Real Life: Live & Unscripted

Butterick 5316

 I was checking my emails last week when I got to the one from Nordstrom's. Now I don't always look at these. If I'm in the mood, I'll open them, but other times I just delete it lol.

I'm SO glad I didn't delete this one lol.

Eliza J Belted Cotton Party Dress $138.00

 

 

Pattern Description: Lined, fitted dresses A, B, above mid-knee length, have darted bodice and skirt front pleats, side pockets, back zipper and hemline slit, topstitch trim. A: cap sleeves.

Pattern Sizing: 14-20


Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?

YES!
Were the instructions easy to follow? I don't think I used them.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? This pattern was similar to my inspiration dress.


Fabric Used: Cotton poplin.


Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I didn't line it and I didn't add the pockets.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Once is enough for this dress. I do highly recommend it though.

Conclusion: Great simple dress. Just what I needed to showcase my fabric!

Here are some additional pictures:

I don't know what it was about this dress that made me think of my fabric but it did. I'm happy with  my choice either way lol.

I didn't line it, I used bias tape to finish the neckline and armholes.

Just a snap of the front pleats.

Paired with a cardigan. Told y'all I'm totally addicted to them. I'm going to try not to wear one with EVERYTHING lol.

Butterick 5321

Yesterday I was talking back and forth with Toy and she sent me a picture of this dress, she hated it lol:

Banana Republic Petite V-Neck Sheath Dress

I fell in love with the dress. I hated the breast pleats. Like they look terrible. Sooooo I remembered a pattern I've had FOREVER!!

Butterick 5321

Please excuse the crooked picture, my tripod is broken and I didn't know it :(

 

Pattern Description: Lined dresses B, C have front pleats, back darts and back zipper. B, C: length is 2" above mid-knee.

Pattern Sizing: 8-14


Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?

YES!
Were the instructions easy to follow? Super easy

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I loved how this dress was very similar to my inspiration dress. I read a lot of the other reviews about it being too big, I did NOT have that problem with this dress.


Fabric Used: Black and white pin stripe poplin


Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I didn't line it. My poplin was heavy enough that I didn't think it needed it. I just folded the edges and sewed them down.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I doubt if I make this one again, but I truly love it. If you like this style and if you can find it grab it, it's OOP.

Conclusion: Great simple dress.

Here are some additional pictures:

It's hard to see the back darts because of the fabric...and the wrinkles lol

Front pleats....

I wore it last night with a cardigan. Now I'm on a huge cardigan kick lol. Im going shopping in a few minutes for a few other colors lol.

Hump Day Ramblings....

• I just ate a Klondike bar. It's 12:38 am. Y'all know I'm going to pay for that later right? RIGHTTTTTTTTTTT.

• My nails are too long. Need to fix that.

• The battery on my phone is about to die. I like to let it die all the way out every now and then lol.

• Kayla gave one of her friends my cell phone number. WHY? They house phone is theirs, the cell phone is MINE.

• Sometimes it still hurts and I still think about it but it's time to stop.

• I've been deleting folks from FB like crazy. I don't even KNOW half those folks lol.

• Let me go to bed lol.

• I'm trying hard to let it go but it's a battle. Sometimes I think I care too much.

• My nails are espresso by Revelon. LOVE it.

• I got a Keruig! WOOHOO. I made coffee WAYYYY too late tonight lol.

• Andre tried to cut off all his fingers lol. Spent about 6 hours in the ER lol. Glad he is okay!

• My studio was a MESS. I've been cleaning it all weekend. I HOPE to take a picture tomorrow and show y'all lol.

• I MIGHT go ahead and make my black lace dress this week. MAYBE lol.

• I think I'm going to get some more color in my hair. I'm itching for a change lol. It's either color or I'm going to cut it off lol.

• I'll be SO glad when spring arrives!

• I'm looking forward to God doing great things for me and my family!!

• I STILL don't have Jaelyn's passport.

• I've made this Tilapia dish twice in like three weeks. It's GOOD.

• The girls are fussing upstairs lol.

• My sewing plans have gone OUT the window lol. Sometimes I plan and stick to it, sometimes I don't lol. 

• Can't believe Jaelyn is 15!!!

• I want some shrimp. 

• ANTM comes on soon! YAY

• The G2 had known loose hinge issues so I called to get a replacement. It came today but I don't want to swap my phone out. #LAZY

• I got a new phone cover! YAY lol. It looks like springtime!

