how do people blog in december?

5 Comments

seriously you guys, december is HERE!  sheesh!  i didn’t sit down to a TV or computer all weekend – too busy!  good news is, we got a lot done to usher in the christmas season.  first, we got our tree from a lot just a few blocks from our house.  our tradition is to carry it home (or the husband carries it while i lug both kids because Em was done walking and O was in the backpack).  we went to the same lot last year, so it was fun to reminisce about how giant my belly was then and how O’s birth was just a little over a week away…

then we rearranged our little living room to accomodate it, since we like a nice fat tree that goes all the way to the ceiling.  so the tree is trimmed, the chex mix is made, the house is decorated inside and out, Em’s christmas (and dance recital) dress is finished, and i knocked out a few decorations for O’s first birthday party coming up this weekend.  i would have gotten photos of the dress, but both kids have a cold and she hasn’t been in a modeling mood.

funny how just a weekend can get you fully in the christmas spirit.  after attending my husband’s company holiday party (he works for a small family-owned business, so his co-workers are a great group of folks that we’ve known for years) and seeing the singing christmas tree downtown with my mom and sisters (a giant choir of people standing on risers in the shape of a christmas tree), i’m there!

i got slightly too ambitious for a bit, starting to cut fabric for this mini quilt after being inspired by this one.  i got one block sewn…

…but then realized a hanging mini quilt is not a necessity when i have a couple christmas presents to sew.  i also got word that something VERY EXCITING is coming down the pike for ol’ skirt as top.  check back on wednesday to find out what (it’s not a baby – just gotta put that out there, since this sewing blogger bunch is an incredibly fertile one…).  😉

be back soon!

ombré chiffon dance skirt

10 Comments

oh man, you guys. i just got back into town after being at a work conference for 3 days, the first time i’ve ever been away overnight by myself since having kids. it was so hard. coming home to my trooper of a husband and my two little sweeties just made my heart swell. i want to sneak back up to Em’s room and snuggle her in her sleep, creepozoid-style…or pluck O out of bed and rock him like when he was a newborn. i missed them SO much and being home feels so good. luckily, work travel will be pretty rare.

before i left, i finished up this new ballet skirt for Em to wear to class, because we’d lost her petal skirt somewhere in the house and she won’t go to ballet without one. i actually tried to make it with fold over elastic first which looked cute, but in just one wear a bunch of the fabric detached from the FOE. so i redid the waistband with some satin blanket binding, threading 1/2″ elastic through the casing.

the fabric itself is a pink ombré chiffon that Em picked out at mill end. mill end is actually where my mom used to shop for fabric when she sewed for us as kids, and i remember going there with her when i was in grade school. i hadn’t shopped there since i started sewing, though – i figured out the last time i was there was 1992! the feel and smell was really familiar, so it was pretty cool going there again and continuing the tradition. their apparel fabric selection is HUGE!

the chiffon is beautiful and twirls wonderfully, but is definitely more delicate than the georgette. it has already snagged a bit. oh well…these skirts are so easy to make! the key element to working with this type of fancy fabric is a fine needle (i use a size 10). cut the curves from the ends of a long rectangle, hem it with a baby hem (i learned how here), gather the top, overlap the curved edges, and add the waistband (like this type of thing). insert elastic and you’re done!

of course as soon as i finished the new one we found the old one behind the couch. here are her three ballet skirts, all in a row in order of completion:

and one more i have to share of my little mama…

frankie the tap dancing elephant. 🙂

clever charlotte winner

3 Comments

thanks for all the comment love on the kestrel coat!  and now, for the winner…

according to random.org, the winner of the clever charlotte giveaway is karen, who said…

Oh my, the velveteen is so luxurious and beautiful. Perfect for a coat with details like this one. The setting for the photos is gorgeous, what a beautiful fall day.

I’d love to enter your contest, pick me please!!

yay karen, happy sewing!  i just sent you an email.  thanks to all who entered, that was fun!

p.s. it’s a good thing we got those photos when we did, because all of the nearby trees are now completely bare.  winter is here.

a friendly reminder and a gold jack

2 Comments

you’ve got until noon PST on sunday to enter to win a clever charlotte pattern of your choice, so if you haven’t gotten your name in yet…go do it!

we spent thanksgiving up at the sound with my husband’s family.  we stayed warm by the fire while a storm stirred up the puget sound on thanksgiving day, and stuffed our faces full of good food.  Em and i even braved the beach for a bit – don’t you love a stormy day at the beach?  i really do, and luckily she’s a girl after my own heart.  we didn’t see the normal array of jellyfish, starfish, and geoducks, but we did turn over some rocks for a peek at the tiny crabs scurrying for cover underneath, and collected some driftwood for painting (i’m thinking something like this idea?).

speaking of painting, since we got home i’ve been spray painting stuff gold.  my sister-in-law got me this oversized metal jack that she knew i had wanted for my birthday, and she encouraged me to paint its odd, faux-rusty finish.  it wasn’t raining, so today was the day.

