Heldin im Chaos

A Burst of Productivity

Hubby and I were looking over finances lately, and he wondered aloud why we weren't making more savings, given how infrequently we go out and how we don't buy much in the way of clothes or extraneous stuff.  Well, he doesn't, anyway.  I, on the other hand, have taken up knitting and sewing in the past two years, and I rapidly cultivated a serious addiction to quality fibers and fabrics.  Living in one of the more remote places of the world makes these addictions even more financially draining than normal (and normal is pretty bad as it is).  Ahem.  But look what I can do with it!

On Sunday, Hubby took the girls to the zoo in the morning, enabling me to knock out two aprons for a school fundraiser.  One of the organizers had asked me to sew a Mummy & Me apron set, so I selected a bright upholstery-weight Amy Butler for the mother's apron (good thickness for wiping hands and keeping splatters from seeping through) and a super-cute Alexander Henry apple cotton fabric for the child's apron.  The colors are similar, so they coordinate nicely without being too match-y.

However, as my Hubby advises me AFTER THE FACT, identical aprons was probably just what the organizers had in mind when they requested a Mummy & Me set.  Sigh.  I hate it when he is right.  It is entirely his fault that I had to go back to the fabric store this morning and buy more Amy Butler fabric.  It is completely not my fault that I also had to snap up four other fabrics for future projects as well.  Ahem.  Moving on...

Also for the school fundraiser, I did a bit of sewing for a mum in the school who doesn't sew.  She is a friend of a friend.  My friend "dobbed me in for some sewing" (thank you for that), and I took it on knowing it would be relatively simple and straightforward.  The mum who doesn't sew collects beautiful fabrics and wanted to copy a piece she already has that she calls an Amish sleeping mat.  What it is is essentially a small, plain quilt with no binding with an even smaller quilt sewn on top on three sides (it is the brownish-greenish fabric you see spread out on the floor in its open state).  The open side makes the small quilt into a pocket/cushion that the larger quilt can be folded into for transport.  It's unique and quite functional, so I was intrigued and took it on.  It turns out that I had to greatly scale back her plans for a massive patchwork vision (the design she had in mind would require hours of work), so the only piece of fabric from her collection that ended up in this mat is the red cushion top.  She bought the solid black and brown fabrics, plus the wadding and some thread, and brought them over for me, encouraging me to have fun with my spot of sewing for her to donate to the school auction.  Ahem.

The actual piece was quite easy to sew.  You could use any fabric combo you like, but I quite like the surprise of the print fabric on one side of the cushion top.  Thanks to an afternoon trip for the girls to the pool with Papa, I was able to knock it out yesterday too.  Although it was hardly necessary, I made copious notes so I could repeat the project sometime in the future.  I think this is a great little travel companion, especially for kids.  It could be a cushion, a blanket, a picnic rug, whatever.  All in a compact little package.  Pretty nifty.

I'm in a post-sewing-frenzy state of euphoria, and I'm hoping to ride this wave of satisfaction to some finished projects for our family.  I have at least a dozen more in mind with fabrics washed and ready to go...

Keeping mum and keeping busy

When I first started this blog, I was so excited about being incognito.  I was excited to have a space to share my thoughts, send troubling questions out into the world, open discussions and debates...all while having it run freely disconnected from my real life, thus not having to edit according to friends or family (especially family) readers.  Then, I felt a bit shifty for doing that and told those I know and love about this site.  And consequently, I keep mum on all those topics I meant to carry on about in the first place.  Sigh.  So, I'm sorry I've been so quiet.  I have A LOT on my mind, and honestly, I'd love to share it with you and get some feedback and hopefully some insight...but alas, I cannot (or should not).  Certain readers just wouldn't appreciate it, so I won't go there.

Guess I'll talk about knitting and crafting instead. 

I'm making decent progress on my scarf, and I'm still loving it.  Even the texture of Noro is growing on me.  I think this is because what I really love is watching those colors evolve and change.  The scarf is plain, the stitch is basic, but knitting it isn't because of those glorious colors.

