OOTD/Review/Made by Me File: Sixth Blog-o-versary Special.

UPDATE (January 16, 2015): There is a new promotion over at Boden for an extra 20% off clearance items that started this morning!  I went ahead and placed the promo coupon in the sidebar and at the bottom of this post for those of you who look forward to sales like this!  I have a few clearance item reviews set to be published, so I will go ahead and push them forward so you all can see them before the extra 20% expires.

Hi!  I almost forgot that today was my blog's sixth birthday.  So bad.  LOL.  I took a nap this afternoon (while Angus slept) and I woke up thinking, "meh, I'll be lazy *again* and post tomorrow."  But then I remembered it was the blog's bday and I felt like I owed it.

So here it is, a super sixth birthday blog post, nothing special, but I decided to have at least one of each kind of thing my blog does in this one post, so you are getting three outfits of the day, one Boden review, and a made by me file.

Day: Wednesday, January 14, 2015.

Where:  Subbing Eighth Grade with a visit to Whole Foods for Winesday with my brother in the evening.

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  Couldn't be any easier, really.  Take a pair of woolen stretchy pants from J. Crew (years ago), add in a cozy comfy sweatshirt/top from Boden, and a great pair of booties from Mia, and you have an outfit that makes teaching crazy middle-schoolers a bit more comfortable.  Plus the weather was just awful yesterday (snow in the morning followed by really cold temperatures), and this combo (along with proper outerwear) kept me warm, too.

The sweatshirt is the casual dip back sweater and can be found here.  I wrote a more lengthy review of it in the next two photos for those of you that dig Boden stuff.  This is a current season offering, and one that can be worn now and not just in the spring, so that's good.

Cool Factor: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  Well, I think I looked good, especially with my beret (not pictured), but I suspect that the eighth-graders would have not agreed.  For them, "meh," for my peers and me, maybe a "woo?"

Casual Dip Back Sweater.  Size 6.  I think this sweater is a bit odd.  It appears that it should be a sweatshirt, and I am happy to call it that, especially since its styling with the rib cuffs, hem, and neckline, plus a bit of loopy fabric backing makes it appear so, but I am not 100% in the sweatshirt camp.  It is a fitted silhouette, which I wasn't expecting, but seems to work okay.  It is also much longer than I expected.  Honestly, if they had a size 6 petite, I would exchange it for that since I wouldn't mind if the top ended higher on me.  I have to be careful with proportion here.  If I wear too loose of a pant, the look would be frumpy, for sure.

The print and the colors are just amazing, though.  So vibrant and beautiful.  With the red hair, this blue is a great shade for me, much more than it would have been when I was a full on blonde.

The fabric is so soft and stretchy, it sort of feels like expensive pajamas.  Not a bad thing in my book.

I think this could potentially look good tucked into a skirt, and since the fabric is not thick, it could work, I'll just have to try it out and see for sure.  ;-)

Day: Tuesday, December 30, 2014.

Where:  Running around doing errands with Angus while the eldest two went to an all-day Little Gym camp.

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  I literally could wear this kind of outfit everyday and never want to change it up.  I mean, great fitting jeans, a beautiful comfortable sweatshirt, patent leather loafers, and an exquisite well-fitted wool coat?  Does it get any easier or better for a mom on the go?

But I know I am a dress girl, at heart, so as much as I dig this kind of look, I do know that if giving the choice, I would live in a world where I could wear dresses 100% of the time (I am looking at you, Miami).

Cool Factor: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  Cute outfit overall, but the sweatshirt design and nicely tailored coat really help it out here.

Why didn't J. Crew Factory make a dupe of this sweatshirt, btw?  They duplicate all popular items, why not this one which sold out in a heartbeat last year?

Day: Wednesday, January 7, 2015.

Where:  Subbing as School Secretary.

