i’ve blogged for nearly four years now and i always struggle in December – movies and early bedtimes just sound better than sewing on winter weeknights, and there are a lot of events all weekend every weekend all month long. buuuut it had bugged me that i had this sweater half cut out and i really wanted to WEAR the darn thing, so i finally finished it!
yep yep it’s a Linden Sweatshirt, the latest Grainline pattern. Continue reading
ALRIGHT! i was kind of on a roll with sewing some clothes for myself through the summer, but got sidetracked with kid sewing this fall. that’s cool, it was fun and all, but the seasons have changed and i’ve got a bunch of things i want to make myself. i started quick and easy, with this shirt.
this is one of the new Liesl + Co. patterns, the Bento Tee. i tested the kid version of this pattern (the Lunchbox Tee, which comes with culottes), and the shirt I made is actually shown in the pattern introduction post – on Miss S herself! what a thrill! anyway, Oliver + S pattern testing is a pretty sweet gig – they pay their pattern testers and offer them a pattern of their choice, so i picked the Bento Tee.
went and made myself some more comfy pants.
i bought this fabric right after i made my first pair of True Bias Hudson Pants (and even mentioned it in my blog post). it took me way too long to get around to sewing them – August, finally – and then of course didn’t get photos until now. it’s been bugging me, because i’ve really wanted to share them! i just LOVE these pants.
Continue reading
before i show you the sewing, i’ve got a little story.
it’s no secret that my little gal has a strong affinity for elephants. she has since she was about a year old, and the obsession continues to this day. it’s pretty cute to have this feminine little girl that loooooves giant gray mammals with huge noses, but hey she loves what she loves!
well. she has about 20 stuffed elephants, but her favorite has always been Frankie, and E is very attached to her. Frankie is Real in the Velveteen Rabbit sense – loved to the point of shabbiness. one day, E dropped Frankie somewhere between summer camp and home, and we didn’t realize she was missing until bedtime. her absence caused a panic. E has a huge heart and tons of empathy for everyone and everything, and she was so certain that Frankie would be very sad and lonely without her. of course, E was very sad and lonely without Frankie. my husband and i were worried that someone would see a “ratty old stuffie” on the sidewalk and would just toss her in the trash. it broke our hearts, and after making the walk himself to look for her, my husband even found and ordered the same type of elephant on ebay (though of course Frankie could never be replaced).
fortunately, this story has a happy ending. in fact, E happened to drop her in front of pretty much the best house possible. Monica, a mom of three little boys that could see how loved Frankie was, noticed her on the sidewalk and kept her safe that night. my husband and i actually went to high school with Monica and say hi when we see each other in the neighborhood, and her son was even attending the same summer camp! it was a wonderful coincidence that the next day at camp (after I had searched the place top to bottom) she came over and said “is anyone here missing a stuffed elephant?” i freaked out, hugged her, and beelined straight to her house, where she had kept Frankie dry (yet visible!) during the overnight rain…
i mean! oh man! it made me cry! E was thrilled to be reunited with her special stuffie, of course, and thought it was funny that Frankie “spent the night in a tree.” i had to make Monica a thank you gift. wouldn’t you?? an especially good deed deserves a handmade thank you, for sure.
i made a foldover clutch from my tutorial (with two tone variation tutorial by Cherie). Continue reading
i had it in my head that i wanted to make this exact dress, and it was driving me bonkers that i couldn’t find the time to get it done earlier in the summer! but finally, with a labor day vacation to central oregon looming, i got it made.
the pattern is jamie christina’s mission maxi view A, a dress i’ve seen lots of gals make (my all-time favorite is Kelli’s tie dye version). i bought the paper pattern at Bolt, which was a good decision (vs PDF) because the two pattern pieces were so big, i had to move to my living room floor just to trace my size!
skirt as top 