Ottobre camp shirt

 H has a new shirt.  He wanted to model it with the "bonnet" he made for his preschool's spring hat parade.  This is the "Little Fella" shirt from Ottobre issue 3/2009.  It's my first fully-fashioned button-down.  I did get lazy at the end and employ my snap press instead of the buttonhole foot, but he likes to rip it open Incredible Hulk-style, so that turned out to be a win.  The fabric is tiny trees and car campers from the Beach Mod line by Birch Fabrics.

I had a little trouble with the collar, and had to guess my way through on that a little, but I think the little details, like the bias tape-covered collar seam, are ace.  I also forgot to add seam allowances when I cut this out since I've also been busy lately sewing from big four patterns for myself.  So it turned out to be slightly smaller than I'd hoped.  All in, definitely a learning experience.  He chooses it often, though, so that makes me happy.

I have cut out another button-down style for H, the "Henry" shirt from Sewing for Boys (in some nice Kokka airplanes, no less).  Maybe I'll get that one sewn together before the end of the summer.

Felt fruit

H got a wooden play kitchen for his birthday. It came with select foods (a pizza, cheese, one lone fried egg), but the boys needed some more food. Especially more food like the food we eat. Enter a new pastime for Mama. Felt fruit (and veggies soon, I hope). I usually kind of dislike hand sewing and the glacial pace of it, but these guys have gone together so quickly. The fruits you see above were completed in two nights' worth of tv sewing. And they're so fun and tactile. The patterns are from umecrafts on etsy.

Sweetpod

Look at that sweet sleeping baby! This is eighteen-month-old H, riding on his papa's back through Acadia National Park last summer. He's riding in the SweetPod baby carrier that I made last spring before a different family trip, to Texas. The carrier was indispensable on both of those trips, through airports and on hikes. But it has shown its true utility now that little mister G has arrived. This is the carrier that I wear on every trip to the grocery store and the doctor's office, and every day on walks with the boys. George rides in front for now, but the day when he can ride backpack-style isn't far off.

This is a very detailed pattern with a great supply buying guide at the beginning. I did have to mail-order a few supplies, like high-density foam for the hip support and all of the heavy-duty fasteners, but the pattern includes sources for the special materials. I would encourage anyone who needs a baby carrier to try sewing your own with this pattern. It seems complicated, with the nap hood (which zips in its own integral pouch) and all of the adjustable straps, but it was much easier to complete than I thought it would be. Totally do-able. The savings over similar store-bought carriers was substantial and the SweetPod is way cuter and much more comfortable than some carriers that don't include the hip support.

I'll be using it again this afternoon, on a trip to the nature center. Happy hiking (and sewing).

New jammies

The big boy has graduated from his union suit pajamas, since body-length zippers and middle-of-the-night potty runs don't mix. Perfect excuse to try out the crossover tee pattern from Growing Up Sew Liberated!

I made the size 3, but next time I will make the 2, as this one is a lot big. This was also one of my first projects sewn with knit fabrics. The neck came out a little gape-y. I guess I need to stretch the rib binding pieces more before I sew them down? Or start with shorter pieces than the pattern suggests? Buy higher-quality rib-knit? Perhaps I just need more practice. The knit sewing has definitely made me want to get more comfortable with the serger-- sewing those seams more than once is no picnic.

He seems happy with his new jammies, no?

The shorts are from a pattern I drafted from the pants block pattern at Children's Fashion Workshop. These block patterns have been so useful. And the fabric is some cheap interlock I got a long time ago from JoAnn's. (As a side note on that, I was in there for some needles on Sunday and they still had this print! This isn't the first time I've seen a print there literally a year after I've purchased it. Is it just my location, or do they keep stock around for a long time?)At least two more sets of pajamas are on deck for my big boy-- firetrucks and frogs.

Hello August

Hello. Happy August. I can't believe we're already into the last month of summer. Lately I've been trying to decide if this blog is worth keeping. I feel like I should be pouring my extra time into baby books for the boys or photo albums instead of writing about my crafty and country pursuits on this blog. But I keep coming back (even after extended absences) so I guess we'll see. I'm going to try to get a better rhythm going for August. There are many completed projects that have not yet been shared.

The dapper dandy that you see above is Harry. He is my older son's best friend, a doll made from this pattern for Henry's first birthday. The boy always says, "Harry is a nice doll, Mama." And then he bites him in the belly. All that love, you know. Sometimes Henry loves Harry a little too much, as illustrated by Harry's new chin. His old chin was so loved that there was a gaping hole and stuffing was exposed. We can't have that. So Mama gave him a chin graft. The sad part is that since this photo was taken Harry has lost a leg and he has a hole in his shirt. Both repairs will be happening soon, I hope. I think I'll have to sneak him out of Henry's room in the middle of the night.

