I cannot remember why I decided to make this plushie for my daughter. Maybe we were talking about books she loved in childhood, maybe her prodigious vegetable-eating habits got us talking on the subject of Bunnicula, or maybe it was something else. I know I saw a trailer for a Bunnicula series that has been made, but I think this plushie project predates the series. I made this plushie about a year and a half ago.

I searched online—isn't it hysterical and fabulous that I could find a FREE pattern for a vampire bunny plushie online??? I thought this was super cute. I found it on Instructables.com (not sure where originally, but yesterday when I was searching again for the source of the pattern). It is not Bunnicula per se, so I had to modify the design so it looked like him (her?).

I didn't have the eye button things—plus would I ever find glowing red ones if I looked for them?—so I just embroidered the eyes, which I like.

I think it turned out great! My daughter loved it.

After making the Bunnicula plushie for my daughter, I wanted to make one for my son. He has a Batman plushie and possibly an Ironman plushie, and his next favorite superhero is Captain America (or was at the time). I searched online and found this great free pattern and tutorial from Katy at Wild and Wanderful.

I wanted the shape of the doll and head to be more like the Bunnicula plushie, so I just adapted the basic Bunnicula pattern using Katy's pattern for the details of Captain America's outfit.

I think it turned out super cute and my son says he likes it.

I made this skirt once before. I wear it a lot. I think it looks good and it is super duper comfortable. The one I made before is lined in the cheapest poly knit that Joann's sells, and it has worked out great.

Since that skirt is a print and it's gets so much use, I knew I would get a lot of wear out of a comfortable black basic skirt along the same lines.  Motivation struck to sew when I realized I had this lovely black poly knit in my stash from when I bought a bunch of fabric from my friend. I didn't have lining fabric, though, and when I went to Joann's they had nothing suitable (super cheap) in black, so I got the closest thing they had, gray, and used it. More than wanting to save money, I wanted to use the same fabric I used for the other one since it works so well—feels great, adds nice body to the garment, and does not cling staticwise.

Sewing both the skirt and the lining means there are 16 panels to cut out and sew.  That is somewhat daunting for someone like myself who finds repetition dull, but the upside is that the margin for error is low since the construction technique required involves just two steps.

I sewed it all on my serger, and I was not so lazy that I did not switch thread colors for the lining and the fashion fabric. I did switch and I am glad I did. No one but me will probably ever know, but sewing my own clothes is all for my pleasure anyway.

I made the elastic waist a little too large. This is a recurring problem for me; I guess I fear a tight waistband so much that I go overboard. In fact, in this picture I have taken out about an inch and a half with a safety pin. I did lose some weight since the time I sewed it, but that's a lot to be overboard with.

I am super happy with the skirt. My husband insists I need to make all my skirts shorter. I am short and he is probably right, but I can't go as short as he thinks so I am still working on finding the proper length: short enough to look good on my figure but decent enough for work and my age (not 20).

Speaking of figures. sigh. I see I need a better brassiere and posture. Neither is really within my power. I can't stand tight, bindy things so the bra will stay what it is. The posture has been a bane to me my whole life. I must have been born with abnormally weak back muscles. I try to improve but it hasn't happened much in 57 years, so I don't expect I will get control over the situation in the time I have left on the Earth.

Yay x a googol! I have finally constructed the perfect concert skirt! After I made the Hot Patterns Bossa Nova skirt in black, it occurred to me that a longer version could be the long-sought perfect concert skirt.

This time I wanted to ensure I made it with a black lining, though, and I did not risk going to Joann's only to find they didn't have what I wanted, so I went online. I also wanted to make sure I used tricot knit, and I'm not sure I have seen this at Joann's. I found it and ordered it.

When my black tricot arrived, I made the skirt up quickly and just in time—of course—for my December 2016 New Horizons Orchestra concert. Sadly, the skirt was not ready in time for my Medina Symphony concert in November and I wore pants because my other long concert skirt is just too over the top for that group and the short one I made is too short for being in the front row. :-(

This skirt is totally awesome. It is comfortable, falls nicely when I'm sitting, is totally unrestrictive, and looks good (and safely within the hump of the bell curve of convention—so strange to realize that matters to me).

