Travel tips: toddler in tow

We have flown twice now with our toddler and while we're by no means pros, we have certainly learned a few things. It pretty much comes down to snacks and keeping busy.

The first flight we took started out great but then we had airplane issues and were trapped in the Charlotte airport for an entire day. On the way home, we were lucky enough to spend an entire day in the airport and then a night in a fabulous Charlotte hotel. The joys. But luckily we were pretty prepared with snacks and toys (and extra diapers -- I learned from a friend to pack more than you think you are going to need. She learned the hard way).

For the 14-month old, the best thing we ever bought was a Doodlepad. At the time, she wasn't drawing much but she LOVED it when we would draw for her. She liked making animal sounds and had a blast naming the animals that we sketched out.

I picked up this guy from the local toy store and he has been beloved ever since. It was nice to have something new for her to play with but I made the mistake of bringing only new toys because I thought the novelty would do the trick but I think it would have been nice to have some old favorites as well.

I brought along a couple of wind-up toys and cars, a favorite book for bedtime, and of course her crib entourage. I made this cloth book and finger puppet sack, Katy Kitty, and picked up finger puppets at Old Navy on clearance. The handmade toys have only recently become beloved so I could have done better.

She was 2 this Summer when we went to Puerto Rico and having learned from last year, we brought along a couple of her favorite toys and the Doodlepad again. This year she is drawing on her own so it is getting some great use.

I made this lego sack and we surprised her on the plane with it. She is a huge fan of legos and loves to stack so we figured it was a good time to "upgrade" to the smaller pieces. We left all the tiny tiny ones at home so they wouldn't get lost. I also picked up a few activity books with stickers and a few new sheets of stickers. Twistables are something new that I've just discovered. Amazing. I also got all girly and bought a tiny Strawberry Shortcake doll. I actually think it was for me but Zadie loved the comb and her dress.

In the picture above you see those chubby little fingers playing with beads. I picked up a huge tub of beads from Michaels with a coupon and a pack of pipe cleaners and they really kept her busy. She loved stringing the beads on the plane and especially in the room. Since a tropical storm hovered directly over our vacation rental for 3 days (did I mention that?), I was so glad to have these. I just brought along a smaller container of the beads.

OK, snacks. I won't go on and on but I absolutely love these pouches of smashed fruits. We just discovered them and they are amazing. We keep them on hand for the car or for special treats. If you order from Amazon and subscribe, you save an extra 15%. There are several brands but when I bought them, Plum had the best price in the organics. That seems to have changed.

I also brought along all of her favorite snacks and had way more than necessary but I'd rather haul a couple of pounds of tiny cookies and crackers through security than deal with a meltdown so it was well worth it.

We stashed all of her toys and books in a backpack. We have a yeti from our awesome friends in Canada but how cute is this bee?

For both trips I spent way too much time packing a getting ready but I do think it paid off. We had two great trips by airplane but we also use some of these same toys and bring loads of snacks if we go somewhere in the car.

Wraparound Dress by Carolina Fair Designs (with Giveaway!)

This past winter when we were completely snowed in, I wanted to sew really badly. I had some great fabric but I didn't have any good patterns to work with. So I searched Etsy and bought a few things. The first pattern to arrive in my inbox was this super cute dress by Carolina Fair Designs. I printed it out and taped together what I needed.

I only had 1/2 yard of each of these Petite Ecole fabrics from Kokka so I sliced apart the pattern at the shoulder seam and added a seam allowance. I think it adds a nice dimension to the dress. But what makes this pattern great is that you don't actually have to do any construction. The basic shape of the dress is cut from one piece of fabric. All you have to do is apply the bias tape and you're done. It should be quick and painless (unless you're me and have to learn the hard way).

As you can see, my finished product is a bit different than the original design. Remember my disastrous bias tape experiment? Well, I never did get it the way I wanted so I created a blend of a hem facing and a lining for the top of the dress using the dress I had made as the pattern (my bias tape situation had gone so awry that I had to cut out the cute little button detail). Had I not completely altered the neckline with my mistakes, I could have just used the original paper pattern.

