It was a sunny christmas, and a snowy new year's.

Christmas was great for my family and me. We piled up in Anna's downtown salt lake abode with puzzles and movies. The past two days we have been shopping fervently with our Christmas money. The kids in my family only get money as gifts, because all we like to do is shop. It is a great time of year for us. 

No sewing lately. Taking it easy. After new year's I'll be back at the grind recovering my living room chair and sewing myself a birthday dress. Excited yet, my loyal ninety followers?

Look what can be done in 4.5 hours!

A Christmas present is made, and a teenager is made content-- a true holiday miracle.

I promised my little sister, Olivia, that I would make her a PD for her present this year. She is in town for the holidays, so Saturday night was as good as any to make it for her. She watched Eclipse with commentary as I serged along. Pretty nice outcome, ifidosaysomyself. Olivia proceeded to try on every pair of my shoes with it once I was done, even though she is a big foot and hardly fits in my size. The roses on the waist are my home-made roses. don't they look good? Merry Christmas to all.

I hate craft blogs.

I do. Tis true. I hate them because most of the stuff that is posted is either ugly or too hard to make for an average person.

However, so I don't look like a Scrooge, I eat my own words with this post. The other day Anna and I made Christmas crafts. We were eating lunch at Pei Wei when we decided that the stockings we were going to make that afternoon weren't very inspiring. We wanted to make really long "nightmare before Christmas" style knitted stockings without actually knowing how to knit-- an impossible task. You have to understand something about Anna and me: we aspire to be in Better Homes and Gardens magazine, so decorations have to be perfect and match our decor seamlessly. We take a lot of pride in our homes and put a lot of work into them, so Christmas decorations like stockings become an all-day ordeal.



Long story short, Christmas stockings turned into Christmas bird houses to hang on the fire place-- an ingenious idea that came from Moi. We bought our wood birdhouses from Joanne's, spray paint, glitter, and birds from Michael's, and fake snow from Target (why one store couldn't have all of this is beyond me and the power of this blog). I painted mine silver with blue birds to match my tree and decor, and Anna did her houses in gold with red birds. What I love about this project is that I have never seen anything like it before, and I might put mine, Steve's, and Bridgette's name on each one with puffy paint eventually.



So we painted them, put the glitter on the little holes, glued the birds, put snow on top, and then to make it extra Chrissy we trimmed them with red bows. Without the multiple trips to craft stores, we made these houses from paint to bow in about 2 hours. Plus it was fun.



They look way better in Anna's house because her fireplace is 100 years old. Mine is... just ugly. I rent my apartment so I can't really do anything about it. I do what I can, people.

I was feeling extra crafty when Anna left. I proceeded to make this wreath that I found on Have A Cute Day. I love love love this wreath even though it took me about six hours to make. You need A LOT of pom-poms, about 50, to make it look good. It was worth the work!

Over exposed? Not at all.

Anna's coat is done. Hallelujah, peace on earth, good will toward men. Isn't it precious? Especially the ruffle sleeves. I love giving good Christmas gifts, especially ones that I have made myself. Anna gets to wear her coat before Christmas morning, though. SO it's not only a great present, but a sneaky deaky present. 

I must say that I am pretty proud of myself for how well this collar turned out. I love making outerwear because of the rewarding feeling you get once it's done. I think I just might make myself this same coat, but in leopard print, of course.

I feel reluctant signing anything that has to do with my music.

I was up until 4:30 this morning sewing Anna's coat. I couldn't fall asleep, so instead of lying in bed with stupid commercial jingles rolling though my head, I decided to be productive. But what really bites my balls is that I couldn't sleep in! I hate staying up so late and not being able to at least go till noon. But I am exhausted now, so I will be able to fall asleep tonight, which is a happy thought. 

All I have left to do is sew on the buttons and a few snap closures. Pictures tomorrow with Anna modeling.

Sorry my blog is so boring lately (what? my insomnia is boring?). With such a large to -do list before the holidays, there isn't much "fun" sewing going on here. I do have a dress in mind after the holidays for my birthday, so things will get better.

Mmm, braised lamb shank. I love a lamb shank when it is braised.

