Musings and Mutterings

More gift sewing....

2012-02-01T08:32:00.000-08:00

Thing 2 was invited to another birthday party. As previously mentioned, there are 15 or so kids in his kindergarten class, so $$ for birthday party presents adds up! I decided to have him help me choose fabric to make an Art-on-the-Go kit for her, then add colored pencils, a notebook, and some foam door hangers and foam stickers for other art projects. The gift didn't get the same wild enthusiasm as the Barbies and such, but I think the mom appreciated it. :) And it's more the kind of gift that is appreciated later on, when the toys lose a bit of luster. The entire "art gift" probably cost me $10 in materials, but only $4 in actual money, since all of the fabric/notions came from my stash. (And I made 3 at once, so there are 2 more in my gift stash!)

I had previously made the green sheet in the top of the picture for my new niece's bassinette, which apparently is like a pack-n-play but an odd size. That one was my prototype, since I had no idea how long to make the elastic. Turned out I guessed a little short, and they had to cut the casing in 4 places to release it all so that they could verify the sheet itself was the right size. I then sent another one - same size, but 10 inches longer elastic - which fit just right. (That one isn't pictured, but it came from a jersey sheet that I repurposed.) But it took quite some time to get word that it fit - apparently checking the fit and getting back to me wasn't a priority until the baby arrived, and suddenly they wanted more sheets! ;) So I fixed the green sheet so that it was usable again, and I made 4 more sheets - 2 flannel, 2 cotton - all from stash. They have some Winnie the Pooh stuff in the nursery, I'm told, so I was pretty happy to have 2 Pooh prints to use. This brings the total up to 6 sheets that I've sewn, which should be pretty good for a bassinette.
A friend had a birthday earlier this month, and she loves the PJ pants I make her. She just got a snowflake pair at Christmas, but I saw this flannel on clearance last summer and just had to get it for her. I know that she loves the neon colors in the print, but I'm not sure how she'll feel about the skulls....hopefully she's okay with them. This is my TNT PJ pattern, M3006.
And I had made her a square corn bag last year at Christmas, but apparently she put it in the microwave too long earlier this year. Her mom relayed a deep desire for a new one, so I just had to oblige. ;) I squeaked the cover out of the leftovers from her PJ pants.

More boy jammies!

2012-01-30T08:19:00.000-08:00

Yep, I can't help making more and more boy jammies, it seems! The first pair was a birthday gift for a friend's son. I gave her older son a pair of summer jammies for his birthday, and apparently his younger brother was quite envious! I give them both PJ pants at Christmas (usually, anyway - this year they got Toy Story PJ pants, which apparently I never blogged....must rectify....), but I thought that this young man could use a full PJ set for his birthday. I've had an old twin sheet for a few years now - I either got it from a thrift store or freecycle - and I thought it would be perfect for little boy jammies. There are many baseball team logos on it, so little worry about choosing the "wrong" team fabric. Anyway, I used my trusty TNT pattern, KS 3042. This is a size S, since he's rapidly growing.

And at the same time, I made the final (for now) PJ set for Thing 1. He loves penguins, so this fabric was a no-brainer when I saw it on Black Friday. This is size M, with an inch or two added in leg length for growth room. He loves them! And since he's now gotten 4 new pairs of jammies, I think he's set for awhile.

Baby stuff!

2012-01-23T15:04:00.001-08:00

My new niece is here, and so I just have to make her cute stuff, right? She's small, so I figured a couple more newborn gowns would still be useful. My brother is a devoted Bears fan living in Packer country, so I had to make her a Bears outfit for football time.

And her nursery was originally slated to be brown and orange, with a giraffe theme, so I thought this giraffe would be adorable as an applique. (I got it off a zoo T-shirt, and I have more available for future use.)
For both the newborn gowns, I used T-shirt sleeves to cut the sleeves and neck bindings.

Then we move into the crocheting territory! When I was carrying Thing 1 (and Thing 2, for that matter!), we decided to be surprised at delivery. So I was prepared for a potential girl! I crocheted this sacque set from a Crochet with Heart magazine in non-traditional baby colors, because I thought they were cool. (I still think they're cool!)
And this was from an old Annie's Attic crochet magazine. Not high on warmth, but pretty! And since both Things turned out to NOT be girls, they've been unworn. I recently ran across them in a box and decided to give them a new home where they would actually be used. So off to my niece they go!
These newborn socks were crocheted specifically for my niece. Socks are so easy to trim, and these socks are usually quite a hit at baby showers. I sent two pairs each in newborn and small sizes. And since they are so quick to make up, I have more waiting, for after I hear how well they fit. And I have more to be used for future baby gifts, as well....because they're addictive to work up during movies!

Silhouettes!

2011-12-31T15:40:00.001-08:00

I was browsing through magazines at Lowe's, while my husband was checking out, and I saw some framed silhouettes on the cover of one of them. Unfortunately, I can't remember which one now - oops! Anyway, I skimmed the article but didn't buy the magazine. Unlike most classical silhouettes, which are black on white, these were white silhouettes, backed with a bright blue and framed in white. I thought they looked really cool, and I decided I had to try it!

The article had discussed making the silhouettes and backgrounds from artist's foam, so I bought white artist's foam in 12x18 sheets from Hobby Lobby. The profile pictures I took of Things 1&2 were printed out as 8x10s, and I was able to cut both silhouettes from 1 sheet. When we decided roughly where we wanted to put the pictures, I went back to find burgundy foam for the backgrounds, but that didn't exist. It was all bright colors. So I found a mottled burgundy 12x12 scrapbook paper instead. I tried to find frames at HL, but I wanted white, and they didn't have any that I liked in an 11x14 size. Instead, I found these frames at WM.

Originally, we were going to have both silhouettes facing the same direction, but then my husband got the idea to have them face each other and put a smaller color photo of them in the middle. I love this one that I took at the City Museum earlier this fall. They look so happy, and the balls are so colorful - it was a no-brainer choice! I had that photo blown up to an 8x10 and then found the frame at WM again. We'll get these hung tonight, before we ring in the New Year.

Sewing for pets

2011-12-30T20:34:00.000-08:00

My dog, as has been previously mentioned, is quite senior. And while I'm not into cutesy dog coats and such, she does get cold. After last winter, I vowed that if she made it to this winter, I'd make her a jacket. And, well, she's still here! So time for a jacket. I had picked up Simplicity 952o last spring sometime, as it was the only pattern I'd seen for larger dogs, and it had some good reviews on PatternReview. I wanted to make her view E, because it looked like it would adequately cover her butt and belly but didn't have a hood. It calls for 2 yards of fleece, but it is completely self-lined, so really, I got by with 1 yard of fleece for the outer and 1 yard for the lining. (My lining is plain black fleece.)

This was the perfect length for my dog! It is a bit snug across the back, though. I had made the lining first and tried it on her, and it seemed perfect. But once I added the outer shell, it seemed to pull at the sleeves. So next time, I'll add about an inch in width for the back. But I think that's about it. You can see that the front comes up to cover her chest, coming almost as high as her collar.

Because my dog wears a harness for walks, I ignored the instructions for creating a leash opening for the collar. (Though I skimmed those and thought they seemed like a good way to do it.) Instead, I put her harness on, put the coat on over it (as she'll be wearing it), and then felt for the D-ring of the harness and marked it on the coat. I stitched a large buttonhole in that place and cut a slit opening for the D-ring.

I used snaps instead of velcro to fasten the coat, as I don't like washing velcro with fleece, and this coat will undoubtedly be washed frequently. And I bound the edges with nylon-lycra instead of doing a turn and topstitched edge. It enabled me to have no raw edges on the jacket, and it gave her just a touch more length in the jacket.

I will definitely be making this again! One to wash and one to wear, right? And I'll probably make a single-layer version for wearing in the house - because we do keep it cool inside, and she does shiver sometimes.

Jammies!

2011-12-27T19:50:00.001-08:00

Thing 1 has outgrown most of his jammies, and even the ones that he can still wear are starting to look like waders on him. Not a good look! And also not so good for staying warm at night when your parents refuse to turn the heat above 65....though they have plenty of double-layer fleece blankets....but still....

Time to have a jammie sewing party! I decided to start with KS 3042 in flannel. The most recent jammie pants from this pattern were a size S, so I traced a size M and added an inch of length. I also traced the size M top in long sleeves but did not add length to that. I had this robot flannel that I purchased early last year. I intended to make him a set from the flannel, but unfortunately I didn't have quite enough. Instead, I pulled this yellow flannel out of stash to make the top. Thing 2 has plenty of jammies that fit, so I wasn't going to make him a pair. However, since I had plenty of both the robot and yellow flannels, I figured why not? He loves new jammies, especially if they match his brother's. So I made his in a size XS - no changes. These fit great, with room to grow! (Which is good, as I have a penguin flannel purchased on Black Friday this year to become jammies for Thing 1.)

I love making/giving the boys a special pair of jammies for Christmas, and I had purchased a Christmas ooga booga knit velour for this year. However, I needed to be certain of the sizing for Thing 1 especially! I have used KS 2275 for the pants and KS 2894 for the raglan shirt. So I made up a pair in a turtle camo waffle knit I purchased on clearance in early 2009. I realize that the waffle knit is bad about stretching in width and shrinking in length (as happened to these shark jammies), but I figured that this particular knit has been washed 3-4x so hopefully that won't be much of a problem. And, besides, at least I could get a good idea of the size on the first wearing, and then it's all fair game. So size M for the shirt and size 7 for the pants - one size up on shirt and two up on pants from the shark jammies - and there is definite growth room in both! Oh, and I realize the ribbing doesn't really match, but it was the best I could do, unless I went with black, and I just wanted to keep it totally bright and cheerful.

And then the Christmas jammies! Thing 1 has fallen in love with the ooga booga fabric and has 2 shirts made from other colorways (grey/red/black and rainbow), and Thing 2 likes them, though I haven't yet made him a shirt from them. So I knew these would be a hit! I bought the fabric from the Sew It Seams coop (formerly This-End-Up) in both interlock (intended for shirts which didn't happen - there's always next Christmas....) and cotton velour, which I thought would make really nice jammies. The larger pair are the same as the turtle camo, and the smaller pair are XS shirt and size 5 pants. Both are definitely a bit big, but that just gives a chance that they'll still fit next Christmas! (Maybe?) And I took their picture beside the tree to go in our (late) Christmas cards.

Stockings!

2011-12-12T19:48:00.001-08:00

It's time to be decorating for Christmas - some would say past time! - and I had the sudden realization that we'll be at our own home this Christmas, and that stockings should be hung over the fireplace. And then I remembered that my boys do not have their own Christmas stockings! Fortunately, I had requested the Burlap Christmas Stocking pattern from StudioCherie as my prize for entering the ThinkPink contest at PatternReview. So I got to work on new stockings for the entire family!

The pattern, as you may have guessed, calls for the front to be made from burlap. The "cuff" on the front, as well as the entire back, is made from the fashion fabric, and the lining is from a broadcloth to match the burlap. I want to be able to wash these through the years (we live with a cat and a dog), so I chose a linen blend instead of the burlap. And I ended up with a tan muslin instead of broadcloth, just because it coordinated better and was on sale. And I love the results!

The pattern describes how to do appliques on the stocking fronts, though it doesn't contain any applique patterns. The ornaments on the stocking on the far right are from the fabric used for the cuff and back. The two snowmen are from a wall hanging pattern in McCalls Quick Quilts (Dec/Jan 2012). And the penguin on the left was adapted from the fashion fabric - I scanned the fabric in, cropped out the penguin, and then blew up the image large enough for my purposes. My boys are going to be very excited when they see these!

Box bags!

2011-11-25T17:12:00.000-08:00

Stacy Schluyer of Stacy Sews first started posting about box bags about three years ago and then posted her tutorial for them about 2 years ago. I had them marked to try when she made her first one and blogged about it, and then I downloaded the tutorial when it was posted, and you can see how far that got me! I even had fabric that I thought would be fun and perfect for it, and still I kept putting it off. Well, today I finally went for it!

I like them! The bags are made from a quilting cotton for the outer layer and a cotton broadcloth for the lining. The lining is interfaced with a lightweight interfacing. As discussed in the tutorial, because of my lightweight interfacing, the box is easily collapsible and doesn't retain its shape well. I'm okay with that, though, as I see this being good for shoving into a suitcase and not taking up much space. The fabric has been in my stash for several years, so it's nice to keep using what I already have.

I think this will be a great gift - it's cute and practical, and it can even serve as a gift wrapping! One of these is earmarked as part of a gift, and I think I will simply package the other items into it. It doesn't take long to make - I think I spent about an hour or so on these, and I could easily have streamlined that a bit. The size can easily be changed as desired, depending on what you want to put in it. My only dislike is that the inside corner seams are unfinished, but I simply serged them, and that's fine. I could change things up a bit to make those seams enclosed, but I don't think it's important enough to make the process take longer.

I definitely see more of these in my future! I think I'll whip up a few in girly prints for some teenage sisters I know, but there will be a lot more next year for Christmas!

A birthday gift

2011-11-23T19:41:00.000-08:00

My BFF loves to drink tea, and several Black Fridays ago, I found the perfect pink tea print flannel for PJ pants for her! Of course, then I promptly stashed it and did nothing with it, but this year was THE year. What should have been a perfectly uneventful pair of PJ pants became an exercise in frustration when I mistakenly cut two sets of FRONT pieces. Why, oh, why, couldn't I have cut two sets of BACK pieces instead??? So there they sat for quite awhile, during which time I stewed over my foolishness and tried to figure out how to fix it. I couldn't find any more of that print, of course, so I ultimately put the second set of pieces back with the scraps and sewed them together, then recut the pieces so that I would have the needed extra width. It will of course be noticeable to her when she puts them on, but I don't think anyone else will ever notice, as the fix is basically in the inseam and crotch. (I considered just putting in a gusset, but I wasn't sure if there was enough extra width in the pant legs already or whether I'd still need a strip down the inseam.)

I wasn't making PJ shirts at the time that I purchased this flannel, so I had no extra for a shirt, nor did I have any coordinating flannel for one. This wouldn't have bothered me, except that I then discovered the Think Pink contest was going on over at PatternReview, and I had no pink item to enter. (I realized too late to save these pants or my aunt's PJ shirt for the contest.) And since the sponsor was giving away a free pattern just for completing an entry, I really wanted to enter. So I thought my best bet was a coordinating pink shirt for these pants. Fortunately, the pale pink flannel at JAF was a near-perfect match to the background pink of the pants print. I brought the neck facings to the front to tie the set together a bit more, and I really like how it looks.

Hopefully my BFF will love them! They are a bit DIY, as I have no idea what elastic measurement to use. So I made a buttonhole by the CB seam and used that to insert the elastic. She can adjust it how she likes it and then stitch it in. And I added a drawstring from bias tape, but again, she'll have to adjust the length and stitch it in place. Also I wasn't sure if she'd need extra length in the sleeves, so I sent some of my leftover flannel print so that she can add cuffs if necessary.

Gifts for Kids

2011-11-21T19:34:00.000-08:00

I love sewing for kids, and I like giving sewn gifts when possible. We try to fill shoeboxes every year for Operation Christmas Child, and I just finished packing this year's boxes. We choose sex and age to match our Things, because then they can get more into helping choose things for the boxes. This year, both boxes are for boys aged 5-9 years. The suggestions include basic clothes, but it's hard to judge size when you have no idea where in that age range the child will fall. So instead of a shirt, I opted for basic pants, made out of a striped sheet from the thrift store (washed first, of course!). I used KS3042 size S, which I use for my older boy, and I cut the pieces single-layer to make sure the grainline stayed on the stripes. It was a bit annoying, but definitely worth it. I put elastic in to match my boy's waist but also added a drawstring to make it usable for smaller boys as well.
The Art-on-the-Go kits were a big hit for my boys back in the spring, so I thought it'd be great for these boxes! I bought colored pencils and packs of notepads from the Dollar Tree, but I wanted to make the kits to make the supplies seem a little nicer. I pulled two kid fabrics out of stash (4-5 years, I think) and cut two from each fabric. These I finished today for the shoeboxes, and the other two will be finished shortly for Christmas gifts! The only modification I made was to add two inches to the top of each so that a flap can be folded down over the pencils to hold them in place. I also folded these into thirds instead of halves before securing the elastic, and I think it works better.
Thing 2 had a birthday party to go to last weekend - a joint party for 6-year-old twins! The boy is in his class, but the girl is not. I felt a little weird giving him a gift but not her, and I also started thinking about the fact that Thing 2 has about 15 more kids in his class with birthdays, so it was time to go for some sewing! And I remembered the reversible superhero capes. I was thinking that I had a Batman and a Superman applique already prepared, but I was surprised to discover that I actually had cape pieces cut out as well, and the appliques were already fused on and ready for satin stitching! Hooray for a time-saver! I did start from scratch on the girl cape, though. ;) Thing 2 seemed pretty happy about the idea of giving the capes, so that was good. Hopefully he'll get good feedback later on....

