Ignore the RED PANTS!

My little man was so excited to wear his new "jacket" he very nearly tore it off the serger!  Now, he normally likes to have his clothes match in color... even at just 2 1/2 years old.  But he just couldn't wait to wear this one, so ignore the red pants!  (I promise, they went really well with the gorilla T underneath!)

 

Yeah, he's pretty fly!



Busy Little Life

So, as the title suggests, it has indeed been a busy little life lately.   I have been trying to get lots of little sewing projects done in between the have-to's of this life, so here goes!:

 

It's still pretty chilly in the mornings and late evenings here in NorCal, so I decided to make the Desmond Jacket from Shwin Designs.  (LOVE THEM!The patterns are so easy to follow and the results are always perfect!) I used a bottom-weight solid red for the coat and the cutest little superhero/comic book style quilters cotton for the lining. And... I AM IN LOVE!!  I secretly wake up hoping for cooler weather so that I can make him wear it!  Not that it takes much convincing, he loves it too! (which is the most important part)

And here's a peak at the lining:

 

After that, I figured I had better get something going for my daughter... she can be the jealous type, especially when it comes to clothes!  My inspiration came from the Emerald challenge of the Sew-Vivor competition over at FamilyEverAfter blog.  (check it out... it's AWESOME!) The entry is from Jen of A Jennuine Life :

GORGE!  Right?  I love it.  So I decided to do a last-minute sew-along with some clearance fabric I found at my local Beverly's.  Unfortunately, due to a miss-calculation, I had a "make it work" moment. (LOVE YOU, TIM GUNN!) 

Do you see what happened?  I THOUGHT I measured the correct length for a natural waist bodice, but when I had the bodice constructed and went to place the sash... OOPS! It was about 3-4" too short!  The sash would have to go across the bust and arm holes!  YIKES!  So, like I said, bodice fully constructed with button loops and buttons, so we just make it work.  I cut the sash in pieces and just sewed it to the front and back folding it into the inside at the arm holes.

I still think it's pretty darn cute. 

And Shelby likes it too, so that's a plus!

 

My next adventures in sewingland are taking me back to knits.  I love em. Can't help it.  Found some AWESOME knits on Girl Charlee.com , so I will be doing some hoodies and tshirts for Drake and this little cutie has caught my eye for Shelbs:

And I am truly terrible at sketching, but this has been dancing around in my head, so I had to get it out onto paper... at least until I figure out what fabrics I want to make it out of!  (Again, excuse the AWFUL drawings... Sadly, I DO NOT draw.) 

(I drew the "front" on the right first, then the "back".  I did the strip work WAY too perfect in the "front" drawing.)

 

So, WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO!?



That's My Boy!!

So, I was sewing up a quick little top for my daughter the other day.  My son, who is two and a half, has begun to notice that I make things for his sister to wear.  So he walked up to me and asked me, "Mommy, make me a dress too?"  And he was caressing the fabrics folded up next to my table so sweetly with a look of longing only a little boy can muster.  So I melted completely, obviously!  Of course mommy will make you something (though probably not a dress)!! So I dropped what I was stitching and pawed through my new BOY patterns, and my stash of fabric (which is, sadly, mostly girly) and came up with this adorable little hoodie sweater. 

 

 

 I found a cute brown and blue lightweight sweater-type knit in my stash and bought a piece of blue stretch velour for trim and pocket. 

 

I also decided to add sme fun elbow patches. 

 

 

I love it.  He loves it.  And it has chipped away just slightly at the guilt I feel for always making girly fun dresses and skirts and tops for my little girlie-girl!

 

 

(sorry for the picture overload.  He's just so darn CUTE!)



Cowgirl Up!

So, you know I am OBSESSED with Shwin&Shwin's Maggie Mae tunic/dress, right?  I found some ADORABLE vintagey cowboy/girl fabric at Hobby Lobby, and I just had to go there!

I love how they turned out!  Then, I came across some super-cute tea party fabric at Beverly's in Monterey and had to buy it.  So I fashioned this cute little number from it:

That's been my week... what about yours?

Outrageous Outgrowns!!!

Time again for Outrageous Outgrowns!!

Outrageous Outgrowns Spring 2013 Show March 22-24 9:00am to 5:00pm Santa Clara County Fairgrounds Expo Hall 344 Tully Road, San Jose (Enter through the main gate on Tully Road) Each Day Is A Great Shopping Day! Great deals every day of the sale! Friday morning is our busiest time, but we also add more merchandise Friday evening for our Saturday shoppers. And Sunday is our ever-popular 1/2 price day where many items are discounted. Free Admission and Free Parking! www.OutrageousOutgrowns.com 408-391-5909 Help Us Spread The Word Please pass this email on to your friends and relatives so they can have fun at Outrageous Outgrowns too! Don't Forget Your Reusable Bags!

