Inder Loves Folk Art

Field Trip Cargos.

2019-11-16T12:22:00.000-08:00

Hello friends! It is finally starting to feel like autumn in the Bay Area. Although we haven't had much rain yet, the mornings are crisp and cold and the sun goes down at 5:30 PM. Joe has been growing like a weed, so he needs some new warm pants. Since there is no way I can sew my kids' entire wardrobes, I will likely buy him a few pairs, but I also wanted to supplement his mama-mades.

A couple years ago, I picked up a big piece of second-hand corduroy at the East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse. If you are local to the Bay Area and haven't been to this wonderful resource, you are seriously missing out! They accept fabric donations, and I have destashed there a number of times, but I think overall I have gained net yardage because they often have amazing second hand or vintage pieces. This corduroy is soft and worn, and the piece was huge, so I am wondering if it was once used as a bedspread or part of a duvet cover? Joe is still very picky about his comfort, so I thought this would make a nice pair of pants for him.

The Oliver + S Field Trip Cargo Pants and Raglan is a TNT pattern for me. I've made the pants at least three times that I can remember, and the tee too many times to count at this point. Joe still wears a pair of Field Trip shorts I made more than a year ago even though they are getting to be a bit snug and short. So I decided to try the full length pants again, this time in a size 7.

I sewed these up on my 1920s Singer 99, which was really fun. It's such a great powerhouse of a machine, and it makes such a quiet, pleasing "clack clack." You can see of a video of me sewing these here. I decided to use mustard thread for the topstitching - it's not true topstitching thread, so the effect is subtle, but I think it highlights the casual denim work-pant vibe of this pattern.

This pattern is a really fun sew - it has a lot of details, so it feels very satisfying, but I would still say it's a pretty fast/easy make. I first made this pattern in 2013, when Joe was four years old (look at him!!!!!), and I reported that these are a more time consuming, fiddly make than the other Oliver + S pants I had tried at that point. And that's true! But I guess I've come a long way in my sewing in the past 6 years, because now I would definitely classify these as easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy (also, I just sewed myself jeans, so obvs!). A relaxing and fun sew!

Hilariously, Joe is wearing a too-small Field Trip Raglan that I made him last winter here! Time for some new long sleeved tees, too! Look at his cute belly peeking out!

I tried these pants on Joe before putting the waist facing on, noted that I needed to shorten the rise a bit, and marked them for length. After I assembled them and tried them on Joe for these photos, I realized that because of the half inch I had taken out of the rise, the hem was now a hair too short. I also saw that the waistband elastic needed to be tightened up and they were too loose. So I unpicked the hems and used bias tape to hem them, as well as making the waist more snug, so they fit better now and have a bit more room to grow than they did in these photos.

As I did with the pair of shorts I made last year, I used a jersey for the waist facing. I chose a fun constellation print that I had leftover from a tee-shirt. I've talked about how Joe prefers knits to wovens many times, but I've learned that he will tolerate woven pants if the waistband is knit.

I am happy to report that Joe likes wearing these pants!! Some things never change, and it's always a bit nail-biting with this kid - will he actually wear the clothes that I make him? Especially when woven fabrics are involved. But this corduroy is so soft and worn (and quite warm), he seems to find them comfortable enough!

A funny note about Joe. He is in fourth grade now and doing fantastically. He's a strong reader and natural mathematician. He has good friends and is doing well socially. He really likes his current teacher, as well. She gave him a "self-evaluation" form to fill out, which kind of cracked me up - it reminds me of the performance evaluations given to top executives! Anyway, he wrote in his form that he is great at reading, really good at math, and when the form asked him if there were any areas he could improve in, he just left that part blank! So apparently, he is very self-confident as well! HA! It is so wonderful to see our once-painfully-shy Joe just blossoming into a confident and happy kid. He's still an introvert and a homebody, and likely always will be, but he is now as relaxed and comfortable in school as he has always been at home.

Over the past couple years, I have organized my sewing projects by serger thread. Changing my serger thread is a pain, so I try to minimize that by grouping projects by color. Right now I have light blue thread in my serger, so I am working on all of my light blue fabrics! I try to sew up at least two or three things before moving on to a new serger thread color. I thought I was the only person who did this, but recently on the Love to Sew Podcast, one of their guests reported doing the same thing, which I thought was delightful! (By the way, if you're not listening to this podcast yet, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? It's so fun! I have to drive a lot for work, and it is really fun to spend my commutes thinking about sewing, rather than work.) So apparently I'm not the only one! In fact I have lists in my bullet journal of projects by serger thread color. (I would like to do a blog post about how I brainstorm sewing projects in my bullet journal. Is anyone interested?)

So, looking at my light blue pile: next up is a pair of blue sweatpants for Joe and a Hemlock tee for myself from the updated pattern. And maybe some pj pants for the kids. My kids really love their pjs!

How do you organize your sewing projects? Does anyone else do it by serger thread color? Or do you have your own unique system?

Halloween 2019: The Real Story.

2019-11-02T15:05:00.001-07:00

Hello, dear readers! I will get back to you with School Picture Sewing: 2019 Cat Edition (Part 2) soon, I promise. Maggie's dress was finished just in time for the actual school pictures so all I got was an iPhone pic. But in the meantime, I had to stop by and share the kids' Halloween costumes!

Warning: This is long. The thing I missed about blogging when I was just doing instagram was being able to blather on and on for hundreds of words about whatever. So here we are!

Okay, so, background: The past five months have been the busiest work months of my 17 year legal career, no joke. I am deep in what Gretchen Rubin has termed a "season of sacrifice" on her Happier podcast. It's a good thing, the economy is booming right now, it's a growth period in my career, we're staffing up and it's not going to be this intense forever, but I have had to pare my life outside of work down to the bare minimum. Or at least, that's what I should be doing, but I'm no good at that, as you probably know. That is, I'm good at skipping chores I don't enjoy, like scrubbing the kitchen floor, but I'm really bad at taking a break from my hobbies. Like, my idea of paring down is that I didn't try to put up like 500 jars of tomatoes and chutneys and jams this fall.* I have issues.

So rather than try to pretend that everything is hunky dory and that whipping up these costumes was no probs, I thought I would share how this ACTUALLY WENT DOWN, interspersed with adorable pics of my kids so you don't get too bogged down.

Early October: Kids come up with great ideas! Maggie wants to be a blue leopard beanie boo (the one called "Leona" by the company but named "Meow Meow" by my kids). Okay, that's pretty fun, I can get behind that.

And Joe wants to be a flying squirrel! Not like Rocky and Bullwinkle but like this:

SO COOL.

Early to mid-October: I get excited, spend late night time researching flying squirrels on my phone, and have fun shopping and buying all the fabric! Most of Joe's materials come from Britex, which means that his costume is like, absurdly high quality. The fur on his hat is the nicest fur I've ever worked with (and was priced like it was patched together from real flying squirrel pelts). Maggie's materials, on the other hand, come from a variety of places, with the blue leopard print minkie coming from Fabric.com, and it turns out to be one of the nastiest, most polyester, grossest-feeling fabrics I've ever handled. This stuff makes your skin crawl and your cuticles snag.

Days after I've spent more than a $100** on Halloween supplies: My sister sends me a link to an Amazon flying squirrel costume that costs $20. Are you trying to kill me over here?

But never fear, mine will be SO MUCH COOLER.

Third week of October: I sew up Joe's hood using the ever dependable Oliver + S Cozy Winter Hood, and it's awesome. I'm feeling good about myself! I also cut out all of the basic pieces - tops and bottoms - for the kids' costumes. The t-shirt pattern (for both kids) is the basic tee from Ottobre 1/2019. The leggings are Oliver + S Playtime Leggings.

My brother's girlfriend helped to design a bespoke Ty tag for Maggie's ear (which kept flipping back all night on actual Halloween, oh well!).

Fourth week of October: It's the last weekend before Halloween! I gotta get my act together!

I don't have material for the insides of Maggie's ears! So we head off to Stonemountain and Daughter. What? They don't stock lamé anymore??! Well, I'm sure as heck not going to JoAnn's all the way across town on the weekend before Halloween, I shudder to think how long that cutting line must be. So I buy an 1/8 yard of gorgeous $22/yard green silk charmeuse and glitter paint and I paint this beautiful fabric. (The glitter paint continues to flake off all through Halloween.)

Then I sew up Maggie's hood and the kids' tops and leggings. Maggie's blue leopard print minkie feels so gross and polyester-y on the back that I underline her top in cotton knit to make it wearable. I go to bed on Sunday thinking, "no problem, I just have the finishing details, like Maggie's eyes and tail, and Joe's wings and tail, to do, I can do that after work this week."

October 30: Of course, the problem was that I didn't get to these final details until about 7 PM on the night before Halloween. After a couple of insanely busy days at work, including a night meeting on the 29th, I find myself trying to finish up the costumes when I'm already exhausted and stressed. At this point, sewing these things is officially not fun anymore. Do other people ever get to a place of stress where they are just like "don't talk to me"? Or is that just me? ANYWAY. Pretty sure my brother and husband were literally tiptoeing around me while I sewed fluffy tails in angry, exhausted silence (in RETROSPECT, this is pretty funny, but it wasn't at the time, trust me!).

At this point, I run into issues. I thought I could fasten Joe's squirrel "wing" just to the neck and wrists of his t-shirt, but (a) the wing droops under his arms in a very non-flying-squirrel-like manner, and (b) Joe complains that the weight of his squirrel wing fabric pulls his shirt down from behind, creating a choking sensation at the front neckband. I will be honest, at this point I kind of want to bark, "suck it up!" but years of being this kid's mama have taught me that Joe is incapable of handling even mild discomfort, even for the sake of a killer costume. So, grumbling the whole time, I handsewed the "wing" fabric, which is like a skin toned swimsuit fabric, along his neck and arms to distribute the weight better and also tacked it to the bottom of his shirt. Then I pinned his tail through the shirt and leggings waistband to further anchor the wing fabric and reduce the drag on the back of the shirt neck.

At this point, it's late, I'm exhausted and frazzled beyond belief, and I decide it's a lumpy mess, and I'm unhappy with the effect but there is no time to fix it. I went to bed wondering why I do this to myself? Why didn't I just buy the kids some freaking store bought costumes like a NORMAL OVERWORKED AND FRAZZLED ATTORNEY? WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME???? UGH!

MORNING OF HALLOWEEN: Sleep helps some. I work from home so that I can go to the kids' Halloween parade. My sewing area is three feet deep in glitter, fake fur, and pattern pieces. I pack the kids off with their costumes and spend the morning trying to get a handle on my email inbox, which has, to my distress, become a place where important and time sensitive requests go to die. I am pretty sure there are actual cobwebs forming on some of these emails asking me to do important things ages ago! STRESSSSSSSS!

[Sometime around this point, my husband informs me that Maggie is being spotlighted as "student of the week" and that we need to find pictures of her and prepare a little presentation for her to give her class tomorrow. I explain to Steve that I literally cannot handle even one more thing and he flees, assuring me that he will handle it.]

HALLOWEEN PARADE AT SCHOOL: I drag myself away from the moldering inbox to go to the kids' school parade. Dang, my kids are adorable! And they are happy with their costumes! And their little friends are complimenting them, and their teachers smile at me and say, "you made that, didn't you?" The gloom starts to disperse, and I only find myself looking at the other kids' store bought costumes with envy and self-reproach a couple times.

That afternoon, I worked on my laptop on the back patio while my kids carved pumpkins, completely without adult assistance! Apparently, they have reached an age where they can be entrusted with sharp objects and no one gets hurt? Miracle of miracles!

Unsurprisingly, their pumpkin designs are cat-focused:

HALLOWEEN EVENING: After a totally adorable photo shoot in my overgrown and autumnal back garden, the kids are ready to go trick-or-treating!!

And although I was frazzled and tired and the costumes were not perfect (in my mind, anyway), the kids had a FANTASTIC time, clearly enjoyed their costumes, got pounds of candy, and I got lots of compliments! By the end of the evening I was explaining to folks that I sew my kids' costumes because it's fun for all of us! Yeah. LOLOLOLOLOLOL.

POST-HALLOWEEN: I am exhausted. My sewing area is a disaster. I never want to see fake fur ever again. I have decided that I really did push it too far with this project, my mental health was really suffering a bit there at the end, and that, at least as long as work remains this intense, I need to seriously rethink my choices as we approach the holiday season. It's not that I don't enjoy helping my kids to create the most amazing holidays - I do and it brings me a lot of joy! - but I always seem to, I dunno, overdo it a bit.

Humor me for a moment here. People often ask me "how do you do it all?" and I tend to shrug a bit. I don't feel like I do that much, honestly. I usually explain that I'm a homebody, I enjoy sewing and gardening, my kids are introverts and homebodies and likely don't do as many activities as their kids do, and I like to keep my weekends mostly open and unplanned. Plus, more humorously, I find most modern Netflix dramas to be too anxiety provoking, so "binge watching" is generally not a temptation for me! Ha! And normally, all this is actually true!

But then there are times where I have to admit - I am doing too much, and I am doing it because I am driven and determined, rather than because it's fun. I can't be the only one, right? And when it is your creative hobby that brings you joy and fulfillment, when it is your much-needed break and "happy place" away from a challenging and mental job, it can be especially hard to just know when to stop! It's possible to burn out on even the best things!

Of course, I'm also thinking, my kids won't want me to sew their costumes for that many more years ... they are really at peak Halloween age right now, and I don't want to let these years pass by without enjoying them to the max ... one day I will look back on these photos and just see that they were joyful and happy, and isn't that the most important thing?

But, as Steve mildly suggested, next year I should probably start sewing a bit earlier!

Do you have any words of wisdom for me? What do you do to create the magic while keeping the stress under control over the holidays? I could use ALL THE TIPS between now and Christmas!!! Or if you don't have tips, but you have been there, done that, and can commiserate please let me know I'm not the only one!

Footnotes:

* It's true that I tend to be an overachiever, at work and at home. I am always enthusiastically diving into new projects. But the truth is that Steve has been picking up some serious slack in the past few months and I am barely holding on, let alone cooking nice meals or putting up jam! I have kept up with sewing, but that's because I desperately need that tactile relief from my mental and abstract job.

** I am somewhat in denial about how much was spent on materials for these costumes. It was probably, ahem, quite a bit North of $100, although I did use some stash fabric for Maggie's costume ... as of November, I am back on the no-fabric-buying wagon.

School Picture Day Sewing: 2019 Cat Edition (Part 1)

2019-10-06T11:11:00.000-07:00

Why hello there, my dear, neglected blog readers! It has been a while! I will not bore you with excuses, you've been following me on Instagram, you know that all is well in my world.

One reason I haven't blogged: I haven't been using my beautiful nice camera! I have been taking photos solely with my iPhone, which is fun and easy, but then I do end up missing having some decent frameable photos of my kids. Especially because they refuse to smile for other people. So I broke out the nice camera, and then I thought, oooh, I should blog this make! So that's how that happened. Plus, even for someone who basically writes for a living, it's fun to write something that isn't about work. I had forgotten how fun. That said, it has been so long, I had relearn everything! Where does my camera automatically upload to again? How do I insert a link? Ugh!! It's all slowly coming back to me now ...

Okeedoke! It is now October 2019, and my kids are 1.5 years older than the last time I posted. Joe is ten years old, has lost his baby chub, has grown-up teeth, and bruises on his skinny knees and elbows. He is in fourth grade and doing fantastically. He is a strong reader, natural mathematician, and a great student (remember when he was three and barely speaking?). He has lost much of his shyness - he's still definitely a reserved person and an introvert, but he is comfortable and easy with all sorts of people. Basically, he is really growing up! He is, as ever, the apple of my eye.

But one thing hasn't changed: My kids are even more obsessed with cats than before. It started as Maggie's obsession, which has turned out to be one of those true, deep passions (not a passing phase!). She loves all things cat cat cat cat cat cat cat cat. It's really next level now. She and Joe speak cat much of the time, meowing and growling is a form of communication in our household. Joe is not as single-mindedly obsessed with kitties, but when it came time to choose fabric for his annual school picture day button-down shirt at Stonemountain, he chose this amazing Art Gallery "Fierce Felines" fabric. This is a very fine quilting cotton, with a smooth and densely woven hand, more like a shirting fabric than a standard quilting cotton. Highly recommend for this type of application. It is a pleasure to sew with.

