Crazy Dog Lady Challenge: The Finale, Part III (or WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!)

Hey there everyone! I bet you are all as excited as I am to see who the Random Number Generator Gods have picked for the Crazy Dog Lady Sewing Challenge winners.

(Not to mention ALL. THE. GIFS.)

Before I get into the good stuff, I want to say a big, huge, ginormous thank you to:

1. All of our amazing sponsors. Seriously, you are all so awesome. My cheeks hurt from smiling each time one of you said, "Yeah, we'd love to help out!" Please do yourself a favour and if you don't already frequent these people's shops, check them out (for direct links, click these two posts). All of these people could have easily said no. But they didn't. Hooray!

2. Tanya and Sophie-Lee. You are both two well-known bloggers, and I am just a little guy when it comes to blogging, and yet the both of you have been so helpful and gracious with me throughout this process. I am so grateful that I was able to meet two like-minded ladies from around the world! Thank you for all your help! You both rock!

3. All of YOU! Yes YOU! You all made this possible with your amazing dog lady craziness! It is nice to know that there are others around the world who are as nutty as I am when it comes to fur-babies. Seriously, I showed all the people at work every time a new dog coat or dress was posted. You are all amazing and I am so happy that we are able to offer these prizes for some of you to reward your craziness. My only regret is that we can't send you all something for joining, but then we'd be broke and then how would we buy our fabric?

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Okay, now on to what you are all really here for: PRIZES! The Random Number Generator Gods have spoken, and without further adieu, the winners are as follows:

Vicki!

Who gets to take home:
1. a dog paw brooch from MrZhuo
2.  a pattern from By Hand London
3. the linen dog print fabric from Grey's
4. a Fox and Hound shirt from Grey's
5. a package from Riley Blake Designs that includes: a designer fat quarter bundle, a basic variety Rolie Polie, a basic variety 7" square Stacker, and a Floriography 5" square Stacker

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kychristine!

Who gets to take home:
1. a Dachshund dog brooch from nettimadeit
2. a pattern of their choice from Sewaholic Patterns
3. a custom dog embroidered needle case from kerso
4. a package from Riley Blake Designs that includes: a designer fat quarter bundle, a basic variety Rolie Polie, a basic variety 7" square Stacker, and a Floriography 5" square Stacker

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Michelle!

Who gets to take home:
1. a dog brooch from MrZhuo
2. a pattern from By Hand London
3. a pattern from Bluegingerdoll Patterns
4. a package from Riley Blake Designs that includes: a designer fat quarter bundle, a basic variety Rolie Polie, a basic variety 7" square Stacker, and a Floriography 5" square Stacker

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Kelsey!

Who gets to take home:
1. a $50 gift card to Michael Levine, Inc.
2. a doggy prize pack from G Marie Sews

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And that is it everyone! If you are a winner, please contact us via e-mail (click here), so that we can either start shipping your goodies, or get you in touch with the people who need to ship your goodies.

Thank you again for participating! Toodles :)

{MOAR GIFS}

One Day I'll Get This Timing Thing Down.....a.k.a. Crazy Dog Lady Sewing Challenge Dress!!!

Holla! How are you? I've had a very crazy two weeks over here and am very much looking forward to this weekend. As for this dress, I'm only just over a week late, and technically, I'm not completely done because I haven't slip-stitched the lining down but I already wore this to work today so I count it as good enough for pictures. And like I've said before, since I can't win anything anyways, it's not really a huge deal (to me at least!).

I made this up in Simplicity 1873, just like my pink fruity-floral muslin, with the only changes being that I changed the shape of the arm holes slightly so that they don't rub like my previous version(s), I didn't make the skirt as fully gathered, and I lowered the hemline to just below the knee instead of just above like I normally do. That's it! 

I really wanted in-seam pockets, but by the time I finally got around to sewing the skirt, I knew I wouldn't have time to pattern match, and I knew that if it wasn't matched, I might go a little mad. So, just as with my muslin, I settled for a patch pocket. At first I wanted to make a bone shaped patch pocket. But then, I thought, there is potential that it may not turn out looking like a bone, but rather, something inappropriate (a penis), and seeing as I work in high school, that might not be a very good idea. So, after a quick search on Pinterest, I found a dog-shaped pocket and decided I would try to wing it.

I decided to try to make it blend in in case it looked like crap. Unfortunately, because I was winging it, a few parts got weirdly stretched out. Fortunately, because I made it (mostly) match up, unless I point it out to you, you can't really tell.

