Grandma Made It! Hi-Low Skirt!

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Hi/Low Skirt!  Grandma Made It!

My daughter is usually the one sending me pics of garments to make for her, but this time it was her oldest who sent me a photo and said, "Grandma, can you make this for me, please"!

How could I resist!  So many of us Grandparents don't get to see our older Grandchildren as often as we'd like - because their busy lives get in the way!

But I am blessed to have Grandchildren who call me often and invite me to various events! I also feel blessed that they actually want to wear something that I've made!

These pics were taken at her recent senior photo shoot!

Yes, she's a budding model!  

I made her hi-low skirt using an Ankara Kente print that I purchased from LLD720 African Fabrics. 

It is a self drafted skirt - using half circles as my template.  I added an invisible zipper in the back and in-seam side pockets.  

Pockets!  We all need pockets! 

I just completed a bonus pocket class for those who have purchased the 6 month membership program for my online classes.  

Memberships and stand-alone courses are still available!  

The 3rd class will be posted in January!

She and I mulled over adding horsehair braid to the hem, but in the end we decided against it.  The hem is a narrow hem...oh the circle hemming!  LOL!

Once I saw these photos, I knew we'd made the right decision!

The top is a RTW.

 This was her Instagram post after she received the skirt!

 Gotta love the expressions of thanks...especially when it's posted for all to see! 💗

            I'm quite pleased with how this turned out!  We did measurements only...no fittings!

                 I finished it and shipped it to her!  She called and said it was a perfect fit!

 You might remember this 2 piece dress I made for her prom!  Yep!  Another Ankara print!  

And yes!  It has pockets, too!

I'm happy with the skirt, but more importantly, I'm very proud of this young lady! 💓

Happy Endless Sewing!

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September Sew Photo Hop Instagram Challenge - Week Four

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Sew! 

The Last Week!

 Week Four of the #Sew Photo Hop Instagram Challenge!

I really had SEW much fun with this challenge!

Day 22 - OOTD - Outfit Of The Day

This camo and lace top has become one of my casual favorites,

but I've also worn it with a maxi skirt and heels!

Day 23 - Fast Sewing

My Juki Serger is my go to for fast sewing!  She's a workhorse!

Day 24 - When I'm Sewing

I shut out the "noise" when I'm sewing with Pandora or an Audio Book!

Day 25 - Past Years

I made this dress after being self taught for 2 years.  

That collar!  LOL!!

Day 26 - Details/Close-Up

Print matching and a reversed invisible zipper! Yes there is an upside down zipper in there!

Day 27 - Other Hobbies

LOVE BOOKS!

Day 28 - Favorite Fabrics

Prints, texture, lace and did I say prints!

These pics are from my last visit to Vogue Fabrics!

Day 29 - Scrap Buster

My "Scrappy" Tops!

Day 30 - What's Next On My List?

Among other things - to complete my remaining 4 Make Nine Projects (yep, another challenge).😁 

That's it for the 2018 Sew Photo Hop!

I hope I didn't bore you with all the pics! I truly hope that I've inspired you!

I'd love to hear from you!

Happy Endless Sewing!

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Can You Say Yellow Dress?

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Yellow Dress Event

This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending and being one of the vendors at the Yellow Dress Breakout Leadership Conference.  It was developed and lead by my friend, Delilah Jones-Bardlette, of Delilah's Downloads. 

I also had the honor of making her yellow dress.  And of course, I needed a yellow dress.  Sew fun!  Both dresses were made with a lemon yellow scuba knit.  

Delilah's dress included a lace overlay for the princess seamed bodice, complete with a lace peplum, self belt and of course lace sleeves! Her dress idea was presented to me in the form of a photo and we took it from there.

You may recall that I made another vision of her's for her wedding vow renewal. It was a white lace  high/low tiered dress. Just as for the white lace dress, her fittings were done in the midst of commuting from Hawaii.

  

Both dresses were self -drafted...a bit of work, but so well worth it!

When she did her final fitting and pick up, I told her I couldn't tell which dress she was happier with! It just filled me with joy to see her face and giant smile when she tried it on that last time! And I must say she looked radiant in it!

My dress was a hack of one of my favorite self-drafted tops (ya'll know I love pattern hacking). 😃

I lengthened it from the high hip down.  

It has princess seaming and I top stitched every seam! I even stitched an asymmetrical top stitch on the sleeves (forgot to take a picture of them).

After some trial and error test stitching, I used two spools of polyester embroidery thread on top (I wanted the shine) and a basic polyester sewing thread in the bobbin.   

 I was more than pleased with the outcome of both of our dresses!

For my vendor table, I spent weeks making Ankara African Print Maxi Skirts and Fold-over Bags as well as a few men's Bow Ties with matching Pocket Squares.  Again, it was work that was well worth it.

The ladies were quite surprised that the skirts were adjustable to fit sizes 2 to 22! It was a blast to see the surprise on their faces when they tried them on.  😊

More skirts, bags and bow ties are available on my website https://endlessdznsbycarrie.com/

This event was such a blessing! 

The inner beauty of the ladies as well as outer beauty was overwhelmingly evident! All those yellow dresses filled the venue with light!  And the speakers spoke even more light into our lives!

Wendy Manning, who holds an adjunct faculty position at Wright Foundation, and is a director of the Women's Leadership Program there, spoke with us about the difference between "wanting" and "yearning". 