Ease of Wear: (5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  I made this dress out of a very comfortable and warm double knit from Fabric Mart from Pamela's Patterns Softly Pleated Dress pattern, so if it wasn't a 5 out of 5 for comfort and ease, I did something wrong.  Hands down, this is my most successful make to this day.  It turned out very well for me, from cutting to sewing to finishing.  It fits well, wears well, and makes me feel good while wearing it.  :-)  Yay!

I had a little bit of fabric left over, so I made CW a tunic from McCall's 6786, which is actually a dress pattern, but if you leave off the contrast hem, neckline, and cuffs, it turns into a tunic.  She says she was very comfortable, too.  ;-)

Cool Factor: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  It is a pretty dress, and CW's tunic is beyond darling on her, but the print and colors and styling may put some people off.  I like it, obviously, but I know I love more *in your face* prints and styles.

BTW, I wrote up a TON over at the Fabric Mart blog about the creation of this dress and the tunic, so check it out if you want to do something similar.  Like I said, it was a very satisfying sewing experience.

Okay, that's all for now.  Again, I am THRILLED to be here for six whole years.  That seems slightly insane, but I am still enjoying it, so I'll keep on keeping on...

And thank you all for reading.  I really enjoy having all my blog friends around. 

As promised in the update above, here is the coupon for the extra 20% off clearance items:

Made by Me Files: The Perfect Pant (McCalls 6930/6711) and a Leftover Jacket (Vogue 8910).

It's been a long while since I wrote up any of my sewing projects!  I have quite a few projects I have sewn up, I just lost my steam to write over the last month, and both of these got left behind. 

First up I will write about my "perfect pant" pattern, which is a mash-up of McCall's 6930 and 6711.  I will then finish up this post with a very *brief* review of a bias cut jacket I made, Vogue 8910.

Evidence of country--horse.

I made these pants up before I left for Mississippi, as I spied this fabric at Joann's, and knew that its color and pattern would work well with this sweater jacket I made specifically for the trip.  I also knew that having a good pair of well-fitting pants in a stretchy cotton sateen is a wonderful idea for any trip (especially ones that involve sitting in cars for hours driving to get to places--Mr. Dina is from the country, you all).
 

Since I had made up some pretty decent fitting pants back when I was in the Fashion Challenge for Fabric Mart using McCall's 6711, and I had read that the block that McCall's uses for all of its pants patterns stay the same, I knew I would probably be okay picking out another McCall's pattern for pants and having it work for my lower half.  (I also had lost some weight from the challenge and the plaid pants I had originally made fit me even better so I figured a new pair would probably be the same.)

I loved the back zip and pockets from McCall's 6711, so I knew I wanted my new pair to have the same thing, but I also knew I wanted a traditional waistband.  Well, the only pattern I saw that had those three things were McCall's 6930, but that pattern is for capris and shorts.  Sigh.

But then, ding!, I realized I could mash-up the top portion of McCall's 6930 with the longer, slimmer leg of McCall's 6711, and have a perfect pair of pants for me.  Yes!

I did check to make sure that the McCall's 6930 crotch curve matched the McCall's 6711, and without fail, it was a near match, barring a slight style difference to accommodate a waistband and lower rise.  So I proceeded to get my shears out and get to cutting.

Like all cotton sateen I have worked with in the past, this fabric was no exception to the "easy to cut, easy to sew" rule.  I love cotton sateen so much.  And provided the sateen is in a print with some stretch, the fabric shows very few wrinkles making it perfect for anyone who travels or moves about a lot.

It isn't especially thick, but for my purposes it is a good all-weather pant.  I felt fine in these in the 75 degree weather we had the day I wore them in Mississippi (December 1, thankyouverymuch), but I also felt warm enough when I wore them recently in more *typical* winter weather (last photo of this review).

Side view shows that the crotch curve works for my particular lower half well.  I love that it both fits my longer and larger bottom, but also works with my flatter front yet slight front thigh bump.  Woo.  I thought only Burda allowed for us to have proper curves.  LOL.