Of course, this is the Buttoned-up Button-down Shirt by Oliver + S. A killer pattern, which I have now made three times. (The first version is here. The second version is here.) I would make it more often, but another thing hasn't changed: Joe still loves his comfort, and he doesn't really enjoy dressing up. Don't let these sweet photos fool you; he took his shirt off as soon as I said he could and hung out in the undershirt for the rest of the day. He's a good sport, but this is not his preferred mode of dressing. (Sadly for me!)

Knowing this, I sized up a bit for this shirt. Joe is a small 10 year old (he is smaller than many of his classmates even though we held him back a year and he's older than his peers). Previous versions of this shirt were size 6; this one is size 8. The shoulders are a bit broad and the sleeves a bit long but I figure that gives him a bit of room to grow and this will still fit for his one or two other nice-clothes wearing occasions next year.

I sewed this almost solely on my old 1920s Singer 99, which I rescued from a dumpster in Vallejo in 2014. You can see a video I made of the buttonholer attachment working here. It had been stored away for all of 2019 and I pulled it out to make jeans (should I blog the jeans I made?) because I knew it would handle the topstitching thread better than my regular machine. That was so fun I left it out and used it to make this shirt, with the exception of serging the side seams. And now I'm working on another project - part 2 of School Picture Day Sewing, 2019 Cat Edition.

At the end of sewing this shirt, I had a bit of a dilemma, because it was impossible to find a basic shirt style button that matched this fabric. I posted on Instagram: Navy or white? And the responses were basically split right down the middle, which was amazingly unhelpful! Lest I conclude that either would look great, some folks felt quite strongly about it, as well! One person said, "navy would make me buy this shirt," with the implication being that they would just pass right by white with a disgusted look? I only slightly wondered if we would be able to remain friends if I sewed white buttons on this shirt! No pressure, though! Ha!

The whole thing left me more indecisive than ever! Luckily, Joe is a Taurus and therefore much more decisive and less people-pleasing than his Libra/enneagram 9/INFP mother. He chose white. I sewed them on with blue thread, and I think they look great.

I am hoping that the navy button folks will remain my friends despite this choice ... I am trying to put all the blame on Joe rather than having to displease half of my Instagram friends after the great shirt button controversy of 2019...

But here's something we can all agree on: Joe is a bonny lad and his mother loves him so.

I'm working on Maggie's school picture outfit now. You will not be surprised to learn that there are cats involved.

Who knows? Maybe I'll get back into this blogging thing? Only time can tell ...

Happy Easter!

2018-04-12T18:53:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter! I know it has been a couple weeks since Easter (unless you're on the Orthodox calendar, in which case Easter was just this past Sunday) but I'm just now getting around to sharing pictures of my kids in their handmades on Easter. We kept things pretty quiet this year - we went to church, then we had a little Easter "egg" (plastic, filled with candy) hunt in the back yard.

A couple weekends before Easter, I decided I wanted to make Maggie a dress for the occasion using some of the fabric I've stashed for her. I picked out a Robert Kaufman London Calling lawn, "Flower Buds in Sorbet," which I had about two yards of, and started planning. Such fun! I had a pile of gorgeous yellow vintage notions that were gifted to me by a dear friend last Christmas, which worked perfectly with this print, and I felt like this lovely pastel floral fabric wanted to be made into a pretty little dress reminiscent of dresses of the 20s and 30s with a piped white peter pan collar and low waist. I also felt like it should have sleeves, since the weather at that time was still pretty gloomy.

Unfortunately, I do not own any patterns that fit this criteria ... or do I? I broke out my Oliver + S Building Block Dress book and got to work!

The Building Block Dress gives you a basic dress pattern (which is super well drafted and fits perfectly in its own right) for a dress with a natural waist, peter pan collar, short sleeves, and an a-line skirt. The book also provides instructions for variations on the pattern, which allows you to make practically any dress you can imagine. So cool, right? So cool.

And here we are! For anyone keeping track, I added length (and flared out) the bodice and added long sleeves (bell sleeves, shortened to elbow length and gathered slightly into bias binding), as well as a gathered skirt with some growth pleats. I sewed yellow piping into the collar and the waistband. If you're really keeping track, the bodice is lined with a soft cream cotton, matching the collar.

The back is closed with five yellow buttons, and there is a very small placket beneath to help Maggie get dressed easily.

This was a slightly fiddly but mostly enjoyable sew. The piping at the collar needed coaxing (ahem, my trusty mallet) to keep it flat, and I didn't have time to handsew the bodice, so the inside of the dress could be nicer. In my mind, the bell sleeves were going to end up a bit more gathered and poofy than they turned out in real life. But when I put the completed dress on Maggie, it was like, "Ahhhhhhhhh." Essence of vintage childhood here! She was a vision on Easter.

While looking absolutely adorable, Maggie was very serious in her egg-hunting, trying to beat her brother to every last egg if possible.

Her brother, thank goodness, was more chill, allowing Maggie to get more than her share without much complaint (if anything, he was pointing out eggs to her! at which point she would swoop them up and try to grab even more, reducing her brother's share, cue eyerolls).

But he's a good sport. He was most pleased with the little puppy with bunny ears that came with his Easter basket.

He wore his Buttoned Up Button Down shirt, which I made for him last year, for at least two hours, so we could go to church. He insisted on wearing it with sweatpants and took it off as soon as he could, but he did wear the shirt, and that's all I asked, right? He's not a huge fan of "nice" clothes.

Although it would be wrong to say his sister's competitiveness never gets on Joe's nerves, more often than not, he handles it with a little shrug and sweet generosity. He is able to remember, better than I am at times, that she's still a bit younger and we can't always expect her to stay cool under pressure. Also, candy is yummy, but you only need so much (we totally hid most of Maggie's!). He's such a sweet kid. And when she's not trying to rob him of candy, she's a loving and sweet little sister.

Did you sew for your kids this Easter? Are you making spring clothes? What are you sewing this season?

Playtime Dress, Kitty Shirt, and Happy Birthday Oliver + S!

2018-03-17T14:59:00.000-07:00

I'm back with some Maggie makes! Continuing on my stashbusting quest, I have had a one yard piece of this adorable printed corduroy in my stash for a loooooong time. It has a little bit of stretch, and I believe I bought it from Mabel Madison, a great (warning: not inexpensive by any definition) online fabric store that sources those super cool European fabrics you see in Ottobre magazine and the like.

I decided to pull out a long-time favorite pattern I haven't sewn in a while, the Oliver + S Playtime Dress. I didn't have enough fabric to make sleeves, so I decided to make a cap-sleeved jumper. I drafted facings for the sleeve caps to echo the neckline facing, sort of like the Marilla Walker Maya Top. It made a really cute little jumper that can be layered over a shirt, under a cardigan, or worn alone.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, corduroy is such a pleasure to work with! It is a great fabric for a beginning sewist, because it behaves so well (just make sure to cut all your pieces going the same way and use a pressing cloth), and it has a lovely soft drape.

Maggie loves the soft fabric, the pink flowers, and, of course, THE POCKETS. "These are the best pockets in the world!" she announced on trying this dress on. I'll take that as a win!

I wanted my topstitching to stand out more, so I used two pink threads threaded through a jeans needle to topstich the facings and hem. Because of the busy pattern of the fabric, the topstitching doesn't stand out as much as I had hoped, but it's definitely bolder than it would have been with just one thread.

Did you know that Oliver + S is currently celebrating its 10th anniversary? They've had a series of great blog posts celebrating ten years and 50 patterns! I was first introduced to Oliver + S in 2010, when Joe was just a tot! My first Oliver + S pattern was the Sailboat Pants (check out this ancient blog post! baby Joe!). At that time, the pattern seemed so advanced and intimidating! But they went together so well, and looked so professional! I was so delighted! I went on to make many more pairs, as well as a million pairs of Sketchbook Shorts. It is not exaggerating to say that Oliver + S patterns kickstarted my passion for apparel sewing. Liesl's instructions are so clear that sewing with her patterns feels totally doable, even as you're picking up tons of new skills. Plus, the community that sprung up around Oliver + s, on the blog, the forums, Flickr, and now Facebook, is truly extraordinary. I have met some of my dearest internet friends through Oliver + s patterns! (As I like to say, anyone who thinks internet friends are not "real friends" clearly does not have the amazing internet friends that I do!)

I calculated that I've sewn at least 33 separate Oliver + S styles, counting separates individually, and my blog has 75 some posts tagged "oliver and s." Several Oliver + S patterns are TNTs that I've made over and over and over. Eight years later, I still love sewing Oliver + S patterns. The patterns are reliable and versatile, and although not cheap, they are a great value. My kids have grown up in these patterns, and I love to see them still wearing them.

Happy Birthday Oliver + S! I know the sewing world has changed so much in the past ten years, and the terrain is different now than it was in 2008 (I continue to believe that the great recession was the impetus for so many of us picking up sewing - we could no longer afford our old hobbies!), but I hope we'll continue to see more patterns from Liesl in one way or another for another ten years (and beyond).

The August 2017 issue of Mollie Makes came with a package of pretty vintage-style buttons, which Maggie has been asking me to put on a dress for her since they arrived. This jumper was the perfect opportunity to use them, and the dark pink flower buttons echo the flowers on the fabric perfectly.

(Incidentally, I subscribed to Mollie Makes for a year, and Maggie and I enjoyed perusing the issues, which are full of adorable and colorful projects. I tried a couple of the projects and there are lots more I'd love to make someday. But the international shipping costs are really high, so this year, I discontinued my Mollie Makes subscription and subscribed to Ottobre Family and Women instead, figuring that I would get more use out of sewing patterns than crafty stuff - plus they ship less frequently so the shipping costs aren't as extreme - but we'll see! I definitely enjoy getting some fun sewing-related mail to break up all the bills, but all the good publications seem to come from Europe!)

After I finished the jumper, I realized Maggie needed a long sleeved shirt to go under it, and annoyingly, I didn't have enough of the dark pink fabric I made these leggings from to make a shirt (I made a shirt for her from the same fabric two years ago, but it is basically in shreds now). So I went to Stone Mountain for another couple yards of raspberry cotton lycra (a staple in my sewing for Maggie), which unfortunately led to a hard fall off the no-fabric-buying wagon and I came home with 9 yards of new fabric! ACK! I blame this t-shirt, people.

But seriously, this knit is super nice. Thicker than a Laguna knit, it has a good amount of lycra for stretch and recovery, but a nice beefy feel to it. I bought two yards, which goes a long way for Maggie, and I expect it will make nice sturdy leggings.

My home printer is super slow and tedious to use these days, which has meant that I've been turning more to patterns I just have to trace, rather than ones that have to be printed out. I decided to try a new Ottobre t-shirt pattern for this, and went with the "Black Cat Tee" from Ottobre Kids 6/2016, #11. I chose it because it was a simple and basic long sleeved shirt, but Maggie noticed that the example in the magazine has a cat applique, which, of course, I was planning to skip!

But my kitty-obsessed girl was in love! As she explained, "Everything is better with a kitty on it, mama!" Um, who can say no to that? So I agreed to do it, and we decided to make it a girl cat in a purple dress.

I used fusible web to stick the pieces to the fabric, and then attempted to stabilize the back of the applique with Sulky Sticky + Stabilizer. This did a great job of stabilizing the area while I was sewing the applique on (I used a basic straight stitch), but unfortunately I did not read the instructions and didn't realize I wasn't supposed to apply heat to it. I ironed another piece on my applique with the stabilizer adhered to the back, and this caused it to super bond to my fabric. When it came time to "tear off" the tear-off stabilizer, it wouldn't budge in the areas that had been exposed to heat, i.e., most of the head and torso of the cat! UGH!!! And the stabilizer was pretty thick and stiff, although Maggie was willing to look past it and wore the shirt all day anyway!

I was hoping that a wash would loosen the adhesive, and thankfully, it did. When I pulled it out of the washing machine still damp, the stabilizer peeled off pretty well, and even better after it air dried (I didn't want to risk having the heat of the dryer adhere it even more). Now there are only a few small spots where the stabilizer is bonded on. I'm hoping it will eventually wear off, and I can iron some interfacing/backing over the applique to remove any roughness.

That drama aside, Maggie loves this shirt! I like the relaxed fit of this pattern and will use it again for sure, and she loves kitty!! She's right - everything is better with a kitty on it!

All the leggings shown in post were made by me, from Ottobre 1/2017 - #3, "Baggy." This is a great one-piece legging pattern with a slightly baggy bottom. I've made a million pairs mostly becuase it's so easy and I have the traced pattern sitting out on my sewing area! The largest size in this pattern is Maggie's size (size 98) so I'll have to find a new leggings pattern soon (the Playtime Dress comes with a great one, I just didn't happen to have the tracing sitting around!).

I'll leave you with some epic hair shots - Maggie bouncing on our new trampoline, which the kids got for Christmas! It's really seeing action now that the weather is warming up. Maggie's hair is still baby fine, but she has a surprising amount of it! (The white blobs flying around are her socks, which she took off to bounce.)

Chances are good that if you comment on this blog, I met you through the Oliver + S online community! Most of all, I am so glad to know and follow all of you! What was your first and last Oliver + S pattern?

Thanks for reading!

Two tops and two skirts.

2018-03-04T14:06:00.001-08:00

Hello! My stash busting and blog catching up continues. I wanted some nice knit tops for chilly days that were work appropriate (business casual) and I have been meaning to try out the Grainline Lark Tee Expansion - this expansion pack includes a dress view and a two different neckline options, a regular turtleneck and a "cowl" neck. I was hoping for something like the Renfrew Cowl neck but without having to purchase another t-shirt pattern when the Lark fits me so well.

You may have noticed that this shirt doesn't actually fit me that well .... Well, both the regular turtleneck and the cowl neck use the crew neck Lark, which I haven't ever made before, so I went ahead and cut that out. Problem being, I forgot my size and cut it out in a size 12 instead of a size 10 like my former Larks - size 12 is definitely a bit large, although still wearable.

Background information: I have a dread of fabric touching the hollow of my neck. I hate it. I like a nice cowl that falls away from the neck, or a loosely wrapped scarf or collar, but no tight turtlenecks for me! Welp, the expansion cowl is very, very tall. Very tall!

When pushed down, it is also very heavy, and quite tight. This is the face of a woman being strangled by her own collar.

Okay, now some people might really love this neckline! I could see it being very warm and cozy in a cold climate and, obviously, not everyone has my weird neck issues. But it wasn't going to work for me!

I cut the cowl off, shortened it by half, and sewed it back on. Ah. Now my neck can breathe! A much better garment for my climate, too.

This change made this top wearable, but I wouldn't say it's my favorite make. It's a bit too large, and the neckline, while better than before, wasn't the cowl neckline of my dreams.

Sidebar: This is a Mabel Skirt I made last year in mustard ponte, which I am only now blogging but wear all the time. I lengthened the skirt to a midi-length and used the plain front version of the pattern. I added wide elastic at the waist, too. This is one of my most sewn patterns, I believe this is my fifth skirt and I would love a few more! I've really personalized this pattern and I love this version.

I retained my favorite part of the pattern, which is the lovely kick pleat. It's an easy feature to add, and it definitely adds some polish to this basic knit skirt.

Back to my quest for the perfect cowl ... after conferring with Masha, who has sewn the Refrew many times, I decided to try altering the Lark cowl to more closely resemble the Renfrew. I used the scoop neck version of the t-shirt (in size 10) for a much lower neck, and made a much wider, somewhat shorter cowl than the Lark expansion piece. In looking at these pictures, I actually think I could have made the cowl taller and fuller without it becoming claustrophobic at all. I think a larger cowl would balance out my large bust really nicely too. Well, it's a continuing journey!

Unfortunately, I initially put the sleeves on backwards, and had to redo them! They still look a bit messed up to me, but I have been wearing this top a ton so it's obviously not worrying me too much.

