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Today I am doing something totally different but thought it would be great for you to get to know me a little bit more.  The five Questions One Take Tag was introduced by Lisa from And Sew On. Show her some love. Judith of Judith Dee Creation Tagged me, thank you for the love Sis, Be sure to show her some love too. I will be Tagging That's Sew Monica, Elewa Fashion, and Ovoke. I hope these fabulous ladies can take part in this.

Thanks for watching. If you have any questions let me know in the comments

When I first officially started sewing for other people Desiree was the first person to jump all over it. She was actually one of the very first people who actually saw me take my first steps into all of this and has been extremely supportive and encouraging throughout this journey (it's just who she is).

Fast forward one year later I still had not made the jumpsuit I promised to make Desiree, mostly because I was super sensitive and scared I would mess up (nervous laugh). So I kept making jumpsuits for myself and maybe one other person and the rest of the world lol. Desiree was not having this and subtly kept hinting on social media that she was still waiting LOL.

Anyways, I said I had been making things for everyone else but her and so I got myself together and told her I was ready to make her jumpsuit. As per process, I asked her to show me ideas of what she wanted and colors that she liked.  She finally picked out an off shoulder jumpsuit inspired by Style Pantry

Desiree wanted a different bottom style and so I asked her to bring me her favorite set of pants so I could make the bottom in a style that she loved. That right there was what sealed the deal.

I got to work and completed her jumpsuit in time for a conference Desiree was speaking at. Desiree came in for her fitting and everything fit perfectly. I used a lightweight Crepe fabric with an elasticated waist, the off shoulder feature and for ease in and out an invisible zipper on the shoulder.  Let's not forget the pockets LOL We love our pockets. All I remember afterward was her saying "I love it" I love it"

Day of the conference I managed to connect with Desiree again (She looked gorgeous) and before I could get in a word she was like OMG I have gotten so many compliments on this Jumpsuit. I love it it is so comfortable, I love it and want it in all colors.

This is the joy of sewing for me. Watching Fabric transform into something wearable but then making someone feel beautiful, comfortable and have them hear those compliments ring in. I love it

When I saw Vogue pattern V9253 come out this summer I thought it was all things amazing. To be honest I thought it was so me (cept the plunging neckline) and everything I love. A line style, Kimono Sleeves, Belt. It gave me my life on a platter LOL. So when McCall's Pattern company decided to have a competition for the pattern I was so on it. Ok, truth is I was on it but I was so swamped with work so I kinda waited the last minute.

I had seen so many entries for the dress all gorgeous and I figured I needed to do something different. I am currently into dusters and kimonos and I looked at the pattern and figured this would make a great kimono or even wrap dress. For the fabric, I didn't want to be stuck only wearing this in the summer months and so I thought fall and winter are coming, What would be great for fall. A quick trip to hobby lobby and I stumbled onto this Faux Leather and I fell in love. Kind of made me feel rebellious... tough biker chick ha ha. My vision was long leather duster with some ripped jeans or wrap dress that I could dress up or down. 

The leather was surprisingly soft and I thought I needed to switch needles but my universal needle was fine. These were my modifications to the pattern:

Double pleats on each side of the front skirt - Left out
Zipper on back - Left out, cut as a fold
Center front of skirt - Cut for the wrap or jacket effect
Used Front skirt pattern because I lost the back one. Couldn't find it for the life of me LOL. Yes my sewing room is a mess LOL
I Would add buttons to the front skirt but I like the way it is for now.

And that was that. Do not adjust your screens you are not in the matrix and the Faux Leather looks better in person than it does in pictures. I promise you I didn't use a garbage bag LOL.Oh And this is not summer friendly, I was sweating bullets just taking pictures in this LOL... How does it look? Yay or Nay, How would you style this? Let me know

Oh my, how did I get this old? LOL. Actually, I am extremely grateful to see another year and yes I feel older. I found myself reflecting and panicking feeling I haven't accomplished as much as I thought I should have, but y'all that was the devil talking. If you sit down and take an inventory of the many things good in your life you can absolutely find them and that is what I chose to do. Appreciate how far I have come and be grateful for where God has placed me and hopeful for where he is taking me still.

