On rough times and gratitude

You know those weeks where things are just rough? That's this week. Actually, it's been a rough season. Maybe rough isn't the right word- it's been a busy season, and now it's a crazy week. I've got a sick kid (respiratory virus, producing 103* fever, thanks for asking) and a kid teething (8 teeth in 2 weeks, and half are molars), a moving date looming in T-2 weeks, Christmas gifts to make (because I'm crazy- straight up nuts) and I'm getting sick, too. Oh, and the meds they gave my kid make her hyperactive and make it hard for her to sleep- just what a sick parent needs :)

Handmade Halloween: Anna and Olaf

I kinda wish I was sewing something more inventive or funky this Halloween. I mean, if you've got to sew something that likely will only be worn a few times, it might as well be a show stopper, right? But Halloween costumes aren't about me, and Charly is Frozen obsessed like every other 2-6 year old girl right now. An Anna costume was in order, which WILL get tons of wear. IT WILL SO HELP ME!! Olaf of course had to happen next, since Caroline is always whatever character Charly deems her to be.

For the Anna costume I used Simplicity S0733 and made very little changes. I used a charcoal tweed for the bodice just to make it a little more special, and I used cotton everywhere else.

Sister Love

I used to blog about my child a lot. I blogged with the detail that only a stay at home mother of one child can- monthly details of each aspect of her development were noted, along with more pictures than any one person should have taken of them. And then I had a second child and those posts nearly stopped. I mean, I can't remember the last time I did a monthly update, and poor Caroline has really only had her birth blogged about. Such is the plight of the second child. The thing is, I miss those posts, and I miss taking more pictures of my kids, and I definitely miss documenting their lives in writing. So I'm going to try to bring that back in some more sustainable form. This doesn't all have to be about sewing, even if my blog is called Stitched, right?

I had a moment the other day- Charly and I were at the Children's Museum, just the two of us, and we were both enjoying being able to do art projects at a leisurely pace, taking great care to choose materials and spending lots of time at the paint table. This is a stark contrast to our usual visits where I try to hurry her creative process as much as possible because wrangling a feisty almost-18-month-old in an art studio is a dangerous job. Scissors, open tubs of paint and glue with sticky brushes poking out- this is the nightmare of a mom of a toddler. The thought crossed my mind- "how many special moments are my children missing because I can't give either of them my undivided attention?" and it made me a little sad, for just a minute. It didn't take long for me to remember how much these sweet girls love each other. They aren't missing anything in life by having a sibling- they've got a playmate, a confidant, a partner in crime.

I took these pictures a day or two later. Caroline woke up from her nap and Charly went with me to get her. Charly joined her in the crib for a little post nap play session, and craziness commenced. Caroline's first words, each and every time she wakes up, are "sisser! sister!" These girls sure love each other. Aren't siblings grand? Here's to sisterly love, to siblings, to my sweet and sassy girls.

Sunki Village Dress & Pattern Parcel #5

Hello my friends! I've been a busy seamstress, and I should have a post up with pictures and details from my sister's wedding dress SOOOOOON!! The wedding was lovely and our trip was too much fun. I've missed the desert air. Utah was on the cusp of autumn when we left, and had I not known that the blissful Virginia autumn was soon to come I may never have left that dry and blessed state. I'm done with humidity, yo. Thankfully, the leaves are starting to turn and we've even had a couple of boot-and-soup days so I'm in my element. I even made pumpkin crap cookies, which is the official mascot of fall in this house.

But yes, enough blabbering about air and cookies, right? This post is about clothes! I'm happy to be sewing along for Perfect Pattern Parcel again with Parcel #5- girls and tweens! It's a stellar parcel, to be sure. Every parcel seems to have a few patterns I've been eyeing and a few new-to-me patterns, which is a perfect mix I think. For those unfamiliar, Perfect Pattern Parcel offers limited time sales of pattern bundles from indie designers, and donates all profits to a charity called Donors Choose. Donors Choose provides supplies to teachers and students for their classrooms. It's a win-win-win- support indie designers, help students, and get patterns!

This particular bundle of patterns includes sizes from toddler to tween- meaning these patterns will be in rotation in my house for YEARS to come! A few of the "tween" sizes may even fit me, so I'm excited to see how versatile these patterns become. Click through the links or pictures to learn more about the patterns in this parcel!




Oh, and did I mention that you can name your own price?! Yes. I know. Unreal. And hey, if you name a price of $28 or more, you'll be sent the bonus pattern as well- the Sunki Dress!