• I love my nail polish. Purrrtttyyyy

• My nephew will be here SOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN. Lawd!!! I'm EXCITED!!!!!

What's goin on random with ya'll!?

Ya know, I'm not perfect. I've never claimed to be.  I've had my share of mistakes, mess ups... what ever you want to call them.

Ive learned that people tell and say what they WANT to say. Have you ever asked someone a question and they just totally avoided it? That means they don't want you to know. I don't avoid questions. I'll tell you straight up that it's none of your business. If I feel like it's going to help you not make the same mistakes "I" made, I'll gladly open up and share so YOU won't mess up. But just being nosy? Umm naw playa.

I just saw something that REALLY upset me. It was something I shouldn't have seen but at the same time I kinda think I saw it so I could remeber. Never forget the way I was treated or the way things were totally blown out of line.

I said the other day that Jealousy is a disease and it's JUST as deadly as cancer.  I meant that.

You know it doesn't matter what people say or what they do. ESPECIALLY if you have covered all YOUR bases and told the truth and gotten it right with God. You have NOTHING to worry about. The OTHER people end up looking stupid. It was your fault anyway. YOU opened the door for that mess.I just didn't use my better judgement.

I totally believe that things happen for a reason. The good and not so good. If you are wise, you will learn from all of it. The stupid folks, hold on to it, remind themselves of it and never let it go.

That eats away at you.

Dummy.

Now that I've seen that and gotten it off my chest. I'm GOOD.

The phone call that happened a few months ago, means nothing now. I know it wasn't sincere.

I know you reap what you sow, but when it's time for me to reap (if I haven't already) I'm walking in God's will and I KNOW no weapon formed against me shall prosper. IT WON'T WORK.

I seriously thought about making my blog private, but you know what? I'm not. Who knows what I've gone through and choose to blog about or the lessons that I've learned won't help someone else?

I was thinking about doing a straight craft blog, but that's not me either. All I can be is me. Take it or leave it.

**Back to my regularly scheduled blogging*

 

Happy Birthday Jaelyn & Corey

I can't BELIEVE my brother is 29 and Jaelyn is 15!!! **WEEPS**

WHERE did the time go.

My baby is trying to DRIVE lol

Jesus be a nerve pill lol. It's actually not THAT bad and she's only hit Tony's truck ONCE coming in the driveway lol.

I'm so thankful for my family. SOOOOOOOO thankful.

Happy Birthday! Hope you have a wonderful day! OH, yeah you know I'm going to make sure of that!

Simplicity 2253

  Simplicity 2253

Pattern Description:

Misses' evening dress in two lengths by Jessica McClintock.

Pattern Sizing:
12-20.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?

YES!
Were the instructions easy to follow?

The directions were fine. There was a previous review here that talked about how the directions jumped all over the place, so I knew to look for it. I'm glad lol, or I would have been upset lol.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
The shoulder treatment attracted me to the pattern the first day I saw it!

Fabric Used: Linen


Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: None really. I didn't like the way the pleats on the shoulder looked when following the directions so I just pleated it the way I wanted to.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I won't sew this one again at all. I only need one of these in my wardrobe.

Conclusion: Great dress. Hubby loved it and that made it a winner! LOL

Here are some additional pics:

I hate that you really can't see the lines in this dress when you are wearing it. Maybe it was my fabric choice.

The lines in the back are straight across.

The inside bodice is lined. I ran out of fabric (because this was for something else lol) and used white linen lol.

I *love* the shoulder.

Oh and a shoe pic lol.

(don't know why my polish looks bad. It doesn't look like that right now **looks down at toes**)

I took this for someone who wanted a closeup lol. These were SUPPOSED to be my bday shoes, but I ended up wearing something else lol. Glad to break them in tonight lol

There ya have it! Good to have a successful project after one that failed lol.

Vogue 1218

  Vogue 1218

Pattern Description: Close-fitting, tapered, above mid-knee, unlined dress has shaped seams, scoop front and back neckline, front pleats with wired ribbon, back invisible zipper and back vent.

Pattern Sizing: 12-18. Based on my meaurements I made the 14 but I think I could have gone down a size.


Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?  Yes


Were the instructions easy to follow? The directions were ok. I got confused on one part. When you are ready to attach the neck facing to the dress it says to pin the facing to the dress wrong sides together. Now maybe it's because you are supposed to use two way stretch knits only and maybe it won't fray, but I thought this was wrong. I didn't use a knit. I used Sew Classic Suitings from Joanns and it's 81% Poly, 15% Rayon and 4% spandex so it had more than enough stretch to it.

