What???!! Me-Made-May again?!

Hey loves.  Can’t believe this is year six for me.  I’ve been a total slacker in the making end of things, but still wear mostly me-mades all year long.  Me-Made-May has been such a fun event for me every year.  It’s a great journal of sorts.  I can account for my whereabouts (or at least my outfits) every single day of May since 2012.  I also get the pleasure of watching my weight fluctuate (Can anyone else relate?).

I assume my buttons still work, but just in case, please follow me at https://www.instagram.com/shelleyhesson. Instagram is probably the place I’ll most consistently post.  Anyone who has been following me there has probably noticed it has turned into more of a live music blog, but now I get to torture my new music followers with my Cuckoo endeavors.  My goal is to combine the two loves as many days as possible, and to thank the musicians and my old and new music-loving friends for keeping my soul glued together.  I’ll also be linking to my favorite artists’ pages and Spotify and all that good, stuff, so hopefully you all will enjoy the bonus of getting into some fantastic new tunes as a soundtrack to your you-making.  Trust me–you’ll love them.  It’s the Shelley Guarantee.

I may also throw this in as an extra challenge.  If you’re so inclined and are as afflicted with music obsession as I am, play along too.  This was probably supposed to be for April, but let’s be rebellious and make it part of the Me-Made-May fun.

I’ll be following you…  You can’t get away from me and my iPhone.  I have unlimited data now, and will be watching you and cheering you on.

Major hugs and Happy Me-Made-May!  And thanks as always to Zoe at So, Zo… for being the sewist wrangler all of these years.  She’s the best!!

LOVE and Happy Sewing!

Shelley

A Bird Under the Wire

 It started with a beautiful piece of fabric, generously donated by the prttynpnk one and creatively named the Blue Cranes of Doom.    

See what Anne did with it at http://prttynpnk.com/2014/04/17/blue-cranes-of-doom-x2/

I didn’t quite know how to do this preciousness justice, until the April challenge over at The Monthly Stitch.   

 Put A Bird On It?  Don’t mind if I do.  

So out of my stash jumped this pretty 

McCalls 6552, from the Fashion Star line.  I didn’t have enough fabric for that crazy length, so I knew I’d be doing some modifying, but I really ended up really running with it.  Kept the kimono sleeves, made the top a mock wrap rather than a deep V,  gave it a waist using some extra border material.  Fun fun.  Here I am narrow hemming, which I find strangely soothing.    

  

Looking like it’s going to fit.  It’s also the best pic I ended up taking of the arms.  One big blue crane per limb!!

Finished product, with gorgeous backdrop courtesy of some dear dear friends and their wonderful garden:

Casey the cat is totally smiling with me in this shot!

Ran out of poses, so I decided to hula (or something). 

   

What’s a sewing post without a little back fat? I love that there was enough of the bird repeat to get some on the front and the rear. 

What a fun project, that I hope to actually post on The Monthly Stitch soon, if I can get the particulars worked out.  It’s bad enough that I waited until the last minute to photo and blog (hence the Under the Wire title).  Sorry, Monthly Stitchers, you deserve better than my procrastination. 

In the meantime, Me-Made-May ’15 is starting as we speak.  So very exciting!!!  I won’t sleep for a month!

Happy Stitching and MMM-ing. 

Shelley

Flyin’ with my WIP

Way jumping the gun here, but wanted to share a fun WIP that I’m trying to finish before the Monthly Stitch “Put A Bird On It” month ends.   

I’m mostly posting this to show Anne because it’s such a fun piece of fabric which she bestowed upon me.  Anne’s brilliance is at  www.prttynpnk.com by the way.  

    

Yeah yeah yeah.  Filthy room.  Indifferent cat.  Same ol’ same ol’ Shelley shots.  

This is a McCalls 6552, from the Fashion Star line, and looks nothing like the envelope other than the groovy kimono sleeves.  I’m trying to make the most out of this fab fabric and its super fun print and borders, and I’ve way gone my own way.   Which is why we’re doing this, right??

Hope this inspires or otherwise entertains someone today.  