Yo-yos

Whew! Thank goodness I got that out of my system. Sometimes I feel the need to do a little hand sewing, and I always have grand plans for completed queen-size coverlets and quilts (see: Grandmother's flower garden, crocheted ripple blanket). This time I made myself stop with this tiny doll-sized product. It's about 9" by 11". I used Heather Bailey's tutorial for these. They're all from the scrap bin, and were actually pretty enjoyable to make. But I'm so glad to be able to let myself off the hook on this particular method. Sometimes there's too much inspiration out there, you know?

Fabric diet

We've just moved back into our house after a longer-than-necessary remodeling session, and reorganizing the basement has afforded me the opportunity to lay my hands on almost every piece of fabric in my stash. There is waaaay too much. So, as of March 18, 2011 (when my husband and I shook on it), I am on a Fabric Diet. I won't buy any fabric for a year. I should mention that this diet is made slightly easier because my mom also has a huge stash, and what I need to finish up some of my unfinished projects I can probably "borrow" from her. Still, I hope I can make it!

Little helper

Spring always makes me want to start approximately eight million projects at once. I think it's the renewed light that makes me overly ambitious. This year, I have a couple of requirements for any projects on which I spend my time: They have to be either (1) useful to me, my home, or a member of my family; or (2) involve finishing up an earlier unfinished project.

Lately, I've had a lot of "help" with my projects. If it's not nap time, H is so excited to help me with my "fah-ricks" or "kilts". He calls all patchwork, even if it's just blocks, kilts. You can see him above piling kilts on top of his BFF, Harry (who needs some serious face work-- definitely on the current project list!). He also loves to lay the blocks out in precise rows, or to sort them by color.
No matter what the project, I'm sure to hear "What Mama doin'?", as I did on this day, when I was trying to redraft an old kids' pants pattern to be more like what I want for H's spring/summer wardrobe (another project on the list). When he saw this photo, he told me he was "drawin' ladybugs wit the ladybug crown".

The help that H has given me on recent projects has also afforded some of the first truly two-way play between the boys. G loves the bright colors in the blocks, and waving them around haphazardly, if he can get his hands to close on them. Here you can see two out of three boys playing "night night".

I promise there will be some actual finished objects to show soon, and that this won't be a complete Mommy blog. I got a ton of knitting done over the winter and for some reason have yet to photograph any of it. If it would only stop raining around here this week, I might be able to arrange a backyard photo session.

Happy H-owl-oween!

Our little family had a pretty low-key and very nice Halloween. H happily went as an owl in the felt costume I constructed with this Martha Stewart "tutorial" as a guide. I use the term tutorial very lightly as there was much filling-in of the blanks. It was a good costume for a wee one, however, because all of the annoying pieces were easily removed and nothing about the costume hindered crawling.

On Halloween day, lucky Henry got to see both sets of his grandparents and his great-grandparents. We ate North Carolina barbecue on a Virginia back porch and went to a baby party to see our buddies, baby Raggedy Ann and the Cowardly lion. There were many trick-or-treaters to greet at the door, and the weather held out long enough for baby H to visit all of the important neighbors. I think having a baby really enhances my experience of the changing seasons and the holidays. Something about the wonder in his eyes prompts me to experience everything anew.

Summer uniform

I love these little playsuits. Such a classic look on a little child. These are from the Oliver + S tea party playsuit pattern. I skipped the contrasting piping because I think it makes them look more classic, but I did manage to get the snap tape into the crotch of the seersucker version! These are the three to six month size-- they'll be outgrown in another month.

H has worn these almost constantly, though, with a long-sleeved onesie and booties on cooler days and solo on days like yesterday, which was hot and humid. They're nice and washable, and don't require ironing since they're so small. The twill pony-print one was a lot easier to make than the seersucker; it was easier to line that curved bodice seam up with the stiffer hand of the twill. These taught me that I need to work a little on my buttonholes. Even with the "automatic" feature on the machine, it's easy to make them too big. I need to learn how to make bound buttonholes-- I think they'd make these that much nicer. (Also, from Mom, useful information on how big to make the buttonholes. Apparently the rule is to add the diameter of the button to its thickness to determine the size for the hole. Good information to know.)

I already have fabric picked out for a couple more of these in the next size up. Maybe gnomes and baby wale corduroy.

