Bimma + Fancy Pants: A Cute & Comfy Outfit

This girl. She is so full of light. She of course has her cranky, whiny moments, but mostly she is happy and bright and I love her all the more for it.

I wanted to try out some of the patterns from the Sew Fab Pattern Bundle (affiliate link), so I started with these two gems.

The Bimma Sweater (reg price $7.95) and Fancy Pants Leggings (reg price $9.00) are both super fast and easy patterns. I was especially pleased with how well they fit my skinny girl. Don't they look great on her?

I sewed up the Bimma in a size 5 (she usually wears 5T right now) and it fits her perfectly. Most of the sweater is made from this rad knit from my favorite local fabric shop, Sew to Speak. It was 50% off in the shop on the day I went in, so major score there. The brown around the cuff and waistband are from a random old t-shirt in my to-be-cut-up pile.

I sewed up the cowl neck option (other options include a hood or a shawl collar) and I love the way it drapes. It's cozy, almost like wearing a scarf that won't fall off, but it doesn't get in the way while she's moves and plays. I think we all need to start a petition for this pattern to come in women's sizes. I want one real bad.

And just because I always want to know what things look like from the back, here's a back view for you. :)

The bottom half of this outfit are the Fancy Pants Leggings. Can I just tell you how much I'm in love with these little pants? Let me tell you why...

Sew Fab Pattern Sale -- 26 Pattern Bundle!!

Yay! It's finally here! And while you've been saving your pennies I've been busy sewing up a slew of delicious goodies from a few of these patterns. I'll be sharing them with you throughout the week, so get excited!

Find all the details about the sale and a list of all of the wonderful patterns included below! Psst... can you find my pattern in there? Hint: It starts with the letter U.

This post contains affiliate links.  When you purchase the Sew Fab Bundle through those links I earn a percentage of the sale.  Cuz--booyah--one of my patterns is in there. But I can tell you that in the past week I've sewn items from several of the patterns included in this bundle and I would totally be supporting this sale and the patterns included in it whether I were earning anything from it or not. They're just that good.

 

Welcome to the Fall and Winter 2013

Sew Fab e-pattern Sale Event!

Last February was the first ever Sew Fab e-pattern Sale and it was so successful and was so well received that Jenny Yarbrough of The Southern Institute, the creator and administrator of the sale, decided to have more!  This sale is bigger and better than the first, with plenty of patterns to get you through the fall and winter (if you live on this side of the hemisphere), and a few warm weather patterns thrown in for those of you who live on the other side of the world.  You'll also find more gender neutral patterns for those of you who are sewing for boys.  And what about you?  Of course there are a few women's patterns thrown in for some selfish sewing too! Over the past several weeks a lot of behind the scenes planning has taken place to bring you this newest bundle of ePatterns from many of the top established and up and coming online sewing pattern designers.  The result is a bundle of 26 PDF sewing patterns that you're going to love! For one week only, twenty-six pattern designers have come together to bring you 26 of their best PDF patterns, valued together at well over $2oo.oo, for the incredible price of $29.95!!!  That’s over 80% off of the combined retail value!  Plus you can enter to win a dream of a giveaway with several prize packages from some of your favorite online fabric shops!

For less than $30.00 you will have a library of resources that you can use over and over again.

The designers that have joined this sale are experts in their craft.  Each designer has contributed one of their favorite patterns to create a bundle that is sure to please!  Whether you are sewing for your own family or making gifts for others, these are patterns that you will love to use.

If you’ve never sewn with a PDF pattern before, let me tell you how great it is!  After downloading your pattern instructions and your pattern, you will print out the pattern itself, creating pattern tiles, if you will.  Simply tape the tiles together to create the full pattern!  At that point you can cut out the size that you need and pin the paper pattern directly to your fabric, or you can trace the pattern size that you need onto sewing paper or tracing paper and cut it out, saving the paper pattern for later when you need to sew another size.  Pdf patterns are so convenient because you can print them out as many times as you need!

Now for the good stuff... the PATTERNS!