The fabric for both these tops came from the sales that Britex had before its move to a new space. This olive green rayon lycra is really knit perfection - so buttery soft and drapey.

And yes, I made this skirt as well! More precisely, I refashioned it. I found a Gap minidress at the thrift store, and was immediately drawn to the firm, stable fabric! The dress fit me in theory but it was unflattering with a high neck (again!) and mini length. I simply chopped it off below the bust, folded the top down, and added wide elastic to make it a skirt. I didn't change the angle of the skirt, so it's slightly a-line and hits just above my knees now. I have been wearing this skirt to work (on more casual days) frequently, it's comfortable and goes with all my solid colored tops.

All of these fabrics came from the stash (and one came from the pile of "mend or refashion" items).In the month of February, I sewed up about 6.5 yards from the stash, which was pretty good! Unfortunately, I also went to Stonemountain and fell off the wagon pretty hard, buying 9 yards (in my defense, some of that was on sale?). Oof! But I'm still ahead for the year and I'm still trying to make a dent in my stash this year!

I have a few more pieces of fabric that would make great cowl tops if I want to continue on my journey of drafting the perfect cowl for the Lark tee. But at some point, I might switch to spring tops instead, we'll see! (Of course, our Bay Area summers are colder than our winters a lot of the time, so there's that to consider too!)

Are you still sewing for cool weather? Or have you moved on to hot weather sewing? (Realizing my Southern Hemisphere friends are considering the reverse!)

Loungewear for me.

2018-02-25T15:20:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! Ugh, how much do I hate posing for photos? AWKWARD, right? But I'm sucking it up for the sake of y'all and posterity.

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm trying to sew down my stash. And a lot of my stash was bought to sew things for myself, so sewing down my stash is going to require me to do quite a lot of selfish sewing! The timing for this is good, since Me Made May is coming up and I have had to donate or throw out some very worn out me-mades. It's good to think I've been sewing for myself long enough that some items no longer fit my style, fit well, or have been worn to shreads! It's hard to let my sewn items go, but I'm telling myself it's a good thing overall!

One giant gap in my wardrobe was comfortable pajamas/loungewear/workout wear. And one giant pile in my stash is flannel and random knits. So I whipped up a sweatshirt and a pajama pants, both from Butterick patterns.

Let's start with the sweatshirt, I picked up Butterick BP305 on discount the last time I went to JoAnn's. I liked the interesting cut of the sweatshirt/sweater dress, and the pants looked intriguing as well.

I don't know why this says B6388 on the corner? Mine says BP305.

For my first take on this pattern, I used some second-hand cream french terry I picked up very cheap at the Depot and have tons of. It's nice and stable, with a good amount of stretch, but doesn't hang super well - I consider this a wearable muslin. Although I love that dress, I wanted house/weekend/exercise wear so I went with the sweatshirt.

The cut of this sweatshirt is very fun, with a cute triangular side panel, very dropped shoulders, a shawl collar, and a cute u-shaped inset in the back.

Based on my measurements and the finished measurements, I went with a size medium, but there is plenty of ease. If I make this again in a nondrapey fabric, I might size down to size small.

I read about this pattern on Pattern Review and based on some reviews that noted that the collar can be too soft without interfacing, I added some lightweight knit interfacing to the collar pieces. The result was a collar that is a smidge too stiff for my tastes! It stands up a bit more than I think it's supposed to. Next time I will interface only half the piece, up to the fold line, at most. Interfacing can probably be skipped entirely for more stable knits.

Whether it's the color, the size, or the shape, I'm not sure this is the most flattering garment on a top-heavy figure like mine, but it's super cozy and nice to wear. I am hopeful that it would be a little more flattering in a drapier knit. In the meantime, it's perfect for tooling around in the garden or walking around Lake Merritt. I would absolutely try this pattern again, and in fact I have my eye out for the perfect fabric (but I haven't bought any yet - yay me!).

Next up, flannel pajama pants! These are the Lisette B6296 pajamas, which I've been meaning to make since the pattern came out. I generally sleep in t-shirts and pj pants, so I wasn't particularly interested in making a whole ensemble and stuck with the pants.

If I recall correctly, I made a size 10, grading out to a 12 at the waist. I needn't have graded, however. These have PLENTY of ease. I am debating whether I would go down a size if I made them again or at least slim out the legs, which are quite wide in my opinion.

The pants have a cute little back yoke for shape, a separate waistband, and really generous pockets. They reach to mid-thigh! The extraordinary depth might be because of another issue, though. This pattern is insanely long. The finished side length (as disclosed on the pattern) is 42 inches. I am 5'4" and have a normal length torso but shorter legs. I used the lengthen/shorten line to shorten the pants about six inches! Don't forget about the cuffs as you're factoring in your length, btw.

This flannel is a really nice quilter's flannel that I picked up years ago and have forgotten the provenance of. I want to say it's similar to a Denise Schmidt print? But I couldn't find it online. It's nice and heavy and easy to work with, and it has held up well to repeated washes.

I added some dark green piping to the pockets and the cuffs just to add a little bit of definition and because I love me some piping! With the piping on the cuffs, I had to change up the sewing instructions a little bit. The instructions have you sew the cuff to the bottom of the pants and finish the seam allowances, so there's a raw seam inside. I sewed the piping side on first and then folded down the seam allowance on the inside and stitched in the ditch, for a cleaner finish.

All in all, these may not be the most exciting things I've ever sewn, but they have seen a lot of wear, especially as my Victorian house gets quite chilly in the winter and we have to layer up! And although I don't sew all that often with Big 4 patterns, these were both easy and fun sews with interesting design lines - a good reminder that Big 4 patterns are a tremendous resource for the intermediate sewist. But, I do need to remember to size down, because they are notoriously big (on ease).

Do you sew your own lounge wear? What patterns do you recommend/what are your TNTs?

I am still catching up so I have lots more projects coming to the blog soon!

More PJs/nighties!

2018-02-18T17:52:00.001-08:00

Oh hi! *Sheepish wave.* It's already halfway through February, and this is my first post of the year! Oops. Just trust me when I say that January kicked my family's collective booty, and February hasn't been much better. So. Much. Sickness. So much. We've just been rotating illnesses over here.

Anyway, here we are! And I have some catch-up to do!

So although I was completely derailed by various illnesses, I nonetheless started out the new year with a burning desire to make a dent in my swelling, exploding, completely ridiculous fabric stash. I know I've said this before, but this year I started tracking how many yards I'm taking in versus out in my bullet journal, and so far I have sewn up like 15 yards and bought ZERO fabric! So that's pretty great. Plus I did a deep clean of my sewing area and dropped off three bags of fabrics/notions/patterns at the Depot and sold some vintage patterns on Instagram. Yay me!

As I mentioned in my last post, it now takes quite a lot of fabric to make my kids nightwear, so I felt like I needed to use up some of the flannel pieces I have had stashed for a bit, from back when 1.5 yards (or even one yard!) seemed sufficient to make something for my kids. Aw, they are growing up so fast! (Cue bittersweet moaning.)

So I'm very pleased that I managed to squeeze a pair of PJ pants for Joe and a whole nightie for Maggie out of about 1.5 yards apiece!

First off, Joe's pajama pants. These are the Sleepover Pajamas by Oliver + s, this time in size six with a bit of extra length, with no cuffs, but deep hems and a separate waistband piece. I'm realizing I need to take some of the rise out of these for Joe.

Another motivating factor: Who knows how much longer Joe will be totally wowed and thrilled by RAINBOW CHEVRON fabric? Hopefully forever, but alas, life can be hard.

I attempted to match the rainbow chevrons, but that ain't easy! It is what it is!

Sorry the photos aren't that great - January shooting is not fun around here! Joe was such a good sport, trying these on so that I could adjust the rise first, and then the hems. I like how the deep hems mimic the cuffs that the pattern comes with.

Maggie's nightie was another, different vintage pattern, which I made once before, years ago, for my niece. This pattern was passed down to me from my auntie, who made it for her kids back in the day (ah, the late 70s, early 80s, my favorite nostalgic age!). Isn't it sweet?

Not the exact pattern I have. Mine is sizes 3/4.

I had a small piece of printed-on yellow gingham plaid flannel which I picked up second hand from the Depot. With good luck (plus prayers and hope), I managed to squeeze this nightie out of it with only tiny scraps to spare! It turned out a scosh big, but it's nice to think it might last a whole year.

I added some stash lace to the front and back yoke. It turned out insanely twee, which is to say, adorable! #ownyournostalgia

The nightie fastens in the back with two buttons, attached with thread chains. I found these soft yellow buttons that matched perfectly. Every single thing came from my stash!

The long sleeves and elastisized wrists are A-DORBS, amiright? Gah. It's like I've gone back in time 35 years, to the time when me and my friends roamed the neighborhoods in unsupervised gangs and got twee nightgowns for Christmas every year from our auntie who sewed. RIGHT? RIGHT? Y'all remember what I'm talking about, I hope!

Thanks to posting this on Instagram, I am now the happy owner of the larger size range in this pattern (thanks Karen!) so I can extend the nostalgia for several more years! Yay!

My favorite part of this pattern is the offset pocket, which is sewn on the gown at a 45 degree angle. I added a little bit of lace to that too. Hilariously, Maggie finds it quite useful, although it must be one of the most impractical (read: cute as all get out) pockets I've ever sewn.

So cute, right? Well, my kids are pretty set for flannel nightwear, at any rate, and these items used up 3 yards of stash fabric! Fabric that might not have been as useful if I had waited another year! As I get caught up here, hopefully I can share the pajama pants I made myself as well as some other stash sewing.

Do you have any sewing resolutions for 2018? Are you trying to sew down your stash?

Holiday Sewing 2017.

2017-12-26T13:51:00.002-08:00

Season's greetings, friends! I am popping in to share a few items I sewed for the holidays. As usual, I had ridiculously ambitious plans for Christmas sewing, including gifts for the kids, decor items for my house, and gifts for many friends and loved ones. And as usual, I had to face reality and cut WAY back in the face of a very busy December. Sigh. So it goes!

But I did manage to make a few very special items! First, stockings for my nieces. Full disclosure: I actually pieced these stockings last year! I didn't have time to finish the stockings and my nieces used purchased stockings last year. Rather than finish them up in the new year in the absence of any Christmas spirit, I put them away in my WIP bin and nearly forgot about them. In November, my sister politely asked me if I might make my nieces "very simple, personalized" stockings, and I was like, "Um, I actually started them last year and just need to finish them!"

No problem, right? I already did the hardest part when I pieced tiny postage stamp pieces (1" squares) from a variety of Christmas (and non-Christmas!) prints (mostly Cotton & Steel but there is a good amount of other stuff in there too) and quilted the stocking fronts last year. Well ... somehow these still took most of the season to complete!

I spent the most time designing and embroidering the personalized cuffs. My niece Augustine usually goes by Gus or Gussie, but she told me she wanted her stocking to say "Augustine." Yes, ma'am. But that's a lot of embroidery! And at the end, Helen's more graphic cuff seemed to make Augustine's look weak with an excess of negative space. So I added a little more embroidery and the little felt holly and berries, with a matching garnish on Helen's cuff.

Assembly took longer than expected too, with all the piping I did. I backed them in the softest, most luscious cotton velveteen from Stonemountain. The fine linen I used for the cuffs came from Britex.

All in all, these were a labor of love that took more than a year to officially complete, although I probably spent less than a week of afternoons working on them total, it still felt like a serious effort! I am so pleased with how they turned out, though! So all that work was worth it. I love that they coordinate but don't match, reflecting the individual personalities of my sweet nieces.

After I finished the stockings, I had to face facts: I was not going to be able to make any gifts for my kids for Christmas this year or complete the cathedral windows cushion I was dreaming about. Le sigh! But I could do one more easy project: Christmas pajamas

It is growth spurt city over here, and Joe has grown like three inches this past year. The pajama pants I made for him last year are too tight in the rise and too short, although he still wore them to school recently for pajama day. Joe often wears sweats to sleep in, but with pajama day being a thing at his school, I think he needs a couple pairs of decent dedicated PJ pants. I have a bunch of flannel so maybe I'll whip up a couple more pairs!

Although you know your kid is really growing up when a pair of pajama pants requires every last bit of two yards of 45" wide fabric! Ay yai yai! He's practically a grown up!

Once again, these are the Oliver + s Sleepover Pajama pants. Last year I made him size 6, reduced in length. This year, I made size 7, with all the length in tact and cuffs that can be folded down for extra length if needed later! I put a little bit of white piping on the cuffs for that old fashioned men's pajama look. They are roomy, but if this year is anything like the last, that will be a good thing! It's bittersweet seeing my kid shoot up like this, although on the bright side, he's willing to eat a lot more variety of foods these days! Hunger will do that to you, I guess!

Who is that rude girl? LOL! This was not the easiest photo session, and this was, tongue notwithstanding, one of the better shots I got. Ah well! For Maggie's nightgown, I used vintage Simplicity 9968, the same pattern I used for her last year. Maggie has grown ... a bit ... in the past year, and last year's nightie, which was a size 2 with extra length in the sleeves and hem, is now short on her. So this year, I cut out size 3 and added a bit of extra length. I actually think I could have stuck with the size two and just added a ton of length to it, as this nightie is a bit wide in the neck in my opinion, but it works okay.

So Maggie is so much smaller than her peers, we have been known to worry about her some! She's also a VERY picky eater, which contributes to our anxiety about her size, because it just doesn't seem like she eats very much. Now, both Steve and I were small as children and relatively late bloomers so we figured she was just a chip off the old block, but we still worried sometimes. We shared our concerns with her amazing pediatrician, who noted that she was bright eyed, energetic, intelligent, and clearly thriving, so she didn't think anything could be seriously amiss, but recommended her for some testing. She had her wrist x-rayed - apparently you can judge a child's development by the growth of the bones around their wrist. If a child's wrists are normal for their age but their stature is extremely small, that could signal an issue. But if the wrist bones are undeveloped, the child is probably just a late bloomer, and will continue to grow past the time when their peers stop. I'm sure I'm way oversimplifying this - isn't it fascinating? Anyway, Maggie's wrist indicates that her bones are like those of a three year old, two years behind her chronological age! Weirdly, this is good news and indicates that she will likely continue to grow for at least two years past the average age, and will likely be a late bloomer like her parents (both Steve and I grew into early college years, and despite our small stature as children, turned out pretty average height in the end).

So yeah, size three! This pattern is dead simple, with a lined yoke, gathered long sleeves with elastic, and a gathered skirt. There is a keyhole neckline in the back, and I used a simple flat white button and made a thread chain for the back closure. I used a bit of red piping at the yoke this year, for a simple look that coordinates with Joe's PJs. This nightie also needs the better part of two yards with those sleeves, so it's a good thing I rounded up when I bought fabric for these! Gone are the days when I could make anything for Maggie with 1.5 yards.

The fabric is, of course, Cotton & Steel brushed twill in "Teddy and the Bears" - Joe's wearing the blue colorway, and Maggie's nightie is pink. I love Cotton & Steel holiday fabrics! Well, truly, I love all their fabrics, but their take on Christmas is always fresh and interesting. I love that these pajamas read just a little bit Christmas - they are actually quite subtle!

Well, I've now made the kids Christmas pajamas two years in a row. Is it a tradition now? Only time will tell ...

Some smaller things I made (ornaments, a covered journal) can be found on my Instagram feed. And that's a wrap!

Merry Christmas and Happy Boxing Day, friends! We had a wonderful Christmas here, and I have a new macro lens to try out on my camera! I am excited to turn to some selfish sewing in the new year. Did you manage any holiday sewing this year? Do you always bite off more than you can chew when it comes to holiday sewing plans?

Some special things for a special baby.

2017-11-08T11:43:00.001-08:00

Okay, full disclosure: I don't usually make baby quilts. In fact, the only babies I've made quilts for until now were blood relatives. And I haven't even made a quilt for Maggie yet! When my friends have new babies, I am more likely to whip up some little baby pants for them. Quilts are a lot of work, and I figure most of my friends have a grandma, auntie, or other friend quilting for them.

