My Very Own Pajama Party!

I might just wear these pajamas every day this summer. The pattern is from Heather Ross' Weekend Sewing (which, as you know, I mostly love). One of the great things about this pattern is that the sizes range from a kid small to adult large. I've even used this pattern to make pajamas for my husband. I made them in a medium for myself because the hip area is (ahem) a little wide on me...so they are a bit baggier in other areas, which is great for pajamas in my opinion.

But, the really exciting news is that I didn't just make these pajamas because I wanted summer pajama pants or because I'm growing into a habit of wearing pajamas until noon on Saturday...both of which are true but beside the point. I made these to prepare for some Saturday sewing with friends. They are coming over and we are going to brave the depths of my scuzzy basement for some pajama sewing! They are brave and dedicated women.
(This gorgeous, spring-y fabric is Verna by Kate Spain for Moda. I've noticed I'm pretty keen on Moda fabrics these days. I don't think I've given them enough attention before. The quilt under-foot is wool and was made by my grandma, it keeps us warm all winter long without fail.)

Book Reports--Due Monday: Weekend Sewing

I tend to purchase sewing books for a few reasons. First, our library stinks and their idea of a sewing/crafting section is a handful of happy homemaker books from the Singer company. It's a big bummer. I also find that sewing books have lots of different projects in them and I like having multiple project options because I never know what might spark a new idea or catch my fancy. I also find that many of the good books have good general reference material about fabric types or sewing techniques and so as I build a library of books I build up a library of reference materials. This is not something that a pattern can offer. Lastly, books tend to cost just a bit more than some of the nicer patterns but are packed with all of the above to boot. I should probably fess up to being kind of a 'book' person in general...I just like the touch and feel of a book..oh dear, I already said lastly and then I said more. Ok, enough blathering. Now you know why I have so many sewing books and that I'm not reviewing any books because someone is giving them to me or paying me to say nice things.

On to the point: Weekend Sewing.
What I like about this book: I am very much seduced by the beautiful aesthetics of this book. It has lovely pictures and a nice, friendly, clean look. It makes me want to sew. I'm also a big fan of Heather Ross and her fabrics are of good quality, wear well and are soft. The book has a nice chatty voice and includes cute recipes and thoughts on things like sewing with kids. It has a great section on how to set up a space for sewing (which I copied almost exactly) and wonderful information on sewing basics and fabric know-how. It makes you like her even more.
There are 40 projects in the book and they run the gamut from easy to advanced, which makes it a nice book for both short and long-term projects. In total, I have completed ten of the projects, a few of them many times. I have been disappointed with only two. She also includes some unique projects, like how to make a pup tent (a simple outdoor play tent) which adds playfulness to the book. There are an additional five projects that I have dog-earred for the future but every time I open the book I see something else that would be fun to try. I think that is a sign of a good sewing book.

What I do not like about this book: I hinted at this already but I've had bad experiences with two of the patterns. One I recently posted about was the flower girl dress pattern, which came out to small and too tight. The other is a wrap skirt that I haven't blogged about yet but led to the very disappointing experience of using up 3 yards of fabric to find out that my edition of the book included errata. So, look for the second edition if you do buy or rent this book. Also, I would list one of the projects in the book as kind of stupid...putting simple applique on a tablecloth. It's just a silly one, perhaps they needed one more to make it an even 40 projects total. But, the absolute biggest downfall of this book is the way in which the patterns are displayed. the book includes patterns in the form of two large, thin sheets of paper. The problem is that the patterns are created with the intention that the reader traces the pattern they want off of the attached sheets, they are not intended to be cut out. All of this is still ok with me, I usually do that anyway. The unfortunate part is that in order to include all of the patterns on just two sheets of paper they overlap. And, not just a little bit: the flower girl dress pattern is hidden within the pajama pant pattern and crosses with the weekend travel bag pattern. It is a mess and hard to discern the lines of your specific pattern when you are trying to trace them. Nevermind how annoying it is to hunt for the grainline or any dart marks. I find it really hard to use and enough to knock the book out of platinum status for me. All of that said, I would still recommend the book just be prepared for it to annoy the heck out of you.

Final Grade: B+ for great ideas, clear instructions, playful and inspiring but a few pattern errata and poor pattern construction.

...the wee ones

I am done having children. D.O.N.E. And, it isn't that I don't love my kids or love kids in general or love being a mom, it's just that two kids is just the right number for us and I'm ready to move past the whole 'tiny baby' phase of my life and into the 'engaging child' phase.

