Dresser to entertainment center redo

Do you see that dresser there to the right? I found it on Craig's List years ago along with that armoire on the left when my old dresser basically fell apart. This picture is at least two years old, so it has been awhile. I loved how sturdy it is, but hated the look of it. Fast forward to our move in April, and Mr. Thinks He Can and his helper could not get that eye beast up the stairs (it weighs roughly a thousand million pounds). I was not going to let it live in the master bedroom anymore, so it stayed in the living room. We needed a new entertainment center, and since the hideous dresser was already there, I tried to figure out what to do.

Ta-da!!!! I painted it dark brown, with an oil based paint. By the way, no one tells you this until you are no longer capable of Googling, but oil based paint does not come off your skin. When I finally got my finger clean enough to Google how to remove the paint I found out I needed to scrub it with oil. A bit of vegetable oil and a shower later it was off, and my skin was beading up like I'd been treated with Rain-X! Don't say no one warned you.

I enclosed the areas the three drawers were in the middle and drilled a hole in the back of each one for cords to fit through. That bottom one is where my laptop usually sits and charges. By the way, I have a dollar for anyone that can find the box with my camera in it!

The hardware was a strange size, so I decided just to spray paint it brushed nickel. It is a bit sparkly up close, but it mostly looks normal where it sits.

Check out how nicely the drawers behind the doors fit my DVDs! Disclaimer: I used to work in marketing for movie companies, so most of these were free. Not Buffy though, I had to buy that and it was totally worth it!

Here is the before of the lamp. I got it for $3 at the thrift shop down the road. I really liked all the detail of the shape of it.

Here it is again given a coat of primer and that same brushed nickel spray paint as well as an updated lamp shade. 

Not bad, right? Back to sewing soon! The armoire is still in it's hideous state in the garage. I'm thinking on it if anyone has any ideas... The mirrors off the top of the dresser may be painted and hung.

Urbanista Hobo

I did it! This bag took me nearly a year to complete, but I am very happy with it.

This is the Urbanista Hobo Bag by Paradiso Designs. I don't know that anyone remembers when I got this. I met Cheryl, the talent behind Paradiso at the quilt show in November. She even donated that awesome red pleather you see around the top, bottom and on the straps. I have to say working with pleather is really not that bad, and Cheryl offers a lot of advice on how to do it. This pattern kept getting pushed aside between moves and procrastination, nearly finished, for months. My old tote is shot and I knew it was time to make a new one.

How cute is that red pleather alligator bottom? I love how funky the whole bag is between the red alligator and Echino typewriters.

I did change the straps up some. The pattern has you do an awesome through the side and buttoned technique, but I wanted my strap to be a little longer, but at the time I got a bit overwhelmed with the directions. I would not suggest this as a first bag project for people. I would try my hand at the strap as directed though, it is very cute.

The inside is filled with pockets, which is perfect for me. I love my new tote.

House stuff

I've actually been sewing everyday, but boring stuff like curtains or comforters. By the way, king size comforters are sonsabitches. I needed a break today. I decided to make my missing curtains.

That's a bad photo. I may have to try again when the sun goes down some. Don't mind the piles of flooring or heavy machinery everywhere. I like how the curtains make the room look. I just needed to make two more to go across the french door. I still need to hem them. The dilemma is the old ones on the right are a bit short, so i'm deciding what to do. I took the hem out, and it helped some. Maybe once the baseboards go on it will look better. Then I got sucked into a movie.

So I decided to make a couple of coasters. I made them with left over binding  fabric from the man quilt. I tried to convince him, by the way, that if we decorated the living room with fabrics from his quilt it would look chic. In the end we decided it would really look more "winter is coming." However, the coasters are totally cute. I wanted to try pinwheels and I saw something similar on some web site. I wish I had noted it, let me know if I stole your idea and you would like credit. I will add a link to you. It was just enough of a project to finish my movie, and fills a huge need since I never found the old coasters. Win!

Blue Hummingbird

Check me out! I made my first Hummingbird! It looks a bit crooked in the picture but it isn't. It went together very easy, and I can wear it as easily as a T-shirt. Win! I love the pattern. This was my first Cake pattern. I liked using the front waist measurement because I'm fairly high waisted. I don't think I could have gotten the waist fit right had that not been included. I'm also pleased with how flattering it is.