But I was inspired to make a quilt for a very special little guy. My friend's (33 year old) husband was diagnosed with cancer and went through chemotherapy earlier this year. She cared for him while pregnant with their first child, and under a lot of stress. He's out of chemo now and doing great, with a pretty encouraging prognosis. But then my friend was diagnosed with preeclampsia and her baby with IUGR, and she had to deliver her baby boy at 30 weeks! Ugh! So he spent weeks in the NICU. He's home now, but still only four and a half pounds, and it has been quite a road!

As a friend, I felt so powerless to help and a little upset with the universe for handing this young family SO MUCH SHIT (excuse my language, but wtf universe?), ya know? I mean, really! But when my friend asked if I could sew Avery's name on a little banner she picked up at Target, I realized, I do have some skills that can be called upon at times like these! YES! I may not be able to cure cancer or prevent premature birth, but ... er ... I can sew!? (Yay me? Well, it's something, I guess.)

So I did more than just sew Avery's name on a banner. But I did that too. By hand, with two layers of felt for each letter.

The kids helped me with every step of these projects. After I cut out the letters and their "shadows," Joe pinned the pieces onto the banner and happily displayed the banner. "Send that photo to Avery's mom!" he said. I didn't, because I wanted the banner to be a surprise, but I told her the story, and she was delighted to be called "Avery's Mom." Some of you may remember when being called someone's "wife" or "mother" was unfamiliar and different - I do. That's where Avery's mom is these days, but I expect she'll get used to it soon enough.

Each of the letters on the banner, plus the heart and the star, were sewn on by hand, first with a blanket stitch, and then with a running stitch. The end result is very puffy and 3-D, and I'm happy with it. Yeah, I probably could have found an easier way to do this banner, but it was enjoyable work.

I couldn't just sew the banner, though. I wanted to do more. I had the great honor of helping my friends repaint their (very cool, craftsman) rental house, and I got to see a little bit of their style. I also plumbed my friend for color preferences. She said "orange and turquoise" and it was like I won the lottery! Except, of course, I had to add a lot of mustard yellow, which is conveniently the color of baby poop ...

The back of the quilt is really gorgeous (and conveniently colored) Dear Stella Arctic Foxes cotton flannel, which is super soft and nice to work with. And FOXES.

I made a little label with baby's first and middle name and birthdate. I noticed that my friend felt pretty negatively about her baby's birthdate, because he was so premature. But he shares a birthday with my best friend of nearly 30 years, and I feel that THIS IS A GOOD DAY TO BE BORN. Every birthday is a miracle.

The fabrics in this quilt came mostly from my stash. They are *mostly* Cotton and Steel, but there are solids and other prints mixed in as well. Not being a designer quilting fabric expert, the only one I can name is the Lotta Jansdotter "Ranka" fabric with the vertical "vines" in orange and dark brown, which has been marinating in my stash for years.

When I decided to make a baby quilt, I immediately went to my Facebook sewing friends group, a tight-knit group of friends who met over breastfeeding our babies, believe it or not! I've "known" these ladies for 7+ years now, although I've only met some of them in person. My friend Mahriam, an incredible quilter (blog and insta), helped me choose fabrics for this quilt. Poor thing was TRYING to hang out with her kids and have a normal day, but I kept texting her pics of fabrics! She was such a good sport, though, and really helped me curate fabrics. My friend Kelly helped a bit too. At one point she turned one of my photos into black and white, and I thought something was wrong with my Facebook Messenger. But no, it turned out this was a form of quilting magic, and she was "checking for values." Magic, I tell you!

Then my sensible friends, knowing both my (lack of) quilt skills and my tendency to be overambitious, wisely advised me to go with a nice and simple quilt. Mahriam did a tutorial about a brick pieced shower curtain she made a while back and suggested I go with that. Ultimately, this simple style showcased the prints I chose, and it meant no matching of corners, making for a really easy to piece quilt!

Once again, I engaged child labor in the arranging of fabrics. Actually, the kids arranged the pieces magnificently, with no two bricks of the same fabric touching, and then I got the strips mixed up and could never replicate what they had done, so the final arrangement is not quite as good as what the children came up with.

I know the quilters out there will appreciate this photo! Poor Steve had to hold up my quilt and endured criticisms such as "the top of the quilt is sagging down a bit, please straighten!" and "straighter please!" This is his "WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO NOOOOOOOWWWWW" face. #husbandofsewistproblems

I agonized a bit over how I should quilt over the brick piecing. Horizontal lines seemed too boring. Diagonal lines would require a lot of marking. I did some internet searching and found some examples of wavy lines, which I really liked, but I had never quilted with any kind of curved lines before! Well, I decided to try it anyway, and I'm happy to say, it was SO easy and I am really happy with the final results! I just sewed wavy, intersecting lines, across the quilt, without much of a plan, until I was happy with how it looked. There are a few lines that are not as smooth as I would have ideally preferred, and one or two tiny puckers on the back, but nothing that warranted unpicking. Although this quilting, like all quilting, gave me a back and shoulder ache, I was able to quilt the entire thing in an afternoon. I will definitely be revisiting organic wavy line quilting for future quilts!

I dropped off the banner and quilt with the new family last night, and was delighted that the quilt matches the artwork they just ordered for the nursery. And baby, while TINY, is strong and doing well!

I will leave you with some cute photos I took of Maggie on the quilt.

She is just so exuberant! So full of life.

As always, thanks for reading!

- Inder

Maggie Bunny and Joey the Rainbow Unicorn

2017-11-01T20:57:00.002-07:00

Hey y'all! Just stopping in to share my kids' Halloween costumes, which totally derailed my Ottobre sewing of earlier October (still need to sew two t-shirts and a pair of sweats for Joe) but was totally worth it, because, please meet MAGGIE BUNNY AND JOEY THE RAINBOW UNICORN.

Maggie knew she wanted to be a bunny this year pretty early on, but Joe was waffling between a spider, Spiderman, or a unicorn (I know, random). Initially he just floated a couple references to unicorns, so I didn't think unicorn was a serious contender. But then after doing some Google searching (yep, that's right, this kid can search the internet on his own now! bring on the parental controls!), he was dissatisfied with the spider and Spiderman options. It wasn't until quite late in October, when Joe saw the soft "cuddle minky" fabric I got at Britex for Maggie's bunny costume, that he informed me that he HAD to be a white cuddly unicorn! This minky is really ridiculously soft.

On the one hand, I wanted to be like, "Couldn't you have told me this three weeks ago?" On the other hand, he had such implicit faith in my skills! As you all know by now, I am putty in this child's hands.

Okaaaaay. At this point I was thinking that maybe we would do a blue and green mane, for a more "masculine" unicorn (who am I trying to kid?). But I took Joe to Stonemountain (this was a multi-Bay Area indie fabric store project!), and he fell head over heels in love with this rainbow fur. It was LOVE, people. RAINBOW UNICORN LOVE. After it was cut, he galloped around Stonemountain, much to the delight of everyone present. What can a mama do in the face of such rapture? It was ON.

Once the supplies were chosen, the costumes were pretty simple (albeit time consuming) to make. I made Joe's unicorn hood and Maggie's bunny hood using the "Cozy Winter Hood" pattern in Oliver + S's book, Little Things to Sew. This was my first time sewing this pattern, but I stood on the shoulders of giants. This pattern must be one of the most hacked and embellished indie patterns out there in the interwebs. A Google search of "Cozy Winter Hood animal" brings up hundreds of examples. And it worked a charm for me too!

Both hoods are XL. My kids have big heads, almost as big as mine. Joe's horn is gold lamé, and the ears are lined with gold as well. Lamé has got to be one of the worst fabrics to sew. It frays, it gets snagged on everything. It's a royal pain. Luckily these were small pieces. I used thread to "spiralize" the horn, and tacked the thread down by hand. One of the weaknesses of the final product is the tendency for the threads on the horn to get unspiraled, but after a last minute repair (this hood was worn from the moment it came off the sewing machine), it seems to be holding up now.

The horn was sewn onto the hood by hand, and the ears tucked in the seams. (I had to redo the ears several times - who knew that subtle changes in ear shape can change the look of an animal so much?) After the outside was sewn together, I hand-stitched the "mane" (an unfinished piece of fake fur) to the hood, then sewed the lining to the hood, right sides together, with all of that tucked inside.

I am not even going to pretend to be humble about this hood. It might, seriously, be one of the best things I've ever made! HA! It is definitely one of the most popular and loved things I've ever made. Both of my kids have been wearing it nearly nonstop since I trimmed the last threads. Having seen it, I think everyone kind of wants one! May we all be rainbow unicorns!

I also made Joe's long sleeved shirt and white sweatpants. The pants are a simplified version of the Oliver + S Sleepover Pajama pants, omitting the cuffs and waistband. I just laid out those pieces next to the main leg piece and cut these out! This is a soft, thick, white fleece. The t-shirt is from Ottobre 6/2013 #34, a very simple long sleeved shirt, made from Laguna jersey. It's snug, almost like long underwear, which is nice for layering. I am wondering if I should dye the white duds so that Joe can get some more use out of them, since white doesn't stay white for long! We'll see if I can work up the energy for that after all this sewing.

The tail is another piece of unfinished fur (did you know that you can tear fir across the cross-grain? and it makes hardly any mess and doesn't unravel? I am SO GLAD!) tucked into his pants because he didn't like the idea of a safety pin on his bottom.

"But ... pins are POKEY."

No amount of explaining would alleviate his fears, so tuck away!

I whipped up some simple felt "hooves" for his wrists and ankles to complete the costume. Joe did a lot of galloping around! I was a little worried that he might get some negative comments, but all he got was high fives from his classmates and admiring remarks from fellow trick-or-treaters.

Now, Maggie's costume! The soft minky was intended for her costume, and I got the softed sueded pale pink jersey EVER from Britex for the details. I cut additional slits in the Cozy Winter Hood pattern for her ears, so that they would sit perpendicular to the seams. Her hood hack was not as successful as Joe's however. I could not for the life of me get those dang ears to stand up! I interfaced them with very stiff pellon, and even interfaced the top of the hood where they sit, but no go. I thought about wires but it was the weight of the ears that was dragging down, not the stiffness of the ears themselves. So then I tacked the ears back a bit, hoping that would help. But it didn't really. The ears flopped forward half the time Maggie was trick or treating, sigh. Oh well, they are pretty cute!

Maggie's sweatshirt is made from the soft minky, with a sueded pink belly appliqued on, and Laguna jersey cuffs and waistband. The sweatshirt pattern is Ottobre Kids 6/2015, #15, which I made for Joe earlier this year and has a fun saddle-style shoulder. The leggings, also in Laguna knit, are Ottobre 1/2017 #3, the baggy leggings I've been making Maggie nonstop since last year.

All she needed after that was a tail and some face paint! Maggie was very in-character as a bunny.

Both kids had a great time trick-or-treating and the costumes were a hit!

It's always such a crazy exercise, making costumes for my kids, knowing they will only wear them, IF they wear them at all, for a few hours. But I love that my kids still think I can make them ANYTHING, and they still appreciate mama-made costumes. Over the years, I've learned a few things about costume making (having suffered a few rejections in the past, ahem). Okay, actually, I've learned one thing: COMFORT. My kids told me that they did not want chin ties on their hoods, so there are no chin ties. Sure, some hoods blew off in the wind here and there, but no big deal. The outfits are made of soft knits. Nothing is too tight or uncomfortable, because my kids are not capable of wearing something even slightly uncomfortable, for 30 minutes, even if there is candy involved. Seriously. These were hard-won realizations!

Final thoughts: I may never get the minky fluff out of my sewing area. I needed to press my black suit for a meeting this morning, and Steve was like, "why are you standing in your underwear, vacuuming off your ironing board?" I know YOU guys understand! I can't press my black suit in a pile of white fuzz. I am pretty sure I am suffering symptoms of minky inhalation (class action suit pending?). That said, I had a blast making these, and my kids are at peak-Halloween age now, so that made it especially fun! Aaaaaaaand I will be very glad to return to my regular sewing. Thank goodness Halloween only comes once a year!

Joe: "I wish it was Halloween tomorrow too."
Me: "Um. Nope. NOOOOOPE." *coughs minky dust*

Did you sew for Halloween? How much do you hate minky? Discuss!

Comfy pants.

2017-10-21T09:44:00.002-07:00

Hello readers and happy October! The weather here is changing, and as you can see, the pumpkins are out and we are photographing indoors again (although we haven't actually turned on the heat yet; we put that off as long as we can).

I am happy to report that making Joe a Buttoned-Up Button Down brought my sew-jo back full force! (To be fair, the change in seasons probably helped too - hot weather with no air conditioning makes sewing seem pretty unappealing.) After complaining about my swelling stash all summer and avoiding it, I decided to tackle the plastic bin of knits in my living room HEAD ON, with some Ottobre sewing for the kids. Ottobre Kids magazines are packed with fun knit patterns, and I've found it's easiest to do a ton of tracing all at once, cut out multiple knit items, and then assembly line sew them on my serger and coverstitch. This allows me to try out new patterns (which is fun and keeps my mind occupied) and whip up a lot of practical clothes for my kids in one big go.

But this recent binge has gone well beyond the "mini wardrobes" I've done in the past - this was less "mini wardrobe" in the sense that it was a planned capsule wardrobe for each of my kids and more like TOTAL STASH ANNIHILATION. (Warning: this may be one of those posts with way too many all-caps, because MY SEW-JO IS BACK, WAHOOOOO!)

I cut out and sewed seven - yes, seven! - pairs of leggings for Maggie, two pairs of sweatpants for her, and two dresses. Joe is getting two pairs sweatpants (and I have fabric for a few more this winter) and three t-shirts. I can now fit my kid's knits into one plastic bin instead of two, and I might even be able to justify buying some that lovely Nosh fabric everyone is raving about at some point - after I tackle the knits meant for myself, anyway.

I am still working on Joe's items (the items were divided up by serger thread color, and we are on the blues), but today I'm here to share my most wildly successful Maggie make so far: SUPER COMFY PANTS.

These are the "Slim-Fit Leg" sweatpants from Ottobre 1/2017 (Pattern #17), which is a great issue of Ottobre and inspired my mini-wardrobes earlier this year. These cute sarouel-style sweats are shown in grey on a little boy in the magazine, but the pattern is obviously unisex. They have just one piece for the front and one for the back, a fold down waistband, and cute round pockets with ribbing and topstitching. I cut these out in size 98 (roughly equivalent to size 3). They fit her perfectly, although based on the other size 98 items I made for her, I'm realizing she has grown a bit and could generally do with a bit of extra length.

I thought they looked a bit goofy when I laid them flat, but Maggie LOVES them, weird baggy bottom and all.

Maggie says that the ribbing around her ankles is her favorite part, because it makes the pants "really warm"!

Sorry for the so-so photos, but yeah, these have been a major hit! I made two pairs, one in this lightweight mottled pink french terry I got from the bargain bin at Stonemountain (and still have a ton of, sigh), and one in a thick warm cream fleece I got second-hand at the Depot for Creative Reuse. I am especially glad to use up some of the cheaper impulse-purchase fabrics in my bin, because, basically, I bought too much of them and I am sick of looking at them! I don't know when I will learn that two yards of 60" knit is way too much fabric if I'm planning kid stuff. Both pairs of sweats use the same salmon-pink bamboo ribbing I got at Stonemountain. I swear by this stuff. It's super stretchy, has excellent *pop* (recovery), it behaves itself while sewing, and they have a decent selection of colors. And a half yard will provide ribbing for four or five projects - maybe more!

For the cream pair, I used dark pink thread for topstitching. Both pairs of sweats were constructed entirely on the serger and coverstitch machine.

These are by far the biggest hit from this latest sewing binge. Maggie would wear these every chilly day (and night, and next day) if she could. Finally, Joe and Maggie can lounge in their sweatpants together, right? She says these pants are the "most comfy pants ever!!!"

