Sewing for Work: Linen Dress

Sewing a Linen Dress

Anyone who knows me understands that I thrive in comfortable attire. Over the years, I have made a point to find the cute and comfortable in dresses. Since I started sewing clothes, dresses are my staple go to. I wanted to make a dress, inspired by these:

Credit to Diary of a Mad Crafter

Credit to Pinterest :-)

Credit to Pinterest :-)

So I went out and bought some linen material, and set to work last night sewing with an easy one hour pattern: McCall's 6102

I had my lamps on in my sewing room at first, so it was kind of dark in that picture! Oops-

First I cut out the pattern. Four pieces to cut total, and pretty basic in shape. 

Honestly, I usually avoid cutting out the guiding diamonds only because I have little patience sometimes. When the patterns get more complicated, I will stick with the detailed cutouts. 

Once I sewed the darts of the front, and the back of the dress to the front using two long straight stitches, I decided to venture off from the pattern and add some elastic to the middle for an empire waist. 

I put the dress on, and pinned where I wanted to waist to be. Because I usually have a difficult time with elastic and my needles, I pulled the elastic to stretch it, and used the pins as a guiding line to keep the elastic on the right path.

This worked really well, and I used a zig zag stitch on each side of the elastic. 

I had to re-thread the bobbin halfway through: #seamstressproblems

I will admit, I have begun to enjoy the simple steps used in re-threading because it is such a neat step. Sometimes tedious when I am in the middle of a project.

I sewed on the front and back facings, leaving the shoulders open. 

Once those were turned right side out, I sewed the shoulders together. 

I pressed the edges of the arm and neck holes, then finished by sewing another straight stitch to keep them pressed down.

It was really long, so I decided to take 4.5 inches off of the edge. I love my little sewing ruler for these reasons. All I have to do is match the edge to the 4.5 measurement, then fold it over and pin it to be hemmed. Learning to sew with tools has been a wonderfully slow process so I take enjoyment in little things I learn along the way!

I added two straight stitches to the hem, and cut off the extra. 

Honestly, I still have to add the zigzag stitch to the interior to finish it complete. 

The finished product! I added a belt to finish it off, and I wish I had turned on the regular lights to take this picture. It comes off more green because of the background, but it is comfortable, light, and professional. I like my clothes to fit loosely, so I am happy with how this turned out. 

DIY: Life at Home

DIY: Life at Home

 Every weekend, I strive on DIY projects. I love spending time finding something to complete in one or two days that I can look back on and know I was motivated, busy, and happy passing the time. 

It makes me feel like I am teaching myself something new in the process, like I am actively doing something to better my mind, body, and spirit.

This weekend's project was painting our master bathroom cabinets. They are all brown, but our theme includes blues, yellows, and whites. 

I bought some primer and some Semi-Gloss Satin Enamel. All I had to do was take off the cabinets and paint. I forgot to take the before picture before I took the handles off. 

Before: 

After: 

I let it sit for a day or two to let it dry before re adding the handles, but the process was messy and simple! I'm so happy about how it turned out too, it really brightens up our little area.

Every Sunday, I wake up, and while sipping my morning coffee, I plan out my weekly meals. 

After church, I go grocery shopping and buy the weekly ingredients to prepare later in the day.

This week, I had a few different things to prepare: 

• chicken and asparagus stir fry with  bell peppers added
• brownie overnight oats
• roasted broccoli and green beans with chicken and sweet potatoes
• slow cooked chipotle beef tacos with cabbage radish slaw
• peanut butter protein balls

I forgot to take pictures for most, but I wanted to share what I generally do on Sunday afternoons to save myself a lot of time during the week, along with saving myself healthy decisions, and tasty meals.

I cut up all of the ingredients at once: the chicken, vegetables, portion out the measurements in separate bowls, and get out anything I may need so I won't have to during the process. 

This particular recipe included ginger and garlic: so good! I hate cutting garlic. Really, it's the peeling process that makes my fingers sticky that I'm not crazy about, but one day I will find a way around this. 

This recipe was awesome because the cleanup was easy, and I only used one pan to cook. I cooked the vegetables first, except that I mixed the bell peppers in with the chicken. 

I didn't put it in a pretty dish, but after this, I used my food scale to weigh and portion everything into separate bowls for equal food planning. 

I made enough overnight oats for 4 days, because I will usually change things up on Fridays. 

This batch includes oatmeal, protein powder, cocoa powder, greek yogurt, chia seeds, and a little milk. All I do is put it into individual containers, measured correctly, then mix it up and stick it in the fridge. So easy because all I have to do is pull it out and heat it up for one minute while my coffee is pouring in the morning. I'm not much of a morning person, so the less I have to do before coffee, the better. 

I received this wonderful cook book as a wedding present from my sister, and I absolutely LOVE it! 

Real Simple Easy, Delicious Home Cooking

It divides the recipes up by seasons of the year: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. This makes finding the ingredients much easier! Within each season, there are a few categories including vegetarian, pork, poultry, beef, side dishes, and desserts. 

I've been working my way through it, promising my sweet husband at least two home cooked meals a week. Once the food is prepped, it really isn't hard to create each recipe when I get home from work. Usually takes thirty minutes or less to make, and an hour at most to cook. 

There is something so fabulous about coming home at night, pouring a glass of wine, and recreating something that I know will turn out delicious, even if it is the first time I've ever made it.

A few examples of some of the delicious things I've made: 

Baked Spinach and Pea Risotto

 

Roasted Tilapia with Potatoes, Olives, and Lemon Slices 

 Roasted Lamb Kebobs with a Lima Bean Salad

Baked Chicken with Cannelloni Beans

Slow Cooked Chipotle Beef Tacos with a Cabbage Raddish Slaw

Mr. Bojangles loves helping me plan my meals each week. So much so that he always insists on sleeping on top of whatever I happen to be reading...

 Happy Everything until next time!