My Top Four Sewing Tips

As we get closer to our Pirate Pencil Skirt Sew Along, I wanted to share some tips that will help you along our way. If you aren't yet following us on Facebook, go hit the like and change your notification settings to 'All Posts' so you don't miss any Sew Along info!

I know I have said in the live videos a few times to not be intimidated, I really do mean it. I am still learning myself. If you have been sewing for a few years, please don't get annoyed with me. I do things how they work for me, it might not be the 'right' way, but it is my way. lol Feel free to add tips for us newer sewists as we go.

If you haven't grabbed your Pirate Pencil Skirt pattern yet, be sure to do that today! Go ahead and print it out and become familiar with the instructions. We will start the Sew Along on July 10th.

Top 4 Sewing Tips

1. Measurements - It is SO important to measure yourself correctly. When I first started sewing for myself, I thought I had measuring figured out. I mean, how hard can it be? Well. When you aren't measuring in the correct place, it can make things WAY off. Even if you are sure beyond sure, just double check that you are measuring yourself correctly. Here is a great post about Measuring Yourself.

2. Grading Sizes - Once you have your measurements and compare them to your pattern, you may very well find yourself in between two sizes. Or more, in my case. Grading and Mashing patterns can be difficult if you are going up or down a few sizes. I am an XL in some areas and a Plus 3X in others. That is a pretty big difference. Just take your time and try not to get frustrated. Before long grading and mashing will be no big deal to you.

3. Length Adjustments - I fall into the petite category. For me, I just cut the excess fabric off the bottom of skirts. See, there I go doing things my way again. lol In the linked post, Judy goes into a bit more detail, especially if you are tall.

4. Twin Needles - Twin Needles? WHAT?!?! I know! I still get nervous when I use a twin needle, but it makes hemming so pretty! That's the other thing, I HATE to hem! HATE IT! lol I have so many shirts that aren't hemmed. Like 98% of the shirts I make aren't hemmed. That's how much I hate it. lol But using a twin needle makes it, well I won't say easier because it's still hard for me, but prettier. Maybe we should do a sew along just on hemming next.

That's it! As we go along on this journey, I will share more tips and tricks with you. I hope you join us for our sew along! I will do a recap post once we have finished, if you can't join us during our LIVE event, you can join us during the recap. There may even be a giveaway for those that participate. Come join us on The Shabby Green House Facebook page and share your tips, ask questions, join the conversation! We have a lot of fun!

Fall 2014 at The Shabby Green House

Fall is my FAVORITE time of year. I LOVE the fall colors, the transition to cooler weather and the crisp fall air. Hi everyone! Welcome to Fall 2014 at The Shabby Green House! I hope you enjoy this quick fun look into Life in The Shabby Green House!

 

To kick off the fall season, we had a small Halloween party to celebrate our first Halloween in The Shabby Green House. You see, The Shabby Green House is located on THE trick-or-treat street in our little town. We gave out over 1500 pieces of candy, two pieces each....then one each when we started to run out...we ran out around 8:30pm and there were STILL people out! It was just incredible!

My mom, dad, brother, sil, niece and my sil's mom all came up to have some Halloween fun with us. Mom brought festive cupcakes and saved me from having to add one more thing to my list. YAY for awesome moms!!

I made my Granny's famous sugar cookies, popcorn balls and chocolate chip cookies. Don't worry, I will post the recipes for the sugar cookies and popcorn balls soon. 

We also had hot dogs with all the fixins, fruit salad and chili. It was a feast! 

 

I kept the decorations very simple this year. I am sure my collection will grow over the years, but I just prefer the simplicity. The bunting was purchased at Target, I found it in the dollar bins! The cute little burlap ghosts were purchased from Walgreens.

My mom shared a picture of the front of our house on Facebook while she was here. A friend of mine commented that the house and neighbor hood looked like it had been plucked right out of a movie. I have to agree. I LOVE the street we live on! One of my favorite things on our street is this beautiful tree.

Depending on the time of day, the tree looks like it is glowing! It is just breathtaking! I find myself admiring it multiple times a day. Luckily, I can see it from almost all of our front windows.

I hope you all have a wonderful fall season! I will catch up with you again soon. Until I get back into a good blogging routine, I plan to post twice a month. One home tour and one recipe. I can't wait to share our life in The Shabby Green House with you!

Happy Fall, Ya'll!

We CLOSED!!

The fact that we have been in the house for nearly two months and I am just now telling you that we closed, is besides the point. Ok? HA!

