Even Dad Jumps In!

Today's Mary Bridge Children's Hospital pillowcase post is a little late in coming. Earlier this summer, I received a call from a fellow Haute Couture member, Cleo. She said that she would like to host a pillowcase party and she thought she would be able to get about 50 made. Well, she made 56!! Now here's the deal, I thought that she and a group of friends were getting together, but no, she invited young women who are 13, 14 and 15 years old to come and make pillowcases. She thought this would be a wonderful opportunity to teach them how to sew. Well, she said that they did get the basics, almost drove her crazy in the process, but she is now reaping the reward. Each of those young women went home filled with excitement and talked their mothers into buying them a machine. Cleo is now teaching each of them to not just make pillowcases, but their own clothes. Isn't that wonderful?!!

Since I only have one line up at them moment, I wasn't able to get all 56 pillowcases in one pictures, so here's the first batch and to my surprise, my dog Gracie is in the corner of the picture :).

Cleo said that she had the fabric cut and ready to go. When the girls arrived, they were able to pick and choose, using their own creativity to put the  cases together.

 Isn't this a great print/

 And here's the second batch.

 We have a big storm coming in tonight, so it's a bit windy, but I like to see the cases move with the wind.

 More great prints, but there is one little surprise,

and it's this pillowcase. The father of one one of the girls also got caught up in the excitement and made a case!!!!!!! Isn't that wonderful?!! Thankfully Cleo had some manly fabric :)
Thank you Cleo for your incredible efforts. So many wonderful things came out a of a pillowcase party.

In case you are wondering, this does not change our numbers as I included Cleo's cases in the count, so we still stand at 767 pillowcases. I know that two other Haute Couture members have made cases. One has made 30 and another has made 6. So those two donations will put us just over 800. We still need just shy of 100 to meet the goal of 900 pillowcases. If you would like to donate, here is a link to the simplified instructions,  http://www.rhondabuss.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-simplified-pillowcase-instructions.html and if you would like to read more about the project, here is a link to all of the posts that have been done to date, http://rhondabuss.blogspot.com/search/label/Mary%20Bridge
This will be the last pillowcase post for a few days anyway as I have completely caught up with posting all that have been donated. You should see the pile in my guest room!!! Good thing I'm not expecting guests for a while :)
Thank you so much for your generosity,
Rhonda

Fabulous Free Pattern Friday, The Perfect Travel Dress Hits The Road

Hi Everybody, just in case I didn't say hi a little earlier with the pillowcase post :)
On Monday I will be flying to Denver and then I'll be headed to the Sew News office for the Sew It All taping of the Perfect Travel Dress. It's been a while, but you may remember that, thanks to your help, I won the Sew It All Casting Call Contest. Here's a link to the video,  http://www.sewitalltv.com/contests/casting-call.html Just click on the video that is above my picture and you can see my audition.

I call this the perfect travel dress because it is so versatile and the trick to making it versatile are the drawstrings that are on the shoulders as well as both side seams of the skirt portion of the dress. Here is a link to the original post with instructions,  http://rhondabuss.blogspot.com/2012/10/fabulous-free-pattern-friday_13.html
The sleeves can be long or short.

 The side can be pulled up and worn with tights.

Or, you can pull up both sides and make the dress into a top. Match it with a top, a skirt, a couple of pairs of tights and you are prepared for a number of days on the road.

This is the dress I made for the audition. I wore it quite a bit over the summer. As you can see, the neckline is a little closer to the neck. 

 Here's a sneak peak at the fabric that I'm using for the taping.

I'm super excited. I think this is going to be so much fun.
So sorry that there isn't a new Fabulous Free Pattern Friday piece today. It's been far too long since I've posted one. I do plan to have one next week and finally be back on schedule.
Thanks so much to all of you who helped make this a reality for me. It's just a dream come true!!!

An Asian Excursion

Well, the mystery remains, I have yet to find out who sent the pillowcases that I posted yesterday. I think I will have to use an old fashioned method of trying to track someone down, the United States Post Office! I had said yesterday that I would just address the letter to resident, but Juliet had a wonderful idea and that was to address the note to The Pillowcase Fairy Godmother. I love that. So if I don't hear from this lovely person who so generously sent in her cases by Monday, I will then employ the help of the old fashioned mail system :) 

I have one more post of pillowcases lined up after today and then we will have a little break, unless some come in today or tomorrow. Today's cases came from Beki B. who lives and works in Waterloo, Iowa. Here is a link to her business, http://www.bekissewing.net/. She has a lovely custom sewing and alteration business. She also has an Etsy business, https://www.etsy.com/shop/BekisCustomSewing that she plans to be filling shortly, just in time for the holidays, so add her to your favorites list and check back.