There Must Be Boxers

2011-11-18T19:25:00.001-08:00

If we're approaching birthdays/Christmas in this house, there HAS to be at least one pair of boxers sewn. No ifs, ands, or buts! So....here we have five:My husband has been the recipient of so many pairs of boxers that I have lost count - I just know that it's over 30 pair. Because, let's face it, goofy boxers are fun! So I quit sewing them for him for a few years, because after all, he had enough to go for a month without having his underwear washed. But several pairs are 6+ years old, and they are starting to show their age. So I felt that I could safely make a new pair, since I recently culled some. ;) The Marine Corps boxers are for him.

The coin print and pin-up girls boxers are for my brother. His birthday is this month, and as he is to be a father shortly, I will send him the pinup girls and tell him that it's time to show some class and maturity. ;) Yes, that is our goofy sense of humor. I'll put the coins away until next year, probably.

The Day of the Dead boxers are for my dad for Christmas, and the sailboats are for his birthday in January. I tend to make him 1-2 pairs of boxers every year, but I think this is the first time for a Halloween pair. The skeletons are playing musical instruments, so I think he should really get a kick out of them.

As usual, all boxers are from S9958 (sizes S, M, and L). And in this case, all fabrics have been in stash for at least 1 year, if not much longer. Hooray for stashbusting!

And a PJ set....

2011-10-22T20:34:00.000-07:00

My aunt loves her flannel PJs, and I try to add to her collection every year. This is only the second PJ shirt I've made her, though. Since she loved the cow set a couple years ago, I thought it would be good to make some more sets. So I bought coordinating flannel at the last Black Friday - just didn't get it sewn up last year, thanks to moving.

The shirt is a very vibrant fuschia tie-dye flannel. I used M5504 (raglan sleeve) for it. (I have also made myself a PJ shirt out of it - boring brown so no need to post - and I can vouch that it's comfy.) It's a quick shirt to sew up - nothing fancy. I did use the pants fabric for the neck facing, to tie it together. I thought about turning the facings to the outside but decided not to for this one.

A cute cow print flannel for the pants - my standard M3006. I really wanted a drawstring that matched the shirt but couldn't find any twill tape or bias tape that was the right color. Oh, well....
The set together. I think she'll be pretty happy with it!

PJ brigade!

2011-10-20T20:21:00.000-07:00

If I'm churning out PJ pants, you know Christmas must be coming! This is a standard, go-to Christmas gift for family/friends, especially adults. Who couldn't use a comfy, cozy pair of flannel PJs?

This first pair is for a friend. I use M3006 as my standard PJ pants for women. These pants are from JAF Black Friday flannel - I think I bought it last year. She got a set of matching pillowcases last year, and this year she gets the PJs.

For another friend, who loves the PJ pants I've made for her. I think this is only the third pair now, and her mom told me last year that she really loved the pair I made her five years ago, so I figured she definitely needed more! Also a JAF Black Friday purchase - this was supposed to be for my aunt, who got a pillowcase from it last year. But I must not have purchased quite enough, or it shrank more than expected. My aunt needs a size bigger, and there just wasn't enough length for it. (Since my aunt is taller, I didn't want to gyp her on length, and I just thought that adding white cuffs would look funny.) My aunt's loss is my friend's gain, though! And I still didn't have enough length to turn up a hem, so these legs are bound with white nylon-lycra.
PJ pants for my brother - for whom I use B6887, with adjustments for a working fly. This is a chamois flannel shirting, also from JAF, which I purchased about 2-3 years ago to test a long-sleeved shirt pattern for DH. However, he didn't want any long-sleeved shirts, so I shoved the flannel in my stash and pulled it out this year for my brother. I think he'll really like it!
PJ pants for my DSIL - also B6887, but adjusted for her (including no working fly!). This horse print flannel is one of several lengths of flannel that she and my brother gave me for Christmas six years ago, before they were married. I thought it was perfect to pull out for her, since I hadn't gotten around to using it yet.
Looney Tunes boxers (S9958) for a friend's husband. He's a LT fanatic, and I had this print leftover from making him a scrub shirt. I think he'll love it!

More baby gifts...

2011-10-18T20:09:00.000-07:00

First, the motorcycle newborn gown mentioned previously. I forgot to blog about it when I finished it! For this, I ended up cutting the front/back pieces from black interlock. I was able to reuse the shirt sleeves, which have a great design (like the front applique), and I used strips of grey from the shirt as the neck binding, which I liked better than futzing around with turning the edge under. And then I think the image I fused to the front is just gorgeous. The back is an eagle image that was on the back of the shirt - my DH really liked it, so it had to go on. I hope they like the newborn gown!

And last is a boppy cover. My mom found an icky colored boppy pillow for my DSIL, and I agreed to make a few covers. I found free instructions online - don't remember where at the moment - and this is my test. The horse print flannel is leftover from making PJ pants for DSIL for Christmas. ;) I'm waiting to hear how it fits before I do anything else.

The Bag from the Underworld

2011-09-29T11:58:00.000-07:00

My aunt came for a visit over a month ago, and while she was here, she requested a new purse. I had made (also at her request) a very large tote bag for her about five years ago, which she used to carry my grandma's laundry back and forth to the nursing home. She said that she still uses it but wanted something similar but smaller that she could use as a purse. While she was here, I had her pick out the fabric that she wanted - blue denim for the outside and a Charlie Brown print for the inside. Then after she left, we had a long email conversation about specific features of the purse.

I chose Simplicity 9958, which was already in my stash. In fact, it was one of the two patterns I had used to make the original tote bag. The only real changes I needed to make to the pattern were to line the bag and add inner pockets. I used a double strand of white thread for all topstitching that would be visible on the outside (I had tried topstitching thread, but for some reason, my machine was most unhappy with it.)

The lining fabric was interfaced with Pellon's ShapeFlex, as recommended by a JAF employee. The interfacing is a bit pricey for me ($5/yd), but I have to say that it worked really well - gave it stability and strength, but it still drapes nicely. I added two inner pockets. This larger one has boxed lower corners to give it more width than a patch pocket, and I added elastic to the top. It is self lined for strength and better appearance.

I also added a zippered pocket for a cell phone or small wallet. When I made my Amy Butler Swing Bag a few years ago for use at a conference, I added zippered pockets for cell phone and wallet, and I really liked it. Made it much easier to find a ringing phone. I also added a D-ring below the pocket for attaching a key leash, to make finding one's keys quick and easy.

As an extra bonus, I made a matching key leash from a Craft Stylish tutorial and a small tissue cover from a Quilting Board tutorial. Both were quick and easy, and I think they just add a little something to the bag.

I like the key leash and may make myself one soon - that would be handy if I could figure out where to attach it in my backpack. And I think the tissue cover will be a great addition to teacher gifts this Christmas! Cute and practical, and very very quick!

Despite how many times/ways I screwed up this bag, I still really liked the finished product. I cut a second one out when I cut the first, so after some "forgetting the pain" time, I'll be making it again at least once. After that, well, we'll see....

More baby stuff

2011-09-18T13:22:00.000-07:00

The Husband has a work colleague who just had a baby, which is always an excuse to have fun with baby gifts, right? I did some snooping on her baby registry (always useful for things like colors or finding out what baby-related paraphenalia they already have) and discovered that she wanted neutral colored sheets for a pack-n-play. So I whipped up one from a white flannel sheet and one from a white jersey sheet with light-colored vehicles (planes, trains, trucks, etc.) on it. Both sheets were from thrift stores, and both yield multiple sheets, making them an economical source of fabric when available. I cut two sheets from each one, as you might as well make extras to store for future gifts, since they're so easy....

I also saw a tutorial for making newborn gowns out of recycled adult T-shirts. This got my creativity going. Both parents like to ride motorcycles, so I thought it'd be really cool if I could find a Harley T-shirt at the thrift store, or at least something with motorcycles. It took 5 thrift stores, but I ended up finding 4 T-shirts to use in this way! The motorcycle T-shirt is next on my list, but I wanted to make a prototype first to test the pattern, so that I won't screw it up on the motorcycle one.
This is for my niece, since my brother is a total computer geek. I figured he'd appreciate it - hopefully his wife will, too. ;) But while I liked the shirt enough to use it in this way, I also knew that it wouldn't really bother me if I screwed it up. However, all went well, so I'll be moving on to the motorcycles....

More gifts

2011-08-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

One of my friend's sons had a birthday in July. Due to the sewing room being ripped apart as well as other things, I didn't get his present done on time. That's okay, though - it's always fun to get a surprise belated gift in the mail!

I had quite a bit of monster flannel left from the Things' summer PJs - I had thought I was buying enough to make them pillowcases as well as PJs, but I didn't account for the directional print, so I didn't have enough for two pillowcases.

However, I did have enough for one pillowcase and one pair of PJ shorts (KS SFC, size S), which worked out perfectly for my friend's son. I had the blue tie-dye flannel for the pillowcase trim, but not enough for a PJ shirt (KS 3042, size S). So I asked her what his favorite color was, and apparently he goes back and forth between red and blue. Perfect! I still have plenty of red tie-dye flannel from a previous Black Friday purchase, so I used that. I used the monster flannel for the neck facings and the pocket, to tie the set together, and I finally got it in the mail last week. She texted me a photo of him wearing his new PJs the night they arrived, and he looked very pleased. Yay! They also looked as though there would be some growth room - double yay!

Baby gifts!

2011-08-28T14:48:00.000-07:00

My brother and his wife are expecting a baby, so naturally I want to make baby gifts! I have a bunch of nursing pads cut out, but they're not terribly exciting to send pre-baby, so I had to work on other stuff first. I didn't send anything before now, because they were being very cautious with this pregnancy, but now that she's at twenty weeks, they're feeling better about it, so game on! The first item is the one that I've just sent, so hopefully they like it. When I cut out baby suit for my friend a few months ago, I had enough to also cut out a second jacket, and then I found enough leftovers from a previous project to make matching pants. This is from KS SFB, size M.
I've also been looking through my stash - because I'm trying to stash bust! - and I found two yards of a Winnie the Pooh cotton print and about a yard and a half of a Care Bears flannel print. I cut the Pooh print in half and used that and the Care Bears to make single layer blankets, just evening up the sides and then making narrow hems. These should be good for nursing cover-ups or for light blankets.

This piggy bank flannel print is one that my brother and his wife had given me for Christmas about six years ago, when I was pregnant with Thing 2. I finally used some of it to make myself PJ shorts (which I just realized never made it onto the blog - have to fix that soon) but still had enough for a baby blanket. I found a coordinating purple solid flannel for the other side and appliqued two piggies onto it, then bound the two flannels together with a sparkly purple nylon-lycra. I think it turned out really cute! (I thought the nylon-lycra would make a less bulky edge than my usual fleece binding, so it might be usable for swaddling.)

When I made the piggy banks and Care Bears blankets, it was before we knew that the baby would be a girl. I just thought that they'd be cute, and I could put them into my gift stash if the baby turned out to be a boy. But we just learned last week that she's a girl - my first niece! Woohoo!

Back to school!

2011-08-27T19:51:00.001-07:00

Despite my best-made plans, the new school outfits were not finished in time for the all-important first day of school. They were okay with that, however, and they wore other Mama-made clothing. I also didn't have them done in time for the second day of school - for shame! - but they were ready to celebrate the THIRD day of school (which really doesn't get enough love, so it was all good).

Thing 2 got a new button-front shirt identical to the one I made for Project First Day (B3475, size 5) and a pair of chocolate brown twill shorts (B3475, size 4). You can't see them in this picture, but the pocket flaps on the shorts are lined with remnants from the shirt. He was very excited to get his new outfit! The shirt has only been worn once so far, but the shorts have been worn several times. Thing 1 got a new Ooga Booga shirt (Fishsticks Designs Patrick Curved Raglan Seam shirt, size 7/8), this one in the Rainbow colorway. He loves the hooded shirt I made him earlier this summer in the red/black/grey colorway, so when he saw this fabric, he jumped on it! The shorts (B3475, size 6) are a blue denim, and the pocket flaps are lined with a green broadcloth. The shorts are a little long, so I'll probably shorten the next pair, but he says that he also likes this length. And while he has reworn the shorts several time, the shirt seems to be his first choice as soon as it comes out of the wash! Good thing I have more of this print as well as some of the other colorways! I foresee eventually making a long-sleeved shirt in this print, maybe with a green or blue solid instead of red.

And in other back to school news, my older son came home on the first day and told me that two students in his class had asked if I would make them backpacks, too! ;) I'll take that as a compliment.

The backpack factory.....

2011-08-18T15:27:00.001-07:00

It's back to school time, and Thing 1 needed a new backpack. His old Spiderman backpack was looking worse for wear, and the zipper has given up the ghost. (Though it will still be good enough for use as a library book bag, so I do plan to replace the zipper and give it a new lease on life.....)

Despite knowing this, he asked after church two weeks ago if he could bring his Spiderman backpack to church the following week. When asked why, he told us that the Sunday School classes were taking donations of backpacks and other school supplies to distribute to underprivileged kids. Um, no, remember there's a reason why you're getting a new backpack??? But hey, I decided that charity should be encouraged, so we told Things 1&2 that they could pick out other fabric for extra backpacks to donate, and I would make them in time for us to shop for school supplies to fill them, and bring them to church on the appointed day.

Thing 1 picked the fabric on the right, which I've been jealously hoarding for a few years now, just waiting for a project worthy enough for it. And Thing 2 picked the fabric on the left, of which I have TONS. (I bought the rest of the bolt when it was on clearance for $1/yd at WM a few years ago, intending to use it for toddler bedding and such. Yeah, this was the first time I used it.)
As usual for my backpacks, I used Butterick 6735, view A, with my usual changes. As per the previous backpacks, I quilted the outer fabric to a layer of batting and added a separate lining. As per the last one, I used webbing for the strap fastenings, though this time I simply used adjustors instead of actual parachute buckles (trying to save $$ - but I have to say that those worked really well!) This time, I also used webbing for the hanging loop. I think it will give more security. Time will tell....I found webbing that looked really nice with the bug fabric backpack but was forced to just use black with the Matchbox backpack. Because I have so much of the Matchbox fabric, I used it as the lining as well. But the bug fabric is much more limited, and I'm still in love with it, so I used a red cotton leftover from my stash to line that backpack. Another change that was made based on last year was to make the zippers non-separating - a little kid with a separating zipper seemed to be a recipe for a broken zipper....sigh....

Once I finished the donation backpacks (Sunday morning before we left for church!), it was on to the backpacks for my little students. Thing 2 picked the Batman fabric on the left, and Thing 1 picked the shark camo fabric on the right. I made these the same way as the donations, except that I lined these in PUL - my first time trying this. We'll see how I like it. (I didn't have enough PUL leftover to line all four backpacks with it, and I was trying to only buy notions for my back-to-school sewing this year.)

Again, I used webbing and adjustors to make the straps, and I'm pretty happy with that. The Batman backpack has black webbing, and the shark has white. But I could only find the black adjustors, and I didn't start early enough to have time to order any. But that's okay! The boys are happy with their new backpacks.

And a closer look at the shark camo, which I really like. I have enough left for some shorts for at least one boy, I think....

Back-to-School charity sewing

2011-08-08T13:36:00.001-07:00

Project First Day was started by Susan Stewart to help give the children of Joplin, MO, a sense of normalcy in the midst of the continued devastation from the tornadoes last Easter. She remembered that as a child, she always got a brand-new outfit for her first day of school, and she wanted that for these children, despite all the struggles their families may have just to survive. So she put out a request for sewers to make and donate brand-new outfits for school children, with a note attached to tell each child that someone was thinking especially of them while making this special outfit.

I thought about it and decided to contribute two outfits - similar in style/fabrics to what my own boys will be wearing for their first day of school. I even enlisted my boys to help pick fabrics. For the first, I used B3475, my go-to pattern for boys' button-front shirts. The shirt is a size 5, and the shorts are a shortened size 4. Both are perfect for my DS#2 while still giving a bit of growth room. I used all stash fabrics for this, only purchasing notions as needed.

Because I used stash, my boys will not have identical items, but theirs will be very similar. The shirt fabric is one that I purchased several years ago - it may have been from WM or JAF clearance aisle. I'm not sure anymore. But it has a nice feel to it, so even if it was inexpensive, it wasn't a cheap fabric. I had just enough to squeeeze out two shirts, much to my DS's delight! And I enlisted my DH's help on choosing button colors. For this one to donate, I sewed an extra button on the inside of the button facing, at the bottom of the shirt - a RTW touch! ;)

The olive green shorts are a cotton twill, I believe. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough for two pairs, so my DS#2 will have dark brown shorts. The pocket flap is lined with the leftovers of the shirt fabric to tie the outfit together.

This outfit uses B3475 for the shorts (size 6) and Fishsticks Designs Patrick Curved Raglan shirt (size M). I didn't think in time about shortening the shorts, so they will be long. More growth room, I suppose! The shorts are a black stretch denim that I purchased with the intent of maternity jeans - five years ago....I used the rest of it recently for long pants for my boys - which should still fit next year - and I think there's enough left for KS SFC shorts for DS#1, but not for these cargo shorts. I lined the pocket flaps with a red tonal cotton print. DS#1 will have blue denim for his cargo shorts.