I didn't realize the guide sheet wasn't going to tell me how to finish off the neckline until I was doing the armhole. It was at that point I stopped and read through all the directions and saw that they didn't include directions for that. Now I'm still a beginner so maybe they assumed I was supposed to know how to finish it off? I ended up just serging the edges so it wouldn't ravel and folding it and sewing it under.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? The pattern envelope picture isn't accurate. Or maybe it's just me. This dress is WAY low. Like, when I put it on it fit well, I made the size based on my meaurements and it was so low you could see my bra. VERY Low.


Fabric Used: Sew Classic Suitings from Joanns and it's 81% Poly, 15% Rayon and 4% spandex


Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: None

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I am going to make this dress again. This version is a muslin by default lol. It won't get worn anywhere. I love the style and fit.  Next time I make it, I'm going to shorten the side front and side back piece. I THINK That is what I need to do to make it not so low. I'll make a muslin of the top part of the dress before I cut my fabric lol.

Conclusion: This is a beautiful dress. I learned a lot while making it. It was my first time working with wired ribbon in a dress and it's given me a couple ideas for future projects.

Here are a couple other pictures:

I love how the neckline is formed. If you click the pic, you can see how the inside facing isn't finished. 

I loved all the top stitching.

Hump Day Ramblings....

• I've had my G2 since September and I STILL love it. Now y'all know I normally get a new phone every 6months right? LOL I don't even DESIRE ONE LOL.

• Don't try and sew anything black at night. That is all.

• I got Tony a new phone for our anniversary and he loves it. He left the Iphone for the G2. I orginally got him something else but after using it he didn't like it (HTC HD2) so we took it back and got the G2 lol.

• I did something I haven't done in YEARS...like since the Ipod became popular...I purchased a CD!!!! lol

• I have had this song on repeat for the past ummm I don't know how long! Have Your way by Joe Pace.

• Ipray my kids stay kids while they are kids and don't grow up to be ghetto. Seriously.

• Tony and I made a few good decisions at the beginning of the year and we are SO HAPPY. Listening to God totally pays off lol.

• I am a week behind on my ramblings lol.

• I was so sick the day we were supposed to go out for our anniversary, I had to cancel our plans. Hopefully we can pick up this weekend.

• We have been going to the gym faithfully together and it's wonderful! I look forward to that time.

• I finished ALL my laundry last night. WOOHOO.

• Kayla dissapointed me SO bad this morning (Monday) Whew lawd!

• The girls are loving me making their dresses. I didn't get any sewing done last week but hopefully that will NOT be the case this week.

• I was so glad Greenbay won the superbowl. That is Tony and Patricks team. He would have been happy. We miss him So much. RIP Patrick.

• I'm not going to PR weekend in Chicago. I'm doing something MUCH MUCH BETTER. Let me add a countdown widget to my sidebar lol. **EXCITED** I'll tell y'all about it later lol.

• I hate when folks go through my archives and DON'T say hello or SOMETHING. I'm thinking about making my blog private. Just say hello, shoot me an email or something.--Not yall that lurk on a daily basis lol. I'm talking one or two people reading 199 posts and not saying anything lol.

• Just realized that this weekend is Valentine weekend, so umm NOPE. I'm going to pass!

• I'm working on a dress and I promise I believe the guide sheet is wrong. Maybe I'm wrong.

• They are predicting snow. Again. Where do I live? Yeah, that's what I thought. 

• I saw a pair of shoes in my March Lucky magazine that I'm IN LOVE WITH. 

• I'm so ready for the baby to get here. Well after he finishes developing and stuff lol.----NOT ME lol, y'all know Zanete and Andre will be having a baby soon lol.

That's all I have. What's going on with y'all?

McCall's 6035 and Vogue 8603

McCall's 6035

 

 I'm not going to review the skirt again. I've made it soooo many times lol.

 

Pattern Description: Shirts A, B, C, D have princess seams and button closure; dress A has collar band and short sleeves with cuffs; dresses B, C, D have collar, collar band and below elbow length sleeves; dress B has sleeves with cuffs; dress C has sleeves with turn back cuffs with tabs; dress D has sleeves with drawstrings; separate pattern pieces provided for A/B, C, D cup sizes.

Pattern Sizing: 14-20 I made the 14


Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?

