The My Dress by Debbie Brooke Designs PDF Pattern Review

I recently had the pleasure of testing the new PDF version of the My Dress by Debbie Brooke Designs.  I have to admit I had been admiring the pattern for some time and was super excited to get the PDF version.  Many people still prefer paper patterns to the PDF versions, but there are some aspects of the PDF patterns that I really enjoy.  Here they are:

1.  I do not have to trace my size, because I can print out the PDF pattern as many times as I want.
2.  You get the file immediately.  (I can be very impatient.)
3.  I always have a copy of the pattern stored on my computer (and a back-up somewhere else of course) and I do not have to worry about loosing a pattern piece or part of the instructions.

These are just the points that are important to me.  Luckily, many independent designers release both a paper and PDF version of their designs, so we can all be satisfied.  I will say that I am not deterred either way, if I like a pattern I will buy it no matter the format, but I am definitely leaning toward the PDF versions these days.  You can get the paper pattern here, and the PDF will be available soon.

The My Dress PDF:
Okay, one of the things that I notice when I piece together a PDF pattern is how well the pieces lined up when I taped them all together.  Out of all of the PDF patterns I have used to date, this pattern lined up the best!  There were easy to follow instructions with letters that matched up on the corners/edges as well as numbers for each page and all of the lines matched up beautifully.  

As for the rest of the aspects of the PDF, the content was organized logically and the instructions were easy to follow with quality photos and diagrams.

Overall Opinion of the My Dress Pattern:
I am in love with this dress at the moment!  The basic shape of the dress is elegant and flattering and I, of course, love the pleats at the shoulder.  One of the best aspects of the dress/pattern is that you can make it with woven or knit fabric!  In addition to that, there is a maternity variation, while I will not be needing that feature for myself, I certainly love a pattern with options.  The construction is clever with a fully lined bodice (which is a favorite of mine) and simple techniques for a nice finish.  And it is definitely a great project for beginners, especially the knit version, since you do not need the zipper!

For my first version of the My Dress, I chose to use knit fabric since I just received the gorgeous, buttery soft Arizona knits in the shop.  The Tomahawk Stripe knit by April Rhodes for Art Gallery Fabrics was wonderful to work with and so comfortable for this dress.  I used a ball point needle with no trouble and the seams turned out nicely.  I did not make any modifications to the sizing or to any of the seams, however I did cut the knit with the stripes running vertically instead of horizontally.  I also did not line up the stripe on the bodice and skirt on purpose because I wanted there to be a slight variation to emphasize the seam separating the two.  Just a side note, the dress is a size six.  The instructions say to go with the smaller size if your measurements fall in between two sizes, which I did.  I will most likely have to cut the larger size (at least for the skirt) for the woven version, or cut back on the junk food!

I would definitely recommend this pattern to both beginners and advanced sewers.  It is fairly quick and easy to put together plus it is comfortable and cute!  I have not made the woven versions with the zipper yet, so I cannot speak for that portion of the instructions, but I will update as soon as I do.

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope that you enjoyed it!  And also big thanks to Debbie for allowing me the opportunity to test the PDF version of the My Dress pattern.  This post is linked up with Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts and with Show Off Saturday at Sew Can She.

Party Dress from the Riding Peplum and Party Dress Pattern by April Rhodes

I recently had a small piece of voile that had some damage to it that I wanted to use somehow.  I had been wanting to make a Party Dress ever since I finished my Riding Peplum a few weeks ago.  Since I didn't have enough of the voile to make a whole dress, I decided I could use it for the bodice and then use a different fabric for the skirt.  In comes Essex linen, which I am sure I have mentioned before is one of my favorite fabrics.  I had purchased some of the yarn dyed steel color from a friend on Instagram (thank you @auntipami), and it matched the Palos Verdes La Venta voile that I wanted to use for the bodice perfectly....score!  My only concern was that the Essex linen would be a bit heavy and pull on the voile too much.  Turns out it was not a problem.  The Essex linen has a nice drape and I did not have make any alterations to the pattern instructions!

The only bad thing is that the triangles in the print are a bit off and so the waist seem looks a bit wonky but it actually isn't....oh well.

Thanks so much for stopping by and this post is linked up with Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts and Show Off Saturday at Sew Can She.

