take three, or another portfolio tunic

Have I convinced you to get the Portfolio pattern yet? This time I changed it up a bit. No pockets. No cuffs. It's simple and totally wearable and great for beating the heat (though I will have to ditch the jeans for leggings once summer really kicks it into high gear. . . like next week).

take two, or the housedress redefined

I'm not going to show you what I wore around the house yesterday. Let me just say that it was neither cute nor flattering. I think the Portfolio tunic is a much better option. I made mine from a soft pink linen blend (I used the same fabric for a maternity tunic here.) It's kind of stretchy and crinkly and I just love the way it feels.

I don't know if the pattern makers had a modern housedress in mind when they designed this pattern, but that's what it says to me and I sure do love it. The good news is that I no longer have to be embarrassed to step outside and get the mail. :)

Portfolio Dress in Chambray

I love a good pattern. This one (Simplicity 2245 by lisette) is excellent. It is such a smart design. It sews together well, is comfortable, easy to wear, and has pockets! I really like it as a dress, but I think I am going to love it as a tunic best of all. I'm making one this week in a pale pink linen. It will definitely be my summer uniform.

Some notes: I know I am short, but I must have a short torso, too, because I needed to take an inch and a half out of the bodice and add it to the bottom of the skirt instead. The back seam seemed a bit blousy, so I took it in at my waist just a bit. I definitely recommend making a quick muslin test of any pattern first, to see if there are any changes you need to make to the fit. And I like to sew one size smaller than the pattern recommends for my measurements.

I wore it to church yesterday. Luckily I didn't have to nurse Elliot while we were there. It's not quite built for that. :)

Are you sewing this week?

a blouse

One of my weekend projects was this blouse. I copied another blouse I had in my closet but never wore because it was silver. (Yes, I said silver. It was shiny and silver. Eeek!) It was saved from my closet purge because I loved the style and fit. I took it apart and copied it in a pale pink handkerchief linen. (Much classier, don't you think?) This is easy to do. Do you have something hanging in your closet that you love, but maybe the color isn't flattering, or the fabric is cheap? Copy it!

I'm glad I did. And now I think I need it in at least 6 other colors.

I need a uniform.

The big purge of oh ten completely decimated my closet. But that's ok, because honestly, I didn't really like any of my clothes.

Mike and I decided that we need to start dressing like adults, anyway. This means no more grungy loungewear. No more flip flops. No more boring tee shirts. It is time to create my uniform.

From now on, I am only buying clothes that I love, that fit and flatter my figure, and that fit into the parameters of my uniform: blouses, dark straight legged jeans, casual flats. I want quality, not quantity. Quality fabrics. Good fit. Classic style. That's my goal.

I don't know why it took me so long to figure it out, but I feel really good about it.

What is your uniform?



p.s. I made my collage in polyvore. Have you been there? It's a fun place.

Four

Four more weeks until baby no. 4 makes his arrival. Let's celebrate with a giveaway. What do you say?

Almost as soon as I found out I was pregnant with this boy, I put an order in at Shade for some maternity basics. I've had this top in my closet ever since. Let me tell you something, it has never disappointed me. It's comfortable, soft, modest, and it has easily grown with my big huge baby bump. I especially love the feminine gathering on the sleeves. It is one of my maternity staples.

Because of the ruching on the sides, I think it might even camouflage my lumpy postpartum tummy, too. It doesn't get much better than that, does it?

I think we all need this shirt.

So let's give one away! Here are the details:

Leave a comment on this post. Tell me something fun, like how you found my blog or what your favorite Shade item is. Do this before Saturday, and you could be the lucky winner! I'll post the results first thing Monday morning.

Good luck!

**This giveaway is now closed. Stay tuned for the winner on Monday!**

You could totally make this.

Honest.

The tutorial will be posted here over the next few weeks, but I am not that patient. I wanted to wear mine today. So I had to wing it. I am sure it would have turned out better/been easier if I had waited for all of the instructions first. Oh well.

I used a remnant of fabric marked as "linen" from my favorite fabric store (Sally's for all you locals - they have the best service, a ton of fabric, and they take Joann's coupons!). It has some stretch in it, which is ideal for maternity wear, of course, but I don't think it is really linen. After I washed it, it ended up kind of crinkly, which I love. Plus, since it was a remnant, it only cost $1.73. Score. The only problem was that I didn't have the full 3 yards the tutorial called for. So I had to make do with what I had.

If you happen to see me out and about in the next little bit, chances are, I'll be wearing this shirt. It's that comfortable.

