Matching Tops!

I am behind in my blog posts! A big and belated THANK YOU to HeathersSphere of the blog SEWspicious Minds for giving me the "One Lovely Blog Award" for newly discovered blogs. I really appreciate it, especially coming from HeathersSphere! She is an awesome sewist and I have enjoyed her creative, entertaining and informative reviews on PatternReview for a long time, and love her blogs as well!

In fact, HeathersSphere's sewing inspiration is a good transition to today's post, because she often sews fun outfits for herself and her daughter using matching fabric! I did that recently when I sewed a birthday top for one of my sisters, and included a top for her 1 1/2 year old daughter as well!

These Spring Ruffle Tops are from a tutorial from Rae from Made by Rae that was posted on the Sew, Mama, Sew!  website blog:

The pattern pieces are basic shapes which are created based on the person's measurements.

I made the following changes for my sister's top:

I thought the edges of the ruffles would be finished nicer if they were folded, so I made them twice as wide as suggested (6") and then folded them lengthwise and ironed them and gathered the raw edges. I also made them several inches longer than recommended to add a bit more fullness to the ruffles.

I left a couple inches off the bottom of the "trapezoid" piece, as I was trying to squeeze 2 tops out of the fabric I bought, and my sister is not short but the top was still plenty long. I also made the band and straps 4 1/2" wide rather than 5" wide - again, to save fabric.

For the pockets, I constructed them the way the big pattern companies normally have you make them.

I zigzagged raw edges. 

I hand sewed the top band down after attaching the bodice.

I sewed the pleats down about 1 5/8" - not quite 2" as the instructions say.

In case anyone makes the top for a little one, like my niece, here are the specifics for her version:

Her chest measured 20" and her hips measured 21", so the "x" and "y" in the directions each equaled 11.5.

For her ruffles, I made them 3" by 23" (resulted in much more "ruffliness" than the adult version).

The bodice was 17.5" wide and 12.5" long (not a trapezoid, but a rectangle based on her measurements)

The straps and chest band were 2 1/2" by 11 1/2".

I did not add pockets, and rather than pleats, I gathered the top of the bodice.

I think they both look cute as can be in their tops!  

Bib-style Tank Top (Simplicity 2892)

I loved how Simplicity 2892 turned out. There was a lot of gathering involved, and also some hand sewing, but I love doing both of those. I do not enjoy putting in zippers or buttonholes, and this tank had neither of those, so I'm happy! 

I think this is a cute summery style, and the weight from the three layers of fabric in the yoke make it seem more substantial and dressy than some breezy summer tanks. 

The inside is nicely finished when the yoke lining is hand sewn down. I always feel like I get a lot more use out of my garments that are nicely finished inside - I guess because they hold up so much better when washing, rather than turning into a frayed mess. 

Please see my complete review of this pattern at pattern review

Yummy "Chocolate Bread Pudding"

The following is an easy recipe using a modified brownie mix, homemade sour cream sauce, and fresh berries to make what I am calling Chocolate Bread Pudding. It's not technically bread pudding, but the finished consistency reminds me of it. 

"Bread Pudding" ingredients:

1 Brownie mix meant for an 8 x 8 pan (I used Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Brownie Mix)

1 tablespoon oil

1 tablespoon egg white (I used Egg Beaters Liquid Egg Whites)

1 1/2 cups pumpkin

Mix together and spoon into large cupcake tins that have been sprayed with non-fat cooking spray - I divided it into 9 cupcakes. Mixture will be sticky and thicker than normal brownie batter. Bake in preheated oven at 325 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

Sour Cream Sauce ingredients:

4 tablespoons softened butter

1/2 cup light sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

pinch of salt

2 1/4 cups confectioners sugar

Mix together. Add more or less confectioners sugar to make a thin frosting consistency.

Remove warm cupcakes from tins and place in individual ramekins (they could probably be baked right in the ramekins but I do not know what the baking time would be). Top with the Sour Cream Sauce and fresh berries (I used strawberries and blackberries). Serve warm. Enjoy!

These got good reviews from my family and friends. Unfortunately, despite attempts at lightening it up - using pumpkin in the brownie mix instead of all the oil, and using light sour cream - they still pack quite a calorie punch. For those of you who follow Weight Watchers, these are about 10 points per serving, including sauce and berries. However, they are quite filling and decadent, so if you serve them after a meal, split one with a friend for a more sensible treat!

Tina Dico

Thank you to all who viewed and posted comments on my first blog entry! It is so encouraging to get feedback!

