Okay... So everyone wanted to know about my top I was wearing in the glasses post on yesterday. Well, here it is!

I was inspired by the Ellery Delores Top:

In order to create a top based on my inspiration, I used a combination of McCall's 7542 and 7543.

I started with the back and front pieces of 7543. I cut the size small and graded out to a medium at the waist.

I added an inch of length to both pieces. I altered the front with a FBA and added a horizontal dart. I started to add a vertical one as well, but I left it as is.

I added seam allowances to the back and front centers. Instead of cutting them on the fold, I wanted them to have seams there, like my inspo top.

For my sleeves, I used pattern piece #4 from 7543 and #9 from 7542. I needed to alter the sleeve from 7542 so that it would be off the shoulder.

Here's what the pattern piece looked like.

All of the pieces went together perfectly. 

And I love that the ruffle is a complete circle with no seam line to distort the beautiful drape.

I finished them with rolled hems.

Unlike my inspo top, I stuck to the pattern detail and used elastic in the neckline. The inspo top has a neckline facing and a center back zipper.

I love how these modifications turned out. This fabulous Mercerized Cotton Poplin from Mood Fabrics.com was perfect. I plan to use this design a few more times!

Glasses shouldn't be boring, right? Right! And you should be able to update them whenever you like, right? Right! I feel the same way. That's why I'm currently collaborating with Ottavo.

My new glasses are Ottavo glasses and they are made from Mazzucchelli acetate, which is produced by a family-owned company known as the makers of the world’s richest and truest-color acetate. They're priced at only $98. They come in three styles:  I have the bold round Ovale. They also come in the soft round Medio; and the Quadro, Ottavo's sumptuous update on the classic rectangular reader. 

Each model is available in 5 colors: black, light grey crystal, ivory white, crimson, and cobalt blue. All lenses are treated with anti-scratch and anti-glare coatings. 

What I love about these is that they're super lightweight. That's always a plus, especially this time of year. When I sweat, I don't have to worry about them sliding off of my nose. And I picked bright, bold white frames. I feel they look so fresh and will blend perfectly with my spring and summer wardrobe.

I absolutely love these glasses. I've been wearing them for a couple of weeks now and I can honestly say that I would love to have these in ever color to add to my collection!

Disclosure: I received these glasses from Ottavo to review. All opinions are my own.

When I moved into my new home, I was struck with the decorating bug. One of the first things I've decided to do is window treatments. I knew I didn't want kitchen curtains, so Roman Shades was the direction that I was going in. But have you seen the prices of custom shade? Yikes! So just like my philosophy about clothes, "Why buy it, when you can make!"... is my current thought process. 

Roman Shades are sophisticated, decorative and provide a high level of privacy. They can be made in  many fabric choices with a variety of embellishments. I chose a basic slatted Roman Shade style for my kitchen in a great black and white print that I found at Joanns. I searched high and low for a tutorial to create mine. Each one was more complicated than the other. And the easy ones weren't REAL Roman Shades. There were cheat versions where fabric was glued or stapled atop mini blinds. And even some where fabric was just tossed over extension rods to give you a Roman Shade look. I wanted the REAL thing!

So I decided to combine all of my research to create what I feel is a surprisingly easy to make step-by-step tutorial that even a beginner can follow. All you need are a few tools and you can easily create and install your beautifully crafted, professional looking shades!

See how I create a beautiful Roman Shade over on the WeAllSew BERNINA Blog!

It's the first day of spring and boy, was I ready! It's almost 80°, sunny and just beautiful outside. For the last couple of weeks right after the move, I came down with the flu. I don't know if it was already baking or if it was because I was super exhausted. But I'm so glad I'm feeling better right now and I'm enjoying my new sewing studio. But let's talk about this dress!

This dress is Vogue 1488, by DKNY. 

Unfortunately, this pattern is discontinued. If you all remember last year, the licensor of the Donna Karan trademarks decided to end pattern licensing with McCall Pattern Company. So when Hancock Fabrics closed their doors last year, I gobbled up every single Donna Karan Collection/DKNY pattern that I didn't already have in my collection that I wanted. And this was one of them. If you want this pattern, I suggest searching Etsy.com or eBay.

This design is from the DKNY Pre-Fall 2013 Collection. 

