decorating for fall

October 7, 2011October 7, 20116 Comments

i took a bit of a sewing break this week to be all ready to go next week for KCWC. well…i consider it a break, but i still ended up tracing and cutting two patterns and doing lots of thinking about what i want to make. also, we have some friends coming into town this weekend, so it was a good excuse to switch in/make some fall decor.

i made the bunting when i was first starting to sew, and i’m very proud of that little cheese dome. i went to the thrift store specifically to find a basic cheese dome for decoration and scored that little guy for $2, in perfect condition and still in his ’80s era box!

we finished our basement right before O was born, and there are still some blank walls that needed filling. i’d been wanting to make dana’s bats, and i think they fit quite nicely. Em is also obsessed with the old sesame street song “batty bat” by count von count – and i want to encourage her appreciation of the classics!

Em and i also did a little crafting together this morning during O’s nap…

it’s a pac-man ghost garland! i spotted this awesome pac-man garland and DIY template at mini-eco just a week after making my own pac-man lunch sack. how funny is that? pac-man is the new hot motif, apparently…though i made an owl ghost too. 😉

it wouldn’t be much of a mother-daughter craft project if it was just me wielding scissors while she watched, so i drew a variety of random faces on them so Em could color something in. i just tried to think of things i might be able to draw decently enough. hehe.

and finally, here’s my KCWC sneak peek. all oliver + s so far. two practical (one for the girl, one for the boy), plus one halloween costume that i’m grumbling a bit about (tulle! why did it have to be tulle?!). i might end up procrastinating on the tutu and opt for another pierrot or pair of warm pajama pants for O, which he needs. i kind of want quick sews that’ll bring me a lot of instant gratification during KCWC. i don’t really want to get hung up on something that might be frustrating, i just want to CHURN IT OUT!

see you next week! what’s your plan??

guest posting at elsie marley!

October 5, 2011October 31, 201216 Comments

listen. i’ve only been blogging for 6.5 months. when i get comments, it’s super exciting. when i get emails from bloggers that i have been inspired by for years asking ME to guest post or pattern test for them, it completely blows my mind!

my mind is STILL blown by the fact that meg of elsie marley asked me to contribute to her weeklong leadup to her fall kids clothes week challenge (KCWC) with a tutorial for fun details to add to kids’ clothes. meg was one of the first people to feature something i had sewn on her blog (my christmas party dress), and it was around then that i realized what an amazing little community sewing bloggers are. so supportive of each other! anyway, my post is up TODAY! i made an oliver + s sailboat top for O from another of my husband’s oh-so-soft cotton knit j.crew sweaters, and added little elbow patches in herringbone flannel. the cozy fall hoodie i made for Em was my first try at this elbow patch endeavor, as you now may have guessed.

KCWC is really fun, and it’s a great way to find new blogs and make some new internet friends, too! won’t you come visit me at elsie marley?

oh who am i kidding, i’m sure 99% of my visitors today are visiting from THERE! welcome, take a look around, and feel free to stay awhile! 🙂

polka dot pierrot pattern preview

October 4, 2011December 31, 201315 Comments

way back in march, rae of the fantastic made by rae put out a call for people to test her various in-the-works patterns. i immediately signed up to be a pattern tester for the pierrot tunic and crossed my fingers hoping she’d pick me. she first posted it on her baby daughter over a year and a half ago here, and has posted a few versions since. each time i saw a new pierrot post pop up, i just melted (pink and chambray, for instance). i don’t know what it is, but i just die over it. something about the exaggerated shape, neck ruffle, and wide cuffs just makes me smile. it seems like a something you’d pay a ridiculous amount of money for at a high-end boutique. i could not wait to make one for Em.

when rae posted her newest plaid version last week, i again commented with lots of caps and exclamation points about how cute it was and how i hoped the pattern would be available before KCWC. apparently she had forgotten to include me in her call for pattern testers earlier that day! good thing i commented, because it meant i got to be in on the testing. wahoo!

i printed and cut out the tester pattern over my lunch break at work, and sewed it that night. i cut it on the bias because all the versions that rae had made were cut that way, and it adds to the swinginess. it’s a very roomy garment and everything is cut on the fold. this meant, for a 3T, even 1 2/3 yards of fabric wasn’t quite enough! i’ve historically bought just 1 yard of fabric for kids’ clothes, but now that Em is getting bigger, that doesn’t seem to cut it anymore.

