Manic Pop

I've made two more things in between this top -- ANOTHER Mccall's M7722 top! But I wanted to post this one 1st. This time I used lightning bolt fabric I had hanging around from adding random yardage to get free shipping. I made the open-sleeve cold shoulder version one in a few hours and I don't regret it. But it somehow ended up having a very "electroclash" feel. Anyone remember that trend in the early 2000s? It was a nod to 80s New Wave, but darker musically and a bunch of neon and lighting bolts. So I got real extra with my photos on purpose. See electroclash example below.  Trust me... there was also lots of lighting bolts too. I feel like the height of electroclash was maybe 2005ish (could be wrong) but I remember places in Chicago like Medusa's Circle carrying lots of electoclash-ish garb back then as well as the neon makeup. Not much else to say about this top except enjoy my wacky photos! Haha.

We haven't truly seen the sun here in West Michigan for nearly two weeks (ok, on and off) and the sun just now started setting early which means....................! We're just gonna have to work with these non-color-true photos due t o lack of natural sunlight and due to poor lighting in my house. Bahahaha.  Either way.... I cranked out TWO new tops this weekend! I got really excited on either Thursday or Friday when Jackie from McCall's patterns posted a Sew the Look photo with this pattern --pattern number M7722. On Friday, I "accidentally" ended up at Joann Fabrics after work and this pattern happened to be 40% off! Also on Friday, I made a 2nd trip to Field's Fabrics off of Kalamazoo Ave here in Grand Rapids and found BOTH fabric for this top version for a grand total of $15. FIFTEEN. I can't buy shirts at Forever21 at this price! They both sewed up ridiculously quickly. I really only set off to buy fabric enough for 1 top, but when ...

It's funny how the more things change, the more they stay the same. Aside from my amazing rainbow staircase I painted.... Other than that, I am back to taking photos in front of my orange bookshelf! I think that's what I mean about things staying the same. I used to take photos in front of it in the bungalow house I rented in Chicago from 2009-2014. By now, I am fully moved in and settled into my house in Grand Rapids, Michigan -- one WE BOUGHT. I know I mentioned it in my last blog post, but it's my biggest accomplishment so far in my entire life. We didn't accept any help from anyone in our family either -- so it was ALL us making the house thing happen.  During my settling in time, I have been able to already crank out 3 new items -- one being this ridiculously fun frappuccino sweater. I used a sweater knit from Fabric.com but found the Starbucks patch online.  I'm sure there is some sort of licensing issue with the seller of the patch and Starbucks...

Well, I honestly didn't know these infinity dresses were a "thing" but I guess I do now! I can see why they make a popular choice for bridesmaids dresses as everyone can have their own look and yet remain uniform. This pattern is pretty new and I bought it on sale via Burda's website. I was intrigued by how it worked and it's much simpler than you would think! It does take a LOT of yardage (6.5, though I recommend 7 with seam allowances). The pattern wants you to use a medium weight jersey but honestly, the lighter the better if you ask me! My fabric is from Fabric.com (as always!) and is a super soft double-brushed knit. I knew instantly I wanted a print for this dress so I set off to find a nice printed knit. I only have 4 examples of tying this dress but there are countless ways of doing it!  I tend to like it a little twisted in the back although there are various ways of situating the back.  This way could be great for fall sin...

Super quick make = super quick post!    I made Burda's jersey knit twist top which has a dolman sleeve-like effect. I have a top like this in all black which is one of my favorites. This one is a little more special because it does what seems like a Pattern Magic twist within the pattern making. Here is a photo with the 1st seam sewn. It only has 4 seams and then sleeve and bottom hem plus neck stitching! I actually had this fabric in my stash since November. It is one of those trompe l'oile prints where it appears to be knitted but is really just printed.  Good for me because while I like sweaters, I also tend to run hot and sometimes sweaters are constricting.  This was a fabric I added onto my cart on Fabric.com to get free shipping! 😆😆 Initially I thought I might make a plain turtleneck out of it, but this is so much more interesting! I probably will make a few more of these when I get a chance!

I'm on a roll lately. I'm just gonna keep cranking out new pieces and buying new fabric because that is what my life is currently all about! I finished Butterick's B6554 recently and finally got around to taking photos today. This is my 1st mobile post because my laptop's fan recently died and I would prefer not to overheat my computer while the other replacement fan is being shipped! 😆😆 We decided that today we needed to take photos in our soon-to-be-new city of Grand Rapids, Michigan! More details forthcoming but we are really excited for a change of scenery and a new life.  We goofed off quite a bit in these photos as you can see. The backdrop is downtown Grand Rapids on the iconic blue bridge. For this dress, I used about 5 yards of fabric from fabric.com (my go-to!) of Kaffe Fassett's "Lake Blooms" fabric. Fitting that it would be called "lake blooms" since now I am on the opposite side of the lake from Chicago. ...