I had intended to finish the Noro scarf before starting anything else, but my thoughts are wandering and I'm not sure how much longer I can keep them at bay.  My sister is due to birth her baby boy any day now, and I'd love to knit him something cozy and warm.  A girlfriend is due in March, and I have the perfect yarn ready to go!  I have that facebook craft challenge to meet, and at least one of the five projects is decided and on the brain.  A friend and I have discussed a knit-a-long Tea Leaves session.  Not to mention sweaters I would really love to knit for myself and my girls this year.  Hm...

One of my Christmas gifts from Hubby was the book, Alterknits, which I really enjoyed reading.  It has been a great starting point for inspiration (since I definitely don't need any patterns added to my mental queue at the moment).  One idea I really loved was the felted pinboard for the studio.  In my reality, there is no way I would knit something as large and time-consuming as a blanket just to felt it and hang it on the wall...but I do like the large alternative to a corkboard for certain!  A few years ago, I bought a bright yellow cotton quilt in Qatar that I simply could not leave behind (really cheap and really nice work in it), but when I say "bright yellow", I mean it is BRIGHT YELLOW.

It's so yellow that my camera didn't capture it correctly.  Its little meter thought, "Seriously?  There is no way it is this bright.  Let's tone it down..."  As much as I like it, I have never used it.  Now, I will.  I bought some quilt batting, and I'm going to baste it to the back to give the piece some more density, and then I plan to hang that up in my studio and use it for my inspiration board.  I'm very visual, so having a spot to display not only inspiring pictures and quotes but also tack up projects I'd like to get to seems a perfect idea.  Of course, that means I have to actually prepare and hang it in the first place...

What have you been up to lately?

Cute models for cute dresses (and some pocket sewing tips)

I managed to catch my girls just long enough to snap one pic each of them in the dresses I recently finished sewing.  

This is the pocket dress (B) from McCall's 5797.  I like that this pattern can easily grow with the child from a dress to a top especially when you don't fix straps in place (I used ribbon).  Super easy, super cute.  Also, super short.  They remind me of the girls' dresses from the '50s, especially the toddlers whose diapers are intentionally visible beneath the bottom hem.  

As is, they also work well (perhaps better) as a top.  I think I'll add about 3 inches before cutting the Christmas version tonight.  Those are due on those tomorrow at 5.  Haven't yet started.  Ahem.

I didn't have any patience for hemming pockets, so I cut them double and sewed them together before attaching them to the dress.  To do that, instead of cutting 2 pockets, cut 4.  Put 2 pockets, right sides together and sew all around the edges, leaving a 2 inch gap at the bottom.  Flip them right side out, use a knitting needle to poke out the corners, and iron them flat, tucking the unsewn hem to the inside.  Then, edgestitch the entire pocket, closing the opening with the edgestitch.  Attach them to the dress with an edgestitch on all but the straight edge.  Voila!

Sewing update

Just in case you were wondering, I almost met my goal of three dresses by today.  Almost.  I could have done that last one, but I opted for a much-needed nap instead.  I still intend to whip it up in the next few days, though I am on to my next deadline now.  

The dresses today were for a unicorn birthday party.  When I decided to make a unicorn sundress for the birthday girl, of course my girls wanted their own dresses too.   I finished the gift first, then the dress for the party invitee.  I didn't get my Wee One's dress done (not on the invitation list), and then my big girl forgot to wear hers to the party.  That worked out just fine for me, since there was no visible reminder of the missing dress.  I'm still new to sewing and haven't yet tackled buttons or zips, so I went for McCalls easy pattern 5797.  I made the dress with the pockets, and I substituted ribbon for the straps so it could be adjusted for size.  I'm very pleased with how they came out and I hope they will be well-received. (pics coming when I have a cute model)

I'll use the same pattern to make the dresses for the Christmas concert this week.  After those, I think I'll go back to knitting for a good while.  So much sewing on the deadline has made it feel more like a chore, and I'm ready for that fun hobby feel again.

