I SEWED!!!

So Thing 2 and I were attending a wedding, as we were going to have to go directly from wedding to hockey rink. I wanted to wear something that was comfortable and would translate well between the two. I have a knit maxi skirt that looks nice and is very comfortable, and I decided to go with a V-neck T-shirt (because Missouri in July!). But a) that's not terribly dressy, and b) no pockets. So....enter the short-sleeved cardigan plan. Which is normally something that makes me ask "Why?" - because it seems weird. Why wear a cardigan if it's short-sleeved? Well, in this case, it's to dress up an outfit and give yourself pockets.

I thought I had black stretch lace, but unfortunately I had merged "hunter green stretch lace" and "black stretch velveteen" in my head and gotten the wrong idea. Hunter green wouldn't go, and velveteen wasn't the look I wanted. Off to JAF I went, where I briefly flirted with a celestial stretch velvet and a a sparkly stretch velvet. (The bride is super sparkly and would have approved of either.) But then I remembered that this was so not me. Instead, I found a black stretch crepe. 

Aside from not using three-quarter sleeves, I made this exactly as I have previous versions. Oh, and I did go down one size. I figured this isn't as drapey as the cotton-Lycra prints I've used, and I wanted it to be a little more figure-hugging. The arms are definitely tight, and I measured the length of the sleeve opening after sewing the shoulder seams, then matched that with the bands. I think it worked out a lot better than using their listed lengths.

 

As previously noted, the pattern does not call for stabilizing the shoulder seams, but I think it's a good idea. This fabric is more stable than my prior versions, so I didn't need to stabilize behind the pocket attachments, but I did stabilize the shoulders. Since there was no chance of the fabric being seen (either colors or just the added thickness) from the outside, I decided to have some fun with colorful scraps.

All in all, I was happy with this make. I will try tracing off a larger size just at the lower armscye next time, though, because the "sleeve" was still pretty tight. A common complaint with this pattern.
 

Finished Portable Project!!!

It's done!!!! I'm not sure when exactly I started it - probably in late February or very early March, based on the first pic I posted to friends. As of mid-March, I had all the black stitches half done (literally!) and the yellow fully done for Calvin's hair. And on July 4th, I finally finished it!!! I am now awaiting a good custom framing coupon at JAF to get it professionally framed. 

Pattern from DigiPoint on Etsy, though no longer available.

Star Wars Easter

I bought this Star Wars Easter fabric on clearance a few years ago. And there it sat. For some reason, it popped into my mind the other night, and then the race was on. I had three yards, so I briefly thought about making a Madison dress. But I also wanted to make darn sure that it would reach my niece before Easter, so that was out. (Also, I'm not sure if I had anything to coordinate, so....oh, well.)

Instead, I reached for the trusty skirt pattern. Or at least skirt pattern inspiration. I cut this out Tuesday afternoon/evening, stitched it completely before going to bed Tuesday night, and mailed it Wednesday morning.

The main skirt piece was cut 20.5 inches long (because that's the size of my biggest square ruler) by WOF. The ruffle piece is 7 inches by WOF. I made the ruffle a double one so that there would be no hemming. 

It's a little busy, but I'm thinking she's going to like it. I didn't have time to make a matching doll skirt, but that can come later.....

 

Matching Scrub Cap and Mask

I pushed to finish two last projects before sending off my buddy's box. I have made her scrub caps in the past, but from a different pattern (M4116, view G IIRC). I figured it was worth trying a new one (that wouldn't take as long) since she has much shorter hair now. If she likes it, I'll make more in the future. This is the Hummingbird pattern from Miss Muffet.

And then the mask is my standard pleated mask pattern.

 

Here's hoping she likes them!!!

New scrub shirt for my buddy!

My buddy's birthday is coming up, and I'm still slowly filling her Christmas/birthday box. I bought this fabric for her back in 2016 (yeah, I'm already beating myself up about waiting so long), so it was well past time. This is one of the projects I cut during quarantine, then didn't finish for a long time. But here I am. I'm still easily exhausted, so instead of being a one-night project, it was spread out over four nights.  But now it's done and ready!

This is McCall 9123, my standard scrub shirt pattern for years. I used Kaddidlehopper's tutorial for binding the neckline. And I left off the lower pockets (she doesn't use them) but made an excellently pattern-matched upper chest pocket. No, really - you can't see it until you blow up the pic and look for the stitching lines! I'm so proud.....

I have hopes of getting a matching mask and possibly scrub cap out of this - we'll see if I can get that done this weekend, because the box needs to go out next week!

 

Current Portable Project

Thing 2 plays inline hockey, and he's a popular player (goaltender). Which means a lot of games played, which means a lot of time at the rink for me. I don't sit still well, so I always need a portable project. 

On a whim, I pulled this one out. I had kitted it up at least a year ago, and I'm guessing I bought the pattern 2-3 years ago. It was from DigiPoint on Etsy (no longer available). And I am having a blast! I did half cross stitches for all the black - to outline everything and make it easier to just fill it in. Now I'm going one color at a time. I'll cross all the black stitches last.

 

More lounge pants for Thing 1!

Thing 1 really got into wearing his lounge pants that I made him previously - the (retrofitted) gamer pair and the sea turtles pair. Once school became virtual, you would often see him wearing these preferentially, until I had to wash them. So of course, when JAF had a sale on flannel, I had to make more! 

I did involve him in the fabric choice. First up, "psychedelic kaleidoscope blue" flannel. And yes, it's a bit crazy. I didn't try to match the color patterns, and maybe I should have. On the other hand, this is definitely psychedelic.  These are both S8022, size adult L, with pockets added as per my yoga pants, but lengthened and changed in position as per his request after wearing the first pair.

You can see that the pocket really blends in on this side.

It stands out a little more on this side.

And then we have geometric sharks! I kind of love these.

No attempt to match up the pockets, and no need.