I bought this great Rebecca Minkoff fabric from Mood Fabrics because, well... because it was pretty!  I'm so particular about prints that when I find a printed fabric that I love, I'm almost giddy.  I can usually track down the RTW finished products of a particular designer fabric, but I had no luck with this one.  But I know that Rebecca Minkoff does prints really well and I decided that this one needed to be pants.

This pattern is Simplicity 1696.  And before I even start, I'm going to tell you right now that these will be made again.  I love this pattern!  It's already been added to my TNT list.

I cut the size 14 in the average cut.  I added 3" to the length. This pattern is drafted with 1" seam allowances for fitting.  I probably could have cut the slim version, but I liked being able to really tailor this for a more personal fit. I eliminated the carriers, so I had to take in the waist a lot.  

For the order of construction, the front pockets are done first...

 and then the fly front...

 and the zipper.

Okay... when I got to step #14, I used the Sandra Betzina Easy Fly-Front Zipper method.  And I added the underlap at step #19.

And this is how they turned out:

And here are the faux welt back pockets:

So, when I saw this pattern (without reading first), I thought those were real welt pockets.  Cool... I haven't done any in a while and I thought it would be great practice.  Well, they weren't real and I was a little disappointed.  *Womp, womp*  

That was the only downside to this pattern.  But I will find another pattern and make a great pair of wool trousers with REAL welt pockets for fall.

Blazer is Simplicity 2446, reviewed here.  This is my TNT blazer pattern until I find one that's more incredible than this one.  And the top is the Vogue 8815.

The short suit is one of the hottest trends this spring.  

It says, "I'm smart, sophisticated, confident and oh so pulled together!" 

My blazer is Simplicity 2446. I love this pattern so much that I made it twice!  Both in bright colors!

My cobalt blue lace shorts are Vogue 8865.

My white peplum top is Vogue 8815.  I think I made 3 versions of this top!

There use to be a time that you couldn't get me to go near bright colors.  I don't know what the fear was about.  But now, I love them and they make me just feel so cheerful!

So, I made another pair of slouchy track pants.  This time, I used sequined fabric.  And I can assure you that I'm officially over this trend.  I had planned to make a third pair in leather.  But two pairs are enough for me.  And plus, I'd feel like I'm wasting perfectly good AND expensive leather hides on something so trendy.  

For this pair, I used this sequined fabric from Mood Fabrics.  I omitted the pockets and used black rib knit for the waistband and cuffs.

"Before I Die" in Birmingham, AL

I was sent this great great necklace from Onecklace.

Mine is the 18", 24K Gold Plated Alegro Name Necklace.

I use to have a necklace like this back in the 80s, when I was in high school.  I've not a clue as to what ever happened to it.  In later years, I fell in love with Carrie Bradshaw's necklace and always said I was going to get another one.  And I've finally had the opportunity through Onecklace to make that happen.  And I think I'll probably be getting my daughters one as a stocking stuffer this year.

Wearing:  Vogue 8815 - long-sleeve peplum top; Vogue 8909 pants; Prabal Gurung x Target sandals; 3.1 Phillip Lim x Target bag; Markus Lupfer initial brooch.

This is my first piece for fall!  I'm pretty much over summer and ready to sew my "transitional wardrobe".  Even though September is quickly approaching, the weather will still be warm for a while and will not allow for real fall pieces.  But I plan to make fall-like clothes that can be layered and worked into fall outfits for the coming months.

This skirt is Vogue 8928, view D.  When I saw this pattern, I was instantly drawn to the chicness of the style.  But after I cut my fabric and started assembling the skirt, something seemed off about it.

This was *supposed* to be a wrap skirt.  In my opinion, there is a flaw in the design.  Now, it may just be me, but I feel that the front of the skirt is not angled right.  If you notice the model on the VP site, even standing -- her "lady parts" are barely covered.  Imagine sitting down!  There's no way this skirt wouldn't just fall open. 

So I started pinning it in place... making it look how I needed it to look.  Because this gorgeous, bright yellow brocade from Mood Fabrics was NOT going to waste.  I had to make it work!  I edgestitched down the opening to where the angles meet.  Which still left a pretty high front opening that I can work with, but a lot better than just allowing it to hang free.

Other than that, this is the length of view D on me.  The illustration lead me to believe it would be more of a midi length and it barely hit the knee on my frame.  So be aware of the length on the shorter versions.  And I pegged in the bottom of the skirt (4 inches smaller than the widest point of the hip) because the skirt's shape is very boxy.

The skirt wasn't exactly what I had it mind.  But it still works for me and will get plenty of wear this season.  And it paired nicely with leather peplum top and mixed animal print sandals from Shoemint.com.

And in case you don't read Redbook Magazine, I had the privilege of being featured in the September issue.  Take a pick at it on their site!  And here is the original post.

Yesterday was perfect weather for a flowing maxi skirt!  

The light, warm breeze was in perfect sync.

Here's hoping to a beautiful Memorial Day weekend of family, grilling, eating and of course, sewing!

Wearing:  top: Vogue 8815; skirt: DIY; sandals: Shoedazzle.com.

I've been so busy in the last week that I haven't had time to do proper "What I'm Wearing" posts.  I really, really hate doing "look at me" wordless pictures only posts (even though that formula works for some bloggers quite successfully).  I personally feel that MY blog posts should be accompanied by some sort of text.  I owe you faithful readers that much!  I like to leave the quick and dirtiness to Instagram!

So, let's get started...

My favorite blue nail polish!  Butter London "Blagger".

Again wearing the black peplum top.  This top has the versatility of a t-shirt.  Probably why I love it so much.  And my Vogue 1039 red cigarette pants.  

My house is pretty empty and quiet this week because of Spring Break.  And I'm pretty happy that it'll be a rainy weekend so I can hideout in my sewing room!

When I saw those two-toned Tibi pants come down the runway at Birmingham Fashion Week, I knew I'd be making a pair soon.

Two-toned black and white pants are trending hard for Spring 2013.  Here are prime examples that I gathered from Pinterest.

For my pants, I used McCall's 6707 from NBC's Fashion Star - Season 1 contestant Kara Laricks.

I wanted my pants to be two-toned instead of a tuxedo-like pant.  So I cut the entire back in black fabric instead of only the side panels.  I added three inches to the length.  I make the edgestitched creases because I've always liked that detail on pants. And I omitted the pockets, because I absolutely ABHOR pocket show-through on white pants.  So it's not like I planned on putting my keys and cell phone in there anyway.  So my pants look a little different than the pattern.  What's point of sewing if you can't make it your own?  But this is a great pattern to have for this style of pant.

I used a black and white stretch gabardine from Hancock Fabrics.  It comes in red as well.  I wish they had a greater variety of colors because this fabric was great to work with.  It sews up like a woven but wears like a knit.  These pants couldn't be anymore comfortable.  

As soon as I find more fabric I like, I'll probably make these in different colors.  Hmmm... I sure could use another pair of red pants...