A day out and about

Sister and brother

Sister and brother, a photo by laurar70 on Flickr.

Sewing for me

I've decided to sew more for myself lately. It has been really fun to sew for my daughter (and a little for my son) these past 5 years. Quite recently, however, she started refusing to wear things that I stayed up all night trying to finish. She would pick the pattern and the fabric and then decide that she 'just didn't like it for some reason.' At first I was just crushed probably because it had become such a part of my 'mom' identity and I got lots of compliments from others for the things I would make for her. I think she knew that I was crushed and sort of liked that power to make me so mad/sad/disappointed/whatever. So I have set all my projects for her aside for a while and I have purchased a bunch of beautiful patterns for myself, including this Little (big) Woo from Patterns by Figgy's. I liked the pattern when I first saw it a while back, but wished it was in my size and, well, Shelly and Karen must have read my mind (and all the other requests!) because they just offered a pattern that goes up to size 14. I made the size 12 at Shelly's suggestion and it fits perfectly. I am not terribly experienced with knits and was so nervous about sewing together the woven and knit fabric, but for the most part it was so easy. I used some Kokka fabric I have been holding on to for a while with some poly/cotton ponte knit I got at Joann's. I really wanted to use a 100% cotton knit, but couldn't find one with the heavier weight I wanted. I cannot say enough about the customer service from the Patterns by Figgy's team. I mean it's like having a personal sewing coach who will email you (within 12 hours, often sooner) if you have a question or encounter a problem.

I had a little problem with it gathering a bit around the neck and I really do not know why. I think the knit may have stretched out a bit when sewing the other parts together even though I added interfacing and staystitched it. Anyway, I like how it turned out because the slight gathering is uniform around so it looks intentional. Hooray for mistakes that look good (it oh-so-seldom happens for me)!!

Next up, a Tova top to share on the blog. And I am crazy excited about this recent annoucement from Liesl. I am especially excited about the fabric possibilities at Joann's of all places. Lucky for me, there's a Joann's ever so close to my house (my car practically knows the way!).

I could make 10 of these

I have been sewing like crazy because my daughter's been home sick and we haven't been leaving the house. I made her this little vest/tunic thing and she loves it (sorry for the bad pictures). Whew....we have seriously been having some issues around her wearing the stuff I make. The conflict usually ends with me saying something ridiculous like "Well, I guess I just won't be sewing things for you any more," which we both know is absurd, especially given how much money I have invested in Oliver & S patterns. In any case, I am working on a less flowery version of this inspired by the colors of valentine's day. I am also trying to figure out how to make one of these for me without looking too maternity or needing darts. I spend crazy amounts of my day thinking about such things (darts, fabric, drape, and will it work with my new Frye boots!).

LOVE

Is it wrong to love clothes and fabric so much? I don't know, but certainly occupies a large portion of my mind. I found this website through wildflowers::pretty (which I also adore). Just look at these beautiful dresses...oh and just look at those shoes.

Hello there, blog!

It's not that I haven't been making anything, in fact I've been making everything, but I had technical difficulties with my blog (like it disappeared) and my lovely husband figured it all out with the people at Google, for which I am incredibly grateful because I have no patience for this kind of thing. So, I just lost all my momentum around blogging, but I'll give it another try.
I'll start with an old project I made months ago from Hillary Lang's stunning book. I immediately wanted to make Little Miss Storybook so I did and I really love her. My daughter is complete indifferent, as she is with most of the dolls I make, but I smile whenever I see it. And now I have realized, that's really what this handmade thing is all about.

On another note, I won some completely gorgeous Frye boots on eBay (first time bidding!) for a complete steal. I am currently trying to sew a wardrobe to go with the boots. First tunic is kind of a disaster, but I have many other projects waiting for a turn. I've finally decided to cut into fabric I've been hoarding for years because I might as well enjoy it on my body instead of staring at it on the shelf (which I do plenty, believe me!). 

So satisfying...

I am a quick project kind of girl when it comes to sewing or anything actually, which is why this skirt was so satisfying to me. I knew this fabric would be a skirt for K when I bought it and it's just as perfect as I expected it to be. I love red ric rac and add it to a LOT of things. I think this will even work for the holidays (and the 80+ degree weather we're having now).

I'm seriously in love with the new Oliver and S patterns, but really cannot justify buying all 4 of them at once and I cannot decide on just one. I am participating in the Sew Mama Sew Jump Rope Dress sewalong. I hope I'll have something cute to reveal by the end of the weekend, but it's NOT a quick project so let's hope I don't entirely lose interest before I've finished.