Bundle Up Women's: Sew Yourself Some Love!

It's Bundle Up time again!  This time, we got to sew ourselves some love, which in my sewing room, I don't sew for myself nearly enough!

I had been seeing so many women posting their "Knot Your Average" tops and loved the look, so I knew I wanted to make one for myself.  I looked around for something to pair it with and came across the Blank Slate Oceanside Pants.  They looked so comfy, I couldn't resist the chance to make a pair!

I have never really gotten along with sewing knits, so I'm on a mission to work with knits more.  This top was a great opportunity for me to spread my knit wings.  I used some of the Art Gallery knit that I had in my stash.  They're from different lines, but I liked how they looked together.

One of my favorite things about this pattern is that it has the option to make it breastfeeding friendly.  It also includes the instructions to make it into a maternity top/dress.

The Oceanside Pants are a wide leg, loose fit pant with a drawstring waist.  I made mine out of a medium weight denim fabric.

Since they are a loose fit, I could probably go down a size or two on them and have a better fit than I got with this first pair, but they are still comfortable in the size I made them.  The pattern goes by hip size because of the drawstring waist.

Come summertime here in Texas, I'll be making some more in the shorts version!  They are quick and easy to make, so whipping up more will be pretty fast.

I'm really happy with the two patterns I choose for this tour and I feel great that I was able to make myself some new clothes!  Bitty Bee usually gets all of the goodies from the sewing room.

Do you get to sew yourself some love?  It's a pretty great feeling.

Join us through the whole blog tour and don't miss a day!!!

Feb 1     Sew Thrifty

Feb 2     Feather's Flights

Feb 3     The Wholesome Mama

Feb 4     Sprouting Jube Jube        

             Sugarplum Cuties

Feb 5     Shaffer Sisters

Feb 8     Mabey She Made It

Feb 9     Rebel and Malice

Feb 10   If Only They Would Nap

Feb 11   Sugarplum Cuties

Feb 12   Hibbadoray

Feb 15   Bee Quilted Beauties       

             Mabel Madison

Feb 16   Sew Starly

Feb 17   All Things Katy            

             Handmade Boy

Feb 18   Friends Stitched Together

             Lady And The Gents

Feb 19   Sew Happily Ever After

             Sew Like My Mom

Quilt Market 2015 Review Part 1

Things are finally settling down now that Quilt Market is over.  Now the fun job of reviewing everything we saw starts!  I took over 600 pictures and that's not including what Queen Bee took with her phone!  We saw so many amazing new fabric lines coming out, new products that are available, and new patterns and books that we want to add to our website.  I'm breaking my Market Review into two posts, simply because there is so much to post about!

First, I know everyone is excited about the new Tula Pink line, Chipper!

Chipper is a great line to pair with her other lines.  We were sad that there were no big faces in this line, but there are some really cute foxes and chipmunks!

Tula Pink is also developing a line of hardware!  8" Shears, Surgical Blade Seam Ripper, and Thread Snips.  We have them up for pre-order currently.

Also, I ran into Tula Pink herself on the market floor and we just had to take a picture!

She loved my bag and wallet set, made by Tilly T Boutique, out of Elizabeth.

She also signed my Tula Pink coloring book for me!

Another big thing that we're excited about it Art Gallery is releasing a line of Denim!

Included in the line are a variety of printed denims that are soft to the touch and hold so many possibilities!  And a heavier denim, perfect for those rough and tumble boys in our lives!  And the rough and tumble girls, too.  They can be just as hard on their clothes!  We will have the pre-order up soon in our group, so make sure you join us!

Art Gallery has some beautiful lines coming out soon and we've had the pre-orders up in the group already.  You can see them all in our group albums.

Cotton + Steel knocked it out of the park with fun, playful lines this fall, with names like Cat Lady (which Bitty Bee is *very* excited about) and Macrame.  Pre-orders are going up soon!

Lewis & Irene is another company that we were in awe of.  They joined the fabric world last year and have been an instant hit in the sewing world.  Last year, their Spring Hare line completely sold out of the warehouse and was in high demand.  This year, they have more lines!  I had to break them into three collages to include all of it!

Mermaids, beach life, bunnies and hedgehogs!

Circus, bike rides, fairies, and a trip to China!

Two great Christmas lines, one of which has panels for Christmas stockings and an advent calendar!

We love getting to chat with Brian from Lewis & Irene and finding out the 

inspiration behind some of his fabric designs.  

Quilt Market 2015 was a lot of fun, we saw a lot of great things to bring to you, and this is just the tip of the ice burg!  Tomorrow I will be putting together another Market Review post to show off more of what we saw!

