~Ruffle Trench~

I know this is old news, but as you can tell I'm not very good about posting... =P

A couple of weeks ago, Beyonce was sporting this awesome trench...

After scouring the internet I found it! It's by Jillian Lewis (Project Runway) trench that retails for about $1500.00.



It's so pretty!

Semester Coming to a Close...

My spring semester is finally coming to a close. This will be my last official week of classes and I will have one final. I sat and looked at a list of classes I need to take and I only have 12-15 hours left.... super exciting! Although I won't be taking any summer classes, I still need to study for the MCATs and finish a distance learning course. However, I should have a little more time for sewing... yay!

I have a couple of almost finished items... I just need to hem and take pictures... hopefully those will be up soon. So many things to do... so little time!

~Asian Dolls~

I saw this Victoria Secret dress and thought I could make it... I started playing around with some fabric (when I was supposed to be writing my lab report) and realized a need a doll I could make sample clothes for. At first I just wanted a Barbie doll... anything I could find.  I went to flickr to look around. I can't remember exactly what I searched for, but I was definitely blown away!  I entered a world of Asian dolls!  The all look like anime characters and they are so cute... well at least most of them... some of them are kind of scary looking...

Blue Fairy and Volks

I want Sarang from Blue Fairy! She is just gorgeous, but I dont know if I can justify getting a $300 doll to my husband.  Super Dollfies, which are made by Volks are customizable.  I think I'm too new to even consider those.  As I kept looking, I came across Pullips and Momoko dolls, which are a little cheaper and smaller, but just as cute.  I believe Momoko's are closer in size to Barbie dolls.  (Blue Fairy and SD (Super Dollfies) are about 17" tall.  I want one of these soo bad.  My mom's going to Korea at the end of this month... I wonder if she could find me one... since Blue Fairy and Pullips are Korean dolls.  ^___^

Sorry for all the hyperlinks, but I didn't want to steal anyone's pictures and too lazy to get permission for my meager blog.  If you flickr (or Google) any of the names/terms above, I'm sure they'll come up.  Man I really want one...  

Spring Break Recap

Needless to say, I did not complete any of the tasks I wanted to over spring break.  We ended up going out of town both weekends.  I worked during the day, which had me pooped in the evening... although I did manage to get my workouts in.  I can say I've made some progress on the skirt for my sister-in-law and I did some reconstructing!  =)

This is a tunic bought from Korea.  The bust area was too small and the styling of the top was interesting...



Here is the detail of the bust area...



I love the print and the button up portion of the tunic, (Yes, they are all working buttons.) and I thought it would make a very cute skirt by cutting off the top portion and sewing most of the buttons shut.  I left the top few open as a way to get in and out of the skirt.  Then I took in some of the waist.  Here is the outcome...



I have another skirt in the works also being made from a Korean tunic. All I need to do is add some elastic to the waist and it will be complete... hopefully soon! Some other items that only need finishing touches are my Easter dress and a Butterick 5100 tunic.

~ Sisterhood Award ~

Thanks, Sewuptight! I was very surprised and feel very honored since I'm pretty new at this whole blogging thing!

1. Put the logo on your blog or post
2. Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great Attitude and /or Gratitude!
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Share the love and link to the person from whom you received your award.

Here are my nominations in no particular order:

Erica B.
Myraida
Clevergirl
Amanda
Peacock Chic
Jenna Lou
Johanna
Prudence Rabbit
Krustallos
Pikku-Kettu

Spring Break Plans

I've decided I can't buy anymore fabric (unless it's strictly for a specific gift). My closet and office is covered with fabric. Less buying and more sewing!

Spring break is coming up in a couple of weeks and I'm so excited to take a break from school! =) I've been putting off a lot of things to do for spring break and now I may have overloaded myself... hahaha...

Here are a couple of items (on the crafty side) I want to work on...

1. B4859B - This is for my sister-in-law's birthday gift. I've ordered the fabric this past weekend and hopefully it's on it's way.
2. Hedera - Finish this for my mom's birthday from last year... =P I haven't worked on this in probably a year. I need to get on it!
3. B5246B - Finish this dress I started back in December. It's missing a sleeve and I need to redo the ties because it did not line up correctly on both sides. I've decided this will be my easter dress. =)
4. Bold & Bulky Cardi - All I have left is the sleeves and finding buttons! I may finish this before spring break. I really like the way it's turning out and it's really quick.
5. WIPs - I have quite a few of these that I need to work on. (Amy Butler's Sophia bag and Betty Shopper, B5100A w/ cowl, M5759A)
6. Pouches and clutches - I want to make a few pouches and clutches from various tutorials for myself... I really need some!
7. Alterations/reconstruction - there's a lot of little things here and there that needs to be done myself and other members of the family.
8. Tops - I really need some! Here are some contenders...

