guest posting at oliver + s

January 15, 2014January 15, 20149 Comments

i’ve been a contributor to the oliver + s blog for a couple months now, but mostly that has meant reaching out to other bloggers to do guest posts and writing inspiration round ups around the holidays, so i don’t tend to talk too much about it here.

but hey, it’s still going, and today my post might be something that interests you – it’s my FAVORITE Oliver + S pattern of all time. it’s a unisex pattern but i’ve only made it for boys, and apparently i’ve made quite a few times! i kept remembering more and more versions and views that i’d made as i wrote the post.

are you curious, or as an eagle-eyed pattern spotter did you guess it as soon as you saw that yellow topstitching and those mint buttons (Gail I know you’d guess it right off the bat!).

but for the rest of you…

>> > click over to Oliver + S to see what it is < <<

: :

spider mittens

December 10, 2013December 10, 201318 Comments

this little guy is now three years old, and no he hasn’t taken that hoodie off since halloween!

but now he has some mittens to go with it.

he grew out of one pair of mittens and another vanished from our house, as those things often do. the weather here lately has been pretty frosty by northwest standards – we’re used to 40 degrees and rainy all winter, but it’s been in the teens and twenties and either really dry or even a bit snowy! anyway, mittens and gloves are usually optional around here, but not lately. lately they are mandatory.

i whipped these up for him as part of his birthday gifts. the pattern is from Little Things to Sew (affiliate link), and i’d almost forgotten the book included a mitten pattern even though i just did a gift idea inspiration post from the book for Oliver + S! silly me. i’d actually sewn these once before but it was a couple years ago – they come together so quickly! the part that took the longest was adding the webs to the palms – my husband’s idea when i asked what i could do to make them special and fun. boy mittens/gloves at the store are super boring, have you noticed? i tried to just buy some but they come in such boring solids and O was not thrilled about any of them. and the girl ones were all so fancy and fun! ugh. typical.

so anyway, i drew the design with water soluble marker and just stitched them on with black thread, so now he can shoot webs like Spider Man! he loves them!

the mittens are made of charcoal and white fleece in a size small, and i was going to make them double layered, but i was sewing late at night and sewed two right handed linings, so i gave up on that idea and just put the elastic casing at the wrist instead of the bias finish since i’d already committed to that. they seem to stay on him just fine!

off to cozily shoot some more webs. he thinks it’s pretty hilarious to pretend to spin people up in a web and then let us loose again.

LOOK OUT! here comes the Spider Maaaaaaan.

rainbow roller skate dress

December 4, 2013December 5, 201310 Comments

every year i seem to forget how hard it is to blog in December. the weather and daylight are bad for photography (especially for those of us with daytime away-from-home jobs), weekends are packed with activities, and the sewing that is done this month is almost all Christmas-gift-related. SO. while i am busy behind the scenes elving it up in my basement sewing lair, i thought i’d haul out an unblogged project i’ve been meaning to show you for months!

this is Em’s 5th birthday dress.

i think it perfectly captures her personality on the day in May that she turned 5 years old.

the dress is the Oliver + S Roller Skate Dress. it’s a 3T with 4T length, just like the first one i made. the pink base is kona cotton, and the appliqué was ALLLLL Em’s idea.

Continue reading →

a fun announcement : new contributor gig

October 29, 2013October 29, 201318 Comments

i think most everyone probably had that teacher in high school / college whose teaching style really spoke to the way they learn. that teacher presented information in a way no one else could, and it just sunk in. for me there was a history/geography teacher in high school that taught us raunchy pneumonic devices (She Makes Him Eat Ovaries : Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, Ontario :: The Great Lakes). it worked.

for sewing, it’s really no secret that my favorite teacher has always been Liesl Gibson of Oliver + S. i stumbled across the free lazy days skirt not long after my husband gave me a sewing machine for mother’s day in 2009. her free popover sundress was my first pattern with pieces. the way she explains sewing is perfect for the way i learn, and i love her designs too.

i’ve now sewn 27 separate Oliver + S patterns (including those from Little Things to Sew), many multiple times.

i have learned so many techniques from Oliver + S patterns, and i believe i learn how to sew things the “right” way with every new pattern i sew.

this isn’t news – i professed my love for their patterns here, and in pretty much every Oliver + S pattern i’ve posted about since. i met Liesl at Quilt Market this spring, and after that, i’ve have been in regular touch with her, helping with new pattern launches in any small way that i can. it all comes easily though – i love to sew with Oliver + S patterns, and i love talking about my love for them!

Liesl was one of the first modern indie kids clothes patternmakers and remains the gold standard – i think many kid’s pattern designers and sewing bloggers owe a lot to Liesl, ya know? she really knows her stuff, she’s a creative person, she builds community, and i think she helped usher modern sewing for kids into popularity. i know i wouldn’t be blogging today without the support i received from the flickr group.

if you sew an Oliver + S pattern, you can make a boutique-quality garment. and that’s my goal – not to make homemade clothes, but handmade clothes.

so when Liesl asked me to become a contributor to the Oliver + S blog, of course i jumped at the chance. i’ll be working behind the scenes coordinating guest posts and brainstorming new ways for people to join in the sewing fun with Oliver + S patterns, and occasionally writing posts of my own too.

Liesl’s sweet intro for me went up yesterday, and my first post, up today, is a photo walkthrough (with bonus tips!) for the welt pocket method that’s included in the Art Museum Vest + Trousers pattern. i first posted my Art Museum outfit here, and hope the photo tutorial helps take any remaining intimidation factor away.

>> > come check it out! < <<

as for why Liesl chose me for this gig? that remains a mystery.

kcw fall 2013: day 5&6:: skeleton fairy tutu

October 27, 2013October 27, 201313 Comments

aside from a tweak or two, halloween costumes are now done! i finished up spiderman on friday and also sewed skeleton fairy’s tutu.

this is the tutu from little things to sew (affiliate link) by Liesl Gibson of Oliver + S, and i’ve made it a few times including for Em’s halloween costume two years ago! she still wears that one, and now this one will be added to the mix.

i made it out of shimmery white tulle with sparkly black tulle layered over the top and black chevron ribbon to tie it. that ribbon is perfect for a skeleton, right?

the black tulle is a bit stiff and “crunchy” and didn’t want to gather, making this tutu more difficult to sew, but the sparkles are great in person, kind of like a night sky.

we hit the store for the rest of her costume – wings and a wand. i’m considering some sort of hair clip or fairy crown or something, any suggestions for me there? frankly i’m a bit sick of looking at all the “sexy” adult costumes that pop up when i try to get ideas for this one online. they’re just so ridiculous (i mean, sexy bert and ernie?! SERIOUSLY??).

but hey, my kids’ costumes are done and that was my primary KCW goal! i’ll get photos of them and show ya this week.

how did you do?