Simplicity 2599

Here is the modeled shots of the top I made for my mom. 



Blurry picture!



Cheesy grin, a butt shot and bare feet.  Classy!

I gave it to her this a.m.  She really liked it.  I hope it fits her good.

I have cut out a skirt that I hope to get started on this weekend.

Happy Easter everyone!

Take care and God bless.

Sneak Peak of Simplicity 2599 & Other Things

I will do a proper modeled shot tomorrow, but here is a few pictures of the top that I made for the 2013 Essential Top Sew-along.

The guts.

Back

Front

I have made this top for my mom.  She doesn't know about it, so I will surprise her next week.  I am a bit concerned on how well the flower trim will hold up.  I cut a size 14, made French seams and bound the arm holes.  I hand hemed the sleeves and bottom of the top.  I also cut the excess from the darts and finished w/ a lock stitch.  I also machine embroidered my mom's initials on the inside facing.  My mom is in a nursing home, and the staff always write their initials on the inside of their clothing w/ a black magic marker.  I am hoping they will not do that w/ the top.

While this is a basic pattern, it is very easy to embelish. 

In other news...

Bread with homemade butter!  We grind our own wheat.  It is so much better than the store bought flour.

I will end with two more cute pictures of Ms. Maggie Mae and her momma.

Whoa diggity!  What is the white stuff.

Take care and God bless!

Miss Maggie Mae

Our newest Jersey heifer made her grand entrance on 03/19/13 at approximately 1:30 p.m.

She is named after my mother, which is one heck of a compliment since I love my animals like people love their kids ;)

Okay, how cute is she?  She looks just like a deer.

She is already trying to mimic her momma.

If you could just hear Molly (momma) "talk" to her baby, your heart would melt.

 Miss Maggie will stay on her momma until about 4.5 - 5 months.  At that time, she will be weaned.  We are firm believers of not pulling the momma and baby apart immediately.  We are more interested in the health of the calves over what little extra profit that can be made.  By keeping the momma and baby together, a very strong bond is built,  and the baby learns by watching and not just by instinct, which we believe is much better in the long run.

And, Burl Ives wanted to make an appearance.

On a different subject, above is the pattern, fabric and trim that will be used to make a top for the Top Sew-a-long that Faye's Adventures in Sewing is hosting.  It is all cut out, and I will begin sewing it on Sunday.  I am ready.  I have not sewn a stitch this week!

Take care and God bless.

The business end of things

My husband and I are early risers.  Our days start at 3:00 a.m. Every.Single.Day.  See, we have a small dairy and also raise chickens and sell their eggs.  I'm not complaining about the time we get up, because that is what non-corporate farm life is like, and that is the life we have chosen to live.  And besides, on the weekends, we take naps to make up for lost sleep during the week.  I love to nap. :)



Molly - our Jersey girl



Mom, please stop with the pictures



And stop looking at my butt!



This is the business end of things.
This is what a bag/udder should look like - clean of manure.
You will not find that on corporate farms - promise!



Molly is due to drop a calf any day now.  Her bag is big in the picture above, but it is so much bigger today.  Before she drops, it will be so dang tight, it would make any woman cringe.  I am cringing now thinking of it.

Are you done humiliating me yet?  Thank you.



This is Minnie - Molly's daughter.  She is hopefully preggers now.  We will find out in a about 20 days.



We have 32 hens and 2 roosters.  They free range our land.  It makes their eggs nice and rich.



Captain Duke - Our Welsummer rooster.  Our other rooster is name Burl Ives.



Starting seeds for our garden.



We also grow most of our veggies on 1/2 acre of land.  That is alot of land to grow!  Gardening is my least favorite thing to do, and my husband agrees with me, but again, it is a life style choice we have made. 

Have a good day.

Take care and God bless.

Jalie Cardigan

From the first time I seen this on Mushywear’s blog, I knew I wanted to make the cardi, and when I spotted the sweater knit fabric at Hancock’s I knew what it was destined to become.



Excuse the firewood and ash bucket!

I love the jacket.  The pattern is very easy to put together.  I cut a size 11 and used ¼” seams.  It fits great, and goes well with many of my clothes.   I especially love the length of the jacket.  While Spring is just around the corner, I will still get some wear out of this jacket before the temperatures get too high.

Let me just say that this is the first time that I ever had a knit stitch option on a machine, and I love it.  It keeps the fabric stretchy.  Oh how I love my Janome.

I am all about jazz hands this a.m.!

I want to make at least a couple more of these jackets – one in grey/grey mix, and another in a navy/navy mix.

Take care and God Bless

New Look A6106 Skirt & Simplicity 2285 Jacket

The skirt pattern is very simple and straight forward.  I didn’t use the instructions.  I cut a size 16 and by the time I did the French seams, it was give/take size 13/14.  I added 3” to the length of the skirt.  I used a dusty purple denim that I purchased from Gorgeous Fabrics.  I love it, but it may be too much purple at once :)  I love the fact that the zipper I installed turned out fantastic.  I am embarrassed to say that it has taken me years to install zippers to my liking.

The jacket is another easy project, but I did use the instructions.  I cut a size 14, and it ended up being a size 12.  I did quite a bit of topstitching on the skirt and jacket w/ my twin needle on all seams.  I wish I would have taken the time to figure out a way to line it.  It would be more polished, although, the only person IRL who knows it is not lined is me.  I used 1” diameter black buttons and used the wrong side of the denim for the shoulder epaulettes.  I eliminated the epaulettes on the wrist area.  I didn’t like how they looked, and added wrist bands instead, which gave me extra length as I didn’t care for the short looking sleeves.  Oh, the collar is suppose to be a stand up collar, but it is so tall, that I turn it down.  It looks good turned down, but mercy, it looks completely silly standing up.



See the zipper!  Nope, you really can't!  Success!

All in all, the garments turned out pretty much like the pictures, and I will certainly use the skirt pattern again. 

One of these days I will get better pictures of the clothing, and hopefully of me LOL.  I always seem to look ticked off in photos.  I guess I need to smile more, huh?

Take care and God bless.