~*~Princess Bee~*~

Cultivate in Fall Wrap Up

About a month ago, I saw Art Gallery Fabrics post about a new contest, Cultivate in Fall.  It was a simple contest, create something with Bonnie Christine's line Cultivate and email it in.  Then, all of the entries were posted to Pinterest for voting.  

The winner was chosen by popular vote and the Beauties pulled through for me!  

Thanks to all of our fans and my friends and family voting, I took first place!

I made this cute dress with the Giselle Pattern by Kate & Rose Patterns.

I made the dress out of voile to keep it nice and lightweight for fall.

Gamer was my photographer for this dress and for 10 years old, I say he's got some talent!

I had a lot of fun during this contest and got to sew for myself, which is something I don't do much.

And the best part?  My prize package came in today!

I can't wait to get sewing!  Once I get caught up on a few other projects, first...  lol

Happy Sewing, Beauties!

~*~Princess Bee~*~

Indian Summer: One Thimble Blog Tour

The new issue of One Thimble, a quarterly sewing ezine, is out and it's full of cute patterns!  I especially love the versatility of the Cosmos Reversible Skirt by Sew Maris Designs.

I used some Art Gallery fabric from a couple years ago that I had in my stash.  The line is called Indian Summer and Bitty Bee loves it!  For the first side, I picked a light background with trees and teepees and mountains.

For the reverse side, I chose a darker fabric, this one in teal with feathers and cacti.

To go with the skirt, I found a teal long sleeved shirt and added a touch of embroidery to the front.

I really like the length of this skirt, it comes down to her knees, 

which is a good length for back to school.
Plus, it's "dad-approved" at this length!

I did change up the construction just a little,
I made a casing for an enclosed elastic waistband after sewing the bottom scallops and turning, instead of the fold over elastic waistband.

I look forward to taking the time to read the rest of this issue of One Thimble, the patterns all look amazing and I hear there are some really good articles!

~*~Princess Bee~*~

8/13 Pattern Revolution, Call Ajaire, Happy Okapi

8/14 Rebel and Malice, Handcrafted by Red, Lily Shine Boutique

8/15 Lady and the Gents, Horris and Deedle,  Bee Quilted Blog

8/16 Create 3.5, Lulu and Celeste, 

8/17 Beri Bee Designs, Finn's Door

8/18 Hibbadoray, HattieLu Handmade

8/19 Made by Sara, Snickerdoodle Stew

8/20 Stitches By Laura, That's Sew Kari

Mash Up with Simple Life and Violette Field

The other night, I was looking through some of the fabric I had here at the house, and found some of my Petal & Plume from Art Gallery.  I love this line of fabric and Bitty Bee needed a new dress out of it.  But what dress to make?

The new Mia's Tie-Back Top and Dress by The Simple Life Pattern Co caught my eye, I just purchased that pattern and loved the bodice of it.  But I wanted a different skirt.  I had the Violette Field Threads Maggie Dress for girls that I haven't had a chance to make yet and I love the hi-lo skirt on it.  In my mind, Mia's bodice with Maggie's skirt was the perfect match up.

The end result was amazing!

Because both dresses have similar size bodices, there were no adjustments needed for the length, which made this a very easy project!

Bitty Bee loves anything out of Art Gallery fabrics because of how comfortable it is to wear!  The fabrics are especially great for summer, because of how light and flowy they are.

And, of course, true to Texas form, it's been HOT HOT HOT for the past few weeks, yesterday I was burning up outside in a tank top and as soon as I make Bitty Bee a summery dress, the temps drop to 58!  Poor girl was freezing as we were taking these pictures!

But she was a trooper and didn't complain too much about the cold.

This dress is sure to be a summer favorite, once this crazy Texas weather decides to leave winter behind for good this year!

If you haven't had a chance to work with Art Gallery Fabrics yet, I highly suggest you get a few yards and try them out.  They have such a great hand and are just amazing to work with!

~*~Princess Bee~*~

Lilac Lane Pattern Release: Treasured for Dolls

I've been hanging around the PDF world for a few years now, testing for a few different designers, sewing from lots of different designers, and I have to say that I am loving Lilac Lane Patterns!  And this week, Melissa is launching her brand new website!  Guess what that means!  A week of giveaways and celebration!

Last month, I tested one of her newest doll patterns, Treasured for Dolls.  I had also tested Treasured for Girls and wrote a review, which you can find here.  Luckily, I had enough of the Art Gallery Reminisce for the matching doll dress.  Doesn't Marie-Grace look fabulous in this dress?