Normally you would do a facing for the bottom hem of a shirt or skirt that has too much curve to it (a roll hem will just bunch up unless you have mad skills). Basically you're stitching the main garment to an identical lining piece (right sides together), clipping the curves and turning it inside out. Topstitch when you're finished to give it that more polished and professional look (I like using a contrasting color when I do my topstitching because it adds some visual interest). I did all that before I added the bias tape edge to finish the dress. If this makes absolutely no sense and you want me to explain it further, let me know and I'll make another one of these cute dresses and do a tutorial for you now that I have it all figured out.

Finally, I added this cute little pocket. I was going to buy a $7 wooden school bus button that Kokka also created as part of this line but thought that would be insane and added this adorable tape detail instead. It cost much less and I still have a lot of it to work with. I do have a good bit of the trim and the fabric left so I will be doing something else with it in the future.

SORRY. COMMENTS ARE CLOSED. WINNERS HAVE BEEN PICKED.

So now, on to the good stuff:
Caroline of Carolina Fair Designs and I have kept up our correspondence since my initial purchase of the pattern. I asked her if she wanted to giveaway one of these patterns on this blog and she said actually, she would give two! To enter, go to her website and take a look at the patterns. Leave a comment on this post stating which one you would like (we will not hold you to that decision, you can change your mind). Tomorrow, I'm going to post about the Pretty Pinafore pattern (in which I actually follow the rules). Enter again on tomorrow's post. I'll pick winners on Monday, August 16.

And make sure we can find you! Leave your email address or a link to a way to contact you. Thanks!

Somebody Else's Project: Circle Dress

When Zadie was just a baby I got this awesome circle dress from Sweet Pepita at a craft show. I'm thinking it was Squifire's in Baltimore but I honestly don't remember.

The dress finally fits and it's been getting a lot of use. In fact, Zadie pretty much demands to wear it everyday. It hasn't been hung up on a hanger in the closet because it's always pulled straight from the laundry basket (clean) and over her little head.

One day, shortly after the first time she wore the dress, Zadie was demanding to wear the circle dress and I had no idea what she was talking about. I showed her everything in the closet and pulled out lots of tops and rompers from the drawer, only to remember that this was in the dirty laundry hamper. I pulled it out and she was so excited. If only the stuff I make for her would have the same power...

Anyway, I'm in no way getting any kickbacks from mentioning this awesome shop and seller (although I certainly wouldn't mind, ha ha). I just want to give props where they're due. Thanks for making great stuff!

Project: Etched mirror silhouette tutorial

I wrote up a tutorial to make these gorgeous etched mirror silhouettes for the Mother's Day issue of Modern Handmade Child. It's a simple project once you get the supplies together. It took me longer to get a good profile shot of Zadie than it did to make this project!

Follow this link and click on the special Mother's Day Issue to the right. Page 26 - 28. Sorry Mimi and Grandma Char for the spoiled surprise on your Mother's Day gifts.

And I will be posting a longer tutorial on the non-toxic version using flocking powder sometime soon.

Project: Trades are awesome.

The best part about Etsy, for me, is the community. I like that when I have a question about something, the person who actually made that thing with their own two hands is going to answer me back.

Since I've been in this pattern/sewing kick, I've been looking really closely at some of the toddler dresses. I emailed the owner of DevonRose demanding that she make patterns of her designs because they are awesome. She wrote me back saying that she doesn't use patterns -- she just cuts straight from the fabric. What?!? Is that possible? Not for me. There's no way I could do something like that. She is like a magician.

Anyway, she had bought one of my yetis a while back so we got to "chatting" and she suggested we trade. Awesome. This green dress is amazing. The craftsmanship is really impeccable. That's something that's really important to me. I couldn't find a stitch out of place (and you won't in my stuff either). These little fabric covered buttons just rock (I'm so going to buy one of those fabric covered button maker thingys next time I leave the house). Check out how the underskirt just perfectly accents the hem. I love it. I also love her blog. Good stuff.

Project: Corduroy

With the feeling of Spring in the air, I've decided to get all the corduroy out of my system to make way for bulbs popping through the snow, buds on the forsythia, and huge doses of antihistamines and decongestants. Go March!

I made this adorable dress using a the Parisian pattern from ManiMina on Etsy. The collar piece absolutely gave me fits. I could not get the pattern to make sense at all so I ended up fudging it. After a couple of tries, I got it to work and actually made two of these. The armholes were too tight on this one for my niece so I adjusted the pattern 1/2" on each pattern piece so that it would work better for her.

