cuteness overload

I have a tolerance-hate relationship with shoes. I tolerate them, because my feet would be cold without them, and I'd step on a lot more sharp, pointy things. (Especially with this hobby.) But I really hate shopping for them, because it's so hard to find shoes that fit and are still cute. I've wished SO many times that I could just make my own. And one of the things parents typically do with their kids is vicariously enjoy the things they could never do themselves, right? So all that to say, I made my kid shoes. And they're adorable!

I had a cooperative model today. So prepare for a barrage of cuteness!
First of all, the shoes themselves. Both are from Simplicity 2491, with a few modifications. Everything is scraps--linen, heavyweight muslin, a thin faux suede, and microfleece for the insides. The pattern called for wool felt inside, but I didn't want to risk finding out the hard way that his skin reacts to wool as badly as mine.







The pattern for this one looked kind of like a bear,  so I altered the shape of the ears so it would resemble our golden retrievers. I also machine stitched the mouth, since I already had black thread in the machine from my previous project, which still needs to be photographed and blogged. 














I also changed the closure. This one was originally two ribbons to tie into a bow. Hobbit is a very active baby, though. And kicking is his main thing right now. So a one-ribbon strap with Velcro like some of the other views has was a much more practical option.






The monkey shoes originally had that velcro ribbon closure, but I got even lazier and used black elastic to make them fully slip-on. If I make another pair of these in a larger size sometime, I'm thinking I might go with a frog, because that monkey face shape is perfect for that, too!

I'm really glad I made these bigger than I thought I needed to. According to the measurements, he should have had room in an extra-small. I made the small, and while there's room in the toes, it's still a bit of a struggle to pull them on his feet. They were very quick to sew together, though. I got these done from start to finish in three naps. And if the weather ever gets cooler before he has a growth spurt, they'll be good lightweight shoes for the fall.

I'll end this with a gratuitous outtake, because THAT FACE.

April month-in-review

This really does look like a super-productive month, since I tend to count stash on the months I finish the project vs. when I cut it! So let's just jump right to the fun stuff, shall we?

Projects Finished This Month: 
8 total. Unless I count the diapers individually. Then it's closer to 80. But that's cheating, isn't it? First up, the unblogged things.
As seen on Instagram: I did take another cute-but-stained PJ set that I was given for free, plus a boring snap-front newborn tee, and did this. The applique was hand-stitched on, just like the frog one I did last month, and as a bonus, this reads completely gender-neutral to me. Which means it's definitely something I can recycle for any future siblings. I also had a decent-sized piece of unstained fabric, so I used this tutorial/pattern to whip out a quick hat. I did have to cut one piece with a seam in the back,  but it still worked up really fast. (The snail was the other part of the original applique. It was there, so why not use it?)

Next up: Several weeks back, I was looking for maternity/baby clothes at the thrift store, and stumbled across a bin of K'Nex for a really great price. Since then, Doug and I have gotten in the habit of checking every few weekends for any more good toy finds. One week, I found a bag of wooden blocks, which just seems like one of those staple toys that every kid should have. But they needed containment. So I took a piece of stash cotton and made a bag for them. I think this was one of my mom's dyeing-for-quilts experiments that she wasn't totally happy with, and I just wanted to use a piece that I didn't really care what I used it for. Honestly, I made this more complicated than I needed to--I realized about halfway through inserting the drawstring that oh, wait, I have to think about choking hazards now! So then I had to completely wing it with a zipper in my stash that wasn't quite the right color, but oh well. I know this bag is kind of huge for the amount of blocks that we have, but I figured that it would make it easy to add any more that we might acquire. (I mean, I don't even have the whole alphabet here!)

My most recent sewing project was a nursing cover. Not to say that women shouldn't have the right to breastfeed when and where they need to or anything--I just know that I'll personally be more comfortable if I'm able to stay covered up when I have to feed him outside of the house. Besides, I've had this particular quilt cotton for years, and I'm happy that I finally found a way to use some of it. I actually had this in the stash and wanted to use it for the leaf quilt I made several years ago, but it was just a little too busy of a print to really work. I still have about half of the piece left, so I'll just need to figure out what to do with it. But this was a really fast/easy project to make-- just a rectangle with a casing for a piece of boning, another two rectangles for the strap, a couple d-rings, hemming, and done. Ideally, I would have used d-rings that were a little thinner/lighter, but this is what I had in the stash, so I went with it. If it really bugs me in the long run, I can always perform a little seam ripper magic later and replace them.

