A before-and-after 3 years in the making

I love auctions. Like, really love them, which is why I'm so sad that I haven't been to one in probably 2 years. The timing just hasn't worked out with my work schedule, but when I was in grad school, I could go much more frequently. (There's an auction house about 5 minutes away from where my parents live and they sometimes have some really great deals.)

During that time (3+ years ago), I stumbled across this desk. I didn't pay too much attention to it until after the bidding started. "$2...$2...do I have $3? Anyone? $3? Going once..." - I had to snap it up for that much. It had good bones and I figured I could redo it to use as a sewing table. 

My  mom thought I was crazy, but I knew what I was doing. I faithfully brought it with me to grad school, then to my first apartment back in Chicago, then to my house...And all the while, it sat there sadly as a an ugly reminder of my failure to compete my to-do list. 

Despite the delay, I was making plans, slowly. I initially thought that something like this would be cool, but didn't have a projector to be able to accomplish that. I knew I wanted something travel-themed to fit in with the rest of my decor, but wasn't quite sure what kind of blue to use yet. At one point, Ace Hardware had a really great deal on quarts of paint (only $1 each, limit 10!), so I stocked up on probably 8 shades of blue. Finally, one day I stumbled across this pin on Pinterest and knew it would be perfect:

I "discovered" this pin nearly a year ago, and yet, it still sat, and sat, and sat. Finally, this spring, I stumbled across this map craft paper at JoAnn:

It was decided. The first warm weekend after I found that paper, I was outside getting everything ready. I used a new sander my parents had bought me and some primer I had on hand...and then promptly ran out. I decided to do the rest without primer, and you know what? It worked out just fine - that paint has really good coverage!

Once I had the base coat done, it was time for the next step - the decoupage. I was nervous about this, because I pretty much always manage to screw it up, and this time was no exception.

That happened after I tried to even up some of the rough edges before it was done drying. Luckily, I fixed it up, and I have to say, I'm pretty darn happy with the results! 

Those knobs don't match completely, but I still think they're a great touch. So happy I stumbled upon them in the Hobby Lobby clearance section!

So glad that I finally got this done! What's the longest you've waited to check a DIY project off your to-do list?

Hello hello!

(Not the Adele song.) So...I was gone from the blog for a while. Obviously. But I've still been making things! Albeit a bit more slowly...

First up, a matching cowl and ear warmers:

 (This is really just a sneaky excuse to show you my Iceland pictures, hehe. This one's at Kerid Crater Lake.)

This cowl was originally supposed to be a shrug along these lines, but...that didn't work out so well. It was so ill-fitting that I don't have any pictures. (I'm still confused about how a seamed-up rectangle could fit so poorly, but...) I un-seamed it and re-seamed into this big, cozy blanket cowl. The thing is huge, but it certainly kept me warm in the cold and wind!

(At Gullfoss, Europe's most powerful waterfall. I stood there and stared for quite a while, feeling it rumble under my feet.)

I'm glad I made the earwarmers, but I wish I'd made them a bit wider. They had a tendency to fall down and/or not quite cover everything they should have. 

I also started making a matching hat before I left. I didn't get it finished before leaving, but faithfully packed it in my suitcase, thinking I'd have some time to finish it on the plane, or at the airport, or at night during the trip. I seriously overestimated my energy level (hiking + driving every day was incredibly exhausting). 

This cable-tastic hat was actually pretty easy...I think I finished it a week or two after Iceland, once my jet lag subsided. (I was mostly just tired of seeing it sit on my coffee table...)

When oh when will I learn that last-minute vacation projects never work out all that well? Have you fallen victim to the vacation trap? How did yours turn out?

Home Sweet Home

When I first saw Satsuma Street's patterns, I was in love. The only problem? I hadn't been to any of the cities she'd created. So I waited, patiently (or not so patiently) for her to create any of my favorite cities. And then, one magical day, I discovered not one, but two!

