Nesting

Made these nesting blocks, a big one and a smaller one, from the tutorial posted on Sew Mama Sew by Elizabeth of Oh! Fransson. For the big one I was inspired by Oh! Fransson's quilt that used ric-rac that has been stored in some recess of my brain and decided to pop out for this project. I love ric-rac and I like how these look using the ric-rac but it does make the piecing process awfully slow. I used vintage fabric for all of these, except the solid colors. The picture below is just another side of the bigger block.

For the medium block I opted for stripes and butterflies.

And, here they are all nestled together.
I have to say, the tutorial is very thorough and easy as pie to follow. And, these blocks are really useful for holding little things around the house. It was a great way to use up some of my smaller vintage pieces and get some practice with patchwork. That said, if I have to make any more of these I might lose my mind. It was just really tedious, lots of interfacing layers and THEN patchwork is slow and 'ey-I-ey' I could hardly get through making two. I would love to have about a million, at a million my life would be organized and pretty but I can promise you I won't be making any more.

Wishful Thinking

Another little something from Lotta's Simple Sewing. This is her reversible apron. For one side, I used up (sob) fabric from a thrift store. It was a kimono style bathrobe with 'nikko international hotels' written all over it so the wooden spoons were created to cover that up. I added the placard with 'yummy tasty' to memorialize something my son says. I ask, "How is it, Cal? Is is yummy." and if it is he says, "Yummy Tasty, Mama. Yummy Tasty." So, my wishful thinking is that everything I make in this apron receive the 'yummy tasty' certification. I like the style of this apron and have enjoyed having full coverage. It was a really simple pattern, the time consuming part was adding the detail to both sides. And, it does require the detail or it looks a bit dull. On the other side, I added applique dots and some embrodiery. I'm trying to work on embrodiery as it offers such creative freedom. I've found my water-soluble fabric marker is the essential tool for conquering embrodiery or on darker fabrics, a sliver of soap does the trick. There is a tiny pocket on this side, just a folded over circle with a button to hold it together. I've noticed, though, that I tend to use the yummy tasty side. It just seems a bit more...durable, I guess.

A while back I also completed this little top for a friend of mine in Oregon. She just became a big sister! I used the peasant blouse tutorial from Blueprint and the rest of my Heather Ross mermaid fabric. I love how whimsical this fabric is and it's so soft. Had to hope for the best on the fit of this one as I haven't seen this lovely little lass in years. But, word is that it fits and has apparently already been worn to the aquarium, which makes me sooo happy! I did stray from the tutorial in a really exciting way for this one. I was able to use the elastic thread to create the sleeves, rather than creating a casing. I LOVE this alteration because not only is it a million times easier, it also creates an adorable little ruffle and isn't as tight of a fit on the upper arm. I'm literally on the prowl for other ways to use elastic thread these days.

The Quick Trip Backpack

Sometimes, everything seems to go haywire and there is a need to get out of the house IMMEDIATELY. I know that I'm not alone, we've had friends drop by without even shoes on. This backpack was made with these moments in mind. It's small and I packed it with the diapers and wipes I need for both kids. There are no toys, no additional distractions, just the essentials. It's the get-out-of-Dodge backpack. I'm keeping it hung on a hook on our front porch.
It's from Lotta's Simple Sewing, I just haven't put her book back down since I picked it up for the sun hat! I also made a smaller one for a little friend of mine for her trips to the park with her new baby sister. Just took six inches off the pattern and a few off the straps.