The floral fabric is a very fine wale corduroy that I got at JoAnn's. It's soft and gorgeous and has washed up really well. The collar is linen because I thought that would really add to the Fall feel to the dress. Zadie has gotten a lot of wear out of this and both girls call it their "pretty dress" and beg to wear them when they're fresh out of the wash. I just love the vintage button I used for the closure paired with a satin ribbon.

Project: a feature!

The amazing folks over at Feeling Stitchy featured my Yeti Dreams of Soup dress on their blog. It's a great site full of all the latest stuff in the world of embroidery: new patterns, some projects, free tutorials, and a lot of talent.

It's an honor to be there. Thanks so much!

Project: Men's Dress Shirt Dress

Since Spring isn't listening and we just keep getting more snow, I've decided to stop fighting it and just go with this Wintery theme: Corduroy! ManiMina on Etsy has some really great patterns. A few months ago I bought a set of patterns for recycling men's dress shirts into cute toddler wear. One pattern makes this awesome dress, another makes a top and skirt, and the third has you turn the arms of the shirt into a pair of pants.

I bought a super thick brown corduroy shirt at the Salvation Army for a buck. I thought it would be great for winter. When I took these photos the dress fit perfectly. Then two weeks and a growth spurt later, it was a tunic. I don't know how Mr. Lemon and I turned out this tall kid. I'm 5'2" and Mr. Lemon is no basketball player.

I decided to add some length to the sleeves since this would be worn when it's cold (and now with leggings, also super cute). That was not successful at first; the armholes, which fit perfectly with short sleeves, were way too tight when lengthened. I cut an ovalish shape out of some of the scraps and sewed them into the armpit area after ripping apart that seam. Now it's perfect. I will have to watch out for that when lengthening other patterns. It's no fun to hem sleeves so I added some cute bias trim that I bought on Etsy (it's Michael Miller) before I knew you could make your own.

The dress seemed dark to me so I went nuts with my sewing machine's very limited selection of decorative stitches and added a bunch of detail. I just put some pins in to give me some direction. That was quick, fun and really easy so I'm definitely going to keep doing that little trick.

Finally, I dug through my stash of vintage buttons and found some interesting ones to use in place of the hideous ones that came on the shirt (I bought a tin full of buttons at a yard sale for $3 a few years ago -- what a find!). The only really challenging part about making this dress, for me, was the thickness of the fabric -- especially where there were existing details in the shirt. It was a lot of bulk for my machine but the Huskystar once again pulled through.

I loved making this. I had made the same pattern with short sleeves for a friend in the Fall and will definitely use this pattern again. There are some other tutorials floating out there online for similar projects out of men's dress shirts so I'm going to try them all and report back to you.

Project: Design Challenge finished! Yeti dreams of soup.

If you were a yeti, what would dream about? Soup!

I'm so happy with the way this dress for the Design Challenge turned out. And Zadie loves it to. When I finished it I held it over my legs so it would be at her eye level and she screamed, "Yeti dress!!!!" and gave it (and me) a huge hug. Success.

For my embellishments, I did a reverse applique using one of my yeti t-shirts. I'm happy with the way it turned out and it was totally worth the challenge. If you like doing this technique, try it with a design element. Just trace your image onto thin paper (or photocopy it) to use as a template for placing the fabric underneath your garment. Use a lot of pins to get it right. I stitched around the edges before I cut then went around it again after. Basically I felt that the machine stitching wasn't standing out next to the embroidery so I wanted it to pop a bit more. It wasn't necessary to the construction because I used Wonder Under around the edges of the yeti.

I did the embroidery starting with the bowl of soup. I mapped out where I wanted everything with pins and then just did it freehand. I wanted it to look dreamy so I didn't want to draw on the dress and "trace" with the needle and thread. Finally, I surrounded it with the thought bubble.

Doing this project really reminded me of my love for embroidery. I'll be doing more of this type of work to Zadie's future outfits. If anyone wants a tutorial on my reverse applique, leave a comment. If there is enough demand, I'll write one up.

For more on Project: Project, read this post.