I cut the size 14, btw, the same size I cut for 6711.  My measurements fit the 16 better, but in my experience McCall's runs about one size big across the board (I should wear a 12 up top but always cut a 10).

I wish I had a darker colored grey invisible zip laying around, but I seem to only buy the REALLY long zippers from G Street, and forget to buy the shorter ones, too.  (I like to have zippers laying around, I cannot tell you how many times I have needed one and was very glad I didn't have to trudge out to the store in the middle of a project to get one.)  G Street, btw, has the *best* notions department, at least the one at Seven Corners here in Northern Virginia.  I feel very lucky to have all the YKK zippers in every color, size, and function at the ready and only a few miles from my house.  The same can be said of their elastics, ribbons, buttons, shoulder pads, snaps, etc.  So much choice!

Anyhow, I never seem to have troubles unzipping from the back, but I guess I probably am alone in this.  I really just don't like front zips, except in jeans.  I always feel like the zip on the front feels weird and it bothers me.  Obviously I get over it as most pants are constructed that way, but for me, as a sewer, I will always prefer to put my zips somewhere else than in the front.

Okay so above is how I wore the pants recently here in Virginia.  The weather wasn't stupid cold, but it was only in the 50s that day, so I knew I would have to wear it with the sweater jacket that I had originally planned to wear with it in Mississippi.  (For all that talk about wearing the jacket on my trip, I only had the chance to wear it once--it was just that warm...THE WHOLE TIME.)

Above is Vogue 8910.  I actually wrote up two reviews of this jacket, one at the Fabric Mart blog (has a ton of photos, too), and the review at Pattern Review. 

Since I have clearly said a lot about it over there, I will just encourage you to check out those reviews instead of recreating the wheel here.  I just know that some of you need to see a photo of what you will be looking at to have a reason to get up and go over there.  ;-)

I know this sounds crazy, especially since it is my first jacket and it is really nice and took ME FLIPPING FOREVER to do, but I haven't even worn it out in real life yet.  I finished this jacket on December 11, took these photos and wrote the Fabric Mart blog post on the afternoon of December 12, and later that night found out that my friend, W., had died.  I feel like this jacket is just such a reminder of his death, and all the pain and confusion I felt thereafter, and I can't bring myself to wear it. 

Thing is, he was a huge fan of my sewing and even joked with me that he would wear one of my creations one day and show off his legs for me in it (I guess I was to make him either shorts or a kilt, lol?).  He supported me during the contest and considering he is a rough around the edges, burly and bearded, LUMBERJACK, the fact that he got into it so much means either he was hiding a secret fashionista side or he really just wanted to be a great friend.  I am guessing the latter.  ;-)

I know he would want me to wear it, and I guess I will, I just need to get past my mental block to do so.  I think I will figure it out, it just seems like such a shame to have this creation of mine sitting on the sidelines since I feel vulnerable wearing it.

Okay, that's all from me for today.  There will be one more creation of mine at the Fabric Mart blog tomorrow, so definitely check it out!  I really like that creation (and their is a mini one in there, too), and unlike the jacket above, I have actually worn that one for real.  

OOTDs: Florals and Mosaics.

First, before I get on with the ootds parade, I wanted to direct you to my FB page if you have an interest in seeing some of the Boden summer items on me in person.  I loved a lot of what I received, but I had *major* sizing issues with about half the order.  Sigh.  Anyhow, head on over to this page to see more on that.  Eventually these will all make it to the BWRR, but I want to remind you all that I often can update the facebook page more quickly than I can this blog, so go ahead and "like" the FB page if you want to get the things I do post in your feed.

Day: Saturday, April 4, 2014.

Where: Lunch with my dad and the kids and then to the Little League photo shoot.

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.) I made the pants so they are very comfortable, but let's be honest here, is anything *really* that comfortable when you are bloated?  (You know whatimean, right, ladies?)  For all of my bloatedness, I was better than I have been in the past, and I credit ohsosoft jersey and wool with keeping me happy in my skin.