I will leave you with some gratuitous Maggie cuteness! Maggie's smiles light up our house (and anyone who happens to be nearby); and when Maggie's not happy, ain't nobody's happy. She is funny, smart, chatty, and snuggly. She loves to help me with all my craft and sewing projects (and constantly suggests more), so I suspect she's gonna carry on the family tradition of craft! She loves cats and hates dinner (unless it's pizza). She still crawls into bed with me most nights, where she proceeds to kick off the covers and kick me all night, but her cheeks are so kissable I don't even mind. She's the bestest!!

She likes to watch TV or just hang out on the couch upside down, like this. No, seriously, she's like this a lot! And these are the perfect pants for this type of couch-yoga.

I'll be back soon with some Joe sewing! Is your sew-jo seasonal? Discuss!

School Photo: Oliver + s Buttoned-Up Button-Down.

2017-09-29T17:30:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! After finishing Maggie's Class Picnic outfit, I decided to make Joe another collared shirt to wear for his upcoming school picture. I was planning to use the Sketchbook Shirt pattern, as I did last year (making shirts two years in a row: is this becoming a tradition?), but before I had a chance to get started, the new Oliver + s pattern, the Buttoned-Up Button-Down, was released! The timing could not have been more perfect (except that I didn't have enough time to wait for a paper pattern to arrive and had to download it, so I guess it could have been a tiny bit more perfect? but I'm not complaining). It has all the details I've been not-so-subtly bugging Liesl to include for years: a separate collar band and collar, tower plackets, more pocket options. As soon as I saw the new design, it was a case of "you can't take my money fast enough." Last friday morning when it came out it was like, BOOM. Downloaded and sent to the printer. Okay, now I can put my clothes on and go to work.

Liesl has mentioned in the past that boys' patterns don't sell as well as girls' dresses, and sewing for both a boy and a girl, I intuitively understand this. There is just more variety in girls' patterns, and dresses are fun and easy to sew. Whereas boys' patterns tend to be more basic, and more similar to each other. And perhaps not as ruffly or exciting in the cover art. In our culture, boys and men are more conformist or "normcore" in their dressing. But as a long time boy-clothes sewer, I also know that this is the big draw of boy's sewing. Because the styles aren't as varied and involved, the subtle details tend to shine more: the colors and fabrics and accents take center stage. There is something really enjoyable about sewing understated, classic styles with fun details.

And although Joe would prefer to wear t-shirts, knit shorts/pants, and sweatshirts every single day (and this is exactly what he normally does), he looks insanely handsome in a proper shirt. The issue, as always with Joe, is making him something that is comfortable enough to wear more than a couple days. He's always been, ahem, insanely picky about clothes. He's not a big fan of woven fabrics, full stop. He prefers soft knit fabrics. And he's definitely not a fan of collars. Especially in woven fabrics. So getting Joe to actually wear a button down shirt can be a challenge.

With that in mind, I chose a Lecien double gauze for this shirt. I bought this fabric last year, I believe, and I honestly don't remember where. At first, I remembered A Verb for Getting Warm, but now I'm wondering if it was Imagine Gnats? I don't know! It's not on either of those websites now, although I found a different colorway here. Anyway, it's very soft and pillowy stuff, and I definitely bought it with a (short sleeved) shirt for Joe in mind. I was hoping it would be very soft on his skin. I was delighted when I was able to squeeze a long sleeved shirt out of this piece, which cannot have been much more than two yards, since I find double gauze is cool when it's hot, but quite cozy when it's cold. Plus, I wanted to try those tower plackets.

Of course, sewing this pattern with a very poofy and soft fabric like double gauze (or flannel) means that you may not be able to get crisp points or details like you would in a shirting fabric, so my tower plackets ended up a bit soft, but that doesn't bother me. I found this fabric easy to sew and the print makes it very forgiving.

Okay, so let's talk pattern details, shall we? Given that I was using a quite thick double gauze with a busy print, I opted to make View A, the simpler dress shirt option. After measuring Joe's chest and waist and the desired shirt length I cut this out in a size 6. Joe is 8, but he is average in his class of mostly 7 year olds and wears size 6 in RTW clothes. The size six is perfect in terms of hem length for my tastes, and the sleeves are amply long on Joe.

My one little nit? I do feel like this shirt is a bit wide in Joe's shoulders. After looking at the shirt on the pattern testers, it seems like the shirt is intended to be a bit wide in the shoulders, but it seems especially wide on Joe. If I make this again I may reduce the width somewhat. If a pattern is intended to have a dropped shoulder, usually the top of the sleeve has a shallower curve and less easing than this sleeve. So I think I would prefer it closer to the natural shoulder line. But I wouldn't want to go down much in overall size because the neck fits perfectly on this shirt. I must read up on narrow shoulder adjustments! That said, I think this is one of those issues that only I will notice.

As always, the instructions in this pattern are excellent, and Liesl walks you through all of the steps carefully. I like her technique for attaching the neckband/collar and cuffs. This was really a lot of fun to sew, and although I was on a short timeline, I enjoyed the process and finished it in time for school photos!

I admit, when I put this on Joe, I freaked out a little bit. IT LOOKS SO GOOD!! I was totally proud of this make, and made all the adults in the household admire it, possibly more than once! And then I posted a rant about how awesome it turned out, and how gorgeous my kid is, to my Facebook sewing group (thank goodness these are good friends!). I was MIGHTILY PLEASED WITH MYSELF, seriously! Button down shirts are a lot of work, and not the fastest project, but the pride I feel when I finish a shirt full of awesome, profesh, shirt-y details? Priceless.

How does Joe like it? Well, he enjoyed the photo shoot!

It seems that he can move quite well in this shirt, thank you very much!

And he happily wore the shirt (over a plain white t-shirt) for school photo day, and didn't take it off until he got home (even though it was a really hot day!). And I never heard a peep about the collar bugging him. So I'm considering this a win! Whether he'll wear it without me specifically requesting it remains to be seen.

(He's wearing his shirt with these Sketchbook Shorts, which I made last year and still fit great. The piping on the pockets and the drawstring totally coordinate with this shirt and the mustard and teal look amazing next to each other.)

Just look at that face! Just say the word, kid. I am putty in your hands! I know, I know, the shirt is fine, but it's all about the model, right? Unfortunately for my future career as Hollywood child model mom, Joe is too shy to do this professionally.

But don't worry, there was plenty of this too. He is 8 years old, after all.

If you have boys and you haven't sewn them a button down shirt recently, I heartily recommend this pattern! The ego-boost you will get is amazing, and of course, if they like it too, that's just gravy.

What are you sewing these days?

First day of Class (Picnic).

2017-09-07T19:49:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I skipped August on this blog! Ugh! I've been having some issues with sew-jo lately, with too many WIPs and a fabric stash that is weighing me down instead of inspiring me. It's no good when your hobby becomes an obligation, know what I mean? And the hot weather definitely hasn't helped. I am trying to get back into it, knock off some of those WIPs, and get my inspiration back.

Although I haven't been sewing as much, it has been a great summer. I've been learning string figures, spending lots of time gardening, and we all really enjoyed the kid's summer break this year.

This blouse has been a long time in the making, at least mentally. I've wanted to make another gingham Class Picnic blouse for Maggie for a couple of years. I've made her three Class Picnic blouses over the years, and two of them were gingham, also with piping (here and here - look at baby Maggie!). This pattern SCREAMS to be made in gingham, I say. I picked up this lovely, very lightweight cotton gingham a year or so ago, I can't remember where - maybe Britex? It is such lovely, soft stuff. I'm sure I had this blouse in mind.

But I've also been plotting something else for several years - a gingham blouse with chicken scratch embroidery. Chicken scratch is a type of embroidery that is traditionally worked over gingham. It's also called gingham lace because, when it's worked in all white, it looks very lacy. I got totally obsessed with chicken scratch a year or two ago; I'm not sure what started it, but it took over my apron and handwork Pinterest boards! Chicken scratch was popular during the Depression and the 40s, and was frequently used to decorate gingham aprons. It is a counted-stitched embroidery (like cross stitch), worked over the natural grid formed by yarn-dyed gingham.

My specific inspiration for this blouse was this gorgeous Class Picnic blouse made by Spicy Jellybean Kids (check out her blog! it doesn't seem to be kept up, but her sewing is gorgeous! ETA: Find her at @spicyjellybeankids on IG!) I've been thinking about that blouse for a long time!

I chose a different design for Maggie's blouse: pink and green flowers over a field of white "stars." I copied the pattern from this pin, and I knew the pink flowers would help Maggie to accept the non-pinkness of the fabric. The stars actually hold the flowers. This is a really fun (and fast!) type of embroidery to stitch, and the embroidery took a leisurely day or two to work. I applied some woven interfacing to the back of the embroidery in hopes that it would make it a little sturdier, and the white piping further stabilizes the yoke. My experience with the Class Picnic blouse is that the front neckline can get saggy because it's partially on the bias (worse if you put the actual yoke fabric on the bias, as I did with my prior gingham Class Picnic blouses. A little bit of piping and perhaps a woven lining or twill tape stabilizes that gentle curve.

This is a size 3T, with no changes or alterations, on (tiny) five year old Maggie. I like that this top has some extra length and will hopefully fit for a while yet.

The end result is sweet - yes, a bit twee - and I love it! The great thing about the Class Picnic is that it's really a sweet little peasant top, but with just a little bit of structure. It is one of my favorite Oliver + S patterns, for sure.

With the pattern out, I couldn't resist tracing and cutting out some Class Picnic shorts to coordinate. I've seen several versions of these on blogs and Instagram this summer in all one fabric, and I was reminded how much I love this pattern. So I quickly whipped up a pair in Robert Kaufman union chambray. In size 3T, this pattern takes less than a half yard of fabric, I think. I love it!

I added a pink ribbon bow as decoration (again, everything needs some pink!) and to help Maggie tell the front from the back when dressing. Full disclosure: Maggie was initially disappointed that these shorts don't have pockets, but she seems to have gotten over it now.

Maggie started her last year of preschool today and had a great day! Both of my kids are back in school now, but I refuse to let go of summer until at least the autumn equinox! My garden is pumping out tomatoes and cucumbers with no end in sight, and September tends to be one of our best months for warm weather. So I predict these warm-weather clothes will get a bit more wear before they're put away for the winter. I hope I can find the time to make her these blouses every year, because I love this pattern!

Are you still sewing summer things? Is your fabric stash getting you down? Dish.

Geranium Expansion Pack.

2017-07-15T10:18:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that I love Made By Rae patterns (I have 42 blog posts tagged with Made By Rae!), and the Geranium Dress is one of my absolute favorite girls' patterns, simply because it is so versatile and easy to make up! I've made it a few times (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), ahem, and it never gets old! So when Rae released the Expansion Pack, it was pretty much a done deal for me. Yeah, I could figure out some of those hacks on my own, but why? Plus, sleeves!

It just so happened to be time for me to make a dress for my wonderful, red-headed niece's seventh birthday, so I figured, why not? My sister informed me that Helen has decided she no longer likes pink, preferring blue, and that she is also rejecting "poofy dresses," which is all pretty much music to my ears, since Maggie is still all things pink, bedazzled, and poofy whereas I would love to sew all the raw-edged gray linen dresses (per Shelley's excellent graphic)!

Fun fact: My mother is a true redhead, as is my brother. My dad has brown hair but his sister is a redhead. My sister and I are more brunette (with some red), but the ginger genes are strong, and Helen is carrying on the ginger family tradition! At least one per generation!

I dug into my stash and found this gorgeous moth fabric from Teagan White's Fort Firefly collection with Birch organics. I've had this piece for a long time - I think I bought it with Maggie in mind, but she's never favored it when it came time to choosing fabrics. Helen likes it, though! The moths are a browny-pink, but not PINK, and the background is a lovely muted aqua. I paired this with a glowy-pink/brown chambray, also from my stash, which I bought way too much of at some point in time.

The Geranium dress has many different options, and I chose the cap sleeve and pleated skirt as my starting point for this dress. I knew Helen would like the pockets, and the pleated skirt doesn't have much "poof." The Geranium XP adds a bunch more options, so I went with the peter pan collar, extended bodice, and hem band.

Knowing that my niece is super tall for her age, I made a size six, but lengthened the bodice extra as well as the skirt. Sewing for Helen usually goes like this: I add copious amounts of length to everything and convince myself that the dress will be nearly floor length. Then I put it on Helen and it's already too short. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. So this time I was really generous with added length, adding like six or seven inches total to the pattern, felt very sure that this was going to be looooooooong on her, and it turned out just about right, barely knee length, with no room to grow. Um. She is so tall!

I really could have lengthened the bodice a smidge more, huh? This, despite having my sister send me pretty detailed measurements! Ah well.

This extra long bodice required five pretty brown shell buttons up the back. I finished the inside of the bodice and the inside of the hemband by hand. I also understitched the collar, although the instructions didn't call for it, and used a mallet to flatten the collar join at the front so that the lining wouldn't show, which worked okay. Overall, this was a fast and easy sew. I am looking forward to trying more the XP variations, like sleeves!!

In retrospect, I really wish I had removed that stupid soccer net before taking these photos, but I was rushed as it was during Maggie's birthday party that I finally delivered the dress, and Helen took a while to warm up to the camera. As a result, I have this stupid net in every photo, but at least you can see what the dress looks like! I suppose if I were a wiz in Photoshop, I could remove it (maybe?), but I can barely do basic editing on photos!

Dang, our kids are growing up so fast! Something about those adult teeth coming in (all snaggly!) makes children suddenly look so much older and more grown up. For Helen's birthday, I offered to give her sewing lessons, as she is definitely the crafty sort. We haven't started yet, mostly due to logistics - my sis and I finally found a good time, and then Joe decided to get super sick and we had to cancel! But I am hoping we can start that up soon. She wants to design her own dresses, and patterns like the Geranium make that easy to do!

Do you have a go-to birthday dress pattern? Is there hope that Maggie might decide she likes colors other than pink and purple some day? Discuss!

Maggie Joy turns FIVE!

2017-07-05T20:40:00.000-07:00

Maggie turns FIVE on Sunday, people! I KNOW, RIGHT? Wasn't I just posting about being pregnant with her five minutes ago? Time is so weird. SO EFFING WEIRD.

Well, don't worry, I'm not going to get too maudlin about it. I am subsuming my sentimental reactions into sewing, as I am wont to do.

So, okay, baby girl needed a birthday dress, obviously. I have heaps of fabric I bought with Maggie in mind, but most recently, I bought this gorgeous coral/dark pink eyelet at Stone Mountain and Daughter (ironically, this eyelet is shown in the image for "Cotton Eyelets" generally, but no longer available for sale, sorry!) when Maggie and I were shopping for Luna Lapin. Both Maggie and I were all the heart eyes at this color - it's pink! But an interesting, coral pink!

I bought a yard and a third, thinking I could squeak a dress out of that amount, and then it shrank in the wash, so I had more like a yard, probably 48 inches wide? C'est la vie. Luckily Maggie is still a wee lass! She still measures size 3T in most patterns.

I debated a while about what pattern to use. I considered some of the ruffly patterns that recently came out, like the Polina or the Marlowe, both of which I bought right away and can't wait to make, but the Polina's frills are cut in a spiral (like the Geranium dress shoulder ruffles, totally awesome, but not good for using a straight grain eyelet lace edge), and the yardage was a no-go for the Marlowe. So I decided to dig deeper into my stash, to some Oliver + s patterns I owned but had never tried. And that's when I decided to try the Croquet Dress. This pattern calls for one and a quarter yards for this view, but I had a suspicion that I could work it out, cutting everything on the cross grain, and without hems for the sleeves and skirt, and I was right!

This is the sweetest pattern! What took me so long??! It's the perfect little Edwardian dress for a little girl! Nostalgic, old fashioned, and lovely. I can't wait to make it again, maybe in seersucker? It is so pretty! Hashtag #alltheEdwardiandresses (You can also make a pretty blouse from this pattern, btw.) In eyelet, it's everything I adore about A Room With a View minus the constraints of Edwardian social mores.