Ombre Bohemian Babydoll

When I saw the Bohemian Babydoll Dress and Top pattern by Elegance and Elephants popping up all over my blog feed I fell in love. The curves are phenomenal and the simplicity is right up my alley. No closures means my fiercely independent three year old can dress herself at will (which she does, multiple times, every day) without needing me to button or zip every time she's ready for a change. Hallelujah! She also demands dresses most days, but loose fitting, flowy tops are considered dresses in Charly land, so I also knew this would actually make it into her rotation. The hem band appealed to me because I just don't like hemming. It isn't hard, or complicated, I just don't like it. I think it is the folding and ironing. I'll iron seams all day long, but folding the edge and keeping it consistent is tedious to me. I don't purchase a lot of patterns; I have to REALLY love something to buy it, and then I try to use it in several different ways. But man, I had to have this one. So I pulled the trigger and sewed up three of them assembly line style, one for a gift and one for each of my girls. This one is the one I made for Charly.

Kids Clothes Week Spring 2014- Days 3-7

As always, I lost some steam at the end of Kids Clothes Week. I put in the time, for sure, but my projects just didn't go as smoothly. Does anyone else have that happen- great momentum in the beginning of projects and then.... ya know? Anyway, I finished up my last two garments yesterday, so here is what I spent the last part of Kids Clothes Week working on:

The bloomers are made using the Hosh Pants pattern-and hey! Perfect Pattern Parcel #2 is still available until Friday, and the Hosh pattern is included!

Kids Clothes Week Spring 2014- Day 2 & 3 (and a half!)

I've done fairly well keeping up with a bit of sewing each day, and I've even managed to get outside with my kids and make dinner. Let's not talk about the state of the laundry, though.

I have a goal this KCW of using stuff I have- refashioning, upcycling, or using fabric from my (small) stash- rather than buying new fabric. It is time to clear some things out and make these piles of junk into something useful! So, for day 2, I refashioned (or upcyled... I really should find out the difference) this shirt I picked up at the thrift store a while back. If you haven't seen a rhyme or reason to my thrifting yet, I'll let you in on a secret. It's all about the fabric. If I'm looking for something for me then yes, I'm looking at fit and lines and all that stuff, but if I find something with a fabric I just love I know I can usually make it into something cool. Which is exactly why I bought this shirt that I knew I'd never wear- at least not in its current state.

It had a deep scoop back that meant there wasn't enough fabric to make it a little dress, so I finally decided to lop off the bottom as is and gather it into a skirt. It was basically the easiest thing I've made in a while. I used some fabric from the top to make a flat front/elastic back waistband, gathered the bottom portion and sewed it on. Easy as pie and my little lady is in love.

Kids Clothes Week Spring 2014- Day 1

And all of the sudden I'm back! Posting for Perfect Pattern Parcel earlier today (and again tomorrow) and now Kids Clothes Week is upon us and I'm hoping to stay somewhat up to date with my projects this week. Yesterday was day 1, and since I'd done a bit of prep work by cutting a couple projects out, I managed to finish one of them.

This peplum top was made using the Pippa Peplum pattern from See Kate Sew. I used this pattern to sew a couple dresses for someone recently but this was my first time sewing up a Pippa for one of my girls. Charly gasped when she saw it this morning and immediately declared it was her Snow White dress. I have no idea why she's calling it that, but I couldn't have asked for a better reaction!

I made it using this shirt that I bought for myself at the thrift store a couple of years ago. I have no idea why I bought it. I don't usually wear those colors or that silhouette, which is why its been sitting in my dresser nearly the entire time I've owned it. Lucky for me neon is in and this bad boy was just big enough to cut a top for Charly out of. I was able to cut the bodice and sleeves out of just the fabric from the sleeves of the original shirt!

I used the bottom of the shirt as the skirt portion of the top by measuring the height of the peplum pattern piece and cutting that much off the bottom of the shirt, following the curve. Because of that the bottom has a bit more fullness than the original pattern but it saved me the pain of hemming. Hooray!

Caroline's Blessing Dress

I recently happened upon these pictures of Caroline on her blessing day (similar to a christening) and realized I had never posted about her dress. I made it! I made Charly's (and the pictures of her wearing it are here) so I figured it would be a sweet little thing for each child to have their own handmade by me. Of course, in the three years since Charly's blessing day my tastes have changed some and my skills have improved, so they look very different from each other. It's kind of fun for me to see the difference in difficulty and style after so short a time, not to mention seeing how much this little lady has grown- her blessing was nearly seven months ago!

 I made this dress using Made By Rae's Geranium Dress pattern. It's one I know and love- and bonus, the newborn size is available as a free download! I Used the newborn bodice from the download, drafted a flutter sleeve based on the one from the paid pattern (since the free one is sleeveless) and altered the skirt portion to be pleated instead of gathered. Oh, and did I mention it was a refashion? Yep, I made it from this shirt a friend passed on to me. The cut didn't look very good on me but the fabric was too too perfect for the occasion. So ethereal!

 It's hard to see in most pictures, but I kept the original hem because I loved that pleat detail. And it saved me the pain of hemming such slippery fabric! This is the best picture showing the entire dress.

