Hooked on Swimsuits!

Well, life sure has picked up for us around here, as my obvious lack of blogging reveals, but I have been able to fit in one or two little sewing projects for myself and I must share!!

Have you made your own swimsuit yet?!? SO FUN! If the thought of making your own swimsuit scares you, don't be dismayed (or try making one for your daughter/niece/friend's kid first). It's much easier than it sounds! Though I've worked with lots of specialty bridal fabrics, stretch fabrics were not in that mix so I, too, was a little leery of how things might turn out. HOWEVER, two years ago when I was facing summer for the first time as a 4 months pregnant lady, I thought it might be a good time to try it (have you seen the price of maternity swimsuits?! YIKES!). Here is the one I made then (not prego in this picture, but the suit still works)

Sorry - I know there's some kid in the way ;) but it's just a plain-styled tankini.

Last year I wasn't quite ready for doting swimwear right after having a baby, so I skipped it. But this year I got back into the swing of things and have made two! The first one I made is from the Alison Pattern by BurdaStyle. Although this pattern is free to download, I do not recommend this as a first time project, as the instructions are very (VERY) vague. However, if you feel confident, a fellow Burdastyle member wrote up her own instructions for the same suit here.

I love the way it turned out! (The picture's small for a reason! hahaha - if you're interested in the details, check out the link above) :) The fabric I chose was very thick so it feels snug and secure.

The second suit I made is similar in style, but it's a tankini. I used McCall's 5400 views E & H with some modifications. For the top, I added some length and the bottoms seemed to have a lot of extra fabric in the, um, crotch section (lol) so I redrew the pattern and took out 2" and cut a second pair. MUCH better. :)

I have been broadcasting on facebook about my swimsuit making and a friend asked about bust support. This is one of the main reasons I decided to make my suits this year! I went to Old Navy and tried some on, but the after-baby bust is just not as happy as the pre-baby bust and I was very unhappy with the support offered. It is pretty easy to add bra cups to a lined swimsuit. The bra cups sold in fabric stores are mostly designed for swimwear so anything you find there for your size and preferences should work.

After constructing most of the swimsuit, while you can still get in between the lining and the outer fabric, pin in the bra cups and try it on. Adjust them to where they need to be and re pin. THEN, you zigzag the bra cups to the lining and cut away the excess lining (or I suppose you could even leave it in if you want). And voila! Great support, your choice of fabric, fit and style.

So I hope this entices you to make your own swimsuit this season or put it on the project list for next year. I love that I can get the fit, style and coverage I want and they are so fun to make!

OH! One last thing, I've found the best place to buy fabric is eBay. Search "Nylon Lycra Fabric" or "Swimsuit Fabric" and there are many, many prints and solids to choose from. Most come in 3-4 yard increments, so it gives you PLENTY to work with (and remake if necessary).

What are your fears about making your own swimsuit? If you need help with any fitting issues, I'd love to help! Just let me know!

Oh, I have a blog?

A long overdue Hello to my fellow bloggers! My! Has it been a long time since I blogged!! There is so much going on, it is unreal, but I'm finally at a point where I can get a post in. How have you been, friends?!

May is always a busy month for us because, besides Mother's Day, it is my mother in law and husband's birthday month, so at least 3 weekends of the month, we're doing something! I have continued with my maternity jeans independent contract, which has turned out to be as perfect a gig as I anticipated. Alycia of Eeny Meeny Maternity is wonderful to work with and I'm getting the jeans transformation down to a science.

Also, being as it is Bridal Season, I've altered a few Bridesmaids dresses, one of the most involved of which was for a 8 1/2 months pregnant daughter of my office manager. The wedding was Saturday and I'm dying to know tomorrow if she got to wear the dress, or had the baby instead! (sheesh! I tried to tell her at the beginning of all this to say, "No"!) lol.

Our garden is growing big, but we've not had much to harvest yet. The few strawberries that came in got eaten by some birds (!) but I did manage to get 1 1/2 off. Here's how it's looking now, as DS helps DH water it. The corn today is almost to our shoulders when we stand next to it! (This pic was taken last week)

Also, since it was a long weekend, we were able to get away to see my father in law who lives in Hermosa Beach, 1/2 a block from the beach! It was wonderful there! And we really enjoyed our time relaxing.
So that's our story! Today I've sewn some curtains for a co-worker (any tips on pricing them!?) and received an email about a possible drop-ship wholesale opportunity. Have any of you done that before? I'd love your input! Other than that, I'm trying to figure out if I should try to get some more sewing done before DS wakes up, clean the house, or start planning DH's 30th birthday party for next weekend!! We'll see by the end of the day what, if any of that, gets done! :)

To All The Mommies I know...