It took some ninja layout skills, but I managed to cut this dress out from a mere yard and change. The bias waistband had to be pieced, but because I lined the dress, I did not have to cut out shoulder strap or yoke facings. Heck, I even managed a matching dress for bunny! YAY!!!

I cut this out in size 3T, with a bit of extra length (which is easy to do when you're dealing with eyelet and not planning to hem - just put the bottom of the skirt on the lace scallops!). The length is perfect, but it is actually a bit big in terms of shoulder width? Next time I make this (new fave!), I'll take it in across the chest an inch or so. It's totally wearable as-is, but there's a little extra fabric across the front that you can see below.

I lined this dress in raspberry/pinky red cotton voile, also from Stone Mountain. It was the perfect lining for this fabric - lighter colors looked awful, but darker colors (purple) showed through the fabric. This lining deepens the intensity of the pink eyelet in the best way. The sleeves are the only part of the dress I left unlined.

Lining this dress increased the complexity of construction a tiny bit, but even so, it was such an easy make! After working on several projects for myself (blog post pending!), this felt SOOOOO easy and fast! As usual with Oliver + S patterns, the instructions were excellent.

One little snag - because this dress is in eyelet, and so is the bias waistband casing, white elastic showed horribly through the fabric. I solved this by running pink satin ribbon along with the elastic, to cover the white. This worked well, although it made the waistband a bit bulky and quite "firm" as Nicole would say. Which then aggravated another issue - with this one lovely keyhole opening with button in the back, it's not the easiest dress to get on and take off - and my "firm" waistband worsens that quite a bit. It's a bit of a struggle, honestly, but thankfully Maggie loves pink party dresses so much she will tolerate that (no comment). For my next version, do you have any suggestions for making it easier to get in and out of? More buttons? A back button placket? Let me know!

This was my first thread loop, amazingly. See, I always pick up new skills from O+S patterns, even old ones that are really easy!

Maggie Joy was pretty happy with her birthday dress. She was even happier to learn that I had made Luna a matching dress!!! When I was Maggie's age, I went bonkers for that sort of thing as well, so I was only too delighted to make that happen for Mags. (Plus, bunny clothes making is my new obsession! Because FUN!) This combo was an early birthday present for Mags-a-licious and I'm so glad she likes it, even if, frankly, neither her dress or bunny's is that easy to get on and off!! Ha!

I know you're all dying to know the deets on the bunny outfit. One of the patterns in the Luna Lapin book is a cute lace tank top. I used that for the bodice of the dress and then winged a gathered skirt. After all my ninja cutting for Maggie's dress, I did not have enough scalloped lace to do Luna's skirt, so it's just hemmed, but both dresses have the same raspberry voile lining.

Five does seem like a momentous age, even though we've decided to keep Maggie in preschool another year, so she'll be six when she starts kindergarten. Her teacher feels like she could develop more in social confidence, plus she's teeny-weeny. And public kindergarten is a lot more academic (and, ahem, less fun) than it used to be, at least in my 'hood, so I am in no rush to push Maggie into that environment. We're super blessed to have a fantastic (and affordable) preschool and a loving and supportive preschool community that we've been involved in since Joe started right after Maggie was born, so that helps too. But still, five is a biggie.

At any rate, Maggie is the most super delightful kid ever! (Except when you try to feed her, but that's a story for another day - this kid is a PICKY EATER, all caps.) She's sensitive, perceptive, creative, artistic, a great sewing partner, and funny as all get out! She and Joe really, truly, dote on each other. From toddlerhood, it was obvious to us that Maggie appreciates and accommodates Joe as much as the reverse. It's wonderful to see, and I'm so lucky to be the mama of the two best kids ever!! (Not at all biased.) Margaret Joy, you truly live up to your middle name! Happy birthday, baby girl!

Luna Lapin: A Bunny for my Maggie Bunny.

2017-06-11T19:30:00.000-07:00

Meet Ms. Luna Lapin, a "quiet and kind rabbit with impeccable taste." Maggie and I discovered her through this lovely book, which I grabbed on impulse when I was browsing the local bookstore on my lunch break. This is a British book, with full size patterns for the bunny and her extensive wardrobe (and brother's wardrobe), included. Luna Lapin seems to have a bit of a following in the UK, based on my google search results, although I had never heard of her until I saw the book.

Maggie was immediately captured by this book, which provides a sweet narrative for Luna as well as lots of pretty pictures of Luna in her many dresses and adorable accessories and immediately started planning for her own Luna.

She selected a snowy white wool felt for Luna's body, and we selected a pretty Liberty print for Luna's ears and the pads of her feet. Maggie preferred the look of small safety eyes to the buttons used for Luna's eyes in the book, and I found a soft browny-pink for her nose.

Luna is partially sewn by machine, and partially by hand, using regular polyester sewing thread. She has moveable arms, with buttons used as joints, and a separate bottom piece that allows her to sit well. It took me a couple nights to finish her body, with Maggie acting as a tireless and relentless taskmaster. Then it was time to work on her wardrobe!

Luna's first outfit is a simple shift dress with neck bow, with mary janes and a lace shrug. She has cute knickers underneath.

We chose a cute Cotton & Steel Lucky Strikes print for the dress and swiss dot for the undies. Maggie and I made a special trip to Stonemountain & Daughter to source bunny supplies, including lace for the shrug, tiny bunny buttons and snaps for the back of the dress, and lace to trim the knickers. Maggie charmed everyone in the store with her cute self and her bunny!

So I know that the sewing blogosphere is alive with adult underwear sewing, but I'm here to tell you that sewing bunny knickers is THE MOST FUN THING EVER. Seriously. Maggie was especially delighted with the little rose, which I found in my prodigious stash. Note for next time: Cut a slit for the bunny tail.

The book calls for a yard of scalloped lace to make the shrug, but it would be a terrible waste, since the pattern only uses the edge. Instead, we were able to make the shrug from 3/4 yard of a 5" wide, scalloped on both sides, lace trim. The pattern for this was pleasingly origami-like and fun to sew! I used a narrow zig zag to sew the lace seams, and based on how hard it was to seamrip one seam I did by mistake, I'm going to to say that it's very sturdy!

Aren't the shoes adorable? They call for little miniature buckles, but I used small buttons instead. Ridiculously cute.

I am happy to say that Luna is a well-loved member of the clan. She is a happy bunny, as far as I can see!

Me Made May 2017.

2017-06-05T18:30:00.000-07:00

Well, I did it again, folks! I participated in Me Made May and posted pictures of my outfits (with at least one item I made myself every day, and multiples on many days) on Instagram every day in May. Some of these pictures included beverages (coffee, smoothies, and IPA). Others included stuffed animals when dictated by Joe or Maggie or photo-bombing kids and husbands. Taking daily selfies definitely gets tedious - a good sense of humor really helps!

I'm not going to get too navel-gazing about this process, but I do have some observations.

Prints vs. Solids. Styles have changed a bit in the past couple years, and my many printed t-shirts and blouses are starting to feel dated (in addition to worn to shreds). I find myself wanting to wear solid colors (or stripes) more. Maybe it has to do with the sedate (depressed?) mood our country (and world) is in right now, or maybe it's the influence of the many capsule wardrobes the sewing bloggers have been working on lately, but I seem to be embracing the all neutrals minimalist trend. (Let's just pause for a moment to reflect: I have been sewing for myself long enough that some of my me-mades feel outdated!? Yay, me!) Some of my most-worn items this month were the new cream Hemlock tee I just made, my black herringbone Pleated Pencil Skirt, my beloved black and cream striped Mabel, and my cream sleeveless Archer. I have several more neutral or semi-neutral items in the pike. I'll probably look back on this two years from now and think "BORING," but right now, it's what I'm enjoying, you know?
Mustard Yellow. And yet. I made a mustard yellow Mabel Skirt and sleeveless Hemlock tee this month, which I hope to blog soon. I'm taking the position that mustard yellow (or "golden," as my kids call it) is a neutral.
Business Wear. I wore suits or at least a blazer frequently this past month. With greater responsibilities at work come more formal meeting situations, which means wearing a suit more (blah, I'm not a fan). I knew going into this May that I didn't have enough simple blouses to wear with suits, and in fact that was the biggest struggle. Because I have a large bust, I have historically favored a loose drapey shell under blazers rather than a button-down shirt. The Maya Top is probably my favorite top to wear with suits, although I'd like to branch out a little bit. Recently, I've been noticing some Josephines with released pleats or pleats converted to gathers that look really pretty, and I am considering making one in a very drapey (solid, neutral) fabric. On the other hand, I really like the way my cream Archer shirt looks with suits, and one of the advantages of sewing for yourself is that you can avoid gaping or too-tight button downs. Sewing up more button down blouses to wear with suits is also on my list.
Casual Wear. I'm doing pretty well with me-made casual weekend clothing. I love my t-shirts and sweatshirts to death. One issue I noticed this month is that I like to sew casual skirts that I don't wear very much, because they aren't formal enough for work, but nor are they ridiculously comfortable and easy to wear, which is a requirement for weekends. Here, I'm talking about my Moss Skirt and Brumby Skirt. I love both these skirts, and I do wear them, but not as much as I would if they were either more work appropriate or more appropriate for actual house and gardening work. For someone else, these would be wardrobe workhorses, but they languish in my closet. On the other hand, t-shirts, and anything with an elastic waist gets worn to death. Lesson? I guess I should embrace my Fred Rogers-esque costume changes and make more pencil skirts and work-appropriate blouses, as well as more t-shirts and elastic waist pants, and less "middle ground" items.
I still don't wear dresses. I mean, hardly ever. And that's okay. I have a uniform, and it works for me. Separates FOREVER! I'm eyeing my Alder Dress, thinking I might convert it into a blouse. Stay tuned.
Simple shapes. I do want to keep trying new techniques and more challenging makes, but it should be noted that my most worn me-mades are very simple shapes. These aren't always the most exciting things to sew, but are so very versatile and practical!

The best thing about May Me Made this year was how inspired I was to sew some more clothes for myself! My feed was SUPER INSPIRING, I started following a bunch of new-to-me IG feeds, and I sewed no less than four tops and one skirt this month (and made good progress on a button-down shirt), which is more selfish-sewing than I've done in a year! A huge part of that was the excitement and camaraderie of seeing what all of my sewing friends were wearing this month. To all of you who participated in MMMay17 or liked or commented on my posts this past month - THANK YOU!

Did you participate in Me Made May? Any big takeaway lessons?

Selfish Sewing: Three Grainline Tees.

2017-05-21T18:19:00.003-07:00

With Me-Made-May upon us once again, I am participating but struggling a bit because I barely sewed for myself at all last year, so most of my me mades are more or less in tatters. One of the purposes of Me Made May is to reveals serious holes in your sewn wardrobe. Well, that's easy for me! I need everything! Ha!

Okay, realistically, I need more blouses to wear under suits, and I need more simple t-shirts.

At the beginning of May, I started scribbling out some plans for selfish sewing, and I've made some progress with those plans, although never as much as I'd like! My plans included several new tops, including some knit tops, all in creams, to help beef up my me-made wardrobe. Thus we meet here, with a (not all that exciting) blog post to share some very neutral t-shirts!

The first t-shirt is a Grainline Hemlock Tee with short sleeves, using a burnout ivory stripe from Stonemountain. This fabric has been in my stash since last summer, yay stash busting!

In addition to the obvious short sleeves, I did a little split hem on this one, following the idea of this tutorial, but with some obvious differences in hem-distance.

This is my third (?) Hemlock tee, and I really love this (free!) pattern. In my experience, Hemlock Tees look great untucked or tucked into a skirt for work. I do always take off a significant amount of length in the body, but I am in love with the neckline (even though it sometimes slides to show bra strap). There's not much to say about this pattern, except that it's dope! Try it out!

Next up, two Grainline Lark Tees! Two V-NECK Lark Tees, actually! I decided to tackle the dreaded v-neck, finally! This was my first time sewing a v-neck t-shirt.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: Do not try to do a v-neck for the first time on a striped knit, especially a drapey rayon one like this with tiny stripes as well as normal stripes. BAD IDEA. I had to cut off my first v-neck and try again with a new neckline and even so, it's a tiny bit wonky, which you can see if you zoom in above. But, luckily, not terrible in a normal wearing environment.

This is another Stonemountain fabric, one of those really lovely but really difficult and shifty fabrics. Another problem with v-necks - the Lark tee instructions have you sew the v-neck with your sewing machine. But this is exactly the kid of fluid, grabby, shifty fabric that my sewing machine hates most of all and basically devours. It was pretty impossible. I ended up serging the neckline despite the lack of precision and it's a freaking miracle that I didn't totally butcher it, but the sewing machine was also no bueno.

Which brings us to Lark V-Neck Tee, take two, in a really lovely ivory organic cotton/lycra from Stonemountain. This one has cropped sleeves, perfect for a hot day in the garden. I didn't think I liked cropped sleeves until I made the Lark last year, but this is a GREAT sleeve.

I thought, after the stripey version, that V-Necks in a solid color - well, that was going to be no problem. Obviously it was the stripes that made it difficult, right? Um. Well, let's just say it also took two tries for this neckline, and it's noticeably lower than the one above because I had to cut off more and improvise a new neckband piece. And the final version is still visibly wonky if you zoom in. UGH!

I've concluded that v-necks are legit hard.

Somehow, this does not reduce my desire for more v-neck Lark tees, though! I am totally feeling the v-neck right now. It's casual and relaxed in exactly the right way, and shows off my necklaces perfectly! I suppose this might be a skill I can develop with practice, right? I mean, there was a time when any knit neckline had me terrified! I can do this. Eventually. Maybe.

Also seen here, my Moji Pants, which I had to literally cut off my leg last summer when I broke my foot (think swollen leg in plaster cast, moji pants digging into said swollen, tender appendage; it had to come off). The shredded, ripped open pants sat in my "to-mend" pile for a year. I was convinced they were toast. I think the fact that they had felt so tight when I had to cut them off made me think they would definitely be too tight when I sewed them back together. With Me-Made-May, I was inspired to tackle my mending pile and simply sewed them back together with scant seam allowances, as best I could. And they are fine! Thank goodness, my normal ankle circumference is less than broken foot proportions, and you'd never even know the difference. Also, thank you past, injured, reasonably stressed out Inder for using a seam ripper to cut the pants off rather than the giant shears. Excellent mending win!

Have you been sewing things for yourself this month, just to provide something to clothe yourself with? Dish!

Crocheted Spring Wreath.

2017-05-14T10:17:00.002-07:00

(Sorry if you saw this come up briefly in your feed in draft form! I hit "publish" instead of "save" by mistake!)

Sometimes you just have to drop everything and crochet a big pile of flowers, ya know?

I have a subscription to Mollie Makes magazine, and follow their blog and Instagram feed. It's a British crafty magazine with a fun, retro-inspired, colorful aesthetic, which I discovered through their excellent books (crochet, patchwork, embroidery). Each magazine comes with a little kit that you can make, and there are often softies and other kid-oriented projects. Maggie enjoys looking through each new issue as much as I do! It was because of Mollie Makes that I discovered and started following Crochet by Red Agape's blog and instafeed as well.

In late March, Mollie Makes and Crochet by Red Agape released, day by day, free patterns for the flowers to make this crocheted spring wreath. Each pattern was only available for download for 24 hours. After six days, if you kept up, you would have everything you needed to make the whole wreath.

This came at the perfect time for me. Work was seriously stressful there for a couple months. I do realize that being a lawyer is an intrinsically high-conflict job, but that's why I became a transactional lawyer, right? I am a peacemaker and compromise-broker at heart, and when the conflict and negativity gets really intense (as does happen sometimes in local government!), it gets me down! I needed a fun distraction. After making mini-wardrobes for the kids, I was feeling a bit burned out on garment sewing. Crocheting keeps my hands occupied while watching television and relaxing, and these flowers are very portable and quick to finish. The wreath is one of those lovely, campy, fun things that serves absolutely no practical purpose and is therefore the perfect antidote to a stressful month!