Cool Factor: (3.5 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest--for both outfits.) The pants are a great intro pattern (Simplicity 2061) if you have just started sewing knits and would like to try them out with a lot of hand holding.  I will eventually add my review over there, but I am a bit backlogged with that, too, so give it time.  I will say that while I know there are things I could have done better, I did manage well for my first knit pants pattern.  I've had them for a few months now, and although this was the first time they made their public debut, they have been worn about the house a few times. 

I like the styling here, and I love my hair.  I wish if it was going to go all wavy and curly, it would do it. just. like. this. every darn time.  I also upped the makeup because I had extra time on my hands and extra bags under my eyes.  (LOVE YOU, bloating, swak!)

Anecdote from the Day:  The wind was crazy on Saturday.  Although the temperatures said 60, it felt like 45 whenever the wind blew in.  I really should have worn a jacket.  I don't know how Rex survived in his little uniform (no jackets for the pictures).

Day: Sunday, April 6, 2014.

Where: Church.

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.) Love this dress (you saw it here ready to go for the auction) so much.  I am so glad I have this in my closet with all its stretchy glory ready for me when I want to look good and feel good, too.  (Yeah, bloating day two continued.  Sigh.)

The Bella jacket in pink is exactly the right shade of pink to work with this dress, but it was a bit scratchy.  I was being sensitive, so you all know.  ;-)

Cool Factor: (3.5 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest--for both outfits.) Love the styling from neck down, the Accessorize necklace and darling pink belt really worked nicely, as did the Bella jacket, the navy tights, and the wedge heels.  The neck up, though, was were I struggled.  I was sensitive, remember, and was all verklempt that I couldn't get my hair and makeup to cooperate.  My husband assured me I looked pretty, but you know, dramatic Dina kind of won out. 

Anecdote from the Day:  Rex had a visitor called Hoppy this weekend and he was able to take it everywhere he went, including church.  :-)  We are gonna miss Hoppy now that he is going back to his teacher. 

Day: Monday, April 7, 2014.

Where: Harris Teeter (surprise! not!) and the school run.

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.) Bliss!  I may not be *as* bloated as the past two days, but I still am struggling (grr!), but this outfit was so comfortable.  These jersey tunics are beyond amazing and I really wish Boden would make more of them.  They seem to have gone the way of the Fun skirt and are not being issued anymore (wait, I lied, the Everyday Tunic seems to be similar in style and fabric).

Cool Factor: (3 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest--for both outfits.) Decent casual look, and the Mia boots look so cute with the ensemble.  The scarf helps tone down the tunic a bit, too.  The hair, yay!  It is back to being obedient...

Anecdote from the Day:  Won't it ever warm up?  I am so cold and tired and ready for the warmth.  It was rainy and windy and raw today.  Sigh.  At least I was able to get some yummy food from HT (always get their freshly made sushi, their sushi chefs really know what they are doing!).

Okay, that's all for now.  You all have a good night, and stay warm if you are near here. 

OOTDs: Winter Casual.

Hey, all!  Even though I normally try to add bits and pieces about each outfit (like coolness, ease of wear, and anecdotes), I am going to dispense with that since I am pretty beat.  I spent the day cleaning every last square inch of my room.  Plus side--I feel so tidy now.  Minus side--so tired...

If I can link to an item since it is currently in stock, or if I have thoughts on an item, I will mention it in the copy below the photos. 

Worn to first "Moms with Young Kids" group at church and then to help CW's class with their auction project (a quilt that I will be making--yipes).

Sweatshirt/Tunic.  Zara's Printed Sweatshirt.  Size Medium.  Very cute, very comfy, and true to size, as far as I can tell (I would think my frame would be a medium up top and a large down below).  The pockets are fab.  I think this is worth the full price.  :-)

Pants.  J. Crew's Full Length Bi-Stretch Wool Minnies.  Size 8 L.  So long that I actually had to tuck the hem up into itself to get it to be the right length.  Having said that, had I bought the regular, it would have been too short by about 2 inches, so I made the right call on length.  Love how they look, just fitted enough, just long enough, and a great color for my wardrobe.  I am a fan of the Minnie pant, and look forward to seeing this version next fall in other great shades.

