Things have been a little busy here at the Casa de Hot Stitch! However, I have officially jumped back onto the sewing wagon! Want proof? I know you do!

We all know that sometimes its a little project that gets you jump started again, well mine came in the way of cute seat cushions! Yippie! Now, originally, the fabric for these was going to be wall art for the living space (Thank you Ikea!).

Well, after the wall became painted, they just didn’t seem right, so away they went. Come to realize, they would look perfect on the chairs I have! (The chairs were already green)

It feels so good to be productive again! I have so much more to show you!

Mucho Love-o!

Ok, I know it’s been like forever since I wrote an update…

I’ve been out sick the past few days. It must be from all the people and excitement from the Chris Howard Seminar. So, if you decide to go to one, be sure and stock up on Emergen-C before you go. It’ll save your life afterward!

I finished the India Bag for my boss, but like a loser, I forgot to take a picture of it. So, that picture will show up after she gets back in a month. I’m planning on putting up a tutorial for the bag in the next few weeks… so look for that!

To tide you over until I get sewing again, here’s the costume I made for my niece’s birthday/ Halloween.

I used Simplicity 9919 for the skirt, but wasn’t too happy with top. It just didn’t look real Mermaid shell like enough for me (did that make sense?). So I bought a flesh colored leotard from the dance studio two blocks away from my apartment. Then I drew my own shells, cut them out of a thin foam, covered them in purple fabric, and sewed them onto the leotard. Like magic, a Mermaid costume! The best part was seeing her face when I gave it to her. She was so excited! My little mermaid….

According to PatternReview.com, they said the instructions were poorly written, and wouldn’t recommend the pattern. I agree to a point. They want you to sew the skirt in a strange order. I, of course, didn’t. Instead, I attached the pieces the way it made sense to me. I’ve been sewing enough to know sometimes patterns are wacky, and you need to go at it your own way. I made a size 4 for my niece, and it was a bit large and longer than I expected. So, keep that in mind when you make the skirt. I would shorten it, and bring in the sides a bit. I decided it would be fine, mainly because kids grow so fast, and I want her to be able to play with this costume as much as she can.

Well, back to the sewing room… after I blow my nose.

Happy Days!

I just, got home from Chris Howard’s “Breakthrough to Success” seminar. Oh my gosh. This has been one of the best weekends of my life. I have learned SO much about myself this weekend. I really felt I made a lot of positive movement forward! I really think this seminar is something everyone should do. It’s just so amazing!

I know how hard it is to explain my excitement about this right now. I’m still so overwhelmed about the whole thing! I want to get into the whole experience more, but I’ll make a note of it tomorrow night after I’ve had a little time to decompress.

I haven’t been this happy or excited in a long time! I really look forward to sharing more of this information with you soon. But until then…

Have a beautiful night!

I’m leaving tonight for my weekend-long Chris Howard seminar. So you know where I am…

On another exciting note, I bought the Stephen Colbert book to listen to on the drive down. Expect a review when I get back.

Well, I’m off to realize my dreams! Have a great weekend!

So I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about SWAPs (Sewing with a plan). I think the benefits of a pulled together look really make a statement! One of my goals with sewing has been to have a wardrobe that is both comfortable, looks nice, and fit my personality (which is sweet, fun, and very wacky).

First off, I’m not a high maintenance dresser. Most of the time, I forget to put on makeup. And for jewelry, I own a bunch, but most necklaces don’t exactly match t-shirt and jeans. I want a wardrobe that pulls together my casual nature and looking polished. So, here comes the difficult part:

Back in September, Gala at galadarling.com did an 8-day wardrobe boot camp. The first day starts here. Such a great idea! Usually I go through my clothes once each season to see if I can part with anything. This time, I did it with a plan! I’m at the point now where I have really cute clothes I refuse to get rid of. However, I either don’t wear them (”I love this top, but have nothing to go with it!”, or overly wear them (as in my shirts and jeans). I love the comfort of my everyday clothes, but am sick of looking like a slob!

So, this is where sewing with a plan comes in. After sifting through my clothing again, and taking notes on what I need, I realized I need comfortable basic items to pair my items with. I found this great article on wardrobe planning done by the Mississippi State University Extension Service. This article can help you identify your style and basics every woman should have in her closet! I’m a mix between sporty and dramatic fashion types. What fashion type are you?