The shirt front uses leftovers from a shirt DS#1 wears at least weekly. I only had enough length to cut out the front, so I decided to use a solid black for the back and neckband and a solid red for the sleeves. I was afraid that if I used black for the sleeves as well, it might look like I just ran out of fabric, instead of a design feature. ;) It seems to have worked - DH thought it was great, and DS#1 was drooling over it, despite already having a very similar shirt with that print! (He's now picked out an ooga interlock in a different colorway for his back-to-school shirt!)
Thanks to health issues and then sewing room makeover, I didn't get started on these nearly as early as I'd intended - oops! Oh, well - I stayed up late Friday night and got up early Saturday a week ago to get these done and to the post office in time to make the August 1st deadline. Whew! Still working on the versions for my boys now.....

Playing catch-up.....

2011-07-30T14:55:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe it's been 2 months since I last posted, but a lot has happened....

My sewing room is in the midst of a renovation! These are the wall colors. We picked the light green on the left, then after painting two walls, decided it needed an accent color. The darker green color was used in the kitchen and part of the living room by the previous owners, and they had left us some. So that went on one wall. Then we decided to get color-crazy and throw in something totally different on the remaining (large) wall - that's where the dark purple came in! (This is especially shocking to some of our friends, as we painted almost every room in our previous house in the months of renovation before we moved, and they were all some shade of white/offwhite/tan.) I have to say, it's different, but so far I'm loving it!
The idea is to make quilted wall hangings to tie the room together. I don't know exactly what they'll look like yet, but I'm looking at quilt blocks for sampler quilts. And I hit a sale on FQs at the LQS earlier in the month - these are from that sale:

Under the FQs is a white on white print that will become the sashing and borders, I think, and in the upper left is a seafoam-ish green that was an almost exact match to one of the green shades in the paint color cards. (I grabbed all the shades in each of the color "families" that contained the actual paint colors we used - took those to the LQS to help pick out fabrics. Worked great!) I'll use that green as the background in the blocks. I can't wait to get started! I think the first sampler will be a 2x3 arrangement of 18-inch blocks. Maybe....

Before the room was dismantled for painting and shelves, I managed to squeeze in just a little sewing. The boys need more summer PJs, not that they always wear them, and I had purchased the monster flannel on sale "just because." So I made each of them PJ shorts in the next size up, then added appliques to purchased T-shirts. Quick, easy, and effective.

There's been more since, but that's a good stopping point for now. :)

More cutoff jean shorts....

2011-05-25T20:28:00.000-07:00

The lighter pair are the ones I made about a year or so ago. Despite being worn pretty constantly for a summer, they're still in good shape! But I need more, because I plan to pretty much live in shorts this summer. (We've already hit 90 more than once - yikes!) So I made a trip to a local Goodwill and bought four pairs of jeans for $4 each, solely for the purpose of creating cutoffs. The jeans I found were darker, so I went in search of a swimsuit print that would coordinate better. Yeah, no luck there, but I bought this navy with white geometric print. I think it looks okay!

I hadn't found last year's pair yet when I made the first ones this week. I made them long, about knee length, and then wore them for a day or two to see what I thought. Hmmm....too long, I think. I'm going to whack off two inches or so and rebind them. I then made the second pair after finding last year's, and I've been wearing them nonstop for a few days. I like this length much better.

Tomorrow I'll work on fixing the first pair. I want to find the rest of the grey/white rose print I used in last year's so that I can make the third pair in that. And then I think I'll pick up a red solid over the weekend and use that for the final pair. Just to change it up a bit. I asked a friend if she thought that would look weird, but only about half an inch is visible at the bound edge, so she thought it would be fine.

Because these are a bit big on me (and I'm hoping that before the summer ends, they'll be a LOT big on me), I have to wear a belt with them. I'm using the webbing/ribbon one I made last year, but it's time to make another. This time, I might use a buckle instead of D-rings....we'll see....

Patching jeans....

2011-05-17T16:01:00.000-07:00

So I have this friend who has done I don't know what to her jeans and needed repairs made, as she is broke and doesn't want to buy new ones, especially since she's losing weight.This is not the pair that is pictured with completed repairs, but this pair is fairly representative of the holes in her jeans.

This shows the inside of the jeans. I put these patches on in two pieces so that I could butt each patch up against the crotch seam. I'm pretty happy with them. These patches were made from Sew Classics lightweight denim from JAF (leftover from the dog crate) and Heat & Bond Lite. I think that these patches will work better than the ones I did with denim recycled from the legs of jeans that became cutoffs. That denim is a bit thicker - good for a single patch, but not for a double.

And this is the outside - not terribly noticeable! Unless someone is standing WAY too close to her, they shouldn't even notice. I did the V-shaped lines just to keep the two patches together, in case any of the adhesive ever wears out in the wash.

And I had to patch the hole where the button was and replace it. I used two patches again, then poked a hole with the seam ripper and installed the jeans button. First time!

Kid Clothes Week Challenge - Final

2011-05-16T08:32:00.000-07:00

So I didn't do a great job in the kids clothes week challenge, but that's okay. The only completed items were the two Fishsticks Designs Tanks and this mouse shirt, which I didn't have time to blog about before we left for the weekend. I actually finished sewing it Thursday, but I didn't put the snaps in until late Friday night, just in time to pack it up and leave.

It was a huge hit! Thing 2 loved it, and he proudly wore it to graduation Sunday. It was cold this weekend, so he wore a sweatshirt over it, but he kept pulling the hem out to show people. I foresee this shirt will get a lot of wear over the summer!

You can see the engraved mouse snaps I used here, though the snap has gotten itself turned nearly upside down, and the picture is somewhat grainy. You get the idea, though - it's just a nice subtle touch. I was pleased that the red snaps matched the red background so well! He can easily fasten and unfasten the shirt himself with the buttons - I'm pretty happy!

This is the inside of the shirt. The pattern is B3475, which I've used before. I tried the previous four shirts on Thing 2 to check for sizing - he can wear all the sizes (2-5), but size 5 was definitely the winner for growth room! His size 2 shirt is getting a little short, and the size 5 wasn't ridiculously long, so it was the winner. I want him to be able to wear this for a long time. I changed the pattern to add a lined yoke, for easier installation of the collar neatly. I'm pretty pleased! As per my previous versions, I used french seams on the sides and bound the front facings and the armholes with bias tape. This shirt looks good on the inside, and it didn't take much longer to make it that way.

Thing 1 pretty much won't wear his button-front shirts at all, so I'm sticking with knit shirts for him. But Thing 2 seems pretty fond of these, so I'll likely make him a few more over the summer. We'll see....

New dog bed

2011-05-11T07:11:00.001-07:00

Yep, making more dog beds. Nope, the dog didn't tear up the old one, and it's still fine. But my DH had suggested back when I finished the first one, that it would be good to have a second bed for her to lie on. At that time, I had no desire to start another one. Now, well, I still don't want to start another one, but I've been thinking for awhile that it would be good to have one that would fit the cargo space in the SUV. Especially since we're taking a trip this weekend, and we're taking Zoe with us. So it's time to suck it up and make the dog bed already!

And if you're making one dog bed, you might as well make two at once, right? My MIL expressed interest in a dog bed, so I'm making one for her as a Christmas present. She doesn't know about it, so it'll still be a surprise at Christmas. ;) I just didn't have time to get it done before her birthday. At any rate, I don't plan on making any more, so I made sure to take a few pictures along the way.

The SUV bed is needs to be much wider than the foam, and because of my foam-saving cutting layout, the small dog bed also needed some extra width. When adding the width, I simply lined the two pieces up and whipstitched them together. This is two-inch thick foam, so I whipstitched on both sides of the foam, so that I'd only have to go through half the thickness on each side. I figured that would stand up better to stress. Hopefully you can see that in the picture here.

For the smaller dog bed, I simply used the single layer, as his crate is shorter, and I didn't want him to hit his head when he stood up in the crate. But for Zoe's bed, I once again wanted it four inches thick. So I laid two layers on top of each other (with the patched ends at opposite sides) and then once again used a soft sculpture needle to stitch the two layers together in three columns. Those layers are not going to shift!

No pictures, but I then wrapped each mattress in a couple of layers of poly batting and stitched it down on all sides, before inserting the mattress into a permanent muslin cover. I've also made the waterproof, removable cover from PUL and a separating zipper (I bought these zippers at Cleaners Supply and was very pleased with price, selection, and fast shipping - NAYY). Today I need to make at least one outer cover for each mattress.

Kids Clothes Week Challenge

2011-05-10T21:15:00.000-07:00

There is a challenge going on this week at Elsie Marley - to sew one hour per day for your children for a week. Fittingly, I heard about it at Fishsticks Designs. I wasn't able to sew yesterday, but I did get a new pattern sewn up today. This is the free tank pattern found at Fishsticks Designs. The sizes range from 12 months to 5T, and I made both the 4T and 5T. I was sure that at least one would fit DS#2, and the 5T looked as though it might be large enough to fit DS#1. And if it didn't, I knew that it would fit DS#2 soon enough.

This pattern is another winner from Fishsticks Designs. There are only a few pattern pieces, and it works up quickly and easily. I used a knit jersey print from my stash and black cotton lycra from my binding stash. The pattern can be made with either a sewing machine alone or sewing machine and serger. I followed the directions and topstitched the bindings ed in place once they were serged on and pressed in place, but that and the hems are the only parts that require a sewing machine. All other seams can be made on either sewing machine or serger. I personally prefer my serger for knit seams, but they can certainly be made on the sewing machine alone with a stretch stitch.

In the end, my DS#1 (who just turned 8) said that the 5T shirt was slightly uncomfortable at the back armholes - that they were too tight on his shoulder. And I thought that the shirt looked a little snug on his belly. But I think that adding some width to both front and back and scooping out the armholes a little would make it wearable for him. I may try that next week. The 4T looks about perfect on my not-quite-5-year-old, and he can also wear the 5T, but it's just long on him. I'll wait to see how interested DS#2 is in sleeveless shirts, but I could see myself making quite a few more of these in the various knits I have stashed.

Pillowcases

2011-05-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

I have a friend who was extremely helpful to me during the process of writing my thesis. She was great moral support, she listened when I vented, she gave good editing suggestions, and she was willing to go all over campus to copy/scan articles that I couldn't get online. Needless to say, she deserves a big thank you. She wants me to make her a T-shirt quilt, using her collection of college T-shirts. She'll pay for my time, but since she's been so much help, I won't be charging her what it's worth.

Still, in the meantime, I wanted to have something to give her at graduation next weekend. Since she wants an Illini T-shirt quilt, it's pretty obvious that she's an Illini fan, right? So I bought Illini flannel on clearance at JAF and made her a pillowcase (only one, because it's a directional print, and there wasn't enough to make a second). She also teaches anatomy, and I found a Halloween bones print, so I made a second pillowcase out of that! I think she'll get a kick out of these.

Hanging towels

2011-05-06T07:58:00.000-07:00

Hanging towels are always extremely useful, I think. I used to cut hand towels in half and crochet towel toppers onto each half, so that I could hang them on drawer pulls for easy hand drying, especially in the kitchen. We used to keep one at the sink and one on the refrigerator door at all times. But as much as I enjoyed crocheting, the resulting towel toppers just didn't look all that pretty. A few months back, I started thinking about figuring out a sewing pattern. And then Gelbean came up with a hanging towel tutorial! Since then, I've made a ton! These make great gifts - small, pretty, and useful! I've started giving them for birthdays, holidays, and thank-yous - basically anytime I need a small gift.

This was my prototype: I used scraps and a towel I had hanging around. I also tested out my Singer vintage buttonholer to make the buttonhole!

The Beatles towels were part of a care package for a friend (a Beatles nut!), and the Nemo towel was part of a thank-you gift to the friend who took care of my dog for a few weeks (the one who requested the dog housecoat - her bathroom is decorated in fish). This was when I started interfacing the cotton fabric when making the toppers (I don't interface the flannel).

This is quite the batch! I had more Beatles towels ready to go but hadn't finished them yet, because there was no need. However, since I was working on the chili peppers, I finished them all. I had half a yard of chili peppers fabric, and it made 6 towels. I think that's pretty typical if the print is nondirectional. Directional prints will likely not yield quite as many. I also decided that I would try out my snap press on these. I like the way it turned out! (And it's definitely faster!) The chili peppers were purchased as thank-yous to my advisor and to the stats buddy who was so essential to my thesis. I just mailed my stats buddy's towels to her.

The Illini flannel was leftover from a pillowcase, and I have still more to finish - I just ran out of towels and wanted some to be orange towels. The brown towels are owl-wing fabric - my grandmother loves owls, and these are for her birthday. I wanted to find fabric that had the whole owl, but no such luck. And these were already going to be late, so I wasn't going to wait. I have two more of these, as well. And the cupcakes are also part of her birthday present. I have one more cupcake towel to make, but again, I ran out of towels. I mailed the two owl towels and two of the cupcake towels as the birthday gift.

And then these travel towels are for my friend who loves to travel. It's Nurses' Day today, and I usually send her a new scrub shirt, but I can't find the one that I finished before the move. And I didn't realize that until yesterday. So I whipped up these towels and mailed them. I think she'll be pretty pleased! I have plenty more of that fabric, and I bought another grey towel as well as a light teal one that should match the fabric perfectly.

I also use these in bathrooms, as my little guy can reach them without pulling the whole towel down (which is good, because he never puts the towels back up!). I'm really liking the snap closure now, instead of taking more time to make buttonholes and hand-sew buttons on. These work great! I'm quite certain there will be many more hanging towels coming from my machine!

New boy shirts!

2011-05-03T12:25:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to remain on a fabric diet lately, only buying fabric to make specific gifts when I didn't have anything appropriate in the stash, and I've been....mostly good. But then I took advantage of a nearby doctor's appointment and a child-free morning to visit Jackman's Fabrics, thinking that I would look at the upcoming class projects, drool over eye candy, and leave empty-handed. But then I saw a cotton-lycra shark print.....Oops! My boys love sharks, and I really liked the look of this print. So I got a yard and a half, intending to find a coordinating solid and make them both new shirts for Easter. The dark blue cotton lycra came from JAF the next day, and I did get to work on these quickly. However, I was still polishing my thesis at that point, so they didn't get finished until the day after Easter. :( Oh, well - the boys love them, and they did get done fairly quickly.

These are both Patrick Curved Raglan Seam Shirts, from Fishsticks Designs. The previous PCR shirts I made for my boys were sizes 3T and 5T, but they're starting to get a bit small (short, mostly), so I sized up this time. I used a size M from the "Big Kid" size range for Thing 1 and a 5T for Thing 2 (mainly because I already had it traced, and it would give him a lot of room to grow). Thing 2's shirt is long on him, but definitely wearable, and Thing 1's shirt has some growth room but looks pretty good, I think.

Then for stash! I had bought a yard of red/grey ooga booga interlock a year or so ago, intending it for shirts for my boys. I finally cut a hooded PCR shirt (also size M) for Thing 1. I have some left over, but not sure if I have enough for a second shirt. The grey interlock was leftover from a previous project. Thing 1 approved this prior to cutting and decided that he wanted a hood. (I'm learning to ask first unless I'm really really sure, because I've made some things that he's refused to wear.)

Thing 2 doesn't need clothes as much as Thing 1 does, partly due to hand-me-downs, but he loves to get new stuff that Mama makes. And I earmarked this ninja fabric for him since I bought it at the same time as the red/grey oogas. Another PCR sized 5T, this uses a red cotton/poly interlock that I bought at JAF specifically for this project. I prefer 100% cotton interlocks, but JAF is not always stocking them anymore. :(

I did manage to screw up and cut all the hood pieces with the stretch going up and down rather than side-to-side. Oops! The only problem I ran into with that during construction was that it made it harder to ease the hoods into the necklines. I will have to watch to see if there are any further problems due to the stretch going the wrong way....

Art-on-the-Go Kit!

2011-04-23T14:58:00.000-07:00

We have an Easter service tomorrow, with no Sunday School classes or Children's Church, and we have an upcoming graduation ceremony - both times when we need to keep two young boys occupied and relatively quiet. I thought it would be a good time to make the Art-on-the-Go Kit, from Fishsticks Designs. Of course, with two boys, I needed two kits!

I used stash for both kits, a space print and a marble print. Instead of using fleece for the middle layer, I used flannel from an old sheet. The kits are supposed to contain ten pencils, but my boxes held a dozen, so I squeezed in twelve slots. And there is elastic to hold a notepad in place.

There's also elastic to hold the cover together when folded in half.
Looking forward to seeing how they like these in the morning!

More Peeps!

2011-04-22T09:32:00.000-07:00

Well, it didn't happen quite as quickly as I had intended, but I now have a small army of Peeps!

I had previously made just the two pink bunnies, but my boys fell in love with them, too. So I decided to make more bunnies for them, as well as making enough chick peeps so that every bunny had a chick friend. My boys will each find a blue or yellow bunny and a blue or yellow chick near their Easter baskets, and my friend will be getting a pink bunny and a yellow chick. I'll find someone else to get the other pink bunny and blue chick.