To get you caught up:
After missing the 3rd closing, or 4th...I lost track, we walked away from PNC and went with a local bank. Ms. Julie assured us we would close soon, gave us a date to look for that was 2-3 weeks away from first contacting her. I was blown away! She was driven, felt sorry for us because of the mess we had gone through with PNC (do not EVER use PNC Mortgage) and wanted to get this done. There was a glitch with something and had to push the closing date back. But, WE CLOSED!!! We aren't completely moved in, we still have a few things at the old house, but the majority of our stuff is here. It was a great first Christmas and first new year at The Shabby Green House! We have already finished our first remodel and we are about to start on our second and third. I can't wait to share them all with you!

 

The Waiting Game

*SIGH*

Hmmmm.....nope.

*sigh*

UGH! Noooo.....

*SIIIIIGGGGHHHHH*

GAH!

I thought taking deep breaths was supposed to help ease your stress level?

Let's back up a bit so you understand why I am so stressed. We signed the contract in August. We got with the sellers and mortgage company and set a 60 day closing date.

That date was 10/23/2013.

Today is 11/6/2013.

We have yet to close.

Every day the mortgage company comes up with something new they need from us. A few times it has been things that we already sent in to them. It's almost like they lost our file and have had to start all over.

Yesterday they needed comps. So, hubby and I drove around and got a few comps for them. Even though we had already sent them a few in September.

Right now the sellers are SUPER understanding and are OK with waiting just a bit longer to close. Mr. Seller even sent hubby a text telling him it's ok, not to freak and everything will happen in God's time. I mean seriously, I got chills when I read that. I am so glad they are being so great about this. They know it's completely out of our control at this point.

Hubby and I went over to the house a few days ago while the girls were in school. I just stood in the kitchen and cried. I woke up last week with an anxiety attack and have had a few since. The hardest part is the fact that it is out of our control, there is nothing we can do to push this thing through any faster. I have been really good about just giving it all to God, until recently. I don't know what changed, I know he is in control and has our best interest at hand, I know there is a reason it is taking this long, I know it will happen in His time. I know this. But it doesn't change the fact that it is still hard waiting. He has gotten us through all of it up to this point, I have absolutely no doubt He will continue to get us through the rest of it.

Every day I sit and wait for hubby to call with news that we have a for sure set date. It has yet to happen. 

We have looked into going with a local bank for funding. The only drawback is that our payment would be $400 more a month because of something to do with their mortgage insurance....or something like that. I thought it was because of the interest rate but, hubby corrected me on that the other night.

Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away. Our plan was to host Thanksgiving this year. Now, I don't see that happening and at this point, I am not even sure we will be in by Christmas.

*SIGH*

We Signed the Contract!

So, it's been a while! Who knew buying a house was such a slow process? Oh. Right. Anyone that has ever bought a house before. Ugh. So, we signed the contract a month ago. WooHoo! Right? Right. Except that I am ready to move NOW! Like, a month ago actually. Waiting until the end of October is about to make me crazy.

I get asked multiple times a day how things are going with the house. My answer "Oh, fine, just waiting to close."

The truth? We are waiting for the house to be appraised and inspected. The current homeowners do not want this to happen until they have finished the remodel. I get that. Really, I do. I am just ready to get this ball rolling and don't want the closing date to get pushed back. I have big decorating ideas to move forward with. But, I can't do anything until we are in the house.

*sigh*

So, for now, I just window shop on Pinterest and Facebook. I guess that is good though, this way I will know EXACTLY what look I want when the time actually comes to move in.

So, that is where we are right now with The Shabby Green House.

Hopefully I will have better news next time, this waiting game is pretty boring.

Buying a house stinks!

 We first looked at The Shabby Green House in June. We weren't real sure if it was OUR house, so we waited, prayed and thought about it.

Well. We met with the homeowners this past weekend. Hubby put in an offer and they accepted. We then contacted our broker and our lawyer to get the contract worked up. Since the house is For Sale By Owner (FSBO) there is a bit of leg work we have to do. The owners did not have a contract of their own so, we are having one drawn up.

 So now we are waiting for the final contract to be drawn up so we can get the papers signed.

The owners were in a lease to purchase contract not too long ago on the house. The people in the contract screwed them over royally. They were a bit nervous going into this and not wanting that to happen again. I don't know how to ease their fears but, unless something MAJOR comes back from the inspection....we are in this til the end! I just hate the uneasy feeling on both sides. Please tell me this process gets easier!

Welcome!

Hi! Welcome to The Shabby Green House! This site will be up and running soon! Until then, check out my posts at The Creative Princess.