Farmer's Wife "Progress" Or Lack Thereof

Well, I am still around but just having a hard time keeping up with everything.  I did get to go to International Quilt Market for the first time a couple of weeks ago which was amazing and overwhelming!  I am planning to post a bit about it and do a little giveaway, hopefully soon.  For now, I wanted to do an update of my Farmer's Wife blocks.  In the last month and a half I got pretty far behind with my progress.  I didn't do any blocks in April and didn't start making block this month until a couple of days ago.  While my goal was 12 blocks per month, I have six of the 12 for May finished (with a couple cut out and ready to be sewn) and I am hoping to be able to make up a few blocks this summer.  To see my last update in March go here.  Below is what I have so far this month.

The one in the middle took forever to piece, but I do sort of love it!  I feel like I was trying to do the easy ones first and was flying through it.  Now I have to start doing some of the more time consuming ones and I am not to get as many done as quickly.  So I believe I am currently at 42 of 144...interesting....mearly a dent!

Wish me luck in getting these finished and stay tuned for a Market report!

This post is linked up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Winners....Yes, Winners! And Tula Pink's Moonshine.

First, I have to apologize for the delay in letting you guys know the winners.  I was in Pittsburgh at the International Quilt Market and thought I would have time to take care of it and just could not make it happen.  To hopefully make up for it a bit, I decided to choose two winners!  Winners were randomly selected using the Rafflecopter application, and can be seen on the widget in the original giveaway post.  And the winners are....

Entry #560  Teresa

Entry #19    Sonya M.

 

Both were Facebook likes (and emails have been sent)!  So, many thanks to everyone who participated.  I dearly appreciate the support and I enjoyed reading all of your favorite Tula Pink collections.  But just wait until you see her new collection, Moonshine which will be out this September!  Such amazing colors and the prints are always outstanding.  Here are a few photos to tie you over until then....

We also received our shipment of the new Tula Pink Moonshine Aurifil collections while I was gone. I will post it on Facebook when they are up in the Etsy shop!  There are three of the 10 small spool collections, one called Dandelion, another called Meadow, and the last called Strawberry.  Each one matches one of the fabric colorways....how clever!

Thank you so much again for stopping by!

Giveaway Day: Fox Field by Tula Pink Dusk Colorway Fat Quarter Bundle

Yay, it is Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway Day today!  I had so much fun last time, that I have been looking forward to this ever since.  So today, I am giving away a fat quarter bundle of the eight prints from Tula Pink's Fox Field Dusk colorway.  One of my favorite things about Tula's collections is that they coordinate so well between them.  We even still have some of the Acacia prints in the Etsy shop that look great with these Fox Field prints.

You can enter below with up to five entries using the Rafflecopter widget.  One entry for commenting below telling me your favorite Tula Pink collection of all time or anything else you might want.  Then you can gain a second entry by following us on Facebook, where coupon codes are announced as well as new items that are added to the Etsy shop. Following my blog via Bloglovin' will give you another entry.  And lastly, you can gain another TWO entries by following us on Instagram, where we always have some sort of deal going on and projects being posted!  Plus, with Quilt Market going on next week I hope to have a lot of great Instagram posts for you with lots of new fabric!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thanks so much for stopping by and participating!  Entries can be submitted until 8pm EST on Friday, May 16th, and a winner will be announced on Saturday, May 17th.

Fabiana Peplum: A Pattern by Debbie Brooke Designs

I had the pleasure and privileged to be a pattern tester for the Fabiana Peplum and Dress Pattern by Debbie Brooke Designs.  Debbie Brook is the owner of a fabric/sewing shop in Charleston, SC called Five Eighth Seams and they have an online shop as well, which is where you can go order this pattern.

I made the size 12 in hopes that my 13 year old would wear it, at least on special occasions.  You see, she is very much a t-shirt and jeans kind of gal, and I stopped sewing things for her a while ago for this very reason.  Anyway, I thought I would give it a shot since sometimes she HAS to wear something a little more dressy!  In the end I at least got her to pose for photos, however that might be the last time I see that top on her.  I think it looks great on her!

The peplum features a circle skirt and racer back.  The entire top is lined and the is a zipper down the back of the bodice.  The skirt has interfacing giving it body and structure.

My daughter chose the fabric for the peplum, which is Vs in Grey from the Color Me Happy collection by V and Co.  I am a huge fan of grey, so I think it is perfect.

You might notice in these photos that there is some puckering at the waist, I believe the problem was that I only attached the skirt to the front of the bodice and not the front and lining.  I was going to hand stitch the lining to the skirt on the inside, but then decided not to.  When I did attach the skirt to both layers there was far less puckering.  I think that the weight of the skirt, with the outer skirt, interfacing, and lining, was a bit heavy for just the outer bodice only.  I was not however able to get her to put the top back on for anymore photos though, so I can't really show the difference.

