Naturally neutral

The old saying "She'd look good in burlap" definitely applies to the Sis Boom Rosetta Bag!



I wear a lot of brights, so I wanted a bag that was somewhat neutral for spring. Since burlap is trendy, cheap, and durable, I decided to give it a shot.




I finished all of the edges with a 3 thread overlock stitch to prevent fraying during and after the construction process. Instead of gathering with basting stitches, I just pulled on the jute fibers - so fun and easy!




I lined the bag with unbleached cotton muslin and included pockets on each side for my phone, wallet, etc.




I trimmed the top band with vintage lace and a mix of mother-of-pearl and white plastic buttons.




Doesn't this one look like a screaming toddler?

Spring Show &Tell

Ahhh - Spring! All the singing birds and pretty flowers motivated me to brighten up my dining room with some happy Sis Boom fabrics!




First off, I recovered my dining room chairs with prints from Girlfriends and Poodle. The dinette came with the house, and the chairs were covered with a light peach velveteen that was no match for Louie. The recovery process was actually pretty painless. There were three screws in the bottom of the chair, and when I removed them the seat and back popped right out. The bottom and sides of the back cover are stitched, and the top is stapled. The bottom cover is just stretched and stapled on. I'm so happy to walk into the room and see paisleys and toiles rather than pizza stains and Elmer's glue blobs.




I also made a coordinating runner for the buffet using Poodle laminate.




Talk about a low-effort project. I just cut it to size with pinking shears. You could actually use regular scissors, as laminate does not fray.




This year's seedlings are doing really well. I'm staggering plantings in hopes of a more constant harvest rather than too many veggies all at once.




The perennial beds are weeded and ready for action. There are few bulbs up and blooming, but things will really get rocking in the next few weeks when the peonies and irises pop.




For now, we are really enjoying the daffodils.
(Get the Bosco Bowtie tutorial here for free!)




Not too much green on in the veggie bed yet, but there are lots of little seedlings up.




A family of bunnies moved into the neighborhood, so we are going to have to put up a little fence. In the meantime, we are protecting the pea seedlings with seltzer water bottle cloches. They seem very happy :) .

Give the gift of sewing!!!

Do you have any special friends who are dying to learn how to sew beautiful things for their little girls, but don't know where to start? Virtue Radio Network is offering an amazing online sewing class with Jennifer Paganelli, and I think it would make a wonderful gift! In fact...Mother's Day is coming up on May 8th, and any woman with sewing dreams would LOVE to be treated to this deluxe package! In fact, if you know of any husbands looking for a unique gift to give their wives, I'm sure they would appreciate the hint!

For only $59 (so much cheaper than the day spa), they will get an all inclusive, luxury sewing experience. You can get all the details here, but basically the deal includes a downloadable instructional video (can be watched again and again), a live chat with Jennifer and Dolin O'Shea (patternmaker and couture seamstress), special discounts at Fabric.com, and an autographed copy of Jen's beautiful new book Girl's World (a 24.95 value...not counting the signature)!

The book contains 21 sewing projects, but the one they picked for the class is one of my favorites and is absolutely perfect for beginners. I had the opportunity to try this one out when the book was first coming together.


I made two sizes, and I was amazed at how quickly and easily the dresses went together. As you can see, it looks so beautifully girly on little ones and tweens alike. You can make it out of a single print, or mix and match. I highly recommend this pattern. I've been sewing for years, and I didn't quite "get" finishing neck and arm openings with bias tape until I followed Dolin's instructions. It gives such a nice finish, and is so dang easy. You can see more photos of finished sash dresses and a great video about the class on Jennifer's blog.

More Jamie!

You asked for it...more pics of the new Jamie Dress, modeled by our lovely testers!

Here is sweet Jenny in her gorgeous Jamie sundress made from Honey Child Danielle fabric. LOVE the flip-flops and the gerbera daisies! That girl is single-handedly bringing summer to Texas!!! Check out her blog to see the coordinating Marissa dress she made her precious little daughter.




Above is another beautiful babe from the Lone Star State! Shannon's dress is made of Nelly Melon, also from the Honey Child collection. This talented girl has been busy lately...check out her new Etsy Shop!




Jeanne made this Easter Dress for her stunning daughter (who managed to look perfectly springy despite the freezing cold).

Here is Teresa, a lovely Midwestern lass who brightens the landscape right up! LOVE this purple Rosetta dress on her. Check out Flickr to see pics of her cute little redheaded daughter in her coordinating Marissa dress.




Angie, Tester Tom's wife, is looking amazing in the dress he made for her. According to Tom, she wasn't thrilled to be out in the cold, but she still managed a pretty smile (the things we women do for the guys we love). The regal fabric is Dolin from Queen Street. He also made some beautiful Marissa dresses for his daughter - see them on Flickr!




I absolutely adore this picture of my girl Cathy in her Jamie Dress! That fabric is just perfect for her (Honey Child Danielle), and I love the style with her cute bobbed haircut. She only lives a few hours from me, and we are both so ready for green grass and blue skies!!!





And finally, me in my boggy backyard. I used the periwinkle Maritza from Queen Street to whip up a fabulous retro-frock to wear to quilt market later this spring. In honor of the style and my locale (Baltimore suburbs), I teased my hair into a bouffant and put on some frosted lipstick. Now I have this strange urge do the Mashed Potato like Tracy Turnblad (interestingly, John Waters grew up less than a mile from my house, hon).

In addition to requests for more pics of the Jamie dress modeled, I've gotten some great questions about the zipper insertion. The glue sticks I use are the ordinary ones you'd use for paper projects - Elmer's, Scotch Brand, UHU, etc. The glue will come out in the wash, so you don't need to be too picky. As far as the foot goes, I use my regular presser foot with the needle positioned to the far right hand side. I've never been that skilled with the zipper foot...I can't keep the stitching straight with such a narrow base of support. Between the glue and the wider foot, everything stays in place, giving nice even stitching.