I also finished off a stack of cloth wipes to use with the diapers. But I can't really count that as stashbusting, since my mom cut up a bunch of flannel that she had and all I had to do was serge the edges. Honestly, this isn't even exciting enough to take a picture of, but at least it's done.

Stashbusting totals for the month:

Stash out, not counting the 3 reconstructed projects:

• For the diapers: 31.25 yards total of PUL, athletic mesh, and cotton fleece (!)
• Maternity/nursing maxi-dress: 3 yards of knit
• Storage bag for blocks: .5 yard of hand-dyed cotton
• Nursing cover: 1 yard of quilt cotton

Total:  35.75 yards out, plus a few scraps for the Star Wars shirt. Woohoo!

Stash in:

• 2 yards of an Aztec-print knit. I was out running errands with Doug one day, we stumbled across a sewing machine store, and he suggested we head in and see if we could find me some new fabric. Who am I to say no? The selection was pretty small, but since I've been burning through all of my print knits in making maternity clothes, I figured I could allow myself this little splurge.  
• My parents moved into a new house this month, and my mom handed off a couple of pieces of fabric that she thought might be more useful for me in making future boy clothes than her for quilting. So I got a little over 1 yard of a reversible blue fleece (brighter blue on one side, more royal on the other), and 8 yards of a plain black twill (but only 19.5" wide!) that she had left over from a couple of non-quilt projects.  The twill will probably have to get used up for pants and shorts, but at least kid clothes are small and skinny. At least at first.

Total: 11.25(ish) yards in, but that's still a total of 24.5 yards less than I started the month with.  For the year so far, my spreadsheet is saying that I have just over 336 yards, but I've used about 63 1/2 up. Which is really good for the first third of the year, especially since 3 yards is the most I can usually burn on one project!

May Goals:
I did touch on this in last month's review.  At this point, I've reviewed the list, and pared it down based on what I didn't get done this month and think is most important. So here's what I'm hoping to do:

• I'd still like to make that changing mat. I think that will be the next project.
• I found instructions for how to make a baby gym on Pinterest. This wasn't something I was originally planning on for baby gear, because those things are ridiculously expensive and bulky. But since this one snaps apart and would be really easy to set up/store, I have a large piece of a certain quilt cotton that would be perfect for this, and I have a ready supply of adorable felt things that would be perfect to hang from it (extras from some shower favors that my mom made--all animals to go along with various books), I'd like to give this one a shot.
• I have curtains for the nursery, but I need to sew the blackout layer into the colored layer, because they're way too sheer to keep light out for when he's napping. The curtains need to be shortened anyway. So this should be a quick project, it's just a case of doing it.
• And I still need to do a lot more cooking. Though I've actually made a pretty good dent on recipes I'd planned for dinners--I think I have 3 more recipes to make for that, and then what I'd planned for lunches. And breakfast, if there's still room in the freezer.

Finally, a quick little update on how those sewing lessons are going! The girl is doing very well. We took a little bit of a break around Easter due to her family going on vacation, but since then, she's finished up the Delphine skirt from Love at First Stitch. We spent most of that day's lesson working on invisible zipper insertion, and she did a very nice job for her first try! (Not perfect, and I did have to do a little unpicking for her at the bottom to fix where something got caught, but the end result doesn't have that annoying bubble that invisible zippers sometimes get at the bottom.) She finished the skirt on her own after her last lesson, and I'm not sure what she wants to work on next--I'm letting her pick the projects after the bag we made first, because of course it's more fun if you sew things you want to make. Guess I'll find out on Monday, so here's hoping I'm sufficiently prepared!

the March round-up, and April/May plans!

I'm really liking these monthly round-ups. Since I've been mostly doing finished project posts lately, it's a good way to keep tabs both on my stashbusting attempts and the longer-term projects/quickies that don't necessarily need individual posts.

Projects finished this month: 6 total. There was the diaper bag, the skirt and matching baby pants, the top I blogged the other day, and 2 more baby projects.