26 amazing ePatterns from 26 well-known and up and coming designers are instantly accessible to you by PDF download upon purchase of the Sew Fab e-Pattern Bundle.  Here are the patterns that you will receive (click on the links below the images for more  information about each pattern.):

Reversible Zippy Hoodie from Kitschy Coo, Ananda Pants from CHOPSTIX, The Sally Dress from Very Shannon, Best Harem Pants from Too Sweets , Notebook Slipcover from Gingercake, Junebug Dress from Craftiness Is Not Optional, Fancy Pants Leggings from Titchy Threads, Skinny Jeans from peek-a-boo, Pajama Eaters from Sew Fearless, Ruffle Dress from Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Go To Cape for Women, Sadie Grace Nightgown from Seamingly Smitten, Vintage V-Neck from Blank Slate Patterns, Zermatt Bow Swing Coat from See Kate Sew, Tumble Tee from imaginegnats, Nituna Jacket from Figgy's, Greenpoint Cardigan from Hey June, Gathers and Giggles Quilt from Sew Much Ado, Billy Car Play Mat and Roll Up from Handmade Therapy, Bimaa Sweater from LouBee Clothing, Candy Carousel Dress from Molly Blossom, Convertible Clutch from LBG Studio , Infinity Sweater from One Girl Circus, Undies Pattern from From the Red Kitchen, Owl Backpack from The Sewing Loft, Ethan Shirt from the Scientific Seamstress This Sew Fab e-Pattern Bundle is only available for one week and will never be available again!  You can purchase the bundle from September 30th at 8 a.m. EST through October 8th at 8 a.m. EST and there will be no late sales offered.  Due to the nature of the sale there are no refunds.

You don’t want to miss this unique opportunity to purchase a ready made collection of 26 PDF sewing patterns from 26 of the best designers out there!

 

 

And now for The Sew Fab Giveaways!

I'm so excited about these giveaways!  Can’t buy the pattern bundle?  It’s okay… purchase is not required to enter.  Each of these prizes will inspire you in your sewing as well as keep you stocked with what you need for your upcoming projects.  There are lots of chances to win and each entry applies to all of the giveaway packages.  Just use the Rafflecopter widget below the prize descriptions to enter as many times as you want, no purchase necessary.  

A good problem to have

This morning was a little crazy. Well, not crazy, but just a busy morning. Bryan missed the bus, so we had to drive him to school and then it was go go go taking Olivia to preschool and grocery shopping for dinner group and visiting some girls from church and then picking Olivia up from preschool and... you get the idea.

It was after I finished my grocery shopping and I was loading my bags into the car that I was struck by how tired I was and how big and pregnant I was feeling. It was only 8 am (when nobody in the world goes shopping), so I had parked as close to the front of the store as possible without being in a handicap spot. And still, I found myself wishing someone would come and take my now empty cart so I wouldn't have to walk it all the way back up to the store. (I know. "All the way back up" from the 3rd parking space in the lot. I was tired, ok?) My wish didn't come true, so I closed the trunk and started the five second walk up to the store to return my cart. And as I walked, I thought to myself, "Self, there are a lot of worse problems to have than being pregnant and having to walk your cart back up to the store."

On my way home from the grocery store I noticed that traffic ahead of me was pretty backed up. It was close to one of the elementary schools and I assumed that it was just morning drop-off traffic, but as I got closer I saw a firetruck in the intersection up ahead. I took a side road home to avoid the traffic and was surprised by the view I had. As I reached the first intersection on the side road, I looked down the road to my left and had a clear view of what was blocking traffic one street over. A firetruck was parked in the middle of the intersection, along with some other emergency vehicles. And right in the middle of the intersection was a car... completely upside down.

I could only look for a second before I had to keep going, but in that moment my heart went out to whoever was involved in that awful accident. As I drove away I said a prayer that everyone would be okay. I wondered on how the car even came to be upside down, since it's not a very fast or crazy road. And then my own thought came back to me again. "Self, there are a lot of worse problems to have than being pregnant and having to walk your cart back up to the store."

I thought about my own little moment of self-pity and the upside down car throughout the day. And I thought about it again tonight when someone I love so dearly called to tell me about a hard and heartbreaking experience they're going through. I got off the phone and came downstairs and kissed my husband and told him how blessed I feel. I told him how grateful I am for my problems. That after having a miscarriage and struggling with the heartbreak of not being pregnant for over a year, I'm sometimes uncomfortable now because my baby and belly are growing so big. That I've been staying up late to work on sewing projects and organizing some publicity for my book because I have so many amazing opportunities. For the past few weeks I've carried this thought with me--that the problems I have are good problems to have--and I've been both humbled and surprised at what an impact that thought has had on my life.

To those of you out there with your own good problems, hang in there. Laugh at yourself sometimes. Know how blessed you are. And to those of you out there right now who are dealing with the big stuff, who's cars are upside down in the middle of the road, to you I send hugs and love and all the blessings in the world. My heart breaks for you. My love reaches out to you. You are known and you are loved. I hope you feel that love every single day.

Start saving your pennies

Coming next week...

  For one week only, twenty-six pattern designers will be joining together to combine their best PDF sewing patterns (valued together at over $200.00) and selling them to you for the incredible price of $29.95! That’s over 80% off of the combined retail value!