I also made a little bandanna for Harley to go with all the other ones he already has kickin' around the house. We actually like to put it partially on his head and call to him saying, "Awwww! Look at the babushka lady! Look at the babushka lady!!!!"

SQUIRREL!

I am pretty proud with how far my skills in pattern matching have come, though I have to say that when I am off by thismuch, it makes me a little twitchy.

The skirt is matched really well, but I get twitchy when I look at the bodice too close.

Also, there totally is a hook and eye there but I just didn't do it up. Whateva! I do what I want!

I kind of think I look like an elementary art teacher in this, especially with the blue button up underneath, but I went ahead and wore it this way to work anyways. Overall I'm really happy with how the dress turned out and can't wait to wear it without the button up once the weather warms up (which it never will). I've only worn it one day and already have gotten compliments from everyone I come across! There is something to be said for unique fabric designs. Thank you whoever introduced me to Spoonflower!

Not much else to say, really except how amazing everyone's makes for the challenge were! If you haven't had a chance, go to the flickr group and check them out....OR EVEN BETTER!!! check out Tanya's finale part one, and Sophie's finale part two. And be sure to check back here on Saturday to find out who won our four amazing prize packs (if you need a refresher on prizes, see here and here).

Yes, we are listening.

Final note: at the end of every post, if you hadn't noticed, I always try to post a link. Click it today, you won't be disappointed. Anywho, can't wait to see you back here on Saturday! Have a great Friday! :)

{Click to watch my dog lose his shit.}

Dog Lady Pause

Holla! Just a quick little post today to let you know that if you are curious about where the hell my Crazy Dog Lady Sewing Challenge dress is, well, it's not done. Long story short, I took a spontaneous trip to Germany last Friday and got back Thursday and am rather behind in things and rather pooped. But seeing as I can't win anyways, I didn't think it was a huge deal. So it will make its appearance later this week. Also: later this week we will be having our parade on all three blogs, as well as announcing the randomly chosen winners! I can't wait to find out who wins! So be sure to pop back in later for all that plus more dog gifs. Because, really, you need more dog gifs in your life.

Toodles :)

{We all know that one dog...}

Extension!

As you may have already heard, the Crazy Dog Lady Sewing Challenge has been extended to March 21, so if you need a few extra days to git 'er done, then here's your chance! Can't wait to see everyone's finished goods :)

{Woot}

MOAR SPONSORS!

Hey all! We are pretty excited to announce today that we have two more sponsors joining us for the Crazy Dog Lady Sewing Challenge! If you haven't yet had a chance to check out all of our amazing prizes and discounts, please click here to see the original post.

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Our first new sponsor is Michael Levine (lowpricefabric.com). I am pretty excited about this one for two reasons. One: this fabric right here.

Do yourself a favour, click through the link, and then click to zoom in on the fabric. And then read it. Bwahahaha! Amazing!

Reason number two: they have a ton of patterns for dogs, including some that allow you to refashion old clothes into clothes for your dog! Recycling, dogs, and sewing!? Yes, please!

In addition to generously donating a $50 gift card to one of our participants (!), Michael Levine is also offering all participants a 10% discount on all online orders until April 30th with the code pup10, so be sure to head over to their website and type "dog" into the search bar to check out all of the other fabric, patterns, and buttons for dog-related sewing (And then check out the rest of the website to see what you can get with that $50 gift card!).
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Our second new sponsor is Gaylen of G Marie Sews. Gaylen has kindly offered to send one participant a doggy prize pack that includes a dog-themed picture frame, bookmark, and fabric! How sweet is that?! If you don't already follow her blog, you really should check it out. She makes some seriously sweet dresses, and you can check out all of her adorable dogs while there!

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Now, you may be wondering, which prize packs we are adding this to. The answer is none of them. Tanya, Sophie-Lee, and myself have decided that these two generous prizes will be grouped together to make a fourth prize pack! Huzzah!

While we are talking sponsors, I thought I would let you know that TuxedoCatButtons has added a few new dog themed buttons:

So be sure to take advantage of the discount code DOGLOVERS for 30% off your orders.
Secondly, the needle case from Kerso for prize pack two is complete. Check it out:

And last, but not least, my custom dog brooch from MrZhuo came in a week after I placed my order. Here is one of the photos I sent her:

And here is what I was sent in the mail:

Truly, my crappy pictures don't do it justice. I've worn this to work a few times and everyone comments on it (and a few people have inquired about getting their own). Want to be a really crazy dog lady? I highly recommend. :)

In the meantime, have you checked out our Flickr pool? Your amazing makes have been coming in, and I am so impressed! If you only have a few minutes to spare, check out the leggings on Ginger Makes, and the Michael Miller dress on The Recycled Haberdashery, you won't be disappointed.