The chick tutorial is from Dandelions and Lace - same as the bunny tutorial. They went together easily. Instead of using fleece, this time I used stretch terrycloth - just because I had it and didn't want to buy anything. It worked out well, even though it shed all over me during construction. :) I would recommend these for anyone who wants little Peep plushies in their house...

A reading nook!

2011-04-18T12:29:00.001-07:00

A new house has a "sort of" bay window in the front sitting/living room. I always thought of bay windows as having the angled sides, so to me, this is just a "sticks out" window. Nevertheless, it is a perfect spot for a small boy to sit on the windowsill and read a book in the sunshine. So I decided it needed a cushion for the windowsill! I used microsuede for the removable cover, NuFoam for the cushion itself, and muslin for the inner cover. I thought about making a PUL cover like I did for the dog bed, but I decided that might be overkill. No one should be on the cushion with a drink. Anyway, I made this to the sill's measurements, with cutouts in the corners for the edges of the windows. Apparently I goofed slightly - it should be an inch longer. But I can live with that. The cushion is made from two layers of one-inch NuFoam (they didn't have 2-inch at JAF the day I went there, but it's since back in stock, of course), stitched securely together. The muslin cover was made to those measurements and stitched permanently in place - mainly just to make sure the mattress stayed together well. The outer cover was made to the same measurements, but it has cording in the seams to improve longevity. (I made those with bias strips and clothesline.) Instead of installing a zipper - I wanted to have the opening along the inner length, to make it easier to stuff the cushion in place - I overlapped the edges and used my snap press to install a dozen or so snaps along the side. I think it'll work well. Also, I have applied a spray-on UV sunblock to the entire cover in an attempt to decrease fading from the constant sunlight. I tested it on a large scrap, and nothing bad happened to the fabric, so I figured it was safe. ;) And I've kept some large scraps so that I can compare it in a few months and see how well the block worked. Should be interesting!

Marshmallow Peeps!

2011-04-05T06:35:00.001-07:00

No, I'm not actually a fan of Peeps. Not for eating, anyway. The only time I will consume a marshmallow is when it is melted in a rice krispie treat. However, I know plenty of people who ARE fans of Peeps. And one is a very good friend. So when I saw Dandelion and Lace's tutorial to make a marshmallow bunny peep, well, I couldn't resist! She also just put up a new tutorial for marshmallow chick peeps - maybe that will get done tonight! ;)

Playing catch-up

2011-04-04T07:03:00.001-07:00

This whole idea of writing a thesis in a short time really messes with my sewing time! In the last month and a half or more, I haven't really had much time to sew, which is not fun. However, I have managed to get a few things done. Thing 2 is outgrowing his PJs and needed some new ones that weren't midriff-baring - a look no one wants to see! I had two pairs of PJ pants that were made previously but needed matching shirts. I even had the shirt pattern and the interlock for the shirts, so with this motivation, I cut and sewed them! This truck pair has been in the works for years - the pants were originally intended for Thing 1 - oops! The pants are B6887 size XS, I think, and the top is KS SFT size 3T, with 2 inches added in length to body and sleeves. Then I added an applique to tie the shirt and pants together.

This set has only been in the works since last year. The pants are KS SFT 3T, intended to match Thing 1's set. The top is the same as the previous set. He seems to love them both! And they add nicely to his PJ drawer.

Next up, my MIL wanted a new cover for her dog crate, so we made a trip to the fabric store together and picked out a nice midweight denim (got it with a coupon - even better!). I let it sit for a few weeks - thesis, you know! - but got it sewn up for her eventually. I think it turned out pretty nicely, though I didn't get pictures on the crate.

The front flap is only attached at the top, and she tucks it completely under the top unless she's going to use it.

It fits the crate very nicely, with just a smidge of extra room. She seemed pleased, and that makes me happy.

My good friend who loves the Beatles had a birthday last month. I didn't want to try to do anything too time-consuming, because she'd feel guilty about taking time away from my thesis. But these collars for her chihuahuas worked up very quickly. And she loved them! Sweet!

These are from Creative Designworks - the mini dog collar kit, size Mini (as opposed to Extra Mini or Mini Plus). I had gotten another friend to measure the neck circumference of a chihuahua at the shelter to give me a rough idea for sizing - she thought it was great fun to be part of such a sneaky endeavor.

Reconstructive frog surgery

2011-02-26T18:15:00.001-08:00

Haven't been sewing lately, because I'm trying to get my master's thesis finished. Though I keep plotting to sew - my mother-in-law bought fabric for me to sew a cover for her dog's crate, DS#1 still needs new pants, my dog needs another harness so that I can wash this one, etc...

A few weeks ago, klepto dog stole Thing 2's beloved froggy and ripped its eyes out. He was distraught, as one might expect, so I promised to try to repair it. As you can see below, one eye was ripped completely out, and the other was damaged to the point that there was no fixing what was left.
So we went to HL and managed to find new, almost identical eyes. (As an aside, now I know what I'll be using the next time I want to make strange plush creatures....) The fabric was obviously not matchable, so I figured I'd just use a coordinating solid knit. I know that somewhere I have what should be a matching blue interlock, but I couldn't find it, so I pulled out the green. I showed the husband after transplanting the first eye, and he suggested using different colors for each eye, so that it might not look as glaring to have only the eye sockets differ from the rest of the frog. I still couldn't find the blue interlock, but I did find a swimsuit-like material, and it worked just fine.

If I'd known from the start that I'd use two colors, I would have switched sides with the colors. Oh, well....nitpicky detail. The important thing is that it's done, and Thing 2 is thrilled!

The last of the dog stuff....I think....

2011-01-25T19:27:00.000-08:00

So my colleague who dogsat my new dog for a few weeks had made a specific request for Christmas. She has a greyhound who is always cold, and she had several "winter" coats for him. But even though she keeps her apartment toasty, she wanted a "housecoat" for him. I made a tracing of his best-fitting fleece coat (using an old sheet and a sharpie) and took lots of pictures. Then I dug a striped knit out of deep stash and whipped one up for her.

Imagine that on a long, lanky greyhound. We also added three inches to the neck because she'd like it to cover his ears. I added seam allowances but no hem allowances, instead binding with self-binding. I think it looks really nice.

I found 2 inch wide Velcro for the closures (just like on the original).

Since I had no idea how much elastic to use, I simply inserted 1/8 inch elastic into a casing and added a cordlock. She can adjust it and cut off any major excess.

The final addition to her present was a zippered pouch that snaps onto a leash handle to hold plastic bags for poop-scooping. I made one for each of us and used this to test out my brand new snap press. Woohoo! Love it!

More doggy stuff....

2011-01-15T20:56:00.001-08:00

So I'm really not the pet owner who's worried about everything matching and using designer stuff....I mean, come on! My dog bed cover fabric was chosen purely on the basis of feel and price. That said, I did decide that my new dog deserved some nice accessories. ;)

Obviously, one has to have a collar. (Hopefully that's obvious.) You've gotta have a place to put the tags, in case the dog wanders off. And since I sew, I thought it would be fun to make a unique collar for my dog. I had seen a review for a sewn collar on PR, and it mentioned getting the instructions in a kit from Creative Designworks. So I looked it up and was happy to discover that a kit was only $5 (including shipping!) and contained hardware for two collars. Bonus! I had already purchased the hardware (from the hardware store) for two leashes, so I didn't order the leash kit. Besides, how hard could that be to dream up, right?

And DH also suggested a harness for her, due to her age. We didn't know if she'd be the type to be stubborn about where she wanted to go (eh, she is a little - not too much), but a harness can spread out the tension over her neck and shoulders, instead of just tugging on her neck. So I ordered that kit, too. (It contains the hardware for one harness.)

Can I just say that I'm really pleased? :) The collar went together very well, and I loved the fact that it didn't require webbing. Just fabric and heavyweight interfacing. In fact, the collar was my first completed item in my new sewing room! The instructions were great - it was easy to put together, even though I was sewing late at night on a deadline! (I needed the collar and leash finished before I went to pick her up from my buddy the next day.)

The harness took another week or so to be done, just due to sewing inertia. But it was also easy to put together, although my picky side is telling me to remove the chest strap and replace it with one an inch or two longer. Can you tell that the girth strap is being tugged forward between her legs? Anyway, that's my only gripe. And since it doesn't seem to bother her, I might just leave well enough alone.And from the top. I keep the harness in the closet with the leash, and she's already learned that when the harness comes out, she's going for a walk. She gets all excited (though quietly!) until I start to put the harness on - then she stands rock steady until it's on.

I also decided that it would be smart to have a bag holder in the closet by the leash and harness, since I recycle plastic grocery bags as a responsible dog owner's poop sacks.

My final (I think!) touch is in progress - I'm working on a zippered pouch (with a loop that will snap around the leash handle) to hold said plastic bags. I currently stuff them in my jacket pockets, but this may work better. We'll see....

"Sealey Posturepedic" dog bed knockoff

2011-01-09T21:11:00.001-08:00

So we adopted a thirteen-year-old yellow lab from the shelter where I worked. There was nothing wrong with her - her owners relinquished her because they were moving. And a sucker is born every day, right? Well, I'd never blinked twice at all the animals coming through, but a sucker was born that day, and I asked The Husband if we could take her.

Things 1&2 like the idea of dogs, but they've never had a dog, so the reality of a dog was a little difficult for them before. Thing 2 especially would freak out when a dog ran up to him playfully, and his reaction would freak the dog out, which led to more freak outs, and you get the idea. So I thought that an older dog would be perfect for a first dog for them. And so far, it looks good! They love her!

But an older dog tends to have joint issues - arthritis, weak legs, etc. So a good bed to lay on is an absolute must. However, my bank account really shuddered at the thought of buying a good one. For a good, thick dog bed for a larger dog, you will pay easily over $100. Depending on how thick you want the foam, it can approach $200. Not in my budget.

Instead, I took the advice of a colleague and bought 2-inch foam at JAF, enough to make two layers. The white poly-foam was cheaper than the green NuFoam, and more importantly, it was wider. So I bought that to avoid having to seam widths together. I cut the foam to the exact measurements of the bottom of the crate, and I used a doll/soft sculpture needle and upholstery thread to stitch the foam layers together. The foam is 28 inches wide, and I stitched three columns of stitches to hold it together. Those foam layers are not going to shift! I then stitched a permanent cover for it from muslin.

At The Husband's suggestion, I also made a waterproof cover from white PUL I bought at JAF (with a 40% off coupon, of course!). I used an invisible zipper in one of the short sides, so that I can remove it. It shouldn't be taking much abuse, so I didn't figure the type of zipper would matter much for this cover. But for the outer cover, which is also washable, I used a stretch suede/moleskin/I don't know what. I bought it for probably $1-2/yard at WM, at least 5 years ago. It feels nice, and it was in the stash and had no other use anytime soon. There is a 28-inch separating zipper in a short end, allowing easy on/off for washing. The Husband looked at it and said, "Why'd you use a dark color? That's going to grab all the hair!" Hmmm....stash equals free, right?

Here's Zoe in her new bed! As soon as I put it in her crate, she pushed past me and immediately laid down. I think it's a hit!

Total cost: Will have to see if I can find all the receipts, but I'm estimating $50-60. But to get this commercially, I would have to spend three times that much, barring an awesome sale.

More dog booties!

2011-01-06T07:00:00.000-08:00

So apparently I know too many people with diva-ish dogs! Or maybe just too many people with very small dogs....Anyway, our realtor was mentioning at the closing on our house that her (small) dog did not like the recent cold weather and had peed on the rug by the door, presumably to avoid going outside to pee. I suggested dog booties and told her about the recipient of my original pair of dog booties and how the booties kept him relatively happy outside so that he stopped having indoor "accidents." She expressed interest in getting some for her dog and said she'd look at pet stores. So instead I made her a set, which will hopefully fit (I've never seen her dog, but these are my 50% reduction from the original pattern). They will be enclosed in our thank-you card.

And a coworker from my former job was very interested in dog booties for her little dog as well, so I promised them to her as a Christmas present. Due to moving, they became a "between Christmas and New Year's" present, but she loved them! And her little guy looks very cute in them. (These are a 45% version.)The best part? I had no idea what his coat looked like - the matching is total coincidence!

Heat therapy via corn bags

2011-01-05T20:18:00.000-08:00

Corn bags have got to be one of my favorite "I sort of know you" gifts. Well, for women, anyway...For instance, I gave corn bags to everyone I worked with. We'd already had a Secret Santa gift exchange at the Christmas party, but especially since I was leaving, I wanted to give them all something to show that I appreciated them, but not anything that would make them feel bad about not reciprocating.

These are my standard corn bags - something like 7x20 inches - cut 2, serge them together on all sides (last short side after filling with dried corn). I make the bags themselves out of muslin (cheaper), then make nice print covers (just an overlap style). Flannel is nicest, but any woven works fine. In the above picture, the brown paw prints on the far right and the dog print on the bottom were both purchased for this purpose. I bought one yard of each on Black Friday and got four covers out of each. The rainbow paw prints in the middle was a stash remnant, the penguin and music notes flannels on the left were leftovers from other projects, and the Nutcracker woven was longtime stash. I'd bought it for an apron for myself, but let's face it - I just don't wear aprons. It had sat around long enough and was begging to be used. These were an experiment in a different design. I got the idea on the PR message boards. I forget what size exactly I made them - 10 or 10.5 inches square, I think - serged them on three sides, then sewed lines to divide them into four approximately equal channels. I filled each channel about as full as it could be and still be able to serge the top closed, then made overlap style covers for these as well. I thought they might be better for localized heat therapy than the bigger ones - we'll see...

Mostly final Christmas presents....

2011-01-05T19:39:00.000-08:00

Yep, definitely the year of the pillowcases!
Top left: singleton for my good friend (the nurse) - only a singleton because she has another gift, shown at the end of the post. I had enough of the music notes left for one pillowcase and one corn bag cover. I paired this with a mottled red flannel that came from my very first Black Friday at JAF.

Top right: Another Black Friday purchase from a few years back - my son loves penguins, so I finally used some to make him one. (It went over very well!)

Bottom left: A Black Friday purchase from this year, also paired with the mottled red (I have a lot of it left). I made two of these - one for Thing 2, and one for a nephew.

Bottom right: A Black Friday purchase this year, again paired with mottled red. This is a set of two, for my friend from vet school. I have enough of the paw print left for matching PJ pants, though she will have to wait until next year....

Both Black Friday purchases this year, paired with stashed white flannel. The snowflake pattern is a set of two, for my aunt. There's enough left for PJ pants - I just ran out of time. Next year....The hearts/stars is a singleton, because the print is directional, and I would not have enough for matching PJ pants (birthday gift) otherwise.

And I know that I said this was the year of the pillowcases, but not everyone needs pillowcases. Besides, this has been nearly done for ages. All I had to do was finally find the right ribbing for the cuffs. Fortunately, I got this done and mailed out before the movers came and packed it!

I still have a few gifts to go, but time ran out, and hey! We were moving! Cut me some slack! I have two more kid PJ pants and two adult PJ pants and we'll be officially done with Christmas. Oh, wait - and a "housecoat" for a greyhound - which is combo birthday present/"Thanks for dogsitting for me" present. There will be pictures forthcoming....

Now I just have to find where my pattern weights got packed, along with the PJ flannels....

The Christmas of the Pillowcase

2010-12-11T14:57:00.000-08:00

We are moving the week of Christmas, so as you can imagine, things have been a little crazy here. Partly due to that, I decided to keep the gifts simple this year. Fun yet practical. This is the first installment of Christmas pillowcases! (Well, really the second....the first ones were here.)
This is all flannel from JAF on Black Friday. There is a matching pillowcase for the penguins in the front, and there are two more of the music notes with white trim. It pretty much became that adults are getting a matching set of pillowcases, and kids are getting single cases. Pillowcases are also a great way to wrap awkward gifts! (Or just any gift, especially if you are semi-wrapping-impaired....) The white and red tie-dye flannels are from my stash from my very first Black Friday flannel haul, and the black was in my stash from a recent purchase....or maybe last year's Black Friday? I can't remember.

Anyway, there are at least 3 more sets of pillowcases and at least five more single pillowcases to make. I'm cutting most of those tonight, although it is not crucial that they be done before Christmas. I tend to mail things a bit late....oops!

I am also making more corn bags and flannel covers. I'll have to finally put up some pictures when I finish these. The bags are long rectangles made of muslin, with serged edges, filled with dried feed corn. The flannel covers are simply long envelope style covers. You heat them up in the microwave for 2-3 minutes, then enjoy warmth on your feet/shoulders/whatever. I also made a few square ones with separate channels to fill with corn, which may be more useful for trying to do heat therapy on specific body parts, like knees. Not sure how those will compare....

Finally finished!

2010-12-05T15:29:00.000-08:00

My older son has a Didj, which has become a beloved possession. It frequently goes in the car with us, but until now, there has been no case for it. And so it gets carried, stuffed in backpacks, etc. The Didj itself has survived fairly well, but one of the game cartridges has been unfortunately lost, possibly never to be seen again. So I wanted to construct a padded case, preferably with a zippered closure, and zippered pockets for storing headphones and game cartridges. I suppose it might have been wise to also have room to take the recharger, but I decided that was just too bulky to go on smaller trips and would simply be put in an overnight bag for longer trips. My son picked a marble fabric from my stash, and I took the dimensions of his Didj, added some ease, and went to work.