Lynee Urban, owner/operator of Operation Fix My Life blessed us with information on health and wellness through surrender to God.

  And of course Delilah, who has published her 1st book, spoke about surrender and leadership and lead us through some thought provoking exercises.  One of which was all of us declaring God's Word over each other! Such a blessing to hear from other women profess who we are in Christ and to affirm each other!

 

I was blessed to be able to raffle 2 of these maxi skirts specifically to the ladies of Hardin House who were able to attend. Check out the link to see how you can help this non profit which serves men and women with living accommodations prior to re-entry into the traditional world of career and/or reunification with family and friends. 

This 1st annual Yellow Dress Breakout Leadership Conference was a blessing as well as a success!

I left feeling blessed, encouraged and spiritually stronger!

Prom Dress 2018

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                                           Prom Dress

I've been quite busy during prom season, but this was my favorite one...because it was for my Granddaughter.  She rarely asks me to make anything for her, so when she asked I felt honored.  

When she selected the print, I thought it was a bit dark for her and for prom, but I think you would agree that she is absolutely glowing in it! 

This was the 2nd outfit I made for her using an African print (Ankara).

The top was made using the pattern I'd drafted from her previous hi/low top I made that was posted in my blog earlier. I adjusted it to make it a closer fit, eliminated the sleeves and cut the shoulder back to make them narrower.

The skirt is a self drafted circle skirt.

I love playing with print placement and this print did not disappoint!

 I added an inverted (upside down) invisible zipper.  When I sent her a picture of it, she mistakenly thought it was the front! LOL! That was some serious print matching!

I created a neckline facing and added fusible interfacing to take full advantage of the print and to ensure I ended up with a perfect "V".  The colors are so saturated in Ankara fabrics that you don't have to be concerned with the facings showing through the garments.

I shipped it to her (I wished they lived closer) and when she received it she called me and was gushing an abundance of thanks!  That call made my heart glad and I again found myself thanking God for this gift.  My daughter (her Mom) calls it "Them Hands". 💗

I surprised her by making this 5x7 bag and adding her initial on it.  The bag design is an Embroidery Garden In The Hoop (ITH) design. My Granddaughter didn't think it would be big enough for her, but to my surprise, she ended up taking it to prom!

What did you make for prom season? I'd love to hear about it in the comment section below! 😁

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Sewing For My Grands

Grand Sewing!

I'm a bit behind (OK a lot behind) in getting this post done, but life gets in the way!

  In my Jan 1, 2018 post, I reviewed the garments that I helped my Granddaughter, Charly with a Y make.  She has her own YouTube channel, which she used to document some of our sewing antics. LOL! 

 We had sew so much fun together and of course created more great memories!

  Click on the link above to check out her YT channel and like and subscribe...she is almost at 100 subscribers!

After our days sewing together, she sent me a list and pictures of the rest of the items she wanted me to make for Black History Month.  And of course  her older Sister chimed and wanted a couple of pieces.  And no, I could not leave their Brother out!  All of that sewing was completed during the month of January - including keeping up with my customers' pieces and alterations!  There are a couple of pieces actually missing from this post, but I have to tell you that I had 3 very happy teens when all was said and done.   

All of the fabrics used are 100% cotton Ankara African prints.

 

This Is the big Sister, E'Zohn wearing the self -drafted skirt I made for her. It has an elastic gathered waist and a nice, long sash and pockets. You might remember this print from my previous blog...can't let fabric go to waste, right? 😁

This is Charly in her high low top she designed.  I self drafted it. The back was supposed to be a bit longer, but she used most of the fabric in December on her duster and pants.

I created a waistline casing and added 1/2 inch elastic and used 1/2 inch bias binding to finish it.  This was a "Make it Work" top!  I was quite pleased with this top, but more importantly, so was she! 

Here she is again wearing a high waist (I love  waistbands), gathered skirt, with pockets and a sash that was also self drafted.  I used french fuse interfacing in the waistband. I have more of this fabric left. What to do with it? LOL!  Ideas, ideas!

The big sister wearing a high low top that she requested.  Her idea came from a high low top I'd made for her Mom last summer. I surprised her by finding this vibrant print in her favorite colors - yellow and purple!

She thought I was going to make it from fabric from my stash (which would not have been those colors), but since I hadn't sewn for her in quite a while, I wanted it to be special.  She was quite surprised and loves it!

Playing around with the pattern placement (even on the sleeves) was fun!  The Peplums were made from drafted donut style circles.  I added an invisible zipper in the back. I love the outcome!

Charly sent me a picture of a top like this along with all the other pictures.

Her text said, "Hey, Grandma!  This is all the other stuff I want you to make for me.  Thanks, Grams" 

Be still my heart! How could I say no?  💞

This is one of those prints where you can decide which direction the print goes.  I quite like that bold "lightening bolt" going lengthwise for this piece - it added height to the garment and the wearer.  She says this one is her favorite piece! 

And for their Brother!

Adjustable Bow Ties with matching Pocket Squares!  I'd made several sets for my website, so he had a choice.  These are the 2 sets he chose!  Of course, by now I'm sure you recognize the fabrics!

Even though I am constantly working to grow my business, sewing through the month of January for my Grands was an absolute delight!

Do you sew for your Grandchildren?  Comment below to share your "Grand Sewing Adventures"

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