Grab the bundle when it goes on sale next week and you'll be all set to sew for school and the coming holiday season! You'll have to wait until next week to see which patterns are included in this fall's bundle, but I can tell you right now that you won't be disappointed!

See you bright and early on Monday morning!

Artist Profile: Katie from The Red Kitchen

Hi friends! I'm being featured (along with a few other vendors) on the Avant-Garde Craft Show blog today! Click HERE to check it out! I'm the second one down. Haha, you can't really miss me. I'm the super long-winded one. :)

And speaking of the Avant-Garde Craft Show, it's this Saturday! See all the info below:

From everything I've heard, it sounds like it's going to be a really great event with a lot of great vendors. I'm excited to check it out myself!

Hope you're all having a wonderful Wednesday! Now I'm off to get back to work on finishing up sewing some things for the show. See you there!

Every book needs a cover that's why we invited you

Drum roll please...

Ta-da! Hey look! MY BOOK FINALLY HAS A COVER!!!

Umm, I'm a little bit excited about it. :) After a whirlwind of last-minute checking and finishing up, my beautiful little book finally went off to the printers this week. Yay! It was a bit of a crazy week, but I'm so happy with how the finished product turned out. My designer at Cedar Fort did a fabulous job getting everything just right and I couldn't be happier. Now I just can't wait for you all to get your hands on a copy so you can see the inside of the book! :)

Speaking of which, you can see this pretty new cover and pre-order as many copies as you like at the following places:

Amazon
Barnes & Noble

I also have it on good authority that a "look inside" feature is on its way, so pretty soon you should be able to take a peek inside the book online and see just how lovely it is. :)

In unrelated news, Bryan and I watched "Father of the Bride" 1 and 2 this past week, hence the subtle reference to "Every party needs a pooper that's why we invited you. Party pooper! George Bhaanks!" It was an enjoyable experience, of course, but it's always a little disenchanting to watch your old favorites once you've grown up a wee bit. And also, movies from the 90's are so cheesy. But, you know, still great all around.

I'm also still working like crazy to try and finish getting everything ready for the Avant-Garde craft show this next weekend. Hopefully by the time you come visit me at the show I'll have figured out some kind of shop sign and everything will be sewn and labeled and looking nice. With everything going on with the book this week, I've had limited time and energy to devote to show prep, so wish me luck. I have a feeling this next week is going to be all show prep all the time. Still, it's awesome to be so busy with things that make me happy. Bryan and I keep talking about how blessed and happy our lives are right now and it really is true.

Like the best of friends

Well, Olivia turned 4 yesterday. And, as you may have seen on Facebook and Instagram, I was a little sad about it on the eve before her birthday. I've never really gotten emotional about her birthdays before, but this one hit me differently. I think that was for several reasons, but mostly I attribute it to the fact that she's growing up. This is her last year in preschool and then next year she starts kindergarten. She's still a little girl, but there is no baby left in her. This, compounded by the fact that we really do have a new baby of the family on the way, made her seem even older and bigger. Which made my little momma heart sad.

Still, by the next day we were all in full celebration mode as we welcomed her 4 year-oldness into our lives. I was sad to say goodbye to the last year and to her littler self, but we were all excited for 4. She's ready to move onward and upward and we're ready to watch and help her do just that. Yesterday was a happy birthday indeed.

Then this morning was the first day back to preschool. What with the excitement of her birthday yesterday and the Labor Day weekend before that, we didn't end up making a very big deal about the start of a new school year. She's already been excited about it and I didn't feel the need to dress it up. About as fancy and back-to-school as we got was when we pulled into the school parking lot this morning and I said, "Okay, Olivia, I want to get a picture of you in front of the wall before we go inside, okay?" And so we did.

She was a little timid about the morning drop off, but whatever anxiety and mom guilt I had about leaving her at preschool last year was non-existent today. She was going back to the exact same school, exact same classroom, with the exact same teachers, and even a few of the exact same friends from her class last year. And one of her good friends from our neighborhood and church is even in her class this year. Also, I threw up right after I woke up this morning and I wasn't feeling particularly sentimental after that.

Like the best of friends, preschool and I met again after the long summer as if we had never been apart. Olivia went off to play with her friends and I came home and got busy on some projects I've been putting off until I had some structured time to work on them. I visited with my sister in law over the phone, I listened to some General Conference talks, I sewed. It was a wonderfully regular preschool morning for me. (And, in case you were worried, it was a happy, normal day at preschool for Olivia too.)

I even had enough presence of mind to put together this little display of Simple Bows (see photo above) for the Avant-Garde show I'm selling at on the 21st. The Simple Bows are a project from my book and, between you and me, these bows are one of my favorite projects in the book, mainly because they serve double duty. What's that mean?