fuzzy and warm

When I first started planning this vest I imagined making it in red. Or purple. Or even orange. But after an hour in Romni, I made the same boring decision I always make: black. Which means it is very hard to photograph, but very easy to wear. And wear it I have.

The yarn is Naturally Sensation, a wool/angora blend that is very warm and super fuzzy. The pattern is a free Drops design which was easy to follow. It is written to be knit in three pieces but it wasn't hard to convert to knitting as one piece, so now there are no seams adding extra bulk to the sides. I didn't knit a belt because I had one from another sweater that was just the right black, and I've also worn it without, pinning it closed with a brooch. One of the times I wore it belted the lady at the bagel counter asked if I was pregnant, so I've been a little hesitant to sport that style again. But even still, I'm pretty happy with the pattern and I could see knitting it again - but next time I would make a few decreases to bring the shoulders in just a touch.

I actually finished this vest a while ago, but November has been quite a month for sickness around here. There are projects sitting around waiting to be photographed and my sewing machine is gathering dust. Hopefully we'll all recover in time for some holiday crafting - I even have sewing plans for Jay this year!

favourite things part 2

This is only the second post about my favourite things and already there is a trend: ceramic and Canadian. It's clearly a combo I'm fond of.

So: Lotte lamps. This pair took us a few months of sourcing, involving a series of random visits to the only place in Toronto you can buy them new (there is another place where you can get refurbished vintage ones which we also visited more than once). Designed by Danish-born Canadians Gunnar and Lotte Bostlund in 1957, they are now made in the US but the original molds are still being used. Each lamp is completely handmade and the shades are fibreglass, so the quality of light is really warm and inviting (we've since picked another shade for a different lamp we had). Originally we imagined getting a matching pair, but when we finally saw them in person it didn't seem necessary because the style is so singular that all the shapes work beautifully together. Sadie told us the whole lamp searching endeavour was capital B boring, but it was so worth it to us. Great lighting = happy home.

(Though clearly we're nearing the end of including Sadie in our obsessive design journeys. At least we still have a few years left with Milo, right?)

hoodie part 2

Another $3 sweater, another track suit for Milo. This hoodie was my second try before realizing that I should adjust the neck to decrease bulk - but now that he's worn it a few times it doesn't seem to make a difference once it's on. I may be being too picky, so we'll see if the whole re-drafting thing actually happens. What I do need to pay attention to is Milo's growing body. The pants had to be re-done with a panel up the center and a band around the waist because they were WAY too tight on him the first time around. I liked the fleece so much it seemed worth getting them right and now I have no scraps left to speak of. Truthfully the hoodie could have been a bit longer too - it sticks to Milo's generous belly and would show some skin if I didn't put a onesie underneath.

Lesson learned. Here's some other boy clothes for sewing inspiration: great vest (and wallpaper!), more 90-Minute goodness complete with elephant, be-tassled hoodie, awesome chambray shirt, and a one-piece jumpsuit. Hmm, I think I've already forgotten about fixing my hoodie pattern so I can move on to that one-piece jumpsuit thing. A toddler would love it, right?

lucky day

Fabricland is not known for having good knit fabrics. But every so often, on a very random day, they have a bin of ends that are just perfect.

I was debating ordering from this Etsy shop (I mean, white stripes on black? red and white stripes? sailor navy? awesome!) but these knit ends were very soft and only $3 a meter. Which means I spent way less money and lugged a whopping 17 meters of the yummy stuff back to the office after my lucky lunchtime errand. And look at those colours! Red and white stripes too! Oh yes, I am a fabric geek. A fabric geek who's having a hard time not going back for more.

Everything is washed and my head is swimming with garment ideas. After having trouble with the neckline of another boatneck (using the coral red) I switched gears and made Milo a ringer shirt. It's handy to have a no-fail project to help keep momentum - plus, now that I see these two colours together, I think I should make a similar shirt for Jay. With 16 1/2 meters of fabric left, he should probably get a garment or two. 

Which would be a first.

first hoodie

After making these pants, there was just enough of the $3 men's sweatshirt left over to try a hoodie for Milo. Correction: there wasn't quite enough so I had to add in brown jersey left over from this romper. Suffice to say, I made Milo a hoodie. And it won't be the last.

I've been known to own up to 5 black hoodies at one time - they are just that versatile and comfortable (the "in action" shot of Milo makes me think he feels the same way). What I quickly learned about sewing one is that attaching a hood means less finishing of the neck. So putting one of these together takes pretty much the same amount of time as a shirt, but I have to say the result is way cuter. I do have to figure out the front neckline though. It's a bit bulky, but I've slept on the dilemma for a few nights and I think I know how to re-draw the pattern (though I have one more bulky version to share first). The wide band was an accidental design feature but I quite like it and it led to adding the front pocket which is open on both sides in case Milo ever figures out he can put his hands (or random small toy) in there.

Overall, another garment that is quick - and totally satisfying - to sew. And this was a fun photo shoot with Milo even if he couldn't sit still. The best shot doesn't even show the hoodie, but it's a definite keeper. What a funny little guy.

mime wear

My first attempt at using the t-shirt pattern from Wendy Mullin's Sew U Home Stretch was a failure, but finding this striped jersey was enough to inspire another try. The jersey came from Nature's Fabrics and it seemed perfect for the boatneck variation of the pattern. I made a few adjustments - the pattern called for the sleeves to be wide and there was zero waist shaping. In the end I kept the 3/4 length sleeves but made them more fitted and I took the sides in quite a bit high up in the waist to make the shirt more snug around the chest. So with a huge thanks to Wendy's book I now have a wearable shirt. I love it, even if Jay calls me a mime every time I wear it.