Project #1, with backstory: The bulk of the clothes I've gotten for Hobbit so far have been courtesy of my mother-in-law, who keeps finding people who are getting rid of baby boy stuff and snagging it for us. For the most part, it's been like-new or very gently worn, so I think we'll be able to use most of it--though I did send a stack of newborn onesies to the thrift store, because they were specifically labeled 5-8 pounds. Given the weight updates I've been getting at my ultrasounds, and the weights that both Doug and I were at when we were born, he'd probably fit those for a week, tops. And I also passed a few things on to one of my best friends, because neither Doug nor I cared about keeping the sports-themed clothes (they never have hockey anything on them and he doesn't care about any other sport), she and her husband actually like football and stuff, and she's due to have a boy about a month and a half after me--instant friend for Hobbit! Yay! She had a girl for her first baby, so all she really needs for this one is clothes, and I don't mind sharing. Anyway. There were also a few things that I thought were generally cute, and mostly in good condition, except for some obvious staining around the necklines. I had a little mental battle between my cheapness thriftiness and not wanting to dress my kid in clothes with mystery stains that he didn't make. Then I remembered that I can sew, and therefore I can still get some use out of this stuff!

So I took these cute-but-stained pajamas, and this organic cotton onesie that was in excellent condition, but a little boring. And I cut the frog applique off and hand-stitched it onto the onesie--I wasn't sure how well my machine would navigate those little tiny openings, since the side seams were already closed up! (The only before picture I have was on my phone. Yes, that's Doug playing with toys in the background--if you follow me on Instagram, you know all about my excellent thrift score on a box of K'Nex over the weekend!)

Ta-da! Much cuter onesie, in about 20 minutes. And I still have other unstained parts of the original pajamas left--maybe I can hack the legs and sleeves into a little hat or something?

Project #2: Since hockey apparently doesn't count as a sport in the minds of people who design fabric for baby clothes, I'm having to get creative. After all, if I can make geeky stuff for the baby, I should accommodate Doug's interests too, right? So I used some fabric left over from the one hockey bib that I made a few months ago to make a project that I promised I'd do.

He mostly gets flak for being a Pittsburgh Penguins fan, since we live in Flyers country, but his other favorite team is the Colorado Avalanche, and it's a lot harder to find pre-made anything for that team for some reason. Even on the internet. But I did find some quilt cotton. So now our kid has Avalanche pants. The pattern is Simplicity 1330, slightly adapted because I didn't have the right size elastic and partially because I didn't want to bother putting the elastic in the bottom of the legs. The waistband came out huge with the length they said to cut, too, and the casings weren't cooperating well with my wider elastic, so I also cut a few inches off. Hopefully they'll fit him ok--these are supposed to be 6-12 month. Otherwise, super-easy--I had these cut and completely sewn in an afternoon.

Stashbusting totals for the month: About 6 1/2 yards used up. I still need to figure out what to do with the rest of that Avalanche fabric, since I have maybe 1/4 yard left. I also bought 1 yard of quilt cotton from Jo-Ann's, because it was another hockey-themed print, and I don't see those often. Still, used more than I bought. So yay! Total for the year so far: 27.75 yards down, just under 360 still here.

The in-progress stuff: The good news is that the newborn and small-sized diapers are completely done! I just need to finish up with the mediums, and my mom got a good chunk of that done. So I just need to finish with leg elastic and snaps. It's definitely easier (and less boring) doing that sort of assembly-line sewing with someone else. As for my Lord of the Rings-themed quiet book, I haven't made as much progress on that, since a nice chunk of the time I'd normally be spending on that was spent on diaper snap installation. But I have finished up to page 5 of (I think) 11, aside from machine-sewing the backing page on two of them, and am working on the 6th. So I'm about halfway there.

How I did with March's goals: Well, the diaper bag is done, and I managed to make 2 pieces of clothing for myself instead of one, so I did well! I haven't actually started that massive cooking project yet, save making a massive grocery list and at least figuring out which recipes to start with. But that is definitely on the agenda for this month, since I decided that it would be better to wait until closer to the time that we would actually be eating this food. Less freezer burn that way.

April's plans (and beyond): 
 

I mentioned this sewalong in my last post, and since everything I'm sewing right now fits one of the three categories, the timing is perfect! I'm not entirely certain what order I'll end up making things in, so I'm just going to list all of the sewing that I'm hoping to get done before June by category, and see what actually happens.

