Author: Cari

  • BurdaStyle 10/2012 #128: The Chocolate Mint Dress

    It feels like a really long time since I’ve made something for myself (it hasn’t been that long, but with my sewing time split between making things for myself and other members of my family, it sometimes seems long). When I was a teenager, and into my early 20’s, I had an almost entirely made-by-me…

  • Quirky Kitchen Art

    In my last post I showed off my Mom’s sewing skills. Now I’d like to show off something of my Dad’s. He doesn’t sew. I’d always thought of drawing as being my Dad’s main creative outlet. He tends toward comedic sketches most often. He likes to write, but doesn’t usually show us what he’s written.…

  • Butterick 5145: The Original Version

    Up front, I’m going to make sure the first thing that I say is that I didn’t make this coat. I wish I had. I planned to make it originally. I just didn’t end up making it, and since I wear it often during the winter and it’s fairly distinctive, I find myself regularly explaining…

  • Butterick 5145: The Furry Version

    This is actually a jacket I started Fall 2011. I had this idea that I wanted something casual and relatively short in length that I could throw over my clothes to keep wind and rain at bay. I had thought maybe something out of fleece would be nice, maybe in a black and white plaid…

  • Burda 9501: Girl’s Winter Coat

                                        I hope I’m not going to be taking away from Auntie Laura’s Maxi Dress Saga, but I’m going to switch gears into the woolen and wintry today. In between all-night painting sessions to try to get the…

  • Auntie Laura’s Maxi Dress: The Panic that Procrastination Induces

    Ah! Where did the summer go? How can I have let the sunny months fly by without even laying out my pattern pieces for my maxi dress. Do I have enough fabric? (Breathe) Of course I do, silly. We measured at Cari’s. I have 4 yards. The pattern says 4 yards. I rip open the…

  • Vintage Light Fixtures (Yeah!!)

    There is a notable absence of sewing activity in my house at the moment. Cleaning up, redecorating, and swapping the kids’ rooms is in full swing. They all have beds made up in the living room, and have to send me into their rooms to get clothes for them when needed. (I don’t want them…

  • Redecorating Kids’ Rooms: Current Room Elements and Upcoming Plans

    It’s happened. The kids have started to outgrow their toddler beds. Ace could probably stay in his for a bit longer, but Guinevere is definitely getting too big. The boys share a room and Guinevere has her own. Unfortunately, it happens to have worked out that they are in the wrong rooms, with the currently…

  • Guston Sweater: Work in Progress

    It feels like a really long time since my last posting. I managed to catch one kindergarten cold followed immediately by another, which sent my creative motivation to a land far, far away. I’ve got a few sewing projects going, but it’s really slow going. One of the things that seemed to pick up during…