Twinkle Toes and Company

The Holiday Season is upon us!  I have to admit that it's my favorite "season". I really enjoy giving gifts, thinking of others and just enjoying time with my family. Not to mention some of my all time favorite Christmas movies and Ugly Christmas Sweaters/Shirts. When I was growing up, they were just something everyone wore. I remember my mom having so many of them, sweaters, vests; you name it and I'm pretty sure she had an Ugly Christmas version for the Holiday Season.  Back then they weren't called 'Ugly Christmas Sweaters' like they are now. There weren't parties held in their honor, or prizes handed out for the ugliest version like there is today. It's probably a good thing because my mom would have won hands down. She really did have an extensive collection. This year one of the Freebies from Patterns for Pirates  is Ugly Christmas Sweater patterns!  I have to admit I was a tiny bit excited...okay, A LOT excited!  A Sno...

{Please note that some of these links are affiliate links.  If you purchase something I have recommended, sewn etc. through those links I will receive a small percentage of compensation.  It costs you nothing, but helps support my sewing "therapy" and the ability to review and test more patterns.} "A little bit of Monica in my life A little bit of Erica by my side A little bit of Rita is all I need A little bit of Tina is what I see" Man, that brings back memories! All the way back to 1995. But I sure didn't have amazing skirts like these in 1995. In fact, if anyone from back then saw me now they probably wouldn't believe I'm the same person. While I would have loved to be in fashion, it was a tad hard to find. Fast forward to 2019 and Monica, Erica, Rita and Tina are back....better than ever! This time though, they're in back in skirt form and 5 out of 4 Patterns  has done a fantastic job with these skirts!  I had the opport...

Oh Patsy, I'm all dressed up and ready for...ANYTHING! I didn't realize just how beautiful I'd feel when I put Patsy on for pictures.  I had her on so many times working on fitting, somehow magic happened when I put on the final product.   I had purchased this fabric in November when I was supposed to be doing a test that ended up cancelled.  (different designer).  So, when the opportunity to make the Patsy arose; I wasn't about to miss my opportunity to make her.                                                                                                     Typically the upper half of my body falls within the 4x range of Rebecca Page patterns.  This time though, I found th...

{Please note that some of these links are affiliate links.  If you purchase something I have recommended, sewn etc. through those links I will receive a small percentage of compensation.  It costs you nothing, but helps support my sewing "therapy" and the ability to review and test more patterns.} I'm on a roll lately; I've been modeling things I wouldn't typically model. Leggings, Swimsuits, dress with amazing ties in the back?! That's right, a dress with ties in the back.  Now, I wouldn't normally wear a dress that ties in the back or is as tight fitting as the Laura Swim Suit, Tankini and Dress from 5 out of 4. In reality though, the dress itself isn't that tight fitting.  The top is basically a built in bra! Yes, you read that right...a built in bra! Let's face it, when the back looks like this:  You need a built in bra.  I made an F cup FBA...don't panic, the Laura has an FBA already done for you in the pat...

Spectrum of Shapes? Wait....WHAT?  People are shaped differently?  Who knew... Okay so all joking aside, we all come in different shapes and sizes and in reality that shouldn't be shocking (I sincerely hope anyway).   A couple of us were discussing making the same pattern with our typical adjustments, blogging about it and sharing.  And thus Spectrum of Shapes was born.   I've coincided today with the last day of April and made sure my Adrienne by DIBY is FULL of Color and Stripes!  I'm Breaking all kinds of fashion rules with this one...not to mention the leggings! Anyway, back to my Adrienne.  I made a size 24 according to my full bust size and graded to a size 26 at the hips.    I chose a boat neck for my neckline and opted to hem my sleeves...because I ran out of fabric and didn't want to add a different fabric.   The Adrienne is drafted for 5'5" and as I'm 5'11" I added 3" for height....

April is always blooming with color in the Pacific Northwest.   And, I decided to add some flowers to my wardrobe. I've never been too sure about rompers, but after seeing Nikki from Seems like Style   wear them for the month of March, I decided to give one a try. This is the Megan Romper by Made for Mermaids.   My hip measurements fall outside M4M's measurements, but I really like the look of it.  So, I decided to grade it out myself.  To be honest, I don't know that I needed to.  Or really, I fit closer to it then I thought I do.  It's fairly roomy to begin with.  I also graded the top out just a little, but I absolutely shouldn't have.  In fact, I'll be taking the top in just a little.   For my height adjustments I added an inch in the bodice, however I wanted it to hit me higher than my natural waist and fairly close to empire waist.  I tend to like how things look on me when they sit th...

This month has gone by CrAzY fast.  I've had these first items made for almost two weeks, but haven't had the chance to blog about them or share them because our family is going through a fairly significant mental health crisis, so I apologize for not sharing more color this month.  I had fully intended to share so much more than I have, but my family has moved center stage. I have made the Sunshine Dress by Patterns for Pirates before, somehow though I've never made it for myself.  I love maxi dresses as much as I love color, so when my fabric cutting fairy (a.k.a. my husband) cut the skirt the wrong direction I took the chance to add a pop of pink at the bottom.  The color of the dress isn't as bright as I would normally go for.  I was aiming for a spring/Easter look and wasn't disappointed by Raspberry Creek Fabric's Double Brushed Poly.                               ...