More lingerie....

I am feeling like a million bucks today. I completed more lingerie and love working on it. They came up with a new nickname for me at school today. Pantie Princess. I LOVE IT!

I love the delicate pink lace I used in this.

I made this top and bottom out of blue velvet spandex. I accented it with a pink, single-scallop elastic, polka-dotted ribbon and a glitter heart button in the center. More importantly, I used glitter letters on the back...

Yes, I ironed on MRS. CHAPMAN. I love being married to Brian. He is the best man I know. I thanked God for him yesterday. He is the best gift I have ever been given.

Cat party at the Chapman's today! WHEWWW

So, Bub sent me this picture of Bobs with his "friends" that came over to "hang out" with him today while I was at work.

First notice the stationery position of Bobbers, always watching safely from the window. Well, today, the window was open, and the cats took notice. We have our usual friend on top of the garbage collection tub who weighs 1/3 of Bobs size and is always around now. By the way, even though this cat weighs much, much less than my fat nugget, Bobs still growls at him. Then, you can see another calico cat that looks like my old cat Bosstudsic. I have never seen this guy before. Then, back in the distance, take note of the orange cat that I just met today. I mean these cats all came together to chat/taunt my cat. Either way, it makes me feel like our cat is popular.

more underwear

Man, I love the instant gratification of making underwear. And more importantly, I love using the four-thread serger.

I love them, because they are made using a double-scalloped lace. It is so simple and easy to sew. The hardest part, if you can call it that, is putting in the lining with a zigzag. I plan to make many more.

My Valentine's Day lingerie is complete.

I love working on lingerie, but it can be tricky. I think mine turned out nicely with the added trims and appliques.

I love the velvet spandex.

The double fold elastic decorative trim was extremely tough to work with on the velvet. But, I think it added a soft touch to the garment.

I made the elastic straps cross in the back. I like the look and wear of that.

I put the heart appliques on the back corner and on the top. I think they are so cute. I just hope I keep getting better and better at working with spandex.

I will never buy store-bought underwear again.

Lingerie is the best instant gratification in sewing. Today, I made two pairs of panties and will finish a nightie tomorrow. I am looking forward to working with the lingerie elastic tomorrow. I love Lycra. I hope I continue to increase my knowledge base on it. Also, I am in love with the rolled hem machine and woolly nylon thread. It is pretty much the coolest finish ever. I used variegated thread on this pair.

...and the gown is finished.

I can finally say I am done with the gown. It was a long journey, but it was one that I needed to take. There are so many imperfections I cannot even count them. But, I am just realizing that it is going to take time. I have to be patient with myself.

I love the dye job I gave it. I really enjoy dyeing fabric and trims. I think if I did it again, I would make the center piece separate as my teacher discussed with me today. It is just so daggone thick. I like it. It is a cool, totally different gown.

A tribute to Linda...

Tonight was my girlfriend Linda's last night at the store. I can honestly say I am going to miss her. We have had many good laughs together. She is a blessing to all. As a tribute to her, I rocked the dress she gave me. Everyone loved it.

Every time I use the Oreck XL I will think of Linda. 

So happy today for sew many reasons

Okay, I am not completely done with my gown, but I am pertinear there. Check out my cool, totally different, gown.

I still have to finish with the zipper and do the rolled hem, but it is looking sweet. And let me say this, it is really looking sweet on my new vintage dress form!!!! I mean, I haven't been this happy/excited for a long time. I earned that money with the big ALF costume win and was saving it. Bub said go for it and buy this vintage dress form online, and I am totally stoked. Life just gets better each and every day.

Next week, I start my second semester at school. In honor of it, I wore my family's headband to school today.

My favorite grandpa's great grandmother was Native American. I don't have much details about this part of my ancestry, but I loved him with my whole heart. He gave me my sense of humor. And, I like a good headband!

Oh man, I have got to get this gown finished!

Listen, I like this project, but it is time for me to be done with this flimsy silky polyester gown I am constructing. I love the way it looks, but I want something firm to sew. I am going to put an orange and brown rolled hem on the bottom of the gown. I think that will look awesome with my dye job. I need to put in the invisible zipper. Finish the lining. And, finally rip out the millions of basting stitches!
Velvet lycra, here I come....

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Shalley is soooooooooo sleepy today. I mean, at one point, I put my top half of my body across the cutting board and just collapsed. It felt so good.

Thank God Simone made me some lunch to perk me up before I go in on my night shift. I love chicken and rice!
I just have to remember that I have Friday off as a teacher work day. And, I am meeting my hubby and girlfriend for Thai food. What a great way to spend the day!

