Bloggy Love: 33 Stitches

33 stitches is a sweet little blog, full of color, fabric and lots of little stories. Julia loves her pets, 

owls, and vintage goodies, and sews little pouches, fabric sleeves, bags, mini quilts and such for her 

etsy shops,  simbiosis and petite maison.

You will adore her book cover tutorial and sewing cover tutorial as well.

Fabric embroidery hoops make for such a wonderful impact, don't they?
And isn't that sewing machine cover adorable?

I truly adore her craft room. Such warmth and happiness here.

Mahna Mahna and the Snowths

This is the all consuming project I was in the midst of during our move and during the holidays. It was a pain and a joy all at the same time, kind of like giving birth, without the tearing and diapers. Our family has always been a fan of the Snowths and Mahna Mahna trio, so when the opportunity arose to make them, I decided to take it. I've been asked to do it before, but always turned it down, so I wanted to challenge myself this time.

It was one of those things that I miss dearly, but will never do it again unless I got paid millions of dollars to do it. Actually, maybe not, I learned tricks so a second round would go easier, but the execution and planning in the beginning is quite stressful. Though if I ever did attempt these guys again, I would do puppets, not dolls.

My sister came the last night to help me do some machine sewing for the bodies, since sewing machines terrify the crap out of me, and another friend helped me sew up the arms and legs in the beginning, b/c the thought of hand sewing 6 arms and 6 legs gave me an anxiety attack. So thanks for helping me keep my sanity!!

 

Getting very tired, very very sore, very... covered in fur...

My husband found a sign of life in the small crack of a smile through my hair. He's goofy and sweet.

In any case, I was quite sad to see these dolls go. My husband and I made a quick little video so we could always remember their awesomeness. If only we had more time to play with them before I shipped, but they needed to go asap as they were for a birthday present. I  hope you enjoyed my process, the creation of the Jim Henson sensational Muppets inspired Mahna Mahna and his two Snowths!!

*don't let the song get stuck in your head ;)

"Mahna Mahna, Do doo be-do-do, Mahna Mahna, Do do-do do, Mahna Mahna,
Do doo be-do-do be-do-do be-do-do be-do-do-doodle do do do-doo do!"

Do doo be-do-do,

Bustle Shuffle

Welcome to my heart.


zimka

I Love bustles. I don't know if this comes from my love of all things romantic, victorian, edgy, and just a little bit of {wholesome} burlesque, but I love them.


artlab

Maybe it is because I have always loved dressing up and feeling pretty.


elliott elephant

Could be in part to having no fanny and loving that I could have one.


gaia conceptions

Or maybe the thought of it balancing out my little childbearing gut is comforting. Not at all like situps, and sweating for said excersizes.


sisters rose and ruby

Or maybe because what's her name in The King and I didn't care (or know) that the children thought she was fat due to her gigantor skirt (how they missed her teeny waist is beyond me.)


gaudy couture

I think though, it is the tattered lace, the modest disguise of hiding a figure.


bustle

Feeling demure and a little bit saucy at the same time.


stacy leigh atelier

So, I decided to make a very very VERY watered down bustle skirt for everyday wear (and also b/c I love the skirt and was trying to figure out a way to make it fit). Even though I do not machine sew, I did just a quick little stitching while I had foils (color) in my hair. (yes, I do foil my own hair late at night when the kids are sleeping so as not to frighten the sweet little beasts.)



I found this great tiered gyspy skirt (you all know the one) in a gorgeous nude color. It was about 10 sizes too big, but I couldn't pass it up. So, I took it home, gathered 2 folds in the very back and created a single back panel over the tag and pinned it.





Then, I simply hand stitched the waistband across the panel and about 3 inches down the back on each side of the fold.





Truly, it was so easy it took about 15 minutes. Now, I have a skirt that fits with a hint of a bustle on the back, but not too crazy like. You may not be able to even tell that a bustle exists.



But I can. And I like it.



If you try this project, you can get some matching tulle, snip the back panel at the top and insert pieces of tulle and lace into your slits in a descending fashion, all bustle like to really poof it out. (Just follow the inspirations of the gorgeous bustle pics I showed above!) I am actually considering doing this to my skirt, or maybe trying it on another one. I have no shame to walk into a grocery store with flip-fops, fitted tshirt and maxxed out bustle skirt.

What do you think, do I dare?