05 October 2016

A New Obsession: Children's Clothes

I gifted a onesie to my friend for her new baby.....I was hooked.



I have so many scraps left over from all my makes that I don't have the heart to throw out. Now they have a purpose. :)


The clothes are so small. and so quick. and use so little fabric. They are wonderful.





I've gifted everybody I know with a child with a sewn garment of some type.






I won't stop any time soon. It's just too cute!






Then I knit a onesie....and I've started another. Again - super quick to knit and adorable to look at! But these I'll save in a box for when I have children some day.....knitting takes more effort and time than sewing so it's more precious to me. :)


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01 September 2016

Blue Porcelain - Sewaholic Cambie

Oh it's been awhile hasn't it? I can't help it...I'm an instant gratification via Instagram type. The whole...create a whole blog post thing with photos....well...it's daunting.

So you only get iPhone photos of my lovely dress. Busting out the ol canon SLR just wasn't on the agenda this week....and it doesn't look like it'll be on the forecast next week either..

But I have a plethora of new makes to share with you.

Pattern: Sewaholic Cambie
Fabric: Blue Porcelain Cotton Sateen
Size: 10
Adjustments: took a huge wedge out of the sweetheart and twisted that into the bust dart to help with gapping. Shortened the front sleeves - need to do more. Added 4" to the skirt front to make Knife Pleats in the front, and turned the darts into pleats at the back skirt.









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31 May 2016

Me Made May 16: Day 29-31 + REVIEW

Wowza! An entire month wearing me-mades completed and not one single repeat - AND I have more options in my closet that I didn't even wear! It really is wonderful to realize that all my clothes are handmade and I've gotten to the point where they all fit properly and I get great comfort and joy out of wearing them!

Day 29

Day 30

Day 31




PHOTO COLLAGE RECAP - YAYYYYY





STATISTICS







 






WHAT FUN!
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30 May 2016

Me Made May 16: Day 22-28

Last week to party....erm...I mean of Me Made May....nah - who am I kidding - Wearing Me Mades every day and taking instagram photos of it is my kind of party! Don't judge! Party it up Sewing Friends!

Although I challenged myself to also make 2 new hand mades this month...It COULD count that I made two dresses for my Nieces....BUT to be fair I tried to make 3 items this month and they all turned out to be hard fails.....Super sad face.....All are my own fault. I made a New Look pattern out of a nice silk I own and didn't read the Ease section printed on the pattern pieces....So I ended up with a dress with 6" of extra ease....aka a Gigantic baggy sac of a dress. I'll have to determine how best to salvage the dress as the silk is amazing.

Next I created a new Kielo Wrap dress by named Patterns....out of Green Stretch Velvet....and it fits....But the thickness of the green velvet is NOT flattering....So I'm thinking of replacing the velvet ties with some matching silk for the sashes to help reduce bulk.....But has anybody else ever tried to match Greens? What a nightmare....as if finding matching thread isn't bad enough....actual matching fabric is so much worse....

Lastly - I WAS stuck on the new Hannah Dress by Victory patterns as I sewed my placket on backwards and made it half way through before realizing it was really difficult to read instructions backwards in a sense...flipping all lefts and rights...>So that is put on the back brain burner for me to stew over for a bit (otherwise it's going great)....BUT I FINISHED IT ON FRIDAY!!!

Welp! On to this weeks Me-Mades!:

Day 22


Day 23


Day 24
A photo posted by Chrystal McKay (@chrystalclear_) on


Day 25
A photo posted by Chrystal McKay (@chrystalclear_) on


Day 26


Day 27


Day 28
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24 May 2016

Me Made May 16: Day 15-21

Phew! Three weeks in and things are going great!

The most difficult aspect of all of this is not getting to wear my favourite items on a weekly basis. Makes me realize I should probably sew a few more Grainline Studio Alder shirtdresses and buy more soft cottons (Chambrays) to sew them up in. Two of my favourites are made of Chambray fabric and the third is a soft embroidered cotton....hmmm I don't know why I didn't realize this sooner...

I'm also realizing I have a lot of hand made items....It never truly pinged in my brain that I have well over 50 Hand made dresses....That is very exciting! And even more exciting when I wear something I haven't put on in awhile and feeling like it's new again! Excellent!

And since Monday was a holiday here in Canada - please excuse my delay in posting :)

Photo time!

Day 15
A photo posted by Chrystal McKay (@chrystalclear_) on

Day 16

Day 17

Day 18
A photo posted by Chrystal McKay (@chrystalclear_) on

Day 19


Day 20


Day 21
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16 May 2016

Me Made May 16: Day 8-14

And another week has come and gone.

I appreciate that my work environment allows me to wear all my me-mades and they are appropriate attire. This makes it easier for me to meet the challenge.

