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

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...

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...

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....

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....

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

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!

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)