Me-Made-May coming soon.  I’ll be on all the social media I can muster.  See the links and click away.  See YOU I hope.  Be fun and creative, kids!!!

LURVE, Shel

Is It Just Me?

Just wondering if I’m the only one who loves this pattern in the new summer Vogue collection. 

  

Link here: http://voguepatterns.mccall.com/v9112-products-49850.php?page_id=174

Love to all.  I’m making stuff and hoping to share my goodies during some current sewalongs.  We shall see…  

Shelley 

Squee! I made stuff tonight



Just a happy sewing mess after a great Friday night.  Made about 80% of a cute top (Jungle March, anyone?), then got totally inspired by the next Monthly Stitch theme–Here’s a hint:



–and made a quickie mock-up dress out of some gorgeous fabric from the generous Anne of http://prttynpnk.com.  It’s gonna be so silly and fun. 

Can’t wait to finish it.  And they can’t wait either.  



Have a great and fancy weekend. 

Shelley

Some photos courtesy of IFC.com and the awesomeness of Armisen and Brownstein. 

I Can’t Bear the Cute

Another Oscar night.  Another weekend during which I got almost nothing done.  I blame my cat.

How can you get up and fold fabric and organize scraps and patterns when this little guy is all snuggled in your lap?  I just noticed my way-underused Dyson in the background.  How adorable.

This week I actually have been making progress organizing patterns and fabric, making lists, feeling generally overwhelmed by everything I want to make, and shuddering at the amount of money I must have spent on all of this!   I think it’s going to be an amazing 2015 creativitywise–once my head stops spinning.

At some point yesterday I got off the couch and located my box o’ flannel, because I am way behind in making something for my brand-new, inordinately cute nephew, Gradyn.

The Gingercake Traveling Changing Pad is so precious and functional.  Such a cool idea to keep your baby’s tushie warm, clean, and dry (Clearly I am not a mother, because this changing pad thing is entirely new to me.).  The additional pockets, including the PUL-lined one suitable for wipes, really set this apart from any other changing pad I’ve seen out there.   I bought this pattern forever ago, but somehow never got off my butt to make it.  Now I’m kicking said butt, because it’s awesome.  The babies I probably originally bought this to make for are undoubtedly in kindergarten by now and probably wouldn’t want or need to be changed in public.

As with other Gingercake patterns, the instructions are very clear, with plenty of photos and tips.  I chose to be lazy (big surprise) and not finish with binding, but the pattern gives links for different binding techniques, which will prove useful in the future.  It is a beautiful look, and I promise I will try it next time.

Here are some shots of the finished product.  I’m really pleased with it.

This is how it looks all compact and bundled.  It would take up very little space in your diaper bag or hubby’s manpurse.

Some shots in various states of folding and unfolding

 

 

And all laid out

Dig those pockets!!

Okay, Neil Patrick is singing.  Good timing.   Hooray for sewing and Hollywood!!

P.S.  The parents were kind enough to send a pic of the recipient with his new prezzie. 



A problem we can all handle–I hope.

After several hours of organizing fabric, patterns, and other notions, and making almost zero progress, I spotted this on the I Love Sewing Facebook page.

Thanks, I Love Sewing, for feeling my pain and helping me feel less alone.  🙂

The good news is I have a fresh new sewing project list and something resembling a direction for late winter and early spring, if in fact spring arrives.  Very exciting.

That is all.  Anyone out there have a similar experience lately?  Anyone need a pep talk?  I’m feeling peppier by the day.

Happy Mardi Gras!!!

Trying something a little different and going the microblogging route, since I have so little to bring to the table in terms of sewing technique. I learned that word “microblog” when I decided to Google what the heck Tumblr is. I still don’t know, even though I have a Tumblr account.

Anyway here’s my Mardi Gras skirt, made a year or two ago out of some mega-fun Mardi mask fabric. There’s a full post about it here somewhere (here it is). I finished off the ensemble with some killer Naughty Monkey shoes and my favorite new socks. And beads of course.