Thank You, EtsyMom!

I was surprised to be approached by Jamie of boodybabies and, of course, the EtsyMom team to be interviewed as this month's featured shop! Etsymom is a wonderful team to be a part of - understanding, yet motivated crafters & businesswomen...and best of all, we're all moms!

Thanks to the EtsyMom Team for the feature and thanks to Jamie of BoodyBabies for the wonderful write-up! (Click here to read it!)

Go EtsyMoms!

For more information on joining the EtsyMom Team go here! We'd love to have you!

foodstoragemadeeasy.net Giveaway!!

Ok, you've been thinking about it and feeling overwhelmed by it, but you haven't started yet - gathering a few essentials, that is. With the economy how it is, it is wise to be prepared for job loss, etc. So here's a great chance to get a jump start:

The ladies at http://www.foodstoragemadeeasy.net/ have put together a binder with checklists for car emergency kits (food, blankets, etc if you get stranded), 72 hour kits, etc.; recipes; and more! Now, you can sign up to get one list sent to your email FREE, every two weeks (there are 26 or something like that) so you can do it gradually, but they now offer an all-in-one download for $17. HOWEVER - in celebration of their download launch, they are offering one free download!

To win you just tell your family and friends and then email info@foodstoragemadeeasy.net to tell them what you did to spread the word! But Hurry!! They will choose the winner on Thursday, April 9th!

Check them out - a great resource for your family!

Super Fabulous Giveaway from Gock's Frocks!

About a year ago when I was new to Etsy, I "ran into" Kristen from Gock's Frocks. As a new etsian, I was amazed at her wonderful creativity and great pictures so I approached her for advice. She was VERY kind to me and more than willing to pass on some wisdom. Here and there we've kept in touch, as every once in a while I get an email showcasing her newest creations. But now...to my reason for telling you about her!

Kristen just posted her 200th blog post and to celebrate, she is offering a very fabulous giveaway!! I'll summarize it here, but be sure to visit her blog to participate!

"I will choose 3 lucky winners to receive the following:

1. $50 gift certificate to my etsy store
2. one log cabin pillow cover of your choice up to size 19" x 19" 3. crafty pack of 4 fat quarters from my OTHER etsy store and some coordinating trims."

So...how do you enter??? All the instructions are on her blog. Hurry! April 13th is the last day to enter! Have Fun!

Spring is in the air...

Spring is here and one of my goals this year is to start a vegetable garden. Now, I have been known to have a black thumb and kill any living plant in a 50 foot radius, but I'm encouraged by this book, All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew.

A friend told me about Square Foot Gardening (SFG) so I checked out the book at our library and I read almost 100 pages last night! (That's an accomplishment for me!) I am very encouraged and am really feeling optimistic that I can do this!

The main idea is to plant your garden in a 4x4 box made from 2x6" boards placed on top of the ground. This way you can reach everything without walking on your soil. Instead of trying to improve your local dirt/soil, you make a mixture of Mel's specifications (it's 3 ingredients) and then you start out with excellent soil instead of waiting 7 years to get your local soil right and then moving. Then make a grid on top, dividing your box into 16 one-square-foot portions. You can then plant up to 16 different veggies, spacing them as specified on the back of your seed packet. For instance, the book suggested planting cabbage, which you could only plant 1 head in a square foot, but other veggies, such as carrots, can be planted 3 inches (or whatever) apart, so you could fit many more carrots, etc. He claims this is more efficient than traditional row gardening and that you can plant and harvest as much as a row garden in 20% of the space!

Anywho. They recommend at least 1 4x4 box garden per family member, though you could have up to 3 - one with salad greens, one with dinner veggies and one for food storage. However, he cautions you to start small and build up as you deem appropriate for your family and needs. SO - we will be starting with one box, although my tendency is to go big. But as he pointed out, if you go too big, it will get overwhelming, so I'm going to heed his good advice!

So that's what "springing" up here in CA. What about you? What does spring look like where you are?