Each day of the series, I looked forward to reading the next blog installment and downloading my pattern. I went to Michael's and stocked up on cheap Lily Sugar & Cream yarn. This is a chunkier yarn than what is recommended for this pattern, and gave my flowers an especially chunky, homely look, but it worked. I had to vary the colors a little but that was actually fun. It does tend to snag and split a lot while you're working with, though. Since then, I purchased some of the DMC Paintbox Yarn that is recommended, and I must say it's a lot nicer and easier to work with! But alas, it's not available at Michael's!

Naturally, it took me a lot more than six days to make this wreath! It actually took me almost a month of crocheting in free moments to finish it! With a big push, I finished it just in time for Easter.

The pattern is no longer available for free, but you can purchase it here, on Ravelry.

The flowers are affixed to a foam wreath that is covered in single crochet. You basically crochet a scarf-like object and then sew it onto the wreath. The first wreath I bought was immediately snapped in two by my kids, who I think were pretending it was an inner tube? After that I guarded the second one much more closely!

As you can imagine, with this many small pieces and different colors, weaving in all the ends took almost as long as the crocheting!

Maggie loved working on this project with me, and (in addition to assisting in the destruction of a foam wreath) periodically helped me to categorize and count leaves and flowers. She made several of the pom-poms (with my help) and she helped me arrange the flowers on the wreath when everything was ready to go. I think I've shared that Maggie spends most of her time at our play-based preschool in the art room, making things? That one takes after her mother! I am happy for her - a passion for creating is a wonderful blessing in life!

But both kids were completely taken by the little bees, which were my first foray into the world of arumigumi-style crochet. I have promised to make them a couple of bees just to play with! I think the bees are what first drew me to this fantastic pattern, and they are indeed adorable! I ended up affixing the flowers and bees to the wreath with florist's pins (you could also sew or glue the flowers in place), and the black pearl pins were perfect for bee eyes!

In addition to being fun and relaxing, this is a great learning project for a beginning crocheter. I learned a lot of new stitches and techniques and improved my basic understanding of how crochet works, in really easy and manageable chunks. If you can make a granny square and read a basic crochet pattern (warning: the pattern is in UK terminology, so I had to adjust to that and look up terms as appropriate), you can make this wreath. I promise!

This was a really FUN project, and I was super delighted with the final product, homely and camp though it may be! I'm not going to try to pretend that this is tasteful or low-key or minimalist: it is none of those things, but what it is is exuberantly happy! This was such a joy to work on and put together, and provided a soothing and joyful distraction during a pretty heavy-duty month for me!

Lately, with renewed interest in "mindfulness," I'm seeing lots of craft books with titles like "Crochet Therapy," and "Crafting for Mindfulness," or whatever. It's like people are just now discovering that crafting is a soothing, sanity-saving activity and that it promotes good mental health! I'd like to think I was hip to that trend before it was even a trend, right? Ha! So, I'm happy to say that work has calmed down a bit since March (knock on wood), but if you ever feel really stressed out, may I suggest making something lovely, fun, and completely useless? It really is the best form of stress relief.

Ottobre Mini-Wardrobe, Joe Edition.

2017-04-02T10:12:00.003-07:00

After Maggie's mini-wardrobe, I immediately cut out an Ottobre mini-wardrobe for Joe. As you will recall, all fabrics are from my super-swollen knit stash. Joe is super sensitive about clothing textures and really only wears soft knit fabrics (le sigh), so his daily wardrobe basically consists of t-shirts and sweatpants or loose shorts. When I cut everything out, it was still basically winter. Since then, spring has arrived and the weather is warming up! (Joe also stopped wearing a hat all the time, YAY!) Time for Joe's summer mini-wardrobe of short sleeved shirts and shorts already?

On the bright side, it is easy to sew for Joe! He is a reasonably appreciative audience and wears me-mades that meet his stringent tactile requirements frequently. But on the other hand, it can feel boring, sewing the same things over and over again. I think this is the challenge of sewing for boys, at least for me - it can get a little boring or unchallenging at times! Enjoying sewing for boys requires that you appreciate subtle differences and details, whereas girls' clothes can be as splashy as you'd like.

This is one of the best things about Ottobre magazines - the cute boy patterns. Somehow, Ottobre includes basic t-shirt and knit pants patterns in every single issue, but always with some fun twist or details that raise it to "Euro cool" rather than "same old same old."

This spring mini-wardrobe consists of three t-shirts (from two patterns, 1/2017 #16 "Raw Edge Details" and 6/2015 #15, "Steampunk," and two pairs of the "Super Basic" sweatpants (6/2016 #12). You can look at old issues of Ottobre here. All of the patterns were cut in a straight size 122, which fit Joe perfectly with room to grow and move.

Incidentally, for a long time I thought Ottobre patterns were a bit short and wide on Joe, but we seem to have hit a sweet spot where he fits the size perfectly. Joe is almost eight years old, wears a RTW size 6 in pants, and is average height (50%) but has a longer torso and shorter legs relative to RTW sizes. For a taller boy, you would probably want to add length to these pants.

Everything was pretty easy and straightforward to sew, and my coverstitch machine got a good workout. I think I'm finally learning how to sew SLOWLY with the coverstitch. It wants to zoom through everything, and it's hard to slow it down! I've now rethreaded it over and over and I'm feeling more comfortable with it. So far, it's very unfussy and easy to use, easier than the serger. And I do love the results.

First, let's talk about the "Raw Edge Details" t-shirt, which is in the most recent issue of Ottobre. This pattern features a fun raw edged neckband that allows a contrast neckband to show just at the edge. So I will say, I'm a little mixed about this detail and wondered if it just looked "home sewn," but Joe is a FAN. The comfort level is great and I'm noticing he tends to fidget less with this neckline than the standard type. After a few washes, the jersey will curl up and I think it will look more intentional. In the meantime, it definitely gets Joe's "sensory seal of approval," and I like that the finish uses up small scraps of the contrasting fabric!

In terms of fit through the body, this is my new favorite t-shirt for Joe. I love the slouchy, slightly boxy fit on him. Joe likes it when I put a pocket on his shirts, because it helps him distinguish front from back without scratchy tags. This shirt has a basic, square patch pocket on the front that can be in a contrast fabric, which is always fun.

The fabric for the blue star t-shirt was leftover from this project. This is an European jersey and the quality is really exceptional. I often balk at the price of high quality jersey, but when I actually buy said jersey, I have to say, I rarely regret it! In some things, you get what you pay for, and knit fabrics seem to be one of those things. The stripes are a rayon knit from Stonemountain & Daughter in Berkeley. I couldn't find this one on their website but I noticed that Imagine gnats now has this fabric as well! Although I don't normally use rayon knits for the kids, this one feels pretty substantial and sewed up pretty easily. We'll see how it holds up in the wash!

The third t-shirt is the "Steampunk" pattern from 6/2015. This t-shirt has a cool "saddle" raglan neckline and bands at the cuffs and hem. I sewed this up in Joe's favorite colors - blue and green. I think both of these fabrics are Kaufman Laguna knits. I used the same pocket as the "Raw Edge Details" shirts and used the same raw edge finish on the neck (but with only one band of green). This turned out .... so so. I would probably say "this is not my best work," but I know Joe will wear it plenty anyway! I also wasn't as thrilled with the fit of this t-shirt as I was with the Raw Edge Details pattern, but it's pretty good and the cuffs and hemband make this is a great project for someone who does not like hemming knits. I also think this pattern would make a great sweatshirt with a more substantial knit fabric.

Now let's talk about these fantastic sweatpants, shall we? I puffy heart this "Super Basic" knit pants pattern. There are simple rib knit pocket openings, and rib knit is used to make the drawstring. The pattern calls for grommets, but I can't seem to install a decent grommet to save my life, so I made small buttonholes instead.

There's a cute rounded pocket on the back (Steve raised his eyebrows at this outfit, but I reassured him that Joe was unlikely to wear these two pieces together very often), and the waist is simply folded down and stitched. I put elastic through the waist, and the ribbing is also in two pieces with elastic holding it together in the back, so the drawstring is more decorative than functional.

And the fit!!! Is so good, right?! This first pair of sweatpants uses the leftovers from yet another project, a very soft navy sweatshirt fleece. I was thinking that these would be too long, since Joe's legs are a big short for his size, so for this pair, I turned the hems up and inserted elastic into them. They turned out a tad short (but totally cute!) so I opted to use ribbing at the ankles of my second pair as provided by the pattern.

I didn't get many detailed shots of the second pair. These are made of the same wonderful and well-behaved hemp/cotton french terry I used for this sweatshirt (which has held up extremely well in the wash, btw - this fabric is the bomb!), with gray ribbing details and a plain self-fabric back pocket.

The length of these pants is perfect with the ankle band.

Joe signalled his approval of these pants by running around and doing ninja moves.

Yeah, I think these will work!! Ha!

By the way, check out our backyard! As I mentioned last autumn, we had some serious work done to grade and improve the drainage in our backyard last year, and we have a new (flat!) lawn area and a new gorgeous patio (terraced!). We are installing all new landscaping ourselves, so it's still really "in progress." Steve installed those lattice screens, to create a separate "room" in the back of the garden, and to screen the storage shed we are planning to put in. We have had SUCH a wet winter here in Northern California, everything is still a bit soggy, but the lawn is really happy! Anyway, it will hopefully be an epic gardening year for us!

We have additional house projects lined up. We need a new roof, for starters. We actually got the estimate last year, and we were set to have the work done this winter, but the heavy rains delayed the roofers so much that we are still way down in the queue! After the roof is done, I want to have the exterior of the house repainted. I'm tired of looking at old, peeling paint. Big projects!

Joe turns eight next month! He's finishing up first grade and doing fantastically. His reading fluency seems to improve every day, and he reads outloud to us every night (I also read outloud to both kids every night, usually one or two picture books as well as a longer chapter book). He isn't yet reading books independently to himself yet, but he's getting there and can read most signage and captions himself now. He obviously takes pleasure in being able to read, which is wonderful to see! His favorite book is My Father's Dragon.

Joe is really helpful and agreeable these days (although he still has a stubborn streak like you wouldn't believe - I don't even bother to engage in battles of wills with this kid anymore, I know I can only lose!), and continues to dote on his little sister. These early grade school years are really wonderful. His current obsessions include Minecraft, Mario, and Pokemon. I have to drag him away from screentime to do things outdoors, but once he's outside, he is always happy! He asks the best questions and is just such a kind, smart kid. Although he's definitely a shy, reserved kid, his teacher loves him and he has a couple of buddies at school, so my mama-heart is happy and at peace. My mom told me that these "latency" years were great, and she was so right!

As far as sewing goes, I desperately need to make some simple, basic things for myself next! Sewing t-shirts for myself is also a little boring, but really necessary as I have officially worn out a lot of my me-mades. Hopefully I'll be back here with some selfish sewing shortly.

What are you working on right now? Do you find you sew less during prime gardening season? How do you feel about boy sewing?

Ottobre Mini-Wardrobe.

2017-02-19T17:37:00.002-08:00

Hello, readers! Did you know that this coming week is Kid's Clothes Week, and the theme this time around is "capsule wardrobe"?

Uh, I didn't.

But a couple of weeks ago, reminded of how much I love Ottobre and inspired by the latest issue (which is totally killer), I traced and cut out a big pile of items for Maggie from my Ottobre magazines.

Okay, time for some honest talk: My knits stash has gotten so big it won't fit in the two designated bins in my Ikea Kallax unit anymore. I had to move part (ahem) of it into large, laundry basket sized, plastic bins, and those bins have been piled in my living room (remember, I have no garage or closets) for the past four months. Toys got piled on top of them, other bins were shifted in front of them, and they became, literally, pieces of furniture that no one even saw anymore (except our guests, who were probably thinking "um, you have a problem," but were too polite to say anything about it, which is why we like them) Except that when I look at them, I do feel a bit ashamed and disgusted with myself. I mean, seriously, my fabric stash is taking over the living room, people. This is not good. Plus it undermines my authority with my kids and husband:

Me: Toys don't belong in the living room. Neither do golf clubs.
Kids: Mom, you have three giant bins of fabric in the living room.
Steve: *shrugs, raises his eyebrows meaningfully, and walks away*

On top of that, I've been embarrassed to see Maggie wearing clothes that are too small or completely tattered with holes. We have been operating under a chronic leggings-shortage. (We are also operating under a sweatpants shortage with Joe, so that's next on the list.)

Time to stop feeling bad about the piles of fabric and sew some things!

It was really fun to comb through my Ottobre Magazines after long days at work, and pick out some things to sew. I ended up focusing on two issues: 4/2015 and 1/2017.

The latest issue, 1/2017 is excellent. So many patterns I want to try! I fell in love with this long-sleeved t-shirt with shoulder ruffles, #9 "Sun Ruffle." You know me - I'm a sucker for shoulder ruffles! This pattern intrigued me because the ruffles are inserted into slashes in the shoulder of the t-shirt. I've never inserted ruffles that way - they are almost like little darts. I had to use navy thread for the rolled edges of the ruffles and it doesn't match the purple binding, but as an awesome online sewing friend recently said, "you wouldn't notice it on a galloping horse." All I can say to that is: AMEN!

I made the top up in a pretty pink and purple lace-print cotton lycra that I bought at Stonemountain with Maggie in mind a while back, and just so happened to have the perfect purple contrast ribbing on hand (advantages of a giant stash, yo). This is a size 98 (basically a size 3), and I added a little bit of length to the top, since Maggie often ends up wearing tops with only leggings. I used the coverstitch to sew the binding on the neckline and sleeves and to hem the top. Lots of coverstitch action in this post!

The leggings are also from 1/2017 - #3, "Baggy." These are described as having "narrow leg bottoms and added ease around the seat." Basically, these are comfortable, basic, one pattern piece leggings. I made three pairs! Easy peasy. The size 98 is a big long on Maggie, but I'm pleased there is some room to grow.

The other issue of Ottobre, 4/2015, attracted me with some great tunics/knitwear which you'll see below. On a whim, I cut out this cute mini skirt as well. This is #8 "Mini Dots," made from a small piece of purple corduroy I found at the East Bay Center for Creative Reuse. This pattern is great for using a teeny-tiny piece bottom-weight! I admit that the final product--a tiny miniskirt for my four-year-old--is probably one of those articles of clothing that is more cute than useful, but it's sure cute! It might come in handy on those days when Maggie wants to pair a cropped tee with too-small leggings. And it took less than a half-yard of fabric to make!

So I asked Maggie what she liked best about this outfit, and she said "the shoulder ruffles!" She is my child!

Next up is a make that is not exactly from my stash (cough cough) because I bought the fabric only a couple of weeks ago. This is Sarah Jane's "Magic Folks" knit in navy. Maggie fell in love with it at the fabric store on our last visit, because ... pink unicorns, duh!!

Me: Because everyone needs more unicorns in their wardrobe, right?
Maggie: Well, I need them.
Me: Here, just take my credit card.

Yeah, so I actually bought the same print in flannel, in the white colorway, to make Maggie a nightgown? Because my girl needs unicorns.

With the navy knit, I made Ottobre 4/2015 #13, the "Busy Forest" tunic. This is an A-line tunic with raglan sleeves, a center-front pleat and patch pockets (that extend across the side seams), which is is intended to be made in a sweatshirt fleece or french terry. It worked great in this single jersey, though I could see it looking great in a heavier fabric too. This busy print doesn't show off the details at all, plus I couldn't get Maggie to stop spinning and being super happy/blurry in her new tunic, but this is the kind of simple dress/tunic that Maggie all the time. The front pleat adds a little shape and interest, and the pockets, as always, are a hit! The neckline and cuffs could be done in a contrast ribbing, but I used self-fabric on this tunic.

The leggings are the "Baggy" leggings again, but in a pink Kaufman Laguna knit. I have already made a top and leggings with this fabric, and even after this second pair of leggings, I still have tons of this stuff! So much for putting a noticeable dent in my stash, right? (Note to self: 2 yard of 60" wide knit goes a LOOOOOOONG way.)

But I am addressing the leggings-shortage, so that part is good.