1) Baby Clothing
Not 100% sure of my plans here yet, though I do have some things set aside and some ideas.

• I have a few knit scraps pulled out that should be just enough to make a baby t-shirt. I'm also planning on freezer paper stenciling it since both fabrics are plain--with a geeky reference, of course! 
• I do have two more partially useable free baby clothes that could also get the refashion treatment. 
• I also have a couple of patterns lying around that would be fun to try out. Including one for adorable soft-sole baby shoes, and a button-down shirt one that I recently acquired. I even have an old work shirt of Doug's hiding in my refashion bin that I can use for fabric, and I think it would be cute (and free!) to cut down Daddy's old shirts for little boy clothes!
• And I guess finishing up those diapers can count as clothes, right? I mean, he has to wear them...

 
 2) Baby Accessories and Other Items, such as quilts, toys, burp cloths, bibs, etc.
I should be solid on bibs and burp cloths, mostly thanks to my mom!

• But I do want to make a portable changing mat to go in the diaper bag, since I have fabric left over from that. 
• I have a scrap quilt in-progress, which I'm planning on just using as a throw-on-the-floor play mat, but that's probably lowest on my priority list right now. (A, he won't be able to sit up for awhile, and B, that might be an ideal project to work in 5 minutes of sewing here and there shortly after he's born, since it's all stitching strips onto blocks.) 
• The quiet book definitely counts as a toy, and I did get some suggestions about maybe turning the rest of that Avalanche fabric into a stuffed toy, via the Stashbusting Sewalong group on Facebook.
• I also have leftover towel fabric from when I made a baby gift (for the same friend mentioned earlier) a couple of years ago, so I'd like to see if I can squeeze a hooded towel out of it. 

3) For Parents

• I have one more nursing/maternity maxi I want to make, as mentioned in my last post. I think that, for ease/speed of assembly, I'm going to just mash up the Tiramisu bodice, which I've already made twice and I know has some room for expansion, and the already-altered Simplicity skirt pattern from the black dress.  Which means that I'll probably do the invisible zipper nursing alteration trick again, so maybe a tutorial post will happen?
• As mentioned in my last post, I may give that Megan Nielsen pattern another go, with a few tweaks, since I'll need something sleeveless for the hot days too. 
• Given the colors of either project, I can also use the scraps to alter a not-quite-nursing bra that I picked up recently. The straps are the type that can snap closed in the front, so it just needs a little tweaking. 
• I also need to make myself a nursing cover. I'm pretty sure I know which stashed quilting cotton will be sacrificed for this cause, I just need to do it. 

Hopefully this isn't too overly ambitious. But I'm determined to cram in as much time with my sewing machine as I can now, because I suspect it'll be hard to do for awhile!

it's the time of the season

Happy spring, right? Here in the good old Mid-Atlantic, ours started with winter trying to get in one last sucker punch! I think it's time for a breakup with cold weather, because I am OVER winter clothes. I know I say that every single year, but with my currently limited wardrobe choices, it's even worse. I've been wearing the same 2 pairs of pants (with the jeans mixed in as I can) and the same 3 cardigans almost every single day. And my one purchased winter maternity top is looking rather dingy and sad. I guess that's what I get for buying a cream sweatery-looking top.

That being said, with the limited window I have remaining in which making clothes for myself to wear throughout the rest of this pregnancy still has a point, I'm trying to focus on things that will carry me through the spring and into the summer. And, hopefully, still be wearable afterwards.

Enter my new maxi-skirt! The fabric is a luscious-feeling bamboo-rayon jersey blend, part of the mini-stash of knits that my parents gave me for Christmas. It took me a lot of thinking initially about whether this fabric wanted to be a skirt or a top, but once I realized that I only have 2 pairs of non-jeans maternity pants left that still fit (I've outgrown the third, which were a little small on me when I first chopped them into maternity pants), and they're both reconstructed corduroy pants, a warmer-weather friendly piece of bottomwear won out.

