I’m Still Here!

Good morning!

Just wanted to prove that I’m still here and I’m still alive and kicking. Hiiiiii!

I have very much been meaning to get back to my beloved sewing machine. I just haven’t had much free time to set aside to really get into the sewing groove. A few things keeping me occupied as of late:

• SCHOOL MODE HAS BEEN FULLY APPLIED AND ACTIVATED

My kids are finally back to in-person school! My youngest is back full time, and my eldest is in a hybrid schedule (3 days in person/2 days online). It was a kid/parent compromise. My son managed to do really well with his schoolwork and grades during lockdown so he asked if he could continue doing school the same way. I really wanted him out of the house and back to integrating socially with his teachers and peers, so we reached middle ground and went with Trust Blended Learning this year. I’m not sure if this option was extended to those of you who have elementary or middle school kiddos, but it was an option for our city and school districts where we live. It’s a really great option if your child has certain learning needs pertaining to their school education. Anywhoo, my kids and I have gotten used to the current School Routine and now that we’ve calmed down a bit I feel much better about scheduling some of my free time for sewing!

My boys managed to survive their first week back to school! Zeke’s smile is totally fake, btw. (Eli chose to be rebellious, but at least he’s honest!)

• FAMILY REUNIONS

The other half of my immediate family (mom, bro, SIL, niece) are making their way across the country to visit us here in SoCal so we’ve all been making plans. Next month, my sister’s “Wedding 2.0” was supposed to take place, thus the reason for my family coming down. Well, ever since COVID fully materialized (literally DAYS before my sister’s original wedding was supposed to take place in April 2020), my sister and BIL ended up cancelling their Big Day and instead getting married in court, and having a very small backyard ceremony/reception at my parent’s house a little while later. Well, they’ve been married over a year now and the original wedding planning was supposed to continue after New Year’s, but they just couldn’t get their hearts and minds into planning again, so they accepted their losses and decided to be content with where they are at instead. All of us agreed that was the best choice, but we still wanted to go ahead with the plan to reunite anyway, so now we’re in the midst of planning joint birthday celebrations for me and my mom (my birthday on Aug 30th and my mom’s on Sep. 19th) and a big family “Wedding Photoshoot” so we could at least get some pictures of us together in our original wedding outfits. I can’t wait. I miss my family, especially my mom!

Since visitors were limited to only1 person per wedding ceremony at the County where my sister got married in court, the bridesmaids created this little ceremony space in my mom’s backyard. My uncle, who was supposed to officiate their marriage did so via Zoom. My brother’s family couldn’t make it so they also Zoomed the ceremony. It was intimate and small, but so beautiful nonetheless!

• I’M STILL *PATIENTLY* WAITING ON MY FABRIC TO ARRIVE

This is the main reason why I haven’t been sewing. I have some specific projects lined up already, and I’ve put in an order for some fabric and some needed sewing supplies, but they still haven’t arrived yet. I ordered this gorgeous looking piece of dusty mauve/lavender linen from Etsy because I wanted to make another Pontoon Dress, but a mini-version this time. The Etsy shop I ordered from is in Latvia, EU so it’s taking quite a long time for it to get to me. However, it’s actually scheduled to arrive today. I’m so excited and I can’t wait to see it in person since the photos in the description looked absolutely divine!

L-R: My first Pontoon Dress that I sewed. For this upcoming mini-version I plan on making it unlined so it doesn’t feel too “heavy” / This is the color of the dusty lavender linen that I ordered. It looks so pretty in the pictures. I only hope it is as impressive in person! **fabric image via ConoCreation on Etsy

• I’ve also been obsessing over this woven plaid from Cottoneer Fabrics, but I’m waiting for it to go back in stock because I need quite a few yards of it. I wanted to make another Prairie Dress and the plaid I found would be so perfect for it!

• I actually already have the fabric for one of my intended sewing projects. It’s this gorgeous Art Gallery rayon.

I’ve been eying this print for quite some time now and finally managed to get my hands on some. I plan on making a certain kind of dress and will need to create a bodice and sleeve pattern, but in order to do so I have to mix and match a few pattern pieces that I already have. I will most definitely make a toile first before cutting. However, I’m stalled until I get the tracing paper roll that I ordered on Amazon. I’ve been meaning to get some for whenever I need to draft/modify pattern pieces, and I finally found a large roll to keep in my sewing supply stash for whenever I need it. Unsurprisingly, I’m still waiting for it to arrive! Wish me luck that my pattern drafting will turn out great!

See? I have sewing on my mind, I just haven’t been able to materialize it just yet. I promise I’ll get to it soon.

You Sew Girl!