I decided to skip a lining and just make my own quilted fabric, with two layers of Warm&Natural batting in between the cotton, for more protection. I quilted a large enough piece to allow for some shrinkage but still cut all my pieces from it afterward. After cutting each outer piece, I bound each edge in black nylon lycra. Then I cut the pocket pieces from non-quilted fabric and used black zippers from my stash.

So...from the side, showing the webbing straps (I thought that fabric straps looked too girly) and one of the zippered pockets.

And then the inside, showing the outer zipper and with the Didj inside. As you can see, either I over compensated with ease, or I screwed up some measurements, as there is definitely more than enough room inside for the Didj. Oh, well! I also put a zipper pull on for easier zipping/unzipping - just a small piece of black nylon lycra tied through the zipper pull.The only thing I don't like is that I should have rounded the edges of the main piece before binding it. Once I had the pieces sewn together, I had to trim the inner points to make the case look better. Otherwise, the points stuck out too much. So now I have those raw edges on the inside, which I was trying to avoid. Oh, well....so it's not perfect. If I ever make another one, I'll fix that.

The important thing is that it is almost exactly what I was after, and my son loves it. And now his game cartridges are all secure with his Didj!

November birthdays....

2010-12-05T15:13:00.000-08:00

November is a great month to have a birthday. My DH (fittingly) was born on Nov. 10, the Marine Corps birthday. I had intended to have another KS 2935 shirt ready for him, but it just wasn't happening. So instead, I (fittingly) bought him the BluRay boxed set of the HBO miniseries The Pacific. (It worked out to sort of be a birthday present for me, as well - I'm a Veteran's Day baby.) We've been watching that at night, and we just finished it the other night. Now we just have the Special Features disk to go.

My brother was born Nov. 13, and I have told him for years that he was the worst birthday present I ever received. :) Feel the love, right? Well, this year, instead of the traditional boxers or PJ pants, I decided it was time to make him a Hawaiian shirt. I found a loud rayon challis on sale at HF a few months ago, and I cut it out during my time in the lab (while waiting for stuff to finish so that I could do the next stuff). I have since discovered that rayon challis would benefit from starch, and that next time, I won't cut it out, wad it up in a bag, and let it sit for months before sewing. (I had to recut both collar pieces because they wouldn't fit the interfacing pieces.) Oh, well....he still loves the shirt and tells me that it'll be perfect for the office Christmas party at the bowling alley. This is KS 2935, size XL. It's not perfect, but it's pretty good, and more importantly, it's done!

My best friend from high school has been the recipient of many sets of scrubs. And she loves the Peanuts gang. So when I find Peanuts fabric on sale, I get at least enough to make her a scrub shirt. I don't remember where I got this fabric - maybe WM before they got rid of their fabric - but it was cut out for over a year before it was finished (it was supposed to be her birthday present last year - oops!). With the Hawaiian shirt also taking orange serger thread, I decided to finally finish this and get it out of the UFO box, just in time for her pre-birthday visit. Hooray! This is M9123, size S.

Halloween costumes and more!

2010-11-03T09:05:00.000-07:00

Things 1&2 gave me no help on Halloween planning until literally a week before Halloween. Argh! And then, they totally wouldn't fall in with my "Thing 1/Thing 2" costume idea. Bummer! Instead, Thing 1 wanted to be a penguin....again....but this year he definitely needed a new size. And Thing 2 decided he would be Batman. Obviously, I already had the penguin costume (S3639). I checked my records, and since I had made size child XS the last time, I decided to make size M this time. But since the hood runs small (or my child's head runs big), I made that a size L. Since I've made the costume before, there were really no surprises here. Although, looking at the picture, I'm not sure that he'll be able to wear this again next year, should he still be in love with penguins....

For Thing 2, I found S3595. He is 4, but the size 3 seemed to run big enough (except that the shirt was quite tight - maybe his potbelly is bigger than I thought, or maybe the fleece wasn't stretchy enough). I made a few changes - I didn't like the applique on it, so I substituted the Batman applique from Make Them Yourself's Reversible Cape. Much better! I also changed the mask to be a full face mask - it made it easier for me to get the effect my DH liked. For the cape, I added two small tabs with heavy duty magnets to fasten the cape, but it didn't work too well. I think the cape was just too long and heavy for the magnets, despite being such a thin interlock. I'll change it out for snaps later.

I also used scraps from a previous blanket to make a cat mat. This is simply two layers of fleece with two layers of batting sandwiched between, then bound with black fleece. We'll see if this is as popular with the kitties as simply curling up on the blankets tends to be!

And in the spirit of getting stuff out of the sewing room and making room on the shelves to get all my fabric off the floor, I made another fleece blanket as a Christmas present. I found this Bugs Bunny fleece on a clearance table and thought it'd be perfect for a friend whose husband loves Looney Tunes. (The backing is black, just like the binding.) Since the fleece is bulky, I took the time to make the blanket now. It's long enough to cover a twin bed with a few inches to spare, and it's the full width of the fleece. Great for snuggling under! Now it's in the gift closet, waiting for a trip in that direction.

Next up: November birthday presents....

Not much to see here....

2010-10-17T20:27:00.000-07:00

But I did get three flannel pillowcases done out of stash...Stash that's been around a few years, at that! And for a closer look at the fabric...

Those are for three sisters for Christmas. There was talk of getting musical prints, but then I looked at my shelves and said, "These things need to go first!" So that's what I cut...besides, flannel pillowcases are really nice in winter.

And then I started in on this project:

Scary, isn't it? I tore apart my sewing room to Get Rid of Stuff I Don't Need. Which in turn led me to find UFOs so old I'd forgotten I ever had them! Like this:

Which is being made out of this:

And since it's so cool and is going so well, and since I already had all the strips cut out, I figured it'd be a good "in front of the TV" project. So this one can stay. Two other crochet projects are so close to being finished that I'm keeping them, too. But all the others are going to more worthy finishers. When possible, I'm including the pattern with the project so that someone else can make an informed decision about finishing versus ripping. But really, that's just up to them. Because I can't go on with this giant mess!

Summer PJs, just in time for cooler weather....

2010-09-19T14:08:00.001-07:00

Yeah, I know, this is totally lame. But my boys needed summer jammies, and I was trying to use stuff from stash. So last May, I cut these out right after making the "Planets" jammies. I went through my stash for short lengths of flannel, and I chose this for Thing 2, with the shirt from leftovers of the planets shirts. I think I'd had this remnant in my stash for two years or more....The shirt is T3, with 2 inches added in length, and the shorts are T4, both from KS SFT. These were actually finished back in June and have been in use since. For Thing 1, I chose this pirate ship flannel that I love, and a coordinating black interlock. The shirt is size S from KS 3043, and the shorts are size S from KS SFC. These were finally finished last night, just in time for a movie night....

Both have appliques on the shirt to tie the shirt in to the shorts. I like them that way, and so do my boys. (This way, it'll also be more clear to the husband that a shirt is a PJ shirt, should he ever help fold the laundry....)

Luggage Tags!

2010-08-25T20:34:00.000-07:00

So I've seen various free patterns to make luggage tags and always thought they were neat and would make great Christmas gifts. I saw these a long time ago and thought they looked fast, easy, and cute, but there that idea sat. (I've always got more gift ideas than time, don't you?)

But then I saw these! I really liked the privacy flap idea. After all, who wants everyone in the airport getting your contact info while you wait for a flight? I figured these would be more useful, and they also looked easy. And then I remembered that I'm going on a trip to a conference shortly, and I could actually use these! Of course, I can't just cut out ones for myself - that's no fun! So I cut out eight luggage tags, but I've only made two so far. Naturally. Because I'm still supposed to be studying. :( But I needed two, so I made two. These are my prototypes, because there's a definite (thought small) learning curve. As I figure out over the next days whether I'll have any checked baggage, I may need to make another. But that's okay. They didn't take too long.

Dribs and drabs....

2010-08-12T06:04:00.000-07:00

So I changed the serger thread to brown, to make my new chocolate brown scrub pants. But of course you can't sew just one thing at a time! Or at least I can't....so here were the tag-alongs! One pair of pirate print cotton pants for Thing 1 - these are KS3042, size S, cut out sometime last year (winter, I think). They should still fit for school this fall. I love the print, so hopefully he will enjoy wearing them. As usual, they have slash pockets and a pocket bag from a contrasting color of broadcloth.

Then there is another pair of cargo shorts for Thing 1, from a chocolate brown twill that was on sale recently at JAF. This is B3475 again, but this time I took another inch off the hem. He thinks that it is about perfect now.

And finally, a pair of shorts for Thing 2 out of the leftover brown twill. Taking that last inch off the cargo shorts made it possible to cut this pair of shorts, and Thing 2 is very happy with his new shorts with blue pocket bags. These are KS SFT size 4T.
And then, of course, my chocolate brown scrub pants - M9359, size M, with my now standard modifications. I think these may be my favorite so far....

More bits and pieces....

2010-07-27T20:19:00.000-07:00

Can you believe that until yesterday, I had exactly one pair of cut-offs? Shocking! And I love wearing them, despite the fact that I need to darn the holes in them, and despite the fact that they're looking ratty. They've been well-loved. This weekend, I found an old pair of jeans that were still in great shape, and that actually fit reasonably well. (I'll have to wear a belt with them, I'm sure, but I can live with that.) Time for a new pair of cut-offs!

However, I really didn't want them to get ratty too fast. I thought about using bias tape or hem facings, but I didn't think of it before I cut them, and I didn't want to lose any more length. Instead, I decided to try binding the edges with swimsuit fabric. I had an understated black/white rose print that I thought would be perfect. And it was! I can't wait to wear them.

I also finally finished the other Patrick Curved Raglan Seam shirts for Things 1&2. I've had these cut out for months and decided to leave off the long sleeves. We'll see how well the boys like these, but they love dinosaurs, so I think they'll be a big hit. The dino fabric is a jersey I bought from a coop years ago, the browns are interlock and ribbing from JAF.

I also finished a pair of khaki scrub pants - no pics yet, as they went straight into the wash to get the spray adhesive out of the cargo pocket. Next up: a pair of chocolate brown scrub pants for me and a pair of dark brown cargo shorts for Thing 1. After that, more scrubs, I think....

Odds and Ends

2010-07-25T10:14:00.000-07:00

First up, finished items! As I am transitioning into surgery four days a week at an animal shelter, I have a need for more scrubs. I finished a shirt (M9123) using a cotton print I bought at least five years ago at a WM in Mississippi, planning to use it for a friend. Well, now I decided it was here and would be used by me! I have already worn it to work once and was asked where I buy my scrubs. ;) For this, I also used the bound neckline and pattern-matched the upper pocket. I have decided for the moment that I don't really need the lower pockets for surgery, so I'm leaving them off. Instead, an upper pocket for a pen and a cargo pocket on the pants for a cell phone, and I'm good to go.

Next, the second pair of solid shorts for Thing 1. I bought a khaki twill on sale at JAF and used B3475 again. This time, I shortened the pattern by two inches. I think I will shorten it another inch on the next pair. I didn't shorten the pockets or alter the placement, but I think I need to raise the placement a little for the next pair, so that the pockets aren't below the hem.

I lined the pocket flap again. I am a little annoyed with myself, because I didn't look at the previous pair to see how I did the stitching. On the previous pair, I echoed the double topstitching on both pocket and flap, but this time, I did single topstitching on the flap. I definitely don't think that this pair looks as good. Oh, well....next time.And what's to come? Well, I'm currently working on inventing a padded case for Thing 1's Didj. He really likes playing with it but has no case in which to store it or the games. We just discovered that he has lost one game in the last several months, so I upped this in the priority list. So far, I have quilted the fabric with two layers of Warm&Natural batting in between and bound all the raw edges of the pieces with black swimsuit fabric, as I am not lining it. I plan to install a zipper in the main compartment, and I am adding a zippered pocket to each side, for storing games and headphones. I hope to finish it today.

I also found a blog tutorial for making toy sacks with clear plastic windows, to see what toys are inside. Eureka! This may be the thing for attempting to contain all the toys on the toy table. I've got two sacks cut out and in the process of being made. I have a bunch more planned, too. I'm using prints from my stash for the outside and solid broadcloth for the lining. I even had tablecloth vinyl in my stash already! I am so convinced that this will go well, that I bought more solid broadcloth on sale at JAF this week. But the two in progress are completely from stash, and I'm making both at once because I'm using the same lining and thus can use the same color thread for topstitching. I'm okay with some assembly-line work.

Otherwise, there's more scrubs in the line-up, so hopefully I'll have a new top and pants to wear to work this week.

Shorts for the Things

2010-07-18T20:25:00.001-07:00

The Things have very few solid colored shorts, which is bad when I like to make them print T-shirts. So I decided it was time to do something about that, especially since I'm starting to make the button-front shirts and they'll need something to wear with those. Thing 1 possibly has the greater need, since no one expects a four-year-old to match anything, right? So I decided to try the shorts pattern in B3475, but they looked awfully long. Still, I made size 4 as is, to see how they would turn out. After all, I see a lot of kids at Thing 1's school wearing long shorts, so apparently it's the style.

I used a greyish stretch twill/denim that I bought at WM a few years ago. It seemed kind of boring, so I used bright green to topstitch. Just for fun.

There are cargo pockets on both sides, so I didn't see the need to add slash pockets.

And I decided to line the pocket flaps to make them look better. For these, I used a leftover bit of a fish pucker print. (This became summer shorts for both Things two summers ago.) I think it's a nice touch.

I had intended to make Thing 2 a similar pair in a size 2, but my fabric piece wasn't large enough to cut out both pairs. Instead, I cut another pair of KS SFT shorts in size T4. I also used green thread for topstitching these, and the pocket bags are a solid green.

A little Bugs Bunny

2010-07-17T08:11:00.001-07:00

This is the Bugs Bunny scrub shirt I sewed for a friend's husband. He found the print, but there wasn't enough for what the pattern needed. So I asked how they felt about using a coordinating grey cotton to make up the difference, and they thought that'd be okay. It still posed some problems. I used the grey to do a bias bound neckline and add a contrast band to the chest pocket, mostly to tie it together, and I added a band at the bottom with the grey. The problem still lies in the fact that he likes lots of pockets, and I couldn't figure out how to do lower pockets. I don't have enough of the Bugs Bunny left to make full-size pockets, and I don't think it would look right, anyway, since they'd be partly on the grey band. I think that pockets that were grey at the bottom and Bugs Bunny for the rest would look weird. And if I just made the pockets from the edge of the Bugs Bunny up, they'd be too small to be useful. So I chickened out and sent it as is, with a note to let me know how they wanted the pockets, if he really needed them. Nothing like passing the buck. ;)

Of last weekend's pile, I have now finished the new scrub shirt for me - the dogs in carriers print. I'll get photos when it's out of the wash. The two Patrick Curved Raglan Seam shirts just need neckbands to be done. The alien shirt needs hems and buttonholes, and the dinosaur shirt needs the same plus sideseams. I'm also about to cut out two more pairs of scrub pants and another scrub shirt, as I'll be wearing scrubs at least four days a week, starting next week, and I definitely don't have enough, without doing laundry every other day. Hopefully those will work up fast.

New stuff....

2010-07-12T16:24:00.000-07:00

So the last time I was at Hobby Lobby, I saw that cotton prints were 30% off, and I found another Robert Kaufman Army print that I liked, so I bought it to make boxers for my dad, with the vague thought of getting them done for Father's Day. Clearly, that did not happen - mainly because I decided that I just had other priorities for Father's Day....such as my husband's new shirt. But these have been done for a week or so, and I just realized that I never showed them off! (S9958, size L)

And here is the pile that was my weekend intentions....which didn't get done, of course! From left to right: 2 Patrick Curved Raglan Seam shirts (one for each Thing), green scrub pants, fabric for a scrub shirt, Thing 1's new shirt, and Thing 2's new shirt.
But at least I finished the scrub pants! This is M9359, size M. Minimal alterations - I skipped the inseam pockets, added a cargo pocket to the right leg for my cell phone or anything else that seems necessary, and used 1/2-inch twill tape for a drawstring instead of elastic and self-fabric. The cargo pocket has a finished size of 7.25 inches wide by 8 inches deep. I placed it with the intent of the top being 12 inches below the top of the waist casing, but I forgot that the casing was for a 1/2-inch drawstring rather than an inch wide elastic. So the pocket is a bit lower than I had wanted. I will wear this another time or two before making the next ones to decide on a better placement.

I made these from symphony broadcloth (JAF) and wore them the day after I finished them. I was concerned that the fabric might be too thin and possibly see-through, but this color at least did not have that problem. It will be interesting to see how well it holds up to repeated washings, but at least for the first wearing, it seems thin enough to be cool in a warm surgery suite but not too thin to be useful. I bought a second color at the same time, so I will definitely make it up soon, and as long as it also wears well, I'll be buying more later on.

Friday Musings....

