Here’s a little outfit ditty I wore on a lovely Sunday a few weeks ago. I love a good knit skirt, and bonus for pencil skirts too! I have also decided that a beaded necklace, made by you, or bought at Winners, is an excellent accessory! Thanks to lil sis Shauna for buying me these killer coral cut out shoes!! LOVE THEM! and also, thanks for the pics Shauna!!

Pieces:
Top: Gap
Cardi:BEDO
Skirt: Jockey Person to Person
Shoes: Gomax
Necklace:Via Winners:
Earrings: Stella and Dot

Wow, I haven’t posted in weeks. I have had loads going on!

I spent all of March designing and making jewellery, it was intensely creative, and very enlightening! I was taking an extended studies course at acad to learn more about making jewellery with metal rather than just beads, and because I have decided to make a new etsy shop I also started a new jewellery blog to explain some of the more artistically inspired pieces!

I am as always inspired by everything from leaves to colors, and I love the idea of wearing art, and wearing meaning. That being said, there are still some pieces that bring more heart and soul and memory into them than others, so, check those updates out on alteredsonnet.wordpress.com . The name makes sense when you see the key pieces that inspired this spring/summer collection. I have been a bit delayed in posting everything on etsy, but starting today I will be adding more and more!

I have also been spending whatever other time I had converting my website a bit! Now it is a wordpress hosted blog, and you can like, comment and follow and everything much easier than before! It has a tiny bit of a different look too, and I may even be adding some blog updates!

Also, my brother and sister and their kids are staying where I live for a few months so, I have been having a blast trying to be the best Aunt ever to my little niece and nephew.

And -in case the rest of this post didn’t explain how busy life has been- me and my friend Liz booked a fairly last minute vacay to Cuba and we leave in just over a week!!!! aahhh!! I am so excited. I have made a few color coordinating pieces to go with me. (that’s right, every time I go on a trip I have to make something to come with me!)

After I get back I will do a Cuba post so you can see the dress/cover-up, bandeau dress, bathing suit, and travel sweater I made (I always get SO cold on planes!) And I may even have a DIY on some flip flops I am glamming up to bring too!

So stay tuned!

Pieces:
Jacket:Dollhouse
Top:Folia
Necklace: Thrifted
Shoes:Roberto Vianni
Pants:Hybrid & Company

One of my besties Lindsay and I went to see our galpal Heather play the lead in a community play of “The Sound of Music”. The play was very well done with some very cute children Von Trapp, and might I say some extremely well sewn costumes on some of the characters.

Other highlights besides the fabulous music included someone running from their seat and puking on the floor behind the seats. Yeah, I would have been humiliated too, but it was absolutely hilarious. That being said, I hope they feel better now.

I work from home, and so even though I love clothes, I don’t always have an excuse to dress up and go out, so it was a delightful evening to choose a super fun outfit!

After a lovely play well done, and some quick pics on the scene -thanks friend!!- Lindsay, Heather, and I went to Boston Pizza to eat all sorts of fabulous carbs!

Jockey has a fairly contemporary line of clothes this spring, and the concept of selling clothes in someone’s home is really interesting, and fun to get ladies together for in-home shopping.

Not to mention that for the curvy ladies out there Jockey comes in what I like to call “curvy-sexy-sizes”.
I can definitely put you in touch with Miko if you are interested in ordering anything, or if you would like to host an in home clothing event!

Jockey is very well made, and great for travel. The black skirt in some of the pictures comes in a neutral color as well as black, with a separate tie, and can even turn into a top! The chiffon tops I absolutely fell in love with and I definitely ordered the green dot one. The maxi dresses and scarves are fun, comfortable and vacation or spring/summer ready and perfect to be accessorized! And yes, just like Miko said a while back, the jeans are insanely comfortable.

I really don’t feel you can go wrong with knitwear skirts, because they are great on the body and with several types of textiles you can wear on top. I definitely recommend!
Here are some pictures of what I got to try on!

It has been a super busy month, and I am the solo type this year, and loving it!