Worn to pre-bowl, since I can't seem to drag my butt to the actual bowling league itself.  Subbing, snow, and school meetings are getting in the way!

Top.  Johnnie b. (Boden) Sammy Sweatshirt.  Size 15-16.  As far as I can tell I am usually a 15-16 in tops, unless the top is so oversized that it looks ridiculous on me.  (Then I go for a 13-14.)  I typically wear a 4 or 6 in Boden tops and a 4 or 6 in J. Crew, so use me as a comparison if need be.  Very comfortable, cute, young-looking top.  I love the color, such a fresh shade of aqua/mint.

Pants.  Johnnie b. (Boden) Printed Skinny Jeans.  Size 30 L.  These pants were so cheap during Boden's crazy "let's reduce clearance items by 80% off" that I bought two pairs, the 30 L and the 32 L.  They were $9 a piece.  The 32 L was very big on me, near falling off, but I dug them so much and since they are actually cheaper than fabric in that amount, I am keeping them, cutting their legs off, altering the waist, and making these pants into shorts for the summer.  The 30 L that I wore bowling fit fine, a touch tight through the legs, so if you have calves that fall on the wider spectrum, they may be too skinny, even if you size up.  These were also so long that I tucked the hem up on them, too, just like I did on the Minnies in the first outfit.  Again, had I gone with the regular, though, they would have been too short.

Worn on the school run last week.

Coat.  Boden's Ingrid Coat.  I did a review of this amazing coat here at this blog post.

Worn on the school run.  This is my most casual outfit ever (hey no makeup!).  But man was it cozy and comfortable.  Look at Angus walking up those stairs all by himself.  He is a champ stair climber.  He's almost two, guess it was bound to happen.  :-)

Shoes.  Target's Merona Mallory Flat.  Size 9.5.  As per my usual with Target, I only buy if the shoe has some component made from leather.  That is getting harder to find these days, but I was in Target and saw these darling mint driving mocs and was all, "ooh," 100% expecting to put them back after spying "all manmade materials," but nope, the uppers are suede (100% leather), so yay for that.

Okay, that's all for now.  I hope everyone is having a great Monday night/Tuesday morning.  :-)

OOTDs: Dots This Way.

Good morning, all!  Hope everyone had a great weekend.  I finished up my pants sloper workshop and after trying on the *final* version, I am excited to get to working on a real pair for me to wear in real life.  I hope they look as good in real life as they did in the plain ole white muslin form.

This week appears less busy than last, yay for that.  I only sub one day, and only have one big meeting this week, so I should have more time with my blog this week, which has been sorely neglected in favor of non-virtual things.  ;-)

Okay, onto some dotted outfits!

Day: Sunday, January 26, 2014.

Where: Church.

Ease of Wear: (3 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  As you know, I wore this dress (Tulip Party Dress-- low stock in most sizes) to my reunion.  I wanted to make sure it wasn't a one trick pony, so I changed up the styling to see if it could work for more dressy occasions that weren't parties.  My main concern was that it wouldn't be comfortable, and I am happy to report the dress wore well and was super comfortable, even with the extra layer underneath.  (I did size up to a size 8 L, read the review for more info, so that likely allowed me the extra room for the tee under the bodice.)

This was not exceedingly comfortable, but I wasn't hating it by the end of the morning, so if you like the dress, try it for other events that don't include meeting up with people you haven't seen in years and years.

Cool Factor: (3 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest--for both outfits.)  I don't love the necklace with the outfit, and any time you place a tee under a dress it can read a bit juvenile, but overall I like the look and it was just right for church.  But since I just wrote those words, we all know church does not equal cool.  LOL.

