Knits and What Nots

Sometimes it's the little things in life, you know. Last week I got an e-mail from one of my favorite online fabric stores (www.fabric.com) telling me about a moving sale. So, I did what comes natural to the "hunter/gatherer" in me and "hunted" the web-site during Piper's nap time. To my excitement knits were 60% off! I did the next thing that comes natural to the "hunter/gatherer" in me, I "gathered" some and put it in my cart. The box got delivered today!

How excited was I to open this:

Every color of the rainbow!  I wanted to drop what I was doing (tending to the children) and run off to my craft room.  I did the right thing and didn't let my crafting ADD get the best of me.  But, I did daydream a little about what I would do with it.  That's okay, right?  Especially since the kiddos were doing this:

Eek, school's out!

Today is the last day of school.  In a few short hours I will be picking Zachary up for a fun filled summer.  Or will it be?  Eek! I'm not ready.  Of course I knew this day was coming but I thought I had time.  Zachary is relying on me to entertain and stimulate his mind for the next 2 months.  I am not one of those Mom's that plans a fun activity for each and every day.  I'm not creative (in that sense).  If I'm not careful our summer could end up looking a lot like this:

Instead of this:

If you could be so kind, say a little prayer that we all make it through this summer in one piece and more with more than a few brain cells left. :)

Crafting ADD

I have a confession to make, I have crafting ADD.  Even though I have a dozen other things on my agenda to get finished, if I come up with an idea I have to drop everything and do it now.  I can't let the new project go or get it out of my head until it has been executed.  I know I'm not the only one out there with this problem.  I wonder if there is a 12 step program or some kind of support group.  Probably not, we're all too busy working on projects that must be finished "now" to leave home for a meeting.

My crafting ADD struck this weekend.  A few weeks ago I made this dress for Piper:

Oliver + S Popover Sundress

I had just gotten my serger out of the box and was looking for a quick project to practice with it.  Cute, easy and quick to put together.  My kind of project.

Last week I got my Hanna Andersson summer sale catalog in the mail (always dangerous).  In the catalog, I saw this dress:

Hanna Andersson Summer Sun Dress

Sadly, that current dress is sold out.  However, I figured I could remake something very similar.  Using the O+S Popover Sundress pattern and adding a tiny remix and I ended up with this.

I could spend the time doing a "tutorial" on how I did it, but it wasn't anything terribly difficult or genius.  All I did was measure the length of the original dress, decided how big of a ruffle I wanted, subtracted that number from the length, sewed up said ruffle (there are a dozen or so tutorials online for ruffles) and added it to the bottom of the dress.  I have 2 or 3 more remake ideas for the Popover dress.  It's such a basic dress that lends itself well to changing it up easily.  I just hope I can focus on the projects I should be working on and not letting my crafting ADD get the best of me.  Just in case I can't, stay tuned for more. ;)

One Down

I've got my first piece finished.  I know what you will say when you look at it, it's not finished there aren't any buttons.  There are 2 good reasons for that.  First, I don't have any orange buttons.  I have a plethora of buttons in all sizes, shapes and colors, except for orange apparently.  Second, the minute I put buttons on this adorable skirt I'm going to want Piper to wear it.  If I'm going to be able to wait until fall, I have to wait to put the buttons on.

Oliver + S Sailboat Skirt in denim

Pattern Progress

So, I've done a lot of talking up to this point but there hasn't been a whole lot of action.  I imagine if I'm going to have something for Piper to wear by the time fall rolls around I ought to get to work.  So, I have finally started to cut out some patterns.  My original plan has already completely changed.  Instead of updating the plan I will just surprise you as we go.  Who knows what I may end up with.  I have several digital patterns that I will be using.  I really like the digital patterns because I can print them over and over so instead of drafting the size I need from the original tissue pattern onto another substrate (I use freezer paper), I can just cut out the size I need.  If I need a larger size pattern the next time I sew that item, I just print another and cut the appropriate size again.  This has been saving me a ton of time.  One of my least favorite parts of sewing is pattern prep.  Now, there is one important thing to consider when working with digital patterns (other than print size being correct), make sure to check that a budding artist has not put one of her artworks into your printer.  See the example below.

Piper is a wonderful helper on this project.  While I was cutting patterns, she too wanted to help.

I guess it's a good thing that was an extra piece, she's still working on her accuracy. :)

Why?

