This is exciting!

I am so excited that I have made my third sale today off my Etsy.com site (http://tswhimsy.etsy.com/)! I think this is great, considering I have only posted a total of 5 things for sale. I have reached 60% of total sales today. Hee, hee!

I think it is the coolest thing to think that this person in Chicago, Illinois, whom I have never met, will be wearing my original design - my "relaxed sweatshirt dress" that I created for myself to throw on over my spandex after dance class. However, I ended up loving my sweatshirt dress so much that I actually wore it ALL THE TIME during the winter and spring months. It's just such an easy wardwrobe choice. I wore it often paired with a black tee, black Dansko leggings, my Frye boots, my favorite knit scarf, and the necklace my friend Atomic Owl made for me (you can find her on Etsy also: http://atomicowl.etsy.com/).

There are currently only two Relaxed Sweatshirt Dresses designed and sewn my yours truely out there in the world. Unfortunately, that is all I have had the time to sew and create these days. the cool thing is that both are "originals" because the one that my Etsy customer in Chicago, Illinois bought today is slightly different than the one I own. I put clear elastic in the neckline to give it a different look. My version that I own does not have that detail. Both are super-cute in my opinion, though.

Here is a photo of the dress that will be walking around Chicago, Illinois...

I apologize again for not taking the time to blog on a more regular basis. Between February and now I have been trying to maintain a class load of 3 very challenging classes and work full-time. How I love to blog, though!

I hope to find time to blog more during the summer months (I will only be taking two classes), but still working full-time. And I also hope to get some sewing time in as I haven't sewn anything new since January. I would really like to sew myself a t-shirt version of my Relaxed Sweatshirt Dress to enjoy during the summer months. I hope to sew a few extra to sell on Etsy, too. So please keep checking my Etsy site because I may just well surprise you with a few more new things!

Lounge Pants for Lori

One of the recent sewing projects I've finished are "Lounge Pants for Lori," a birthday present for my friend. She has a degree in Graphic Design so she really appreciates color. I would have to say that this fabric selection is not necessarily my taste, but when I saw it at my favorite fabric & knitting thrift store (yes, there is a thrift store dedicated just to fabric & knitting in P-town) I knew it was definitely Lori. I scored 3 yards of this fuchia cotton flannel for $5 TOTAL. It was in great shape with no imperfections! When I showed my husband the fabric when I got home his reaction was funny. He made a face and said it was "kind of ugy." But I assured him it would look super-cute when I was done making the lounge pants. He didn't really believe me.

I call these "Lounge Pants" (instead of "pajama pants") because I don't sleep in them - I just love to wear pants like this just to hang out around the house. They're sooo comfy! I sew small pockets on the front to hold an iPod and cell phone (this one has 2 small pockets but it's hard to see them in the photo). I love to wear my lounge pants especially when I'm sewing late at night. When I'm sewing I also catch up on phone calls to family and friends or listen to my iPod and those nifty little pockets on the front are so perfect to hold these gadgets. There's an elastic waistband & drawstring waistband as well - helps to hold the pants up when there's something heavier in the pocket (say, like a BlackBerry). Once my husband saw the finished product he thought it was "totally cute." He thought the constrasting fabric on the cuff and drawstring really pulled it together - so did I. Even though I didn't love the fabric (it's not quite my taste either), once it was done I thought, "I might like to keep the lounge pants for myself!" Here is a close-up of the lounge pant fabric & the constrasting fabric I used on the cuff and drawstring:

I can't wait to make myself a pair of lounge pants of this design. I do own another pair I made that's similar but doesn't have the contrasting fabric drawstring casing or cuff (previously I used thick twill tape for the drawstring casing), plus the pair I already own has a different shape to the leg (a little more tapered leg - which I don't care for). I like this new shape better (straight-leg), I think. I'm very excited about the fabric I picked out for my own lounge pants. It's Heather Ross' mermaid-octapai-fish fabric with a contrasting fabric for the drawstring & cuffs in pale-peach polk-a-dot. I think it's going to look so cute! I promise to post photos of the finished product in a future blog. Maybe I will get down to business soon and make a few extra to sell on Etsy. Lori brought her lounge pants to her parents house for Christmas and her sister saw them. She wants to know if I'll make a pair for her. ;)

Junk to Funk Favorites

Kev and I went to Junk to Funk this November for this first time - it was totally awesome. Even though I was super tired from only having gotten 4 hours of sleep before an all-day handbag design class (although I did get a 30 min nap in before J2F), I totally perked up when the models started working the catwalk. The entries were so creative! Kev & I were amazed that people could come up with such awesome looking garments out of only recycled "junk!"

One of my sewing instructors had told me about J2F. She said I should enter it, but she only told me about it a month ago, which I didn't think was enough time to get something cool together for the show this year. Kev & I figured we'd check the show out this fall & maybe next fall I'll enter it with my own recycled fashion creation. You are all invited in advance to view my entry next year - put it on your calendars! http://www.junktofunk.org/

Here are some photos of a few of my favorite entries from this year's show. I apologize that the photos are kind of crappy. I swear, it's the camera!

This entry came in 2nd place but I think she should have won 1st place, dubbed "Couch Couture." The designer used an old sofa for the jacket & bed sheets for the skirt. I was really impressed with the hardware used for the jacket closures (I think it's door chain locks). This entry also won the Peoples' Choice award.

I really liked this entry. The model is also the designer. She used zippers for the skirt, that's bubble wrap at the bottom, and the top is also made out of some kind of plastic material. I was impressed with her fit job. She won 3rd place, but I think she should have won 2nd place. She was so cute - sticking her tongue out all time. She was so excited when she placed 3rd!

This model/designer knit her own dress out of fabric scraps - it was the first thing she had ever knit. What I liked about her entry is that it reminded me of the Rodarte hand knit designs that are featured in, like, every magazine right now.

This model/designer crocheted her dress & gloves out of cassette tape! It was actually really pretty & sparkly - the photo doesn't do it justice. The belt is made out of plastic tape reels I think (maybe from movies?). This was one of Kev's favorite entries. We felt like she should have placed, maybe at least 3rd place.

This model/designer had a really fun entry, and a suprising one. She works in a hair salon, which explains her jacket. It's made out of her clients' hair, which she dyed & wove into the jacket. Her wig is made out of guitar strings, and her top & pants are made out of CDs.

This entry is made out of magazine pages. The designer/model dipped the pages that made up the skirt in black ink. There was another dress I liked better that was also made up of magazine pages. The other dress had a much cooler bodice with a plunging neckline that looked really cool. But I couldn't get a good photo of it so I'm posting this one instead.