YES!
Were the instructions easy to follow? SUPER easy!!!

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I love that this top had cup sizes!! LOVE LOVE LOVE!


Fabric Used: Challis


Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: None

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I plan on making this one several times over.I Highly recommend it.

Conclusion: This was a great great great pattern to work with!

Here are some additional pictures:

Kwik Sew 3542

(I don't know WHY Kayla doesn't like to smile, I think she is a happy child lol)

Kwik Sew 3542

Pattern Description: Girls' tunic and dress have empire waist on front with inset, V-neckline with neckband that overlaps, and ties in side seams that tie in back. Neckband, inset and ties are from contrast fabric. View A tunic has dolman sleeves. View B dress has extended shoulders forming cap sleeves, and bottom edge extension from contrast fabric.

Pattern Sizing: XS-XL I made the XL


Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?

YES!
Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes, very easy.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? Kayla wanted a simple dress and this is teh one she picked out.


Fabric Used: Rayon Jersey


Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I had to really add length to this. I think I added 5 inches to the dress and I made the contrast band on the bottom about 4 inches longer than the pattern. Had I followed the pattern, it would have been WAY too short and YES I'm sure I cut out the dress and not the top lol.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? If Kayla wants this one again I'll sew it for her, other than that once is enough. I highly recommend it.

Conclusion:  Kwik Sew patterns are really really great and well worth the money. Love them.

McCall's 5523

McCall's 5523

(I ended up tucking my shirt in, so I didn't wear it like that all day)

Pattern Description: Straight skirt, mid-knee length, has side zipper and faced waistline; skirt A has shaped lower back flounce; skirt B has pleated lower back; skirt C has gathered lower back with self-fabric ruffle; skirt D has two lower back flounces.

Pattern Sizing: 12-18 I cut the 12


Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?

YES!
Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I loved the back variations of the skirt.


Fabric Used: Stretch twill sateen lol.


Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: none.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I HIGHLY recommend this pattern. I know I'll be making it again.

Conclusion:Great wardrobe builder. I love this skirt.

Here are some additional pictures:

McCall's 6292

 

Pattern Description: Waist length, lined to edge jackets A, B, C have princess seams, shaped yokes and sleeves with elbow dart in two lengths; jacket A have three-quarter length sleeves; jacket B has contrast yokes and three-quarter length sleeves; jacket C has long sleeves and purchased piping.

Pattern Sizing: 14-20 I cut the 14


Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?

YES!
Were the instructions easy to follow? The directions were SUPERB. I did get confused once, but it was my half reading the directions lol.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I LOVED this jacket.


Fabric Used: Sateen stretch twill, but it didn't have a lot of shine to it. Not sure how else to describe it.


Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: None

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I HIGHLY recommend this jacket. I want to make it again in white for the spring.

Conclusion: Great, great jacket!

Here are some additional pictures:

I got lazy and didn't line the sleeves. I still love it lol. 

Happy 14th Anniversary!!

It's our anniversary today! I can't tell y'all how blessed I am. How blessed WE are.

When I look at these pictures it amazes me how young we were. I'm soooo thankful for this man.

We have had our share of ups and downs and even lower downs lol, but we have made it through them all.

I can honestly say that getting married at 19, I had NO clue how to handle marriage. Add to that an 11 month old, and we were an instant family. Tony and I have literally grown up together. He has seen me at my lowest low. Like bottom of the barrel low, and he stuck by my side.

When I look at the state of some marriages today, it seems like people don't realize what they are saying in their vows. For better or for worse..sometimes you get to the "for worse" before you get to "for better". You just have to hang in there.

Words can't describe how much I love this man. He has sacrificed soooooo much for us and I don't take it lightly. He is my best friend. I love the way he loves me. He is my perfect match. He knows just what to say and when to say it. He makes me laugh and he even makes me want to kick him in the knee cap but I wouldn't trade him for anything in the world.

Everyday that I'm with him it's a gift. Everyday that I'm able to tell him that I love him and show him that I love him, is a wonderful day. I'm glad that we are able to talk about any and everything. That has NOT always been the case, but we have learned that being open and honest about everything no matter how upset you think the other is going to be is the ONLY way to go.

I consider us to be "seasoned" now. We certainly haven't been through it all, but God has brought us through a LOT! A WHOLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE lot lol.

Thank you for being my perfect man. I love you dearly!!! Happy Anniversary! Looking forward to many, many, many, MANY more years together!