just finished the rest of my stuff for lladybird’s summer 2011 line and i feel gooooood. like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
here is the last piece to be photo’d (not the last piece made, but i realized i forgot to take a picture!), plus a quick recap:
shorts romper with gingham waist-tie. the arms & legs are encased in 1/4″ elastic & the top ties with a self-fabric drawstring.
recognize this fabric? don’t worry – i already cut out what i needed for my next project 🙂 this was just the leftover, aka, stash-buster.
i actually really like how this turned out. it looks like a doo-doo on dolly, tho.
seersucker crop top & red high-waisted shorts
yellow gingham halter top & denim high-waisted shorts
blue crop top & blue high-waisted skirt
psst! i managed to put buttons on the back of the crop top:
so pretty! i love mother-of-pearl 🙂
nautical crop top & denim embellished circle skirt
floral sundress
whew! that’s a lot to have hammered out in such a short amount of time!
can you believe that nearly everything came from my stash? things i bought: 1 yard of red twill (for the shorts), 1 white separating zipper (for the gingham top), 1 spool of white thread, the rayon-nightmare nautical top (in it’s before stage). that’s it! everything else is the result of a stash-bust! pretty impressive, i think!
oh, and did you notice my pictures going from bad to worse to bad to the very worst?
this is what my sewing room looked like during the sewing frenzy. i kind of fall apart when i’m under pressure, at least cleanliness-wise.
if you don’t think that looks too bad, trust me, it’s bad. i found so many weird things lurking under piles of fabric. except my thread clippers. i still can’t find those & i’m actually really sad about it.
here is the sewing room as of last night. yay! so clean! minus that awful floor – whatever that carpet is made of, thread sticks to it like it was glued down. i gave up trying to clean it ages ago.
anyway, i have a half-finished rooibos that has been patiently waiting to be picked back up again, so hopefully i’ll have something to show in the next couple of days. and i just signed up for gertie’s bombshell dress course, although i have no idea when i’ll be able to actually crank one out – i’m dead-set on finding the perfect fabric.
despite the continued heat wave we are experiencing, i have suddenly developed a need to start planning my winter wardrobe. i have no idea what that will entail, except that i bought a couple pieces of gooorgeous wool tweed for massively cheap (like, $3 for 4 yards and $2 for 2 yards massively cheap). i’m thinking about making another coat! is this a bad idea? haha!
oh, also, i need to re-dye my hair. all this sewing made me neglectful, and i have the 1″ roots to prove it (believe me. i just measured my hair with a ruler).
LLADYBIRD 
Oh that romper (on top) is just to DIE for! Freak – I want that! So darling! Now, were all of these from your own patterns? They look fabulous. I think I remember reading that these are for a fashion show, is that right? What a great line-up! You’ve seriously outdone yourself. So much sewing, so little time! You are definitely my idol! Fantastic job on everything! xoxo, Sunni
thank you very much! i’m just glad they are done & over with – sometimes i feel like i tend to put too much on my plate & don’t realize how time-consuming it’s gonna be until i’m halfway through!
these are all made from my own patterns, or the basic pattern blocks that i used from vintage patterns & then heavily modified and/or added to.
Just found your website and have been reading obessively for 3 days! Fun. Wish I had more time to sew–since I don’t, I compensate with fabric and pattern buying. Your stash isn’t equal to a third of mine! My questions: 1. Exactly how does a person STOP buying fabric? 2. Do you make all of your patterns in muslin first? Where do you get the patience? 3. I see there are other pattern companies (e.g., Colette) but they are expensive and don’t go on sale like Vogue, Butterick, etc. Are they worth it?
Haha! Well, the only way I can stop buying fabric is to stop going to the fabric store 😛 I make some pretty impulsive purchases otherwise (which you still see at the flea market & thrift store, but I keep those under $20 a month so it’s not so bad). It also helps to go through your stash & match up what you’d like to make, so you’re not tempted to buy more! And I do make all my patterns in muslins first! Occasionally I will tissue-fit instead of muslin, and I rarely make a full muslin (just the bodice), but it’s pretty necessary to tweak the fit thing so it’s not a disaster once the garment has been sewn together. At the very least, once you get a good fit on your muslin… you don’t need to make another one every time you make the pattern. And regarding the indie pattern companies – TOTALLY worth it! They achieve a way better fit, more detailed instructions, and the pattern designs are much more unique than what you’d find in the Big 4. I find everything matches up a lot better, too, due to more testing on their end. They are more expensive, but coming from someone who cheaps out in every way possible… totally worth it. I promise. I rarely even buy Big 4 patterns anymore, I’m totally spoiled 🙂