I'm working on Anna's coat today. My goal is to have done by tomorrow night, or rather Friday night. Hopefully tomorrow. I think I might be done by then. I've cut out the lining, altered the shoulder a little, and I started on one of the bound buttonholes. I like buttonholes, especially bound ones. They are fun to do and look really nice. I think I made them too small for the giant buttons though. So, sorry Anna, but I may have to get you different buttons to fit the holes. I am not going to re-do the one I just did that took an hour and a half. Tough.

This picture is very blurry. Iphone doesn't take the best close-up photos.

What I know for sure

LESS IS MORE. and that's the truth. 

I am soclose to being done with Kjrsten's dress. All I need is to sew on two more snap closures on the center front opening. 

I was originally going to sew roses all around the neck and down center front, but when Anna told me it looked like a clown dress, I decided to make a major edit, and it has resulted in only three roses on the neckline and a ruffle down the opening. I might put one more rose on the dress's right side that will sit on the shoulder... we shall see. 

The ruffle down center front, or next to center front, really, is just bias strips sewn to the flap. Simple. 

 

 

 

I just sew on, sewing on.

Yes, I forced myself to start working yesterday in hopes to get my To-Do list done in two weeks, which is when my parents and Olivia are coming up for Christmas festivities. I finished the alterations on Whitney's dresses, finished alterations for my husband's work friend, and started on a Poor Man's Wife veil. I still need to finish the veil, finish Whitney's shirt, finish Anna's coat, and finish Kjrsten's dress. Yes, that's all.

PLUS I forgot work stuff that I have to sew. Oh great.  Yay.

Totally off-topic, but does anyone know where I can get a big snowy owl tree-topper for my blue and silver tree??

Is it Friday?.....already?

Holy moly. ICBIF (I can't believe it's Friday).

I have done, well, nothing really all week. I did have an appointment yesterday with Whitney from Rookie Cookie. Remember when I did her alterations? well, she ordered a shirt from me, so that's exciting, but still not inspiring enough to start working on a Friday. I promise I will start Monday. My to-do list is getting pretty long. 

Anna's coat

Kjrsten's dress

Whitney's shirt

...etc

I did take Bridgette to the park yesterday, so that's productive. And I also wrote down my to do list this morning, which was on my mental to-do list. SO check that off.

This was supposed to be worn at Thanksgiving, but... it wasn't.

Worked on my black PD that I was supposed to have done for Turkey. Well, here it is, in any case. I made a bow and ruffle detail for the neckline, similar to my green PD. I love the bow. love love love it. I still need to hem the sleeves and skirt, but other than that, it's done!

oh, and I used my "Sewn by Ellen" neckline facing for it. I love this. I'm doing it on all my clothes from now on. Hand-done embroidery? Yes, please.

1.5 feet of snow.

Steve and I made the awful trip back last night from San Diego in our rental car, Bridgette snug as a bug in the back seat. It too us three hours longer than usual because of the holiday rush/a blizzard. We saw two overturned cars, one overturned semi, a buck running right in front of our car (barely missing us, thank the heavens), and many pleasant gas station workers.Our laptop wouldn't want to charge in the car either, so we were stuck listening to Steve's audiotape of Dracula and I tried to read as much Harry Potter that my brain could properly ingest. let's just say it was not fun. 

Bridgette underneath the tree at my parent's house.

But, the sun is shining on the snow this morning and making it twinkle. I do love the first good snow in Utah, before it turns all black. I hate driving in it, but I love looking at it from my kitchen window. Bridgette liked it too, as this is her first winter in the snow (she came from California). 

So I'm sure you're all wondering what I've been up to last week, and I'm happy to tell you: NOT SEWING. I brought my serger and all my fabric all the way down to San Diego, but I didn't touch the thing once. I always think that I'll be able to sew on vacation, but it never happens. I love what I do, but sometimes I need a break as well. AND I didn't even loose a follower, which is nice to see (yes, I think about stuff like that). Starting tomorrow, it is back to sewing. Today I must clean my disgusting apartment and die my hair. My roots are growing in.

Every delicious morsel.

I have approximately 15 minutes to blog before my sister, Anna, gets here. We're going out on the town before Steve and I leave tomorrow for Turkey week. Anna can't come, so we are living it up tonight with dinner and a movie.