For my dress, I cut the size 14 and lengthened it by one inch at the waist. My fabric is this delicious designer Bright Rose Crepe from Mood Fabrics.com. It's a poly/acetate crepe with an amazing drape. It's absolutely gorgeous visually and to the touch.

Love the way that turned out.

A favorite detail are the yokes. The front and back yokes have mock tucks. I think this is such a polished look.

And the sleeves are perfect for warm weather.

The sleeves have narrow hems with back-folded cuffs...

and button tabs.

Since I currently live too far to just run to JoAnn's for buttons, I found these in Walmart. And they're super cute. They look like spring!

I'm so happy with the way my first spring piece turned out. It's great motivation to keep sewing and I'm so excited about new clothes!

It was only a year ago that I was posting a sewing studio update. A lot changes in a year! Three weeks ago, we moved into a new home and that meant a new studio. I had a love/hate relationship with the thought. I hate packing and unpacking. But there is no one, not even our professional movers that I would entrust with packing my sewing things. I needed to know where every single bobbin was going to be.

In the last 12 years, I have sewn in so many nooks and crannies of my home. I literally got in wherever I fit in. I started out in a corner of my bedroom. That became an issue quick when Michael was ready for bed and wanted the lights off... but I just had to get in a few more stitches! Plus, that wasn't exactly a situation where I could leave things and spread out. And then I took over the dining room. Again, not ideal. So a few years after that, I decided that since we had a huge family room to simple create a living room/dining room combo and just keep the dining room to myself. That was better for space. But still, it was always near the front door. I still had to keep things in order. 

So as soon as my children started leaving the nest, that's when I finally got to have a true designated sewing area that was all mine. No family traffic flowing through. Just mine! I fell head over heels in love with bedroom converted sewing studio. But I packed so much stuff into that room that I almost immediately grew out of it. We had toyed around with looking to move because we were no longer bound to the area because of the school district. For the first time in over 20 years, we could finally live anywhere that we wanted to! Joy! My new set up is pretty similar to the previous. The differences this time is obviously a lot more space. I'm in the basement and there are no windows. I'll take the space over the windows any day! And I'm back to ecru walls. I'd changed my wall color last year to a very cool pale gray. I may go back to that one of these days. No promises... That move wore me out and I can't even think about moving things around right now.

I added a basic shelf from Home Depot. The rails, s-hooks and basket are from Ikea. And I found the wire baskets on the shelf at the thrift store.

My machines are BERNINA Activa 130, BERNINA 350 PE...

BERNINA 1300 MDC and my Brother embroidery machine.

Having my thread at arm's reach is a must!

I like having patterns that I want to sew for the season nearby.

I replaced my iron a few months ago with the Sapporo SA-SP527 Gravity Feed Iron from Amazon. I also use a Wide Top Ironing Board.

I'm still using my cutting table, it's the Home Hobby Table with Drawers. We removed the casters and put it on risers. I'm pretty tall, so my table needed to be raised from the "average" height. Mine stands at 37" high. 

But now that I have a lot more space, I'll be upgrading this one soon. It's just out of proportion with this large space. I'll be creating something custom for my needs.

I'm not a fan of blank spaces on my wall. I wanted something reflective of my style. I'm completely obsessed with Oliver Gal's fashion prints. And maybe one day I'll splurge. But today, they're completely out of my price range, especially for the amount of space I wanted to cover.  

So I decided to find similar, inspired prints on Etsy that are printable. And I framed them in 11"x17" frames.

I don't know if any of you longtime Vogue Magazine readers remember back in the day, when they would publish these Manolo Blahnik illustrations in the back of the March and September issues. Well, I collected them for years! I framed them and I had them around the top of my closet. But I thought I'd put them out in plain view since I have the wall space.

Since this basement was meant to be a den, there's a fireplace down here. I think it adds a bit of glamour and drama to the room. Am I the only one that hates a naked dress form? Since I haven't had time to sew anything, I decided to dress my girl in something fabulous! This is Vogue 1288 made in gorgeous sequin pailettes. She really dresses up the room.

I have my favorite sewing books out on display. You can check out my sewing library here.

Mirrors are so freaking expensive! I was so lucky to find a great deal on this one from Home Goods!

And the full pattern collection lives here!

I love this cute little shoe! It's a daily reminder: "For we walk by faith, not by sight." - 2 Corinthians 5:7.

And even though I don't have windows, I can always just stick my head around the corner!