And quite frankly, this whole feeling just doesn't *jive* with the insanely excited reaction that I have upon hearing a friend is pregnant. And, right now, many of them are pregnant so I have lots of time to contemplate this dissonance. And, I think the obvious explanation finally hit me. I get to enjoy the joy of new life WITHOUT HAVING TO TAKE CARE OF IT! No responsibility just the excitement and adventure of it all.

So, of course, I take this enthusiasm to the sewing machine. And, really, this is just a long way of saying that I made another kimono top from the Heather Ross Weekend Sewing book. I used the last little bit of voile fabric from Anna Maria Horner. It is hard to express just how light and airy and cute and tiny this little top is. Almost makes me want to try again, this time for a girl. Almost, but not quite.

Something for Mom

Well, it has been awfully quiet here lately. I hate when that happens. I have been sewing a lot just feeling a bit...reflective...about it, I guess. There is lots going on and it has me a little topsy turvy.

I did manage the sew together an exciting collection of things as a gift to my mom, a deeply belated gift I should add. It's nearly all from Weekend Sewing, which I go on and on about, I know. These were somewhat adventurous sewing projects for me. My idea was to create a pampering kit for her. So, I made slippers, a washbag, my zipper pouch, and the face wash, lip balm, and face oil from here.

The slippers were very satisfying. Cute, not that hard, and so functional I nearly cried. The border is ric-rac and they even have a little elastic at the back to keep them from slipping. But, none of it is fussy to sew.

The washbag was more challenging, I must say. Inside are little pockets to keep small things...they are even a little elasticized so things stay put. The components are straightforward enough but sewing it all together is a pain and a half. I'm an idiot about these things anyway and this just left me completely befuddled. I even stuck a pin in my hand. I don't think it was a function of the directions but more my lack of experience, if truth be told.
But, completely worth it. If for nothing than the pure joy of taking on a challenge. I will have to make more of these now, or all that effort to scale the learning curve will have been lost. Good thing it is getting on holiday time.

Summer Shirt

I recently made this top from Heather Ross's Weekend Sewing, which is truly one of my favorite sewing books...beautiful, clever, and has a mix of different 'I actually want to make this' projects. The shirt is made with Anna Maria Horner's cotton voile and is fantastic, light as air but sturdy. The fabric seems to wrinkle easily, especially when it's left in a wad in the corner of the bedroom, but it doesn't need ironing...it seems to smooth out after being worn for a while. It's low maintenance like that.

I wear this shirt a lot...after a dip in the lake or ocean, on a summer day with a small breeze, or on a hike (as in this picture from our family vacation) and it never fails me. I did use the serger for the seems and I'm glad because this top has been given the run-around. In fact I finished sewing it and put it on when I heard the baby wake up..he then proceeded to throw up all over me and it's survived loads more *family life* since then. I'm referring to the shirt, not the baby.

Kids Clothes Week: Days 5/6/7

I'm proud to say that I squeezed in a button down shirt for our Little C. Made from a skirt I had found. But, not so proud to have spent all of my sewing time yesterday trying unsuccessfully to thread my serger machine. I figured that this challenge was a good time to really dive into getting to know my serger. And, I do think that with an hour today I will have a better relationship with it but there has been lots of swearing. And, absolutely NOTHING has been sewn on it! Argh! [Yes, we are in the bathroom in this shot. Spending lots of time in there these days, which is good in many ways but I hope we can make some progress on THAT as well.]

minibag

Dude! I made this little bag. I'm so excited I needed two picture. There are oodles of mistakes, sewing the gusset to the outer bag got a bit messy and on and on. But, still I'm feeling a little over the moon. It is just so darn cute. (It's from Patchwork Style which is translated from Japanese into English. While this is definitely part of its charm, I could have used a bit MORE translation to be honest. Took an entire three-hour nap to decode how to get started and cut the fabric and...c'mon three-hour naps don't come along that often.)

When Life Starts Anew...

it is time to take note and start some sewing.

There isn't actually any new life just yet, just lots of anticipation so far. A neighbor and friend is presently overdue and for her I stitched up a nursing cover. Just a piece of fabric really with a neck tie but I added heavy duty interfacing to the portion just below the chin so that she can peek down on baby. It felt like the perfect thing to make with my Amy Butler fabric. (So, just in case you are listening, baby, we are all ready for you!! It is getting to the point that I am fidgety this baby is so overdue.)

