Week 2 ~ Vote Now!

Our week 2 theme for Extreme Makeover: Fabric Edition was Extra Ordinary.  Head over to Wildflowers & Whimsy to vote for your favorite before Sunday evening.  Can you guess which is mine?  Not to hard if you're a regular reader :)  Also remember to visit Bree's blog for a chance to win patterns from Yeppar and Kustom Kids Boutique.

Hope you have a great weekend, everybody.  I'm on-call this weekend, so I have no idea how mine will go!

Huge Giveaways at Little Lizard King

One of my favorite PDF pattern makers is approaching her 10,000th sale!  Head over to Little Lizard King blog to see how you can win one of five great prize packages.  Her patterns are boutique-cute and so detailed that even beginners can master them.  Check them out!

My Projects~Extreme Makeover: Fabric Edition Week 1

Did you guess which projects were mine?  
Our theme for week 1 was Wildflowers & Whimsy...I'm short on wildflowers but think I caught some whimsy in my sewing this week.

For starters, I have had this home dec fabric for over a year, waiting to be sewn into curtains for my daughters' room.  It's bright, fun colors made me think 'Modern Whimsy.' Using the fabulous tab-top lined curtain tutorial here, I've sewn curtains for my family, living, bedroom and now girls' room.   They are fully lined and used 8 yds of 54" fabric.

They have also been needing a duvet cover, so I pieced together the rest of my curtain fabric, three coordinating quilting fabrics, and a bed sheet from my stash using a total of 9.5 yd of 44" fabric and 4 yd of 54" fabric in this piece.

For some extra whimsy, I used the scraps to make a reversible pennant and added "Dream" since I figuratively want my girls to dream big and literally wish them sweet dreams.  I was inspired by this tute from Polka Dot Chair blog. The pennant used 1 yd of 44" fabric and a pack of bias tape.

I've been wanting some summer dresses, so I made this easy, flowing sundress in a free-spirited, blue-toned knit.  It's simply a tube with shirring around the chest and low-waist.  I added straps and a coordinating wide belt in turqoise, for a total of 2 yds of 54" fabric.  I've worked every day this week and am grumpy, so no photos of mama in this little number!

During our twice-yearly trip to Wal-Mart last weekend, I found this juniors t-shirt for $1.00.  I saw potential and brought it home to cut off the long sleeves to short, cut some length off and added a knit bubble skirt.  I'd recently seen this tutorial from The Cottage Home and used the technique for this dress. Instead of attaching the waistband, you attach the skirt directly to the shirt. Easy peasy! Add a fabric pom-pom pin and sash belt and you have a whimsy-chic dress your big girl loves! I don't count the t-shirt yardage since it wasn't really altered much but used 1 yd of 54" fabric in the skirt & accessories.

If you haven't been counting, in week one I used a grand total of 15 yards of 54" fabric and 10.5 yd of 44" fabrics this week!  My total of 25.5 yards placed me in first for total yardage for week one :)  I'm working all week and on call, so I don't think I'll be doing much sewing this week, but I'll give it my best.  Hope you follow along!

Extreme Makeover: Fabric Edition Week 1 Voting

I haven't blogged in the past week; here is the reason - Extreme Makeover: Fabric Edition!  Not really knowing what to expect, I sent in a few pictures of my fabric stash to Bree and April after reading about their upcoming Extreme Makeover: Fabric Edition contest.  To my surprise, I was chosen to participate!  Here's a sneak peek of the fabrics I've been stashing...I will defend myself on the basis that I live 3 1/2 hours from the nearest fabric store!

These from the girls' closet:

And these in my sewing room....

My personal goal in this stash-busting competition is to sew things my family really needs while working through my stash. I may sew a few extras, but am trying to stick to things that will be useful to my family.  I also hope to organize the fabric in the girls closet and finish unpacking my sewing/utility room.

Sewing room in its messy glory

Our theme this week is Wildflowers & Whimsy...I'm short on wildflowers but think I caught some whimsy in my sewing this week.  April and Bree want to keep voting as confidential as possible so picts of my projects and links to the tutorials I used will be posted after voting closes.

Head over to Bree's blog to vote for your favorites between April 22-24 and visit April's blog to win some great patterns!

Etsy Treasury!

Mama Lusco Handmade made it into the Etsy treasury!  Check it out to see some beautiful black & white treasures.

SALE on SisBoom & Scientific Seamstress Patterns Today!

Do you love SisBoom patterns as much as I do?  Take advantage of Sew, Mama, Sew's 20% off sale today!
I've been wanting the new Jamie dress pattern and finally got it!  I also love the kiddo Marissa dress version.

Find the SisBoom patterns available here for 20% off today & tomorrow only.

Also on sale are Carla's Scientific Seamstress patterns. I really like the large range of sizes available in Carla's patterns and her PDF patterns are loaded with pictures & instructions.  My Patricia tunic pattern was over 200 pages and sizes XL- 3XL!

I'm such a bargain shopper...I don't buy anything full price if possible.  Hope you can take advantage of this great sale, too!

Pattern Review: Playdate Peasant Dress

Awhile back, I was able to test the Playdate Peasant dress for a new PDF pattern-maker, Dee from Fun4Me2.  This is her first pattern release, and it's a good one!

Photo from Fun4Me2 Etsy shop

It's a simple peasant dress with flutter sleeves and optional contrast band at the bottom.  Peasants are so fun to mix & match fabrics and easy to embellish.  Included in the pattern are tutorials for fun accessories like flowers, pockets, headbands, ruffles & more!

My very first PDF sewing pattern was a peasant dress.  They are so versatile, comfy and fun!  This one is bargain priced at $3.00 and perfect for beginning sewers.  If you don't yet have a good peasant dress pattern, get one now!

New in the Shop and a Fun Panty Tutorial!

Big sigh......Ever have those tasks you've been dreading and avoiding?  I finally conquered one of those and it sure feels good!  My stash of feed sacks has been growing, so it was finally time to sew up some eco-tote bags.  Bright, shiny & newly listed in Mama's Etsy shop!

Also new in the shop are flower rings to match my dahlia and rosette earrings.  I have a white dahlia ring ready to ship or you can choose the color:
Dahlias available in light pink, mauve, fuschia, bright purple, white, red, royal blue & black. 
Rosettes available in peachy beige or sparkly pink.

After a day of uninspiring sewing, I whipped up these pretty girls...just what I needed to feel inspired to sew again!
You can find a great tutorial for how to make your own panties here at Belle & Burger.  I used 2 old t-shirts from my rag pile for this first pair.  Surprisingly, my self-drafted pattern was a perfect fit!  I have some pretty thrifted stretch lace that I'm excited to try on the next pair. I felt pretty good walking around in my new undies :)  

Bunny Easter Basket Tutorial & More!

Sun Scholars is sharing a wonderful Bunny Easter Basket tutorial.  Isn't it darling?  My 3 kiddos would have fun with these!

Take some time and browse around her blog while you're there...I also found this cute Shabby Chic Skirt Tutorial...

Photo from Sun Scholars

And this Spring Fling Dress tutorial.

Photo from Sun Scholars

Thank you, Rachel!