Of course, that was before I did the embroidery. I did a self- drafted design (ok, I was winging it) of french knots in a sort of starburst coming from the neckline. In gold embroidery floss, which I previously didn't know existed but I absolutely love the look of. I used it on this dress too. If you are so inspired to use it, be warned; it is tricky. But worth it, I think. Also worth mentioning: embroidering a traced-but-not-cut pattern piece would be infinitely easier than embroidering a sewn garment. Just sayin.

I've been anti baby bonnet in the past, but the Storybook Woods Bonnet changed my mind. I love the look of this little cap. I think it is simple enough to be masculine for a boy and easy to doll up for a girl. I loved it enough to make a winter version, even. This one is made from the same lightweight cotton I used for the lining of the dress. I added a simple flower with more gold french knots, and just the tiniest bit of pink for the flower center.

Naturally, I was finishing the buttonholes just hours before her blessing was to take place. I just hate buttonholes so so much. Anyone with me? They shouldn't be that difficult but for some reason they are. I seam ripped right through the stitching, making a tear in the fabric that I could only sort of fix. You know how the Amish intentionally make quilts with imperfections? Something about acknowledging their imperfection before God... does anyone know what I'm talking about? Anyway, we'll say that's why it's there. Keep me humble, haha.

For the sake of documentation, here is our little family of four on Caroline's blessing day (which was July 28, 2013- also for the sake of documentation). It is mind blowing to see these little people change and grow.

We sure love this sweet little lady! She's bigger and crazier but just as sweet today.

Thanks for reading!

Mod Paisley Dress (AKA The Merida, or "I made my kid a muu muu")

Once again, a dress I sewed several months ago, photographed a couple months later, and now I'm finally posting. Hooray!

This one is a variation on the Maggie Mae pattern, which I used to make this dress. Dark blue means it's a Merida dress, just like the one Merida wears in the latter part of the movie Brave. So. Much. Princess talk. All day, you guys.

THE FABRIC

I thrifted this dress a long time ago, so I don't remember the cost, but it couldn't be more than $7 or so. I can't get enough of this fabric. The colors are saturated and fun and the print begged to be a little mod dress. I think the fabric is rayon- something kinda silky and unexpected for kids clothes. I like that. It was a little tricky to work with, but nothing unmanageable.

Green and Gold (AKA The Tiana Dress)

I sewed this dress up over the summer, took pictures in the fall, and now here we are in December and I'm blogging about it. Better late than never?

This is another Geranium dress I whipped up (and yes, that is the right term- it sews up so fast!) but this time I added some embroidery. I was inspired by this picture (uploaded to Pinterest, so I don't know the original source- sorry!) of sashiko- Japanese embroidery- and decided to try my hand at some simple line embroidery.  Charly is my little princess lover, so anything I make is automatically beloved if I can link it to a princess. Green dress= Tiana dress. Logical. I'm just grateful she has a good imagination and doesn't require it to look exactly like the dress from the movie. You'd better believe she runs and sings (screams) songs from The Princess and the Frog every time she wears it. My favorite is "tuh-RIALS and trib-uh-lay-shuns, yuh know I, had my SHAAA-are!"

Gold shoes are a must. One advantage to living in such an ethnically diverse area as DC is that gems like these are readily available, even at a thrift store!

Wool Nituna Coat

Last week my mom flew out to visit and finally have a trip where we could get out and have fun instead of taking care of a newborn and helping me recover from surgery. And then we had some nasty weather and Charly had hand, foot and mouth disease and we spent most of the trip inside. Luckily she loves them grandbabies and enjoyed the trip anyway. We made the most of the bit of snow we got (Virginia doesn't handle snow well- a couple of inches closes down everything) and played with the girls outside. Charly's favorite was having a snowball fight. Of course her version of a snowball fight involves running at you with a hand full of snow and pressing it against your body, but still, she loved it. This was Caroline's first taste of snow- both literally and figuratively- and she enjoyed both.

Going out to play in the snow gave me the perfect opportunity to take pictures of the coat I finished for Charly a few weeks ago. I first saw the Figgy's Nituna Coat pattern nearly 2 years ago, and I loved it from the start. I love the silhouette, the lines, the shape of the hood; basically everything about it. I finally bought it when I bought the Sew Fab pattern bundle this fall and made plans to make one for Charly for winter. It was on my list for Kids Clothes Week but was bumped when I decided to make halloween costumes. In between projects for other people I managed to get this done in time for winter to finally set in here in Northern Virginia.

KCW Day 4: Cashmere Winter Bonnet

Plugging right along today, I finished up the bonnets I had in the works this afternoon when my kids should have been napping. Just in time to sneak in a quick photo shoot with my gals. Charly played the part of the unwilling assistant by being bribed with the return of toys that had been banished for being left out. It was frigid out today (finally! some fall weather!) so we kept it short and hoped for some good pictures. And surprise- they were great! Lucky day!