I love so many of the fashion details in this collage. I absolutely love dip dye, and ombre looks. Lace overlays, and scalloped edges are adorable and totally romantic.

I am a hopeless romantic, and I definitely dress like one. Pink is the color of the ultimate girl, casual, flirty, or for a night out, pink is a smash!

I am going to be treating myself to a heart shaped dinner and a movie in, and it will be so much fun!
Happy Valentine’s day everyone!

Xoxo
Sheryl

Pieces:
Pastel Blue/Green Dress: Notsoseemless
Shoes: Shoedazzle
Bracelets: Pandora/Chamilia Bangle

Being a seamstress I don’t just love buying clothes and wearing clothes, I love buying fabric and having the ability to find a way to put it all together. It can be difficult to tailor clothes for myself – especially out of crisp fabrics that require a lot of fitting – although, making stuff for myself out of a knit, is usually extremely successful!

I had been hanging on to this lovely lightweight pastel knit for a few sun cycles now, and when I saw those absolutely delightful bejewelled shoes on shoedazzle.com I not only had to own them, but it was time to finally make that dress I had in mind! The actual dress I was thinking of was a pattern I had picked up (drafting really takes quite a while sometimes), but the pattern became much too simple for me style-wise. I wanted to add some current details, so I added some length to the hem in the back, and made a cascade at the neck, and used a lovely serge-stitch finish to allow the fabric to kind of keep its voice. This dress flows and sways when I walk and I feel absolutely dainty in it!!

I may end up putting this on my etsy shop in various knit colors, because I did end up designing it myself, and I want to pass the dainty on! I will keep you posted.

Furthermore, I would like to add that pastels are totally in right now, and crazy adorable. There is something so subtle and understated about a pastel, but they have this pristine feel to them that is like not other.

Basically I put my love for an excess of girly dresses together on a date with my love of awesome colors and shoes, and they all got along famously!

Take care everyone!

*Sheryl

P.S. I would definitely take custom orders if you want a lovely, dainty, sway-when-you-walk-so-you-feel-like-queen dress like this one!!

Happy February everyone!

I have no idea what happened to January…I think I slept it away. I am doing some cool things this year! I am taking an extended studies Jewellery class at ACAD once a week, and I am trying to be really awesome about sticking to a budget…and I am trying to slowly cut back on diet pop…

I am also going to have a new DIY section on this blog that I hope to update every few weeks!

Here is my first DIY entry, and I hope it is remotely useful for everyone.

A couple of years ago I bought this grey top on sale at Dynamite. I also bought the same style top in a cute subtle plaid. The funny thing was that I absolutely loved the grey one, and I bought the plaid one as an extra, just because…

good and wrinkly!

It turns out, that because the plaid top and this grey one were made from 2 different fabric types, they fit differently. I ended up wearing the plaid one ALL the time, and loving it, and never wearing this lovely grey one because it did a few things that made me raise an eyebrow. I liked the shirt, and everything should be fine with it, but something wasn’t right.

These are the times I am so happy that I took fashion design and learned a few construction principles to help myself and my clients out! There is almost always a way to save that thing you love and make it work!

I am not a big girl, but I am definitely not a small one, and I am ok with that (well, I am working on being ok with it…) That being said I have several life factors – including how much I love food – that cause my weight to fluctuate. One of the reasons this top hung out in my closet so long was that it was tight around the hips. I kept saying “when I lose that whatever pounds it will be fine.” But, let’s live in the now for a beat why don’t we? I decided it was time for a fix so I could wear it, at whatever size I am now.

Here are the before pics and why I couldn’t be comfortable wearing this top.

See the lines across the midriff?

The bust is also rather unflattering, like a uniboob. not hot.

The bust was not working for me, the hem of the shirt was tight on my hips causing the shirt to ride up and create undesirable lines and bulges. So here is the thing I do when this happens!

***Note: Press or steam your top before starting, to ensure accuracy!

Let’s deal with the bust first:

Use your stitch ripper to carefully unpick the desired amount, I went about 2″

I personally for this top decided that due to construction of the bust it would be best to simply hand sew the top closed by doing a ladder stitch in one place about 5 times. (i demonstrated with red so you could see, but I used a matching thread FYI

First you must take a stitch ripper, and carefully open the hem at the side seam, approx 3″ on each side of the side seam.