One thing I did different on this skirt from either of the previous versions of it that I sewed is to use a wide nonroll elastic for the waistband. Since it's for more physical use, i.e., sitting and moving around in the chair, I wanted to be sure it would stay planted at my waist. Not too long ago I watched a Craftsy course, Next-Level Knits: Techniques for Structure & Style with Pam W. Howard, and learned about the wider nonroll elastic. (That is another great Craftsy course, and I love Pam Howard. She is another great teacher.)

I made this vest several years ago. It was very easy to sew and I think it looks well-made. But I have worn it just once for all kinds of reasons.

The lining and back is China silk. It is heaven to wear (and was easy to sew).But the front is cotton flannel. I like the print, but I paid verrrrry little for this, and knowing that makes me worry everyone else can tell.  The sizing is a little too big; my waist disappears. I don't like how big the armholes are. Lastly, I guess I am not a vest person. Maybe the look is too unconventional for me, but mostly, I need sleeves to keep warm!

I have several beautiful poly prints in my stash that I bought from a friend when she went out of the fabric business. I have been musing about what to make with them for quite some time. Finally, I decided on McCall's 6355 for one of them. It is a simple sheath (shift?), but it has lots of dart options for shaping. I just want to get at least one thing sewn from these fabrics!

When I opened the pattern envelope, I was pleased to see I had already picked the right size, traced the pattern, and altered it with an FBA and moving the bust darts lower. I wanted to wear the dress in the winter, so I cut full sleeves and a full lining out of white tricot knit. I bought a monster bolt of this knit recently--I wonder what I was thinking? Maybe I hit an extra 0. Maybe I thought I really needed an 8 foot long bolt of white tricot knit.

I decided to add a sway back adjustment, which I had never done before. This pattern's front and back pieces are cut on the fold, so I was confused about how fabric could be darted out and the piece could still be cut on the fold, so I added a center back seam. I read right after that in the directions that you should still cut it on the fold and I guess Pati Palmer knows what she's talking about. But alas, I had done the deed so now I have that seam. I don't think it turn out badly at all though. However, when I cut the lining, I did cut on the fold. But I must not have removed the seam allowance at the neck because it was an inch or more too big and I had to dart it out when I put the lining together with the fashion fabric. I put a slightly wider neck band on because I wanted to make sure the neckline was modest. The first band I put on was too small and made the neck pucker. I had to take it off, but the second one looks very nice.

I basted the dress together and wondered if I should take out an inch or so along the side seams. In the end, I decided not to, thinking it looked good as it was and it might turn out too fitted if I went too crazy. In the end, I think I should make it smaller if I ever make it again; it could be more fitted. Family members who've seen the dress say it looks really good.

I sewed the center back with my sewing machine and pressed the seam flat. I sewed the other seams with my serger. I did not set in the sleeves as the instructions directed; good grief, that seems so silly when it is so easy to sew them in flat. I coverstitched the hem and it looked unacceptable. It twisted as I sewed, with the presser foot pushing the top layer of fabric ahead of the bottom layer. I was so angry I wanted to yell at some Janome engineers! I fiddled with tensions and stitch lengths, and it refused to behave. I reduced the weirdness somewhat by pressing, but the back was a little higher than my lining, so I had to undo it anyway.  I fiddled more with tensions and stitch lengths, sewed very slowly, lightened the presser foot to its absolute lowest setting (where the dial fell off and I had to screw it back on), and used my fingers to force the fabric to move as I wanted it to move. That all worked and the hem looks nice now.

In the end, I am happy with how this dress turned out.

Sewing Wallets Step by Step is a Craftsy class. I bought it not too long ago and watched it soon after. The wallets looked cute and like I would use them. The teacher, Deby Coles, is excellent. She breaks the process down into manageble pieces and explains and demonstrates so you can easily follow.

My daughter (Thome) visited from college over Christmas break, and I asked her if she'd like to learn how to sew and try this class with me. She said yes! and we had a blast making the first one, the Super Simple Wallet. I had bought some quilting cotton for the project already, a solid and a compatible print, and she was satisfied with the fabrics, so we decided to each use both but switch which would be the lining and outer parts of the wallet. They came together beautifully. She sewed like an old pro. Thank goodness she was there because she saved me from a measurement error (though I managed to make another one!).

Then we checked out the Pop to the Shops wallet, and my daughter really liked it and thought she would get a lot more use out of it. So we decided to pop to the (fabric) shop hahahaha, select some new fabric, and make ourselves each one of these wallets.