One of the best parts about this pattern is that the pieces are already cut out!  To me that is awesome because it is one less step to the finished product which means less time spent total....score.  The pattern instructions were easy to follow with color photos, which is always a plus.  Overall this is a great pattern for beginners and up.  It is available in kids sizes six months to 12.

Thanks again to Debbie Brook for allowing me to test out her Fabiana Peplum and Dress pattern and thanks to all of you for checking out my post!

This post is linked up with Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts and Show Off Saturday at Sew Can She.

Riding Peplum Pattern by April Rhodes: A Review

I purchased the pdf version of the Riding Peplum and Party Dress by April Rhodes back when it came out toward the end of last year.  I originally planned to make this top to wear on New Year's with a cute cardigan or something.  As you can see, I am a little behind schedule!  Anyway, since this week was Selfish Sewing Week, I figured I would try and make it happen.  The great thing about this pattern is that it is only four pieces, plus some bias binding.  There are no zippers, buttons, etc. so it is perfect for beginners.  It also goes together rather quickly, so it is a great top to sew in a pinch. 

There are two darts in the front, which I did not alter.  They probably could have used some tweaking but well, I was too lazy.  Also, I used a quilting weight fabric for the top, specifically, Nanny Bee in Green from the Briar Rose Collection by Heather Ross.  The true color of the fabric is more like the first photo in the post, unfortunately my other photos were taken at night so my colors are off.

As you can see from the side and back views, the back is longer than the front and there are only darts in the front.  The bottom has a simple folded hem and the arm holes and neckline are finished using bias binding.  The garment is unlined.

Overall the Riding Peplum is a great pattern.  It is simple and easy to construct, and it goes together quickly.  The instructions are easy to follow with lots of color photos, and you have to love those!  The finished garment is quite comfortable as it is supposed to be a looser more relaxed fitting top.  I do really like the top but I am not totally sold on peplums in general for my body type.  Anyway, it is worth checking out for sure.  Now I just need to make her Staple Dress and I am set!

Thanks so much for stopping by and this post was linked up with Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts and Show It Off Saturday at Sew Can She.

Datura #3: A Pattern by Deer and Doe

It's official, I love the Datura blouse pattern by Deer and Doe.  I am on my third and it might be my favorite yet.  I used a Nani Iro double gauze I purchased from someone destashing on Instagram.  If you have not ventured into the world of Instagram yet, you should totally try it.  So many great projects and people out there!  

For this version of the Datura blouse, I used the border and factory edge of the fabric for the bottom hem of the top.  Because of this, I made a straight hem at the bottom instead of the original hem as I did in my first two Datura blouses.  

I also went with a plain neckline, no triangle cut-outs or collar.  Simple but awesome.  The double gauze was a bit tricky to sew with, however I was also using a different machine than I normally use so I am not sure it was all the double gauze.  Either way, I love the result and I already have the fabric for my next Datura washed and ready to go.  I believe this is going to be my go to piece this summer!

The only part I have not finished on this top is the buttons.  What kind of buttons would you use on the back?

Thanks so much for stopping by.  This post is linked up with Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts. and Show Off Saturday at Sew Can She.

Layer Cake Sampler Quilt Along: A WIP Wedenesday Edition

This post is going to be fairly short and sweet.  I joined along with the Layer Cake Sampler Quilt Along over at Material Girl Quilts, click the image below to check it out.  

I resisted for a while, but I kept seeing everyone's blocks popping up on Instagram and caved!  It is such a cute pattern and HST are really fun anyway.  I had already started a quilt using some HST I made using leftovers from a couple of baby quilts back in January.  I love that I was able to make a whole other quilt top from them, which I am almost finished with but haven't had a chance to photograph it yet, so here is just a photo of the blocks.

For the quilt along, I chose to cut into my Reunion by Sweetwater charm packs.  This was extremely hard to do and I went back and forth on it for a while.  I am still not convinced that it was a good idea, but only time will tell I suppose.  I also was pretty late to the quilt along so I only have two blocks done so far and they are on blocks 13 and 14 this week.  I have a lot of catching up to do!

Thanks for stopping by!  This post is linked up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

Datura #2: A Pattern By Deer and Doe

I finally made another Datura blouse by Deer and Doe.  I am pretty sure I mentioned this before, but I love this pattern.  I like the way it comes together so much and I love the fit.  This time around I made the collared version (love it), and used some of the Palos Verdes Voile by A Creative Mint for Cloud 9.  This fabric is gorgeous by the way.  

Sorry, I didn't realize how wrinkled it was until I saw these photos!  Here is the back.