Sew crazy

In the past two weeks, I have sewn seven Lazy Days Skirts (3 for us, 4 for a friend).  This weekend, we are attending a birthday party and the intended gift is a simple sundress.  It's a unicorn party, and we already had this fabric.  Easy enough, except my girls want matching dresses too (and yes, I actually have enough unicorn fabric to attempt it).  Next week is the school Christmas concert, and my girls would like matching Christmas-colored (school requirement) sundresses for that too.  That's 3 dresses in the next 3 days and 2 more within a week.  Due to my sleepless wonder-child, I have no downtime in the evenings, leaving the occasional extended naptime as the only possible work window.

That's why today I spent an hour of said precious naptime fluffing around on ravelry (and now blogging about it).  Obviously.

My capacity for procrastination and poor planning have no bounds.

I sewed a dress!

Will you please take a look at this retro cuteness?!  

This is the Schoolhouse Tunic from Sew Liberated.  I bought it months ago, thinking it would be a good project to try as a beginner (it was!).  It seemed simple enough to learn from and wearable enough to attempt.  The shape seemed a bit frumpy to me, so I tried to counter that with a funky fabric (Anna Maria Horner).  I purchased this and prepared it about months ago and then it sat.  Cut, unattended...for five months (maybe more?).  Now that we are moving in a few weeks' time, I have a renewed drive to finish my WIPs (Work(s) In Progress, to the uninitiated).  The idea of moving cut fabric seems unwise, so it gave me the push I needed to finish this dress.

As I sewed, I worried about the funky fabric.  I worried about the frumpy style.  I wondered what I was doing!  And then...voila!  It all came together and I am so happy and proud!  I needed a picture to show you all, and my girl was desperate to be the photographer with "Mama's big camera".  I really enjoy the Alice in Wonderland effect of my tall self photographed from down low.  Taller than the door frames!  It must be the heels.

The sleeves can be elasticated, but I think I'll leave that out.  The length is borderline for me (I feel that I need a pair of these).  This dress can be made shorter to wear as a tunic.  At my height (5'10"), it's practically a tunic at the dress length.  If I make it again, I'll need to add or subtract accordingly, but I am happy with the mini-dress look in this retro fabric.

I sewed a dress!  Hooray!

I made a garment!

As part of my newfound attachment to productivity and actually using all the stuff I have acquired in recent months, I have finally produced a little garment for my older daughter!  

In recent years, I have read so many rave reviews of Oliver + S patterns.  Liesl gets top marks for pattern directions, apparently writing so well and so clearly that the garment construction can easily be learned in progress.  That sounded perfect for my experience level (total beginner, largely self-taught), so I snapped up just about all of the patterns she makes that I like (translation: just about all of the patterns she makes, period).  The first project on the line-up was the Bedtime Story Pajamas, a kimono-style pajama for beginner sewists.  This winter, I bought some lovely flannel, cut it up precisely, completed steps 1 and beyond, put it away for a few days while busy and forgot where I was when I stopped.  Hm.  That's still sitting there, and it's definitely spring now.  Hey, my girl needs spring pajamas too!  And I had already bought the fabric for that as well!

Hmm...perhaps I also need to make a new ironing board cover at some point.

Look at this cute fabric!  So adorable!  With glittery fairies!  And pink (a requirement)!

So far, I have only finished the top (started this weekend, finished today!).  Sewing takes me ages.  The precision involved--laying out the pattern, tracing perfectly, cutting out the tracing, washing/drying/ironing/truing the fabric, pinning the pattern to it, cutting, pinning, ironing...--is enough to drive this perfectionist a bit mad, though I keep at it because I know it will be easier and easier with practice.  Have you heard of Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting Without Tears?  I'd be happy to buy a book titled Sewing Without Swearing, if someone will write it (my husband thinks taking a beginner's sewing class might be more obvious).  I may or may not have had a temper tantrum while trying to make the neckline straight enough to attach the neckband without creases, but other than that, this pattern was the easy dream to make that other people had described.

Check out the fabulous little label I attached at the bottom hem.

If you have shopped in the States and then shopped in Australia, you will understand a big part of my motivation to learn to make our own clothes.  If I find anything here for the girls that looks nice to me and is of a decent quality, it is rarely to be obtained without getting past that $80+ price tag.  I just CANNOT.  Seriously.  I don't spend $80 on t-shirts for myself, and I'm not going to grow out of them in a few months.  It's crazy.

