Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!!

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

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Hi, and welcome to my neglected blog!!

I'm Janice, and I sew a lot, and run an online fabric shop.  We used to live in California, but now make Michigan our home.

Here's a few of the things I've sewn recently using fabric from our shop and some of our fabric:


So, we're giving away a $75 gift card to Urban Sew - use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter....the blog comment is the only mandatory entry.  Good luck, and thanks for visiting!!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Kids Clothes Week - Spring 2016

Monday, May 30, 2016

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I made an attempt this past week to join in with Kids Clothes Week.  Success?  Failure?  Well, a little bit of both.

I set my sights high and pulled fabric for about 8 items.  What I ended up with was this:







I guess in the normal world of sewing, I'd be happy.  I completed both outfits this week, worked 40 hours, did about a million kid activities and took about 10 trips to the dog park.

The details:

Outfit number 1 - two free patterns from Oliver + S - the Popover dress made into a tunic, and my much-used Sunny Days Shorts.  The top and shorts are both size 5.  On the tunic, I added width on the front panel and gathered it a bit.  The fabric is a nice light seersucker from Robert Kaufman.  The shorts are a medium weight cotton denim fabric that has been living in my stash forever.  Nice to use that stash fabric!  I shortened the shorts 2 inches from the pattern length - works better with the heavier fabric. I added pockets to both the front and back of the shorts....gotta have pockets!

Outfit number 2 - the Butterfly Blouse and Skirt from Oliver + S sewn in a size 5 with 7 length.  The top is Woodland Clearing lawn and the skirt is a heavy cotton linen.  I've made the skirt a bunch of times for school uniforms, but this was the first time I've made the top.  It's a very sweet pattern - I definitely recommend it!

 Here's some modeled shots of both outfits (no pictures of the shorts yet!):







Thanks for reading.....can you tell my sew-jo is back?  Makes me happy!

Sew-Jo Coming Back.....

Sunday, May 1, 2016

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I haven't sewn a ton over the past few months.  And when I sewed, I didn't necessarily blog.  But, I think I may be getting back on track!

I made a quick outfit for Julia on Saturday.  Previously, just about two years ago, I made these shorts:

Well, these shorts stayed in the drawer for about a year and a half.  She refused to wear them.  Then, all of a sudden, they became The Golden Boy (Seinfeld reference) of her wardrobe.  Every day, when she got home from school, on went these shorts and a black tank.  Every day.  These shorts are now a pretty disgusting shade of grey with flowers.

So, I used some similar fleece and made this outfit:





These shorts are a size 5 straight up.  I may make the next pair a bit shorter - they are kind of an awkward length.  The previous ones were a size 4 and I think she still could wear a size 4.  The pattern is the free Sunny Days Shorts from Oliver + S.  I added front pockets and back pockets.    Gotta have pockets.

The top is another Oliver + S pattern - the School Bus T-Shirt.  This is a size 4 with about 5 inches added to the length.  The fabric is hideous to work with.  It is that kind of burn-out fabric which my daughter loves.  Unfortunately, it's a pain in the butt to work with - it curled like nobody's business.  The neck band application was atrocious so I went to the iron to give it a blast of steam.  Mistake.  Burnt a hole in it, hence, the lovely bow at the neckline.  I was actually going to put it straight in the trash, but Julia really liked it, so we'll see what happens....I have more of the hideous fabric - a lot more.

Next up, a Mother's Day gift.....

Puperita Patterns

Thursday, April 14, 2016

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I was invited to join a small group of bloggers to showcase the patterns from Puperita.  If you check out this shop, you'll find a ton of very sweet, very well designed patterns for your kids.  There are patterns for the really little ones, and some for the bigger kids (up to size 10).  She's got boy patterns, girl patterns, and accessories.

I first found these patterns on Etsy, then joined the Facebook group.  Lots of inspiration there!  The pattern designer seems to be always online to answer questions and deal with any possible issues.  Seriously amazing customer service!