2010-07-02T09:19:00.000-07:00

No pictures today. I finished another scrub shirt, but that will be its own post once I download the picture. And I'm down to hems and waist on a pair of boxers, so that, too, should be coming over the weekend. I cut out another shirt for DH - this time back to the earlier weight of broadcloth. He still hasn't worn the new grey shirt, so I don't know how he'll like that weight, but I know that he likes the weight of the navy one I made during the winter, because he wears it all the time! ;) This one will be burgundy, however, and it will have the buttons that were supposed to be on the navy one - oops!

Otherwise, I'm hoping to get back to work on the next size prototype shirts for the Things. That's getting a bit ridiculous, especially if I'm ever going to actually sew the dragon shirts. So hopefully those next ones will be done this weekend, maybe in time for the Fourth of July party we're going to. And I have a bunch of luggage tags to sew - all the interfacing is already fused, so it should be ready to go. And I cut out another scrub shirt for my friend's husband, but I don't want to start it until I get feedback on the one I just mailed. I used the new neckline binding, and I want to know how he likes that before I do the next one in the same way.

That's about it for now!

Pictures! I finished something!

2010-06-23T17:52:00.000-07:00

So just in time for Father's Day dinner (yes, I know I cut it close), I finished this new shirt. For those who are counting, it's The Shirt #4/"Real" Shirt #3. (I say "real" shirt, because DH won't wear the muslin. On the other hand, that crazy loud shirt does a great job of residing in the sewing room to serve as a memory aid for subsequent shirts.)

Here it is in all its grey glory. I used a "cotton blend broadcloth" from Fabric.com, which is a lighter-weight than the previously used broadcloths. I wasn't sure about it, but thought it was worth a try. The seams look very slightly puckered, but otherwise it seems fine, and the test run through the wash revealed that it might not be as prone to wrinkling. And this weight may actually be perfect for summer!

To celebrate finishing the shirt and being off the hook for "important sewing," I decided it was time to finally work on a project I've been considering for awhile and gathered supplies for a few weeks ago: a belt for me! I really don't like the one belt I have, but it was the only one I saw while belt-shopping that I didn't HATE. So....I've been stuck with it. And I have a few pairs of jeans which require a belt. So, without further ado, I present to you my paw-print belt:

I took 1-inch white cotton webbing, fused satin ribbon to one side, extending about five inches to the back side at one end and about eighteen inches to the back side on the other end, then stitched the ribbon down. I then threaded one end (the 5-inch on the back end) through both D-rings and then stitched that end down. Now I have a perfectly adjustable, cute belt to wear to work or wherever. One of my vet friends wants one for herself, and I'm getting excited about finding fun prints to make other belts to coordinate with outfits! These are going to be great Christmas gifts, too!

Nothing to report....

2010-06-17T08:38:00.000-07:00

No pictures today, as I have nothing completed and didn't take any "in progress" pictures. I haven't been sewing lately, as I've been sick. Also, I've been trying to work on my research project and start writing my thesis. Lovely.

I have cut out some luggage tags, using this free pattern/tutorial. I have high hopes! These will be gifts, though I will likely keep one or two for use on my next big trip. ;)

I also cut out the next shirt for DH. It is a silver/grey, and he picked out buttons that look somewhat like pewter. I'm hoping to have it done for Father's Day. We'll see...the whole "sick" stuff hasn't been helping. But I'm not on call this weekend, so we have the possibility.

On Memorial Day, thank you....

2010-05-31T15:22:00.000-07:00

To all those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom - thank you, from a grateful nation.

Some boy stuff

2010-05-27T07:09:00.001-07:00

First up, new PJs. Yeah, I know - it's warm weather and these are not. Tough. They may still fit in the fall, but also, sometimes the boys like wearing warm jammies in the cool AC. I bought the fabric at JAF during a sale on both Snuggle flannel and Sew Classics Knits. I just needed a little retail therapy that day, and Thing 2 especially needs new PJs. I have a decent flannel PJ shirt pattern for Thing 1, but not for Thing 2, so I decided that a solid knit with a fabric applique would do nicely and make it obvious that the items went together.

The pants are KS 3042, size S, and the shirt is KS 2894, size S. I added cuffs because it is PJ shirt. Thing 1 chose the applique for the shirt.

This is KS SFT, size 3T for both. I added two inches in length to the body and sleeves for the shirt, so it should last a long time. Thing 2 also chose his appliques. I used self-fabric for ribbing on both shirts. I simply cut a quarter yard piece off the length before prewashing and put it away for use as ribbing.

This is Fishsticks Designs Patrick Curved Raglan Shirt, sizes 3T and 5T. I cut these out long enough ago that they were supposed to be long-sleeved, but when actually stitching them, I decided to leave off the undersleeves, as I don't necessarily expect these to last into fall. The knits are both thin, so they should be good summer/early fall shirts. I used the tutorial to add a hood to each (since they were supposed to be made much earlier - oops!), and I really like how they turned out.

Also, because these knits were not necessarily behaving nicely, I decided to heavily starch them after I had cut the pieces out. So I made starch in a five gallon bucket and starched each piece by hand, soaking them, wringing them out, and then spreading them on towels to dry. Once they were dry, I pinned and pressed the hems up. I have to say that it made twin-needling the hems almost painless. I will definitely do this again! I didn't starch the hood pieces, because those were being serged together, not hemmed.

I like the hood size on Thing 2 - not huge and floppy, but not tight. I'll have to see how the larger size is when Thing 1 tries his on.

Up next: working on the next sizes of the button-front shirts and maybe pulling out the other Patrick shirts I cut out at the same time as the train ones. These are not hooded and will also be turned into short sleeves.

The weekend's progress....

2010-05-23T20:29:00.001-07:00

The scrub jacket is as done as I can make it right now.
As you can see, it is missing its cuffs, but that's because I need to find appropriate colored ribbing for it. I actually purchased some dark pink (fuschia, maybe?) ribbing over the weekend, but The Husband wisely pointed out that it would cause the cuffs to draw the eye, instead of blending in. So instead, I'm on the hunt for some pale pink ribbing, to match the background. I have time - this is a Christmas gift.

And I finished the new lightweight summer pants for the boys. I had just bought the fabric this month, so I'm pretty pleased that it went as intended and didn't become stash. And they are happy with their new pants! This is KS 3042, size S, for Thing 1 and KS SFT, size T3, for Thing 2. Both sizes give a little growth room, still.

And while I am currently working on the new PJs - planets flannel and green interlock - I remembered the project that had been shelved ages ago, waiting for more stuff to serge with green thread. These are Patrick Curved Raglan shirts from Fishsticks Designs. I cut these out so long ago that they were intended to be long-sleeved. I decided to keep the hoods (very thin knit) but eliminate the undersleeves to make these more warm weather friendly. The sleeves have been attached but not topstitched, and the hoods have been constructed. Tomorrow night (I hope!) I will sew up the side seams and attach the hoods. Then they'll be ready to wear!Hmm...forgot a scrub shirt that has been cut out for ages, which was supposed to be finally made when green thread was on the serger. Guess I'll have to pull that out. I'm sure that nothing has been interfaced. We'll see what I do tomorrow night.

The new PJ pants are done, and the shirts are mostly done. Left to do: hem the lengths and applique planets to them. Then they need a run through the wash prior to wearing. That's okay - the train shirts will also need to go through the wash, as the pieces were heavily starched to make them behave better for the hemming.

Yep, another scrub shirt....

2010-05-21T07:27:00.001-07:00

Since I was working on the horse scrub shirt for my stressed out friend, I figured that I might as well do two at a time, and I cut out this shirt for another friend. (This, however, really will be kept for the going away time.) Despite doing a food animal internship, this friend is truly a Dog Vet, and in fact I nicknamed her the Dog Vet Intern in my short-lived facebook journal of my adventures. So I thought this fabric would be especially appropriate. (The fabric was originally purchased to be a scrub shirt for our technician, who deals with a lot of the dog breeding, but I can't figure out - without asking, which embarrasses me - whether she doesn't wear the skull scrub shirt I made her because she doesn't like it or because it's the wrong size, so I wasn't going to make another.) Personally, I thought the fabric was kind of hideous in the flat stage, but it's kind of grown on me since it became a scrub shirt. I hope that she will like it!
Again, the neckline is from Kadiddlehopper's tutorial, and I dare you to find the upper pocket. :)

Up next? Still finishing the scrub jacket for my friend - that one just needs hems and cuffs, but I haven't yet gotten cuff fabric - the next sizes of shirts for the monsters, new monster PJs, and new summer pants. I think that's all that I've cut out so far....

A new way to make a scrub shirt....

2010-05-19T19:30:00.000-07:00

I have a friend who had a very stressful surgery on Saturday, so I decided that she needed a new scrub shirt to cheer her up. I had just the print in my stash, so I whipped it up Sunday and presented it to her Monday morning, much to her surprise! I used Katie Kadiddlehopper's tutorial for making a "Bound Neckline on Scrubs" and think it looks really nice!

And I totally pattern-matched the pocket:And here's what the whole thing looks like! She loves it and wore it the next day. Nothing more gratifying than that, is there? No question of whether she liked it. :)

I have another scrub shirt coming up, and I just cut out the next shirt sizes for Things 1&2. We'll see how quickly those work up. And DH is going to get his next shirt soon, too. I think this one will be grey.

Second monster shirt!

2010-05-17T18:34:00.000-07:00

This size 2 shirt fits almost 4-year-old DS#2 pretty well. I think he even has some growth room! Still, since I need to make another prototype for DS#1, I will make the size 3 for DS#2 and compare the two fits before cutting the dragon fabric. This shirt was also made the same way as the airplane shirt, substituting black bias tape for white. DS#2 loves it - told me it was "cool" and "awesome" - and I have to say that it looks pretty good on him! I did use 4 buttons instead of 3, because I have no delusions that these shirts will ever be tucked in. :)

Birthday shirt!

2010-05-17T18:31:00.001-07:00

I made my boy a shirt! And it (mostly!) fits. And he likes it. A good deal all around, though I will admit to wishing I'd used a pattern with a back yoke, so that I could more easily enclose the raw seams of the collar. Oh, well - I made it work. The inner facings are finished with bias tape (white), and the armhole seams are as well. The shoulders and side seams are french seams, so there are no raw seams in this garment. Woohoo!

Unfortunately, it is bordering on too small, so the next attempt will not yet be the dragon fabric. Instead, I'll try size 5 in another stash fabric that DS#1 picked out.

Next up!

2010-05-02T15:03:00.001-07:00

So I'm working on the shirts for the boys, but instead of using the dragon fabric, I'm testing the pattern/sizing out with fabric that I can get more of (instead of the dragon fabric that was the last on the bolt....). So DS#1 is getting airplane fabric, and DS#2 is getting wild guitar fabric. (I liked both, bought both without boys in tow, and then let DS#1 take first pick because his birthday is next week.)

Pictures to follow, and hopefully I can at least get the airplanes one done by Thursday!

Scrub shirt marathon complete....

2010-05-01T13:06:00.000-07:00

Well, mostly, anyway. Though technically, the other scrub item I was working on was a scrub jacket, so the scrub shirt marathon is complete. But I digress....First up, the masterpiece, the Beatles scrub shirt!

I think it turned out really well. And check out the awesomeness that it the matched pocket! Unfortunately, I didn't realize that the pocket was standing slightly away from the shirt when I took the picture, so this doesn't do it justice. From a small distance, you really can't see the pocket.My friend was super excited to get it - not the least because she had given up that I'd ever actually make it. She was thinking that the fabric would be willed back to her. :) It was a great surprise.

Next up, Taz, for my friend's husband:

Then Suzy's Zoo, for my mom:

Followed by McDs, for my friend. This one will probably go into the mail Monday as a Nurses' Day gift. It'll make her laugh. :)

All the scrub shirts are M9123, except Taz, which is M2834 (same thing, but bigger size).

Still here....

2010-04-24T04:17:00.000-07:00

So I've been plugging away, but I'm still suffering from lack of consistent sewing mojo. So there's nothing completed to show. Still, I have in progress works as well as the "up next" contender. First, the "in progress":
I have four scrub shirts and a scrub jacket in the mix. This picture only shows the shirts - the Beatles shirt is for a friend who's a Beatles fanatic. I've had the fabric for a year, and I just haven't made the time to sew it up. Now it will be a belated birthday gift for her. And by the way, check out the upper left pocket on it - oh, wait! It's almost invisible! Woohoo! The Suzy's Zoo scrub shirt has been in stash and cut out for, oh, about two years. Oops - time to sew it up! And the McDs fabric is for my nurse friend, who worked at McDs for years. I bought the fabric a few years ago, I think, but it was forgotten in the dim recesses of my stash. And then the Taz fabric is for my friend's husband, who is an ICU nurse and a Looney Tunes fanatic. He picked out the fabric, and I am sewing it up.

This will be my next project, post-scrubs. My boys LOVED How to Train Your Dragon. (We saw it as part of our mini-Spring Break celebration.) So consequently they loved this dragon fabric. I usually make them pants out of goofy character fabric, but for a change, I'm going to try button-up shirts for both. For this incarnation, I'm planning to use B3475. We'll see how that goes. I think that a size 2 and a size 4 should take care of my little guys. For future incarnations, I may try either S3852 or S4207. I like the idea of a yoke better than a non-yoke, but I'd still like to try the Butterick one first. Hopefully I'll have something finished to show this weekend....

New fleece blankets!

2010-04-14T04:09:00.001-07:00

Yes, I know that it's April. But these have been waiting for quite awhile to be finished. Besides, we've been leaving the windows open, and it's still chilly at night! Now the boys will have two fleece blankets each, which means that there's always one available. And they're good for snuggling up in front of the TV, too.
An insects (mostly spiders) fleece I found on clearance at JAF. I bought all that they had! It is backed and bound with the same red fleece.

A robots and aliens fleece I found on sale at HF. This one is also backed and bound with the same red fleece. These are definitely warm and snuggly, and they were easy to make.

Catching up

2010-04-03T07:50:00.000-07:00

Haven't been sewing much lately - my mojo seems to be slacking, and my work load has heated up. I do have some things in the works. Several scrub shirts, a scrub jacket, two fleece blankets - I just need time and inclination to finish them. Unfortunately, while I have tons of time on my hands this weekend, I'm the show vet at a horse show and can't leave the grounds. And there's nowhere to bring my sewing machine. Oh, well...

But I did finish these jogging suits, though I forgot to post pictures. I ended up putting red snaps on one and blue snaps on the other. I think they turned out very well. The first one was sent out as the baby present, and the mom seemed to really like it.

New jammies

2010-03-10T17:54:00.000-08:00

Nothing much to show here, except finally the pic of DS#2's latest jammies. He loves these and wears them often. And since he's suddenly anti-"jammies with feet," perhaps I need to make another pair or two. Hmmm....

I'm almost done with the two new boy baby jogging suits, so hopefully I'll have pictures to post after tonight...we'll see...time and sewing mojo have not been here together lately.

Baby project

2010-02-24T07:18:00.000-08:00

I just realized that this project never made it onto the blog! Even though the items were mailed/given out in early January....Anyway, my cousin had a baby girl back in October, and a client's wife was due around New Year's with a baby girl. I was able to kill two birds with one stone when I realized that the girly interlock print I had bought awhile ago was enough to cut two baby jogging suits! They took barely any time to make up, and they turned out so cute!
The pattern is KS SFB - the knit pants with cuffs and the snapped jacket. The pattern goes together really easily, and it can work well for either boys or girls. (The instructions do remind you that the fronts overlap differently depending on gender.) The pants are basically the same as the ones I make all the time for DS#2 - crotch seams, inseam, plus cuffs for babies. And the raglan sleeved jacket is just a few seams and then ribbing.

This is a 3-6 month size. I figured that they get plenty of cutesy newborn clothes at showers, so I would make something that would be useful a little later on. Besides, I knew that the odds of my finishing and getting these out before the babies' births was not likely! :) (Actually, I had started these when my serger decided to get sick and have to be hospitalized, so it was good that I'd cut a larger size.) I did actually finish just after the second baby was born, so that wasn't too bad.

I used cotton/lycra ribbing - the pink was purchased to coordinate with this print, and the yellow was in my stash. Good thing, because I didn't have quite enough pink to do the second suit! And I used SnapSource snaps and my SnapSource snap setter. I love that thing!

Nothing new to show...yet....

2010-02-24T07:09:00.001-08:00

I'm cranking along, but didn't download the latest picture yet. Inspired by the success of my thermal PJs, I cut and sewed another raglan sleeve PJ set for DS#2 - this time in a cotton interlock that I've had now for about a year or so (the firetruck interlock from a retail therapy session). He loves them! I pulled them out the other night when he woke up at 4 am with a wet bed. Figured he'd need something to cheer him up before he went back to bed. These are another size T3 from KS SFT, but I added two inches in length to the body and sleeves of the shirt. That should make them wearable for much longer. The size T2 jammies now no longer cover his belly, though they still fit otherwise. :)

I also have some baby gifts in the works. A former student had a baby boy a few weeks ago, and so I wanted to make another baby jogging suit. This, of course, will be in a boy fabric (the baseball interlock from the same retail therapy session). Once again, I've cut the 3-6 month size (I like that option, plus I have it already traced and ready to go), and I also cut two out again. I can either give the second one to a friend at church or hold onto it as baby gift stash. We'll see...This will be made with white ribbing and I don't yet know about snap color. I'll see what looks best. I hope to have the set finished tonight.