I think it would be super cute even if you weren't sporting a ginormous belly like me. You should make it.

And now we are headed to the park. Because this day is just too lovely to spend indoors.

Have a good weekend!

This is what nearly 31 weeks looks like.

Well, this is what it looks like when you're short. I must not remember just how big I get when I am pregnant. Because right now I feel like I am all filled up. Like there's no more room. Like this baby can't get any bigger or my stomach is going to pop.

It's no wonder people get wide eyes when I tell them I have two solid months left. I wouldn't believe me, either.

p.s. I'm totally making this today. I am in desperate need of something easy to wear, something that doesn't require a modesty tee and doesn't slide down my bump. If I have 9 weeks left, I want to be comfortable.

News

1. My most comfortable gray maternity dress is out of the closet and into rotation. That's not a good sign. It means I've kind of given up on pants.

2. The winner of the beautiful "Be Still" necklace is:

Yay Katie! Send your info to barefootstephanie@gmail.com and I will pass it on to Lisa. Thank you all for entering! Now go to Lisa's site and order something pretty for yourself for Valentine's Day.

3. As of tomorrow, our yogurt shop will be open for business! Stay tuned for all the tasty details.

Are you pregnant?

Do you know someone who is? Then head over to Shade and pick up a few of these undershirts right now. I'm serious. I have honestly never worn anything so comfortable in all my life. They are soft and cool and stretchy and just completely perfect. I'm not taking mine off until May.

Let's pretend it's fall.

And that it's not too hot to wear jeans.

Because today I'm squeezing into my favorite jeans before this baby decides they're no longer an option, and I'm not even rolling them up to be capris. I'm wearing my favorite new fall shirt, found here. And I'm eating a pumpkin pie shake. Yum.

Sigh, I love imaginary fall.

a blouse and a giveaway

I went to Anthropologie the other day. I was armed with Mike and my 15% off card.


Guess what. I couldn't find a thing to buy. It's the story of my life. I liked this blouse, but I thought the neckline was too low (not too mention the price being too high!).

So. . .


I made my first ever Anthropologie copy.

What do you say, shall we have a giveaway? Let's.

I will sew the winner their very own Anthropologie-esque blouse.

Please note: the pattern I made is for a size 0-2 shirt.

Earn one entry by commenting on this post. Earn an extra entry by creating a link to this post on your blog. The giveaway will close Saturday night at midnight pst. I will announce the winner Monday morning.

Ready, go!

another tee shirt idea

Please note: I did not make this shirt.
I purchased it after the birth of my Oliver and it has been a favorite ever since.

But, I have always wanted to make another one like it.
And I think we could all do it.
Just sew 3 lines of elastic thread from side seam to side seam in the back.

It's simple, feminine, and flattering.

Skirt 5

I love linen.
I love how heavy it feels and how wrinkly it gets.
It is so classic.

I picked up a yard and a half of this lovely linen for half price last week.
On Sunday morning, I realized I didn't have a thing to wear to church.

Luckily our meetings don't start until 1:30.
It gave me just enough time to sew up this skirt.

Ahoy

I'm not sure what has come over me. Maybe it's the fact that I am in desperate need of a new wardrobe, with no money to spend on such a luxury, but I can't seem to stop sewing.

The other night we went to a friend's party. We were supposed to dress in "classy beach" attire. Well, since Mike and I were lacking anything matching that description, I went shopping and found sweet seersucker pants for Mike at Old Navy for $7. I love seersucker. It's so classic. Mike looked great, but would never in a million years wear those pants again. So I stole them. And made this:

It's my nod to the nautical. I used every bit of those pants I could, including the gray polka dotted pocket lining.

Sewing

Yesterday I was a slave to my sewing machine.

I love working on a sewing project, but while I am in the midst of it, I find it impossible do anything else until I'm done. Like eat, or drink, or leave my office. Then I end up with a whopper of a headache. Sigh. Sometimes I hate sewing.

But yesterday wasn't so bad, because aside from the sewing-induced headache, I ended up with these:

a pretty skirt for me

It is a little bit full, dressy, and springy. I thought it turned out pretty well considering I didn't use a pattern and only had a vague idea of what I wanted.

a pretty dress for Mabel

I used Butterick 3350, but I changed the sleeves. I chose a linen-like fabric, so it feels really good. The best part about her dress is that she loves it. I can tell she feels special when she has it on. She didn't want to stop twirling.

Easter Sunday here we come.