This month's Stashbusting Sewalong theme is sewing with patterns that you already have. So I based this skirt rather loosely on Simplicity 7229, which I've used a few times before for skirts and capri pants. (I'm having to link this to my Pinterest since it's out of print, so hopefully it'll work!) The original skirt is pretty basic-- the two pieces for the front and back are the same, and it has a wide yoke with a drawstring top. I'd always made it in wovens before, but here's the changes (aside from knit fabric) that I made to make it more maternity-friendly:

• Added several inches to the length of the front/back pieces. Which I actually did the last time I made this pattern, because the original pattern was this awkward mid-calf length, and I ended up hating that and chopping off the previously made skirts to a shorter length.
• I did also have to narrow that at the bottom a bit, because my fabric wasn't quite wide enough to accommodate the extra width. But since it's stretchy, that's ok. Especially since I'm starting to get into the waddle phase and my steps aren't quite as big as they used to be.
• While I used the yoke/drawstring waistband pieces to get a general idea of how wide to cut it, I replaced that with a slightly skinnier but much longer rectangular piece. The idea is that I can use it to cover up the baby bump for now--the over-bump stuff sits on me way better than under-bump stuff, which just feels awkward and like it's constantly on the verge of falling down. It's a little loose at the very top of the band, around the rib area. But I'm not too worried about it.

It folds down into a yoga-style waistband, so I'm hoping that it'll be snug enough that I can wear this skirt once I'm a little smaller around the waist again, too! It's obviously hard to tell how that will work right now, but a girl can dream, right? 

Overall, I'm really pleased with how this adaptation worked out, and how fast it was to sew together! I did all of it, including cutting out, in 2 sewing sessions. Which is pretty speedy for me. Depending on how this works out to wear afterwards, this just may be how this skirt pattern ends up getting used from now on. It's so tempting to find more of this type of knit and whip out a few more! But I have several pieces of knit that I still want to make other clothes out of to wear in the meantime, so I shall try to restrain myself.

I used up pretty close to a full 2 yards on this. As an added bonus, I had just enough fabric left to make a little something for the Hobbit! We're actually doing pretty well with collecting baby clothes so far, largely thanks to my mother-in-law, who's brought over multiple bags of things that neighbors and acquaintances were getting rid of.  At least, we're doing pretty well with onesies and pajamas. What seems to be largely lacking is pants. Given his nickname, all I can think of is that old Lord of the Rings movie meme where certain words get substituted with "pants". The most famous being...

Which never fails to crack me up, but Hobbit is going to need some pants eventually. So I made some.

The pattern was a freebie that I found on Craftsy, the Go To Baby Leggings. I wasn't entirely sure about tie-dyed pants for a boy, but a few kind sewcialists on Instagram talked me into it, and I hope these actually end up fitting him because I think they turned out pretty cute! I made these in the 3-6 month size--partially because lightweight jersey pants going into the fall make sense, and partly because I literally did not have enough fabric left to make them any bigger. Doug was pretty impressed, I think--I cut and sewed these in their entirety on Thursday, along with finishing the skirt, and his instant reaction was that they were adorable and I should post them on Facebook. Always a good sign. I wish I knew how they were actually going to fit him, because I had these cut out and sewn together entirely in basically no time! But at least I have the pattern tested, so if it works out, I can always fall back on this as a quick project while he naps or something.

sew and tell time!

Yeah, I could just come out and tell you what the gender is. But it's so much more fun to take this as an excuse to sew something to show it!! (Ok, so I already posted this to Instagram/the Stashbusting Sewalong group on Facebook. But this warrants a blog post too, right?)

So this is the outfit I made for Hobbit.

That's right, it's a boy! Doug is absolutely thrilled, since he was hoping for that outcome more than he was willing to admit, even to himself. Plus he's excited to teach him all about hockey. I'm excited too, though I will admit that some of my first thoughts were along the lines of wondering how long I'd actually be able to sew things for him/can I still do crafty stuff with him/etc. Good thing I've already seen stuff on Pinterest about building toy catapults and such, because that looks fun! I'm also giving myself pep talks about all the geeky things I like that boys often also enjoy, like Tolkien and Star Wars and Legos and Marvel movies, to remind myself that I'll be ok.