Busy, fun weekend

Last night with our friends, we went to the Lingerie Bowl at the Citrus Bowl. It was pretty cool. Those girls are in phenomenal shape. They played in 50 degree weather. It was chilly. Of course, I had so many layers on to keep warm. It was so much fun. The stadium is super nice, and Orlando won!
Today we are going to ride our four-wheeler. I am so stoked. That is one of my favorite things to do. We never have enough opportunities to do it, but we met some cool people through a couple of our close friends here who have property to ride. ....And the wife has a sewing/crafting room. Yeah!

Upcycling Bub's dress shirt

I got Bub this nice Hollister dress shirt from Goodwill. You know how I like Goodwill. Well, anyway, I had no idea that Hollister sizes were smaller. So, he could 't wear it, but I could!!! But, I didn't want it the way that I bought it. I have this awesome magazine called Altered Couture. It comes out only a couple of times a year, but I just love every page of it. I saved this issue from 2010, because I really wanted to try to change my hubby's shirt as Tracy Schultz suggested. She has wonderful ideas and well-executed upcycling clothing. Check out how it turned out.

I am very pleased. Also, I liked Hollister's tag from the inside, so that is what I used to make the pocket.

Super cute!

The expo was totally awesome!

It was a wonderful experience. The store's booth looked incredible. I was very impressed. The artists at the show really brought some magnificent products. I really enjoyed myself. I got a cool scalloped zipper from Ghee's. I can't wait to use it. Most importantly, I bought this awesome roller called The Sticky. So, my hubby is always complaining about the threads and pins getting sucked up in our vacuum. I can't blame him for this. It is really hard on the vacuum. So, I bought this product, and it is like a lint roller but without any tape. You simply wash it off with warm water. Lifetime guarantee! I have already used it. My hubby loves me a little more for getting this for us.

I tell you what, this bad boy picks up some stuff. I just hope it lasts for a lifetime, ha!
By the way, we rode a yellow school bus to and from the expo today. I can't even remember the last time I rode a school bus. I forgot how much they vibrate and how loud they are!

Tomorrow is a field trip, and I am excited, but...

that means I don't get to sew on my Juki tomorrow :(. It's okay. It should be good to get out of the classroom for a day. But everyday I don't sew, I really miss it. I have found my true passion in life. Now, if I can only find a way to make a living at it, that is the quandary. Coincidentally enough, one of the sessions at the sewing expo tomorrow is how to make a living from sewing. I sure hope it gives me better insight. You know, I graduate in June, and I am still not entirely sure what I am going to do after graduation. I get asked the question almost every day now. I don't have the answer yet, but that is really okay with me. You know, when I graduated from college, I knew I was going to work in public relations. Not sure what kind of public relations. I just knew I was going into that. Sometimes, you have to let go of what you want to know the answer to, and let time choose your path. I am trying to let go know and enjoy the ride to the other side.

On a funny side note, my husband asked me if he needed to sign my permission slip, so I could go on the field trip. Oh Bri Guy...

Back to the gown!

Finally, after all the alterations, I am working on my gown again. Yeah. I had to take in my machine with my walking foot to do the quilting on the stomach area. I ended up using 4 layers of batting, a layer of felt, a layer of lining and two layers of horsehair. Boy, is this a thick gown, ha!

You can see how the fabric puffs up. I think it is pretty cool.

The whole stomach area and across the back is quilted. I think it should look pretty cool. I can't wait to put the whole thing together. The top layers were incredible, so I am hoping the bottom will be better/easier, he he.

My cool hippy jeans

I was going to donate these jeans to Goodwill, but I had an alterations requirement to taper in another pair of jeans. So, I tapered them and had a few minutes left at the end of class. So, sewed a rolled hem on the fabric, gathered it, and sewed it on the jeans. I think it came out super cute.

Now, they are my favorite jeans.

I absolutely love our industrial rolled hem machine. I can do it on my home serger, but the look isn't the same. I am going to get some woolly nylon for the lower loopers to see if that creates the more consistent, thicker look.

When I visited my mommy in Myrtle Beach, we took this picture at her work. I was so happy to see where she worked and to meet all the nice people she worked with. They call her Miss Debbie, which is adorable.

She is so cute. I hope I am that cute some day!

Confrontation for Bobbers today

So, Bri was on his way to get the oil changed in the truck, and he was standing with the door cracked open talking to me. The next thing I know, a cat from outside runs in. And, he runs behind the couch where Bobs is snoozing. I screamed for him to get out. I was so scared of what he was going to do to our Bobs. Meanwhile, the kitty saw Bobs and backed out. Bri grabbed him and put him outside. He was so thin and tiny and very friendly. In the meantime, Bobs came out from behind the couch, and they had their face-to-face meeting at the window.

They were talking through the window. Needless to say, this was an exciting day for our kitty.

More Christmas gifts to share. This year, I wanted to make a couple of belts, and I did!

I knitted my mom this chenille belt using the linen stitch. I learned the stitch from a new knitting group I am attending at a local library.

