was completely astonished. So to the People to whom I refer: you've got a great thing going! Really great clothes! Just take the extra 5 minutes it would take to SEW your embellishments on! (And that includes heat-bonded stuff, because I know from personal experience you've got to reinforce. )

The end.

P.S. I was kinda bummed that I didn't get to meet one of my favorite bloggers Susan from Freshly Picked. I don't know her, but I want to.

4 comments so far

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