Blankie Bears from Abby Glassenberg (Catching Up #6)

Catching Up Post #6

Blankie Bears from Abby Glassenberg

These two little guys were a quick and fun sew for me in March.  I had just finished working on a big show at the costume shop that involved lots of challenging-to-sew fabrics so I needed something quick and easy and fast to 'cleanse the palette', so to speak.   They came together quickly, were fun to work on, and will probably be donated to our local pregnancy resource center.  (We need more stuffed animals around here like we need a hole in the head.)  

The pattern is well done and is available here.  I think my heads came out a little wonky and uneven but thats probably user error and not an issue with the pattern.  

Sewaholic Renfrew in Mint Green (Catching Up #5)

Catching Up Post #5

Sewaholic Renfrew Shirt

I'm a little sad about this shirt.  The Renfrew shirt from Sewaholic is one of my go-to shirt patterns.  I've made three or four (these plus at least one more unblogged) and have tweaked the fit so its just right for me.  I bought this mint knit because it was a higher quality than I can usually find locally and loved the color and design and was looking forward to making myself a shirt I knew I'd wear over and over again.

I like thicker knits so I decided to line the shirt.  Not so much 'line', but use two layers of fabric so that the shirt would be nice and thick and sturdy and I could wear it without layering.  That is where the trouble arose - I forgot to take into account the stretch/recovery of the inner lining layer which happened to the less than the mint arrow fabric.  :(  It worked out okay for most of the shirt but the shoulder/armhole area ended up just too tight and restrictive.  I tried to wear it and love it...  but it drove me crazy.

The only saving grace is that Leah likes the shirt.  Its a bit big/long for her since it was made for me, but she particularly loves the thickness and softness of the fabric - the same reasons I made it for myself!  I suppose I should be glad that at least someone gets to wear it, the good fabric isn't wasted, and its big/long so she can wear it to school again next year.

This is the shirt on Leah, photo taken this morning.  I didn't take any pictures of it on me when I first made it and as the shirt was a bit tight in places to begin with it and I'm currently five months pregnant it would be so comical now that I can't bring myself to even try it on! 

I think I'm almost caught up on blogging the last five months of sewing projects... 

Lilac Vest from B4681 (Catching Up #4)

Catching Up Post #4

Handmade Christmas

Vest for Leah

Leah's handmade gift was a vest.  She had a white puffer vest that was getting lots of wear in fall and had to be pried out of her little fingers for laundering so I figured a second vest in her favorite color would be a good gift.

Three months later, I was absolutely spot on.  This purple vest is probably worn more than the original store-bought white one, gets washed all the time, and is often worn over clothes during the day AND over pajamas overnight.  (This kid is all about comfort over style and gets fiercely attached to certain items of clothing.)  It's worn to school at least a few times a week and I'm not sure what she'll do when the weather stays warm and its too hot for a flannel/furry vest!  I love it when that happens - sometimes homemade makes end up being duds in the bottom of drawers so I love it when they're worn to death.

For the amount this vest is worn, you'd think I'd have a zillion pictures but this is the best one I can find. 

The outer fabric is a medium pile purple fur with a bit of a rosette texture to it.  She loves anything and everything purple and it was super soft so I knew she'd like the fabric.  The lining is dark purple flannel.  I used this pattern - B6081 View A.  

Its an adult pattern but I only changed the length (shortening it a little).  Otherwise the size small worked well.  It was a good pattern with detailed enough instructions for the pockets and zipper and armhole facings and such.  Judging by the amount this vest is worn I'm sure I'll use the pattern again!  

Kid's Christmas Bathrobe (Catching Up Post #3)

Catching Up Post #3

Handmade Christmas

New bathrobe for Grace

This poor kid was wearing a bathrobe whose sleeves reached just past her elbows and that barely covered her thighs.  A pretty sad sight.  All the more so because she is my hot blooded kid and wears what I would consider summer jammies all year long.  Those winter mornings in flimsy princess nightgowns are mighty chilly!  Her handmade Christmas gift, then, was a new larger and softer bathrobe.

Its made of fleece.  Not my favorite substrate in the world but for a kid's bathrobe thats going to get breakfast crumbs spilled on it every day I think its an okay choice.  I used this pattern and lengthened it a bit so it'll cover her legs better.  I also made a huge sleeve cuff so there is the possibility of lengthening the sleeves later.

