What I'm reading......

Welp, the month is almost over with and I didn't get hardly anytime to sew for myself but had lots of time to do work for others which I enjoy. I made it through the thick of Prom season and have a few more dresses to take care of (I'll be making one of them). But what I am happy about is kicking back into heavy reading like I use to. I always read but I'm really kicking it into high gear. Since my reading time is always limited and precious I always choose Self-Help books or Christian books. I've no time for fiction and choose to get my fiction dose in the form of movies which I love. 

 I recently joined a Business Masterminding group---WHICH IS SO AWESOME! Nothing like connecting with other high functioning business women to push my business to the next level. I've been a part of a general Mastermind group for the last almost 2 years now so it was nice to join another one---one that focuses solely on voraciously growing my business. So I picked some great books I recently heard about and am enjoying reading and I just wanted to share them with you. I'm currently on "Eat That Frog" which is great and gives great times on being proactive. "How to Think like Leonardo daVinci is a book that shares all of da Vinci's secrets of genius and shows you how to apply them to your life. . Lora Langermeir's book teaches you to say YES and figure out how to solve problems and build the right teams to do so. And of Course Think and Grow Rich for Women is a great nod and take on the classic Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill---but is specifically geared toward women. I plan to have these finished within the next quarter and can't wait to soak up all the knowledge and wisdom. What are you currently reading? If anyone has a success books they would like to recommend please leave in the comment section below. 

Dreaming of Lace......

I made it through Prom season....well kinda. Knocked out several dress alterations and am working on a potential custom dress. There's fashion design homework and preparations to teach a big sewing course (details to come) in addition to new clients and projects. Theres so much going on! In the midst of all that I NEED to sew for myself. It's been far too long.  In steps this beautiful shimmery  teal, sky blue, and gray lace.  I've already imagined it as a top. It's so pretty it makes my heart flutter. A girl can dream can't she? Hope to make this a dream realized before the weeks up......

Sewing Jots and Tittles 3.15.15

It's been quite a while and I needed a brain dump. Here goes.....

Sewing Jots and Tittles

This is my son, Tip (one of my 2 hamsters---he's a Syrian "Fancy Bear" variety) This little Dude decided to bite a hole in my fabric--see it on the left.....it was laying too close to the cage and he dragged it through the bars ad commenced to chewing it up.

 ....he better be happy he's so cute. Mama don't take kindly to ruining fabric

 Got new zipper/cording feet for the industrial machine. I've been doing alot of jacket zipper replacement for clients.

 An empty Jo-Ann's parking lot. True enough the store just opened but this should never be. Nevertheless, more fun for me!!!

 Studied the color wheel in my fashion design course! My new favorite tool! I've always loved color! I can't stop thinking about designing my own fabric now!

New fabric! I have a penchant for animal print!

THAT CAPE in the Taylor Swift video "Blank Space" (the model wasn't too bad looking either LOL!). If my husband wasn't such a big man I'd make one for him LOL! That entire scene was beautiful!

A better shot of my daughter's Father/Daughter Banquet dress. Seems like it was perfect for a dance challenge with her dad! LOL!

Non-Sewing

 There were like 12 vultures on my neighbors roof and I walked outside and they were staring at me. CREEPY!!! LOL!

 FINALLY a family bike ride! It has taken years to organize this! LOL!

 Someone explains to me what makes this rice "forbidden"? LOL???

Was unloading groceries. Accidentally stepped back onto eggs with the heel of my stiletto. Would you believe I didn't break one egg? Pretty amazing. These eggs are too expensive to be breaking! LOL!

 DATE NIGHT! We finally snuck in a trip together at the gym!

She's learning to play.....

 One of my favorite scriptures posted on the wall in our prayer room at church

LOVED this movie! I'm a big Tom Hardy fan! This had some unexpected twists!

 I'm starting to think my obsession is unhealthy! LOL! Stair climber why did I avoid you for all these years???

 Received this devotional as a gift from a wonderful friend! LOVE it! It's one I use every morning.....

 ....here's a particular excerpt that made my heart happy:)

 I read somewhere that the Dyson vacuum inventor made 5000+ prototypes. Not sure how accurate that is but I think you've earned your street cred when there's a toy version of your product.

Someone please tell me when I'm in a shoe store I  I don't act the way my daughter does in a toy store. She's like a wild animal on the lose! LOL!

Saw this on a fashion blogger's page and decided to do my own research and purchase it. I LOVE this stuff. It's high in fatty acids, is an anti-inflammatory and lightens facial blemishes.  I use it at night and it goes on thick and is a bit greasy. It absorbs in your skin when you sleep . Definitely noticing a change in my skin. I got mine here....

Love this song!!!!

Fearless February Extension Wrap Up!

My Fearless February one week extension is over and due to a heavy business work load I couldn't get any additional sewing for myself done (insert sad face here). Well I'm not one to cry over spilled milk.....well usually I do but I'm learning it really is a waste of time. I didn't get everything done that I ORIGINALLY planned but I did add a few new pieces to my wardrobe and other's wardrobes!

(Off the shoulder gold top I added a gold strap to it and wore on date night with Hubby. Need to get a pic of it)

 

(Another top I made)

 (2 Legging---olive green and dark gray and olive green pencil skirt & black pencil skirt. The gray leggings and black skirt are both WIP)

 (Scarves I donated to a fundraiser)

 (Dress I made and wore to that fundraiser)

(Dress I made for my daughter to wear for the Father/Daughter banquet)

I plan to finish up those knit pieces and I desperately want to make my fur vest and cream colored blouse. Well I'll keep pushing through lot to do with my business and other ventures. Of course I'll keep ya'll posted. Have some exciting news I want to share as well. Will be divulging soon!!!! In the meantime HAPPY SEWING!!!

