Can it be the way it was?

 

Well, hello there!! I have returned!

It has been at least a couple of months since my last post. We're finally moved although we are not unpacked. Life is still crazy and hectic right now and for a while I started believing I would never use my sewing machine again. But, even with half of my household still in boxes, my urge to create became a force I could not ignore any longer. I unpacked my sewing machine and supplies and started sewing.

Before my sewing sabbatical I fell in love with Megan Nielsen's patterns. I have always been a huge fan of Megan's blog. I love her aesthetic. She knows her style and she dresses herself beautifully. When I purchased patterns from her newest line, she emailed me to tell me that she used to live in my hometown. I remember Megan used to blog from Virginia (before I had actually discovered her) but I had no idea she had been living in my little town. Of course I don't start sewing her patterns until she's on the other side of the world. Very tragic. I won't lie...I have thought that maybe we could have been beeeest friends. I tease...a little, because seriously...wouldn't you love to be buddies with her?

Anyway, I appreciate that she's a mom and that she factors that into her designs. I've read that she wears her garments for a while before releasing the patterns...tweaking it here and there to work for her in her everyday life. I think that sort of thought that she puts into her designs really shows. All of her garments become staples of my wardrobe because of their style and wearability.

You can imagine my happiness when I peeped her newest pattern line. The Crescent blouse caught my eye immediately. I must confess that ever since I was in the sixth grade and my mother let me wear a black velvet skater dress with shoulder cut outs for a school dance, I have been obsessed with bare shoulders.

(I've had this finished for over a week but my camera was broken. After a quick chat with my fellow sewcialists via twitter, I was convinced to use my iPhone for pics. These aren't the best, and I can't get rid of that annoying black box... but they do the job!)

The fabric is rayon challis from Anna Maria Horner. It is gorgeous and I am in love and I may not ever want to wear another fabric again.

I cut a size small and decided to skip the collar because it seemed too busy against the pattern. The pattern instructions were fabulous. I love how they walk you through French seams. The construction of the blouse was less difficult than I anticipated. It definitely looks more complicated than it is.

I love the fit of this blouse. It is loose and boxy but the bare shoulders and curved hem make it very feminine.

I paired this blouse with my first pair of leggings. Why did it take me so long to make leggings?? They are ONE PATTERN PIECE! It took me about 30 minutes from start to finish and I took a page out of Oona's book for the waist. They are comfortable and I love them and I may not wear any other kind of pants again.

The Details:

Pattern: Crescent Blouse by Megan Nielsen

Fabric: Anna Maria Horner Cypress Rayon Challis from her Field Study line.

Size Made: Small

Alterations Made: Eliminated the collar. Otherwise, none.

I definitely plan on making this pattern again. I can't wait to make one with the peterman collar and I'd also love to try the tunic variation.

 

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Ch-Ch-Changes

  I just want to give you a quick update on life happenings right now. When my husband's father passed away in February it threw our life into a bit of commotion. Grieving, planning, moving....I feel like we've been going non stop either physically or emotionally since that dark day in February. My husband and I reevaluated some things and made some decisions on where we want to be and what we want to be doing right now. In the end, we feel very confident that we made the right decisions. At the moment we are living with my parents, which is cramped and a bit stressful because of it. We've been here since before my FIL's death and had planned on possibly moving out of state by the end of this year but when tragedy hit, we made some difficult choices that will keep us in the area for at least a couple more years. As I type this we are packing/packed up ready to move. We're hoping to be moved in by the middle of next month and so, for the moment, I have returned my mother's dining room table back to her and packed up my beloved sewing machine. As I mentioned, our new home will have enough room for my own sewing room so that is something I look forward to.
 
  I haven't fallen off the Me Made May wagon. I am still keeping my pledge I am just not documenting the efforts. Between moving, boxes and the stress I'm under, I just haven't been up to pictures every day. The challenge has actually made me super productive, I've churned out a fair amount of clothing, especially jersey knit tops. Also, and I plan on making a whole post dedicated to this soon, Megan Nielsen patterns are a HUGE WIN in my book!! Here's a peak at the garments born this month.

 I ask that you stick with me for the next month while I get things sorted out and I promise to be back next month with a bunch of new makes. Even though I won't be blogging much (if at all) for a couple of weeks, I'm still available through other forms of social media... You can follow me on twitter, @FiveEver. As for my Instagram, I've separated myself into two accounts. My personal account, and the one that many of you follow me at, is still Everfive. However, sewing isn't my only passion. I am an avid music lover and follow 2 specific bands intensely, and my feed does have quite a bit of concert pics. I have lot of followers that follow me specifically for my music related posts, and I never thought it would be an issue until I lost a couple of followers recently after I posted pics from a couple of shows I have been to. I completely understand that what I'm interested in isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I really enjoy the interaction with my fellow seamstresses and sewing bloggers and it's important to me that I keep that open. So, for the benefit of those that would prefer to see JUST sewing/blog related things I started another account. My name is SuchaStrange_Girl. If you would like to follow me on both, that is awesome and I would love for you to. If you want to follow only my new one, I completely understand! Futhermore, if you follow Everfive and would like to unfollow me and only follow SuchaStrange_Girl, that is certainly ok by me! As long as I can keep bouncing ideas off you lovely, talented people, I am a happy woman!

Thanks for reading everyone and I'll see you SOON!