Life Lately: Lane Raglans Galore

Life lately has been busy, but it's been a good busy. While I don't have a lot to currently update (big plans coming in the future, but I always say that! I really do mean it. Really.) I do have proof that I've been doing some sewing. Specifically, I've been sewing a lot of Lane Raglans:

Lane Raglan v1: All That Glitters is Gold

Lane Raglan v2: Sweater Weather

Lane Raglan v3: Another Floral Lane

Excuse all my different photo locations. I'm trying to find "my spot" like so many sewing bloggers out there have. It's hard! ANYWAY. This pattern is the bomb dot com. It's an easy sew with a serger (or even a regular machine!), and I made TWO in one afternoon. That's including cutting out my fabric! The best part? No hemming required! You just have your collar piece, wristbands and waistband. Of course if you wanted the look of a true raglan tee you could opt to hem the sleeves/bottom, but I wanted some comfy sweatshirts.

I wanted these to fit more like sweatshirts rather than your standard fitted tee, so I upped the size a bit. You can see in my All That Glitters is Gold version that the one armpit looks a little big, but other than that it fits great. Perfect for summer nights, beach evenings and bonfires!

There are at least one or two more Lane Raglans in my future, but I'll probably size down depending on the fabric. I highly recommend this pattern whether you have worked with knits before or just want to get your feet wet! Have you made a Lane Raglan yet? Do you love it?!

Until next time,

Meet Brinkley!

As if I've been MIA enough since February (eek!) I have good reason...at least for the last week or so.

Meet Brinkley:

Yes, he's real! The newest member of our fam doesn't look like an actual dog and has been called a Boyd's Bear, but he is as real and puppylike as they come. I am SO excited to finally have a dog. It's definitely been a whirlwind, and he is a handful. BUT he's ours and I love him so.

Despite having a crazy past couple of months I have had some time to sew, pattern test and more. I hope to have more details soon. In the meantime I'll be working on the blog's design, tags and editing what I have to work with.

Happy May!

Turning 25: Looking Back and Moving Forward

TODAY I turned 25. I went from being 24 to 25 at 5:30 a.m. (I think) My mom always tells me the story of the day I was born (not the gore guys--ew). She said she told my dad at around midnight that it was time to go to the hospital, and he said they had plenty of time and went back to bed! Four hours later they welcomed me into the world. Weird.

Unlike a lot of people I know (or at least read about on the internet) I am pretty excited for the occasion. Twenty-five isn't a quarter-life crisis for me. Instead it's cheers to another year of life, which has been pretty great lately--even if I've been MIA on here.

I wanted to look back because a year ago I made a 25 before 25 list. Let's recap and see what I did/didn't do.

1. Travel to the Pacific Coast
Check! Josh and I traveled to Newport Beach, CA in June. It was fantastic to dip my toes in the Pacific ocean and experience the West Coast!

2. See Ben Folds live
I didn't get to do that when I was 24, but I do get to see him live at 25. He's coming to play with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in June, and Josh and I are going as our anniversary present to each other. So. Excited.

3. Find my style
I think I will always be trying to find this. I'm not there yet, but I am definitely on my way.

4. Make a dress I love
Floral Laurel = check! And many more to come.

5. Adopt a dog/puppy
Still working on this. I would loooooove to adopt a dog that doesn't shed (Josh is allergic).

6. Celebrate Hubby's 25th in a big way
I surprised him with friends and family at a Pirates game. Check and win!

7. Reorganize everything
Well, we did just move, so I am in the process of organizing everything. I think that counts.

8. Write more
Another goal to work on in 2014!

9. Create my own tutorial(s)
Still working on this, too. Hopefully 2014 will bring some good ideas!

10. Visit Laura in NYC
Still need to head to the Big Apple.

11. Go to Mood in NYC
See #10.

12. Start and keep an inspiration journal
I've been keeping a notebook for ideas in my purse, and it's been really great to have!

13. Explore Pittsburgh
I can get to Squirrel Hill without using a GPS. Definitely working on this!

14. Blog every day
HA. Jokes. Too much.

15. Volunteer
I've been doing things here and there in our community, and I plan to continue that in 2014.

16. Learn my camera/Take more pictures
This will definitely be something high on my priority list in 2014. I did okay with this, but haven't been taking as many pictures as I've wanted!

17. Design a line of cards
I've made a lot of cards, but no design line yet.

18. Start a monthly boardgame night
We do play a lot of board games (see future pics of our living room builtin), but no monthly night yet.

19. Go on more dates
We went on a ton of dates in 2013. Excited for 2014!

20. Create monthly meal plans/budgets
Failed miserably at this. It's definitely something I hope to get better at--it's so difficult for me.

21. Read at least 10 new books
Failed at this too. Definitely want to read at least one book a month starting this month.

22. Send birthday cards this year
I did okay at this. I didn't get a card out to every single one of my friends, but I did do my best.

23. Make (sew) something completely different/out of my comfort zone!
I started an Archer button up (totally out of my norm), but its a WIP. Pants are definitely on my sewing goals list this year!

24. Run a 5k
Check! I ran my first 5k (non stop--no walking) in August and hope to run another this year.

25. Lose 25 lbs.
This didn't happen either, but my health is definitely a focus for me this year.

It's great to be able to look back and know that I did a lot in 2013. Now I'm looking forward to a new year with lots of exciting things in store. I mentioned that I've been reorganizing after a move, and that's because we bought a house! That means in addition to my usual sewing/life posts you'll be seeing a lot more DIY home action around here. Sewing/hobby room transformation anyone?