I encourage anyone to start on their own wardrobe planning with me! I could be fun. I’m working on my own wardrobe storyboards tonight. So far, I’ve finished my Comfortable Essentials (shown below), and started my fall/winter look.

Much Love!

For more information to help define your own wardrobe, check these out:

• Build Your Fall Wardrobe
• Build a Wardrobe for $1000
• Building a Perfect Wardrobe
• “Sewing With A Plan”
• and if you’re interested: Timmel Fabrics SWAP 2008 contest

First off, Happy Birthday Larry!

Ok, so I worked my tiny fingers to the bone last night. I was up until 1:30 am finishing Mr. Oso for Larry’s birthday today. It turned out WAY cute! (Please excuse the bad lighting, I was taking this picture at 1:30 in the AM after all!)

Now, this bear was a lot more difficult than I expected. Moderate difficulty? Nevermind I’ve never made a Softie before, it should be a piece of cake, right? Well, I made the ears the wrong way in the beginning.I did find, however, that zipping up the sides with a zig-zag stitch saved lost of trimming and clipping time! (Yay Time Saver!) However, it turned out really nice. Part of me really wanted to keep it. Todd, my hunny, kinda wanted to keep it too.

Well, In conclusion, he’s adorable. A side note, making an embroidered Dia de los Muertos skull on felt takes a lot longer than it looks. I want to make a bunch of these. Decorate my apartment with them for November 1st. I encourge other to make one! Not as tasty, as say a sugar skull, but very fun. I loved embroidering the skull… it just took a long time. If you want Dia De Los Muertos embroidery patterns, check out Sublime Stitching here. Get some other patterns while you’re at it. They are fab! I’ve had my eye on the Mitch O’Connell pattern for awhile.

Well, I’m off to spend the night with my hunny. I’m going to be in San Jose all weekend for a Chris Howard Seminar, so it’s our only night together this week.

Sweet Dreams and Happy Tomorrows!

I’m Making a “Day of the Dead” bear for my boss’ husband, Larry’s birthday tomorrow. Now, Larry is kinda crazy, but in a good way. He likes kinda off-kilter things.

It all started with a brainstorming session on what to do for his birthday. I wanted to make something for him (because I’m crafty like that), and I wanted it to unique and kinda wacky. Not to mention, I’ve been wanting an excuse to make a softie. For great softie inspiration, check out Future Girl. Her softies are adorable! The cutest I have EVER seen! So, I skipped over to my local book store, picked up the book, fliped through the book and landed on the Tramp Heart Bear.

However, when I saw this adorable bear, I could only think of Dia de los Muertos. So, with my inspiration in mind, headed over to Joann’s for some felt and embroidery floss. I ended up with some much need rib knit, some McCalls patterns, and buttons for my next project.

I’ll post the finished project at some point tomorrow for your viewing pleasure! I hope to also get a Larry with the Bear photo op.

Have a great evening!

I told myself,”No more projects until you get the blog design up and running.”
However, here I am, on a wednesday night, watching season 1 of Dead Like Me. Now normally, one episode would be enough and I would go on with my pre-planned blog design plans for the evenings. But as I’m watching, I find myself watching Inigo Montoya himself…staring at me smack in the face! I watch as he trains a new grim reaper and see that signature grin of his and all I hear is,”My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”

To fully understand where I’m coming from, I should fill you in. I *LOVE* The Princess Bride. Not just *LOVE*, but adore, admire, kiss the pages it was written on. If you have never read the book or seen the movie you need to! I, myself, try to read the bookonce a year. The pages on mine are beginning to get tattered, and taken on the distinct musk of library bookshelves.

So seeing Mandy Patinkin, twenty years older, wiser, and still as swashbuckling, melts my heart.

Long story short, no projects got done tonight *sigh*

I have so many projects to work on at home! It’s driving me crazy! For example, I laid out all the patters I plan on making on my ironing board. See:

Not to mention, I’m making a bag for my boss for her trip to India. I took a picture of the one she bought, my job is to make bigger… and red. A basic monk bag. Once I get the whole bag made, I’ll try and post a free pattern/ tutorial when the bag is made.

The most important to-do on my list, is to make this blog look un-generic! I’ve been working on figuring out this PHP thing.. I bought a book, but this is WAY more confusing than learning HTML. So, there’s going to be some bugs on the site for awhile. Thanks for being patient!