Instead of working on Anna's coat or Kjrsten's dress today, I decided to be a little selfish and sew something for myself (I knew I would). I wanted a black PD to wear on turkey day, so I started on one. I am almost done with it, but what I'm most excited about is my new love of embroidery. I have never embroidered before, but in a flash of inspiration last night as I went to bed (my senses are highest at this time), I thought of something special to do for all my dresses and for my future clothing line. You are going to have to to tilt your pretty little heads because blogger is being really stupid and won't let me rotate my photos:

More details to come Monday!

Put your paws down.

I've been working on Kjrsten's dress all day today, and part of last night. I put on the sleeves and hemmed the sleeves and skirt. I really like the style of the dress. It is straight with princess seams, and for breastfeeding abilities, it has a snap front that goes down to the waist. I admit,  I'm not totally focused on postpartum at the moment with my designs. I do believe in the whole idea, I just needed to mix things up for a bit. But this dress is totally postpartum worthy, and I'm happy to say that I looove it. So far. I think. ugh.

With the mustard yellow, I thought giant gray roses would be really great down the snap opening and the also around the neckline. I knew I would be making these roses myself even though they are sold at every Joanne's. Theirs aren't as good, and the gray the sold didn't match the yellow in the dress. And I realized that when I made these for my knit shirt, I didn't ever explain how to make these beauties. 

How to make roses. By Ellen. 

1. cut out bias strips from any chiffon or netting you would like to use. The strips must be bias, and in between 1" or 2" in width.

2. cut out felt circles for the backing. I like felt because it is sturdy while still mold-able. I guess any sort of duck-cloth or canvas would work too, but you would have to finish the edges. Felt is low-maintenance. just do the felt. Any old craft felt would work. 

3. Starting at the center of the felt circle, place one end of the bias strip, and start sewing down the middle of the strip. I would just do a 1/4" to start, then put down the needle, lift the foot, and then rotate the felt circle to start a constant winding circle. At the beginning it is a little tricky because the center of the rose is so small, but you get the hang of it as the rose grows. Keep the layers of fabric close together, no more than 1/4" from the previous layer. Go all the way to the edge of the circle. I barely had an 1/8" left of my circle and I still went around one more time, so I wouldn't see any felt at all on the finished rose. You could always trim off the edge, too. 

Finished rose. Pretty, huh? Once i was done with one strip, I layered the next strip on top of the finished one about 1/2" and kept sewing.

This is the back of the rose, so you can see how the stitching happens. I actually really like the back, which would be a nice sewn-in detail on another garment for another time. 

 

 

I have to make about 12 roses for Kjrsten's dress. I can't tell if it's too much or not. i don't think it is. Here is the dress with roses and felt circles meant to be imagined as roses. What do we all think??

For some reason the roses are coming out blue in these pictures, but I promise it is like the gray pictured in the other photos.

On second thought, I like this. I really do. Kjrsten's style is totally eclectic and very Anthropologie. I think it will look great when it's done. Which will hopefully be tonight.

A break from Gilmore Girls to give you the latest update.

In my serger classes I attended the past two Tuesdays I discovered something else about sewing that is quite addicting:

Apparently, one is supposed to use compressed air to clean his/her sewing machine. I stretched that by cleaning my desk, scissors, and blowing it in Bridgette's unsuspecting ears to see them fly. For some reason, it makes my fingers really cold if I hold the bottle too long, and it smells good. Like gasoline good. On the label it says it contains a "bitterant to help discourage inhalant abuse". 


Inhalant abuse? it just smells good and with it fun to play. That's all. I swear. Promise.

"I need the coat rack." "The fish flies at night."

Still working like crazy before Saturday. I have a mental countdown going and it is making me quite excited for the holidays. That, and the endless marathon of Gilmore Girls that I am on, once again. 

I was able to finish the 18 pairs of shorts for work yesterday. They look okay. I'm so questioning my sewing abilities with this job. They expect perfection, and I hate it that I can't deliver perfection under pressure. But a dress that I'm making for myself in four hours, oh well that can be perfect. Of course. So annoying. 

Not really because that means all my clothes are perfect. Haha. 

Today I've been working very hard on Kjrsten's dress. It looks great so far! 

