Hopeful sewing...

As in hopeful that the weather will get warmer soon.  If you sew it, summer will come, right? 

We were recently teased with really warm weather, in the 80s, and when I pulled the kids’ summer hats out, I realized they’d gotten a tad too small.  So, I set out to remedy that.  I was determined to make the kids new summer hats.  Sure, I could have run out to Target and gotten them some hats for $10 each.  But it’s the principle.  I wanted to make them.

I wanted to try the bucket hat pattern from the Little Things to Sew book.  I had an idea in my mind of what fabrics I wanted to use, so we (my two little helpers and I) headed out to Joann Fabrics for a little fabric shopping.  I found two linen blend fabrics that fit the bill of what I wanted for one side of the hat.  Since the hat is supposed to be reversible, I browsed the store for something that I thought would work for the other side.  I normally spend a lot of time deciding on fabric.  Once I’ve picked something out, I start to second guess myself, so then I spend a lot of time in the fabric store, wandering the aisles and putting things side by side to see if they would work together.  But having my two little helpers helped to speed the process along, because they don’t always tolerate extensive browsing.  I did second guess the fabric choices, but by then, the fabric had already been cut and paid for and we were out of the store.  And because my two little helpers were so helpful and patient, they each got a $1 toy from the bins near the checkout line.  Of course, the $1 items were immediately wrecked and torn apart before we got home, but oh well.  That’s why they are only $1, I guess.

Even though the fabric purchase was slightly rushed, I really like the way the fabrics turned out on the hats.

This is the two sides of the boy hat.  I did a neutral linen-type fabric for one side, and for the other I tried to find something boyish but a little more interesting.  I wasn't sure how the stripes would sew up, but it turned out really nicely, I think.  I like the brown side a lot, and the little guy likes the blue side.

And the two sides of the girl hat.  I picked out the embroidered fabric totally on a whim, and I really like the way it looks as a hat.

A little birthday present!

One of our playgroup friends just turned one, and I made this little dress for her.  She’s a real girly-girl, so I can totally see her in this.

2011 Reflections, 2012 Goals

Doesn't everyone who goes to the Rodin Museum have a photo like this?

While sewing recently, I got reflective about how much I’ve learned in sewing this past year, and what I’d like to accomplish this year.  I got my sewing machine a little over a year ago, because I have a decent job, but I don’t find it very inspiring, and I felt I really needed something creative in my life to help balance out the everyday responsibilities.  Sewing has definitely done that for me.  I find sewing very relaxing, almost meditative, probably because I usually sew at night (or occasionally during nap time) when the house is really quiet.  It’s just me and the machine.  Without the noise of every day life, thoughts and reflections just naturally percolate to the surface.  It’s a good time to sort out your thoughts and quiet all the anxieties that seek out your attention during the day.  I find a lot of satisfaction in being able to create things, too.  I think art and creativity are requirements in life, even though they often get set aside for more practical things.

Upcycled Valentine’s Day Outfit

I saw a tutorial for making the ruffled heart on this Valentine’s Day dress recently and decided to check my stash of old t-shirts to see if I could make this.  Turns out I had a grey maternity cardigan and a grey t-shirt I could use for the dress.  And then I decided to make leggings to go with it from a pair of black maternity leggings.  I’m loving that this outfit is totally upcycled.  I like being able to reuse old clothes, and I get a kick out of knowing that baby girl is wearing my old maternity clothes.

One little word

I’m back!  Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to everyone.  Life (mostly work) got a little overwhelming, so craftiness had to take a back seat.  It’s sad when the things you enjoy in life take a back seat to the things you have to do.  :(  Which actually brings me to the topic of this post.  It’s new year’s resolution time.  Get fit.  Spend more time with the hubs.  Budget better.  Lose weight.  Read more.  Etc. 

But I’ve also been seeing something a little different in the blogosphere.  One little word.  Pick one word that you will focus on for the year. 

Race for the Cure

Last weekend, a couple of friends and I did the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5K to support the fight against breast cancer.  Being the crafty ladies that we are, my friend Jenn (from Fat Cat Crafts) made beanies for us to wear, and I made ruffle scarves.

Totally geeked out

I’ve mentioned before how much I love oliver + s patterns.  They are probably my favorite patterns for children’s clothes.  They take a little more time to make, but her instructions are so awesome and the clothes always have such great little details.  I just love the end product.  So, earlier this year, the designer behind oliver + s released a book called Little Things to Sew, a book of accessories and toys for children.  I resisted getting the book for a while, because I decided I wanted to stick to making clothes.  Accessories (like hats and aprons) didn’t appeal to be as much.  But I finally decided I’d get it.  The first thing I made was this bear hat for the baby girl.  I loved making the hat, but I wasn’t so sure about the purple tweed (spur of the moment Joann purchase).  I wanted to try something more “interesting” than the usual “simple” where my tastes tend to gravitate.  So, I was still unsure of the purple tweed, but I put the picture of the bear hat in my flickr feed, and the designer herself commented that she liked the purple tweed.  EEK!

Tutu cute!

One final Halloween sewing project.  As I was making this skirt, I kept thinking, This must be too small for the baby girl.  I must have measured wrong.  But no, it fit her fine.  It’s just that she is small.  :)  To give you an idea of how small, this skirt was only seven inches long.  Teeny tiny, right?

And that’s the fun thing about making kids’ clothes.  They are so wee, and just by being so wee, they are so CUTE!  This little skirt looked adorable just hanging there.  And even cuter on the baby, no?

Changing directions

Pardon me while I change my mind at the last minute and return all these items I purchased for Halloween costumes while buying new items for the costume I’m now going to make.

My wild animals

This weekend, we went to an “after dark adventure” at a local ecological preserve.  It was so fun!  It was a short hike on one of the trails, and along the way, there were “critters” (people--probably volunteers, judging by the range of acting ability, lol--dressed up as different animals that you might find on the trails) who told you a little about the animal they were representing and their role in the ecological system.  It was entertaining and educational, and I liked that it was a non-scary Halloween activity. 

When we signed up for the event, they told us children were encouraged to wear animal costumes.  None of the store-bought animal costumes really inspired me, so I took that as a challenge to make something.  I had bookmarked this blog post that had tips for making simple costumes.  I figured the owl was perfect for a night time hike in the woods.  A little bit of tracing, cutting and sewing, and here’s my version: