The Story Behind the Case

Travel pillow with trusty yard stick

I had a super idea that I would purchase a travel size pillow to take with me while traveling (imagine that) and instead of purchasing a pillow case for it; I determined I had enough fabric scraps lying around the house that I could sew my own.  


OF COURSE my first stop for inspiration was PINTEREST.  I looked at neat-o pictures.  

I decided I would make something with an envelope back instead of a traditional pillow case with an open end.  I thought it would be an epic fail if I didn't close up the case.

I saw this tutorial and thought I can TOTALLY do this.  

And then I cleaned up my sewing equipment and relocated my crafty and sewing stuff into our "bonus closet" from our spare bedroom (for a future kiddo).  The pillow and fabric sat in there for a month.    

FAST FORWARD TO THIS WEEK

SQUEE

The husband is out of town and I can make a sewing mess and leave the project out with no one to complain.  I figure I can embellish the pillow with a contrasting ruffle.  I was so excited to get started - at 10 pm.  I measured my pillow with my trusty thrift store yard stick, and began trimming my fabric to the "appropriate" sizes.  I began with gathering the contrasting fabric.  I cut a three inch strip thinking it will be enough cuteness to cause squeee!  I changed the stitch length and sewed down each side of the fabric.  I tugged on the ends of the thread and the gather gave be  a bit of trouble and my "carefully" measured ruffle ran a bit short.

Not a fit

But whatever - i'll make it work!  so then I held up the front of the pillow and realized it was few inches long, but no biggie - just trim it off.

I then sewed the envelope pieces and lovingly overlapped them.  Then I held up my beautiful pillow case to my pillow - NOT a fit.

I looked over to my throw pillow on the couch and it was a perfect fit!

So not a pinterest fail, right?!

A beautiful mistake

Custom dresses with a vintage flair!

Hello Friends,

I am so excited for the dress I ordered.  I know it won't arrive for another two weeks, but oh how I want to wear it NOW!!! Let me back up a bit.  I have been blessed with a body.  My body is a non-traditional standard of beauty, but in my mind, it has a lot to offer.  I am about to get REAL here ladies and gents; I am 5 feet 2 inches and 235 pounds.  I gained about 100 or so pounds through years of fertility treatments.  I have huge breasts and wear a DDD cup bra.  My poor mom spent most of my teen years driving my sister and I an hour or so away from the house to purchase bras from an outlet mall for a decent price. (think $50.00 + per) Anyhow I digress.  I have a short torso and longer legs, meaning too long for a traditional petite hem, but too short for a regular hem.  (I usually just order regular though) I also happen to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which means we aim to dress modestly. (think short sleeves, and knee length, and necklines that do not show a ton of cleavage)

So I stumbled across a website called eShakti which offers a wide variety of tops, skirts, and dresses which can be customized for a flat fee of $7.50; in sizes 0-36W (6x).  So you find a dress you totally love, but you need it to fit your wonky body, well you can grab a trusted friend (since they will be measuring you in your unmentionables) and a measuring tape and you can input your measurements and get a dress make just for you! 

Cute and customizable for any occasion

They also allow you to add length, subtract pockets (yes each dress and skirt comes with POCKETS) add sleeves, make 'em longer or shorter to fit the climate of your corner of the world. 

So let's say you have a promotional event for work (or spouses work) and you need an appropriate frock for the occasion - find a dress you like - click on it and customize away.  For me, I would need to add sleeves, and since it is winter time, I may go with an elbow length sleeve.

eShakti is offering 35% off there whole site AND if you register with them, you can get a 25.00 off coupon code in your email - as long as you use the email address you registered with, you can use the coupon.


This is the dress I selected and should arrive to my home mid December.  Once it arrives, I will take a few pictures and post them up.  Go check out the website and tell me about what you think!  eShakti.com

My pick - comes with cap sleeve - I changed it to short sleeve

My First Post

After the loss of my job in Fall of 2013, I fumbled around for a purpose.  I decided to re-commit myself to quilting and efforts to expand our family.  I am excited to share with you my thoughts, lessons learned and craftiness I attempt.  Sometimes in life, as with sewing, you make a mistake and have to stop, slow yourself and change your frame of mind. 

My husband and I decided it was time, after being married for six years, (and hyper-emotional fertility) to educate ourselves about the adoption process.  We learned about costs, qualifications, and wait time.  We turned in an application for a local adoption agency and are currently waiting to be assigned a social worker.

It sounds counter-intuitive to start an expensive process when laid-off, but the hubs decided to research how we could fund the costs of adoption.  We started an online fundraiser and have been very pleased with the amount of donations made.  

If you are interested in donating, please see our fundly website here