The shirt went together easily. The peplum is kind of brilliant. I thought I would be sewing pleats to get the gathers on it, but no. It's just a scissor trick! I used a clearance knit from Joanns  for this version and it turned out very nice.

I had a couple of issues. I followed the directions for the neckband insertion,then I wound up cutting it off and redoing it. The neckband is the exact size to match the shirt and gets inserted while the pattern is flat. I felt it was kind of gaping. However I may be a bit paranoid about that. I work in a middle school and try to keep the girls covered at all times. What I did was recut the neckband about a half inch wider and 20% shorter. Then I sewed it in the round while stretching it especially around the bottom of the scoop neck. I found it laid flatter, and I felt more secure. I left the sleeve bands as they were. The other issue was my own insecurity. I cut it a size bigger than I am in the waist, and I didn't need to. I can't get used to the idea I'm a bit smaller now. Next time I will take that extra inch out.

This pattern is a win and a pretty dressy little T-shirt which is perfect for brutal hot summers!

Go team Sebrewing!

Little Red Laurel

I made another Laurel. I wanted this one to be a bit dressier. I wore it to the 8th grade awards ceremony where all my 8th graders were honored. To most kids it is not a huge deal, but when you work in the severe and profound class you use every reason you can to make a big deal out of how awesome your kids are. The kids grinned ear to ear the whole time. They got to dress up, and all the parents came and cheered. I had a couple I had to help walk across because we are not so much a stay within the lines group, and I felt awesome both in the dress and to be walking with such deserving kids.

I took some extra care on this dress. The poly voile from Fabric.com was sheer, so I lined it with white muslin. Man, I forgot how easy it is to sew with plain old cotton. I also lengthened this version of the dress to make it more appropriate for the ceremony.

I also hand stitched the bias tape down to the muslin being careful not to catch the voile. There are no visible stitches on the outside of this dress.

You can see my hand stitching on the hem, neck and arm holes here.

The dress is flattering from behind, but after seeing these picture I may add a thin black belt next time. Just for a little more shaping.

Sabrewing House!!!

I was sitting on the couch chatting with Holly and teasing my sweet assistant, when I hopped up and ran out the front door saying only, "That's a blue envelope! My Hummingbird!" Thank goodness it was Holly. She gets it. If you haven't heard of the Cake Patterns Hummingbird sew along, check it out.

My first Tania

I set out to make a Tania this week. I wanted to see if it would really pass as a skirt, and I totally proved it does. However, I made some stupid mistakes and can't share much about fit. I did invent a cool hack though!

I found a lovely rayon on clearance at Joann's. I thought it would be perfect for a wearable muslin and it was! I love how it looks and moves.

I said in my previous post wanted a picture of someone standing feet shoulder width apart to see if it still looked like a skirt. It does!

Even walking and going about my day I felt like I was wearing shorts but looked like a skirt! Tania is a total win!!!! Except when I would get a compliment on it (I got four during my day at work)...

Then I would strike this pose and announce I made it and it was really shorts. I'm so discreet! They all seemed amazed though, so yay! Now for the blunder.

My Tania has an elastic waistband instead of a zipper and proper waistband. I was serging on my waistband like I do, when my serger blade took a bite out of my back panel that went down about two inches. I tried to fix it, but there was no way. The fabric was shredded. I still really wanted to make the culottes, so I walked away for a bit. 

What I came up with was to cut off the two inches from the top of the skirt all the way around which made the waist size really big. I had added four inches at the bottom when cutting it out just to be safe on length. Thank goodness! Then I serged all the way around the raw edge of the top of the culottes. Then I simply zig zagged on an exposed elastic waistband.

It turned out pretty cute and very comfortable. I may even do this again. What a happy mistake. so while I can't say how well the Tania fits right out of the package, if it turns out a little tight on you, this was a quick and easy fix. I was so comfortable I felt like I was wearing pajamas all day.

I used my rolled hem foot to finish the legs off. I was a bit rusty on using it, but it was pretty easy. It just takes a bit more attention that I usually pay...obviously!

The Tania is a great piece, and I plan to have several more in my wardrobe. I felt like the pattern was a bit of a gamble, but it was easy to make and well designed. Also, Megan's instructions were phenomenal as usual!