Quick denim skirt

Late last week, I made this denim skirt in three days.  Without a pattern.  It comes just below the knee, has a wide waistband, and made of six gores.  I'm really happy with how it turned out!  

Button closure on the side adds a nautical flair.

I did french seams, and then top-stitched all the seams.  

Side view.

Disappointment

Saturday morning, I randomly decided to check Fabric.com and check their clearance section.  There I found the most GORGEOUS fabric ever.  Light blue chiffon with a dark blue floral design.  And the tiniest bit glittery.  For $2 a yard.  7 yards of it.  Now, as I am a college student on a *very tight* budget, I was trying to convince myself that I could indeed spare $20 for that wonderful fabric.  It would make a perfect 50's dress, and I'd use dark blue ribbon as trim and for a wonderful long sash.....  Just when I had decided this morning that I would go ahead and get it, I checked and someone had already bought it....I was so sad, I nearly cried!  Oh well.  Maybe the good Lord knew I didn't need that fabric......

Kensington - American Duchess' new shoes

Hi, y'all!  American Duchess is at it again, and has come out with yet another style of period-accurate shoes!  I'm must confess, I drool over every single one.  One of these days, I will have saved enough money to buy a pair of the Devonshires......or the Kensingtons, which are the new shoes!

The Kensingtons

Comparing the shape of the Kensington with that of the Devonshire.  I like the Devonshire just a bit more, with it's shorter, more rounded toe, but the Kensington is quite pretty too.

Right now, the pre-order sale is open for the Kensingtons.  They are available in red and black, but will be coming out in ivory later this summer.  As is her custom whenever she has a new pair of shoes coming out on the market, American Duchess is giving away one pair! And she's including with the giveaway a DVD called "Courage, New Hampshire" which looks very interesting.  So head on over to American Duchess' blog and check it out!

Modest swimsuits

I know, it's only March 6th, but it's been so warm out, that it feels like spring is almost here.  And soon after spring comes summer, and with summer comes vacations, and the beach, and swimming!  I would like to start doing some custom sewing as a side job this summer, and I can sew modest swimsuits!  Here are the swimsuits I made two years ago for my sisters and I:

Grace (age 13) and I in Jamaica in June 2011

Purity (age 8 at the time of this photo).

Regina (not in one of my swimsuits) and I in 2010.

The swimsuits are two pieces, actually - a top and a bottom composed of a skirt, shorts, and panties sewn together.  The one I made for me is fully lined with sewn-in bra, and the shorts are about 2" longer than the skirt.  The top is snapped to the waistband of the skirt to keep it from riding up.  Grace's and Purity's suits are the same as mine except they are not lined, and Purity's has cap sleeves.  My swimsuit has held up quite nicely for two summers, and I can wear it for at least another year.  It has not faded or worn out from the chlorine yet.  Grace, Purity, and Regina, however, have grown so much that they need new suits this summer!

I can custom make a suit like this for about $45, plus the cost of the material.  (After much consideration, this is the best way to do this, that way each person can decide how much they want to spend on the materials as swimwear fabric can range from $4-$15/yard.)  Consider that a modest swimsuit costs:

 $148.95 from Simply Modest Swimwear

$74.99 from Swim Modest (not custom sewn)

$75.20 from Wholesome Wear (once again, not custom sewn)

$107.00 from Princess Modest Swimwear (not custom sewn either)

$60-75 from Modestly Yours

I can alter many of the details, such as length of skirt and shorts, sleeves vs. sleeveless, contrast fabric on skirt, and could even attach the skirt to the top, leaving the shorts separate.

Please let me know if you are interested!  

Climbing Dunn's River Falls, Jamaica.

Messenger/tote bag for sale

So, I'm really, really excited about something....I made this tote bag the other day.  Without a pattern.  And it turned out exactly like I wanted it too, maybe even better! It is made of bright blue canvas with contrasting royal blue stitching.  

Contrasting scalloped stitching on the shoulder strap.

Button closure on the envelope flap.

Bag is 14 inches square, 2 inches deep, and the shoulder strap is 32 inches long.  Inside seams are all finished with a zigzag stitch.  

I would like to sell this for $15 + $3 for shipping and handling.  If you are interested, please contact me via email or by commenting on here!

P.S.  I hope to make a few more of these in the near future!  :)

Baby blanket quilt

I finally made my first quilt!  I have a friend who is expecting a baby very soon, and I wanted to make a baby blanket for her.  Since I had a bunch of fabric scraps, I was able to piece a simple patchwork quilt.  I think it turned out pretty well!

The finished quilt.  It is approximately 30" x 30".

Lace overlay on one of the denim pieces.

Ribbon sewn down with fancy scallop stitch.

My favorite piece - satin ribbon lattice overlay.  :)

I backed the quilt with soft grey fleece, which was left over from the lining on my cape.

My little sister Regina holding the quilt for me.  Yes, she is barefoot, and it the 1st of March.  It's 65 degrees out!  It's just weird.

She's such a cute little helper!  :)

Now that I've found quilting to be not as hard as I thought it was, I'm hoping to make more quilts.  Mom thinks that I should try to sell baby blanket quilts on Etsy....but I'm not sure if they would sell.  What do y'all think?

18th Century Ballgown

Well, my dear readers, I've promised again and again to get photos of my finished ballgown.  It's been two months since I wore the dress to the Vintage Ball, and I've finally gotten some pictures.  What better day to do a photoshoot than when it's nearly 50 degrees out but there's 5 inches of snow on the ground?!

Yes, that's right I'm playing in the snow.

Little church in Eagle Rock.

The church we attend.

My mom cracks me up.

Random blurry photo that I thought looked really cool.

Credit goes to my wonderful mom for taking the pictures, tramping through the snowy woods and getting her shoes wet, and driving me to the churches!