Zen Skort

Ok, so I decided that skirts, while just fine are not completely my style - I'm more of a skort girl. I have an active lifestyle and I like my clothes to fit into that lifestyle. So I was on a mission to copy one of my favorite summer pieces ~ a black Patagucci skort that gets lots of wear every year but alas I am not wealthy enough to own as many as I would like. Enter the home sewing option. I found this Kwik Sew 3341 pattern which is pretty close - except I wanted it a tad longer, so I added 2 inches to the length. The result:

Front ~
So it's OK. It has an elastic waist in the back and while the fit is perfect i'm not loving how the fabric bunches all up in the back, so I'm going to modify it.


Back~ I'll put in a zipper on the side seam on the second version and take out the extra fabric a bit on top - so the whole thing is more fitted. Apparently there is no such thing as the perfect pattern straight out of the envelope.

It's a skort, of course, so the whole thing has some comfy knitted shorts sewn in - perfect!! Boardroom to bicycle - well ok, I don't often go into the boardroom, but I can certainly wear it to work and still be comfy and cool.

The fabric is Michael Miller's Zen Blossoms in taupe with ivory and black flowers. Just add a black tee and go...

Feliz ~ Genius

Nancy Langdon (Studio Tantrum) has done it again with her next design, Feliz. This woman is brilliant! Her use of shapes in pattern assembly is pure genius. This is quite simply a beautiful dress. So many cute options for this pattern and it would certainly go from summer to winter depending on your fabric choice - school friendly or dressy - it's up to you! I can't wait to get this one in my greedy little hands and whip up something fun for fall. According to Nancy, this one will be available June 20th from Farbenmix. Hey that's next week!! waahoo

Back to the clothes

I had been sewing so many bags lately I really missed the clothes creation. So with hubbies recent trip out of town I had the chance to really churn out some frocks unabated.

I've been dying to make this Farbenmix Insa skirt, so here is a summer version using Sandy Gervais' Fresh Squeezed line from Moda - this fabric was screaming Insa so I listened to it. Doesn't your fabric talk to you? Et voila!
This pattern is written in German - so hey mom, all those german lessons came in handy afterall!

And then, low and behold I made some thing for me! This is dually incredible, because 1: I haven't sewn for myself in like umm well my son is 9 now so yup, it would be longer than that. 2: because I made a skirt. My mom was floored when I told her - that's because I don't wear skirts - as she knows all too well - but who knows maybe this old dog can learn a few new tricks. The prices for a ready-made skirt of good quality are certainly enough to inspire some homemade creativity.

This one was fun - Favorite Things Cute Skirts pattern - super duper easy peasy and the fit is great as well. The pattern doesn't call for lining, but I decided I liked the drape of it better lined, so the brown one got lined. This brown one is Amy Butler fabric, which is a deep dark chocolate brown spiced with sage green and pale pink - completely ruined by the quality of this photo - fabulous in real life.
Kaffe Fasset lotus print for number 2.
'Tis a tad dressy for my tastes though so I proceeded to this option - New Look Pattern 6354
This was was also super easy to make and looks cute on. Alexander Henry's Mocca (one of my favorite prints of all time in every color)

Next up I have a plan for this Kwik Sew pattern 3341. They will be perfect for summer if it ever decides to arrive.

Is there something in your water?

There seems to be something in our water - around here anyway, no less than 5 ladies at work are expecting. And countless others have infants. Luckily this has skipped me, but it did spur on the creation of a new diaper bag.

This has been in the works for awhile, but a friend requested one pronto so I created this little number. Henceforth dubbed the Metro Momma Diaper Bag ~ Messenger style because this is the great northwest after all and doesn't every chic momma have a messenger bag? Around here they do!
This bag took a while to develop. I asked every momma I knew what they liked about their diaper bag, and what features it had to have. So here it is. All those features rolled into one!

And best of all it looks fab - throw in your wallet and you won't need a purse anymore and you won't have to carry that lovely little number they give you for free at the hospital!
The nitty gritty:
3 exterior pockets for bottles or snacks, one in super easy (don't even have to open the bag) reach

Quick adjust buckle to length or shorten the bag strap. This is heavy duty Polyacetal plastic - that sucker will probably outlast us all.
Zippered pocket on the flap, for more secure stuff.
Easy to use velcro closure
But wait- that's not all! The interior is loaded with features!
Key fob to put your keys on so you can find them again quickly whilst balancing a baby with the other arm.
Snap secure cell phone pocket in easy reach. 2 smaller pockets sized perfectly for diaper wipes and nappies.
An interior bottle pocket and a larger pocket for blanket or whatever. And we'll even throw in a set of ginsu knives - ok no, no we won't - sorry got a little carried away there.

A waterproof wet bag for nasties so you don't have to mess up your luscious bag!
And finally a diaper changing pad. Whew - yup that's alot of features. AND the whole thing is completely washable - because we all know you will need to!
There you have it ~ the Metro Momma Diaper Bag Now available in the etsy shoppe.

Massive image overload - sorry 'bout that. Hubby hijacked the camera on a week-long trip to Russia, so I was forced to cease and desist blogging - terrible I tell you- but it did give me lots of time to sew. Maybe that was a good thing.

Later :)