Let's rewind of a second and talk about the first Datura I made last year.  I made the triangle cut out version, and used Essex linen in flax for the top portion and The Way of Flowers from the Koi Collection by Rashida Coleman-Hale for the bottom.  Pretty much love how this one turned out as well.

I am also in the process of making another version, with a plain neckline and straight hem using a Nani Iro double gauze I got from a seller on Instagram.  (Instagram is so amazing…and yet so dangerous!)  I have been wanting to make a top or skirt using a border print where I don’t have to hem, and this is it!  I was hoping to have it finished to show you today, but it has been very difficult finding time to sew this week.  You will just have to just check out my pieces for now, and hopefully I will have a finished product to show off soon.

I also have a couple of other Datura blouse ideas and I even bought fabric for them already.  One is similar to a Datura blouse I saw on @christinehaynes feed on Instagram a week or so ago using a navy Art Gallery print for the bottom half and a natural linen color for the top and collar.  I found the same print in a dark gray and plan on making pretty much the same top!  So awesome.  Then for the other I just found another Art Gallery print from the Indian Summer Collection by Sarah Watson.  For this fabric I was thinking plain neckline but a hi-lo hem….if that is even the correct term for it!  Do you think that will be enough?!?!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  This post is linked up with Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.

I'm Back....With Some More Farmer's Wife Blocks: A WIP Wednesday Edition

I am so sorry that it has been so long.  It has been tough keeping up with everything lately.  Plus, it has been tax time....dun, dun, duuuuuun!  Anyway, I just wanted to do a little update on my Farmer's Wife quilt.  I finally finished my twelve new blocks for March about a week ago and now it is April already.  What!?!?  I guess I will be doing another update sooner rather than later.  Here is where I am so far with my blocks, I have made 36 so far.  

I am going to show you a close up of six of my latest blocks.  Two of the blocks I made this month were duplicates of each other.  I need to have 34 doubles I believe it is so I thought I would do a couple now.  The first block is the Buckwheat block, which is number 13 in the book.

I love how much the look of the same block can be with different fabric.  It gets me every time!  The next duplicate block I made was the Economy block, number 29 in the book.  I am sure you have heard of this one.  I believe there has been a quilt along on the web where quilters are making whole quilts using only this block.  They look great....perhaps I will have to add that one to my giant list of projects as well!  Here are the two Economy blocks I made for the Farmer's Wife quilt.

Then there is the Broken Sugar Bowl block, number 12 in the book.

Finally, the Evening Star block, number 31 in the book.  The red it this photo looks a little off, but you get the idea!

I am using the template method to make these as instructed in the book, and I like it.  I know there are others out there who use a different method.  Either way I think this is an enjoyable project that I can do a little at a time and I love what I envision the outcome to be!

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I am hoping to be blogging more regularly again, so come back soon to check it out!

This post is linked up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced. 

Mini Dwell WIP: Top Done....Now Onto Quilting!

Well, I feel like there aren't enough hours in the day, but then again I think that a lot of us must feel this way.  I think that perhaps a little prioritization and list making is in order, but doesn't that take time as well?  Anyway, enough of that.  I am finishing up the initial April Showers fabric orders to send out, but I wanted to get a quick post in since it has been a little while.  

I do really love this new collection by Bonnie and Camille, but then again I love pretty much all of them.  While waiting on this new fabric to arrive and procrastinating taxes, I started working on a Mini Dwell using the Thimble Blossoms pattern by none other than Camille Roskelley.  I have been on a bit of a Hometown fabric kick lately, so of course that is what I used.  I basically love it!  Plus, I was able to use some more labels from Sweetwaterscrapbooks on Etsy.  Their labels are amazing!

I just need to figure out how I want to quilt it.  I want it to be fast, but I want it to look good as well!  I take way too long contemplating these things....

The other amazing fabric collection that we just got into the Etsy shop is Grey Abbey by Elizabeth Olwen for Cloud 9.  Cloud 9 has a great free quilt pattern using this fabric called the Ribbon Box Quilt on their website.  It is definitely worth checking out.  I have been greatly anticipating the arrival of this one, and it is perfect!  It is up in the shop now, and of course I want to make some thing with it.  But I am going to try my hardest to resist, so I can finish a couple of other projects first.   Maybe if I can finish a couple I will reward myself by sewing some thing new with it!

Lastly, I was wanting to do a giveaway on Instagram, hopefully sometime tomorrow.  If you are interested follow my Instagram account, GoobaDesigns.  I think I will be giving away one of Thimble Blossoms "mini" patterns and a fabric kit with it.  Haven't decided exactly what yet, any suggestions?  

Thanks for stopping by and this post is linked up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.