Life Update & Baby Kimono

I have officially been without "work" for two days now.  It's been quite the challenge to maintain a healthy balance of house work and "fun" work.  I mean, really, who wants to do laundry when you can sew super cute stuff?

It's really difficult to keep the living room clean when I have my sewing stuff sprawled out all over the place....see what I mean...

Sewing left over from the night before...

I have had several people ask me about my plans for while I'm staying at home.  Most of them chuckle and make remarks about future Tommey babies. I'm sure a lot of you are wondering that as well.  Well the weatherman says that highs are in the eighties with clear skies and no chance of babies; so I guess you'll have to check back later!  Here's what is in my future:

1. Blog - now that I have a lot more time I plan to post more often.

2. Sew - I will definitely be posting about it.

3. Etsy - I am hoping to have something up and running in the next month or two.  You know, handmade goods and vintage finds.

4. Thrift Store - I am opening a thrift store at the church Dustin and I go to.  It's just a little room on the bottom floor of the church, but I'm super excited about it.  It needs a lot of TLC before it opens.

5. Pack/Move - Yep, we're moving (location: still looking).  Not anywhere far off, just a bit closer to Dustin's work. And we're going to live intentionally with a few excellent friends, another married couple and single gal. Will definitely need a larger space.

6. Spouse Duties - Cooking, Cleaning, Laundry, Groceries, Blah, Blah, Blah....ya'll  know what I'm saying.

So let's get to the good stuff....

Sewing Project No.1

Baby Kimono & Bloomers

I received an email from my good friend, Martha Stewart, detailing how to make this cute little top....Martha's way.  However, the directions to this baby are AWFUL.  So unclear.  I'm not a sew-pro so I need details, specifics, pretty pictures.  If you're like me, try Narelle's way.  Much better.

I did get a little fancy and added a few things.

First, I added cute little contrasting cuffs to the sleeves.

Second, I replaced the ties for snaps....first time ever sewing on snaps; not too difficult, the tricky part is making sure the snap "buddies" line up.

Even that was too plain.  I added some jewels on top of the snaps to spice it up a bit.

Also, in Narelle's post, she added some matching bloomers to her top.  Too cute to resist!

Ruffles aren't too difficult, but I find myself getting frustrated when they aren't perfect...I have to tell myself "It's okay Rave, they're just ruffles!"  Perfectionism...a curse and a blessing.  Talking to yourself...a sign of insanity.

I took it one step further and added a clothing label...my first branded item!  It's kind of strange.  I just did a test with t-shirt transfer paper and my blog header.  Not real impressed with the turn out, but it's pretty cool to have my unofficial brand on something.

Here's the final product:

Fabric:
Red and White Dots - Amy Butler
Blue Butterflies - Unknown, vintage find

That's it for now...

Keep Posted!

the rave