About
Hi all! My name is Christy but my husband (who’s name is Chris- super cheezey! 🙂 and a few good friends call me CJ. I love animals and have a white labrador named Harper and a tabby cat named Maddie. I live in Louisville Ky where I was born and raised. I love the big-small town feel of Louisville and all of it’s endless festivals, events, quirky art scene, awesome music shows, horse racing and wonderful friends!
Nothing makes me happier than when I am being creative and working on sewing and craft projects of all kinds. I am excited to share my sewing adventures and photos with you, please feel free to send some thoughts and ideas!
mystitchnbitch 
I just found yourblog because I did a search on the Lisette shirtdress I am about to make. I love all that you have made. You have fabulous taste and i have gotten some cute ideas. Thanks for sharing with everyone! Allison
Dear Christy:
I’d like to use your photos of V8645 and link to your blog from my Website. Can you please get in touch with me by email at valeryp@mccallpattern.com
Hello.
I just stumbled across your blog from the other side of the world (australia) and wanted to say Congrats on the amazing items you’ve created.
As for your post on the Cynthia Rowley red dress you made (the one you didn’t like) – it looked AMAZING! Please wear the dress as it would be such a shame for it to sit in a cupboard for ever 😦
Hi Emma, thank you so much! I appreciate your kind words on the red Cynthia Rowley dress, however I think my photos did it too much justice. Maybe I will try to do some alterations and wear it this summer though. Do you also do a lot of sewing? If so I would love to trade some tips! It’d be really cool to see what is in style in Australia 🙂
How nice to know that such a talented seamstress lives right here in Louisville–keep making Louisville beautiful!
Wonderful blog too!
Hi- I am just getting into sewing and was doing research on sewing machines and sergers when i came across your blog. You have great taste and i love all your projects. I initially wanted to buy a serger first, but was shot down by the old lady at the sewing center, who said i should start with a sewing machine first. I have little sewing experience and its been about ten years since I’ve done it. My biggest beef with it ten years ago was the unprofessional look inside my garments (mainly Skirts), and thats why i was seeking out a good serger. I looked into Baby lock’s, but they are a little (to say the least) out of my price range. I also looked at the Brother Serger that you have and wondered about the quality that it produces, b/c the price differs greatly between the two brands. Do you use your serger or sewing machine more? Do you only sew clothing or do you also do home projects like dust ruffles, pillows, ect? I know in the end its totally up to me, but i would love some advice from someone who is not almost 80, and has similar taste. Coincidently, i was looking at the same sewing machine that you got, the Baby Lock Elizabeth, and i am glad to see that you love it!! I would love to hear what you have to say. Thanks Tracy Cordell
Hi Tracy, that is so awesome that you are looking to get back into sewing! I am not sure what level your skill set is but I would have to agree with the little old lady at the sewing shop. I would say that I use my sewing machine for 90% of my garment construction and I mostly use my serger to finish seams nicely as I go. The brother 1034D is a great serger for this, it’s very user friendly and inexpensive. One thing it does not do however is a covered stitch which you see on most commercial clothing, but a machine with this stitch is big bucks, so I’d start small. I could definitely benefit from a class or two with my serger, it’s a little trickier to figure out how to do different stitches like blind hems and such on a serger. a sewing machine can do much more than a serger in this sense and you don’t have that scary knife threatening to ruin your projects!
I love my baby lock Elizabeth, but it’s on the pricey side especially if you are just starting out. I began my sewing endeavors by learning on a cheapo mechanical machine ( a $99 singer), and while it was certainly a pain I think it helped me grow immensely in my skills. I learned the ins and outs of a machine, trouble shooting and the features that I really desired in a machine to make my life easier. The elizabeth has me spoiled rotten now and I love it! You may want to go this route before you decide on a “Cadillac” model so you won’t have any regrets. Best of luck on your sewing adventures, I’d love to see what you come up with!
Yay! You’re following me and I’m following you. Thanks for making me feel like I’m off to a great start seeing as I’ve only just started blogging.
Sure I’ll be mentioning you in more posts soon 🙂 You make great items!
thanks lady! I’m excited to see what you come up with!
Hello from the UK, very impressed with your wily e coyote head… Do you still have it? And is it possible to write some more detailed instructions please …
Thanks Alan! I basically started with a baseball cap and built it up with fleece and felt. I recently took a technology course for my MAT program and I we had to create a storyboard on how to do/make something, and I illustrated my process of making these costumes. Here is the link to the YouTube video:
Please excuse the amateur quality and my poor narration, it’s kind of embarrassing. But I got an A so I’m not complaining too much!
CJ, I read your blog because you have great taste in marrying a fabric with a pattern! Loved your derby post – I so need a party planner near me!
A lot of comment on the interwebs about constructive criticism – I mean this in only the most positive way. On the very cute blue ombré dress, the bust darts are high, maybe by 1-1 1/2 inches. The bust itself fits great. Easy fix – cut out a rectangle around the dart and move the rectangle down until the dart points to the bust point. Very easy to do. Just tape together and add a bit of paper, pattern paper etc to dill the empty space, and you are good to go. So hope this note is taken in the spirit intended.
Thank you! Fitting darts around the bust line is something I continuously struggle with, I will definitely try out your method. Unfortunately I wore the ombre dress to a different Derby event last weekend and got a nasty stain on it, hopefully I can get it out and it won’t be ruined! I appreciate your suggestion, any advice to improve my skills is always welcome!
I am getting ready to mke the Simplicity 2892 shirt D and found you on google. Yours is inspiring and I can’t wait to get mine done now. Thank you for sharing the things you make on your blog.
Thanks to you! I hope yours turns out great, send a picture when it is completed- I’d love to see it!
Hi! I came across your blog while searching the Lisette shirt dress. I LOVE that you have used snaps. I was wondering what tool and size of snaps you use? I’ve done some online searching, but I’m not sure what would work best for tops and dresses. Thanks!!
Hi Laura! I use a tool called the snap setter, you can find it online here:
http://www.snapsource.com/store/products.php?categoryName=The%20SnapSetter&categoryParentName=Attaching%20Tools
It is really easy to use, its basically three layers of plastic that hold the snaps in place so that you can hammer them together. I bought the size 16 tool, I usually buy size 16 snaps however I have also used it with size 18- works just as well! They also have a huge assortment of colors for pearl snaps. There are some dealers on etsy that sell in bulk as well. Hope this helps, good luck with your snap adventures!
Hi Christy, I came across your blog in my search for other’s Cynthia Rowley 2406. You are so cute, and talented. I can’t wait to see more. Do you have an Instagram? -Ashlyn
Hi Ashlyn! Thank you so much! Yes I do have Instagram, my user name is cjhigs but I use it mostly for personal photos and not too much sewing at the moment. I am a teacher and my sewing projects have slowed down a bit, it’s been a busy school year and I’m in the middle of a program evaluation thing that has been time consuming. Hopefully I’ll have some more posts soon, spring break is coming up! Thanks so much for your nice comment 🙂
Power through girl! I am a Speech Therapist at an elementary school 🙂 I can sympathize with your spring break fever! I’ll follow you on IG anyway 😉
I saw your costume of Yosemite Sam from 2011. I was wondering if you could make that for my husband? I cannot even sew a button on a shirt and we have a Halloween party on November 1st. Just let me know if this is something you do for other people. Thanks!
I am so sorry I didn’t see this in time! I hope you were able to come up with something good, next year let me know if you need a commissioned costume 🙂
Hi, can you demonstrate on how the penelope and pepe costumes were made? Thanks, Kat!