challenged

Ack. I just lost an entire blog post because the new Blogger interface doesn't autosave anymore. And to think I called this "challenged" for other reasons.

Unfortunately it's been almost impossible to sew this week. Last week I fared better for the Sewalong because I was technically on vacation, although by vacation I mean going in to work twice and also working from home. For some reason this time of year at my job equals no time and energy for late night stitching for me. (But this sounds an awful lot like the slippery slope towards whining, which I try very hard not to do here. Let's just say it's been a tough week. Or month. Or something.)

At least sewing with knits means I can get something done with limited time. Sadie's cardigan above is based on tutorials like this, but modified for her teeny frame. I left all the edges raw so the cardigan took a whopping 30 minutes to make because the only seams are the arms and armholes. Easy peasy. She quite likes it, especially because it's aqua. But Milo has outgrown the shirt pattern I've been using for a couple of years so I had to spend time making a new one and then figured he could use a long sleeve shirt with long enough sleeves (you know that day when you realize all your kids' sleeves are closer to their elbow than wrist? I finally noticed it was that day.) The "x" is just for fun and similar to something I added to his hoodie a while back. I'm not sure if the shirt is too pajama-like or not, but Milo doesn't seem to care. He took off the shirt he was wearing as soon as I showed this new one to him. Guess that's a positive sign from a two year old. And I had a total epiphany about the bottom hem after reading this KCWC lead up post. I had forgotten all about the decades-old fusible seam tape I had. I mean, I used that stuff on everything!  I used to make Laura Ashley inspired dresses in a single night thanks to that magic glue. So on Milo's shirt the tape provided enough stability to top stitch the hem and make a nice finish without the knit fabric stretching. Amazing. And isn't that what these challenges are all about? We sew, we learn something new, we get inspired. With whatever time we have.

And now I'm off to see what other people have been sewing for their kids. It just might be the best way to kick my whining mood in the arse.