Project: Design Challenge in Progress

Lil Blue Boo sent me the pattern for the Design Challenge via email right away and after work, I got started. The whole Lemon clan looked through the Goodwill bin and Mr. Lemon donated some of his shirts to the cause while I pulled a couple of shirts Zadie had grown out of from the pile.

I ended up choosing the stripes for the bottom because that had been a favorite shirt of mine but it shrunk up too short. The sleeves are from a shirt I got for a dollar. I put Zadie in it all the time but she recently grew out of it. The red and grey are from pre-baby shirts I'll never ever wear again.

Mr. Lemon had gotten dinner together during an unusually long nap so I cut all the pieces out before we ate. After Zadie's bedtime, I stitched the whole thing up in less than an hour. It is a very clear and simple pattern. (I used existing hems for both the bottom of the dress and the sleeves for a more polished look).

I've already started my embellishments (because that's what the challenge is all about). This morning I asked Zadie what the _____ who is now living at the bottom of the shirt will do. She said, "Soup!" so soup it is. Mr. Lemon's trip was cancelled so I'll be able to spend more time on this today than I thought so I'm hoping for greatness. More on Monday!

For more on Project: Project, read this post.

Project: Pinafore

Apparently my post about the market bag did absolutely nothing to bring on Spring. In fact, we got even more snow. So here's round two of hoping for better weather. But seriously, it can't get much worse.

I bought the pattern from Aliyah's Hope Chest on Etsy. She emailed the instructions but sent the pattern in the mail. She also sells pinafore kits in her shop. The pinafore was incredibly easy to make thanks to all the detail. There was one tricky part but she had a little video up on YouTube that showed how to do it. After seeing how it was constructed, I didn't have any problems. I actually made 4 more of these to give as Christmas gifts but my friends must not have cameras because I haven't seen any photos.

For the pinafore Zadie is wearing, I used awesome Tina Givens fabric (Chandelier Medallion) in chartreuse for the front and a vintage red fine wale corduroy for the inside. I wish I had fussy cut the print because it's so amazing but that's definitely part of the learning process.

It's perfectly reversible -- no weird seams or anything like that. Zadie is wearing the red side here. Unfortunately, my kid is also obsessed with fleece and demanded to wear that ugly hoodie. I will definitely be making many more of these. How cute they will be with little bloomers in the summer.

For more about Project: Project, read this post.

Project: Another challenge

Always a sucker for a sewing challenge, I am throwing myself into the Lil Blue Boo & Dharma Trading Design Challenge ring. The deal is you have to buy one of the Lil Blue Boo patterns (all pattern proceeds are being donated to Three Angels Haiti). Then you have to sew up the garment and embellish it.

I bought the super cute Sienna t-shirt dress because I'm crazy and love to torture myself. I hate knit and my sewing machine feels the same way but, oh well, here goes. As soon as I saw the pattern I had a bunch of ideas. Unfortunately the deadline is Monday (Monday!) so I gotta get busy. Also, Mr. Lemon is heading out of town for the weekend so I'm flying solo on wild toddler duty. Wish me luck. You'll be seeing some yetis in the future. You know it.

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: 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.

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.

Project: Spring Jacket

When I was pregnant I bought a bunch of patterns and books to make stuff for Zadie. Because our lives were such a mess, however, I didn't get much done. Finally I got the chance to use Baby Couture, something I picked up at Amazon for a couple bucks plus shipping.

The title is certainly deceiving as a pillowcase dress is hardly couture; the book also features pretty much the same couple of patterns but in different fabrics (weird, I know). In all, it was worth the $2.23 I paid for it (it's even less now). There is a cute jumper that I plan to make and an easy pants pattern.

For this jacket I used Alexander Henry's Starlings for one side and an organic cotton fleece that I bought for making cloth diapers (see "didn't get much done" above for why I still have yards of it) for the inside. It's technically reversible but I don't think we'll bother. For the cuffs I picked up that cute little Spring green woven from the quilting section of JoAnn's. And instead of adding buttons, I used some grosgrain ribbon to make a tie.

The pattern looked really boxy from the start so I went ahead and added about an inch to the sleeve length and lengthened the jacket over 2 inches because Z has a long torso like her Auntie. I tried the jacket on her before I hemmed it to make sure that worked. If I use the pattern again, I would probably add a bit more to the cuff so it would fold up higher. The fleece took up a bit more space than I realized. I also used a 3/8" seam allowance for the fleece layer and a 1/2" s.a. for the cotton so it would snuggle together better (note to self: learn sewing terms).