Oh, right, I should probably talk about the actual sewing project, too! This pattern is McCall's 6494, made in a size small, which looks like about 1-3 months. Ok, so I'm guessing on that-- I'm pretty new to this whole kid sewing thing! I'm hoping this will work for this summer and into September, since our Septembers are often on the warm end as well. I did have this pattern on hand, because I'll admit that I did buy a couple in the cheap pattern Joann's sales back when we first started talking seriously about having a kid. And I chose this one, because minimal pieces made it look like it would sew up fast! We told our family and closest friends on Monday, but this was my chosen method for the Facebook reveal, so I didn't want anything that would take too long and risk someone accidentally letting it slip. Also, the dinosaur was fun.

The fabric is lightweight denim, left over from my Thurlow trousers. I had 1 3/4 yards of that left, and this project used up 3/4 yards of that. So I guess some little baby jeans-like pants may be in order to use up the rest--I don't think I can squeeze anything for myself out of a yard, given that I don't entirely have the full width of the fabric to work with due to how I cut the Thurlow legs out. I made the applique from the last scrap of the solid green that I recently made those Lord of the Rings bibs out of, plus some rick rack purloined from my mom's stash (with her permission). Yay for stashbusting! I also had just barely enough snaps of a slightly larger size to do this. I guess I'll need to pick up some more if I'm going to make any more baby clothes. Unless I can find snap tape at Joann's, since I need to stop there today to check on supplies anyway. (Not fabric, for the record. Hardware for a diaper bag so I can use up some fabric.)

I did make a couple of changes to the pattern/instructions:

1. I left off the facing, because those partial facings always flip out somewhere and annoy me, no matter how careful I try to be with understitching. Also, an interfaced extra layer of denim that ends partway down the chest sounded like it wouldn't be too comfy for a baby's sensitive skin. (Look at me, trying to sound like I know what I'm talking about!) So I turned and topstitched those edges instead, and added a little tab on either side of the snapped shoulder to reinforce it. It looks more jeans-y that way anyway.
   
   (Note: I'm very, very glad I basted this first, even though it made things take longer, because I would have not caught the edge in multiple places otherwise.) 
2. I did the bias tape facing for the snapped crotch lining before I hemmed it, because why wouldn't you want to eliminate unnecessary handwork? Sewing on those 7 snaps was enough!

With that update, here's my question for those of you with sons or nephews that you've made things for: any cute boys' sewing patterns to recommend/sources for fun prints? Because my general overall lack of boy-friendly fabrics in the stash means I can justify a little bit of shopping, right?

Friday Favorites

So many of the craft blogs I've been keeping an eye on have weekly features, like Mom2fur's "Sew Crafty Friday", and Sharon's Thursday dog post and "Flashback Fridays", and I've really enjoyed reading those. So I'm going to attempt my own little weekly mini-feature here. But since I do too much crafting to reserve all that for once a week, and "flashbacks" for me would probably consist of vague fuzziness from when I was a kid (or laughing over some of the bizzare things I sewed for myself in middle/high school that I unfortunately don't have pictures of), I'm just going to post about some of my favorite things that I've seen in the crafty blogosphere this week.

1. The Big List Of Sewing Blogs. I've only known about this list since this week, but apparently it knew about me a little longer because somehow I ended up on there! I haven't had a chance to get through more than maybe the first ten on the list yet, but it's always fun to find new people's blogs to get inspired by. (And now that I finally know how to work Bloglines, it'll be a little easier to keep up with reading them all!)

2. Lydia's chicken enchiladas. She always has the most yummy-looking food on her blog, and this is giving me serious cravings for Mexican. I'm really going to have to try this once I have some time to cook. (While I'm at it, I'll just throw in a shameless plug for her blog--I actually knew Lydia growing up, since she's the younger sister of one of my high school classmates and we were in art classes together. Besides her cooking, she's amazingly talented at making cards and invitations and stuff. If I had need for anything like wedding invitations or baby shower invitations, I would definitely order them from her. But I don't yet, so the rest of you should. ;-)

3. Sweet Pepita's Etsy Shop, as seen on Crafting A Green World. She makes infant through toddler clothes from recycled T-shirts and organic knits. It makes me seriously wish I had a baby just so I could tote him or her around in a recycled Counting Crows shirt and laugh at all the shocked faces of my Baby Gap-shopping friends with kids. As it is, I'm trying to figure out if I can afford one of these for my high-school best friend (whom I still keep in touch with on a regular basis), since she's pregnant with her second child and she's the type who would appreciate the recycled/organic thing.

