Work-Break!

Hey Folks, sorry I've been away for a bit!  Work has been craaaaaazy busy and stressful the past few weeks, so I haven't been getting any sewing (and obviously blogging) done.  I've also got some visits coming up over the next two weekends, so I won't be able to get much done then either.

Luckily though, my winter sewing has kind of died down, so I'm not really in need of anything new at the moment.  It might actually be time to go through what I've made this season and pare down my wardrobe a bit!  I've found that there are a couple things I made that I haven't really worn much (if at all) so it looks like they'll be going into the 'donate' pile.  I hope to do a bit of a summary post around the 6-month/ end of winter mark and go over everything I've made thus far.

In the meantime, I'll have a couple posts schedule with old makes that I really love.  I also finished up some baby-sewing a while back for some good friends and their adorable new family member, so I'll get those things up on the blog soon as well.

Welp, just thought I would explain my hiatus and let you know I hope to be back at it soon!  Happy sewing!

Hudson Pants - Valentines Day Edition

If you couldn't tell from my instagram feed, I am seriously loving the Hudson Pants pattern from True Bias Patterns.

A while ago I purchased some red heart-print knit fabric with the intention of making a shirt.  Welp, I fell in love with the Hudson Pants and decided that the fabric would make some great comfy-pants for around the house... and just in time for Valentines Day!


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Cat Lady Emery Dress

What?! Another dress!?  I am so in love with the print on this dress, and the cotton is incredibly soft.  For this sleeveless version of the Emery Dress, I used fabric from the Cotton & Steel Cat Lady line.
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Four Months Down!

Holy smokes you guys!  I'm already four months into this project!  It feels like the time has just flown by, which has made not shopping that much easier.  Although I have purchased things like socks, tights, bras, and underwear - I haven't bought any RTW clothing since September.  I did receive a t-shirt from my sister at Christmas, but I never ruled out gifts (and it's a great roller derby shirt!).

Overall, it has been pretty easy to not go shopping for clothing.  I haven't really had any need for something that would be too difficult to sew, and thanks to a somewhat casual work environment, I was fine wearing jeans & blouses as I built up my fall & winter work wardrobe of dresses.  I've had a couple sewing fails which have been frustrating - but not discouraging.  I'm just more determined to make things better the next time.  There are some days or weekends where the sewing has become a bit of a chore, but that's usually nixed by the excitement of wearing a new outfit to work the next day.

I realize that I haven't really kept up with the budget aspect of this project.  I was going through some numbers early on, and realized that I wasn't really keen to share that information with the internet. Not necessarily out of embarrassment for the stupid amount of money I spent on clothing last year, but mostly because I don't think it's really necessary to share anymore.  Sewing is a hobby, and I spend what I can afford.  I wouldn't say I'm saving buckets of money sewing my own clothing, but the pieces I produce are of much higher quality, and I have more of an emotional tie to them, rather than a financial one.  We'll leave it at that :)

Anyways, things are going well.  Winter sewing can kind of be a bummer with darker fabrics, and the fact that heavier fabrics are more expensive, a bit harder to find (for some weird reason) and sometimes more difficult to work with, so I'm getting excited for spring to start.  I have a number of dresses and skirts lined up, and I need to sort out some new tops.  I'll likely be sharing some of my older projects soon too as the winter sewing winds down and I have a bit of a break!

#SaturdaySewing

Cutting out a pair of @closetcasefiles Carolyn Pajamas shorts in what I think is the perfect print for some pj's! 💤✨🌚 #SaturdaySewing

A photo posted by Kallie A. (@kalliesews) on Feb 6, 2016 at 1:33pm PST

Comfy Cozy Hudson Pants

Last weekend I whipped up a pair of True Bias Patterns' Hudson Pants.  I had seen these pants all over the sewing blogosphere, and have only heard great things!  Appropriate sweat-pants fabric is kinda hard to come by (and crazy expensive!) here in Ottawa for some reason, so I waited until there was a sale at Fabricland.  I managed to get 2m of thick sweatshirt knit for $33!  Woo!  I'll be able to get two pairs out of the cut.

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#SaturdaySewing

Starting a pair of #hudsonpants! Using some tick sweatshirt fleece - perfect for cold #Ottawa winters! #SaturdaySewing

A photo posted by Kallie A. (@kalliesews) on Jan 30, 2016 at 2:34pm PST

Black Polka Dot Emery Dress

Another Emery Dress!  Much like the last dress I made, I made this one with short sleeves so it would work well for all seasons.


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Mermaid Tights! - Seamwork Aires

YOU GUYS.  Ohhhhh man am I in love with these tights.  When the Seamwork January Issue came out I thought OHHHmygoodness, I need those cat leggings.  But then I realized I already had a couple other cat-fabrics and that I should find something else to make those leggings with.  Not a word of a lie - I had a dream about mermaid print fabric and hurried over to Spandex House to order some up in bright purple.


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Sunday Stash-Busting

Hey there!  It's been a little while since my last update, but I promise I've been busy busy sewing away!  Clearly I've made good on my "make more time for blogging" resolution... not.

Anyways, after buying up a few metres of new fabric and not having a place to put everything, I took the chance to go through my stash and figure out some projects to use up all the fabric I've got in my stash.  I do not need to buy any fabric for a long while!  I have so many things I can sew with what I've got.


All these lovely cottons will eventually become dresses!  These are some of the new ones I ordered after the holidays with some Christmas money :)  The fabric is so so so soft, and they're all thick enough that I won't have to line the skirts.  The bottom two will be great year- round with tights & cardigans for the winter.  From the top: Catnap - Cat's Cradle (Lizzy House), Natural History - Star Chart (Lizzy House), and Cat Lady - Friskers (Sarah Watts for Cotton & Steel).


All these fabrics have been hanging out in my stash for a little while now... the one on the top left was purchased wayyyy back when I first started sewing my own clothing!  It has a good amount of stretch to it, and the photo doesn't do the deep teal colour justice.  I'm thinking I'll make another attempt at a Moss Skirt (first one was a fail... I'll post about that sometime), with the floral fabric as the pockets and inner waistband.

As for the others!  The top right is a Nani Iro double-gauze I bought in the summer and never got around to making a dress out of.  I had the hardest time finding a lining cotton to match!  Bottom left is some more cotton that I'll make yet another dress with (they're just the easiest thing to wear to work!), and finally the bottom right is some leftover navy cotton twill from my Robson Coat that should work nicely for another Moss Skirt!

Oh, and this is obviously not everything... Ha!!  I still have a bunch more bits an pieces hanging out in drawers and under the bed... I just have to figure out something to do with them!