Sewing Machine meme

Do you know how hard it is to take a photo of a sewing machine in a dark basement on a rainy day? Pretty hard-- here's the best I could do. Sew Mama Sew is hosting sewing machine month for June, so today I'm answering their sewing machine meme. All questions are from the Sew Mama Sew site.

What brand and model do you have? My machine is a Bernina Virtuosa 153 Quilter's Edition.

How long have you had it? I (with much help from my mother) purchased the machine in late 2001 or early 2002, secondhand from a Bernina dealer.

How much does that machine cost (approximately)? Bernina doesn't make this machine anymore, but it ran about $2700 new. I paid about $1750, if I remember correctly, for an almost brand new machine. The woman who bought it new had turned it in for an even spiffier model soon after she purchased it. I've seen this model on eBay for $1200 - $1300 recently.

What types of things do you sew? I have sewn almost everything with this machine. I think the strength and sturdiness of a Bernina its greatest asset. I've done quilts from start to finish (piecing, quilting), clothes for me and my family, handbags, slipcover projects, a fair group of fake fur and fleece items for the horse and his equipment, paper for greeting cards and paper piecing, and much more. This machine has even sewed double-thickness split cowhide to heavy-duty Carhartt insulated coveralls (not that it was a walk in the park, but the machine came out unscathed). Basically, if you have the right needle and the right foot, with this machine the sky's the limit.

How much do you sew? I sew whenever I can, up to two hours a day after the baby goes to bed, but I've been known to sew a weekend away with two twelve-hour stretches.

Do you like/love/hate your machine? Are you ambivalent? Passionate? Does she have a name? No name, but I really do love this machine. It's quality.

What features does your machine have that work well for you? I like the automatic buttonhole feature. The blind hem stitch is very handy when time is tight. The adjustable feed dogs and the stop-needle-down feature see a lot of use. The bobbin is incredibly easy to wind and replace. The computer screen is not complicated. It simply displays the choices I've made with the buttons on the machine's face.

Would you recommend this machine to others? Absolutely. Without hesitation. It's such a strong and versatile machine that I don't see myself needing another.

What factors do you think are important to consider when looking for a new machine? I learned to quilt in college on a vintage Singer Featherweight that belongs to my mother. It did everything I needed then; it sewed beautiful rows of straight stitching. I made quilt blocks and stayed up late making dresses for beach week.

When I first got the Bernina, it was probably more than I needed. More functions and buttons for someone who really only knew how to sew in straight lines of straight stitches. But now I use almost all the features, and I can really do whatever I want to do with it. I think it's important to look for a quality machine above all else. Look for something that doesn't intimidate you but that does a little more than you think you'll need. I've grown as a sewist because of my machine.

Do you have a dream machine? Have you seen this new Bernina 830 that supposedly costs $12000? I haven't seen it in person, but I've ogled it on the computer more than once. Although I'm definitely not into the machine embroidery stuff, I'm a loyal Bernina user now, and this machine seems to be the only one with extended neck space. That's the one thing that I wish my machine had: a longer neck so that I could quilt larger, bed-sized pieces with ease on my home machine. There's a fair amount of wrangling to quilt a twin size piece now. Oh, and it'd be way cool to have the automatic scissors to cut the threads at the end of a seam. And a bigger bobbin. But I can't see spending twelve grand on a sewing machine!

I look forward to reading about other peoples' machines this month.

Still here!

Hello. There's not much going on here, other than loving on my little one and begging him to sleep. His once-daily nap is usually filled with laundry and picking up after the day before, but there has been some crafting as well.

I made this itty bitty baby dress from the made by rae pattern for our friends who welcomed a little girl thirteen days ago. We went to visit them this weekend and I simply could not believe how little baby Claire is. I can't remember when Henry was that small, even though it hasn't been that long at all. Whew! I'd better keep my eyes open.

Happy Easter!

Roly Poly, eatin' corn and taters

My granddaddy grew up in Texas in a houseful of women. His Aunt Allie and his mother, Bennie May, my mother's Mimi, doted on him by all accounts, and made him lots of little (or not so little) baby clothes. When we found out that we would be having a baby boy, my mom brought these precious clothes up to me to examine.
Two things stand out about these clothes. First, there's an awful lot of pink for a boy baby. I grew up with my mother and grandmother telling me that pink used to be for baby boys while blue was for girls. The colors got switched sometime in the intervening years, I guess.

The second thing about these clothes is that they're incredibly wide. W-I-D-E, almost as wide as they are tall. I can think of a couple of reasons for this, I guess. This was before the advent of stretch fabrics, so you would want things roomy for a wriggly baby. And also, people probably wanted really fat babies. Not that we don't *love* fat babies now, but I guess a fat baby would be a real advantage in the days before truly modern medical care. Maybe by making the clothes extra wide, these women were willing this roly-poly baby to be hale, hearty and healthy!

