State Fair skirt

During the summer I made a lot of fun new skirts. This next skirt I call my State Fair skirt. Mainly because the material is quilted flowers and gingham. If that combination doesn't say State Fair, I don't know what does. 

I used Simplicity pattern 3796, view E for this skirt. 

 I made a few alterations to the skirt. With the type of material I was using, I thought it would be fun to add piping to the pockets and thick bias tape for the hem. I love how it turned out. This skirt is totally comfortable and perfect for summer. And it came together really quickly and the pattern was very easy.

Now all that's left to do is try it out on the giant yellow slide!

The Golden 40's

I have always loved all things vintage. Ever since I was a little girl, I have loved the clothes from previous eras. For a long time I even thought that I was born in the wrong time and I should have been born sometime in the 20's to the 50's. The amazing thing about sewing is that you can totally create clothes that are inspired by past times and still have the modern conveniences of today!

The skirt I am featuring on this post is called my Golden 40's skirt. The pattern is from Easy McCall's M5856. The skirts on the cover of this pattern are hideous. But I liked the overall shape of the skirt and the pleats. So I decided to give it a try and see if I could make a cute skirt out of it. 

 I saw this skirt on the blog Elle Apparel and that gave me the idea to make this pleat skirt pattern with the golden flower material from Heather Bailey's Nicey Jane collection. Plus the finished product reminded me of a skirt right out of the 40's. That's why I am calling it my Golden 40's skirt.

I love this skirt. It was totally easy to make. I finished it in one night and wore it the next day to church when I was speaking in sacrament meeting. The length is a little long for a pleated skirt, but that's ok, I still really like it. And I love that it is really full and billowy! It makes me feel like a lady.

 The Sunday I wore it, I 40'sed out my hair as well. So this is just a shot of my hair up close.

I plan on making this skirt pattern at least 2 more times. But I think the next one I am going to use the shorter version. I can't wait to start on that skirt. It is also an inspiration from Elle Apparel.

Why Sew Late Bloomer?

I actually started this blog so many months ago, and never got around to posting on it. But now I am finally ready to start documenting my journey with sewing or anything I do that is crafty. The reason I started a second blog is, I stopped posting anything about my creations on my family blog. I just felt like nobody really cared enough to read about what I was learning or creating. But I really missed having a place to document what I was working on, or what I learned in the process.

So one day, quite a while ago, I thought that it would be fun to start a blog all about my crafts. And I would talk about why I chose to do it the way I did, or the struggles I had while making it, or where I stole the idea from in the first place. Because, let's be honest, most of the things I make are just copies of what I see with my own little flair added to it. I'm not entirely clever enough to come up with something on my own!

Anyway, I hesitated starting this blog. Why? Because I thought nobody would really care about it. But then I realized, it didn't matter if nobody in the world saw this blog but me. I wanted this for myself. I wanted to document my journey, to see and remember the things I made, and create a history for myself and hopefully something that my kids will someday want to read.

Why Sew Late Bloomer? Well, I didn't even start sewing until I was 28 years old. Yes, I had done the small projects in junior high TLC class. And I helped my mom sew my pioneer skirt for Trek when I was 14. I sewed a skirt with my grandma while I was staying with her one weekend. But that's about it. And that really made my mom and grandma sad, because they both are amazing seamstresses. So to have daughters that didn't care about sewing was hard for my mom.

In fact, when I was 25 I paid off my car. I was so excited to be debt free. My mom then asked me what I was going to do with the extra money. I hadn't thought about it yet and I asked her what she thought I should do. She said that I could save up for a sewing machine. I distinctly remember answering as, "Why would I buy a sewing machine? I have absolutely no desire to start sewing!"

Fast forward 3 years and I was starting to rethink my position on sewing. I have ALWAYS loved all things vintage, and I desperately wanted a cute apron. This was back before aprons were really chic and trendy. So I told my mom I wanted to learn how to sew an apron. She got really excited and we went to JoAnns to find patterns and material. But I remembered being very disappointed with their cotton fabric selection. I also went to Hancock Fabrics and felt even more disappointed. I thought to myself, "Why on earth would anybody want to sew? This material is so ugly, who would want to wear anything made from it?"

Then I made a discovery that changed my life. Quilt shops. Finally a mecca for beautiful cotton fabrics. And I discovered my two favorite fabric designers - Amy Butler and Heather Bailey. Since discovering the fabric in quilt shops, and especially Amy and Heather, I have become a fabric-aholic. Seriously, I am addicted to fabric. I have drawers and drawers of it just waiting to be sewn.

I love sewing, but still feel like such a beginner. I always tell people I was a late bloomer when it came to sewing. And hence the title of my blog. My mom always says she knew once I started sewing, that I would totally take off and run with it. And she was right.