Sixteen years ago today, God blessed Michael and I with this spectacular child... our last little baby!  She has truly been a blessing.  I know a lot of parents are biased, but this beautiful little girl has yet to give us a moments trouble or worry.  She's not a perfect child, by ANY means.  She still has her moments as a pouty-faced, brooding teenage girl.   But she is truly a joy!

Per usual, I made her a birthday outfit.

The top is McCall's 6751.  And it literally took under an hour from cutting table to final pressing!  Three pieces is all.  I cut the smallest size -- the extra small.  She told to me leave off the pocket.  And instead of bias binding, I just serged the raw edges and used a 5/8" hem.  The hemming was really easy, because once you start, the entire thing is continuous.  I used a lightweight 100% cotton chambray from my stash.  

I thought the back was so cute.  Almost like an adult version of the little crossover tops that baby girls wear. And the way the straps are set, it's bra friendly.  If I had made this for myself, I'd probably tack the back to make sure it stayed in place. 

And once again, I pulled out her "TNT" shorts pattern, McCall's 6756 and used a shortened version of view B.  I used this lovely fuchsia brocade from Mood Fabrics.com.  

And since it has absolutely no stretch, I cut the size 8 instead of a size 6.  

Happy Birthday to my Sweet Sixteen Year Old!

This time of year, I tend to grow weary of sewing summer clothes.  The magazines with all of the "pre-fall" fashion are starting to pour in and I'm longing to sew wools, tweeds, darker colors and rich jewel tones -- for myself.  And that was the opening that Mikaela was obviously waiting on, so that she could finally get me to sew non-formal clothes for her!

We decided to revisit McCall's 6756 again.  This is such a great pattern that fits her so well, I knew I'd be making this one over and over.

For this version, we went with lace.  This aqua blue (or mint) lace from Mood Fabrics.com fit the bill perfectly.

I eliminated the pockets this time.  And I underlined them with poly lining fabric leftover from her homecoming dress.  And to add interest to the hemline, I cut around the lace motif to create a scalloped edge.

Wearing:  Top: Forever 21 (similar to this one); shorts:  McCall's 6756; shoes: Target.

This is Vogue 8846.  And I used view B.

I used this absolutely amazing abstract floral print from Mood Fabrics.  

The fabric is called Springtime Floral Lightweight Silk Crepe.  And these pictures just doesn't do it justice.  It was so easy to work with.  Not has lightweight as a crepe de chine.  But it still has a great amount of body and a lovely hand for draping.

This pattern was great to work with.  Well-drafted and easy instructions.  My favorite part is that this pattern is a Vogue Pattern's "Custom Fit".  Which means, no FBAs needed!  And it does what it's supposed to do.

I made my usual alterations: lengthening by two inches.  Notice that the back is extremely very drapey.  This style may now be for everyone.  But it's a great wardrobe addition to anyone that wants a little drama in their lives.

Also, I attended "Belk's Fall Fashion" presentation.  It was hosted by Arlene Goldstein, Belk's Vice-President of Trend Merchandising and Fashion Direction. 

Oh, and by the way... what do you think of Belk as being the accessories wall on Project Runway??

Last night, I attended Birmingham local designer Ken Laurence, who is a current contestant on this season of Project Runway premiere party.

I've known Ken for a while and I can't tell you how excited for and proud of him I am.  I love being able to witness and share in someone's dream making!  So it goes without saying who I will be rooting for this season!

And this is what I wore!

This is my self-drafted leather bodice color blocked maxi.  

The leather is deliciously soft lambskin from my local Tandy Leather.  The bodice is lined with Bemberg rayon from Jo-Ann's.  And the skirt is a poly crepe that is the perfect weight to be left flowy and unlined that I found at Hancock Fabrics.  And I decided to use a metal zipper.  

The bodice has a bateau neckline and front and back vertical darts.  And the skirt which is basically two 60" wide pieces of fabric, has a shirred waist.

I was inspired by these:

 ONE by Marna Ro and Mason by Michelle Mason

I'm sure to some, summer leather sounds crazy.  But au contraire, this dress is just as cool and comfortable as anything else I could've worn for the occasion.  People have to remember that even though this is the "Deep South", every venue is air conditioned and it's probably around 68-72 degrees indoors -- everywhere!  And in actuality, I probably could've used a jacket too!

Are you watching Project Runway?  If so, what do you think?  Who's YOUR favorite so far?

Yesterday, I was feeling solemn and heavy-hearted.  I just wanted to embrace family and hug my kids.

We decided to turn off the tv and disconnect from social media for a while and enjoy the beautiful afternoon.  It rained so much last week that a sunny day felt almost like a novelty.

It was a perfect day for a flowy dress, comfortable -- yet stylish sandals, a head scarf to combat the high humidity and aviators.  We hung out at the park and lake.  We took a moment to watch the world through the unbiased eyes innocence as she took in every bird, duck, turtle, piece of tree bark.  We wished that life could always be that simple and unvarnished.

Wearing: dress:  Butterick 5886; scarf: Jason Wu x Target; vintage aviators; Gladiator sandals: ASOS.com

Mikaela made the special request for a crop top and high waisted shorts.  

She specifically said she wanted the shorts to be stripped and I said, why not make a matching top.  Suit dressing is popular this season.

I remembered the perfect fabric from Mood Fabrics and I knew it would be what she wanted.  This fabric is Nautical Double-Faced Cotton-blend Jersey.  The fabric is really easy to work with.  It doesn't have a lot of stretch, so I would probably use it for garments that don't require a lot of recovery... preferably things that could also be made in a woven.

The pattern for the top is McCall's 6754.  I cut the smallest size and just left off the peplum.  Stripes this size are so easy to match, so this went together really easily.  

And for the shorts, I used McCall's 6756.  I cut the smallest size in these and I still needed to pull them in at the CB... just a smidgen because she's so narrow.  They went together really easy and this is going to be her go-to shorts pattern that I plan to make a few more pairs.

This is such a cute, young-girl look   And I can't wait to make these shorts for her again!

It's the first July y'all!  Can you believe this year is halfway gone!

I'd made this top, Vogue 8907, view A around a week ago.  This blouse with it's cape sleeve design is in the same vein as this dress and that's why I kinda love it just as much.

I had a royal blue crepe de chine in my stash.  I'd planned it for a lining at the time of purchase but I never used it.  And it worked out perfectly for this drapey, breezy blouse.

I added an inch to the length.  I used French seams and narrow hems like I would when sewing any lightweight silk.  And I did away with those stupid facings.  I HATE FACINGS!  I used the same fabric and created bindings.

I decided I wanted to do shorts with this top.  It's so warm and humid here that I wanted to a dressy, yet comfortable outfit at the same time.  The shorts are Vogue 8865.  I altered View E, the bermuda shorts to a short-short with a 4" inseam.  I have a preference for shorter shorts because bermudas/city shorts look dowdy on me.  And I don't do capris either.  And since my legs are still decent, I'm going to wear them as long as possible.

I used leftover lace from this dress and underlined them with a stretch crepe back satin.

I had been wanting to do some tonal dressing this season, with slight differentiation in shades and texture.  And this outfit was a great opportunity.