Treasure aprons

As part of my decluttering and reassessing project, I intend to reduce my stash of fabric and yarn.  Given that just about everything there was purchased with a specific project in mind and the fact that I still really like all of those potential projects, this shouldn't be too difficult to do (though it will be rather time consuming).

A few months ago, I spotted and admired the stashing treasures play aprons on Rhythm of the Home.  They seemed perfect for our girls who are always collecting little leaves, rocks, feathers and shells when we are out and about.  Being the loving and considerate mama I am, I decided to make these aprons immediately.  I went out that day and bought gorgeous fabric in their favorite colors, brought it home and plopped it next to the sewing machine.  A few months ago.  Ahem.    

Last week, I finally ran that fabric through the wash and ironed it.  Another day, the fabric was measured and cut.  Another day, pinned and the body sewn.  Finally, last night the apron ties were completed!  I left them lovingly draped over the girls' chairs to be discovered first thing this morning.  From there, they were pushed to the floor in pre-breakfast mayhem and not given much notice.  Hey, just because it's handmade doesn't make it a guaranteed source of admiration from a 5- and a 2-year-old.

The process of making these little aprons took me nearly a week to complete, although they are not difficult at all.  They are exceedingly cute and practical!  The long ties enable a child to tie (or at least cinch) the apron in place without adult help.  My girls love the fabrics and seem at least vaguely interested in putting them to use.  We're headed to the park after school today to give them a trial run.

Note:  I do not know how big a child is considered for the apron pattern, but I guessed it would be too big for my girls.  I reduced the width by 2 inches and measured each girl waist down to whereabouts I thought the apron should go and added a half an inch or so for the length.  For my wee one, that gave me large rectangles of 9"x14.5" with two 5"x34" straps, and my girl needed 11"x14.5" large rectangles with two 5"x36" straps.  For the smaller pocket, I reduced the length by 2.5" (the pattern did 3").  Other than that, I followed the directions as written.

Test run this afternoon confirmed that the size adjustments were wise, though I think the original size would have worked for my big girl.  It would have been a bit big, but the added inches would give it longer life.  Wee One's ties could have been longer (again for longer life), but both aprons did the trick and inspired serious collecting in the park.

Quilting challenge: update

Okay, so Aussie Mum may have totally whipped my behind in our quilting challenge by finishing over a week early, but I have good excuses.  The obvious excuse was that I was on holiday for two weeks in the middle of our six-week challenge; the other reason is slightly more devious.  I have been using the time to make a baby quilt...for Aussie Mum!

Aussie Mum has completed quilts for each of her two boys...but she was due with boy #3 when we began the challenge.  I knew even if she finished her second quilt in time (which she did, most impressively!), she would still be one quilt short.  One afternoon while she was out but Aussie Dad was in, I snuck over and raided her fabric stash for the easiest to grab fabric bits from the two quilts she has made.  Her fabrics are stored in such a way that would have made it very obvious if I had taken the lot to pick and choose later, so I grabbed what was handy and stuffed it into my purse just as her car pulled in the driveway.  Whew!

From there, I supplemented with fabrics from my stash and built a baby quilt around it for Puggle.  I used the same pattern she had used for her other quilts, so the continuity comes from her fabrics and the design.  As for the remaining choices (borders, back, binding), I had to wing it.  I hope she'll like it!  AND, I almost came in at the deadline!  Although it's not the quilt I had planned to make in the six weeks, it is a complete quilt, one I thoroughly enjoyed and was proud to make.

Thomas on his playmat

A while back, I started sharing the process as I made a baby quilt for my friend Kelly and her baby Thomas.  Making a baby quilt (or playmat, in this case) was so sweet and satisfying, thinking all the while about the little one who would soon be using it.  After taking ages to sew on the binding (due to my inexperience), I packaged it up and mailed it off...without a picture.  Oops.  Then, today I received this in my inbox:

 

Gaah!  The cuteness is tickling me to bits!  If this is what I get for making a baby quilt, I am so making them for just about everyone from now on!