I already had all of the supplies I needed on-hand, because when I was younger, my mom used to cross stitch. She seemed to enjoy it, but there weren't really any modern designs out there that attracted me. Until this one. 

This project was certainly a labor of love (with a long, less love-filled pause between start and finish). Cross stitch takes TIME, guys. Lots of and lots of time. Thankfully, I think it was worth it. This design now graces the wall in my sewing room, and I've got my next project all lined up. 

On an unrelated note, I'm starting to sell of some of my crafting supplies on Instagram. Follow @forwhoitsfor_sale to see all of the goodies. First up: 40s and 50s sewing patterns!

Top 5 of 2015

I feel like I say it every year, but it's especially true this year: I can't believe how quickly it went! With that said, it's time for another year-end round-up. I'm not planning to stretch this out over several posts this time, so you'll only have one to skip if it's not your thing. ;-) I'm planning to get a few things sewn up over the New Year's break, so hopefully I'll be back soon with some new makes!

Top 5 Hits: 

Walking Dead Quilt: Yeah. This one was definitely a nerdy labor of love. And the compliments I got on this were like none other. 
(Not-so-secret-Secret: I keep a list of my favorites that I can refer to whenever I need a pick-me-up:
"I'm wiping drool off of my keyboard right now. I simply can't believe how fantastic this quilt is, and ALL OF THAT EMBROIDERY!! You are the good kind of crazy, girl."
"Can't. Process. All. Of. The. Awesome. You broke my brain with this. Tremendous!!"
/bragging over) 

Floral Maxi Dress: I got so much wear out of this one - I might have to make another next spring. 

Cabled sweater: I love this sweater and wear it all the time. Thanks, Andi Satterlund!
 
Christmas dress: I've only worn it once so far, and it drove me nuts trying to keep it on my shoulders, but I got so many IRL compliments that I just had to throw it on here. 

Wanderlust Quilt: This one's really too small to use, but every time I see it hanging on my blanket ladder, I smile a little. This one just came together in some incredible strokes of serendipity.

Top 5 Misses:

These mostly came down to trying to break out of my style and realizing that it was "my style" for a reason. 

Stretchy tulip skirt: Note to self: there's a reason I don't wear pencil skirts. This has already been thrown in the "donate" bag (in spite of Kennis' great drafting/instructions). 

Too-short tunic: This was one of the few tester calls I answered this year, and while I do like the pattern, there are too many problems with this tunic (though not the pattern itself!) and it was only worn once. It's too short, too tight around the bust (some overzealous fitting there, oops), and the finishing on the neckline is pretty terrible. I think this pattern does have some potential for me, though, so I'd like to try again at some point. 

Ill-fitting lace: This was another make that was only worn once. I should've gone back and re-done the zipper, but never got around to it. I do like the pattern, though, and I'd like to try it again, with a few caveats: I need to lower the back neckline, and not try to use this pattern with lace (lace+underlining shifts too much for me at this point). 

Cabled sweater: I used the same pattern as the one above, but a very different yarn, and this one just doesn't fit/drape well at all. Maybe at some point I'll redo the sleeves (the main offender), but at this point, I can't even be bothered to take a picture. 

A little too 70s: I keep meaning to go back and fix the fitting issues on this one, but really, I think the fabric on this is just not me. If I'm gonna go vintage, I'd prefer the 50s/early 60s to the 70s. 

What are your year-end reflections? I'd love to hear them!

Just under the wire

Merry almost Christmas! I don't know about the rest of you, but the holidays really snuck up on me this year. I came back home after a nice Thanksgiving with my family and immediately came down with a pretty terrible cold. It had me stuck on the couch for a solid week, and, though I wasn't really feeling better during week 2, I had to suck it up so I could finish my first-ever Christmas dress!

