7 Weeks

...until I get to see my best friend!

So excited!!!

Maxi Dress

Done! I'm so proud of this one, because of the alterations I made so that it didn't make me look pregnant!

Before (Also, I apologize for the immodesty displayed!)

See? I totally look pregnant. And huge. As Alyssa put it, I looked like a Big Relief Society Mama!

After!

See?! So much better! And yes, I'm incredibly awkward in front of the camera. And I also don't have a nice fancy camera that takes good quality pictures. Eh, I don't need one!
To alter it, I just unpicked the skirt from the waistband (but of course I'd already sewn the zipper in, so it was still a little attached), took out the gathers from the front and back, and layered them at the side to keep the fullness of the skirt without the bulk. I also added some darts to the bodice-aka, my boobs are smaller than the pattern, so I needed to bring the fabric in a little. I think it turned out well!

And of course, so you can see how good I look when I sew:

Yep, I'm cute. And so is my new dress!

Project to the MAX!

Woohoo, another project is coming! I would try to finish it tonight, but I accidentally grabbed a normal zipper instead of an invisible zipper at JoAnn's...yeah, problem. But I'm so excited I might just use the normal zipper!

I ACTUALLY did it!

 It's done!!! Probably about six weeks later and I'm finally finished with my first project!

I don't LOVE how it turned out...the bottom is a little more flared than I was hoping and the middle is a little too fitted, so I think next time I will go out a size on the pattern at the waist, and then come back in for the hip and maybe even go in more. I might just bring in the side hems at the hip, so it fits how I want it to. Those buttons? Yep, probably spent about fifteen minutes trying to decide where to put those! I am a little indecisive.
Also, I look SUPER gross in these pictures-that's what happen when I finish at probably 11:30 at night when I just want to be done! I definitely should've started with something easier; this project was too hard for a beginner! It was so fun though, and I think I learned a lot about sewing!

It looks a lot nicer from far away than it does up close :) And I will never button it up, because the buttons and the button holes are not lined up well enough. But look!! It's done!! Maybe now I'll wear it someday!

Next up:

I got this pattern at the same time I got the pattern for the blazer, but I spent at least an hour or two looking for the perfect fabric and I just didn't find anything that I loved that would've been less than $30. I'd like to find something light, since I'll be wearing it in the summer, but hopefully not TOO see through so that I don't have to make a liner for it, because that's three more yards of fabric that I'd rather not buy. Maybe they'll have something in the $1/yard section at Walmart? But I definitely want a maxi dress! Maybe one that I can wear with my new blazer!

Summer of Recreation

As warm months roll around, my apartment with no AC and the worst ventilation in the world becomes pretty miserable. Unfortunately, I have discovered that I really have no summer clothes. I have a few t shirts, and some cap sleeve shirts, but most of my clothes are best suited for spring and early fall. Go figure. Also, I recently lost two pairs of jeans--one to age, another to dancing--and am now finding myself in desperate need of clothes. But when you have a roommate with a sewing machine, why buy your own clothes?! I think it's time to bring back my summer goal of learning to sew! After much blog stalking, pinteresting, and wandering around Hobby Lobby and JoAnn's for hours, I believe I have a pretty solid list to work on:

            Top left: delia*s, $44.50
            Bottom left: LuLu's, $36.00
            Right: Simplicity 2406, View C

I've been dying to make that top dress for months now, and I knew as soon as I had access to a sewing machine again, I wanted to make it. I've been searching for a while, and this pattern is the closest match I could find. I would just make the neckline a little smaller, and then shorten the pattern sleeves so they're closer to half than three quarters.
I found the pink dress on Pinterest today, and just about died. It's SO cute, and it matches that pattern almost perfectly!

            Left: via Jacky Elwood, Pinterest
            Right: Butterick 5647, View B

Blazers are so on trend right now, and I'm obsessed! I'm a little worried about the difficulty level of making a blazer, but this one is unlined (which is great for a casual, lightweight summer blazer), and JoAnn's is having a Butterick sale this weekend--so why not? They're just so cute with everything!