OUTRAGEOUS OUTGROWNS The best place to shop for your kids.

Bubbles, bubbles, and more bubbles!

I have been mired in bubble dresses all day.  I made nine of them.  The first I posted yesterday, and it was followed by these beauties:

Next up... cute Crafty Chloe clothespin people fabric matched with dots and stripes!

Paris in Springtime!

This is the first completed dress for the Paris in Springtime line I am making for Sprout Boutique in PG.  I didn't use a pattern, just drafted a bodice and a simple bubble skirt.  At first I was going to leave it plain, but added a pink satin ribbon at the last minute to tie it in to the rest of the dresses you'll see throughout the next few days.  ( I plan to try to photograph my next ones for my first ever tutorial!) This is a size 18-24m, but the shop carries NB-8/10.  It's a beautiful little shop and they will personal shop for you on the phone or online!

(Sorry for the poor picture... it is a rather gray day here, and I couldn't get a good angle with my phone!)

Misha Lulu

A truly sad thing...it's one thing to be inspired by someone's work, but another thing entirely to blatantly copy/steal it.

Bye-Bye Winter!

Yes, it looks like we are saying goodbye to winter here in the Bay Area.  Slowly, but surely anyway.  The spring rains, such as they are, are here. This means we can pack away beautiful wool coats like this one made from Shwin&Shwin pattern for the Abbey coat:

And while it is sad to say goodbye to such a lovely little coat that wont even fit her by the time it gets cold again, doing so means I get to make her adorable little spring jackets like the Prudence Jacket from Shwin&Shwin.  I am so in love with this jacket!  The first one I did was in this Homespun patchwork calico that I loved, but Shelby wasn't too fond of...

So then I made her one with thin corduroy and the most wonderful giraffe lining!

In case you couldn't tell, I LOVE LOVE LOVE Shwin & Shwin Designs. (I have nearly every pattern!) They make some truly wonderful patterns  that are easy to follow and fit well without alterations.  You ladies ROCK!

And finally, one of my favorite inspiration blogs, MeSewCrazy did a tutorial for making a cute little cropped jacket with ruffled/pleated pockets. Hers was AMAZINGLY CUTE.  My first attempt was with some leftover mattress striped fabric I had and turned out pretty good.  I already have a fabric stash in mind to create some more for Shelby.  She's into layering right now, so jackets definitely fit the bill!

Might have to try a "mommy" version!

Hoodies, hoodies, hoodies!!

We are mad about hoodies in our house right now. My daughter is 5 and thinks they are the coolest things... Especially the ones mommy makes her. My favorite pattern for them, you ask? Well, it's the Hangout Hoodie by Peekaboo Patterns that I got from Go To Patterns! It's so easy to throw together and has so much potential for customization!! I just love it. I am making one for The Boy soon, so for now, all I have are some pics of girl hoodies.  Sorry or the poor pictures... Sometimes I can't get the model to cooperate!! 😄

Bookworm Skirt

I saw this amazing little skirt on a little girl while I was working in Burlingame one day. So I thought, "I can make that!"  It's made from scraps, which I love cuz I have TONS of scraps.  I also used the selvedges of the fabric where the designer and color pallate is printed to add the "titles" of the books.  Maybe a Sew-viver contender?

Twirly Skirts!

There is nothing my little girlie-girl loves more than a twirly skirt.  She wears them over leggings, over jeans, and just by themselves.  If it poofs out and flies up when she spins, then she wants it!!



Refashioned!

This sweet little dress was refashioned from her Papa's shirt.  He got it for Christmas and didn't like the feel of the fabric, so he let us take it apart and refashion it into a dress for Shelby.  She loves it and he was excited that she kept calling it her Papa Dress. The faux fur bolero is the perfect touch to tone down the school-girl look and keep it fun!



The one!?

OK folks. This is it.  This is the dress I am submitting for Sew-vigor. And even if I don't make top ten, I'm still going to do the sew-along and post pics here. There are already 47 entries and the auditions don't close for a hole yet, so I figure with all the immense talent out there, my chances of winning are probably slim, but chances of having fun and creating beautiful garments is high!!

Showing a little Peplum Love

This was one of the first tops I made completely pattern-free. I LOVE the peplum and may use it as my entry for Sew-vivor 2.  What do you think? (The one on the right, obviously)

Sorry for the poor picture quality... I am hoping to get some better photos of it soon.