I bought this fabric over the summer when I fell in love with it at Vogue Fabrics and knew I wanted to make a fancy gown with it. Months came and went and I still couldn't decide on a pattern, but since I'd been telling my coworkers that I was going to make my dress for our annual Christmas party (and since I really didn't have anything else to wear), I had to buckle down and do something. And because our party was at the Signature Room at the Hancock, it was the perfect event for something fancy. 

I started with a muslin of Simplicity 2580, but really didn't like the way it was draping and decided I wanted a more dramatic neckline. I found Simplicity 3503 in my stash and, even though it's intended for knits, I figured I could make it work with this slinky mystery material. 

Rather than my usual slapdash method, I really took my time with this one. After using some really low-quality material that wouldn't stop slipping and sliding for my muslin, this was a dream to sew with. I made sure to stitch up the front neckline to make it a little more work-party appropriate. Because there's nothing like living on the edge, I finished the last piece of this (the hem) about an hour before I had to leave for the party. (I'd debated whether I wanted a floor-skimming gown, but since this was a brunch event, I figured knee-length would be more appropriate.) I just had time to try it on and make sure it looked decent before heading out the door. 

 
What I realized after walking just a couple of blocks, though, was that this thing did not want to stay on my shoulders, even with some double-sided tape. That meant I was fiddling with it all day, but that didn't stop the compliments from coming! Several of my coworkers told me they liked it, and when I told them I'd made it, they were even more impressed. It became the talk of the party, which made me a little self-conscious, but also infinitely proud. So all in all, while this wasn't quite the dress I'd imagined, I think it was a hit! Hopefully I'll get a chance to wear it again (with some minor alterations, of course).

You look like you're ready to go conquer the Scottish highlands

That's what my office manager said to me about this wrap and I've gotta say...I don't mind. Kind of badass, right? This one wasn't on my fall sewing list, but after hitting the stores again and seeing so many of these wrap/poncho things around, I knew I wanted one for myself. 

[I was super tired on the day we took these pics, so forgive me for not looking at the camera in ANY of them.]

After some business (CT) and fun (San Francisco!) travel, I was very excited to get back to my sewing machine, but also incredibly tired. So my first ever sewing meetup (at the Vogue fabrics warehouse, nonetheless!) was just what I needed to get some sewjo back. (Thanks to Michelle, Gina, and Debbie!) We split some rolls of denim at the warehouse, and then headed to the retail store, where I didn't find the emerald coating wool I was looking for, but I did find this great tartan wool. 

Thanks to Gina's help, I decided I only needed to splurge on a yard to be able to get the look I was going for. I had this all sewn up by the next day! (I basically did what she outlines in this post.)

I definitely prefer it with the belt, I think, although my mom (as usual!) disagrees, ha. I think either way is good, though! I've worn it a few times, and I like the look, but it's not quite as warm as I'd hoped (for winter, anyway). I think it'll be a go-to for next fall, though!

My dreams of becoming a princess are slowly coming true...

If this skirt is any indication, anyway. I almost wore it with a tiara for a lazy Halloween costume, but in the end, was too lazy for even that. 

[My face looked dumb in all of these pictures. Grateful for the crop function!]

This was item #12 on my fourth-quarter sewing list. I'm making pretty good progress on it already! This skirt has been on my to-sew list for 2-3 years (I bought the tulle one Black Friday, but I can't remember exactly how long ago it was). I'm glad to finally have it done, even if I'm not quite sure if it's my style. 

As you can see, it's VERY poofy. I wore it to work one day (we dress very casually at my office), and I felt very self-conscious. I'm not sure if I just to need to own it, or if it really does look ridiculous. (My mom, who took these pictures, thought it was kind of silly until I pointed out all of the similar versions in stores and magazines). 

It's hard to see the lining in most of these pictures (which is kind of the point), but it ended up being much more of a form-fitting pencil skirt than a circle skirt that matched the layers. I think I'm pretty okay with that, though. Anyway. I think I'll give it another chance and see how I feel! What do you think? Would you try the tulle trend?