The dress has a Velcro closure in back, making it easy for little hands to dress their favorite doll.  Her sash is attached in front and ties in back, so no shifting around or losing the sash!  I don't know how many random sashes Bitty Bee has in her room that I've made and they haven't stayed with their garment!  Attached sashes are the way to go with little girls!

It is always such a pleasure working with Melissa and we at Bee Quilted Beauties can't wait to see what the future has in store for this talented designer!

~*~Princess Bee~*~

One Thimble Review and Giveaway

I had seen posts about this e-zine, One Thimble, and at first thought $25 for a magazine was a little high, but when the chance to review the entire magazine came up, I got curious and wanted to see what the buzz was all about.

Boy was I glad I did!!!  I picked two of the many patterns available in this issue and really enjoyed not only sewing the Moku Skort and the Art Caddy but also reading the articles and sewing tips within the magazine.  It's so much more than just 15 patterns/tutorials.  This issue includes tips and pointers for things like shirring and sewing with knits, it includes interviews with designers, tips for small businesses.  I still haven't even had a chance to read everything yet, but I can't wait to be able to sit with my Kindle and read the entire thing.

I have a little budding artist in my house and so the Art Tote was perfect for her.  She always has a small sketch pad with her and has been known to draw on anything that will sit still for more than 30 seconds.   I had some fun, bright Moda fat quarters in my stash that were screaming out to be used for this.  The line is called Daydream by Kate Spain.  It is an older line, but the colors are so beautiful!  The Art Tote features space for both colored pencils/thin markers and for crayons, as well as pockets for a sketch pad/small activity book and for little things like erasers and a pencil sharpener.  This is going to be great for road trips to see the grandparents!  I've already gotten a request for another one by my son and I think this will make a great Christmas gift for some of the younger members of the family!  I have a 6 year old niece that will love this!

 

My artsy little Bitty Bee also loves to make a statement with her clothing and Art Gallery Fabrics is perfect for helping her make that statement!  I made her the Moku Skort out of Priory Square by Katy Jones.  They are fun little culottes that will be absolutely perfect once we get rid of this cold weather!  Seriously, I live in Texas for a reason!  One of the those reasons is that I'm not a cold weather creature!!!  Bitty Bee has already told me that she wants more of these shorts once it warms up and even wants to try to make them on her own.  They went together so quickly that I have no problem complying with her request.  From cut to finish, they took around an hour.

They have a flat front waistband with elastic in the back, and the instructions include how to make the waistband adjustable.  I'm looking forward to trying out adjustable waist bottoms and was glad to see a designer including that option.

I'm especially proud of Bitty Bee for helping with her shirt.  Sunday Clippings has such a great design for shaggy applique!  I cut out around some of the flowers, making sure I kept the bird, and fused it to the shirt and Bitty Bee did part of the sewing around the edge.

I have loved being part of the One Thimble Blog Tour for this issue!  Please take a moment and check out the other talented ladies on the tour!

~*~Princess Bee~*~

 

Friday 11/14: Pattern Revolution, Once Upon a Sewing Machine

Saturday 11/15: Handmade Boy

Sunday 11/16: Mimi's Mom, Rebekah Sews

Monday 11/17: Ellie Inspired, Handcrafted by Red

Tuesday 11/18: The Crazy Tailor, The Berry Bunch, Friends Stitched Together

Wednesday 11/19: Made by Sara. Bee Quilted Beauties

Thursday 11/20: Gracious Threads,  Lady and the Gents, Shaffer Sisters

Friday 11/21: Knot Sew Normal, Beazza & Llama, Mae & K

 

 

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Lilac Lane Treasured Dress Review

Tomorrow, Lilac Lane Patterns will be releasing a new dress pattern and I am in love with it!  I was one of her testers and she rocked it with this dress pattern!

At Quilt Market, I hit up the Art Gallery booth and stocked up on their one yard bundles.  I chose Reminisce by Bonnie Christine for this dress.  The dress design just screams spring, so the flowers and colors of Reminisce are perfect.

The dress design has a lower waistline than most in the PDF world and I love that it has the attached sash so it can be pulled in nicely.  There are two buttons on the back at the neck and I was finally able to use some hand crafted buttons that I had bought last year at Quilt Market.

I want to talk about the buttons for just a moment, the company I bought them from, Incomparable Buttons, imports them from Africa where they are all handmade and painted by women living in South Africa.  They are simply gorgeous and I'm so glad that I held on to them, as this was the perfect project to use them on.

Bitty Bee can't wait until warmer weather so she can show off her new dress to all of her friends.  For today, we headed for the local library, a place where stories tend to magically jump off the pages at you!