4. How to make a "slack dress". Leave it to ThreadBanger to take a pair of men's pants and turn them into a dress. This one looks rather nice, actually, and like it would be easy to customize, so I'm tempted to try it. Of course, I'd have to fiddle with the actual directions a bit...unlike the girl who demonstrated how to make it, I would need darts.

Anyway, that's it for this week's edition. And since I have some time to kill before I go teach, I'm going to go resume work on the Kaylee shirt.

First attempts at babywear

First of all, here's the overalls I finished last Saturday night.

I became friends with the couple I made these for through an obsession with Lord of the Rings, and since Rohan's a common favorite, I figured a white horse on green would be perfectly appropriate for their newborn little boy (besides, he also happens to be my birthday twin, so I had to make him something! The horse design was taken from a picture of one of the Rohan banners in the movie (far simpler to applique than the more intricate throne room flags, especially on a small surface.)

I finished this fleece hoodie about half an hour ago. This is for a couple at my church I'm friends with, who are expecting their first in May. They're the most hard-core outdoorsy people I've ever met in my life, and introduced me and a couple of my friends to fun activities like snowshoeing and backpacking (I'd never even been camping before my first backpacking trip that they led!) And since they're not planning on giving it up anytime soon (they've already got a system figured for how to bring the baby on-trail with them once they get past the hotter summer months--the dad will carry the majority of the gear, the mom will carry the baby, they'll use cloth diapers so they can just clean them in boiling water and don't have to pack out dirty ones--you know, extra weight--etc.), I figure this should give them a nice warmer layer that hopefully will fit just in time for fall backpacking season. Since they're not finding out in advance whether the baby is a boy or girl, I'm hoping the sagey green is neutral enough that it would work either way.

And now, time to do my first real reconstruction of the Wardrobe Refashion challenge, now that my four-month pledge expires in April... :P (I know I had the navy blue shirt, but it's not like I was turning it into anything new, I was just replacing a few pieces.) Methinks I may be signing up for an additional two months.

progress update

Still no pics of the overalls. But I haven't been completely unproductive this week. I'm also making a baby fleece hoodie, and all I have left to do on that is sew on the hood and sew in the zipper-- I cut it out and got the main body sewed together on Monday night, and last night I got the pockets sewn on and the hem done. I've also been painstakingly ripping the trim off of a previously reconned t-shirt so I can recon it again. I liked the concept of it, but since the edges of the resulting tank were all covered in grosgrain ribbon, it proved to be a little stiff and sometimes uncomfortable to wear at the top. Plus I'd prefer to restyle it so that it's a little longer. So once I get all the trim off, I'll have to see if I can scrounge up some knit to work with at the thrift store so I can restyle it.


I'm also trying to figure out where to start with my next recon project.
This is a shirtdress I made several years ago that I stopped wearing, partially because the ties ripped out of the back and partially because I decided I didn't like the style on me. It's hard to tell from the picture, but the print is very Asian-esque, with some kind of fruit (too pink for plum, but the fruits are too large for cherry) blossoms and little dark green people--I think it's geishas and samurai, but I'm not totally certain. Anyway, since I refuse to pick up on the pink and I couldn't find a good green to go with, I've gotten some tan cotton to work with. The end product I'm envisioning is very similar to this (though I had that picture in my head before I stumbled on the anthropologie dress, really!) It won't be identical--I'm trying to work out in my head how to get a v-neck look on this with the fabric trim, without it being too low-cut for my comfort. And I may end up with a tunic rather than a dress, since I do like the idea of the 3/4 sleeve with the trim so we'll see how much of the bottom I need to craft sleeves.

I'm dead-tired, but I'm done.

It's been hard to find craft time this week. But I managed to finish the baby gift overalls tonight--cut them out on Tuesday, was hoping to start sewing on Wednesday but ended up beginning to tear apart a recon during Lost instead, actually started sewing last night (got the front and back halves each sewn together, and put the applique on the front), and then got the sides seams/facing/crotch snaps and such in tonight. The crotch snaps were a pain. If I end up doing baby pants ever again, I need to figure out a better way to do them because for some reason, the pattern directions were completely not clicking and so I winged it on my own. But it's done. I just hope it actually fits him at some point (when it's cool enough to wear long overalls!) Picture will be forthcoming.