On to clothing. I wanted to represent my brand (why not). I also knew I wanted something white to celebrate light, purity, new birth and something floral to celebrate blooming, growth and of course beauty. I had made a few of my Mona Dusters and each time I would make one, I would want to keep it. So I decided, let me make one for myself. I found the perfect fabric and gifted myself with the Mona Duster. In going with my theme of white, I quickly made a white tube dress to go under the duster. Guys this duster can pair with anything. I wore shorts through the day and I kept trying it on with the shorts and it worked. But my theme was white and voila. I had a great birthday evening with hubby and as it never fails, the Mona (look) Duster was a head turner. Everyone kept staring at me. That was good right?

If you know me you know that I struggle with fear, public speaking, insecurity and being an introvert. You also know that I can do many things but prefer to do them for my close knit circle. My journey this year 2017 has been to push out of my comfort zone and share the talents I have been given because really your gifts are meant to be shared.

In my journey to do this, I had the opportunity to serve and pour into some beautiful young ladies this weekend. A fish out of water, and totally out of my comfort zone I made the decision to be a part of this amazing vision by Danielle Latoya Williams and Nikki Woods who created and founded the Queen Bee Inc initiative.  One of the goals of this initiative is to be a positive influence to our young girls when the media seems to have a stronger pull on them. Exposing these young ladies to alternatives, more positive situations.

To be honest, I didn't think I could offer much but then I remembered I am where I am because someone planted a seed in me, I was fortunate enough to have alot of exposure and so what better way to pay it forward than to teach what I know. Sewing✂️✂️✂️.

The Plan

The plan of the camp involved helping the young ladies create vision boards teaching them to have a vision for their lives. An etiquette session, a much-needed session in today's world where manners seem optional. Christ-centered living, career selection and goals, health, and wellness, Fine dining, Mansion tour, financial literacy, Saving and personal care. Where did I come in? I figured sewing was a great skill to have when you had an emergency (clothes rip) or if you wanted to make a living out of it (prom dresses) and also to plant the seed that with many things we pay others but if we learned the skill, they could be paid doing what they love. The plan was to teach the basics of a sewing machine and how to use it, make a tote bag and decorate it with glitter.

Actual Day

I had to analyze time and space factors and realized there was not enough time and not enough room and so plan B was to teach hand sewing, do 80% of the work and let the ladies finish off the totes and that was that. We had a great time learning the running stitch and the back stitch and the ladies completed their totes and had somewhere to put all the goodies they received from the camp.



Lessons Learned

I would be remiss if I did not experience something and learn from it to give a better experience next time, so these were some lessons I learned.

• You can never do enough planning so plan for success
• Simplicity wins so plan a simple project
• Don't underestimate the power of your story. This one hit me hard because I realized I was so scared and shy that all I did was introduce myself. I didn't tell the ladies of my journey and why I chose sewing and so I wonder if they really got the why behind it all.
• Stay calm and breath
• Accept help when it is offered
• Ask for Help
• Help where you can
• Be patient 
• Have fun
• Enjoy the process
• Remember it not about you

I had plans to sit on the patio sipping on one of those fancy drinks with an umbrella's enjoying date night with my eye candy, rocking my newest creation........... It didn't happen. Darn rain rained on my parade. Oh well!!!

McCall Pattern Company is coming through with some trendy patterns. I keep telling myself I will not buy any more patterns and there they go releasing some amazing styles. I cracked and got a few more. I promise this is the last time ....NOT!!!

Anyways, one of the patterns I fell in love with was M7601. I had some fabric ordered for a different project and ended up using it for this.  Here is my final look for my date night indoors LOL (Boo Rain)


              

One of my favorite pieces of clothing is the shift dress. Its comfortable, cute and very forgiving. Also for some of us non "curvys" it hide's that very well, not that I am saying it's anything to be hidden. Anyways I have been playing around with different styles of the shift dress and I recently made one with Vogue 8897 pattern using a Java Wax African Print fabric here. Well I was at it again and this time I decided to add bell sleeves. Anything bell sleeved is trending right now and I was wondering how I could incorporate that into my sewing. So my shift dress it was.

From the sleeve of the pattern I cut it short and added a gather bell to the end. The pattern is really dress length but somehow I cut it short to about tunic length. I am sure this still can be worn as a dress but that removes the comfort-ability for me. So cue the jeggings. Can I safely say I LOVE THIS TUNIC. I will be definitely making more and watch out for some in my Etsy store. One of my friends suggested I start to name my clothing (Ok I laughed at this) but yeah, I think its a great idea, so I will be calling this bell sleeved tunic, the Thabo Tunic. Thabo simply means Joy or happiness and that is definitely what I feel when I wear it.