That's all for today. I'd love to stay and gush about all the amazing things that are going on with the challenge but I need to do some planning for work and some major cleaning in the kitchen today (or basically, we won't be eating this weekend).

Toodles :)

{So true. Thanks, Rochelle!}

In which we discuss colours and head sizes.

I hate pink. I'm SOOO not a floral person. And although I like yellow, I generally don't wear it. So then, you are thinking, WTF?

For the Dog lady sewing challenge, I wanted to make a wearable muslin. I had made a straight-up muslin, but I wanted a quick practice run of the make. I did not want to drop $70 on fabric only to have it wasted. Not cool.

Rewind to two years ago, when my very generous in-laws bought me a gift certificate for a local quilting store. It sat in our "gift card pile" for ages! Not that I didn't want to use it, but rather I got overwhelmed and wanted to make sure I used it wisely. Fast forward to a few weeks ago while the three of us were getting set up for the challenge and I had an opportunity to putter around the store for an hour while the hubs was in a meeting at school. I found this quilting cotton in the sale section and, even though, as I mentioned, I hate pink, dislike wearing florals, and dislike wearing yellow, I had to have it. It was $6 a metre, and it had fruit on it! FRUIT! Maybe this long ass winter made me want to buy something tropical too? So I picked it up, toted it home and got it in my head that if I was going to make a wearable muslin out of this, then I'm going all out and I'm going to make myself look like Malibu F*****g Barbie. :) Don't ask how my brain works. Just nod your head and smile.

What? Me? I'm not socially awkward!

I used Simplicity 1873, just like I did for my birthday dress, only I used the front bodice from view c, without the tabs. I changed the back bodice to be a big scoop because I tried it with my Lilou muslin (that never made it to be a real dress), and I liked the scoop back feature.

I graded out from an 8 at the bust to a 12 at the waist and I used a smaller side seam allowance (3/8" I think?), just to try and give myself more ease than normal. I usually give myself almost zero ease which, oh, I don't know, when I put on a little winter weight *ahem*, can lead to me not fitting into any of my damn clothes, so I figured I'd be kind and try to give myself some extra space. I ended up with just the right amount of ease in my opinion. The dress is fitted without being baggy, which is great! I also changed the skirt to just a plain old gathered one because I didn't have enough to make the skirt from the pattern. I'll probably do the same for my final dress. I also made the same dart changes that I made to my birthday dress, but that was just a matter of tracing off my last pattern.

I made the matching bow belt using Tilly's tutorial, only I made mine a bit wider and the bow a bit bigger. I also made Bluegingerdoll's pin up head scarf, but I have a large noggin and nothing ever fits it properly.  It would have looked pretty stupid if I had worn it for these pictures for you. I can get it to twist once but I can't knot it. I should have known too. I have to buy men's hats lest I get a huge headache, so I should have slashed the pattern. That scarf REALLY would have made me look like Malibu Barbie, so I guess that plan got quashed because of my giant skull. Oh well, what can you do? Next time.

This is the nicest thing I've made to date. I was very careful about pattern matching at the back zip, and due to the fabric width, I had to have a second seam running through the skirt, which I pattern matched really well.

I also added a patch pocket, matching the pattern there. It is just a wee pocket, just enough to stuff my keys into while at work.

Also: check out that kick ass invisible zipper! Amazing!

The bodice is lined with some Bemberg rayon from my stash (Remember how I said my fabric store closed up shop? Yeah, I made out like a bandit with a ton of lining.). 

I also used up some vintage lace hem tape for the hem of the skirt that my cousin gifted me ages ago. It is a little uneven on the inside but on the outside it is even and that is all that matters.

I didn't bother lining the skirt. Instead, at 6:30am the other day when I decided to wear this to work, I decided to make a half slip. Yeah. I figured it would save me from having to line all my future dresses, but clearly I could have planned that out a bit better.

For my final dress, I will try to add some inseam pockets, or if I'm too lazy, I will do a patch pocket, just this time a bigger one. I also need to change the arm holes to be bigger. After wearing this all day I couldn't wait to get it off because it was digging into my pits. But other than that I am really quite pleased with how this turned out. 

And sorry about the less-than-ideal pictures. The snow outside literally is higher than my fence. :| And ain't nobody got time to deal with that. So indoor photos it is. Womp womp.

Can you spot the fence post?

What about you? Have you started your Dog Lady Challenge piece yet?

{D'awwwww}