Oliver + S Puppet tunic in blue

Can't believe it has taken me so long to finally sew with Oliver + S patterns! This pattern has been waiting for more than 2 years. Where did all that time go? ok, so maybe having a baby, part time working and moving to a new house can explain why... 

Based on measures, it is a size 5 for my 4 year old girl. The fit is great in the shoulders, only a bit long but this can be fixed for next blouse. 

About the pattern, I have to say now I understand what the fuss is about when it comes to Oliver + S patterns. Great construction, pattern pieces match so well it is a very satisfying process. The sleeves require a bit more of time due to the gathering required, but look rather nice. 

The major issue I had was the fabric; a woven with a lot of stretch both sides, so was quite uncomfortable to sew. I had to pick a knitting stitch to give it some ease, and had to seam rip too many times for my liking. And when done, I notice that it frays. A LOT.

construction 

However I love the result and I'm planning on using this pattern again pretty soon. Real soon as we are almost out of size!!

She truly loves this blouse, most of all because mom sewed it, and she is so proud telling everyone!

I love the outfit. She chose to wear the boots, and I must say I really like it. 

 

One thing we both loved about this fabric is the option to have matching outfits for the girls in the house. Mine is a wearable muslin for Sewaholic Belcarra, but more on that later on this week.

Colette Wardrobe Architect 2015 Challenge

Early this morning I was having breakfast and going through Bloglovin (as usual) and was delighted to read the new post by Colette on Wardrobe Architect 2015 Challenge.

I must admit last year, when the original series were posted, I skipped these posts, had too much going on in my life and when blogging time came, late into the night, I was so tired that I prefered pinterest or other more visual posts. Huge mistake.

I have been going through the WA series these past weeks as I am in the New Year resolution phase of sewing again for myself. And I am truly amazed, as I believe these posts will be so helpful.

This year I need to focus on two key aspects:

• Stash busting. I have way too many fabrics, some of which were bought before moving out from my parents 9 years ago. How crazy is that?? 
• Wardrobe redefinition. 
• Can't fool myself any longer on waiting for my body to recover from 2nd kid (20 months have gone by already). I should accept my bust will never go back to its shape and place, and this is fine by me, I am proud of my bust but it's bigger now, and have a lot of shirts that will never ever suit me again. And I have to accept it and clear my closet. 
• My tummy is also a bit rounded nowadays, and whenever I feel too big I simply remember my huge tummy 38 weeks pregnant and laugh at myself, this was never going to go back, how could it be possible, so I need to accept it (and I do). So definitely a few changes here. 
• So what basics do I really need? I can't come again with the sad expression "I have nothing to wear" when my wardrobe is full. These clothings could have another use, either refashioning for my kids, as most are in very good shape (good quality leads to longer use, don't you agree?), or giving them away. Anything is better than hanging in my closet forever. 

In addition to this, I am somehow tired of endless shopping sessions searching RTW with little success and a lot of frustration. Can you tell why? Sizes unavailable, fitting issues, high prices, low quality, fast worn out clothings... I find myself amazed so many times, and tired, and angry of this cycle, and try to focus on my sewing but have too many WIP projects or planned projects and a pile of clothings awaiting small mendings... So sometimes I am overwhelmed and don't know where to start with and in the end nothing useful comes out.

So during this Xmas break I thought a lot about all this and decided I needed a plan. No more endless pinterest inspiring sessions or indecision between patterns, Need to focus and make great use of that small time I can make after putting the kids to bed, which is my sewing time (working mamas have this limitation).

So thanks Colette again for such thoughtful series and for helping us plan our sewing sessions and projects. I am so thrilled I can't wait to have it started already.

Note for hubby. If you're reading this, don't worry, I will sew for you this year, I promise 

Trello

Hace ya unas cuantas semanas leí un post sobre Trello y tuve que investigar de qué iba.

Sé que hay muchas aplicaciones que hacen lo mismo (tableros o secciones con imágenes) pero con Trello estoy muy sorprendida.

Lo que más me gusta es que además te permite desplazar una imagen de un tablero a otro, simplemente arrastrándola. En seguida pensé, qué bien, para mover mis costuras del tablero "Qué estoy cosiendo" al tablero "Qué he cosido".

Como se pueden añadir comentarios, he pensado que puede ser útil incluir una pequeña revisión de un patrón una vez que lo he cosido, para cuando repita costura saber qué modificaciones hice o si algo no me resultó cómodo o fácil de coser.

Lo estoy probando también para organizar los patrones digitales, para saber rápido qué tengo y aprovechar esa oferta de última hora pero que ya no recuerdo si es que lo quería y lo compré o fui sensata y me esperé.Y las telas, que me estoy haciendo mayor y ya no recuerdo qué tengo.

Ah, y me han dicho que se utiliza también para gestión de proyectos. Quién me iba a decir que teníamos una aplicación así de buena para organizar nuestros proyectos costureros.

A couple of weeks ago I read a post on Trello, and had to find out more about it.

Yes, I know there are a lot of applications already that can be used (boards with images) but with Trello I am pretty surprised; what I like the most is that you can drag images from one board to another, that fast and that easy. I thought, wow this is gonna be so useful to move my sewing projects from the "I'm sewing" to the "I sewed this". Or to reorganize.

Since you can add comments, I believe this can be useful to add some pattern review for future reference.

I am also trying to organize the digital patterns I have, so I can check really fast what I have and what not in order to take advantage of last minute offers.

And fabric too, as I'm getting old and can't remember what I have. Or is it because the stash is way too big... ??

Anyhow, I've been told Trello is also used for project management. Wow, who knew we had such a poweful applications to serve our sewing purposes?