It is made out of the same mustard ponte knit I used for the first PD, the snake PD. I love this material, and it's almost all gone. What am I gonna do about that? I bought it at Mood in LA, and it isn't sold on mood.com, at least not the mustard yellow. I really am worried about this. Can you tell? 

Tomorrow I am taking a break from the mustard dress and moving on to Anna's coat. Que Sera Sera!

Three things to get done before I leave this Saturday.

I'm leaving Saturday morning for San Diego. I grew up in Vista/San Marcos, which is Northern San Diego, and I can't wait to come home again for Turkey Day!!! My mom makes the best Turkey dinner I know of-- seriously, NOT ONE PERSON has been able to out-do Laura Berry on Turkey. After thanksgiving vacation in college, all my roommates and I would talk over our breaks, but all I could ever talk about was the Turkey my mom made, and I would explain to them all how she made it (hint: rubbing butter underneath the skin. Salivating much??), the delicate process of roasting it, and then eating every morsel off the bones we Berrys could find. It's quite the event. 

But to have a peaceful holiday, I have to get three things done:

1. Anna's coat. I still need to cut out the lining and sew it all in. Will take approximately two days. 

2. 18 pairs of dance shorts for work. Yes, I said 18 pairs. 

3. Have a Cute Day's Krjsten's dress that I've already cut out, but I still need to put the darn thing together.

PLUS: I want to sew a new dress for moi. A Black PD (perfect dress) with a nice ivory trim on the neck. We'll see if this happens. I might break done and not finish one thing on the list to finish another dress for me. I overheard a lady that worked at Joanne's the last time I was there, and she said now that she works in a fabric store, she never sews for herself anymore. That's such a shame. I am the complete opposite when it comes to projects for other people: all I want is to make the same thing for me, and I usually do that before I make it for them! I don't see that as selfish-- I earned it, ok? Or, I WILL be earning it. Eventually. Whenever I get around to finishing what I need to do.

It's all fodder for the tell-all.

I've been sewing for my new job for the past two days. I'm not sure if I should really blog about my job, but I'll just say it's a ton of work and I drive back and forth to Provo about 4 times a week. Intriguing, isn't it? I use my serger like crazy for it, and I'm having a hard time remembering to oil it every eight hours. Did you know sewing machines and sergers need to be oiled that often? True story. Speaking of my sewing machine, I got it back on Tuesday. Back to the woven fabric grind. 

Back to Provo today, hopefully the last time this week.

I cleaned my mirror to take these photos. That's how much I care.

Yet another Perfect Dress, but this one is for the holidays. An amazing forest green tricot knit that is super thick and super soft. This fabric is GORGEOUS. Little sheen in a fabric is always nice for the holidays. It never hurt anybody.

This PD (perfect dress) was made in a record time of four hours. Knits and a kick-A serger make that happen. 

This isn't just a boob shot. I needed a close-up of the ruffle, ok?

I am excited to get my sewing machine back so I can do this dress in a woven, specifically with stripes or leopard print jacquard. You're gonna wanna see it too, so be excited. 

I'm sorry, but I love myself in the dress. That's always a good thing, right?

How many times has my bed been un-made on this blog? At least I clean the mirror for ya'll.  

I've been known to act a little dramatic.

Long story short: I figured out my coverstitch on my serger last Thursday. Yay!! I was so relieved. I went back to Bernina-nuttall right down the street from me, the expert was there, and she helped me figure it out. THANK YOU BERNINA-NUTTALL.

This is what my serger was doing as a "coverstitch" before I figured it out. Not Pretty. Turns out I wasn't threading my looper correctly. 

Now that my serger and I had made up, we both descided to get to work finishing the houndstooth dress. Boy, did it turn out wonderful!!

The rope detail on the neckline I was able to put on my dress with the coverstitch on my serger....pretty sturdy and way more efficient than any other sewing machine. I couldn't believe that it could sew through rope like it did. Pretty beastly. I was also able to hem the sleeves and skirt of the dress, of course. I love my serger now!! 

Sewing machine?? oh right, that thing that is still getting serviced. It can take its time. 

BIG NEWS:

I've been blogging for one year! Happy Birthday, Sewn by Ellen!

In honor of this momentous occasion, lets take a stroll down memory lane with some the projects I've done: