My Spring Ruffle Top

all i need is a milk pail and a goat to complete the outfit
but this german girl would happily settle for a brimming beer stein to celebrate!

I did it! I actually did it!

I've done minimal garment sewing on things like pajama pants and my high school prom dress but this is the first real piece of everyday clothing I have made myself and I am pretty darn happy with it—especially since it's been on my to-do list for a whole year now, I've had the fabric since this past fall, and I've been ridiculously afraid of all that I did not know about garment sewing this whole time. Turns out, I just needed to suck it up and try something simple to start with (smacks palm to forehead).

the pleats and gathering seemed intimidating but i went really slowly, watched a few videos on youtube and BLAMMO! 

pleats and gathers conquered!

I used the Made by Rae spring ruffle top tutorial over on Sew Mama Sew which you may have seen before.  I came across it this time last year as part of the Made by Rae Spring Top Sewalong and I bookmarked it thinking it'd be a great starting point if I ever worked up the guts to try making my own clothes. Maybe next year I will feel confident enough to even enter a top of my own. Or at least another one of these in all white with some delicate hand embroidery across the chest band.

The fabric is voile from AMH's Little Folks line. Sigh, still my all-time favorite even if it two lines ago and perhaps overexposed at this point. I don't really care, I just love it and am finally glad to have something to wear for myself out of it at last!

I skipped the arm divots but kind of wish I hadn't—you live you learn.

The optional shaping at the end really helped it look like I was not going to give birth to a whole litter of little ones at any moment, without it I'm not sure I would have been so happy with it. I am not the uber skinny girl I was growing up and appreciate this pattern because it is at once flattering and comfortable. Plus, you can add a basic cardigan to it so it can transition to colder months or to hide flabby arms (I totally deleted those photos!).

My new year's goals included learning to make ratatouille and to sew something that I could wear in public and not be embarrassed by—check that one off the list I think! My mom got me a copy of Julia Child for my birthday so I think I can get to work on that ratatouille now...

And the Winner is...

 There were 118 comments on the giveaway...sheesh, that's a lot for my little ole blog! I had my husband pick a random number and so the winner is:

Amy Dame

Comment #94:
oh! oh! the pattern shows all my favourite things too! the glasses, the necklace, the camera! the cat! the lamp! the swimsuit that i will one day make for myself!
i would love to win it, thank you so much for the opportunity!

Congratulations Amy—I've got your email so will send the pattern off to you straight away!

I wish I could give everyone a copy but since that's not in the cards, I can at least give you this coupon code to use in my etsy shop in case you want to get one of my patterns for yourself at a discounted rate (I will have a shiny new one to debut next week so stay tuned)! Just enter in "THANKYOU" as you check out for 10% OFF (edit: coupon code expires June 30th and is good towards your entire purchase, one use per customer).

Thank you to each and every one of you who entered the giveaway and left such kind comments! Having you stop by, take part, and perhaps decide to keep following means a lot and I'm so happy to have you join me here!

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day is Here!

Can you feel it? All across Crafty Blogland folks are waking up to a Christmas in late May—the Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway Day! Be sure to check out their blog for a list of complete participants and giveaways as it's a great way to get in on some giveaway action and discover new blogs and the crafty folks behind them all at once. If you're new to my corner of Crafty blogland—welcome, it's a pleasure to have you here!

This is my first time participating as a giveaway-er (err...yes, I think that's the technical term) and I'm going to be giving away a PDF version of my Vintage Shop Embroidery Pattern, as pictured above (details about it here in my shop) Since this pattern is in PDF format, it will be emailed to the winner and is therefore open to everyone, international readers included!

In keeping with the spirit of the SMS giveaway, there are no fancy complicated rules to enter: all you have to do is leave a comment on this post.

You don't have to be a follower or anything (of course, if you do want to keep reading my blog and follow along, that's totally allowed and I must admit I'd be flattered). Just one entry person and please be sure to leave your email address in your comment or link to your blog so that I can get ahold of you if you win. The only other bit I should mention is that if I don't hear back from the winner within three days, I will pass the prize on to the runner up. Kapeesh? OK fabulous, I knew you'd understand. That's it, that's all! The giveaway will remain open until Wednesday, May 25th (6:00pm EST) so have at it and have fun! GIVEAWAY CLOSED

P.S. Speaking of Sew, Mama, Sew—I made my first shirt/top/blouse/thing that I will not be embarrassed to wear in public (the terms of my New Year's goal) over the weekend using the Made by Rae pattern at SMS and will be sharing the results here after the giveaway. You'll tell me if you think it looks anything like a success or not so much, ya?