 Beki's pillowcases make me think of being on an Asian excursion. I've never been on one, but I can dream!

Lovely prints and I especially like the batiks.

The pillowcases remind me of a children's book that I purchased while on vacation in Maine this summer. As I said the other day, I do love children's picture books. In case you are wondering, what draws me to them is a combination of the artwork as well as the story, but primarily the artwork. This is a sweet story about Puffin Peter and his friend Paul who are separated in a storm and Peter's pursuit to then try and find his friend.

Do you see the resemblance to the last pillowcase and the colors in this drawing?

.

And look at this lovely drawing and how the water resembles the dye of the batik. This is another book that I would highly recommend if you have a child that that enjoys books. You can find it here on Amazon. 

Thank you so much Beki for your generous contribution. Your 10 cases brings us to a total of 767 pillowcases!!!!! I'm getting a kick out of the numbers reminding me of airplanes, i.e. Boeing 757, Boeing 767. Perfect for our Asian excursian!!

As I said yesterday, we are inching closer and closer to the goal of 900, but we aren't quite there yet. If you have a little time and feel that you can contribute to the Mary Bridge Children's Hospital pillowcase project, here is a link to the simplified instructions,  http://www.rhondabuss.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-simplified-pillowcase-instructions.html You can also read more about the project through the previous posts that I have done,  http://www.rhondabuss.blogspot.com/search/label/Mary%20Bridge It's been quite a journey and it isn't over yet!
Thanks so much!
Rhonda

Sugar Plum Please!

A few months ago, I received an email from Amity of Lolita Patterns. She told me that she and her partner had a pattern that they would be releasing soon and asked if I would test it for them. I always like to try out a new pattern and if I can offer a bit of help, all the better! There were a few glitches in getting the pattern on the market, not with the pattern itself, but with the packaging. They came up with an interesting idea and it took a bit to work out the kinks, but they stuck with it and the pattern is now available, YEA!! Way to go ladies. 

The pattern is called Sugar Plum. It is designed especially for the busy professional woman. The bodice is designed for a woven fabric and the skirt for a knit. This is especially nice when you have to do a lot of sitting during the day.

 Worn with a jacket, it looks like you are wearing a suit, making it a very professional look.

It can be made with or without the front flounce.

First of all, I must apologize for taking pictures of my dress on my dress form rather than on my body. This is the first day this week that I have not had to pull myself together, so I just had to take a no makeup day off. Tomorrow I will be back to reality, so I will take a picture of me in the dress so you can see how it fits someone who does not have a rock hard body like my dress form :).

The pattern makes up into a very pretty dress. What untill you see the shoes I'm going to wear with this dress!! 

I did make some changes to the pattern.
The pattern calls for 5 buttons down the front with 1 at the neckline. I added 7 as I felt that for me it was a nicer look. Mine will have a button at the neckline, I just need to go buy another package.  

The pattern also has the zipper at center back. I did not want the extra line down center back. so I hand picked a zipper into my side seam.

 A lot of the new skirts that are being shown are a little longer and I really like the look, so I decided to add 3" to the length of the skirt. I also tapered it 1 1/2" on either side at the side seams to give the skirt a little more of a fitted look around the knees. Remember, the skirt is a knit, so you can get away with it being a little more fitted and you can still move.

The small ruffle around the neckline was supposed to be only 1 layer and edged stitched. I like the cleaner look of having the seam enclosed.

As you can see, I elected to not add the ruffles down the center front. Just my preference. There was one fitting change that I made to the pattern. I tend to be a bit long-waisted, so I added 1" to the midriff pattern piece. Worked out wonderfully. There's nothing I hate more than a dress that rides up above my waist. Well, there probably is something I hate more, but I do find that terribly uncomfortable. 

The pattern has a very cute sleeve. Looks really so nice on the arm. And for anyone who feels that they want at least a little coverage on their arm, this works out well. 

So all in all, I was very happy with the pattern. I'm looking forward to wearing the dress very soon. If you would like to make one for yourself, here is a link to the Lolita shop page,  http://www.lolitapatterns.com/shop/ While you are there, you might want to pick up their free Fushia skirt pattern. I have not made it, but it looks super cute!
Oh, one last thing, I do plan to make a covered belt to pair with my dress. Not that it needs it, I just like the look of a belt with a high-waisted skirt.

Thanks to the ladies at Lolita Patterns for asking me to test the pattern. It was a great experience!