The robe seemed a little blah (and was a super fast sew/serge) so I embellished it a little by adding a pocket for her favorite snuggle.  Who wouldn't want their snuggle right up close on their chest?!

Its now April and the robe has gotten lots of use and has washed well so I'm happy to have made a useful and practical gift.

Jane Austen embroidery (Catching Up Post #2)

Catching Up Post #2

This is a second embroidery I made for Christmas last year.  I came across this Jane Austen quote somewhere a few years ago and knew it belonged on our wall.  My husband is a huge Jane Austen fan and we are the most home-body family you could ever meet.  Our kids are not in many extracurricular activities, we all have home based hobbies we love to do, we never go out in the evenings unless we absolutely have to, we don't love to travel, etc, etc.  We just like being at home!  The idea simmered for well over a year before it came together to be a Christmas present for my husband and we all love how it turned out. 

The quote is from Austen's book 'Emma'.  

I haven't read that one so I can't expound on its context, but it perfectly fits our family.  

The background is tan linen, the floss colors are earthy - brown and green, and I was able to find this gorgeous wood frame that sets everything off nicely.  It took a bit of hunting to find a large frame that was square, not rectangular, but I'm glad I kept looking until I found one because the round leaf motif really needed a square frame.  (I drew the leaf motif.)

Here is a close up of the stitches.  The wrinkling of the stitched linen drives me a little batty but I'm sure I'm the only one who notices.  

My husband was pleasantly surprised and impressed by the gift and it now hangs prominently in the living room next to one of the bookcases and the fireplace.  

I did forget to stitch my initials and the date in the bottom corner, like I do on my quilts, but I'll leave it for now.  If I ever take it out of the frame to rectify the wrinkles I'll add it then!  

Button Snowmen Embroidery (Catching Up Post #1)

Catching Up Post #1
(see the Folding Coin Purse post just prior to this for an explanation as to why I need to catch up!)

A Christmas present for my mom, who loves and collects snowmen...

It might look like a random assortment of snowmen, but its actually a family tree.  My parents are the big snowmen at the top, their five children and five kids-in-laws are the middle sized snowmen, and their grandchildren are the smallest snowmen.  (We'll just ignore the fact that I found out I was pregnant right around Christmas time so the family tree was outdated BEFORE I EVEN GIFTED IT.  Sigh.) 

The top hats for the boys and bows for the girls were hand embroidered after the snowmen were made.   We have one grandson (thus far) in the family and I tried to make him a baseball cap instead of a top hat but it never looked quite right so in the end he got a top hat too.  

The background is a nice grey linen and the frame is a store bought 8x10.  

I got the idea from here.  It didn't translate exactly how I imagined it would but I still think its cute.  It was fun to sort through my button jar and I believe I only had to buy around 4-5 buttons to make all the sizes work out.   I wanted an eclectic mix of buttons rather than all matchy-matchy and I think it worked.  I suppose sometime after August I'll have to take three little buttons and some floss up to my parent's house so I can squeeze the new baby into its spot in the family.

Merry Christmas Mom!  

Folding Coin Purses

Well, hello there.  It's been a while.  My last post was from late October of last year - the Halloween costumes.  Life has interfered in between:

November - sewing mostly Christmas presents that can't be blogged until they're gifted
December - more of the same, plus holiday hoopla
late December - What?!  I'm pregnant again?!
January - large shows at the costume shop and morning sickness... 'nuff said
February - more of the same... yuck
March - light at the end of the first trimester tunnel, finishing up at work, and catching up at home
April - Here we are!  Feeling much better and actually have time for peripherals like blogging.

I will do a catch up post soon on Christmas presents and subsequent sewing projects, more for my own record keeping than anything else.

Today, though, I'll share this quick whip up project because I think they're just adorable.

I came across this tutorial in my morning-sickness-Pinterest-trolling time and thought it looked cute and simple.  Last week I needed a little something to go in a gift and these totally fit the bill!  They sew up super fast and are pretty handy.  I needed these in a short time frame so I didn't piece the fronts and I used sew-in snaps I had on hand rather than the ones you need a press for.  Maybe next time.   I think I'll make a bunch more - I could use a new card holder in my purse and they'll be handy to have around.  The cutting and machine sewing part takes only a few minutes and then the hand sewing is a good TV or summer porch project.

Here's to more sewing (and time to blog about it) before the new baby arrives at the end of summer!