I made my girlfriend Tara a crocheted belt using metallic yarn as an accent. The pink is an organic cotton that I just LOVE crocheting with.

I was reading in a book one day about someone who painted apples on a weave belt. And, I though, hmm, I bet I could paint the West Virginia University logo on a belt for the guys in my family. I got Bub to cut out the template for me, first out of a sponge (that didn't work. It was my fault. He told me it wouldn't be absorbent enough, but I insisted), then out of a piece of plastic from a leftover stencil. I painted right over it and added the extra serif for the v. I think they turned out totally cool. The bracelet I made with the leftover piece was given to my mother-in-law.

More Christmas gifts

I wanted to share some more Christmas gifts I made. I have been wanting to make my mother-in-law placemats for awhile. They offered a class at work, and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to learn how to make my first ever quilted project.

I got to use the Soft and Stable product, which I easily fell in love with. I coordinated the fabrics with my hubby's approval. All four were a little different.

And, I used corduroy for a few of the front pieces and the back piece.

The back corduroy had this beautiful embroidery with sequence sewn on it. Next, I think I may make myself a pair of shorts out of it.

I took another class to make an Amy Butler Frenchy bag. I had never sewn one of her patterns, and I have always wondered how difficult they are to follow. Let me just say this. They are totally easy to follow and well worth it. She has beautiful designs and has totally changed the way I will make purses forever.

I made this linen purse for my aunt Karen. She is such a nice person, and I wanted to make her something she would appreciate and be able to use. Also, I got to learn couching on this project. I used rattail for the first time and couched it with the transparent thread. I had enough of a break from that on the vinyl dresses, that I was able to use it again, he he. I put in a pen pocket in her lining, because I always have a hard time finding my pen in my purse. Also, I already had this really cute iron-on anchor applique. It matched perfectly.

For my aunt Rosie, I crocheted this purple and white scarf. I used this little puffy yarn on it, which I love to use in scarves. It is super soft.

For my mother-in-law, I also made this WV fleece headband with decorative stitching. I want her to keep her ears warm up in the cold.

For my uncle Doug, I made this double-layer fleece WV scarf with an embroidered edging.

For my cousin Natalie, I upcycled, thanks to Tanya's donation of jeans.

 I made her a purse and attached straps, snaps and a Minnie Mouse patch on the back.

For the pets in the family, I cut out scarves from our nice fleece we got at the store. I hand embroidered notes on each one. I wasn't sure of the size for the scarfs, but I knew, if they fit our big Bobbers neck, they will fit fine around any other cat's neck. HA!

Speaking of Bobbers, he enjoyed the ride back from Myrtle Beach, when he sat on the armrest and looked around. He is quite a traveler.

Best day of my life and best gift ever!

My girlfriend Sophonie gave my husband and I a precious gift for Christmas. She gave us tickets to Universal Studios. See, my husband had never been, and I had not been since 1994. Our day was incredible.
Welcome to Universal, I got my side ponytail, big glasses, and I am wearing shorts in December. I'm ready for the day of my life.

Now, anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE Harry Potter. Thank you again Kelli for getting me to read the books. So, we went to Hogwarts first, yeah.

I'm ready to go into the castle. I have waited 10+ years to visit Hogwarts.

As I walked by the Sorting Hat, I thought again about which house it would put me in. I guess I always envisioned myself as a Hufflepuff.

We walked through the very quick line. No more than 30 minutes for the main ride. We met up with Ron, Hermione and Harry.

We visited Professor Dumbledore's chambers.

And we ate lunch at The Three Broomsticks. I had a frozen butterbeer, and I can tell you that it was truly one of the best drinks of my life. Tastes like cream soda, nummy.
Onto Seus Landing...

which was decorated beautifully for Christmas. We saw Beetlejuice dance through the ages. And, then Bub got to visit his favorite area.

Meet Krusty the Clown...

We got in the Simpson's elevator to go on the ride. It was videos everywhere. It is not like the "olden" days when you would just stand and stare constantly at the people in line with you for hours. Now there is so much to see and do while you wait. Thumbs up to Universal for this.

Then, it was time for the Macy's Christmas parade through the streets of Universal. How totally awesome is it that we were there while the parade was going on? This day couldn't get any better.

On the way to dinner, we passed by the DeLorean from Back to the Future. I remember that ride from when I visited before. And may I say that ET was the same. He said goodbye to me the same as before. Not Goodbye Shalley. It was Goodbye whawhawha. I guess that sounds like my name?!@

Bub wanted to go to the NASCAR bar for dinner. He even got his picture taken with a few of the drivers, he he. Overall, we got to ride everything we wanted to and more. Most rides were a 10 minute wait, and I finally got to go to Hogwarts. I feel so fulfilled.