It's Official!

Hey group! We are officially in North Carolina… exciting right?! Last Tuesday was our move in date and we've been unpacking and getting settled in ever since. 

Above is the current state of my studio space, which means I won't be up and running for a little while longer. If you look carefully you can spot my Bernina ;) There's an office that connects to our bedroom, so I get an entire room to myself! It's small, but hey it's still a great space.  Hopefully it'll be done sooner rather than later, but we need to exterminate this weekend (the joys of a historical home in the south). I don't want to unpack anything else until we do. 

I'll be sure to document how I end up decorating the space. 

Have a great week!!!

Neon Alder Shirtdress

Dress | Alder Shirtdress // Boots | Macy's sales rack (old) // Backpack | PINK by Victoria Secret

Hey gang! I'm sure you all know how obsessed I am with Grainline Studio (if you don't know, now you know). Jen's patterns never miss their mark… so comfy, so stylish, so simple… pretty much everything I want from my wardrobe. When she announced that she was going to be releasing a shirtdress pattern (lovingly dubbed the Alder Shirtdress) I was ecstatic! The anticipation was too great, I had to buy three different fabrics in preparation for the release. This is Alder number one, made from Michael Miller's Neon Dots in pink from Purl Soho with neon pink bias binding (also from Purl Soho). I had to work quickly to sew this up before we moved and after some technical difficulties, I finally took proper pictures of it. 

There's not much to say about the pattern other than that it is AMAZING! I bought the printed pattern instead of the PDF, so I saved time by not having to cut and tape pages together. I traced off a size 2, but i could of gotten away with tracing off the 0. Since this was the first time I've dealt with bust darts i made a muslin because I knew I'd have to do some alterations. I ended up moving the bust darts up 1 inch and shortened the dress by 1.5 inches (give or take a few). It's a quick make since you don't have to deal with sleeves (yay!!), but you still get the satisfaction of have a finished button up.

Pretty neon bias binding from Purl Soho…I totally should have bought more than I did.

The guts...

If you've been on the fence about buying this pattern or any other from Grainline Studio then get off that fence and go for it! Once we get settled into our new house I'll be whipping up at least 2 more of these (one with sleeves of course). 

p.s. Did I mention that she just released the Linden Sweatshirt?! yeah… you might want to jump on that too haha. Have a great weekend!!!

Anima Pants + Where I've Been

Shirt | Chambray Archer // Pants | Anima Pants // Shoes | Black Vans

Hey team! I know I've been M.I.A. for a few weeks, so before I get into the AMAZING creation that is the Anima Pant which you see above, let us play a wee bit of catch up first.

• Our time was up in Alaska which meant... MOVING TIME!!!! I had a bunch of garments I wanted to get sewn up before I had to be forcefully separated from my beloved sewing machine, so I had to sew like i've never sewn before. which also means i have a few un-blogged garments that will be making their way onto the blog. Thank God the army handles all the moving details because moving is stressful, especially when it's considered an overseas move.
  
• The day before we were scheduled to fly out I had a flair up of an unidentified chronic illness…which meant I was down for the count once we reached our destination.
  
• My husband and I have been taking his younger sister on college tours. Ubber exciting!
  
• Went to an Atlanta Falcons game….ATL won by a landslide. The perfect game to go to for my first NFL game.
• Made a trip to North Carolina (where we will be next) to check out the area and make a decision about where we were going to live.
• Lastly, we've just been taking this time to visit with family and enjoy being back on the east coast.

Now to the main attraction…the Anima Pant by Papercut Patterns. How much do i love the Anima Pant??? Let me count the ways. seriously though these are THE most comfortable pants i have ever worn…plus they are unbelievably quick to sew up. These took me two days from tracing the pattern to sewing, so once you trace off the pattern you can crank out a few pairs in a matter of days!

I traced off the second to smallest size (maybe size xs…can't remember off the top of my head) and they fit great! For this pair I used Tomahawk Stripe in Knit from the Arizona collection by April Rhodes. I added an inch or so to the elastic at the waist and left off the ankle cuffs. Other than that, no additional alterations were needed.  

Check out those matching side seams!!!! I'm so proud of myself!!

Pants can be quite intimidating when it comes to sewing (at least for me they are). These are a great "first pair of pants" sewing boost if you are in need of one. Comfort + style + great fit + little effort and time = WINNER! 

p.s. hip hip hooray for another handmade outfit!! if you missed the post about my Archer you can find it  Follow me on Instagram (@CallMeChartreuse) for sneak peeks and updates.

p.p.s. FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING is available in my shop from now until October 12th (midnight PDT). Use this link>>> http://society6.com/CallMeChartreuse?promo=WPN6HWB3JNYQ <<< if you want to take advantage of this promotion. ***excludes stretched canvases, framed prints, and rugs*** 

What do you find intimidating when it comes to sewing??