Without further ado, here's the outfit that I put together:


A very Pinterest-y photo, eh?!

Of course, I had to do modeled shots as well.....











I'm really trying hard lately to think about what Julia likes to wear.  We got her these gold Saltwater sandals - right up her alley.  So, I used some Wright's gold metallic bias tape to really bring this outfit together.  There are two gold buttons on the back as well - found in my stash, which is always a plus.  The top is lawn from my shop.  It's from Moda, and is very nice.  Kind of Liberty-esque without the price tag.  Still, Julia's favorite fabric is double gauze, but she does like this top very much.  It's light and airy - won't make her hot which is something she hates.  The shorts are made from some Japanese canvas.  It's actually different on each side which is very cool.  What will be cool is if I ever get it listed in the shop, because it came on a huge roll and I actually have no place big enough to cut it properly!

The top pattern is the Liberty Style Blouse.  It went together very nicely.  This is a size 5 with 6 length.  I think it could use more length - Julia suggested adding a "frizzle" - aka ruffle!  Not a bad idea.  The shorts are actually a boy's shorts pattern - the Funny Boy Shorts.  I made a size 4 in these and lopped off about an inch from the top of the shorts before adding the waistband.  I like the fit on these and am going to make another using knit for the main part and woven for the waist and hem.

Oh, and did I mention that her patterns are seriously well priced?  Kind of the icing on the cake, eh?!

Check out all these great blogs for more inspiration:





Emi ~ Just Add Fabric     Jaime ~ Made By Jaime      Janice ~ So-Cal Sewing Mom
Soso ~Moineau & Petit Pois     Nuala ~ clootie dumplings     Pam ~ Threading My Way
Maria ~ Fairies, Bubbles & Co.     Shelly ~ Sew Shelly Sew     Chari ~ Take time to smell the rose
Helen ~ The DIY Fox     Karly ~ Paisley Roots     Sanae ~ Sanae Ishida
Janet ~ 7 Pine Design     Jenya ~ While she was sleeping

A Tried and True Absolute Favorite

Sunday, March 27, 2016

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Wow, I can't believe it's been since November that I've blogged!  Yikes!

I have been doing a bit of sewing - super-boring school uniforms....

You get the picture - a bunch of stuff that is useful, but tough to get excited about!  And there's more of these - way more!

So, here's my first non-uniform make in several months....the Jump Rope Dress from Oliver + S.  This is one of their oldest patterns, and definitely one of my - and Julia's - favorites.

I used fabric chosen by Julia - two lawns from Woodland Clearing by Liesl Gibson for Robert Kaufman.  We brought this line to Quiltcon and it pretty much got decimated.  More about that in a bit....







Julia chose a subtle contrast for the collar/placket.  If you haven't make this pattern, quickly run to the Oliver + S site and buy it if you want the most satisfying sew ever.  Ren of The Inspired Wren recently was feature on the Oliver + S blog with her versions of this pattern - she highlighted several of her plackets and I'm here to tell you that every time I make this dress, I hang up the completed bodice and admire my own work for at least a day!  There's something about that placket....

And about the fabric - well, our little business had a booth at the huge quilt show, Quiltcon.  It was an absolutely amazing experience.  We met a bunch of wonderful people who share the love of sewing.  My poor kid had to attend for 3 days - pretty tough for a 6 year old, but she schmoozed with all the other vendors, and met fabric designers like the super-nice Melody Miller from Cotton + Steel...


There's definitely something to be said for having actual in-person contact with your customers - people who get to feel the fabric, and see the fabric up close and personal.  Which is why our collection of Woodland Clearing got thrashed - people absolutely adored it!  It's soft so lots of folks told me that they were going to be using it for baby clothes.  Personally, I'd love to see/feel a quilt made from cotton lawn.

Anyways, watch this space for more sewing!  My kid is quickly growing and seriously has no summer clothes!  As a note, the Jump Rope dress is sewn in a size 5 with 7 length.  I can't even believe that I'm using a 7 length for my baby!!

Thanks for reading!