These bonnets (I made two- one to donate to the non-profit I used to work for to auction at their upcoming fundraiser and one for little blue eyes over here) were made using the Storybook Woods Bonnet pattern. I used it once before when I made Caroline's blessing dress, which I realize now I never posted about. Hmm. I'll put that on the list. Anyway, I've never been much of a bonnet person, but I got the hankering for one of this style when I made her blessing dress and I love that it looks a little vintage, or maybe Scandinavian... I don't know.

KCW Day 2

I didn't finish any projects today, but I made good progress on a geranium dress for Caroline. No pictures of that, though. Sorry! I'm hoping to finish that up tomorrow. 

I do have pictures of the leggings I managed to eke out at the end of day 1, and a cute baby wearing them. 

This little lady is long and lean, making it difficult to find pants that fit her. She wears cloth diapers that manage to fill out the waist better but most leggings are baggy on the legs even, or are too short. I used the fancy pants legging pattern and it fits great! I sewed up the 6-12 month size for my almost six month old. I made them out of a stained t shirt that Matt had and used the existing hem, because why not? I also lengthened them by accident because I forgot to subtract the seam allowance for the hem when I opted to use the original hem. Happy accident, because I kinda like how they bunch at the bottom.

Here's hoping for a finished product tomorrow!

KCW day one: Autumn Apple Sweater

It's day one of Kids Clothes Week, and the sewing gods looked kindly on me today. Not only did I have a full hour of both kids napping (WHAT?! awesome!) but I didn't run into any problems. I didn't have to unpick a single thing. Not one. I finished constructing this sweater in just over an hour. 

The pattern is the Bimaa Sweater. This is the first time I've made it and I'm in love. The construction process is straightforward, and because of the cuffs and waistband it requires no hemming. Hooray for not having to hem knits! Charly is between a size 2T and 3T right now, and I opted for the 2T because I generally like a trimmer fit. This pattern is a great slim fit, so next time I'll cut a 3T. 

Also, is this not the most autumnal fabric you have ever seen? Its a sweater knit I picked up from the clearance rack of Joanns over a year ago. After sewing this I'm tempted to pick up more knits like this- it was much easier than jersey knits I've sewn with before.

The cowl was perfect for this print, but now I'm itching to sew up the hood version of this sweater. I'm calling day one a success! I also nearly finished some leggings for Caroline, but not in time to try them on her or photograph them, so I'll include them in tomorrow's post. Time for a sewing break so I can watch Blacklist. James Spader is the man.

Sweet Caroline: Four Months

Our little love is four months old and delighting us every day. She is patient and happy, long and lean (25th percentile for weight, 90th for height), and adored by all. She is proving to have quite the little personality already!

A few things Caroline is doing at four months:

-Smiles at everyone
-Loves her hands (a whole lot more than she'll ever love a binky)
-Adores her sister
-Loves to be held, but isn't much of a snuggler- she likes to be up and looking around
-Rocks the dimpled chin look
-Giggles and coos
-Grabs at her toys
-Has baby blues that will melt your heart
-Rolls from her belly to her back
-Laughs every time we bring her feet to her mouth and squeal "sucky toes sucky toes!"

Color Blocked Maggie Mae Dress

I bought the Maggie Mae dress/tunic pattern a long time ago and am kicking myself for not making it sooner. I love the lines of this little dress! It lends itself well to color blocking because of the piecing on the bodice.

Charly had been asking for a Belle dress for a while (she is completely, one hundred percent, princess obsessed) so I obliged by upcycling/refashioning this yellow thrifted shirt (along with part of an old sheet for the white) into the cute little number above.

I lengthened the dress since my gal seems to grow only up and never out, so hopefully we'll get some good wear out of it. I also reused the original buttons- which makes this dress cost next to nothing!

The pattern was fairly easy to follow, although there were some techniques I chose to do differently because I liked the finish better. I'm not one for cutting corners in my sewing- I'm just too much of a perfectionist for it to not bother me down the line, so if I know a nicer way to finish an edge or detail I usually do. I wish I would have added a lining for the skirt portion, since my fabric is slightly sheer. I have her wear white stretchy shorts underneath instead.

I wouldn't say this is a beginner pattern- probably more like intermediate. My fabric was slippery which meant I had to take my time, so I'm sure it would come together quicker in a cotton. All in all I'm happy with the finished product, aside from the spot on the FRONT (ack!) that I melted with the iron on the final pressing. Yes, just as I was finishing, I melted the dress. The worst. It isn't too noticeable since it caused the fabric to wrinkle rather than change color, so I'm planning to never point it out to her and hope she loves this dress for a long time.