Anecdote from the Day:  It was the start of Catholic Schools week which meant that if the kids wore their uniform to church they would get a dress down day on Tuesday that week.  Of course CW gave us no problems, but you would think we were poking Rex with hot coals based on how frustrated he was with that idea.  In the end, we picked our battles, but firmly explained to him that he would get no dress down coupon from his teacher when we went to the school afterwards. 

His teacher, though, is the sweetest girl ever, and was all, "oh, it's okay, he can have one."  I was the mean momma and was like, "no he can't." 

He decided next year he would rather wear the uniform to church for an hour than miss out on dress down days.  We'll see, right?  ;-)

Day: Saturday, January 25, 2014.

Where: First Pants Sloper Sewing Class at G Street Fabrics.

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  It was so so cold that day, but I also knew that I would be measuring my lower half so I knew I wanted to wear something skin tight for that purpose, so I wore the long dotted jersey skirt from Boden (this year's version is called the Swishy Jersey Skirt) with a pair of tights instead of wearing pants.  Of course that led to issues, but I will explain more on that in the anecdote.

The outfit was warm and comfortable, so big thumbs up for that.

Cool Factor: (3.5 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest--for both outfits.)  It has a bit of a bohemian vibe, in a very preppy way, but it isn't super cool.  I love the somewhat neutral colors, with the tiny pop of color from the scarf (made by me, more on that here at this post).  The bag is the Canvas Shopper (from Boden) and is not cool, but big enough to carry my drafting supplies for class, so yay for big sturdy bags.  I love the print on the bag, too, very "fun," which we all know Boden does in overabundance.  The bag is on a long wait for restock, so I am not alone in my love for the bag.

Anecdote from the Day:  Hahahaha.  You know where I am going to go with measurements and wearing tights, right?  Turns out there was another class in the classroom and so it wasn't just us Pants Sloper ladies in there (the next two weeks it was us by ourselves, though).  I ended up having to fiddle with the skirt to get accurate measurements.  At points I had pulled down the skirt, other times I slipped the measuring tape under my skirt, while other points I had to hoist the skirt far up on my torso.  I should have just worn leggings like I did this last time.

Day: Monday, January 27, 2014.

Where: Post and Pre-Bowling.

Ease of Wear: (3 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  Okay, the sweater (Audrey Sweater, current version here), the shoes (Mid-Heel Wedge, here) were very comfortable and felt great.  (Even the wedges are starting to fit exactly right, it needed just one wear to completely fit my foot right--they were a touch snug the first time I wore them.  I bought a 40, btw, the 41 would have been too big.)

The problem are the pants.  Again they look okay in photos but since I now know what pants should look and feel like, even in a more fitted silhouette like jeans usually are, I am very persnickity about how what I once considered a good fit is now not even close to what I want in my pants.  These give me issues in the upper hip area and I suspect it is because I have a longer rise in front and in back than I realized and most pants that are ready to wear are not made for that frame.  (That said, tall lengths often include a longer rise which is why I have more success with that kind of sizing.)

I guess this means I will have to be on the lookout for some dotted denim fabric so I can make my own jeans, as I love the look of these pants.  :-)

Cool Factor: (3.5 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest--for both outfits.)  Very pretty combo, especially the yellow and navy together.  Preppy and a bit retro, not especially cool, though.  LOVE my hair that day.  Why can't it look like that everyday???

Anecdote from the Day:  I am so bad at bowling, lol.  I was doing well at it, but then I had nearly a month off in December, and with all the things going on with snow and my subbing, I haven't seen my bowling league ladies in forever.  So I have to pre and post-bowl with just one other lady and because I do better in sports when I am around others, I am sort of faltering.  Sigh.  And I have to pre-bowl again today!  (Subbing tomorrow instead of bowling.)  I am sure I will do great!  Ha.

Okay, that's it for me for now.  I am excited to have the afternoon to get some more work done, including visiting all my recent comments made here, and finally commenting back.