BOOM!  gilded jack bookend!

perfect to prop up my little collection of vintage books.  i get a kick out of finding books entitled “latin for today” or “occupations for little fingers” (a crafting and knot-tying book for kids) and will never pass up a hardcover classic like “oliver twist” (copyright MCMLVI).  when i go thrifting, these are the treasures i can’t leave behind.

thanks again, susie!

back soon with the winner!

an autumn walk, a kestrel coat, and a giveaway!

57 Comments

thank you so much for the birthday wishes! it was a really nice birthday…a quiet but sweet day with my little fam that culminated in dinner at my new favorite restaurant (portlanders, you must try the pizza at nostrana!) and drinks at a great pub with great friends. my birthday gifts were mostly sewing-related, which was fine by me!

i was also able to finish up a project i’m really excited about. it’s the kestrel coat, by clever charlotte. have you heard of clever charlotte? they’re a relatively new independent kids’ pattern company, and recently released their second line of patterns for fall/winter. i first heard about them when katy of no big dill reviewed a couple of their spring/summer patterns back in june, and thought they were very interesting and beautiful and different from anything else that i’d seen.

a little while back, i was contacted by erin, co-creator of the company, to see if i’d be interested in trying out a pattern from their new fall/winter line. after getting over my initial surprise (who? ME?! they want ME?) i checked out the patterns and quickly agreed!

erin gave me my choice of pattern, but gently suggested that i try the kestrel coat. at the time i wasn’t so sure…while i thought the coat looked beautiful, i’d never made a coat before and was a little nervous. i practiced on the sunday brunch jacket (because i know i can always trust oliver + s to learn techniques), then felt ready to tackle the kestrel.

honestly, i shouldn’t have worried! the pattern was really well-written, with the perfect ratio of diagrams and clear written instruction. i made the 3T, using a lovely bone colored velveteen from fabric depot, lined with anna maria horner little folks voile that i’d been hoarding. it is a bit large on her, and i know it’ll fit next year too. Em was happy about the “reindeer fabric” and buttons, which are the perfect mix of her favorite colors (pink and purple, duh). it kept her warm during a long, chilly afternoon walk together.

i really like the details in the pattern. i knew it was going to be a special-looking coat when i was done. i did make one modification, on the sleeves. the pattern calls for separate upper and lower sleeves, with the lower sleeve puffed a bit. i wanted to let the scarf collar and full gathered back details of the coat shine, so i opted to modify the sleeves to just one piece. i handstitched the lining in, for a clean finish on the cuff if rolled up, and i left a little extra length inside there to let out next year. here’s a quick “how i did it” on the one-piece sleeve:

line up the dotted basting line of piece 6 (lower sleeve) with the cut line of the bottom of piece 5 (upper sleeve).

put a piece of tracing paper on top. using a ruler, connect the outer edges of the upper sleeve with the lower edges of the bottom sleeve. trace the rest of the pattern, including notches.

now you have a one-piece sleeve pattern! one more step…

square off the sleeve hem, using the cut edge of the sleeve as a guide. i did this step on the fabric itself with a rotary cutter. proceed with the pattern as instructed, skipping the steps relating to the two-piece sleeve.

and now, the part i’m really excited about…my first giveaway ever! if you’d like to give clever charlotte a try or if you’ve been eyeing one of their patterns for a while, leave a comment below for your chance to win a clever charlotte pattern of your choice! you don’t have to decide which one right now – i know it’s a tough decision. 😉

here’s how to enter:

  • leave me a comment, any comment!
  • include your email address in your comment, if it’s not linked to your profile. if you’re nervous about spam, the format of skirtastop(at)gmail(dot)com works great.
  • the giveaway is open until this sunday 11/27 at noon PST, and is open to international residents. **Giveaway is now closed**
good luck and happy thanksgiving to all you non-international residents!