Easter 2015 Burdastyle Ukrainian Embroidered Linen Crop Top and Skirt
Marusya
Ukrainian Embroidered Linen dress crop top

Krys­tos Voskres! Hap­py Easter! I knew I want­ed to make this Bur­dastyle out­fit as soon as saw it in the month­ly Bur­dastyle mag­a­zine! How­ev­er it wasn’t until 2.5 weeks before East­er, that I received my linen in the mail and began embroi­der­ing the crop top/blouse. My won­der­ful moth­er came to my res­cue by embroi­der­ing the dark red skele­ton of the design. This part of the embroi­dery takes more time and...

The Cascade Champagne Silk Wool and Silk Charmeuse Dress
Marusya
Silk Wool charmeuse champagne long dress crossover cascade gown Cascade Champagne Silk Wool & Silk Charmeuse Dress I really don’t know what I was thinking when I decided to enter Burdastyle’s pattern challenge and downloaded their cascade dress pattern. Not only did I think I would have time to sew the dress, but I also planned to embroider its top crossover edge.! Fortunately, I was able to bypass sleep and finish sewing the dress just before the deadline. However I was unable to finish the embroidery. At this point, I’m not sure if I will add its embroidery.. (I think I will save it for a dress I know I’ll wear more often.) I don’t particularly like this dress. There are too many details going on. And I really don’t like the ruffle on the shoulder. Perhaps I’m boring, but I feel like I’m a mermaid with a seashell on my shoulder. (I had one sister laugh and call it a croissant, while another sister called it a perogi.) If it weren’t a Burdastyle pattern challenge, I probably would have eliminated the ruffle, (with no hesitation). I recently received this really special Christmas gift from my aunt. It’s a necklace with a photo of my babcha (grandmother)on one side and photo of my dido (grandfather) on the other side. The top bodice is lined with ivory silk charmeuse. Originally the skirt was lined with ivory silk charmeuse too, but I ultimately eliminated it. The two silk layers did not fall nicely together and it created more bulk at the hip. (This was a headache considering I had to seam rip everything apart and then hand-stitch the skirt edges again!!)

I real­ly don’t know what I was think­ing when I decid­ed to enter Bur­daStyle’s pat­tern chal­lenge and down­loaded their cas­cade dress pat­tern. Not only did I think I would have time to sew the dress, but I also planned to embroi­der its top crossover edge! (Vote for your favorite dress here) For­tu­nate­ly, I was able to bypass sleep and fin­ish sewing the dress just before the dead­line. How­ev­er I was unable...

Pray for Ukraine
Marusya
Ukrainian Catholic University Benefit Chicago Ruslana Lyzhychko Maidan Anagrassia

Last Sun­day, my mom and I attend­ed a Ukrain­ian Catholic Uni­ver­si­ty fundrais­er in Chica­go, Illi­nois. After singing both the Unit­ed State’s nation­al anthem and Ukraine’s nation­al anthem before the cer­e­mo­ny, my mom shared some­thing inter­est­ing with me. She said, “When we sing the nation­al anthem in Amer­i­ca, we thank God for our free­dom, while the Ukrain­ian nation­al anthem prays for free­dom: ‘We’ll lay down our souls and bod­ies to attain...

Mixed Media Project: Printed Linen & Hand Embroidery
Marusya

For the longest time (since my ear­ly years in col­lege), I’ve been itch­ing to do a mixed media project of my moth­er & grand­moth­er. Final­ly a week before this past mother’s day, I decid­ed to tack­le this project for my mom! Late­ly, I’ve been sewing a lot of flower girl dress­es and projects for oth­ers, so I was excit­ed to set aside every­thing for this per­son­al project! I knew I want­ed to...

White Lace and Linen Pleated Dress
Marusya
linen dress with lace

The moment I saw this pleat­ed dress pat­tern, I knew exact­ly what I want­ed to make! I’ve been hold­ing on to this linen for some time now and I’m excit­ed to final­ly use it for the right project. The hand of the linen is heavy and flex­i­ble, so it’s beau­ti­ful and per­fect for this dress design! I’ve been swamped with orders and alter­ations recent­ly. So when I came across a con­test,...

Preparing for Easter 2014
Marusya

This is by far my least favorite time of the year. Between giv­ing up dai­ly plea­sures dur­ing Lent, doing tax­es, and the gloomy weath­er, I dread March and ear­ly April! Despite all these things, there’s one thing that does light­en the mood…sewing my 2014 East­er dress! Again I’m design­ing an East­er dress inspired by my babcha. This time I’m using some of her old fab­ric rather than spend­ing count­less hours doing...