For more on Project: Project, read this post.

Project: Decisions (or, So Much Fabric So Little Time)

I bought some Oliver + S patterns a few weeks ago and realized that I was hoarding them like my cutest cuts of Japanese fabric. Yesterday I decided to break out the Playsuit pattern and go for it. It's sold as part of the Tea Party Sundress set.

Although the samples feature a solid fabric or a solid paired with a print, I really like mixing prints so I got out some of my favorites and starting messing around. How surprising that this Lizzy House Red Letter Day fabric (Pearl Bracelet and Stripes) goes so well with the Michelle Engel Bencsko Shade Garden line (Snail Trail and Sprouts).


So which one do you like the best?

(Playsuit image from the Oliver + S website.)


For more information about Project: Project, read this post.

Project: Storybook Cape

I'm a huge fan of the Grosgrain blog. Kathleen is an amazingly talented seamstress, designer, and photographer. I don't know how she does it. All I know is that I'm lucky enough to have a kid just a few months younger than hers so if she keeps posting patterns like this one that fit her kid, then I'm all set with cuteness.

This cape was incredibly easy to make. I'd like to say it took longer to cut out the slippery velour than it did to make the entire cape but I screwed up (what, again, really? no.). Something that should have been simple, of course, took me a couple extra hours.

So I chose this incredibly soft dark chocolate brown velour to pair with the super bright turquoise fine wale corduroy. Kathleen said not to choose stiff fabrics so I was worried about the corduroy but it was perfect to give some needed weight to that crazy velour.

Zadie came with me to the fabric store to pick everything out and she was dying over the velour. When we got home she was draping the yardage over herself like a kimono and would pile herself dramatically on top of it on the floor all while shouting, "Soft! Soft!" So I hurried to cut out my pattern pieces and stitched her up a little soft of her own with what was left over. "The soft" has now joined the entourage in the crib (Mila, blankie, Elph the elephant).

What I did wrong: Because I used such a slippery fabric, the two layers weren't holding together very well. So I decided to tack them together at the top and bottom of the sleeve holes with a horizontal stitch. I did this before sewing the bottom hem so I couldn't turn it inside out to make a blind hem, I had to pin it together and topstitch the entire thing. With velour, you need to pin every inch or it goes wild. I like to pin and I love to topstitch (as I've said before). But ugh. Then I had to rip out a few sections where it got all bunchy bunchy and re-stitch.

The end result is amazing. Zadie loves it and we can't wait for Spring when this becomes a permanent fixture in the outerwear collection. Check out Grosgrain for all the giveaways and help out her friend win the wedding of her dreams.

For more information about Project: Project, read this post.

Crafts N'At is Saturday!

Stalk me this Saturday at the Pittsburgh Craft Collective's Crafts N'At. "N'At" is Pittsburghese for "and that." So come by from 10 - 6 at the Union Project on N. Negley. Baby Lemon will be home with the grammas so it will just be me and the Lemon Loot.

I have some new polka dot romper guys that I made special just for this show. They are awesome.

More info here. I have to say that this logo is, by far, my favorite of any of the craft shows I've ever done. It's so cool.

I'm in booth 19, at the end of the row that will be facing you when you walk in.

A new dress.

After much success with the Simplicity pattern, I decided to pick up something a little shorter, a little more casual. I can't find the pattern right now or I'd tell you what it was. It was not Simplicity and it was not simple. I thought it would be easy but I had a lot of trouble with it. The instructions said to do things that didn't make sense. When I would look up the words they were using, I still couldn't figure out what they were asking me to do so I just did what seemed right. I guess that's why sewing classes are useful. I've never really had one.

I love how this turned out. I used yet another Alexander Henry fabric that is fabulous. It's called Traffic Pattern. I paired it with a dusty blue polka dot that I picked up at the local quilt shop. Instead of buttons, I used snaps. I still don't know how to use my machine to make a button hole and what toddler is going to sit still long enough for you to button them into something. Mine sure doesn't.

Mr. Lemon assisted with the photo shoot on the porch by blowing bubbles to entertain the little one. More pics on flickr (link to the left).