The process for moving in and organizing is definitely take a lot longer than I expected, but it is so wonderful to be able to come home to something that is [our] own. I can't wait to share more!

The best is yet to come...

I promise!

So I've been MIA for three months now. Life has just been so crazy lately, and I'm sure you can relate in one way or another. Between July and now I've traveled to Guatemala (such an eye-opening experience), ran my first (and probably not my last) 5K,  started MBA classes again (just finished one, and the hubby and I start TWO more next week) and just enjoyed a lot of time with family and friends.

Now I am on to cleaning my craft space (the second bedroom in our apartment looks like a tornado whipped through it) and planning more projects. I am hoping to finish another Laurel and a couple of Scout Woven Tees (I just purchased the pattern yesterday) within the next month and a half. If it is anything I say I need more of, it's dresses and tops!

I'll be back soon. Until then, here are a few pictures from my trip to tide you over until next time:

Our view from the center we stayed at.

We visited a local village, and the views were just breathtaking.

I had the opportunity to share one of my favorite loves (CRAFTING!) with the kids in Patzun.

Life Lately: Checking In

It's been awhile.

I haven't posted in over a month.

So much for blogging everyday, right?

The past month and a half or so has been hard. To be honest, my heart just wasn't in keeping up with everything--and I mean everything. I've been in a bit of a funk to say the least, and I'm hoping to get back to normal soon. While I haven't gotten around to completing the Pencil Skirt Challenge, or anything really, I did have a lot of exciting life events take place.

 Remember my 25 before 25 list? Well, I have officially crossed off three things on the list!

First, I made a dress I love, which I blogged about here.

Then I celebrated my hubby's birthday in a big way. I surprised him with all of his friends/family at the Pirates game that took place on his birthday. Before the game I took him to Primanti's, his favorite comic book store and a few other places to try and distract him. It was a lot of fun and I'm glad I got to share his 25th birthday with him.

Surprise!

And I finally got to see the Pacific Coast! I was traveling out to California for a conference, and luckily the hubs got to go with me. It was such a nice trip, and I really, really enjoyed being on the West Coast. Even though traffic was pretty awful!

I am hoping to continue to blog more often than not. I unfortunately have nothing to post about regarding the Pencil Skirt Challenge. In the midst of the last month's craziness I just haven't had the time, fabric or energy to devote to completing the challenge. However, I might be posting a fun tutorial soon.

Next week will be pretty quiet around here though because I'm traveling to GUATEMALA! I have the honor of helping lead a mission trip down there with the university I work at. I'm extremely excited, and I hope to take some great pictures to document my trip.

Hopefully all is well where you are!

Life Lately: Stocking Up

Life lately has been crazy to say the least. Crazy good, though. It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks at work, and then I spent two weekends in a row at my parents' house. Both weekends were full of card making, DIY projects and me stocking up my stashes. Now all I have to do is organize it all! I've stocked up mostly on fabric and my weakness: paper.

This week I will be cleaning up my bedroom and organizing my craft/sewing space with a possible reveal this weekend. Hopefully that all will lead up to me finishing my project for the Black & White Challenge and the Laurel contest. They both end next week.

Life lately in photos:

My weekend DIY: a new tray to add a pop of color to our coffee table. I'm a horrible DIYer though...I didn't take a "before" picture!

My mom and I spent Saturday with a trip to Hollo's Paper Craft in New Brunswick, Ohio. So. Much. Cardstock.

A thank you card I made while at my parents' house.

I'm also stocked up on fabric! Between an online deal AND a trip to Jomar in Philadelphia, Pa., I have no excuse to not work on more sewing projects.

Life Lately: April Edition

So I haven't been awful and posting, but I'm still not doing a good job and keeping an up-to-date blog on my life. It's been harder right now because I haven't been doing much as far as sewing or crafting. I started my Black & White Challenge project, and I'm kind of stuck in a rut. The neck binding is giving me a headache even though I keep telling myself I'm a beginner. I've been busy elsewhere though. Here's some proof:

  

Sorry for the poor photos and weird photo layout. Blogger and I are not friends right now.

On Saturday I made a Peanut Butter Pie for Easter--only 6 points per slice! I got the recipe over at Skinnytaste, one of my favorite WW blogs. It was definitely less stressful to know what I was eating for dessert and how many points it was (event though I've had a bad food week). I also went for a run on Saturday because it was FINALLY sunny outside! I don't know if it's been doom and gloom where you are, but it has been so drab here.

I've been getting into some extra reading for work as you can see. I totally recommend buying at least one book that is in your field to help you personal/professional growth outside of your job. Or, just a book about something that really interests you! 

My Laurel pattern came in the mail last week and I am in the process of measuring and cutting out the pattern. I bought some fabric online (which I hope to show you tomorrow--it should finally be here) to build my stash, and there is a pretty little number I am planning to use for my first Laurel. But BEFORE that I'm actually going to make a muslin! I have some old bedsheets that will work just fine to make sure I have everything just right before I slice into my final fabric. We'll see how that goes!

I'll be traveling for work next week so I am hoping to get a lot done before then. Hopefully I'll have something to show for my non-blogging habits soon. Maybe I'll even show you guys my terrible top that I am trying (too) hard to perfect.