There's Mystery In The Air

It's a foggy day here in Chicago. I love days like this. It's as if anything can happen, anything can step out of the fog, mystery, intrigue, suspense! So it is very fitting that I post this group of pillowcases this morning. Fortunately, I was able to photograph them just before the rain came in. So, here's the mystery. The package had a return address, but no name. Inside the package were 6 very sweet cases, but again, no name. I have tried to be very diligent about keeping a file of all of the emails I have received. Over the last few days I have searched and searched to try and find who it might possibly be. I did find one, emailed her hoping that the mystery was solved and sadly, they weren't her cases. So the mystery remains. If these cases belong to you, please email me, sewbussted@yahoo.com and let me know as I would love for you to receive the credit that you deserve.

 I love anything aviation related....up, up and away!!!!

 Such a cute little print.

 This case is one solid piece of fabric. I love the embroidery detailed that was used to give a little definition.

So, once again, here they all hang together, 6 little pillowcases that made their way to Chicago from Michigan. The postal stamp was of all places, Novi, Michigan. I am hoping that the mystery will soon be solved. In the meantime, thank you so much. Our total is now 757 and growing!

As I'm sure you know by now, these pillowcases are for the Mary Bridge Children's Hospital pillowcase drive. We are trying to collect 900 pillowcases, a one month's supply. If you would like to participate, email me and let me know. I love hearing from you! Here's a link to the simplified instructions that I did,  http://www.rhondabuss.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-simplified-pillowcase-instructions.html. You are welcome to use your favorite pattern or instructions. You do not have to use mine. And, if you would like to read more about the project, here is a link to all of the posts that have been done to date,  http://www.rhondabuss.blogspot.com/search/label/Mary%20Bridge
Thanks so much!
Rhonda

Sunflowers With a Purple Heart

I'm sure you will remember Joy from last week's Wednesday Showcase. She's the lady with the infectious smile :) Well, she sent in 10 pillowcases for the Mary Bridge Children's Hospital pillowcase drive and like ALL the others, they are so very delightful.

Now that I've had a chance to get to know her just a bit, I know that bright and cheery is exactly her cup of tea! Lovely prints like this tropical piece,

butterflies that are as whimsical as they can be,

and sunflowers with a purple heart. So, so sweet.

That brings our total to 751 pillowcases!!!!! And I know that more are on the way. Actually, there are cases on my living room coffee table waiting to be photographed so there are more right here in my house that aren't a part of this total. Exciting! Thanks so much Joy for your contribution.  

Yes, we are getting closer and closer, but we aren't there yet. So, if you've thought that you might like to contribute to the project, here is a link to the simplified instructions that I did, http://www.rhondabuss.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-simplified-pillowcase-instructions.html If you have a pattern or instructions that you prefer to use, that's fine, I was just trying to make the process a little easier :) If by chance you are just reading about the project for the first time and you would like to learn a little more, here is a link to all of the posts that I have done to date, http://www.rhondabuss.blogspot.com/search/label/Mary%20Bridge
If you would like to contribute to the project, email me and let me know. My email address is sewbussted@yahoo.com.
Thank you, thank you!!
Rhonda

Like Sunshine For The Soul

I am sooo behind with the pillowcase posts. Hopefully I'll be able to get caught up over the next few days. Our numbers keep growing. It's exciting to see the project inching closer and closer to 900. If by chance you are on Facebook, check out the post that Mary Bridge Children's Hospital did on our project. It's fun to see that they are every bit as excited as I am :) Here's a link to their page, https://www.facebook.com/marybridgechildrens?hc_location=timeline

Today I would like to share the cases that were made by Laura H. from Delaware. She calls herself, Blogless in Delaware. I love it! One of my favorite movies is "Sleepless in Seattle." Not that these two things are the same, but I was reminded of the movie nonetheless. Laura's cases are just so bright and lovely.

Something that most don't know about me is my love for children's picture books. When I saw Laura's cases, I was immediately reminded of this wonderful book. It's a delightful story told only through pictures. If you are ever in need of a lovely book for a child, I would highly recommend Flotsam. The story is about a boy who finds a camera on a beach. He has the film developed (talk about a flash from the past!) and then finds out about an incredible world that lives on the floor of the ocean.

Here is a link to the book in case you might be interested. http://www.amazon.com/Flotsam-David-Wiesner/dp/0618194576/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1380037857&sr=1-1&keywords=Flotsam 

Laura's 10 cases brings us to 741 and counting!! Thanks so much Laura for your delightful creations!!!

We have not quite made it to 800 yet, so if you have thought that you would like to contribute to the Mary Bridge Children's Hospital pillowcase drive, there's still time. Just email me and let me know if you would like to participate or you can wait and email me when you are ready to send them. Here's my email address, sewbussted@yahoo.com. And here is a link to the simplified instructions that I did, http://www.rhondabuss.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-simplified-pillowcase-instructions.html.
It's hard to believe that we are so close to the goal of 900 pillowcases. Just amazing!
Thank you.
Rhonda