The Joys of Being a Fashion Design Student.....

In between clients and trying to take advantage of the extra week I've given myself the "Fearless February Challenge" I'm having to do homework for the Style Design College Fashion Design Certificate Program. Although I'm mostly self-taught when it comes to sewing and am being mentored by Gentleman Jim, a Master Tailor (extremely talented) since I'm shifting into fashion design I thought it would be good to gain some perspective from the field. Plus I like formal learning. Truth be told I consider myself a perpetual student so I'm always learning whether in or out of school. But I always like being in school for some reason---always have. Anyhow I'm enjoying the program so far. This is homework for module 2 which deals with Colour Analysis and one of the assignments is to recreate the color wheel using the primary colors.

(Working on making my color wheel for homework)

 I LOVE color and am amazed at how much I didn't know about it and the difference between terms such as tint, shade and tone and so on and so forth. This particular assignment was a little more challenging then I initially thought and I enjoyed the challenge. I  didn't cheat, I used only the 3 primary colors to make all the rest.  I learned a great deal. I'll be doing various coursework through the year and will check in from time to time to tell you about it. I'm curious, has anyone else done the SDC Fashion Design Fashion Design Degree or Certificate Program. I'd love to hear of your experiences. I've only been signed up for a few months so this newbie would love your feedback!

2015 Father Daughter Banquet Pics & FF Layover!

I have to admit that hands down this event is one I look forward to every year!!! This will mark my Hubby & daughter's 5th year of attendance and I've been able to attend 3 of those since my Hubby is apart of the Savannah Christian's Men's ministry (who produces the event) at our church and they ask for wives to help. EVERYONE HAD A BLAST LAST NIGHT! My Hubby and daughter (along with our oldest Goddaughter and our dear friend V and his daughter) all attended together along with dozens of other dad's and their daughters. It was so cute too see all the Dad's and their girls! I enjoyed serving and making sure they had their drinks and food and were enjoying the night. The event starts out with food, then moves on to games and then the dance floor opens up and everyone let's loose! It's fun and hilarious at the same time. My Hubby and Daughter aren't shy at all so they let loose in their usual fashion. The day started with me doing some hand sewing on her dress and finishing the hem. It then moved on to warp speed from their. Needless to say since we got all caught up in the "hoopla" we didn't take the best pics. Oh well, we lived in the moment and that's all that counts. They took formal pics at the event so hopefully those turned out great and I'll post soon. Until then here's my pitiful little cell phone pics. But hopefully you can see all the details of the dress. This dress is absolutely beautiful---and I don't only say that just because I made it--really. I ran across the fabric for this dress---a beautiful purple brocade with bronze, dark charcoal and silver in it. I believe a month ago and they only had 1 yard at my local Jo-ann's fabric. Well we managed to track down 3 yards at a store in SC. The cost of fabric was the best deal---if I remember correctly I paid about $4/yd. So I have to admit that with trim, netting, lining, fabric and zipper the dress material were about $30 or so. Anyhow my goal was to transform my daughter into a little princess so I wanted to do something different with her dress this year and go REALLY BIG! The dress has a full gathered skirt that almost touches the grown and has lining and LOTS of netting underneath to give it it's poofiness. I wanted to add horsehair braid to the hem but ran out of town. I'm not going to review the dress because it's fairly simple and straight forward to make. I used Simplicity pattern 3943. I used silver and black trim for the straps and used lots more layers of netting underneath the dress.  Nonetheless it came out great and she received compliments ALL night! I'm glad the dress was such a hit and everyone had a fantastic night. OK, I've talked enough. Here are the pic---again excuse my not so good cell phone pics....

(I was a Waitress for the night and she was  Princess---whoopps...she thinks she's a princess everyday! LOL)

 (Watching the fun games on the sidelines. She also wore a little fur bolero I got from a thrift store for $0.99 and it went perfectly. )

 (At their table along with our Goddaughter Tasha, our dear friend Vantrel and his daughter and other dad's/daughters)

(The dance floor is open)

 (hanging out with her friends---they said they had to retreat to the fancy bathroom for "girl time" LOL!)

 (Primping---something she does best)

 (Being silly with her older Godsister)

(Hanging with table mate Ms. I, the 2 of them are 2 days a part in age (yes her Mom and I had back-to-back babies LOL) and are 2 peas in a pod)

 (Hitting the dance floor)

(The "Serious Pose"--why is my daughter's fist balled up? LOL!

Other close up photos so you can see the dress better in natural light...Purple can be so difficult to shoot, especially when it's shiny. Sorry, it was cold and rainy so the porch was the best spot for photos.

 (Side view)

(Fabric up close---it's actually darker and that shouldn't be gold but dark bronze. This stuff was the dickens to photograph and keep true to color)

 (Back view)

 (Did double silver/black sparkly straps on both sides. Love how it made the dress pop!)

(Ran out of time so I couldn't get her to the hair dresser but I was able to pull of a befitting and cute style for the event thankfully)

Ok, I'll conclude this post with a VIDEO like last year's. At some part of the night my Hubby and Daughter wanted to have a dance-off. So they're in the middle of the video "battling"! LOL!
Video quality isn't the best since it was dark but you can see them too going at it. Of course I'm cheering my baby on in the background. My Hubby can move but I'm shocked by how much rythym my child has. You can see her that well but that Chick can dance. Her and my Hubby are like clones of each other---they're so much fun and always up for a good time. And yes my daughter dropped down to do a split and instantly popped back up. They both let loose! I had a blast! Next year's can't come fast enough!!!

BTW, it's been a long week so I'm giving myself an extra week to catch up on some of my Fearless February sewing. Call it a Layover so to speak. I'll update ya soon....