Oh my, it was fun to watch my daughter in the fabric store. I should have felt guilty. First I get her addicted to coffee and then to the fabric store. She was very pleased with her choices.

These wallets also came together with no problem. Ooh, that's not quite true. Of course I mismeasured one thing, of course it was in one of the fabrics we had little of, and of course I had to figure out a way to get around it. (I cut the zipper pocket linings an inch too short, so I just pieced together scraps to get the proper size. It worked fine.) We just had a lot of relaxing time together and a lot of fun sewing these up.

Thome's wallet is on top, and mine is on the bottom.

When I bought the gray wool flannel for my planned Thurlow pants, I realized I could use some gray wool jersey. I love wool jersey, and I hadn't bought any since way back when I first wanted to try out that fabric and I bought cream and a green that doesn't look great on me. I love gray, but I don't have enough plain gray tops to wear with all the suits and pants I have that look great with gray. Duh! I found some gray wool jersey and added it to the order.

I have sewn Jalie 2806 a few times before. I get a lot of use out of one of them, the gray and black camo. The cream jersey one I wear infrequently because the color doesn't go with other things in my closet and the red also infrequently maybe because I don't like the red, or maybe because I sewed it with the stretch going up and down instead of sideways. Anyway, I have thought the tops flattering, so I decided to use this pattern with the gray jersey. Gosh it was fun to take out a pattern that was already traced, cut, sized properly, and ready to use. It came together so fast I had the feeling for once that I knew what I was doing. I used my serger for the seams and my coverstitch for the hem and sleeve hems. The necking binding was basted in on the sewing machine and sewn on the serger.

I am very happy with this top, but I did notice that it pinches at the underarm. How do I fix that?

I have finally completed a pair of Thurlow pants. Whew. It took long enough. I made a muslin at least a year ago. It fit pretty nicely and I decided I didn't need any tweaks, other than taking in the weird back seam extension (which, I would have liked to remove that from the pattern piece, but I didn't feel confident and I ended up just trimming the fabric down once I was happy with the seam on the actual pants). After making the muslin, I gained weight and put off making the real deal. I lost the weight, put it back on, and finally lost it again at a time I had some sewing time and voila the pants are finally done.

I took two weeks off of work at the end of 2016 and I was hoping to spend a lot of time in my sewing room. I did pretty well, finishing this Thurlow (which I lined), a Jalie top to go with it, a lined knit dress (McCall's 6355), and 2 wallets from a Craftsy course with Deby Coles (with my daughter, who made another 2 for herself).

The fabric for the Thurlow was a gray and darker gray checked flannel wool. The lining was some black Bemberg that I had in the stash. I had hoped I still had some gray China silk, but I didn't have enough. I had used it for a vest and OMG that stuff feels like heaven when you wear it.

At any rate, the pants came together smoothly. I still had to consult Lladybird's famous and super helpful tutorial. I would have been stuck with just Sewaholic's instructions, my goodness.

For the lining, I consulted a book I have, Easy Guide to Sewing Linings, by Connie Long. It is excellent; I just wish when I read it that the information would actually permeate my brain membranes. There is a bit about an adjustment you have to make on the lining pattern you create "on pants with slanted pockets," which I was pretty sure describes the Thurlow situation (the adjustment being you have to place the pocket piece in place with the pant leg pattern so you have the full front leg across the hips). I saw it, didn't think it through, ignored it, and realized my mistake when I started to sew the lining together. I patched up the lining fabric, I did not cut new pieces. All's well that ends well.

When I basted up the back seam of the pants, the fit felt pretty good. The view from the mirror was (and still is) strange. Is my ass that flat? I let out the seam as much as I could at the bottom of the back crotch, and I spent a lot of time trying to get a natural curve over the butt. Finally, I pulled out a pants sloper I had drafted and used that line.

I wore the pants to work and they were super comfy and warm.

Likes: the waistband and hips fit nicely. The fly and pockets are easy to sew (thanks Lladybird) and look great. In the end, the pants are very comfy. Also, I love the wool flannel and the lining.

Dislikes: I don't like the crotch curve and will have to fiddle when I feel confident about taking that on. The bell in the pants is too large for my taste. I don't want to go back to the 70s. I don't like that extension thing. I lose and gain weight as much as anyone but hell's bells I am not going to readjust my clothes every time it happens.