Whew! These PJ's have been hanging out in my sewing room way too long. Probably because I was making them for me. "Me" projects are very rare, but I am trying to change that.
It all started with a trip to Hobby Lobby. I found this fabric and immediately fell in love. It is brown and pink damask-like flannel. It was SO soft and I knew right then and there, I had to make a pair of PJ pants for myself. I make them for the kids all the time.
Here is what I came up with. It is a Simplicity Pattern #9505 and was extremely easy to put together. Just 2 pieces of fabric. Love that.....
I then started "girling" them up a bit. First the brown bow and then I found these 3 pink buttons in my stash. I knew it was meant to be!
How could I leave the remnants of pink ric-rac in my stash?
I was just about to move them from the sewing room to my pajama drawer when I was out and about shopping and found this plain brown shirt on clearance.... $3.00 I grabbed it so fast and drove home with about 10 different ideas of what to do!
The shirt is a size Large and I am sort of a small-medium, but though a PJ top should be sort of loose anyway. But it was just a little too baggy, so I altered it somewhat... Decided to make an elastic belt in the back of the shirt for a more fitted look.
I drew a straight line across the back.
My shirt was 20" wide in the back, so I cut a piece of the flannel fabric 15" wide and 3" high.
Place right sides together the long way, seam together. Turn right side out and iron flat.
Then I cut a piece of 1/2" elastic 10 1/2 inches, so my belt would gather a bit. After trying the shirt on, I found that this was the right size for me.
You can seam both edges, so the elastic doesn't escape. Then attach elastic belt to each side seam of the shirt, following the line you drew.
Voila-fitted shirt, but still loose enough for lounging!
With all the scraps still left of this flannel, I added a bit of it in the little dip of the front of the shirt. Easy.
I needed one final touch-flounces at the end of my sleeves. This shirt was a 3/4 sleeve, so I just added my flounce to it, otherwise I would have cut the shirt. The sleeve was 11 inches in circumference, so I cut a piece of PAPER 11 1/2 inches wide by 3 1/2 inches. The additional 1/2 inch was my seam allowance. I then cut the paper in 1 inch increments, careful to leave a scant 1/4" so it will stay together like this.
Fan the pieces and tape to another piece of paper and cut following the lines. This is your pattern piece for a little flouncy sleeve detail. Cut 2 pieces of fabric(1 for each sleeve. Hem the longer edge(I allowed a 1/2" hem with my 3 1/2 inch wide fabric) Seam the 2 short edges.
Attach flounce to edge of sleeve. Right sides together. Raw edge to edge of sleeve. Sew onto sleeve!!
Result
My New Pajamas! Adorable and Comfy, too!
Sew up some PJ's for you! You know you have fabric in your stash.....
I know it is a few days past Valentine's Day-but I just LOVE Valentine's Day! The restaurants and movies are SO crowded on a holiday, so we decided an outing on Monday(the day after) My DD's had off yesterday, Monday, and we all went to see Valentine's Day(movie). It was excellent, especially if you like chick-flicks! Amazing cast and twists and turns!
When we returned home, I was questioned as to what kind of cookie I was baking.... Hmmmmm, my girls LOVE cookies-especially the ones that I bake. They enjoy having them in their lunchboxes at school and having homemade cookies!
Just before Christmas this year, my sister and I decided to bake together. She had this recipe she found that required NO eggs... I thought it was a bit strange, but I am always up for the challenge. I know that egg allergies have become more common and it would be a perfect candidate! I also thought how many times I decided to bake something and did not have enough eggs required for a recipe. I always have butter in the freezer and flour in the pantry. ALWAYS.... This would be a great cookie recipe if it passes my 2 daughters and my husband's palettes..... Sounds too good to be true. We had SO much fun baking! We need to plan another bake-play-date!
These are delicious! As my husband left for the office this morning, he said "Jo, please no more baking" as he patted his belly. (Yes, he likes them-if you were wondering) The flavor just melts in your mouth. The original recipe calls for "Nestle swirled holiday morsels" which are unavailable. They discontinued them. :( I called Nestle around Christmas and they said there was not a demand for them! I subsituted Valentine's M&M's. I guess Nestle wants me and everyone else to purchase M&M's. Imagine using the dark chocolate M&M's. Using mint extract instead of vanilla. The ideas are endless on this one! I used my cookie dough scoop-it is the small 1 teaspoon size!
Look at the red, pink, and white M&M's!
Sprinkled with powdered sugar!
With roses from my DH! Awwwwwwwwwwww!
Grab this recipe while it is still on the Internet!
http://www.cooksrecipes.com/holiday/swirled_holiday_snowball_cookies_recipe.html
I think the saying "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach" could possibly have some merit.... ;) :) ;)
Yummy for sure! Thanks to my sister!