luckily, i had this cute swiss dot from joann in my stash (i think i got it as an end-of-bolt, hence the weird 2/3 yard – either that or i got 2 yards and it shrunk like crazy). part of rae’s pattern testing request was to help her determine yardage for the various sizes, and mine still wasn’t enough (i had to piece the ruffle). can’t tell, though!

i had a super fun time making this dress, writing a small novel to rae with my thoughts (lots of gushing and suggestions, a few critiques), and getting a behind the scenes peek at what it takes to get a pattern to market. trust me, it’s a LOT of work and i only saw a brief part of it! makes me even more happy to support independent pattern-makers.

the pierrot will be available soon! keep your eyes on made by rae over the next couple weeks so you, too, can make a little french girl top for the little gals in your life! UPDATE: the pierrot pattern is now available! get it here. 🙂

a cozy fall hoodie

September 30, 2011January 3, 20139 Comments

fall has arrived in portland. one day it’ll be pouring rain, the next it’s sunny and 75. it even changes minute by minute. right before i took these photos, there was a downpour. once it stopped, the sun came out and some major puddle splashing was in order!

i made Em a new cozy sweater using a j.crew sweater of my husband’s that had lost its shape. it’s cotton, lighter than sweatshirt material, and extreeeeemely soft. the fabric i’ve “harvested” from my husband’s clothes always seem to be higher quality than i can get at a fabric store. i love raiding his closet. 😉

the lining is scandi chirp by michael miller. i had been saving it for a hopscotch dress, but it coordinated so perfectly with the green on the outside, i just had to use it. it’s a nice, thick knit. the sweater ended up pretty much the coziest ever.

the pattern is the urban unisex hoodie by heidi & finn. i made it in a 3T but cut the width of the arms at a 4/5T, because gail told me that they fit a little snugly. that was a good idea. the pattern is great and especially fun to sew if you have a serger (i serged everything except the buttonholes and topstitching!) i would recommend fusing some interfacing to the wrong side of the main fabric where the buttonholes will be, though – i had a little trouble with stretching when i sewed those.

check out the elbow patches! i added them for an extra little detail, which i thought would be no big deal but in fact is a bit tricky. it’s hard to determine proper placement when your child is sleeping and the sleeve isn’t complete or sewn onto a garment yet (i may or may not have snuck up to her room at 10pm to lay the pattern piece on her arm to mark where the patch should go – she’s a deep sleeper).

i actually didn’t get the placement quite right on this one, but i made another super cozy sweater (for O this time) out of another of my husband’s hand-me-downs and nailed it. i’m working on a little tutorial for how to get it right, so keep your eyes open for a guest post on that elsewhere in the sewing blogosphere very soon (i’m so excited)!

hope you have a lovely weekend. i’m sure ours will be filled with plenty of sweater-wearing and puddle-jumping.

a gender-neutral baby gift

September 25, 2011November 29, 201219 Comments

i get it, some people like a delivery surprise. i couldn’t wait that long to find out what i was having with either of my pregnancies, but i see how the “it’s a boy!” or “it’s a girl!” moment could be pretty special after labor and delivery. my cousin therese, having her first baby next month, hasn’t found out what she is having. she had a baby shower this weekend, and the “not finding out” element definitely presented a challenge for gift-giving! i’m not a person that’s TOO hung up on gender roles, either, but it sure makes it easier to know a little more about who you’re sewing for, you know? anyway, it’s sometimes just as fun to have restrictions. i kind of like working that way. gotta be more creative.

i decided to make another two projects from my now well-used and dog-eared copy of “little things to sew” by liesl gibson – the cozy winter hood (with ears!) and mittens. i made them in an extra-small, but they fit O perfectly at 9.5 months, so i think therese & chris’ baby might get more use out of them next winter instead of this one. both the hat and mittens are made in a supersoft white microfleece and michael miller celery ta dot flannel.

i couldn’t help myself and also appliquéd a 0-3 month onesie with little clouds. i love the white-and- natural linen together. these photos were taken in O’s room (which i need to finish up and do a room tour for). isn’t the wall decal perfect for a baby’s room? it’s by shanna murray. i’m in love with it, and my little guy is definitely growing strong so far!

therese seemed to like the gift at the shower, and i can see myself making another of these hoods for O for the wintertime. it came together quickly and lives up to its name – COZY! the mittens are great too, they stayed on O’s hands despite crawling around.