No matter when I try to take photos of these, the pictures always come out a little dark and grainy, so these will have to do. The embroidery is incredible for things that were meant for a spit-uppy baby.

Missing from my photos are a pair of green velvet overalls with the most amazing interlined pockets and a store-bought navy blue velvet cap with a wooden button and a jaunty grosgrain ribbon. That velvet just swallowed the light, making them very hard to photograph, but they're both incredibly cute. Click through on the photos for a little more information on each item and a couple more photos at flickr.

Birthday bean bags

Yesterday there was a pool party birthday for my cousin Sara's little girl. She'll be two later this week. I wanted to make her something active and colorful, and so the idea for these bean bags was born.
My husband had to go to the store for me to get enough dried navy beans to fill all the bags, but I think they turned out really cute. The birthday girl seemed to enjoy pulling them out of the bag one by one.
And here's the bag to put them away when playtime is finished.

Summer strawberry apron

It's strawberry season! This photo doesn't really do it justice, but this is an apron that I made for my cousin Ellenor's bridal shower last weekend. It was an around the house shower, and I had bar and kitchen. This apron came out really fun and flirty with a lot of swing. I started out with the Sew Easy Reversible Apron pattern from Indygo Junction, but I didn't have quite enough fabric, and the instructions got a little fuzzy, so I mostly winged it. That wool felt strawberry pocket was a last-minute addition that I think really made the whole thing. I used the star embroidery on my sewing machine to make the little black seeds on the fruit. This is one time that I'm glad I traced my pattern (and pattern changes!) out on Pattern Ease, so I can make cute little cocktail aprons like this over and over.

The muumuu that ate Manhattan

So it's been several years since I've tried to sew any serious clothing for myself. I think I define "serious" in my head as "involving zippers and/or facings/linings". There have been improvised lounge pants and night chemises here and there, along with a couple Simplicity 3835 tops, but there has not been any serious sewing since that terrible Hawaiian print dress that I made in one night before beach week at Myrtle Beach senior year of college.

But with the hot weather coming up, and given the fact that I would gladly wear a simple little dress each and every humid day of the summer given the choice, I decided to break out the fusible interfacing and give it another go. This is my muslin of McCall's 5620, made from some just barely acceptable medium-weight apparel cotton from the sale bin at Hancock's. (I'm not a huge fan of flutter-bys...) But there's a reason I'm not letting you see all of it. I made my regular (read: shockingly large-- really, the pattern industry and the wedding gown people...) pattern size. However... this won't really be a "wearable muslin", as it turned out ginormous. As in, "Honey, does the Volvo need a cover against the elements?"-huge. Sure, I noticed that there was a ton of ease listed on the pattern envelope, but I guess I thought that the pleats would make up for that and make it hang okay. Wrong-o.

Maybe with some heavier fabric it would hang a little closer to the body or something, but as it is, I've made myself a fancy swimsuit cover-up with pretty purple facings. Sigh. If I ever get a bee in my bonnet to make this again, it'll be at least one, maybe two sizes smaller. I mean, even the arm hole openings are huge on this thing. And my seam allowances are near-perfect, I promise...

What do May showers bring?

This was the scene at the farm yesterday, all bluster and wet.
Down by the water, all of the docks were submerged, along with these plants that are usually at least four feet up the bank. Of course the dog went swimming anyway.
The bottomland behind the house flooded, too. The cows moved upland. And finally, some Mother's Day pillowcases that I sent to my mom via my dad, who was up visiting for the weekend. There's lots of time to sew with so much rain outside. These are made from the softest off-white cotton with tiny red randomly-scattered dots. I got the fabric from superbuzzy sometime late last year. The edging was machine-executed but hand-guided (ie: my machine doesn't do scallops so there was a lot of needle-down fabric turning).

We're spending today drying out and warming up. It'll be 70 degrees here this afternoon. That feels more like May!

Hump day

Today we were talking about my rhododendrons, which are going crazy this year, and my grandmother said that our soil must be acidic at the house since the rhodos and azaleas do so well here. She said she thought that might be the reason that my peonies haven't done so well, because "they like the sweeter soil".

And a couple of works-in-progress:
On the sewing machine.
And on the design wall.

Family Gnomes

While I was at my mom's house for my grandmother's memorial service, I remembered to take a photo of these gnomes that I made from the Wee Wonderfuls pattern as Christmas gifts.

There is a gnome representing each member of my immediate family. That's the Grandmother gnome there on the left.