I also made some bibs from the Bend The Rules sewing book. I love these bibs, they are a good size and with flannel backing they can mop up a decent amount of drool (drool mopping ability illustrated below). Also, they are relatively easy to make and so can be a little addicting.

My supervisor, an amazing and kind woman with double graduate degrees in social work and divinity (um, yes, that amazing and kind), is also expecting in October. So, I pulled together more bibs and burb cloths using up the last of some of my Heather Ross fabric.

I love making things for babies, seems like the perfect response to all of that incubating and nesting. And, it became even a little bit more profound this week because my wonderful grandmother passed away. She left behind sixteen great grandchildren and thousands of people on this planet that are better loved and cared for just because she loved and cared for somebody else along the line. It all left me eager to greet the new people passing in.

A Matter of Personal Taste

This is a sized up kimono top and the bloomers from Heather's book Weekend Sewing. The bloomers are so easy to make and look really cute and I feel sort of excited and proud to have made bottoms and not just tops. Plus, the bloomers use elastic thread to create the leg bands rather than creating a casing and inserting elastic. Elastic thread, by the way, is my new favorite thing in the whole world. It opens a whole world of possibilities! It is so easy to use (just set a long stitch length something she doesn't mention in the book but is mentioned on my elastic thread package). It makes it so easy to do smocking and elastic armbands, etc.

I also created my own bias tape for the first time on the kimono so that it would match the bloomers. It was a bit trickier than I expected. Might have just been my fabric but it was hard to get it ironed down properly since it was cut on the bias...it just seemed to want to stretch out of shape. Anyone else have this problem?

Now, I made all of this with an upcoming wedding in mind. The wedding is in August so it will be hot and I thought our man might be crawling a bit (nothing like a little crawling butt in bloomers, right?) but I'm having second thoughts. I mean it would be perfect for a wedding...of two circus clowns! I have to say I didn't really think through how loud this would be as an outfit. Personally, I love it together but I think that might just be me.

It is too big on him but here he is modelling the whole 'carnie' look.

Papa Pants

Another crease in the pages of Weekend Sewing and here it is. Papa's pajama pants for Father's Day. Doesn't every Papa need a pair of pajama pants that don't come off until around noon on a Saturday? I think so. I know my new BFF Heather Ross would agree (just kidding she doesn't know me...yet.)

I added a faux tie to the front of the pants both for the relaxed feel of things and to identify the front from the back...a problem with the handmade goods. The fabric is from contemporarycloth.com a sometimes daunting website that always delivers the goods.

Wee One Sewing

More from Weekend Sewing, little tops for little people. The black and white is the world's most adorable kimono top in a newborn size. It is really hard to convey how cute this is in the picture. It is so tiny that it becomes mouthwateringly cute. And so easy, the pattern is easy to follow and execute in a nap-time or two.

And, this is another one like the dick and jane shirt but made with (drumroll please) CONSTRUCTION SITE fabric. I almost lost it when I saw this fabric. It's too great for my oldest son. And, in a few weeks he will be headed to a different preschool so this is his official first day of school shirt. He has a tough time with transitions and so we are all a little nervous about this big change so I am hoping that being able to look at the trucks on his shirt will make his first day a little easier. And, it will be something he can show people and be proud of. Change, sigh, it's not easy at any age.

the Dick and Jane Shirt

I have to admit it, I watched the Martha Stewart show. I don't normally but I was breastfeeding and there it was. And! Guess who was on! Heather Ross! No joke. And she was making something from her book Weekend Sewing. So, I bought the book because the project seemed super great. And it is great! I love this book and I already have my little tags all over it with the many, many projects I want to undertake. This one is called Kai's shirt. It was not that difficult and her instructions are clear (though it contains the kind of projects that require looking at the instructions pretty diligently). I have to say this was really satisfying for me. I'm intimidated by making clothing as complicated as this but this book has very nearly convincing me to even try my hand at clothes for myself.

I have to say I'm growing into a pretty big Heather Ross fan. Not only are her fabrics beautiful and high quality but she is pretty cute and seemed like the kind of person that would be fun to hang out with. Her book convinced me to reconfigure my crafting table and chair (this space is such a work in progress for me). And, she has a great blog. Actually, to be honest, it is probably fair to say that fabric designers are my world's biggest celebrities. If I actually met Amy Butler or Heather Ross I would probably be too starstruck to talk and be totally uncool. Anyway, this whole thing got me thinking...forget Martha Stewart (no disrespect) but can you imagine a tv show with Amy and Heather and maybe Amy Karol to boot? Now that would be some good stuff!