I found the point where the top started to get tight, and began unpicking just above that point on each side seam.

I put the short back on after unpicking to make sure the seam would be at a good place.

Now it is time to sew it tidy!

Make sure you reinforce the seam that you have unpicked by sewing over the seam approx 1″. you will also want to make sure you measure the length of the opening to ensure it is the same on each side seam!

After you measure and ensure the distance is equal on each side seam press the seam open (the amount will depend on your top and it’s construction) for this top it was 1/4″ turn.

Then fold over the width again, and press (turn and turn)

Next, stitch at a good top stitch length you prefer (I like to use 3.5-4 on my machine) and sew down each side of the opening of your side seam (each side of the slit). I like to sew this at about 5-6 mm or below a quarter inch.

After you have sewn the sides of your slits, you can turn and turn the hem back up and press it just like you did with the sides of the slits.

Give it one more after-sewing press to smooth it out and look!

Notice how the bust looks much improved! And not so many bumps and lines on the midriff!

It even looks more comfortable

Finished seam up close

Now I actually like this shirt, and it won’t spend another two years waiting in my closet for a day out!

***FYI: if you aren’t so much for a DIY project, this alteration would cost just $7.50, so bring it over!

Pieces:
Denim short-jacket:Outer Cage
Tiered top: Guilty
Pants:Jessica Simpson
Boots: Radar
Necklaces: Stella & Dot

I cannot believe how fast 2012 went by. It was a full and great year, but there was plenty of stuff I had to deal with that I am glad is over and won’t be part of my life this year.

Also, I took a chance on a bit of a hair change, and I absolutely love it! Sometimes you just have to decide that if it doesn’t work out, there are lots of cute headbands to distract the eye until it grows out. Sometimes though, that change is just what you needed and it isn’t so scary when you look and feel awesome!

A while back I accidentally found myself in a Winners fitting room with 3 pairs of pants -I swear I black out until I am at the register handing over my credit card sometimes- I tried these pants on, and to be honest thought they might be a little wild for me, but they were a good fit, and also a great price, and so I also took a chance on them!

That chance was totally for the win (FTW! yesssss), because those cheetah pants, are seriously the most comfortable pants I have owned in forever, and they totally worked with me through all of my holiday eating. (Let’s not pretend like I don’t over indulge at times.)

I loved adding the fun tiered top, and the denim jacket, it was such a trendy and comfortable outfit!
Also, I feel no one can have too many tall boots, they work with so many outfits!

So that was 2 for 2 of me taking chances! I think this year will be a great one if I take some more!

Pieces:
Top: Wise and Proper www.wiseandproper.com
Pants: Royalty by YMI (Via Winners FYI)
Necklaces: Stella & Dot
Ring: Stella & Dot

I had a totally different post Prepped for this week featuring some of the most-comfy-ever pants, but you will just have to wait because after looking through the photos on my camera, I decided I rather enjoyed the postcard feel of some other pictures. I often feel you must do what inspires you, even if it doesn’t follow the original plan, and also these pictures felt way more Christmas-ish to me!

My little niece Mia turned two this week, bless her adorable heart! Not only did she just turn two, but she *just* got baby brother a few days before that! It is indeed a Happy Holiday

My brother and my sister-in-law Lucia had a little party for her at their house, and I snapped a few pictures.

There is something to be said for the simple outfit. Sometimes it isn’t always necessary to style yourself up like a magazine shoot. a few cute accessories, and something comfy and cozy to wear is often just right, and perfectly lovely.

I loved this t-shirt sweater from wise and proper (out of Vancouver!) The adorable satin bow stole my heart, and it’s an easy top to pair with any color of jean, and any boot. I love pieces you can dress up and down!

I will likely not post next week because I will be as busy as you all should be enjoying holiday time in whatever suits your fancy best.

Have some hot chocolate for me!

Until the New year
xoxo
Sheryl