The Good, Good Taste of Naptime

With my oldest in daycare and my maternity leave going until late September, this summer naptime is, wait for it...ME TIME! Not that naps are at all consistent or even all that long and there is always laundry and housecleaning and all that other stuff. But, on occasion, naps will extend beyond the time it takes to keep the house humming. And, lately this has happened more than once. I hope I didn't just jinx myself but there you have it. At the same time, our CSA is in full swing and the refrigerator is chock full of amazing greens and assorted vegetables. As a result, I've found myself reaching for this cookbook a lot lately, Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair. Cynthia is an instructor at Bastyr University in Seattle and an editor of Mothering magazine. The cookbook is full of information on foods good for breastfeeding moms and for just-eating babies. But, the recipes are also good and tasty not just healthy. I highly recommend it. And, who can resist the cover, made by the amazing Nikki McClure! With my pockets of time I was also able to sit down and read this article on Urban Homesteading in this week's NYTimes magazine. And, the article included a great recipe for a lemon tart. Now, I have a tart pan but I didn't even know it. I had to go to the Williams Sonoma website to see what a tart pan looked like in order to be sure that what I had was the right thing. My confidence in baking is so low. But, I'm getting there. So, I cooked up this lemon tart and I love it! I did substitute my own recipe for the pastry crust because I wanted to use the Cuisinart, which makes it so easy. And, the magazine's recipe had a great tip for rolling out the dough--stick it between two sheets of cling film. It's brilliant, it sticks to nothing and you can roll it as flat as you'd like. The tart itself is very rich and next time I might remove the lemon rinds because they can be strong but overall it was very good.

the evolution of a hat

Felt a strong need to make something for myself the other week. So, I pulled Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing off the shelf and made her sunhat. It felt at times a little too awkward than it should be and sure enough, it turned out RIDICULOUS. This picture really doesn't capture how mad-hatteresque it looks. And, I found the brim far too long, good (I suppose) if you were gardening but when I wear a hat with this wide of a brim I can't find my son...no periphreal vision.
So, I took another stab at it, shortening the brim by two inches. I discovered that I had inadvertently flipped the hat crown such that the sudtle flare down (you know, so that it fits across the forehead and narrows up around the top of your head) was facing up. This would be why it felt so awkward to sew and looked so silly. I'm much happier with the shorter brim and correctly sewn hat crown.

Ironically, the picture of the hat I like is a worse picture than of the ridiculous hat. I mean, seriously, is that chicken neck! Aren't I too young for that?

Favorite Apron to date

My first 'full contact' apron, made using the pattern in Seams to Me. It is for Grandma, who makes the world's best jam, applesauce, sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and banana bread in the world. And, this is exactly why the apron needed to be so sweet!

I really like this apron and the pattern is pretty great. I did do some shortcuts as Anna Maria's projects do tend to be meticulous and have lots of steps. That said, the apron has a pleat and a shaped waistband, all of which make the final product really nice. I decided against pleating the bottom half her style and did a quicker ruffle style, I also did not cut the head strap on the bias because I didn't have enough contrasting fabric. And, I skipped making a pocket for the same reason. Quick question: Why do aprons have pockets? I don't really use the pocket.

This was one of those projects where I spent the whole time thinking about my grandma and how much she was going to like this. At every step, picturing how much she would like the little details. And then, when it was all done, I had a quick little 'I kind of want to keep this for myself' moment. Somewhere in me a twelve year old still lives.

I Feel an Art Party Coming On.

While it is nice to have an art smock so you are ready for art projects at any time, it is even better to share it with friends. So, a few buddies got art smocks of their own. Maybe soon it will be time for a toddler art party! That sounds both wonderful and potentially very, very bad.

You Must Be Mistaken...

that's not a tear, ok, maybe it is. After one and half years with the same amazing caregivers, and from bottlefeeding all the way to drinking from a sippy cup my son had his final day at his daycare. Next week he starts at "Big Kid School" and we all take a deep breath. (I mean I know he is ready but there are five year olds there. What?!). To commemorate and thank the staff we made a wall hanging for them.

I stitched a little house emanating hearts using a straight stitch and flannel fabric onto white fabric and then stuck it to freezer paper to make it solid. Then my son painted on it, regular kid paint in case he ate it. After that I sewed scraps around it in a hodgepodge style..I wasn't all that concerned with exactitude and wanted a kind of kid-like look anyway. Then I quilted it sewing a hanging loop onto the top. It turned out crazy and chaotic and well just right in my book.