Monday, February 15, 2021

Saturday, September 2, 2017

Sewing Bee Round 1!!

Well it's Sewing Bee time at Ye Olde Pattern Review!  
This time the first round is to make a "pencil" skirt inspired by a piece of music or a musician.  I have my pattern cut out and basted and will be posting it soon!

Friday, February 24, 2017

A Steampunk Tea

Hi Everyone!
Clearly I am a very sporadic blogger--I have every intention of blogging more regularly but.....life seems to get in the way!
Annnnyway, I have entered the Suduko contest on Pattern Review, which consists of making 10 coordinating garments in two months.  I had completed 4 of the 10, when my sweet daughter-in-law Teri, and my little 3 year old granddaughter Emily, recently went to a tea house in Hillsboro.  We have decided to try different tea rooms in the Portland and outlying areas.  Teri is great at sleuthing out new ones and she mentioned that there is a Steampunk Tea House right in my area!  Who knew? Well, with that, the 5th piece of my 10 piece wardrobe went out the window and I was on a mission to make a 3 year old Steampunk going to tea outfit!  I wonder if I have a bit of ADD or was I just seduced by the fact that there is no fitting issues with a toddler garment.  
I looked through my stash and found a black fabric with black and white polka dot ribbon applied on it creating random circles.  I think it may be a Gertie fabric from Joanns. I decided to use it to create steampunk looking skirt.  I used Simplicity 2356 for my pattern, and for the underskirt I dug out a vintage black crinoline that I had bought several years ago at a thrift store that would be perfect for that use.  Next, I made some leggings from a black and white stripe knit that I had bought some time ago--can't remember why, but it was perfect for this ensemble; not that I am any kind of expert on steampunk, but after a visit to Pinterest, this seemed to be the perfect compliment to the skirt.  I used the Johnny Mango Seed legging pattern. I believe this is an out of print pattern, in fact I think the company is no longer in business.
Finally, I was at Target to pick up a couple of things, when I found a pair of suspenders and some punk looking boots to finish the look! 

What a fun project and I can't wait to visit the Clockwork Rose Tea Emporium with my special girls!!  
Steampunk skirt with leggins

Crinoline peeking out 
  

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Susie Macaroni will be at the Garden Home Christmas Bazaar!

Can Christmas really be just around the corner??  Yikes!  This year has just flown by and as my old friend Eleanor used to say,"It's gettin' cold and gettin' Christmas."    
Last year I visited the totally charming Christmas Bazaar at the Garden Home Community Center--and this year I will be participating.  Yippee!  
I wanted to give you a sneak peak at some of the outfits from Susie Macaroni that I will have at the sale. 




The Garden Home Community Christmas Bazaar will be one day, Saturday, December 3rd from 9 a.m to 4 p.m.  The address is 7475 SW Oleson Road.
They will have a breakfast with Santa from 8-9 a.m.  $3 for children and $5 for adults.  They will be serving all you can eat pancakes.  They will also have photos with Santa!

I will be posting more in the near future--so as they say, "stay tuned"!  
In the meantime, be kind to yourself.

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

SUSIE MACARONI

I am finally back in the blogosphere!  I can't believe how much time has gone by since my last post.  I have, however, continued to pursue sewing and I recently launched a line of little girls clothing.  As a child my dad called me Susie Macaroni, so SUSIE MACARONI  seemed the perfect name for my line.
The styles are all simple with a little bit of nostalgia from the swinging sixties and the hippie seventies.  The fabrics are all linen, cotton, wool and vintage.  
They are currently in a new shop in Multnomah Village called the Multnomah Marketplace located at 7642 SW Capitol Highway.  Of course, they are also available directly through me.  Take a look at what I've been up to!  
Oh!  And in case your wondering, the cute model is my adorable granddaughter Emily and the mannequins were made by Phil--  
My photography leaves a little to be desired, hopefully in the future I will have more professional photos.

I would love to hear your comments! 
Thanks for reading!!

This cute little flutter top is made from Pendleton cotton and the cropped pants from a lightweight cotton.
Flutter Top/Cropped Pants

Simple jumper dress that can be worn with a t-shirt underneath or as a sundress--yoke made from vintage appliqued dish towels--
Vintage towel/Denim Dress
Denim Dress with Saddle Shoes


A little Blast from the seventies, the Peasant Top.  The yoke is made from vintage dish towels appliqued with these adorable birds--so cute!

Vintage applique towel/cotton Top   
And for Halloween--How about a Little Red Riding Hood costume?  It's  roomy enough to have something warm underneath if the weather should turn chilly!
 


Back Red Riding Hood Costume
Red Riding Hood Costume
Red Riding Hood Costume Dress

Friday, January 17, 2014

FIRST GARMENT OF 2014!


Yippee fellow sewists, I have successfully completed a shirt with the help of Pam Howard's Tailored Shirt Class on Craftsy!  I am really pleased with the result.  It has been an interesting experience from the perspective of someone who has been a sewer for many years.  I had given up on garment sewing many years ago as nothing ever fit.  At that time, I would buy a pattern, pick a size that was closest to my measurements and start cutting and sewing.  Needless to say most often, there were so many fitting issues, that the garment usually ended up in the Goodwill bag and I was left feeling frustrated and inadequate.  In those days, I had never heard of creating a muslin and I suspect if I had I would have thought "that takes way to much time!".  Through this process of taking classes, I realize how valuable a tool a muslin becomes.  Through the muslin, I was able to make adjustments and end up with a pattern I can use over and over to make a classic shirt, not to mention a garment I can actually wear with pride.  

I want to add an unsolicited plug for the Craftsy classes!  I think they are fantastic because once you buy the class you can watch them over and over again and follow along as you sew.  Pam Howard's Tailored Shirt class was really fantastic.  Not only do I have a shirt that looks rtw, but I learned so many valuable sewing tips.  My next project is Angela Wolf's Designer Jeans--again I will follow along with her Craftsy class.  I can't wait to see what I am able to do next!   

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Manic Muslin Monday!

I know, today is Thursday, but I actually took the picture on Monday and am just getting around to blogging about it today.  I decided to reconsider the Vogue shirt pattern I had originally showed you as all the princess seams would be difficult to match using a plaid.  Instead I decided on Kwik Sew"s #3555 shirt pattern which I think will be a better choice with the fabric. I did have to make some adjustments to the muslin which gave me a few fits (no pun intended), I needed smaller in the shoulders and larger in the hip area--hmmmm, sewing may be trying to tell me something!  Regardless, I feel a sense of accomplishment just getting this finished and I hope by next week I will have close to a finished garment to share with you.  See you then!