In case you haven't heard...

...I've been selected to take part in the second annual Fabric Mart Fabricista Fashion Challenge! Woohoo! I may have been doing little dances around my house ever since learning I was selected. Not only are there great prizes, but it just sounds like pure FUN! Well, fun and an eensy bit of pressure.

Read all about the challenge here, and meet the other contestants here. I'll be receiving my first challenge on Friday and will be submitting my result to Fabric Mart the following Tuesday. Voting will be open Wednesday and Thursday every week. I hope you will excuse a little interruption of normal blog life, though ideally I'll also be writing up posts about my outfits here.

No matter how the competition goes, I'm thrilled to be a part of it! Good thing I got this baby in the mail last week...

Once all the craziness calms down, I promise a real introduction!

July 4th outfit

Hey, remember I have a kid? If you haven't been reading for long, you may not know that, because I haven't sewn anything for her since...February! Eeeep! For a while there I really fell off the wagon about sewing her stuff. She went through this clothes-hating phase and I got totally obsessed with my Wardrobe Architect sewing...so yeah. It's about time I made something for her!

Girl Charlee gave me the perfect motivation with their Stars and Stripes Contest. The objective: sew something patriotic using one or more of GC's fantastic red, white and blue fabrics. If you've been reading for a long time, then you remember I won this contest last year! The only time I've ever won a sewing contest that wasn't randomly selected, haha. 

Look how short her hair is!

When I decided to enter the contest, I didn't have time to acquire new fabrics, so I turned to my stash. Luckily for me, unluckily for my wallet, I have zillions of GC knits. Both fabrics in this outfit are from there.

I was inspired by the thought of a big, full gathered skirt in the red and white chevron. This is totally unlike any of AB's other skirts. It's not terribly practical for a running, jumping 2 year old, but when I put it on her she surprised me by LOVING it. She couldn't stop swishing it around and saying "pretty pretty".

The skirt is simply a rectangle gathered to fit an applied elastic waistband. I wanted the waistband to be a separate piece so that it could be less full than the skirt, cinching in at the waist without extra volume. To balance out the skirt, I went with a fitted bodysuit, which stays in place much better than a t-shirt would.

The bodysuit was sewn using the Lullaby Line Bodysuit pattern from Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop (affiliate link). AB is almost 2 1/2 and I ended up going with the 2T with 1" of length added. It fits snugly, as intended. I converted it to sleeveless using the knit binding method that I'll share next week.

The matching pocket was actually my husband's idea, and it was a good one.

The topstitching was done with my coverstitch machine, in white for some extra fun. I love how the color pops on the blue!

It IS possible to get a posed photo from her, but you better be quick! She always wants to come around the camera and see the photo of herself.

"Cheeeeeeese"

Check out the other contest entries on social media using the hashtag #gcstarsandstripes. There were some great ones! You can see the winner here.

Pick up another great Peek-a-Boo pattern today for 50% off! The Sweetheart Halter pattern is $4 today only for Thrifty Thursday. This one is very popular in the Facebook group! (affiliate links)

Last day to vote!

Today is the last day to vote for my look in the Sewing Indie Month contest! Go HERE to vote, it takes a mere 10 Mississippis of your time. Click on the heart in the upper-right hand corner of my photo (#9). That's it! C'mon, I know I have some AMAZING readers out there who would love to see what I make with the prizes, right? Some Comox trunks? A Sewn Square One bomber jacket? You'll see it here if I win! And if you've already voted, thank you, it made me day to see the little numbers tick upwards!

Sewing Indie Month: vote for me!

Last week I posted my entries for the Sewing Indie Month contest, in the Everyday Casual category. This was the category with the most entries, and so the ladies behind the contest decided to do two rounds of voting. A shortlist of entries was created by the pattern companies, and now voting is open to everyone else. And wouldn't you know it, my entries made it to the short list! Hooray!

Victoria Blazer and Tonic Tee

You can go HERE to vote for your favorite look (click on the heart in the top-right corner of the photo to vote). Voting ends Friday. If mine is your favorite, then I would sincerely appreciate your vote! I'm thrilled and humbled to have been included on the short list, out of 50+ entries. I think I'll wear this outfit today to celebrate!

Another random note: free shipping on A Sewist's Notebook ends tonight at midnight eastern time. Go here to order, and use code: JS614.

Happy Monday!

Sewing Indie Month

At the beginning of May, I heard about Sewing Indie Month via Dixie DIY. It's basically one big month of interviews and tutorials with all our favorite indie pattern designers. I know that I was super impressed with the line up of companies and bloggers participating. There is a contest running as well, with some amazing prizes.

Today I'm sharing my two makes for Sewing Indie Month, the By Hand London Victoria Blazer, and the SBCC Tonic Tee!

I'm submitting these garments in the category of Everyday Casual. What's more casual than a grey t-shirt? And the oversized Victoria Blazer is perfect for every day (seriously! it goes with everything!). Since it's made with cotton ponte, it's as comfortable as my favorite sweatshirt. Y'know, if the sweatshirt was lined with silk!

I've already written at length about my Victoria Blazer (here) and tomorrow I'll be posting my tips and tricks for working with the pattern. I'll have a more formal review of the Tonic Tee soon. I believe it deserves its own post! But for my Sewing Indie Month contest entry, I thought it would be more fun to skip all the wordiness and share a bunch of photos. Enjoy!

Sewing Project: Skirt Week!

Have you been following along with Skirt Week over at Crafterhours? There have been a bunch of great skirt tutorials for both women and girls. And don't forget the contest! Get your entries into the Flickr Groups by June 7th for the chance to win some fabulous prizes.

I entered my Accidental Maxi Skirt, as well as two other skirts that I haven't blogged about yet. Here's a quick batch of pictures, with more detailed posts coming next week!

I guess you could say I'm on a bit of a chevron kick? Both of these skirts were fun to make, although working with stripes and chevrons requires precision and being very careful. But look at how well everything matches up! If you don't own a serger yet, it's worth the investment for how beautifully it matches stripes.

Need more detail shots? I can oblige!

I plan on posting tutorials next week for both skirts, so check back Tuesday and Thursday! Better yet, follow me on Pinterest, Facebook, or Bloglovin (buttons in the sidebar!) and that way you won't forget :) I love the chevron skirt, it's so versatile and being reversible/two layers gives it more heft than a regular knit skirt. I think I'll wear it today!

Looking for some summer fun for your little one? Peek-A-Boo Pattern Shop has the adorable Bubble Shorts on sale for Thrifty Thursday. These are so cute (center photo)!

Natural Fibers Contest

If you're a member of Pattern Review, I would appreciate a vote in the Natural Fibers contest! Go here to see all the entrants and to cast your vote. Look for this sweet photo of AB in the list of entries. Thanks!