And her cute little matching bag leaning against the bookshelf?  I picked that one up last year in the SewFab Bundle and it's by LBG Studio.  It went together rather quickly and is the perfect size to carry library books!

Check back on the blog tomorrow for the link to buy the pattern!  I'll update as soon as she releases it.  Trust me, you'll want this one in your pattern collection!

It's been released!  Go pick up your copy today!  Click here to be taken directly to the Lilac Lane etsy shop.

~Princess Bee~

Bundle Up Boys: Whovian Edition

Poor Jeremy doesn't get much out of my sewing, but when Bundle Up Boys came around, I was excited to join the blog tour and make something for my little man!

Lately, Jeremy has made this geeky momma proud and has discovered a love for the Classic Doctor Who show.  We found it on Netflix and he's hooked.  He's also become a big fan of The Sarah Jane Adventures, which is a DW spinoff show.  So, what's a geeky mom to do when presented with sewing for her son?  I go geek on him!!!

He absolutely loves his TARDIS robe, which was made using the Ellie Inspired Sleepy Bear PJs.  I used felt rectangles for the TARDIS windows and used printable fabric from JoAnn's to print the Police Box info square.

For the pajama pants, I found a really neat Glow in the Dark fabric that we had in stock from Northcott.  The pattern has options for shorts or pants, but with fabric this cool, I felt that it needed to be used as much as possible, so pants it was!

I was looking for something for the Jocole Tank (the boy hates sleeping in anything with sleeves) when the latest Art Gallery shipment came in.  We ordered a really cool looking knit (we also have the same print in woven) that works great with this whole look!  I picked up the Police Box embroidery design from Urban Threads and added the text around it.

I loved working with both of these patterns for this blog tour and Jeremy is still really excited about his new "Time Lord" PJs. Next up will be a pair of boxers off of the Jocole pattern!  Maybe I can find some "Weebly Wobbly Timey Wimey" fabric for them!

"Bee" sure to check out the other great bloggers on the tour this week and make sure you get your bundle before they're gone!  Click here to buy the bundle!

As for us, we're off on another great adventure!  Happy sewing, Beauties!!!

~Princess Bee~

20th Boy, Oh Boy, Sew Like My Mom, Sew a Straight Line

21st Made By Sara, Friends Stitched Together, Max California

22nd Just Joshin, Kid Approved, Gracious Threads

23rd Mimi’s Mom, Feather’s Flights, Once Upon a Sewing Machine

24th Handmade Boy, Made By Momma, Bee Quilted Beauties

25th Handcrafted By Red, The Crazy Tailor, Kelly Hogaboom

26th Mae&K, Get Your Crap Together, Lady and the Gents

27th Paisley Roots, The Berry Bunch, Knot Sew Normal, 

 BabyFish Designs, Rebekah Sews, Lady and the Gents

28th Swoodson Says, Petit a Petit, Kelly Hogaboom

29th Beaza & Llama, Shaffer Sisters, Fabulous Home Sewn

Back to School with Ellie Inspired and Rock the Stitch

I know it's way too hot to be thinking about winter coats, but I just couldn't resist this one!  Ellie Inspired has one that is just darling!!!  The Sweet Pea Coat just has such a classy look and my little darling is wanting less of the ruffles and frills and more of the classy and streamlined.

I will be the first to stand up and say that I am so addicted to anything that Art Gallery Fabrics releases.  For this look, I paired the Emmy Grace with Indelible.  The coat lining and gold on the dress bodice are Emmy Grace, the main print on the dress and the teal on the bodice are from Indelible.  The colors work so well together!

Yep, that's my daughter, twirling in the middle of the street.  Even though she is growing up, she can't resist twirling in a new outfit!  And this coat doesn't fail to impress on the twirl factor!  Instead of buttons on mine, I used a couple frog closures.  They really add a nice touch to the coat.

I really like some of the options available with this coat pattern, such as making it reversible!  I might try that style next.  We do live in Texas and this wool coat is going to be too heavy for most of our mild winter.  But a reversible one in lighter fabrics will be perfect!

The dress is one that I'm definitely planning on making more of!  It's the Fawn Lily from Rock the Stitch and has a lot of great options.  There are two bodice options, overlapping (how I did mine) and button-up.  It has three lengths (tunic and dress, either above or below the knee) and three skirt options (A-line, gathered or pleated).  I did the below the knee A-line for mine because I love the print of the fabric I used and just couldn't see it being gathered up or pleated.

For the back of my bodice, I continued the teal fabric across instead of using the gold from the front.  I like how it came out, almost like a mock bolero.

I had a lot of fun putting this look together for Layna.  And now it's time to start the next project!  This time, my son will be getting something pretty awesome.

~Princess Bee~