Although this blog will focus mainly on visual arts, I just have to post about an awesome singer and songwriter I had the pleasure of seeing at a live show recently. I first became aware of Tina Dico a couple years ago when I heard a song of hers on KGRL, an iTunes radio station that features female artists and female-fronted bands. She is a very talented independent artist from Denmark. Her lyrics and songs are so honest, sad, clever, and thoughtful, and her voice is AMAZING! 

I was checking out Dico's website, http://www.tinadico.com , and noticed that her tour dates included a Chicago show March 22 at a bar called Schubas. In addition to the bar, inside the building there is a restaurant, Harmony Grill (yummy food!) and a seperate room for live shows that is a small, intimate concert area illuminated by large candles that line the walls. A monday appointment I had in Chicago coincided with the Sunday concert date, my parents offered some of their "points" toward a free hotel room (thanks mom and dad!!), and my sister Jennifer and I were off to see Tina! I was thrilled to get the opportunity to see her perform live. Her talented bandmates include Dennis Ahlgren (her longtime collaborator and co-producer), and Helgi Jonsson (an Icelandic singer who has a beautiful and interesting voice and who also records his own music http://www.myspace.com/helgijonsson ).

Some of Tina's live videos: http://www.tinadico.com/video/live/ 

After the concert, the band graciously chatted with fans and signed the copies of their cds (Tina's is a box set of three, entitled "A Beginning", "A Detour", and "An Open Ending"). We got the chance to meet Tina, and I probably sounded like a bumbling starstruck fan (I was!) but she was very friendly and down to Earth. The photos I took at the show turned out very blurry, however, I found some very nice photos online from the same show that were taken by another fan of Tina, Patrick (who had travelled from Minnesota to see the show). He has generously given me permission to post his photos. Thank you Patrick! He also recorded some videos at the show and you can check out his YouTube channel to see them: http://www.youtube.com/user/Pj311foo 

I also love the visually engaging and moody photography and graphic design used on the cd covers and lyric booklet. The photography is by Martin Dam Kristensen, and the sleeve design is by Sara-Jane at Bureau-8.

(By the way, the graphics that look like "pins" that I created for the photo collage above were completed using an Adobe Illustrator technique described by an incredible graphic/web designer from Belgium, Veerle, who shares so many useful tips and tutorials on her blog. Here is a link to the post:  http://veerle.duoh.com/blog/comments/creating_pins_in_illustrator/ 

A bio about Veerle and links to some of her work: http://veerle.duoh.com/blog/about/ 

Quite a cool designer, huh?)

Yellow Jacket (Butterick 5335)

Welcome to my first blog post, and thanks for reading! I intend to post mainly about creative people and events that may be of interest to sewists and other visual artists, and details about my own creative pursuits, including sewing, illustration, and animation. I also love baking (and eating!), and have a fondness for self-help topics, so there may be some of that too!


From the pattern envelope, "Lined jacket A has pleated, raglan sleeves, pockets, gathered collar with casing drawstring and snap closures." I usually start daydreaming about what fabric would be perfect for an item when I look at the pattern envelope, but for this particular pattern, I really liked their color scheme of blue, white, and yellow. The outfits in the illustrations look very cheerful, spring-y, and classic. So I used yellow fabric for the jacket. 


The pattern states that the level of difficulty of construction for these garments is "easy". While there was nothing I found particularly difficult to do, it was very time consuming, not something you can just whip up in an evening. There is quite a bit of hand sewing involved when attaching the lining and putting the snaps on. My favorite thing about this jacket is the large, versatile collar, which can be worn down for a casual look. You can also close more of the snaps and cinch the drawstring for a more poofy, dramatic-looking collar, for a more formal look.

I made some changes to the pattern. I shortened the bodice by one inch to account for my short torso - however, once the jacket was finished I realized that it is already a cropped jacket and would have been fine as is. Shortening the length made it necessary to also change the shape of the pockets so they are not as deep, or else they will bunch up between the front and facing. Also, I intend to wear this as an outside, cool weather jacket, and I didn't think the 3/4 sleeves were practical for that. I added two inches to the sleeve length, however, despite the modification when made up my sleeve length looks identical to the pattern illustrations...go figure! I guess if you truly want to have full length sleeves, it would be necessary to add even more inches. 

In addition, as drafted, the belt that goes across the back of the jacket and ends at the side seams hangs way too low. I removed 2 1/2 inches to keep it from drooping excessively. This also helps to cinch in the fabric across the back since it is a little "boxier" of a jacket than the illustrations show.

The sleeves have a fancy, pleated detailing. 

Overall, if you have the time to spend, and want a spring jacket that has some cute details, I highly recommend this pattern.