The Summer of 2015

Hi there,

It's the last day of the year!!!!
I am super grateful to God for bringing me this far. Can you believe it?
And best of all, I am ending this year better than I started it ... how wonderful is that?

In 2015, I had my first vendor/show case opportunities (3 in total) for ZiChiE Designs.
I also had an international order from the ZCD Etsy store (click here).
And a very busy summer. I'm guessing it is the warm weather but I had a lot of wedding orders in July/August/September. In addition to that, I made vests for the men in the LA Voice (my church choir).

To wrap up the year, I thought I'd put pictures from this summer's order in one post.

Enjoy.

ZCD Purses at a Showcase hosted by YAPPies (Young African Philly Professionals)

ZCD Vendor Table at ACANNA Festival

For the Sister of the Bride

Dress and Matching Vest & Bow Tie for A Friend's Wedding

Gold Lace Dress for a Friend of the Bride & Groom

Gold Lace Clutch

Pink and Blue Dress for a Friend of the Bride & Groom

My Birthday Skirt

Dress for Ms. V for our Church Anniversary Dinner

LA Voice

(Made the Vests for the Men and the Maxi Skirt [far left])

Skirts for Mummy and Daughter for a Wedding

Seeing Spots

Hi there,

Have you ever had an idea come out of nowhere and get stuck in your head?
Well, that's where this skirt came from.

I was watching Family Feud this past weekend and one of the contestants had on a lovely black and white stripped 2-tier skirt. On the 1st tier, the stripes were diagonal and on the 2nd, they were horizontal. It looked really cute and it inspired me to sketch a similar skirt. Instead of 2 tiers of stripes, I was going to have the 1st tier be polka dots (spots) and the 2nd tier be stripes.

I had to go to Jo-Ann's on Tuesday to buy a walking foot for my sewing machine (having issues sewing ponte knit ... story for another day) and I had a couple of coupons that would expire on Wednesday. While I was there, I thought I should get the black and white fabrics for my skirt. I found several options for the polka dots but no black and white stripes *gasp*. Sure, they had chevron and I considered it but nah, I didn't want to get that. I was gonna go home and try another day/another store but I couldn't shake the idea so I re-designed the skirt based on the fabric I could see and ended up with  the 3-tier polka dot skirt you see here: under $6.50 and in about 3-4 hours.

Enjoy the pictures!!! :)

The 3 Polka Dot Fabric Pieces

  

Close-Up Indoors

Outdoor "Photo-shoot" :)

Bold Stripes

Hi there!!

I hope you are having a lovely December so far.

To be honest, I've been feeling out of sorts recently; a bit grumpy and tired. I know things are not good when I 'm beginning to be impatient with myself and with others (including Boss. gasp!!!).
I'm now trying to get more sleep and take better care of myself so here's to things looking up soon (very soon, I hope).

Today's post is on this green butterfly sleeve top and stripy midi pencil skirt I made a while ago. I feel good when I wear items I made but unless it's a dress, those items are usually paired with something else. Don't get me wrong, I do like that also - the fact that I make pieces that complement others in my closet - but wearing a complete "me-made" outfit has it's own special warmth.

A few Sundays ago, the uniform for my choir (LA Voice at RCCG Love Assembly) was "wear something green". I wanted to step out of my comfort zone (which would have been green top with black pants/skirt) and I sent a picture to Zi of this top and skirt and asked what she thought (she's the fashionista in this duo). She approved!!!!

Enjoy the pictures below.
I really wanted to wear a brown belt but I couldn't find it in time. Sure enough, I found it as soon as I walked back into my apartment after church. Next time ...

   

   

   

Salute To The Veterans

Hi there!!!

Today (11/11/2015) is Veterans' Day in the USA. It's a day to remember the sacrifice of the brave men and women who defend the freedom of their country. In thinking about this today, I dwelt on the reasons why the veterans choose to stand in the line of fire everyday: security, freedom, peace and a hope for a better tomorrow.
That's where the children come in: they are our hope for tomorrow. The veterans do what they can to ensure that the little ones have a chance to make tomorrow even better than today.

That's why the pictures in today's post are of the children's outfits that ZCD has made in recent history.
We're celebrating the sparks of hope that we have for tomorrow.

Dress and Hair Accessory

Matching Skirt and Vest for Siblings

Matching Shirt and Skirts for Siblings

Hi-Low Skirt and Blouse

Baby Dresses 

Skirt

Pattern Review: Simplicity 1502: Misses' Nightshirt or Top

The Story

I was talking with my aunt who is a fashion designer (her website) and boy, was it a great conversation!! We talked about starting a fashion business, building a clientele and going into the retail business with ready to wear items. One thing she mentioned was not overlooking designs that might seem simple and that's what sent me in search of a pattern for something easy and breezy. Even though it is for a nightshirt, this Simplicity pattern fit the bill perfectly. I made a top and I am currently working on a dress.

Pattern Description
Misses' Pants or Shorts And Nightshirt or Top
Pattern includes pants & shorts with elastic waist, nightshirt & top. Nightshirt & top have a single pleat vent down the front. Add decorative ribbon, buttons and lace for a feminine touch.

Pattern Sizing

I cut a Medium but in hindsight, I think I should have cut a Small from the shoulder to below the sleeves and then flared out to a Medium. I'm smaller on top than below. :)

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing it?

Yes.

Were the instructions easy to follow?

Very easy and straightforward.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

I liked how easy it was to make and all the possibilities with different fabrics.
I also like how neat it looks on the inside with the bias tape finishing.

Fabric Used
African print fabric - 100% cotton.

Pattern alteration or any design changes you made

Nothing 

Would you sew it again?

Yes!!!

I'm thinking of making the dress with red crepe and gold lace at the top like View C.

Would you recommend it to others?

Yes, it would be great even for a beginner.

Styling

Inside

Shirt

Dress

Sheer Panel Skirt

Hello friends!!!

Heads up: this week's post is going to have more pictures than I usually have.
No special reason except that I was unable to decide which pictures to cut from the ones we took on Sunday.
So ... on with the post!!!

The first time I saw a skirt with a sheer panel, I knew I wanted one and that I was going to make one for myself. That was probably a year and a half ago but better late than never, right?
I bought the brocade fabric at the same time as the gold and black one in this post so it's been about a year since I've had it.
We picked red as the main color for my choir at RCCG Love Assembly for last Sunday (10/25) and to be honest, I hadn't thought much about what I was going to wear. Red is one of my favorite colors so I knew I had at least one red dress, pair of pants, blouse, skirt, sweater and pair of shoes.
I recently made up my mind (again!) to work on using what I have in my fabric stash - mainly because I just moved and couldn't believe how many boxes of fabric were loaded in the truck. While designing a dress to use up some white lace, I took a detour and drew up the skirt. I didn't get to work on it immediately as I had a custom order to finish but I got the skirt done just in time to wear it on Sunday!!!!

Enjoy the pictures below (see if you notice the photobomber).

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