Project: Market Bag

We are so over Winter! After yet another pile of snow (18"!), we are expecting a bunch more over the next few days. I feel like this will never end. I had been saving this post for warmer times but maybe this will help me get to Spring sooner.

My friend has a daughter the same age as mine. Both of our families go to the Farmers' Market every weekend. I feel like it's this little ritual we both do even though we live hours apart. When she made an adorable market bag for her daughter, I had to do the same. Last summer, Zadie was barely walking but every Saturday, she would somehow get to the kitchen and point up at our canvas bags and gesture very excitedly. She knew it was market day.

After compulsively buying a bunch of the Lizzie House fabric from the Red Letter Day collection (seen in this post), I decided to actually use it. I spent a few minutes searching around on the internet to find a pattern or a tutorial and after reading a few, just pulled something together. It was surprisingly easy and I finished during a nap (one of the very rare 3-hour naps). The handle is a wide grosgrain ribbon that had come tied around a pre-packaged gift of some sort. I also added that little pocket on the front.

"Not much longer now, my little Smurflings, not much longer now." That quote from a childhood favorite is something I say to myself (and unfortunately out loud a good bit) when there's a lot of waiting left to do but you need to be reminded that time will pass quickly. Spring will be here before we know it and we will be able to put vegetables in this little bag instead of random toys.


For more on Project: Project, read this post.

Project: Giveaway!

Contest is over. Click here for the winner.

In celebration of the fabulous new look to the blog (see awesome banner above), I decided to do a giveaway. But first, more about the banner. Kimberly of FireDancer Designs had some of the best graphics I found while searching on Etsy. She has a nice, clean sense of design without a lot of fluff. She was super easy to work with (and I know I am not!). Don't you love it? I really don't know html but I am trying to teach myself some stuff. I was able to change the standard template colors from Blogger to the ones I had chosen for my Google Friend Connect gadget (see left sidebar) and Kimberly used those same colors for the banner. Somehow I also figured out how to remove the border that was around the compulsory header.

This blog isn't going to be about a lot of giveaways but a new look calls for some cheer. I stitched up this dress from a pattern I got on Etsy. It is a roomy size 2. The fabric is Alexander Henry's "Smiles Around the World" and is getting pretty hard to find. The dress has a cute little pleat up top and wide bell sleeves.

So if you want a chance to win this, leave a comment on this post. For extra chances, post it to your Twitter with @LemonCadet somewhere in your tweet. I'll randomly pick a winner Feb. 22.

For more about Project: Project, read this post.

Project: Pattern Challenge

Yesterday on Facebook, Sew, Mama, Sew posted about the new pattern challenge project over at Come and See the Seitz. When I was developing my ideas for Project: Project, honestly, the thought to make stuff for myself never crossed my mind. Faced with the temptation of a new challenge, I decided to jump right in.

So the deal is that participants have to set some goals, put them in writing, and join a flickr! group. Done, done, and done! (And that last part was easy -- you know me and flickr!). Since this is a pattern challenge, I have to use someone else's patterns and challenge myself. Sarah's hopes for the project are that by the end, we'll have a huge archive of pattern reviews that will be useful to other people attempting to make those same designs.

I haven't made a garment for myself since I took Flat Pattern Design in college (1997 to date myself). I am starting to realize that I've never actually made anything for myself from someone else's pattern. I think this challenge is off to a great and challenging start. We're in the middle of some bizarre freezing rain, snow, and ice so I can't exactly drive to the fabric store (45 minutes in either direction). My meagre stash of sewing books will have to do for now. My first two challenges come from Heather Ross' Weekend Sewing: the Go-Everywhere Shirt Dress and the Kimono Dress with an Obi Sash. When I have time, I'll find a vintage pattern to sew from and something from the fabric store.

My personal goals are to sew one item for myself each month for at least 4 months. If the Pattern Challenge is still in swing after that, I may just keep going.

For more on Project: Project, read this post.

Project: Jane (part 2, first meeting)

Wow. The Jane Austen book club meeting that I wrote about earlier finally arrived. I didn't know what to expect but I was a little nervous.

What a pleasant experience, however! My sister-in-law and I went together and we walked into the sitting room at this huge hundred-year-old house to find a group of women of all ages. We weren't the youngest and we weren't the oldest. Everyone there absolutely loved Jane Austen and given the fitting setting, we dove right in to introductions combined with a discussion of our favorite scenes from the novel and our favorite characters. We even talked about the plot. We also spent a lot of time discussing what we knew of Jane Austen's life and how that related to the writing.

Very cool. It was really nice to get out of the house and think about something other than my job (which has sucked today). We met some interesting people (many of whom had moved to town recently) and tried to stage a coup to get the next meeting moved up. Unlike grad school where everyone who says something is just trying to sound smarter than the person who made the last comment, I completely enjoyed the discussion, hardly said a thing, and kept my ears open. There's a lot to be learned. A lot.

Project: Kimono

Always a sucker for a free pattern, I downloaded this amazing kimono tutorial from the Habitual blog. As soon as I saw this Lizzy House fabric in the Red Letter Day collection, I knew they would be perfect. And what's better, I think I made this whole thing from fat quarters (not sure about the back).


I knew it would be worn in the winter so I added some length to the sleeves. Instead of ties, I used a hidden snap closure for the outer layer and a button with an elastic loop for the inside. This was the project that got me addicted to bias tape. I hadn't even known before this that there was such a thing as a bias tape maker -- and now I'm considering buying some different sizes. Ironing is so good for my space cadet tendencies.

This one piece has gotten a LOT of wear (only a recent growth spurt made the sleeves too short but perfect for Spring). It's roomy enough for layering and super easy to put on. Just beware that your toddler will learn how the unsnap before the resnap.


For more on Project: Project, read this post.

Modern Handmade Child Feature

One of my onesies was featured in the Spring 2010 issue of the EtsyKids online magazine, modern handmade child. See pages 10 - 11, "Turquoise: the Color of 2010."

It is, by far, one of the worst photos I have ever taken of something I've made.

Project: Buttons or Snaps?

This weekend I was able to all but finish the Oliver + S playsuit I was working on. It's adorable. We put it on the poor kid even though our house was a bit chilly. Now when she sees it she says, "Cold." Yet another parent-of-the-year award...

It will be warm enough for her to wear this about the same time she turns 2. So what do you think: buttons or snaps? She is getting good and snapping and unsnapping but not so good with buttons yet. I like setting snaps (er, having my husband set them) and I've never made a buttonhole. Hmmmm....

For more on Project:Project, read this post.