Project: kids clothes week day 3

Today I was actually able to finish the pants. They are super cute on and a great fit but I think they will work better with a disposable diaper. The hem was a breeze.

I played around with my alligator cross-stitch and still am not sure what to do with it. I will put it away for a few days and go back to it fresh.

I had also wanted to start a little peasant blouse but I couldn't figure out how to make the pattern so I spent some time looking through some other sewing books for inspiration and suddenly it was 9:30.

Such is my life. I think I spend more time thinking about what the heck to do than actually doing it. And I don't want to even think about how much time I spend ripping out mistakes and fixing the stuff I screw up.

Project: kids clothes week day 2

I did more than an hour of sewing today because it was Election Day and I didn't have to work. We had a little family outing of going to the tasty bread store, the library, the quilt shop for buttons (just me), and the polling place. I made a reasonably informed vote and feel good about my decisions.

Last night I finished up the bias trim around the gator dress but did not think of a solution for that seam at the neck. Any ideas? I have a crocodile cross-stitch pattern that I was going to add to a pocket. Maybe I can work it in up there? I don't know.

Today I started on the yellow elephant pants. They are almost done. I have to sew the buttons on and hem them up. I made a weird mistake as you can see in the picture. I put the buttonholes too far over so the little flap that I was supposed to sew the buttons to would not have been big enough. I had to add 3/4" to the width of the flap pattern so I went with a different fabric and I like it much better with the buttons I chose. The pants seemed to fit well even over the chunky cloth diaper so I think they'll be great for now and later when we are diaper free. I was too lazy to fold over the edge of my elastic and stitch it up so I just used nail polish to seal the ends. Wow. Who does that? Now it's drying so they'll be ready to go tomorrow when I get home from work.

But I totally felt like a rock star blasting out my buttonholes like I had been doing them my whole life.

Project: Applique Tutorial

Check out my guest post over at Come and See the Seitz today. I give away all of my applique secrets one by one.

Project: kids clothes week day 1

I was thinking that this week would be Robot Week and that I would feature all the goodness that was Zadie's 2nd birthday party. But I am really stressed out. What I need right now is to just sew and not have to do anything that requires a great amount of effort. I hope that's okay.

A while back I signed up for kids clothes week over on Elsie Marley. It seemed like a big challenge at the time but now it seems like what I need: I just want to sew. And the deal with kids clothes week is that you just sew -- for one hour every day.

I'm starting today by finishing this cool crocogator dress. It's top secret for now but you'll hear about it soon enough. That seam on the bias tape right at the neckline is really bothering me. I'm going to do something about that.

So here's my plan:

this crocogator dress (fabric by boosterseat)

those yellow elephant pants (pattern by danslalune)

bubble romper (maybe)

a little zippered tote so zadie will have something for her doll accessories

maybe some doll clothes for her new baby

I might not even get to all this but I'm not going to worry about it. Oh, and I know that doll clothes and tote bags aren't kids clothes but that's okay. You should check out the Elsie Marley site. She has some amazing inspiration. I love the bunny rabbit pocket detail she features. Cuteness overload.

Project: 2

newborn baby

at one year

now

Someone just turned 2 today. Wow. I have no words. We are having a party with family this weekend. Robot Pinata, Robot Dance Party, and Robot Popcorn Machine. Next week will be Robot Week.

Project: Buttonhole! (and should I buy a new machine)

the mess of the tests

Today, I made a buttonhole. In fact, I made three of them: one to test and two for the show (the Oliver + S Playsuit show, that is). I have been afraid to try buttonholes because they seem so daunting. So I popped in the quilt shop with Senior Husky and we got to work. The setup for this particular model is different from all of the other Husqvarna machines that they carry so it was a bit of a challenge to figure out but it's so easy now that I know how.

But it's dangerous being in the quilt shop because of all the beautiful brand new fancypants sewing machines they have lined up ready to go at the front of the store. . .

I bought my Huskystar 224 used from my local quilt shop almost 10 years ago. It's been good to me. It's been a pain in the ass (mostly me not knowing what I'm doing). But lately I've been wanting to upgrade. Senior is a top-of-the-line beginner machine and I just need to move on. I need more control and I need a stitch that is shaped like little VW campervans. That's all there is to it. I think I'm going to buy an Emerald 183. It's an upgrade but it's not crazy. It's on sale. It's calling to me. It has fonts but it's not an embroidery machine. (I can use my mom's if she ever takes it out of the box). I am going Husqvarna because I want to support a local business plus they teach me stuff I don't know when I need to learn it and they do all well-child visits in house and most repairs. That means it won't get shipped around needlessly if something does go wrong.

So what do you think? Should I go for it?

Earth Week: Roundup

Project: Earth Week. An introduction.

Cloth Diaper Report. Part three. Follow the links to the older posts.

Cloth Wipes Tutorial and Recipe. Click here. Solution recipe at bottom.

Earth Week partner in crime: Sabra of Sew a Straight Line. All of her posts in one spot.

Real Food guest post by Amanda of the everyday palate.

Links to some excellent green resources, information, shops, and shopping tools.

Sponsor: Natural Home Essentials.

Sponsor: Monkey Travel Club.