I also have about half a dozen pairs of underwear cut out for DS#2, so hopefully I'll get those started tonight. I'm again using the That*Darn*Kat undies pattern. I just grabbed knit remnants and started cutting, so we'll see what they end up looking like. :) All will have either black or white ribbing, because I didn't want to go to the store to buy other colors. I'm trying to cut down on my stash - not add to it!

Finally hemmed the thermal knits (among other things)....

2010-02-20T18:10:00.000-08:00

So I forget how long the thermal knit jammies have been languishing in the land of "Mostly Done," but let's just go with - "it's been awhile." Probably at least a month. I was trying out liquid starch for stiffening some thin knits that are going to become new Patrick raglan seam shirts, so I decided to try it on these as well. I think it really helped! I had no troubles with the waist elastic, and I think that the shirt hems also behaved pretty well. Of course, everything is always helped by a final wash and dry, and these were no exception. They made their PJ debut last night, when we went to the grade school for a PJs and movie night. (Btw, I heartily recommend Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.) A definite hit! They fit well, with some growth room, and the boys love them. The smaller one is from KS SFT (size T3), and the larger is KS 2275 for the pants (size 5) and KS 2894 for the shirt (size S). Four yards out of stash - yay!

My dad's birthday was last month, and he is former Army. I had gotten this Robert Kaufman fabric from a coop, and I used it with S9958 for a pair of boxers for him (size L).

And for a bit of instant gratification, I bought this flannel fabric on sale at JAF last weekend and cut and sewed the pillowcases yesterday morning. The boys were able to take their new pillowcases (and pillows) to the PJs and movie night, as well as wearing their new shark jammies! These definitely went over well. (With me, too - I loved the silly monsters print but had no real reason to buy it!)

Catching up....

2010-02-17T04:40:00.000-08:00

So once again, I've finally finished a few things. I'm not exactly speedy thus far this year, but I am amazingly ahead on stash parity (keeping in mind that I start again at zero on Jan. 1st - so yes, I'm still way behind on what's on the shelves).

A new scrub hat for my favorite recent grad, who loves the Indianopolis Colts and was horribly disappointed in the Super Bowl. This should cheer her up a bit! I've had the fabric for over a year, so it was definitely time to sew it up!

A new shirt for DH! This is the first of four fabrics I purchased before Christmas. The idea was to get at least one done for Christmas, but, well....you can see how well that went. At any rate, he likes it and says I did a really good job. (Though I really should have ironed it before taking the pic!) I believe it's getting its maiden wearing on his trip to Hawaii this week...And I tried out the Pro-Weft fusible interfacing from Fashion Sewing Supply. I really liked it! We'll see what DH thinks after wearing the shirt....And at long last, DS#2's double-layer fleece blanket. This is almost embarrassing - I cut the fleece and zigzagged the main part together around Christmas, and it's been waiting this whole time for me to simply join the binding strips and bind the darn thing. He is thrilled, and now his brother wants a new blanket. :) Since it's cold these days (and really cold in our house at night!), they might both get a second double-layer fleece blanket. I have a spider fleece and a robot fleece. Just need to get backing and binding fleece and I'm good to go.

This and that....

2010-02-04T08:11:00.000-08:00

I have finished a few more things lately - yet another pair of flannel PJ pants (a birthday present this time), as well as several fleece hats. I'll review those later, since the photos are not on this computer.

My current projects are accumulating! There is The Shirt #3, a solid navy broadcloth blend, which only lacks final hems, buttonholes, and buttons. I plan to finish that tonight. (Mainly because I want to cut out The Shirt #4 and hopefully have it done by the time DH leaves for Hawaii on Valentine's Day.

There are the shark thermal knit PJs for the Things, which lack hems, waistband elastic, and cuffs/neckbands. I'm a little afraid of stretching out the hems, which has contributed to sewing paralysis.

There is a scrub cap for my Indianapolis Colts-loving buddy. I should have gotten that done well before the Super Bowl, but, you know? She'll still love it. And it can go into the package with the dog booties and assorted reading material. And maybe Chex mix...

There is a pair of boxers for my dad's birthday. He is former Army, and this is a Robert Kaufman Army print. I think he'll really like them! I hope...

There is a double-layer fleece blanket for Thing 2. I just need to sew the binding together and then sew it on. I really should do that this weekend. It doesn't require much time or the serger...And then Thing 2 will have more warm options for sleeping time.

And I also cut out a Snoopy Valentine's scrub jacket for my friend, and seven or so pairs of underwear for Thing 2. So it's time to get cracking! We'll see how things go this weekend....

Still plugging away...

2010-01-16T05:51:00.000-08:00

First up, not a Christmas present!

These are my new PJ pants. I figured that while I was making some for gifts, I might as well add to my collection! (And coming soon, I'll start working on more PJ shirts to coordinate.) I again used my trusty TNT M3006, and I added cuffs at the bottom, but this time I also added bias tape around the top of the cuffs, as unfilled piping. I think it sets them off a little, though my husband thinks they look goofy. Oh, well...

Next, a Christmas present that has already made it to its recipient! These are monogrammed stone coasters, using the tutorial at The Domestic Notebook. I love these! They were quite inexpensive, as well as really easy. And quick, too! These are two of the set I made for one friend. I made six for her, as well as for my grandmother, twelve for another friend (who has six children), and eight for another friend (who hosts church game nights). And I enjoyed it so much that I bought more stones to paint. I think I spent $25-30 in the initial supplies (I bought two of the large stamps, the ink, and a set of alphabet stamps - all on sale) and my first sets of stones. That's quite reasonable, especially since the ink will last a very long time and the stamps of course practically forever! I found some alphabet stamps that I think I like better, but I don't yet like them better enough to buy a new set. :) Just waiting for a good sale.

And finally, for my friend who is coming to visit this weekend, I finally cut out and sewed up her new scrub jacket. This is pattern M9652 in a size S. It's quite large, however - these scrub jacket patterns are designed with a lot of ease. I made several muslins in ugly fabric a few years ago, to determine the fit for her. Now I just pull out the trusty pattern and cut. :) I made a lot of these jackets for her in 2006 and 2007, but this is the first time I've made her a new one since. She's going to love it, as she loves most patriotic stuff. (And I have more of this fabric to give her as a present, so she can decide what else she wants with it.) I'd forgotten how easy the pattern is to make up, which is good, because I have two or three more fabrics to sew up in the near future. I don't make many alterations - removed some length to add ribbed cuffs, and either use no closures or use snaps.

More Christmas gifts....

2010-01-10T16:57:00.000-08:00

Yep, still finishing Christmas gifts that get mailed out. I did get three boxes mailed the other day, and it felt good! And can I just say that I'm now a huge fan of printing my shipping labels off from www.usps.com? I'm not real thrilled with how the post office keeps raising rates, so it's nice to save $0.50-$1.00 per package (at least, that was the difference with the size/weight box I mailed), plus getting a free delivery confirmation instead of paying $0.70 for that. Plus, I just waltzed into the post office, set my boxes on the counter, and waltzed back out. Nice! (Yes, I know that I could have scheduled a pickup from home, but it worked out better this way for this round. Next time I'll have them picked up from the front porch swing.)

On to the finished items:

Once again, my go-to PJ pants pattern (M3006). This time, instead of cuffs, I sewed grosgrain ribbon around the legs about 3.5 inches from the bottom before sewing the inseams, then simply hemmed them once done. I used the same ribbon for a drawstring, and I also used a small piece of it for the "tag" in the back. I think they turned out cute.

Christmas Looney Tunes boxers for a Looney Tunes fanatic - my usual boxer pattern (S9958), no changes.

The PJ pants on the left are for a set for Thing 2, but the two on the right are Christmas presents for a friend's two boys. All are the KS SFT side seam pants pattern - the two on the left are T3 and the polar bear pair on the right are T4.

And finally a pillowcase from a Tinkerbell flannel-back satin I bought a few years ago (specifically for this - I can't believe how long it took to get my butt in gear and sew it!) with a coordinating Tinkerbell satin ribbon. Not my thing, but the recipient should love it!

Christmas gifts

2010-01-02T14:08:00.000-08:00

Sad but true - my Christmas gifts came down to the wire, and I confess that they're still not quite done. Oh, well.....I had everything done that was necessary for in person, and Christmas gifts that come late in the mail are always fun, right?

Things have been slow lately, because I was dealing with the class from *$#&!!! Also, my serger was on the blink for awhile. My output slowed down dramatically while I was waiting for my baby to come back from the shop. But come back it did, and then I was able to get back into the swing of things!

First up, the shark shirts from the Patrick Curved Raglan Seam pattern. My boys have been waiting on these for a long time, but I couldn't finish them without the serger. Now they're done, and each shirt has been worn at least twice in the last week! :) These are the same sizes as before (3T and 5T), but this time, I used 1/4" seam allowances. I am planning to compare the size 5T to the "big kid" sizes and maybe move up to the next size for the next shirt. I'd also like to try the hoodie instructions.

This is my go-to PJ pants pattern, and I liked the addition of the contrast cuffs so much on my wolf PJ pants that I did it again for these. And I used black bias tape for the drawstring. I think my friend will like these!

I finally finished the stack of cloth napkins for my friend. Those got sent out to her early so that she could use them. Hopefully she likes them! These were cut out of some flannel sheets I got from freecycle. I also have a bunch of fabric to use to make her some more. The basic pattern is from a book called Simply Napkins.

The nephews both got some toys that were not going to be terribly easy to wrap. So instead, I used pillowcases. The younger nephew got one of the trains and toys pillowcases (I made these awhile ago but apparently didn't mention them), and the older one, who is in Little League, got the Peanuts baseball print. They were a hit! And much easier for wrapping....

There's more to mention, and more that's still being finished, so that'll be for next time!

Other FOs

2009-11-26T07:30:00.001-08:00

My aunt likes cows, and she works for a company that makes ice cream. Consequently, she gets a lot of cow-type collectibles. I'm always on the lookout for something different. I found a "cow jumps over the moon" flannel sheet set on eBay a year or so ago, and I bought it to make her some PJs. I have not yet made the PJ shirt, as I'm debating which pattern to use, but the pants were finally finished and sent on their way to her as a belated birthday gift. (She'll get the shirt for Christmas, I hope.) She got them yesterday and says that she loves them, so that was good.

And DS#1's first grade class earned a reward for good behavior, and the class voted to have Pajama Day. So I thought that deserved a new pair of PJs. His only other pair of flannel PJs were getting a bit short in the legs and were short-sleeved, so I pulled out two lengths of flannel and let him choose. He chose the bears roasting smores over Toy Story, which surprised me a little. I traced the next size up, stayed up too late, and voila! Here are his new long-sleeved flannel PJs!

And DS#2 is potty-training, and so we need quite the assortment of underwear around here. I thought that if I could sew some for him, it would 1) use up some of my otherwise useless knit scraps, and 2) encourage him to not pee in his underwear! So far the results are mixed. At any rate, I used the pattern from That*Darn*Kat to make prototypes for each boy. (Because of course if one boy gets Mama-made undies, the other will cry foul.) And I have to say that these are pretty cool! You use regular knit fabric of any kind (even old T-shirts) for the main parts and cotton/lycra knit for the waistband and legs, so that you don't need elastic. The fly is a double-layer, functional fly, not that my boys need it, and you can use a serger or just a sewing machine. My serger is sick, so sewing machine it was. I will be happy when I can use the serger, as it will cut down on assembly time, but these are quite functional. And the boys like them!

*DS#1 is not a lefty - I simply goofed when assembling the fly and decided that even I wasn't OCD enough to rip it apart and fix it when he'll just pull them down, anyway.

New PJs finished!

2009-11-26T07:19:00.000-08:00

I finished my new PJ shirt the other night and am wearing it as I type! It's warm, cozy, and (I think) cute. This is M5511 view C. I like the contrast collar, and I also added contrast at the facing, because I was out of the main fabric (I wanted to use the contrast print at the facing, but I didn't have enough of that, either). And I added contrast cuffs at the sleeves both because I was short on the main fabric and because I thought it would help to tie it in to the pants, which have the contrast cuffs.

I don't like how the facing is pretty much like a bib in there. This is an inside out view. Part of the problem is that I have no way to stitch it down to the shirt, because the pocket is in the way. And that was the order of instructions - you attach the facing sometime AFTER the pocket. (The instructions don't tell you to stitch down the facing - I'm just bothered by it.) I think that if I make this again, I would attach the pocket sometime later so that I could stitch down the entire facing.

And I tried out iron-on hem tape for the hem, instead of just stitching it in place. (My serger is out of commission, and trying to do a double-fold hem after using french seams for the sides just didn't appeal to me.) I'm not sure that I like it. After wearing it for a night, I concluded that the hem tape was peeling away in places and that it gives a strange stiffness to the hem, making it poof out a bit, which can give a slight preggo look. So after trying unsuccessfully to peel it away, I simply resteamed it down and then used a twin needle over the hem tape. That helped.

My finished PJ ensemble! I should have taken a before picture - my first addition of sleeve cuffs were very flamboyant, as I'd made them too long. But I decided that I couldn't stand them, and that they needed to be the same length as the leg cuffs. Now I'm much happier with them.

I like this PJ shirt pattern, and I'm plotting which of my next PJ fabrics to use with view A.

Finished presents!

2009-11-13T19:47:00.001-08:00

I made a few PJ pants for Christmas and birthday presents. I bought Lucky Charms and Trix flannel on clearance at JAF last year, but I didn't have time to make the PJ pants for last Christmas. So this year I made sure to get them done! The Lucky Charms pants are for my sister-in-law. I couldn't find any of the stretchy foldover braid I used to use for drawstrings, so I just used bias tape in coordinating colors.

The Trix flannel is for my brother.

The billiards flannel is also for my brother, but for his birthday. These are heading into the mail tomorrow. I also found this flannel on clearance at JAF, but I bought it earlier this spring, I think. Still counts as stash, though!

All the PJ pants are from B6887. The two pair for my brother have real flys, but the one for my sister-in-law does not have a fly. No point, right?

Chugging along....

2009-11-09T21:16:00.000-08:00

Just in time for Halloween! I finished these boy pants, and the Things wore them to church the next day. :) They are ghost camo from WM ages ago, and they are fully lined with white flannel. So they'll be warm for awhile! Oh, yeah - and I added pockets. Orange for one, and black for the other. I was surprised that the pocket bags didn't show through the fabric. It's a little beefier than it seems, I guess.

And I have finally finished a pair of PJ pants for ME! These are from my TNT PJ pants pattern, M3006. It's long out of print, and I can't even find my copies of it. (I'm still hoping that my friend still has them.) But I did manage to find my tracings, thank goodness. I apparently shortened the pattern a tad too much, so I added contrast cuffs to make up for it. Also, I plan to make a coordinating PJ shirt out of the same green flannel, so I figured this would help tie it together.

And this will be my next project, at least once the serger is fixed and back from the shop. :( I bought this flannel shirting to make my first long-sleeved shirt for DH. I hope that he'll like it. I'm using KS 3422, size M with a 16 1/2 inch neck. I think it's really cool that you have the option of the general sizes as well as the neck sizes. Very nice!

Boy pants! (and a sweatshirt)

2009-10-21T16:36:00.000-07:00

First up, because that's how Blogger put them, is the sweatshirt. Last year, Thing 2 didn't want to wear the pants or sweatshirt made from this fabric. What a difference a year makes, huh? Now he'll tell me he's cold and wants his sweatshirt to wear. And Thing 1 is jealous because I didn't make him one this year....maybe I should fix that....

Then the lone pair of knit pants for Thing 2 - I sort of figured that I should cut this pair out and stitch it up quickly, as the serger thread was right, and he needs longer ones. Nothing fancy about these.

But here's the fun part - the "stack of boy pants" that's been in the works for a bit! The first two that I finished were the Spiderman (Thing 1) and Transformers (Thing 2). Both were thrilled with their new pants and wore them almost immediately.

Then I finished the rest of the stack for Thing 1: a juvenile pirate print, what DH calls the black "disco" print, and, of course, Transformers! These were a definite hit, especially Transformers. :)

And here's a gratuitous shot of the contrasting pocket bag colors I used. For Thing 2's Transformer's pants, I used red - to make it even easier to differentiate.

I have plenty more "boy pants" to make, but these were the most urgent, as the days will soon be too cool to wear these lighter weight pants. Thing 1's pants came from KS 3042, and Thing 2's sweatshirt and pants all came from KS SFT.

Dog booties!

2009-10-16T05:07:00.000-07:00

I have a friend with a small dog who hates to go outside in cold weather. (He's from California!) So she asked me last winter about making him some booties to wear. We never got around to it before the weather got warmer, but she mentioned it again this fall, and this time, we got right on it! I used the Domestik Goddess pattern and simply printed out the pattern, then used the copier to reduce it by percentages. Here are my size prototypes!