I've heard it more than once when I tell someone that I am making Piper's fall wardrobe.  Why?  It is a good question and one that is hard to answer.  There was a time when sewing was done as a way to save money.  I know that I can go to any store and purchase things cheaper than what I am about to make them for.  That hasn't been lost on me.  I have used coupons when possible to purchase fabric and supplies.  Of course the time I will spend on this project has some value to it as well, though I am not sure you could add a dollar amount to it.  So, why am I doing it?  I read an interesting article on the Oliver + S blog that might help me answer this question.  The blog post was titled The Economics of Sewing.  When I read over the post it really spoke to me.  I think on some level, wether consciously or not each one of the top reasons for this project might hold true just a little.  I thought maybe I could touch on a few reasons others have given as to why or why not they pertain to me and how.

1.) The pleasure process.  There is something so rewarding about starting with a large flat piece of fabric and after a few cuts here, a few stitches there it turns into something wearable.  I am always a little amazed when I finish a project.  I look at it and say "I made that."  It's a wonderful feeling.

2.) Customized fit. In measuring Piper yesterday, I found out a very important thing.  She is a "size 2" in width, but a "size 3" in length.  When purchasing something from a store I don't have a choice in how it will fit her.  So, if I want something to be the right length (especially pants), then they are too big around the waist and vice versa.  By making her clothing myself I can make them fit just the way I want.

3.) March to your own drum beat. I think this may be one of the most important reasons and certainly one of my biggest motivators in starting this project.  Each week Piper and I attend various fun kiddo classes.  Each week I notice that Susie has the same jacket as Piper or Molly has the same shirt.  I think teaching our children at a very young age to embrace their individuality is so important.  I know that the things I make will be one of a kind, just like my girl.

4.) The "you made that?" draw drop effect. This one might go hand in hand with #1.  I take pride in telling someone that I made what Piper is wearing.  I work very hard to make things not look so "home made". So, when I get the reaction from people and they can hardly believe she's wearing a dress, top, pants, all of the above that I made, I take pleasure from that.

5.) Age appropriate dressing.  This is probably another one that was a very important motivator for me. I get very frustrated shopping for Piper already.  In my opinion, toddlers do not need; low rise jeans, mini skirts, or bare midriffs.  At the age of 2, Piper is a sweet, innocent, child and I intend to keep her that way as long as possible.

6.) Creating heirlooms and memories.  I had a dress when I was young that was so special I still remember what it looked like today.  It had a red skirt, with tiny white hearts and a white swiss dot top.  I remember that dress because my Mom made it for me.  I haven't seen the dress in years, but I remember exactly what it looks like.  I know my Mom still has it.  I look forward to the day when my daughter can wear it too.  I know the things that I make won't be "heirlooms" in the traditional sense.  I'm making play clothes, and I hope they fulfill that goal.  However, I have a bin that I put hand made items into and I hope that when Piper is older they will hold special memories for her as my dress does for me.

7.) Love.  I'm doing this because of my love of sewing and my love of Piper.  I like the way it's put in the original article.

Indywriter said, “if I have taken the time to create something handmade for you, it’s because you are special to me or to my family. I am not only giving you a dress, I am giving you the precious gift of my time and my thoughts during the process of making it.”

When I sew for Piper I think about her.  I think of how much she's grown and where she's headed.  Each stitch contains a thought or wish for her.

There you have it.  Perhaps I could print this out and just hand it to the people in line behind me at the cutting table in the fabric store.  But then, I wouldn't be able to talk about my adorable little one if they were busy reading.

Measuring Up & Pointless Laundry

This morning I took Piper's measurements so I can attempt to make things that fit her.  I had measured her several months back and I'm hoping the previous measurements compared to today's will help me to gauge how much she will grow by fall.  Wishful thinking, perhaps?  When her measuring was all finished, she wanted to measure me.  I was quite surprised to find out that my big toe was "45", my face was "12" and interestingly my nose was "40-40".

Over the weekend I had several more coupons so I was able to get the rest of the fabric needed to complete my project.  I picked up 2 different colors of corduroy, a cotton interlock knit and some denim.  I want to start with bottoms so I can make tops to mix and match with them.  So today I spent my morning washing fabric.  I know that every sewing pattern, book, website, etc. tells me to wash the fabric prior to starting to work with it but I have always felt that this was pointless.  Yes, I know fabric shrinks when washed.  And, I know that will affect my final product once it is eventually laundered.  Here's the problem, I dislike doing laundry.  The 6 loads waiting in piles by the wash machine are testament to that.  Usually DH gets tired of waiting for clean underwear and will do it for me (have I mentioned yet what a good guy he is).  I knew this time however that no amount of waiting would get him to do it for me.  So, I bit the bullet and washed several yards of unused, perfectly fine fabric.  One thing I have learned from those various books, patterns, and websites that did come in handy today was to serge the edges of the fabric before washing, this eliminates a lot of fraying from the cut edges.