I'm realizing that there are only a few basic staple items (Black cardigans, Tights, and leggings) that I wear that are not me-made. I don't have one single item of non me-made on any of my hooks or in my main drawers. Any RTW items I own are in the back of the closet and I'd have to go searching for them.

I'm also trying to wear a different item every day this month to determine fit and comfort of each one. This is the more difficult aspect for me as I play favourites; There are two dresses and one shirt that I absolutely adore and are repeat offenders worn weekly. I've already worn two of those items last week....so I only have one favourite left for the month.

But here we go:

Day 8

Day 9
A photo posted by Chrystal McKay (@chrystalclear_) on

Day 10

Day 11

Day 12

Day 13
A photo posted by Chrystal McKay (@chrystalclear_) on

Day 14
AND ONE LAST ONE FROM THE WEDDING WITH MY HANDSOME BF WHO PATIENTLY TAKES MY PHOTO EVERY DAY AND SUGGESTED THE EXCELLENT BACKGROUND FOR THE LAST PHOTO:
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09 May 2016

Me Made May 16: Day 1-7

And one week is complete. And I realize how much easier it is this year to dress in me-mades.

Not only do I have significantly more me-Mades in my closest to choose from; but they are executed better, more my style, and with higher quality fabrics. 

These three things really do make a significant difference. But that comes with time and practice.

Day 1

Building Ikea #Applaro furniture on the first day of #MMMay16 wearing my favourite handmade item my anchors #v1102

A photo posted by Chrystal McKay (@chrystalclear_) on


Day 2

#MMMay16 Day 2 wearing my cotton sateen #simplicity2444.

A photo posted by Chrystal McKay (@chrystalclear_) on


Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

#MMMay16 Day 5 sporting my #PBJamLeggings by #FehrTrade made of cupcakes! #isew #handmadewardrobe #memademay2016

A photo posted by Chrystal McKay (@chrystalclear_) on


Day 6

Day 7
And on to week 2.
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28 April 2016

Me-Made-May 2016 - Pledge



Oh I'm in.....

 'I, Chrystal McKay of Seams Like Chrystal, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '16. I endeavour to wear 1 piece handmade each day for the duration of May 2016' and challenge myself to complete 2 new items during the month.

Nothing extravagant...I just love to participate and enjoyed it so much last year. And again, I shall be taking my MMM16 to instagram daily and summarizing here with weekly round ups on May 7, 14, 21, 28 with a final round up and thoughts on June 1.

I haven't been sewing as much lately....We bought our first house at the beginning of March and moved in at the end of the month. Extremely quick sale, pack, and move. But when you know, you know, and this is our dream home. With a new home comes a new sewing territory and fortunately for me the entire 3rd floor of my house is now my own personal dedicated sewing space. I'm still working on the layout and determining the best flow for me but I'm getting there. Slowly.


A photo posted by Chrystal McKay (@chrystalclear_) on



Here's the space on my first day after moving all my sewing/knitting related stuff (and there is A LOT of it) into the room:


A photo posted by Chrystal McKay (@chrystalclear_) on


And are the two new pieces I've added as inspirational art:

A photo posted by Chrystal McKay (@chrystalclear_) on
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05 January 2016

2015: The last 6 months

So I'm a bad blogger. My bad. It isn't for lack of content or time or even interest in it.....it's photos. I'm truly not a photo op type. In summer I'm more inclined; that temperature; that tan! But bleak winter? These sweats aren't my most endearing look. 

But alas, a new year, I feel I should summarize my last and start anew for 2016.

So I present to you in the form of Instagram photos only....the last 6 months of my crafting life:

Pattern: Flora - By Hand London
Fabric: Italian Cotton Viscose

Pattern: Simplicity 1104
Fabric: Ponte Knit

 Pattern: Ginny Cardigan - Harry Potter Knits
Yarn: Classic Elite - Woodland

Pattern: V8728
Fabric: Cotton Voile by Gertie 

Pattern: M6696
Fabric: Chambray 

Pattern: V1102
Fabric: Cotton Sateen

Pattern: PB Jam Leggings by Fehr Trade
Fabric: Spandex

Pattern: Hetty Cardigan by Andi Satterlund
Yarn: malabrigo worsted 

Pattern: Kielo Wrap by Named Patterns
Fabric: Terry Cloth

Pattern: Anna - By Hand London
Fabric: Alexander Henry Cotton

Pattern: Owligan by Kate Davies
Yarn: Diamond Yarns Galway Worsted

Pattern: Henriette by Andi Satterlund
Yarn: Knitpicks Bulky Andes


Pattern: Self Drafted circle poncho
Fabric: Wool coating

Pattern: Purl Soho Herringbone Scarf
Yarn: Illimani Llama II


I've made a few more items with no photo evidence....so it's like they didn't happen right? Sad face. 

2016 will be more successful? 




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