Finally, I made this cardigan from 4/2015. It's #11, "Super Sweet" and is intended to be made with merino wool, with exposed raw edges down the front. That didn't work with this cotton blend french terry I grabbed out of one of the designer sale bins at Stonemountain. This fabric feels like it has some poly content, and is dark pink on the inside, and this lovely mottled peach on the outside. To avoid any raw edges showing and give the collar the body it needs, I cut the collar pieces out on the fold (with the stripey texture going lengthwise) and serged the folded piece onto the front of the cardigan.

This is the type of garment that I wear all the time. Now Maggie has a cozy cardigan like the ones that Mama loves to wear!

Okay! So here's the full mini-wardrobe! One pair of leggings went unmodeled - it's a purply blue Laguna knit.

It's a little funny to me that Maggie's "capsule wardrobe" is all pink and purple, but hey, that's what Maggie loves, right? Either way you look at it - (1) Who needs neutrals when you can have pink and purple? or (2) Pink is the new neutral! - this is the perfect Maggie mini-wardrobe! Not bad for a couple weeks (intermittent) work. All of these were very fast, fun sews, and I got a lot of time working with my coverstitch and learning the ropes with my new machine.

This was so much fun that I'm now back to the Ottobres, planning a mini-wardrobe for Joe (keep in mind this is basically all sweat pants and t-shirts!). I probably won't be participating in KCW this time around in the formal sense of an hour a day, since I have two - count them, two - freaking night meetings this week, but I do plan to sew! We'll see how far I get! Maybe I can consolidate my three living room fabric bins into two? A girl can dream!

Two prompts for the comments:

(1) Please tell me I'm not the only sewist with fabric in the living room.

(2) Are you working on a capsule wardrobe? Does the idea appeal to you? Dish!

Winter sewing.

2017-02-11T10:06:00.000-08:00

Hello readers! January got completely away from me! And half of February too! Argh! I made this outfit a while ago, but it took a while to photograph it (badly; winter light does not make for good blog photos!) and here I am, finally blogging it, almost a month later! Ah well.

I haven't been sewing as much as usual lately. During January, I tried to follow the Apartment Therapy "January Cure" and spent a lot of time scrubbing various parts of my house. And bought myself lots of flowers, which was my favorite part. Now it's mid-February, and my life has passed by in a blur of work and night meetings. I am up to my eyeballs in contentious projects and late-night meetings, which is hard, and the state of our national politics sure isn't helping with my mood. My house has completely reverted to its prior disgusting self, and after I get home from work, I find I have no energy for anything except watching escapist TV curled under a heated throw with a beer in hand. I'm strugging to find the energy to crochet a few granny squares before falling asleep with the kids! I blame a heavy workload and the rainy days and long dark nights and, you know, Donald Trump - hopefully the vernal equinox will bring with it new energy and motivation.

We did get a trip up to the mountains in there, though, and that was really fun! It turns out Joe is a born snow kid! He would spend the whole day outside in freezing temperatures sledding and digging and making forts if we let him. Gotta get that kid on the slopes!

Anyway, back to this little sewing project. We've had an unusually cool, wet winter (the drought is over, so that part is good, but the neverending rain and the lake in my crawl space is not so great), and my kids are chronically short on long sleeved mild-winter appropriate clothing. I love putting Maggie in cute little pinafores, or jumpers, as we call them here, so I decided to whip one up in this lovely Kaufman "flamingo" 21-wale corduroy I've had in my stash.

I did a little Pinterest-ing and found this inspiration dress. It has a high bodice/yoke, a front box pleat, and patch pockets. I decided to use the Oliver + S Building Block Dress book to recreate this design. In Building Block terms, I raised the bodice, made the skirt A-line, and added a center-front pleat. I also lowered the neckline and armholes a tad, used bias facing, and added an invisible zipper in the back.

Once I modified the pattern pieces, this was a really easy sew. After consulting with Liesl and other experts on the Building Blocks Facebook page, I traced the bodice piece first, and cut it off halfway between the shoulder and the bottom of the armhole. Then I A-lined (slashed and spread) the dress. Then I added the center pleat to the front piece. Finally, I drafted the pockets. The resulting shape is very classic and full for a little girl, reminiscent of some school uniforms or an artist's smock. This would also make a cute summer dress in a light fabric!

The finishing on this dress is pretty basic and frankly, not the prettiest. I used bias binding on the neck and armholes and finished the seams with my serger (a lining in this style would be really nice). I struggled to get the invisible zipper in nicely, and despite multiple tries, it's slightly off. Sometimes it seems like invisible zippers go in like magic, and you're congratulating yourself and thinking you've finally overcome the dreaded zipper, and other times it's just not easy. This was one of those latter times. It just would not cooperate!

Oh well! I'm the only one who will notice this (well, except you guys, since I pointed it out).

I also made the long sleeved top she's wearing under the dress. This is a Cloud9 organic knit, which is hefty and warm, but doesn't have much stretch. The pattern is from the 1/2014 issue of Ottobre, #11, the "Autumn Forest" top. Because of the lack of stretch in this fabric, I was nervous about doing a neckband, and worried it wouldn't go over Maggie's chunky head very well. So I drafted a little facing instead and used my (STOP THE PRESSES! I GOT A COVERSTITCH MACHINE!) coverstitch to sew it on. It sticks up a bit more than I wanted, I think I need to curve my facing more next time, but it does the job.

I'm still getting the hang of my new coverstich machine, but it does make beautiful, stretchy hems! And so far, it's really easy to thread and use! That surprised me. The only problem is - where do I put all of these machines? My sewing space is now more sewing space than cutting space, and I'm constantly rotating machines around. It's kind of a mess, but it's a pretty fun mess!

So, let's see. I love this t-shirt pattern for Maggie, and I plan to make more for her. It doesn't require much fabric, and the front detail is really sweet. The jumper pattern is perfect, and I would absolutely make more of these for Maggie, with a few minor modifications: real facings instead of bias binding, possibly a lining, and, hopefully, better zipper insertion! But it's such a classic, functional style for a little girl.

In kid news, Joe got his hair cut in January, and hates it. I don't know if it's the appearance of the haircut (which is totally cute, BTW) or the feeling of air on his scalp and ears that bugs him most. He has been wearing a hat 24/7 since then. Ay yai yai! What's funny is that I used to struggle to get him to wear a hat on cold or sunny days, and now he won't take it off! He even sleeps in a hat. I have to switch it out occasionally to wash it. This child! I wish he would let us all see his cute head! But at least his ears are warm. I thought for sure that his teacher would lay down the law and make him take it off at school, but Joe convinced her that he NEEDED the hat. SIGH!!!!

Maggie, as you can see, is still obsessed with Catwings! She's a flying kitty here.

I cut out a bunch of Ottobre patterns for Maggie, so hopefully I'll be blogging again soon! Thanks for reading! Have you ever had a kid go on a haircut strike? Or wear a hat 24/7? I feel like I'm living in a Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle book. This chapter is "Won't-Take-His-Hat-Off-Itis."

Holiday Sewing, Part 2.

2016-12-20T20:47:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! It's chilly here in Oakland! Not by Midwestern or East Coast standards, of course, but since our house is uninsulated and has inadequate heat, when it gets moderately cool outside, it's pretty much the same temperature inside. It's kind of like camping. It's freezing cold in the morning, warms up slowly, and the kids and I tend to spend a lot of time in the warmest room in the house, our dining room (where we do pretty much everything except dine, including sew, play, and work at the computer).

I complain about this every year, and I know y'all would feel deprived if you didn't have me to laugh at and roll your eyes at; I'm happy to oblige. You are welcome.

As everywhere in the Northern hemisphere, the light is also fading, big time, as we approach the winter solstice, so please forgive the not-so-great photos in this blog post. My flash isn't working, so in the absence of good natural light, I present you with golden-y, somewhat blurry photos. The golden tone actually makes my house seem quite warm, which is lovely.

I haven't adopted making Christmas PJs as a tradition (at least, yet) as some families have. I am much more haphazard. I did it for Joe five years ago, then took a long break. Last year I made PJ pants for Joe on time but then waited six months to finish Maggie's pants. Neither of them were Christmas themed, and I never blogged them. So I don't think we can call this a tradition. That said, I always love seeing the posts start to show up in my blog feed in the week before Christmas. Seeing the girls in their pretty nightgowns and everyone looking so cozy and expectant! It's lovely. Some of my friends do this on an epic scale, for, like, TONS of kids! (I'm looking at you, Rachel.) I only have two kids, and making pajamas for them while juggling other holiday obligations seems like an awful lot of work!

But when I found a perfect used nightgown pattern, Simplicity 9968, at the East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse this year, in Maggie's size (actually even better than her size, since I never know what her size will be these days, but a range of sizes!), it seemed meant to be. I love old school nightgown patterns, but I've noticed that many have very high necklines, which my kids won't tolerate. They take after their mother in that respect - I hate anything touching my neck! So one of the first things I noticed about this ideal nightie pattern was the square neckline. Perfecto!

When I went on a Cotton + Steel Garland buying spree for my tree skirt, I obviously had to buy some yardage in the brushed cotton substrate, right? I let the kids pick which fabrics they wanted for their PJs - Joe gravitated immediately to the blue snowflakes. I admit, I hoped Maggie would choose the red snowflakes, so the kids would be really matchy, and I steered her in that direction, but nope. She wanted the adorable little reindeers. Little Rudolphs (but the noses are more pink than red, to contrast with the red background - so we decided to call this particular reindeer "Rudolpha the Pink-Nosed Reindeer").

Who could resist clothing these two in warm and cozy flannel, right? They do bicker and fight some, like all siblings, but the love between them is so strong, too.

Okay, right, sewing! This is such a great pattern! I made version D, a long nightie with long sleeves. Based on Maggie's measurements, I cut out a size 2, but with extra length in the skirt and sleeves (about 4 inches in the hem, some came out in the hemming; about 2 inches in the sleeves, and I used it!). I tried it on Maggie before hemming to get the lengths right and it worked out perfectly. The sleeves are a bit long, but because they are gathered at the wrists, she can grow into them. The hem is deep and can be let out. Hopefully this nightgown will last at least the next year.

I added some gathered eyelet lace to the bodice for a little contrast. The nightie has a sweet keyhole opening in the back that provided a rare opportunity for a heart button. I find ~~weird~~ different shaped buttons are always hard to get through regular buttonholes, but they work just fine with an elastic button-loop. (Obviously, I was not very worried about pattern matching!)

This nightie was so fun and fast to make! Nothing complicated here, just a really good, satisfying make.

I ended up making just a pair of PJ pants for Joe. These are the Oliver + S Sleepover Pajamas, just the pants. I'd love to make Joe a full set of pajamas some day, but I didn't have enough time or fabric to do it this time, and I know he'll get the most use out of the pants, so here we are. Cute pajama pants!

The Sleepover pants have no side seams, a separate waistband, and cute cuffs. I used the same fabric throughout, but added a little white piping on the cuffs of the pants. This is another super easy, fun, and cute pattern! I know this won't be the last pair of pajama pants I make for Joe using this pattern.

I am currently reading Ursula K. LeGuin's Catwings to the kids and it has really captured their imaginations! They spend the better part of the day pretending to be kitty cats - who fly!

It is such a great series: it has enchanted both my children, and if I'm honest, me too! I will be sorry to finish it.

On the practical side, this has been one of my biggest wins with the kids in recent months - three days have gone by, and they are still wearing their flannel pajamas! Maggie had to be talked into taking her nightie off for a brief wash after she spilled something on it. The house is cold, and warm flannel helps!

Do you sew pajamas for your kids for Christmas? What are you reading to your children (or what were your favorite picture books when you were a kid)?

Holiday Sewing, 2016

2016-12-10T17:24:00.002-08:00

Hello, dear readers! It has been a while!

We decided to decorate for Christmas a little early this year, right after Thanksgiving. Normally we wait a few weeks longer, but this year, I think we all needed a little holiday cheer. I generally avoid talking politics on this blog, so I'll keep it brief. This past November: Lord have mercy! That's all I've got right now. Seriously. I am reduced to prayer.

But it's a fact that things seem better when there are pretty Christmas lights flashing in the window when you get home, and the house feels warmer with all of our stockings hanging by the fireplace. Sometimes, you just have to cling to the simple things!

The mini stocking is for our real-life cat, Maria, or Joe's stuffed dog, depending on when you ask Joe. I feel a little bad for the cat that she is so easily replaced with a fake animal ... but not really. She's a cat, she doesn't care about Christmas. Whereas Joe's imaginary dog might!

Most of my Christmas decorations are thrift store or Etsy buys, and every year I find myself adding to my collection. This chipped nativity scene was only a few dollars at the East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse, and I love it!

Every year, I do a little bit of Christmas sewing, too. I figure in about a decade, my house will look like something straight out of a 1982 Better Homes and Garden Christmas issue. At least, that's the plan! My children are too young to find anything weird about this, and love to help me pick out Christmas decor at the thrift store. It's funny to imagine that their own childhood nostalgia may be inextricably linked to my own nostalgia for my grandmother's house at Christmas growing up. I guess that's how it works!

In mid-November, Rachel at Stitched in Color posted on her blog about the tree skirt she recently made, which she did in a "string quilt" zig-zag pattern in lovely Denise Schmidt pastels. Isn't it gorgeous? I immediately fell in love with it and decided I needed to drop everything and make one for myself!

Thus began what turned out the be a Really. Big. Project.

I have a modest pile of Christmas fabrics in my stash, and I dug deeper for pretty blues, reds, greens, and low volume prints from my non-Christmas stash, as well as buying a really lovely bundle of Cotton + Steel Garland fat quarters to supplement (I really love the whole Garland line - the light greens and aquas are the perfect complement to the true red!).

This is a "quilt as you go" project, where you sew the fabric directly onto the batting, then cut it into wedges for the tree skirt. Some brief thoughts:

1) This project requires more fabric than you think.
2) This project requires more batting than you would imagine.
3) This project requires three (count them, three) whole packages of bias binding!

You get the idea! I guess, in my mind, I thought of this as a small project, much less work than a quilt. Um, no. It's basically a really large, circular quilt. It is a giant, quilted, circle skirt, like the ones the ladies wear in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (and my respect for the making of those skirts is greatly enhanced). It did put a really big dent into my Christmas fabric stash, though!

Yeah. It's freaking ENORMOUS!! This would work for a Nutcracker-sized tree! I joked with Steve that it's for when we get a mansion and have a giant 12 foot tree. In the meantime, I have to tuck it up around our tree so that we can walk past it and into the room! But after all that work, it seemed far too wasteful to cut it down, and after all, you never know when you might move into a giant mansion? Uh ...

I backed it with miscellaneous Christmas yardage. Did I mention this thing is huge? It's about 65 inches across!! Here it is with Maggie for scale. :)

This project just kept multiplying itself. I thought I would make it a "little" bigger than the one in the tutorial, and it was only at the end that I realized it was a lot bigger! Everything took longer and required more supplies than I expected. All of that quilt-as-you-go gave me a crick in the neck and exacerbated my tennis elbow (no, I don't play tennis; yes, I am getting old). I had to take breaks from it because it was so physically demanding to work with such large pieces of batting. Etc., etc. You get the idea. Anyway, it got to the point where Maggie was asking me when I was going to finish the Christmas tree skirt, because "there are only two weeks left until Christmas!" and I wanted it out of my sewing space too! No way I was going to cut bias binding or hand sew it onto this beast. Packaged double fold bias tape and a zig-zag stitch came to the rescue, and the epic tree skirt of never-ending-ness is officially DONE!

This was a big project, but I am really happy with the mix of fabrics and colors. It really is cheerful and lovely. It looks really nice under the tree with the sparkling lights all around it.

I was recently reading an essay by Charles Dickens, called "What Christmas is as We Grow Older," very Victorian and sentimental and pious, as you would expect, but of course, that's what we love about Dickens! He says that as we get older, the magic of Christmas fades, but in its place, we feel "the spirit of active usefulness, perseverance, cheerful discharge of duty, kindness and forbearance!" I would add, as parents, we create that magic for the next generation. Which seems like a good sentiment for this winter season, 2016, whatever holiday you celebrate.

Happy holidays, dear friends! Are you doing any holiday sewing this year?