The small blue one is 40% of the original, the red one is 45%, the blue print is 50%, and the green one is 55%. The green one also happens to be the winner, so that is what's sitting on my sewing machine right now. Because, of course, he needs three more! :)

I used fleece scraps for the booties and recycled ToughTek (from old leather shoes that had holes in the toes and heels) for the gripper part. These took me about fifteen minutes to cut and sew each pair (because I did two prototypes at a time, until we found the right size). I traced each size onto scraps of template plastic to make cutting easier, and I can't say enough just how easy this was.

I'll be making more pairs of booties for this dog, and my smaller two prototypes are in the mail to another friend to try onto her dog. I would definitely make this for any friends with diva-ish dogs! :)

Still plugging away....

2009-10-13T10:48:00.000-07:00

So I have no pictures to show yet, but two of the five pairs of boy pants were finished Sunday night and left for said boys to potentially wear Monday. (Thing 1 wore his, Thing 2 is wearing his today.) The other three pairs - make that four, I forgot about cutting a quick pair of knit pants for Thing 2 - are pinned and pressed for hemming and waistbands. Those should be done tonight.

The two pairs of adult PJ pants are hemmed but need the buttonholes and waistband elastic, and both of those plus the other (mostly finished) one need the drawstrings stitched and inserted. I decided to go with extra wide, double fold bias tape for drawstrings, to avoid having to order something. Those have been washed, shortened, and pressed, but I wanted to stitch the fold down so that I don't wind up with trashy looking drawstrings later on. That would just annoy me. So...this too should get done tonight...I hope.

And then it will be on to the white queue, I think!

The Black Serger Queue

2009-10-11T09:40:00.000-07:00

I'm getting there slowly but surely in the queue of "things needing black serger thread." First up, two finished Christmas presents! These are PJ pants (KS SFT size T2) for the children of two coworkers. And let me just say, it feels good to have a few things already done for Christmas. :) Then two pairs of knit pants (KS 2275 size 5 and KS SFT size T3) apiece for Things 1&2. I've had the fireman fleece forever, and each year I've been making at least one pair of pants or shirt from it. Yet there is still plenty for next year and probably the year after! (And there's an upcoming sweatshirt from it for Thing 2.) The other knit is a strange animal symbols on grey. It was a $1/yd purchase from WM a few years ago. It's not terribly soft or warm, but it works well, especially as a backup item in a locker or cubby.

I'm still working my way through the Queue. There are three pairs of adult PJ pants that are almost done (and all Christmas/birthday presents!), plus 5 pairs of Thing pants which are about half-way done. Hopefully I'll be updating this post later today with finished pics. :)

Patrick Curved Raglan Shirt

2009-10-07T05:08:00.001-07:00

The Patrick Curved Raglan Shirt from Fishsticks Designs! I'm totally in love, and I would wear this myself if it came in my size. (In fact, I'm thinking of trying to modify a pattern in my size to look like this....)

The curved raglan seams were the only slightly tricky part, but as long as you pin them well and then take the seams slowly, it wasn't a problem at all. I made a 3T for Thing 2 and a 5T for Thing 1. After they try them on, I've got plenty more fabric combinations to make these in!

The red and black interlocks were stash leftovers, as was the orange interlock. The green ants print was a coop buy several years ago. This is the first use. It's a jersey knit, so not terribly thick. We'll see how it holds up. But it's very cute!

Current Queue

2009-10-06T09:38:00.001-07:00

So I'm trying to finish The Black Queue so that my kids will have some new fall pants. Unfortunately, I am getting sick, and my sewing mojo is also suffering. But I will persevere! In addition to the pants, The Black Queue also contains 5 pairs of PJ pants (Christmas/birthday gifts), so I'm working ahead here, as well as the two prototypes for the Patrick Curved Raglan Seam Shirt (from Fishsticks Designs). I just need to sew up the side seams and add the neckbands to those and they'll be done! I can't wait to see how they fit the Things - I already picked out plenty more fabric combinations to make them in. And I just saw that there's a free tutorial on the website for converting the pattern into a hoodie! I'll have to try that, too. :)

And then, of course, I have plenty more plans! (If only I had more time....) Thing 2 is rapidly outgrowing the size T2 PJs I made him earlier this summer. So he will need some new PJs. Fortunately, I did already make one pair of size T3, so that may tide him over a bit. As it's getting colder, it may be time to break out the thermal knit prints I bought on clearance earlier this year and start making those in long sleeves. That would be good for stash reduction, too!

Updates

2009-10-03T06:36:00.000-07:00

First, the doll blanket was finished in time (late the night before!) and was apparently a smashing success. Yippee! I stitched the binding to the front and then handsewed it down while watching CSI Miami late on Friday night, but that meant that I didn't have to rush Saturday morning before the party. DH even thought it looked nice - for a little girl - and was pleasantly surprised that I didn't make the binding wider. He was thinking that the pink binding was going to be very "in your face" and definitely be something only a little girl could appreciate. I was just hoping that she'd like it, and according to Thing 1, she did. :)

And, I finished The Shirt#2 barely in time to slip it into DH's travel bag. In fact, I'd say that it was finished about three hours before he left town. Unfortunately, it was no longer a surprise by then, because he had come in to ask me what in the world I was working on. :( Oh, well....he was still surprised that I was doing it.

So hopefully he liked wearing it in Hawaii!

Stalling....

2009-09-24T18:14:00.000-07:00

So I'm stalling on studying for an exam by (finally!) updating my blog. Oops. Not my smartest move. Oh, well....it's not as though there's that much to update yet.

This is a doll quilt that is for Thing 1 to give a friend at her birthday party on Saturday. When I asked him what she liked, he said, "Girl stuff." Funny, but not terribly helpful! :) So our choices came down to a (girly) cape or a doll quilt, and he decided that she'd like the doll quilt better. I pulled out scraps and let him choose which ones to use, and then once I'd cut the squares, he arranged them the way he wanted. Now I have the squares assembled, the quilt sandwich quilted, and the binding ready. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough of the binding fabric to be able to make it as bias binding, but I think straight-grain binding will be fine for a doll quilt. So hopefully tomorrow night I can stitch it on and then probably handsew it down while watching TV. I hope.

I'm also in the midst of Stack One of boy pants, as a friend calls it. These are the lighter weight pants, and I hope to have that stack done this weekend. But that may be superseded by The Shirt #2. I have cut out a corn fabric shirt for The Husband and fused the interfacing to the necessary pieces. If I can get it done this weekend, I can sneak it into his bag for a surprise once he reaches Hawaii on Monday. :) That is my goal. Hopefully I won't have too many emergencies to interrupt my pursuit of said goal. Then I could finish the boy pants early next week, while he's gone.

I also stitched together red fleece strips for binding, and I pinned them to a new flannel blanket for Thing 1. So hopefully I can get that stitched down quickly and get the blanket into the rotation. We'll see....And then there's all the blankets to be made for the new babies at church - yikes!

What's coming up next

2009-08-21T07:20:00.000-07:00

I haven't really been sewing in the last couple of days. My son went back to school after over a week of being in the hospital and at home due to pneumonia, so I went back to work. And now I'm starting to come down with something. It never rains but it pours! However, what's hanging out by my sewing machine is a stack of cloth napkins that just needs the final edgestitching. I have a friend who decided that for environmental and financial reasons, she wanted to try to get her family using cloth napkins. I cut a bunch out of a flannel sheet set last winter but never finished them. So during my time at home, I worked on them. Now the stack just needs to be edgestitched, and they'll be done!

I've also been prewashing fabric and cutting patterns! There are several birthdays coming up this fall, as well as of course Christmas! My siblings are getting PJ pants, and I've had the flannel for months or more. So I cut three pairs of PJ pants. And I've had flannel for more PJ pants for me for months, as well, so I prewashed that and hope to cut them out this weekend. I also prewashed flannel for three pairs of little boy PJ pants - those are going to be gifts for the sons of two friends. And two of those fabrics are long-time stash. :)

A woman at church just had a baby girl, and my cousin is expecting a baby gift this winter. So I pulled out some cute, girly flannel that's been in the stash forever ($1/yd at WM - I got it for crib sheets for the crisis pregnancy center but never got around to making them) and cut enough for 2 double-layer flannel blankets. I will bind these in complementary fleece. And my older son needs some more blankets that are relatively light but a little longer. I had found a pirate flannel on clearance at JAF this summer and paired it with a tie-dyed red flannel from my stash (Black Friday deals!). Unfortunately, I didn't have red fleece to bind it, so that one is waiting until I get to the fabric store. ;)

I think that about sums up my current sewing queue.

Blanket and a shirt

2009-08-18T19:36:00.001-07:00

I finally used some of my precious Cat in the Hat fleece to make myself a new blanket! I've had this fleece for several years - probably 5 - and I haven't done anything with it. I made sure that there was enough left to still make myself a lounge shirt. But this is backed and bound with black fleece. It's two yards long - nice and toasty.
"The Shirt" is finally finished! Hooray! I used my new french curve to help me take out excess width through the rib cage and abdomen, tapering back out a little near the bottom. I also took two inches off the bottom of the shirt and another 3/4 inch off the sleeves. These changes were made on my pattern pieces, so now I'm ready to go on the next one once I get fabric. :) (This is KS 2935.)

Think I'm done with shorts now....

2009-08-09T21:04:00.000-07:00

I finished these shorts at the end of July but forgot to post a picture. These were the "blue" set - and two of the three fabrics were from stash of at least one year - yippee! The Cars print was purchased early last year, and there should be enough left for a pair of pants, I think. And the beach print was purchased before I left Mississippi, so it was 2006 at the latest. I don't think there's enough left for pants, but definitely one or more pairs of shorts. The Batman print was a remnant I picked up at HF recently - there was just enough for the shorts. These are all size S for Thing 1.

These are the shorts I finished this weekend. I found the soccer plaid at HF - Thing 1 picked it, but both Things liked it. And the construction trucks was a remnant that apparently I never logged into my spreadsheet, so I have no idea when I bought it. I really like it, though! Both Things wore their new soccer plaid shorts to the town's anniversary celebration last night, and Thing 1 wore his new trucks shorts today. The two bigger ones are size S for Thing 1, and again the smaller pair are size T3 for Thing 2.

The pockets are the first contrast color that I've used. I bought several colors of thin cotton broadcloth, on sale last week at HF for $1.99/yd. (I got more today at JAF for $1.66/yd, since I liked it so much!)

And I finally made more scrub hats! I've had these fabrics in my stash for months, waiting on time/inclination to make these. The Beatles prints are both a size M, for a friend who loves the Beatles (she got the Beatles pillowcase I made awhile back), and the cow and pig prints are a size L for me. These are from M4116.

So now I'm working on my fleece Cat in the Hat blanket while I wait for the french curve to arrive so that I can finish The Shirt. I had spray-basted the layers together several weeks or more ago, but I'd gotten stuck on the fleece binding, as I'd run out of premade binding. So last night I pinned black binding strips together and sewed them, and today I pinned the binding to the blanket. I still need to stitch it down. That will also help my yardage stats!

Annoyed at Wal-Mart and fabric stores alike...

2009-08-02T11:06:00.000-07:00

I'm once again annoyed with WM because they have eliminated all the fabric departments. I'm about out of old sheets for pocket bags, and I went to the last WM in our area that still had fabric, intending to buy some of their cheap, thin solid-colored broadcloth to use. But of course, that WM has now gotten rid of their fabric as well! Grrrrrr...guess I'll have to remember to pick some up the next time I go to a fabric store.

Speaking of fabric stores...I need a french curve to help with taking the excess width out of The Shirt. So I checked online - both HF and JAF have them. I wanted to buy one in person to avoid delay, but I couldn't find it at either brick-and-mortar store! Argh! So I had to order it after all. Bummer. Now I have to wait a little while to finish the shirt.

While I was at JAF, I picked up a yard of a girly knit print. My cousin is having a baby girl late this fall, so I'm planning to either make a long-sleeved T-shirt and long pants set or a pair of long overalls for her. I won't get started on that for awhile, though, so I'll have some time to decide.

Moving up in sizes...

2009-08-01T22:20:00.000-07:00

Thing 2 is already starting to outgrow his new knit PJs. There's still definitely plenty of wear in them, but the shirts are starting to look a little short. Since I've got all this time on my hands right now, I cut out another pair in size T3. This knit was a recent impulse buy, when juvenile knit prints were 60% off at JAF. I've got enough left for a pair of baby pants, I think. It would make a great baby gift - there are several babies due at church soon.
I also cut out four raglan shirts for Thing 2 - he needs some solid colored shirts to go with the print shorts. I thought it would be fun to mix up the sleeves to make them a little different. I was initially going to put sleeve bands on them, so two of the shirts have neckbands the same color as the bodies - the bands would have matched the neckbands. Then I didn't like the sleeve bands and took them off. So on the other two shirts, the neckbands match the sleeves. I like that look better. These are size T3 as well - we'll see how well they fit.

Slow sewing....

2009-07-27T18:40:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to sew, but it's difficult to do so one-handed. :( I severed a nerve in my left hand and had surgery to reattach it. This makes it difficult to sew. I have managed to cut out four solid-colored raglan shirts for Thing 2, and I switched sleeves around so that all the shirts are different. And I cut out another pair of knit PJs for Thing 2, this time in size T3, as his T2 PJ shirts are starting to get a little short. So we'll see how much too big the size T3 will be.

I am also working on The Shirt again. Buttons and buttonholes were put on yesterday, and we pinned up the hem and pinned out some excess width. Now to hem the sleeves a bit higher and baste out the width for another try-on.

More sewing....

2009-07-26T11:58:00.001-07:00

Yep, more shorts! The green twill was in my stash since last year - I think it was supposed to be pants. And I found the bug print - a very sturdy cotton! - in the remnant bin at HF. So Thing 1 got shorts from both, and Thing 2 also got bug shorts.

Thing 1 still wets the bed at night, so I bought the New Conceptions Sleep Dry Briefs pattern awhile back to try. I had this half-sewn for months and finally finished it. The pieces looked enormous until I sewed it all together and got the elastic in, but it really does fit okay. We've had one trial, which was unsuccessful - I'm not sure if I need more padding or to tweak the fit. But I will perservere! And I'm thinking of also getting the training pants pattern for Thing 2.

I put the buttonholes into the muslin shirt for DH and topstitched the facings down. Now I need to sew in the buttons and try it on him again to make the adjustments to take in the sides and take up the hem. Then I can adjust my pattern and cut out one of the "real" shirts.

Pillowcases

2009-07-15T21:24:00.000-07:00

Thing 2 has adopted the travel pillow that was Thing 1's nap pillow at daycare. And that's just fine, except that he only had one pillowcase to fit it! Hmmm....not a good thing....but I know just the way to fix that:

Some stash-busting! I've had the Veggie Tales fabric for probably two years, and I had the bright idea to pair it with the calico that I've had about the same time. The two flannel pillowcases are made with leftovers from Thing 2's sheets (and matching full-sized pillowcases). In both cases, I didn't have enough of the print flannel to do the body of the pillowcase, so I made the body from the "trim" flannel of the original pillowcases, and used the print as the trim here.

I cut my main piece 13.5 (tall) x 16 (wide, and on the fold) inches. The trim pieces were 13.5 (tall) by 5 (wide) inches. I didn't use a second trim because the flannel gets bulky when there are two many layers at the seam. Definitely check your own pillow measurements, however, before using my dimensions.

Thing 2 is thrilled!

Pictures!

2009-07-15T21:07:00.001-07:00

First, the knit PJs:
These two pair are for Thing 2. The long pant version was due to retail therapy one day. :) I saw the print on sale and decided that buying it would make my day better! The shorts version was a remnant that I couldn't pass up, and there was just enough to cut the shirt and shorts. He loves them! (KS SFT size 2T for both pieces)

This pair is for Thing 1, and the fabric has been in my stash for at least three years. There is a second pair as well, but apparently I haven't yet taken a picture. I'll have to do that at some point. It's really cute, too. (KS 2775 size 5 for the pants, KS 3043 size S for the shirt)

Probably the last pair of summer-weight pants for the boys. We'll see if I find any really cute fabric anywhere else! I just couldn't pass this up, with all those bright fish - and especially on sale at $1.99/yard! (KS 3042 size XS and KS SFT size 2T)

Thing 2 just turned three, and these are his birthday shorts! He really doesn't need more clothes, but I knew that he'd love them (especially since Thing 1 is getting some - see below!). The fabric was a remnant I picked up last year, and it was perfect for this. Because last year's 2T shorts are getting a little small, I made a size 3T, which is perfect, plus a little growing room. And he's thrilled that the pocket openings are big enough to get his hands through. :) (KS SFT size 3T)

Thing 1 is in dire need of new shorts. He's been growing like a weed, but he's still skinny enough to wear his 4T shorts from two years ago, as well as last year's XS ones. However, the length is getting a bit skimpy, shall we say? So this is the first pair of size S shorts, to test the fit. Once he tries them on tomorrow, I'll cut out bunches more and start eliminating the 4T shorts from the drawer. :) He is obsessed with Cars, so this will be great. I found the pattern as a remnant last year. (KS SFC size S)