Well, I think the sewing witch, demon, or witch with a "B" may have left the building-or at least my sewing room for now! I had a weekend full of accomplishments and that is always a GOOD thing! Especially when it pertains to my sewing projects! I am sure sewers understand that from time to time you may hit a snafu here and there! As you may recall, I had a bunch of snafus....
On a much more positive note, I took a class at Joann's last week. It was an insulated lunch tote class. I took the class with hopes of learning at least 1 new sewing technique. It is also fun to meet with other fellow sewers! Well, I did accomplish that. I did not accomplish the completion of my lunch tote. I was on the last leg of completion when I decided that I did not like the closure they wanted. Also, way too many grommets....
So, I took it home and completed it(finally) and this is what I came up with. I LOVE the decorative scarf and the fold-over cuff!
This lunch tote has brown vinyl inside and Insul-Brite. I prewashed both fabrics, so it will be okay to wash it in the future!
The biggest compliment I received was from my youngest DD. She said "Mommy, you DID make that for me, right?" How do you answer that? With a big hug and a "Yes, of course". Okay, well I stole the hug....
Yes, it really is "all in the bag"
Hello everyone! Glad to be back! I have not blogged since last week. Okay, first my digital camera broke. Caput! It is gone and we are researching so we can buy a new one! How can I blog without my camera?!?
Brilliant idea, Jo! I can "borrow" my DD's camera and use that for the time being.... Problem solved ;( Yeah, right.
I took a class at Joann's this week and the project was an insulated lunch tote. Okay, I should have finished it in the 3 hour time slot allowed, but did not because of my OCD with NOT following pattern directions! LOL! Although, the instructor actually likes my design better than the one offered! Still not finished....
I FINALLY made something for me- a pair of PJ pants and I was about to post, when I was out and about and saw a lounging shirt on sale that would match my pants, but need some embellishing before it is finalized..... Still NOT finished.
Smack in the middle of all this, My DD's English teacher is due with her first baby, February 19th, and with the holiday weekend approaching-thought it would be in my best interest to complete this baby outfit. She is having a boy!! Oh, boy, really comes to mind! For anyone that knows me, my world is very GIRLY! I love all girl things and have been bestowed with 2 daughters, who are also GIRLY! Boy things are challenging for me...
I have hundreds of embroidery designs.... Boy ones-NOT! LOL! They were like trying to find a needle in a haystack! I decided on the 2 designs I wanted and somehow, one of the designs was corrupting my embroidery machine! 2 afternoons worth of trying to get my embroidery file to work-finally fiqured it was the design and NOT the machine.... Picked another design and FINALLY a finished project in over a week.
Honestly, I am not the gal with unfinished projects in her sewing room. I won't have it. One project complete and move on to the next is my comfort zone. In all my years of sewing, this is the first time that I have projects looming all over the place. It is awful, uncomfortable, and irritating, to say the least. I am hoping for a sunnier forecast ahead!
Here are the outfits for my DD's teacher. The shorts are RTW from Walmart and I just embellished onesies! Aaaaaaaargh, should have been an hour project....
Embroidery Design is a freebie from Juju designs.
http://www.designsbyjuju.com/freedesigns.aspx
Embroidery Design from lynniepinnie.com
Frog Applique -50% off sale right now!!
http://lynniepinnie.com/shop/index.php
May you have a wonderful Valentine's Day filled with chocolates! I LOVE chocolate!
Oh boy, future sewing projects looming ahead....
Yesterday I received an email from Better Homes and Gardens with a link for some quick bread recipes. I was just about to hit the delete button and thought I might just go visit this website. Well, I was impressed by ALL the recipes and categories. From crock-pot recipes to Game recipes(for this Sunday) this is a great website if you are looking for something new and exciting. Personally, I get bored with the same recipes and a new recipe is something worth trying.....
Donning my apron and ingredients in hand, I ventured to bake one of the recipes in their "quick breads." I LOVE the smell of cinnamon baking and the heat of the oven warming my hands!
This is a very easy recipe and the outcome is an 8 out of 10. It is a quick bread and NOT a cake, so it is not as sweet as a cake, but still somewhat sweet. It definitely leaves you with a wonderful taste of cinnamon and nuts on your tonque!
Next time, I will drizzle some confectioner's sugar mixed with some water and vanilla extract on this. Let it run! Mmmmmmmmm! Perfect for a mid- afternoon snack on a cold winter's day. The forecast calls for rain on Wednesday and I am not pleased. But pleased with this delicious quick bread!
Grab this recipe: http://www.bhg.com/recipe/quickbreads/cinnamon-swirl-bread/
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