Hope everyone is celebrating your Carnival, etc., celebrations today, or at least surviving winter. I actually have a new item or two to macro-blog. Will do so when the inspiration strikes. In the meantime, keep making and posting pretty things, you lovelies.

Happy Stitching,
Shelley

Weddings and Funerals

Hey all.  Having fun in 2015 yet?

2014 was definitely not my best year, but I’m moving forward and hoping to get some inspiration in all facets of my life.  I did, interestingly enough, attend exactly four weddings and a funeral in 2014, and wore the same dress to the first three weddings and the same dress to the last wedding and the funeral.  When I like a me-made, I REALLY like a me-made.  Plus the no overlap of wedding attendees helped.  Posting pics just for documentation.  As sewing blog photos go, they utterly suck.  Here’s a full-length view of the beloved dress, McCalls 6559, stitched sometime during Me-Made-May 2014.  I can’t recommend this pattern highly enough.  Super easy, and the funner the print, the better!!  It’s made of an ITY knit and I just adore it, obviously.

Here’s me with my mother-in-law (brief rundown–I’m not married, but my boyfriend’s family have married me so there you go.  Keeps it simple.) at wedding #1 in New Jersey

.

And wedding #2 in Ohio, with the beautiful brides.

Third wedding, in West Virginia, Lenny-less as in #2, so still stuck with selfies.  The bride has only been my friend for 40 years, and we managed not to get a photo together.  Utter fail!

 I do love this shot, and it has annoyingly been my Facebook profile picture since June.  Sorry for the lack of variety, FB friends.

Wedding 4 was in late September back here in New Jersey, and I couldn’t get away with the maxi again because it was a family wedding and way too many people saw it in May.  The wedding photographer caught this sweet moment, and as much as I hate this angle (Could I BE any wider?), it’s a nice shot of the boy and myself, with my beautiful angelic friend (and mother of the groom) Pam smiling in the background.

The dress is my other favorite pattern, the full-wrap Vogue 8379.  I will be making at least a few more of these before the end of winter/spring.

Dudettes, seriously, if you enjoy easy knits but somehow don’t have these patterns, your life is not complete.  Use my handy links and order them next time there’s a BMV sale.

Let’s end with the weddings, shall we?  I try to avoid the maudlin in my social media.  I’ll just say that it’s been kind of an awful couple of months, and I’ve already had a funeral in 2015.

Moving forward.

I’ll be bahhhhhhk, sooner than later.  Maybe with a belated Jungle, uh, February frock.  Thanks to my new followers who are keeping the sewing faith even though I haven’t posted in ages.  You are so very appreciated, along with the lovelies who have checked in on me (You know who you are, Nothy 😉 )  and my extraordinarily crafty Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook friends.

MAJOR HUGS
Shelley

I Pledge Allegiance To Me-Made-May

Less than 48 hours until I’m on Flickr lurking sewists from all across the planet. Well, lurking more than usual. Oh, how I love this time of year. Me-Made-May has always meant a lot to me, as it was one of the first social events in which I participated as a less than three-month-old baby seamstress in 2012. The encouragement and inspiration during the challenge, not to mention Zoe’s fun and fearless leadership, kept my newfound sewing enthusiasm at a high level, and I got to know so many lovely blogoddesses and their unique styles.

Me-Made-May 2012

Me-Made-May 2013

By my second year, I was able to challenge myself by wearing a complete me-made ensemble every day with no outfit repeats. While I was happy to stick with that pledge, those parameters occasionally prevented me from wearing beloved separates that didn’t have a me-made ‘partner’ as it were. This year my pledge is to wear virtually all new-to-you garments, either made since last Me-Made-May or previously un-MMM-ed due to weather or the separates issue.

I, Shelley of Cuckoo Chanel, pledge to complete Me-Made-May’14. I endeavor to wear and document at least one me-made garment per day, previously unworn during a Me-Made-May challenge.

Be on the lookout for me. I’m shelshel on Flickr and @shelleyhesson on Instagram. Please join me in this celebration of pattern enabling and fabric drooling. Thanks again, Zoe!