View A - White stretch cotton sateen shirting


View A (cutaway top) - Printed cotton gauze


View A - navy broadcloth


View B (short-sleeve) - turquoise knit


View C - turquoise charmeuse


Haven't decided which one - black cotton jersey knit


That looks like plenty to do along with some spring cleaning and MCAT studying and scrapbooking! Hahaha... we'll see how far I get. ^_^

More Knitting

I've really lost my focus for school. I thought I would be able to focus after Valentine's day, but... it's just not working out. I started another knitting project, which I'm super excited about. It's coming along really fast and I enjoy it. Here is my progress...

Pattern: Bold & Bulky Cardigan by Stefanie Japel (The link is for the free version on the Lion Brand website, but this pattern is in the book, Fitted Knits, and this book has so many great patterns that I want to eventually try.

Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in Taupe (2 skeins) and Raspberry (1 skein)

Needles: Denise Interchangeable Needles Size 15.

Notes: The pattern calls for size 13, but my gauge was coming out too small so I went up a needle size. My gauge horizontal gauge is still off, but I decided to go for it anyway.

These are my favorite flowers... calla lilies... I bought these for myself at Whole Foods Market. They're so pretty!! ^___^

Flower bouquet from my hubby... also from Whole Foods. Love it! [You can see how messy my desk it... =P ]

I was craving this big time... so of course I had to make it! Yum yum!

For My Valentine

I was so excited and having too much fun making my hubby's Valentine's gift I was distracted from school stuff the past few days. =) I bought anniversary rings from Titanium Knights and they were awesome. I had to come up with how I would present them, and here it is...



The bear is a Tiny Ami Panda pattern from Ana Paula Rimoli and the heart is a free Corazon pattern from Owlishly that I found on Ravelry. I had to rearrange the muzzle and the eyes on the bear a few times... Getting the eyes off was a pain. I ended up just glueing the muzzle instead of sewing it because I was just too lazy.

I'm not very good at crocheting... I have it admit it was a little frustrating making these two items, but I guess I need to keep practicing. (Knitting seems to come more naturally to me than crocheting...) I do love the way they turned out and so did my husband.

Here is his card...

Closed:

Opened: ^__^

Chunky Newsboy Cap

After a gruesome 4 hours of Organic Chemistry lab on Saturday, I was super stressed. So naturally, I knitted once I got home, and this was the result. =)




[The lighting is not that great because it was late at night...]

Pattern: Chunky Newsboy Cap
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in Fisherman
Needles: Size 13 for the main part and Size 8 for the brim
Comments: This was a super fast, easy knit.

I was watching Kung Fu Panda while I was knitting this since I got the DVD for Christmas. I love this movie! Jack Black is awesome!

Ramblings & Twinkle Twinkle Wisteria Scarf

Well... school has started again, and it looks like it's going to be a long semester. Between work and school, I'm not sure how much time I'm going to have for my many hobbies, which makes me a little sad.... sigh ...

I started this running/training program... couch potato to 5k. It's really helped me improve my running. I'm trying to decide if I run in a 5K at the end of this month. (Running in a 5K is one of my 2009 resolutions, but it seems too soon.) Hmmm... quite a quandry..

On another note... I went through our office closet, which is basically storage for my fabrics and other things, this weekend. I realized I bought a lot of fabric before I really knew how to sew with them. (Aside from the fact that I love hording fabric and patterns.) It looks like a have lots for WIPs, alterations for my hubby and other family members, and gifts to make... so much to do, not enough time!

= FO =
I did manage to make time for this. My cousin-in-law's birthday is coming up and I made her a little gift! =) I really like it, but I hope she likes it. It was a super fast knit. I think it only took me a total of 2.5 hours, which is really fast for me when it comes to knitting.

Pattern: Wisteria Scarf from Twinkle's Weekend Knits
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick and Quick in Cranberry
Needles: Size 35! (They were huge and a little clunky to use.

I must also mention that I LoVE Ravelry! I took a long break from knitting/crocheting this year because I spent more time sewing. Because of this, I hadn't been on Ravelry very often and now I realized how much I missed it.