             Left: delia*s, $34.50
             Right: Butterick 5211, View B

I stared at this pattern and reviews of this pattern for probably a good twenty minutes today, trying to decide if it was something I actually wanted to buy and if I'd ever even use it or wear anything I made from it. I decided I never would, and closed the page. Not five minutes later, I found this adorable dress that matched the pattern exactly! Score!

             Left: via Jessica Powers, Pinterest
             Right: Simplicity 2444

I've actually had my eye on this pattern for a while, not the dress. I've wanted to make something with it, but I had no idea what. I found this dress on Pinterest today, and what do you know? Almost a perfect match, again! I don't know if I'll actually make this one--it's a little too formal for just church, and I don't really have any other occasions to wear nice clothes--but it was fun to show how well the pattern matches the dress!

             Left: via Jacky Elwood, Pinterest (Corilynn, $115)
             Top Right: Butterick 5756, View B
             Bottom Right: via Crystal Gibson, Pinterest

Holy. Cow. After reading so many blogs advising against it, I vowed to never buy a skirt pattern. But...but...but.....these skirts are so cute!!!! And this pattern is perfect!! So, I might give in and buy it! Or I'll just use my handy dandy Dressmaker's Technique Bible and figure it out myself. Either way...I kind of need that red and white skirt!! Hopefully I can find some similar fabric!

Left: Forever 21, $27.80
Right: Simplicity 1873, View A

Ok, so these two really aren't super similar, but it's the closest I could find and I really love this dress! It's really similar to the first lace dress, but I just adore that peter pan collar! (Which I would have to add anyway). It just has a different feel than the first one. I like the idea of a fuller skirt, so this pattern could work really well. I only worry that the two layers will make this pattern too bulky, especially since lace can be kind of stiff and bulky on its own anyway.

And there you have it! My summer of projects!


Also, I just have to point out my title. Because I'm very proud of it. Sewing is recreation for me, and I'm recreating these cute clothes with the patterns I found-see what I did there?

Behind the Scenes

In Provo, singles wards have a little tradition called FHE movies. I guess it gives burned-out FHE groups at least two or three weeks' worth of activities. The shooting of my FHE group's movie Amor y Futbol culminated in what has been the funniest night of my life.

Plot synopsis: Emily (that's me) recently discovered her boyfriend, Alex, with another girl. Naturally, she broke up with him with a well-deserved slap and ran away, broken-hearted. As she sobbed under a tree, another boy, Mark, discovered her and fell in love. As he attempted to comfort her and get a date at the same time, Emily was hit in the head by a stray soccer ball and got amnesia. Later, Alex hears of this and decides to capitalize on Emily's loss of memories. Unfortunately for him, Mark is already at Emily's apartment, and threatens Alex to stay away from Emily. Alex is sufficiently intimidated and leaves Emily to Mark. Emily begins to get some memories back, and remembers that Mark said he would change her future. The two talk briefly, and their resolve to create new memories together is sealed with a kiss.

The first shot went rather well:

Sean (Mark) and I thought this was a perfectly acceptable kiss. However, as you can hear, Matt (the director) thought otherwise. With him, it's go big or go home, and he was determined we would go all the way so our movie would win at the FHE movie premier. The following clips show Sean desperately trying to find an alternative (apparently kissing me is intimidating....or gross):

And (obviously), that was only what we filmed. But, after MUCH encouragement, we finally got the shot we were (somewhat) looking for:

Yeah...don't ask me what the look on my face was after--it wasn't THAT bad! Totally not awkward. But, Matt was not satisfied. Please! That was plenty of time! But, ok, maybe not super tender...In case you weren't clear on Matt's feelings about this scene, or his kissing experience, let him explain it to you:

Anyway, as we discussed further options to make it better, a stunt double was suggested. Kameron was everyone's first choice, but then he and Sean told Matt it was his responsibility as director to show them how it should be done. Here is the resulting scene:

But of course, one was not enough. Why not let Kameron in on the fun?

So there you have it. A behind-the-scenes commentary of the award winning short film Amor y Futbol, plus a look at what kind of awesome shenanigans our FHE group gets into.

A Proposal.

If you're looking to get married:

http://myellowumbrella.blogspot.com/2010/10/sopapilla-cheesecake.html

Try this recipe. It worked for me.