Hair and a Kids Clothing Week wrap up

So would it be weird for me to bring this vintage pattern into a hairstylist and say, "This is what I want"? Is that taking it too far? Yes, please make me look like a 6-year old from 1978. Thanks.

And check this out. Elsie Marley made up a couple of photo collages of her favorites from Kids Clothes Week and she liked my little capelet. That really made my day. I definitely did the whole week. Even though I caught a nasty cold, I spent at least an hour each night working on my cross-stitch. I sew a lot but not every night. This was a good way to buckle down and focus.

I'll have Part I of the upcycled capelet tutorial up tomorrow. It is so much cuter on the kid than the hanger.

Vintage Pattern Overload

A local church had a rummage sale in their basement last weekend and I spotted a box of patterns as soon as I walked in the door. I asked, "How much for the patterns?" The lady at the card table replied, "Oh, 5 cents each."

There were 20 patterns total. As you can see, most are a size 34, just a little too big. Several were a 36. Two of them were from the '80s and so ugly that I couldn't bear to photograph them.

I've put the ones close to my size in my pattern bin and the rest have been stored for later.

Lucky, lucky me. I'm not ready to deal with any of these yet but they are nice to have and dream about.

Project: Vintage Patterns

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming. This month has been a bit insane and this week marks the end of it. I decided some time ago that if there is ever too much going on, something's gotta give and that will never be my parenting. In order to be a good parent, sometimes I gotta put down this computer and read a book or magazine after wild toddler finally goes to sleep. Sometimes I have to turn off my brain. Writing this blog turns on my brain. When I write about the stuff I've been doing and want to do, I get so into it sometimes that I can stay up until 3 a.m. sewing and cutting and putting fabrics together. And dude, when Mr. Lemon is out of town, there is no way I can stay up all hours of the night like I'm in art school all over again and still get up and feed wild toddler breakfast at the crack of freaking dawn.

So anyway, if you're still with me, check out these amazing patterns my MIL found while she was packing up all the stuff in her attic to move into a new house (A new house of her very own that she bought! Yay! I remember how it felt to buy this place and I'm just so happy for her).

I have big plans for these. I already wrote about the bubble romper (middle). I think I finally decided to go with the Heather Ross gnome stuff that I got from Spoonflower but it's actually quite thick so I'm not sure. When it's hot enough to wear a romper, maybe thinner is better...

I'm super excited about the jacket on the left. I have one like it from when I was pregnant. It's really cute. I'm actually thinking the new Far, Far Away stuff from Heather Ross might be great since it's a thicker linen blend.

And I'm hoping to find some nice quality knit for this dress. Something a little heavier than a Gap t-shirt but not too poly feeling. Maybe an organic cotton. And I might not ever make any of these. Aren't they just great for inspiration?

Project: Loot.

Although there is a quilt shop and a weird upholstery fabric store in town, we don't have a true sewing shop with different types of fabrics and notions and patterns and all that deliciousness we love and hoard. So when I go to the sewing store, I stock up because it's a 45-minute drive. Last weekend I went to visit my parents so that my mom could watch the kid and I could have as much uninterrupted time with my list as I needed. Success. I bought these fabrics for projects for me. The teal faux silky stuff is for this top (see note) that I wrote about before. I should be able to wear it to work if it ever warms up. The cotton dots print is for this dress. I'm going to make the Maya version because I want something cool and lovely for Summer. I had to buy zippers too. I have never sewn a zipper before. Ever. Someone has always done it for me.

This dotted swiss is for this dress (see note) for Zadie. I thought I would make it very much like the pattern and add trim in two different colors. I love dotted swiss. I would use it for every project if it made sense. I just love the vintage feel to it.

Finally, this is the haul for the second Oliver + S pattern that I'm going to attempt, the Playdate dress. I didn't mean to buy fabric so like the example on the package but after seeing the nursery rhyme toile, I had to go for it. And chartreuse with deep blue and red is so underrated. I think it will add a perfect punch.

I love shopping for supplies. So much of making good projects is in finding the right materials, making a good list and checking it more than twice, and living with the patterns and fabric until it feels right.

Project: Great Blizzard of 2010 Pattern Haul

Just over two weeks after we got several massive and consecutive snowstorms, they plowed our street. I took advantage of the momentary road visibility and brought a couple of bags of junk to Goodwill so I could visit the awesome thrift store across the way.

I picked up all some very cool vintage trim, some really beautiful handkerchiefs, and all of these patterns for about 10 bucks.

I have current plans to make the belted top (top image) and the little white dress with rick rac trim (bottom image). See my flickr for notes.

I wanted to make that blue top (top photo) but realized when I got home that it's not the right size. I'm really bummed about that but I should be able to alter it. For now, it goes in the bin with the rest of the little girl patterns that are too big for Zadie. The future holds good things.