race for the cure and mini flag tutorial

September 21, 20116 Comments

last weekend was the komen race for the cure in portland. we lost my mom’s sister, elaine, to breast cancer in 1995 and still miss her. she was a marathon runner, lived in an amazing house in california wine country, and was the executive director for the napa valley vintner’s association. yep, pretty much the coolest gal ever. i remember when we visited her in napa, she made us cocoa with steamed milk with her espresso machine (this was in the early ’90s when the espresso craze hadn’t taken off yet). we started running the race for the cure while she was still battling, and have run/walked it on and off since.

this year, the race fell on my sister andrea’s birthday, and she wanted to walk it with the kids. she also asked her friend, kim, to join us. we ended up walking with two 3 year olds, a 2.5 year old, a 9 month old, and a 5 month old, plus kim is pregnant (and left another daughter at home with daddy)! phew! the 5K walk took us over 2 hours, we took so many breaks we almost got beaten by the “end of the race” police cars, and it rained during the final stretch, but it was worth it. it’s just so powerful and important being with all of those people walking for the same cause – a cure for breast cancer. there were tears of course, but it’s also a happy, celebratory event. we walked in memory of those lost, in support of those currently fighting, and in celebration of those who have conquered!

i wanted to make some decorations for the event – people like to dress in costume and get into it, especially for the 5K walk. i told Em it was a “pink parade” and let her dress in almost every pink item in her closet (her dream come true)! O got in the spirit with pink legwarmers, but kept it boyish by rocking his pirate shoes. 😉 he also nursed in the ergo during the walk – can you think of anything more appropriate than a baby breastfeeding during a breast cancer walk?

i made komen logo badges for our ergo carriers…

quick pink felt buntings for the strollers…

and little pink and gold flags for the girls to wave!

the mini flags were inspired by these amazing flag sculptures by oh happy day!, but mine are preschooler-sized. i made them with scraps of pink ombré fabric leftover from Em’s ballet bag and superhero cape, backed with a metallic gold fabric i recently picked up at the halloween display at joann. here’s how:

STEP 1: gather your materials – takeout food chopsticks (preferably unused!), and 1/8 yard each of a front and back fabric (for four flags). cut a 4″ x 7″ rectangle from the front fabric, then make a mark 2″ in from the right edge, centered. cut out at an angle to each edge to create the shape below.

STEP 2: pin the flag onto the backing fabric, then sew around the edge with a zigzag stitch, leaving about 3/4″ at the bottom left edge so you can insert your chopstick later (you can see the little purple mark if you zoom into this photo).

STEP 3: trim away the extra backing fabric, close to the stitches (don’t cut the stitches!)

STEP 4: sew a channel for your chopstick with a straight stitch, about 1/2″ from left edge of the flag. you can eyeball this based on your chopstick – just don’t make it too big, or your flag will fly off with vigorous waving!

STEP 5: insert chopstick with the “pointed” end first, wave it around!

voilà! mini flags for the cure! 🙂

first guest post and tutorial!

September 19, 20119 Comments

the talented and inspiring candace of sparkle power! asked me to write a guest post for her while she and her family take some time to welcome a new baby boy into their lives, and my post is up on her blog TODAY!

i decided to go for it on my first ever guest post and do my first ever tutorial, too. i share some boyish appliqué templates and my go-to bib pattern, and show you how to make a simple appliqué bib like you may have seen here or here. if your little one isn’t in need of bibs, you can use the appliqué designs to liven up a boy (or girl!) item that needs a little punch.

click here to check out my appliqué bib tutorial on sparkle power!

🙂

pac-man lunch sack

September 16, 2011September 16, 201115 Comments

my dear husband doesn’t have many sewing requests, but in this case i had been on a bit of a sewing hiatus, and he had an immediate one: PLEEEEASE make the kids a new lunch bag for daycare. while the faux bois oilcloth lunch sack i made them was still functional, it was getting smelly from spilled milk and isn’t washable. i once again pulled up calico’s lunch sack tutorial but made it in canvas ikea fabric, a lot bigger since the bag needs to hold food for both kids now, and added a little something extra…

PAC-MAN AND MS. PAC-MAN APPLIQUE! i was about to applique a lower-case E and an O for their initals, but once i started cutting out the circles i suddenly thought of pac-man and thought that would be PERFECT to represent a hungry little girl and little boy. i want a lunch sack that makes me smile.

i topstitched around all edges, including the bottom, to make it stand up a little better. i should have lined it, but i was kind of lazy. it just needs to get their lunches from point A to point B anyway, which takes about 10 minutes.

happy husband, giggling mama, well-fed kids. mission accomplished.

twirly tula skirt

September 6, 2011September 7, 20118 Comments

this skirt has been in my head for two months now, and it feels really great to have it come to life.

i recently discovered the glamourai (you know, like samurai?) via pinterest, and kelly has the most amazing style. this skirt is a loose interpretation of a gorgeous vintage number that she posted about here. someday i’d love to be lucky enough to find/make a skirt like hers, but in the meanwhile, i decided to make a more colorful miniature version for em.

the pattern is the free twirly skirt tutorial, by house on hill road. i made a couple of erin’s coffee cozies when i was first learning to sew, she saw them on flickr, and encouraged me (a couple times) to start a blog. i remember checking out the skirt tutorial and being a little intimidated by it back then, as a beginner. pretty funny now – it was a joy to sew, quick and smart. i made the smallest size and cut the full width selvedge to selvedge, which is plenty full for a 3T (a little tip i picked up here).

the print is from parisville by tula pink. em was excited that it has HER favorite colors (pink and purple) and MY favorite colors (blue and green). she’s VERY into favorite colors – a regular buddy the elf! 🙂 the hem and waistband are kona aqua (leftover from my picnic blanket). the tie is grosgrain ribbon.

top it off with some after dinner froyo and shoulder rides from daddy when little legs get too tired to walk, and you’ve got one happy girl.

a variation on the frankie carrier

September 1, 2011September 1, 20112 Comments

em is getting a major kick out of her elephant carrier. she takes it on ALL bike rides, nature walks, grandma and grandpa’s house, walks to the coffee shop, everywhere. i often overhear “awwww look at that!” comments as we go by. it’s an attention-getter.

we quickly noticed something, though. bike riding, running, and playground-climbing are much easier when your special buddy is on your BACK, not your front. i also usually wear her little brother in the backpack, and she really likes to be like mommy. easy fix – flip the carrier around!