There's just something about the boatneck style - isn't is flattering on all body types? Am I making that up? I have a shirt from almost a decade ago, back when the fashion world thought revealing glimpses of your belly was a good idea. Being a beloved boatneck, I've held on to it thinking I would alter it someday. So today was the day. First, the before (note the ridiculous shortness of it) followed by a happy after thanks to some remaining striped jersey:

Thank goodness I can make my own knit shirts now because if fashion swings back to short lengths I am going to be way too old and conservative to show off my had-2-children-and-a-gallbladder-surgery bellybutton.

Two shirts, striped jersey completely gone. Now I just need to start working on my mime act.

(P.S. Check out the Built by Wendy collections - so many awesome designs!)

six on the sixth

Six years ago today I fell in love with a baby girl named Sadie.

Then a minute or two passed and suddenly she turned six. Six! We're in a bit of shock today, way more than when she turned five. I guess I should have seen this coming because turning 36 this year was similarly shocking (as the saying goes, I'm on the wrong side of 35). Being on the other side of five means I have a daughter who is in grade one, joined the cross country team at school and sings "feeling so fly like a G6" while she draws. It's crazy and beautiful all at the same time. Oh, and she lost her first tooth on Monday, just in time for picture day. See? Totally crazy.

All that being said, today's festivities were low-key, ending with six crimson, strawberry-topped cupcakes all for the birthday girl (luckily, she was in a sharing mood).  When I asked her what the best part of being six was, her answer was immediate: she's taller.

Goodness, how I love this girl.

recovery

It's not much, but I did finish a pair of pants for Milo on Sunday - the very last day of the Kids Clothes Week Challenge. They are made from the sleeves of a $3 man's sweatshirt and I added pockets to make them feel less pajama-like. The big sleeve cuffs work nicely as pant cuffs, and I have so much sweatshirt left that I'm going to try and make a hoodie for Milo too. I'm totally inspired by Trula's foldover hoodie, so that will be my starting point. When I can sew again, that is.

Since Sunday, I've been slightly distracted by my surgery. It all went fine, but recovery is recovery - you can't speed it up and there is no such thing as a to-do list. Taking these photographs is probably my output for the day. Luckily I have some novels to enjoy (I just started Tinkers by Paul Harding and I'm loving it, plus The Laws of Harmony had me bawling yesterday) and a trusty laptop to keep me entertained.

But I do have one to-do that I recommend highly: visit the Elsie Marley Flickr group and check out all the great kids clothes that were made last week. What a talented bunch of sewers out there.

stripe roundup

Now I understand the dangers of slippery jersey: when you least expect it, the fabric moves around while you're serging and suddenly you've cut a hole where you really don't want one. And this is after you've spent too much time adjusting the gathers of the skirt and attaching it twice. You'd think it would be the sign to stop sewing right then and there and call this week's challenge a bust, but somehow the little children playing restaurant and serving me fake food while sewing was just enough distraction (or rather, reason to censor any cursing) to make finishing possible. The dress became shorter and the gathers a little less uniform, but at least I had no more serger mishaps.

I based this dress off a cute velour Gap dress with a cowl neck, but I love how this jersey drapes. It changes the dress quite a bit and makes the cowl neck acceptable to Sadie. The aqua stripes are a bit metallic (which I wasn't expecting when I ordered from here), and the gray stripes are heathered, so it's quite a nice combination. It's very easy to sew - serging disaster aside - so I think I'll make another one this season. I've got some gray jersey with black hearts all over that would be perfect.

But next up, Milo. We walked down to Goodwill on Friday night and it was 50% off all clothing, so I picked up some men's shirts to make pants (and hopefully a hoodie?) from. It didn't dawn on me until I was loading them into the washing machine that everything was stripes. And then I realized that even Sadie's dress is striped. Oh, and the waistband of Milo's pajama pants. Looking back, all the knits I have been using are about 95% striped.

Oops. My love of stripes is officially official.

kids clothes week challenge

Thank goodness for some late night surfing because I almost missed Elsie Marley's fall edition of the Kids Clothes Week Challenge. But I haven't been nearly as active this time around for a variety of reasons. First, the only time I have during a work week is post 9:30pm and generally I'm feeling pretty wiped by then. And second, when I have dragged myself upstairs, I'm extra conscious of the noise I'm making and sure enough, the serger woke Sadie up one night (clearly sewing in my bedroom is not the best idea.) Then today, when I could have had Milo's nap to myself, I was hanging out in a hospital for my pre-op appointment...'cause I'm having my uncooperative gallbladder removed on Tuesday. Boo.

But being the Queen of Excuses is a drag. I have made some things, and so far I'm most pleased with these pajama pants for Milo. The nights are much cooler now and he needs his feet covered but he's outgrown all of his sleepers. Instead of investing in new ones that he would outgrow tomorrow, I thought pants would have a longer life. I drafted a pattern from an existing sleeper and these pants sewed (or rather, serged) up quickly. He wore them last night and they seem to do the trick, so I've lined up more jersey for other pairs.

Not as successful though, or more like what-on-earth-was-I-thinking, is an outfit I finished up for Sadie. Behold:

Okay, the cuffs are cute, but a full Hello Kitty outfit? Did I want Sadie to look like she's wearing pajamas to school? Didn't I realize she'd wear both pieces together? And what is with the garish pink? Oh well, at least I finished them. And Sadie thinks they are great. I just need to make a rule for myself about buying less prints...and stick to it.

Two more days to go. And check out the many, many cute garments already made on view here.