Children's clothes

Yep - still making those last minute gifts...

Even though Christmas was yesterday for most, it is tomorrow for me. That is when all my kids and grandkids arrive. The good news is that I have an extra day or two for sewing and then wrapping. I'm still working on some things for the two DGD's.

Both girls will receive Ottobre's "pants with frills" made with the Baby Nay stretch cord. These are pattern #14 from spring 2007. You can't tell in the picture, but the front pant leg is in two pieces so that the lower portion is gathered onto the upper portion. I like that detail for little girls. Also I like the slightly bohemian detail of gathering the lower hems. That way, I don't have to worry so much about pant length.


I didn't really take advantage of the fact that the fabric is stretch. But DGD #1 has two favorite colors - red and pink, so this is just the perfect fabric. Later I'll make jackets out of the coordinating stretch cord.


I decided to omit the frills from the pants and add pockets, using the coordinating stretch cord. I used the fussy-cut technique to cut out patches on the pattern. I tried to use one of those long plastic gizmos for inserting the elastic but it stretched the elastic so much I had to go buy new elastic. It may have been the elastic; it may have been the gizmo. The jury is still out on that plastic gizmo.


DGD #1 will also receive a wrap jacket from Ottobre's autumn 2006 edition (pattern #19). I made it with a very small piece of stretch velvet I bought in Leominster, MA (Sage Fabrics) last year. The ties are made from a fat quarter, cut on the bias. I used those cool tube-turning gizmo's to make them. Now that's a gizmo I really love.



It's so much fun to make these small garments. Everything looks cute in these sizes! I also have another small piece of pink stretch velvet from Sage. So DGD #2 will receive a jacket from that. I'm thinking of using Ottobre's spring 2007 pattern #5. It's just a little bolero with curved front pieces. It's not quite as current looking as that wrap jacket though. But it might be easier for a 21 month old to manage.

My Punk Rock Brother Sews

I had a great holiday and I hope you did too. I received a wonderful gift from the garbage this past weekend. We arrived at my mom's for our holiday celebration, I went immediately to her sewing room because that is were I tend to hide out during loud family gatherings, only to find it occupied by my younger brother. WHAT!! I adore my younger brother, he and his family are the subject of most of my personal photographic work, but time and alcohol have really separated us for the last 5 years.

He was sitting at a lime green Singer Sewing Machine, crowing over the fact that he pulled it out to garbage the day before and it would not even "turn over" (he is a mechanic) and now it was humming along. The machine is pretty beat up but his joy was so apparent that I was immediately draw in by his enthusiasm for sewing.

He had just finished his first pillow and wanted to make a shamrock pillow. We scoured through my mom's stash and found a great plaid and I showed him how to create a pattern with freezer paper so the curves would be easier and he was off and running, literally, his machine would not slow down, petal to the floor and no stopping for the curves.

By the end of the evening, the party was in the sewing room, it was amazing. My mom, my brother, my nephew (15 years old) and me all cackling away, giggling, sewing and having a great time. Fortunately, I brought some stuffing along to finish up the Cathedral Window ornaments because pillows were the project du jour. Brent finished up 3 pillows and Hadyn finished up a great looking hand / foot pillow.

Brent woke up the next morning saying he dreamed about a dress he wanted to sew. We were at his place yesterday and he showed me were he and Hadyn were going to set up a sewing room and he wants to come look at my fabric, he needs it all. There will be a trip to the sewing store in our future for notions, he needs lefty scissors. His birthday is next month and I know what I am getting him.


Not to be super cheese girl but seeing my brother sober and sewing was the best gift of my holiday.

Cathedral Windows and Yo Yo Ornaments

Handmade for the holidays is hard. 

This past weekend I was at a very slow show and I managed to make 120 plus yo yos to string into wreaths and I found a cool ornament in our holiday stuff that I made about 6 years ago using the  Cathedral Windows block. 

The yo yos are made using the large Clover yo yo maker, stringing about 20 of them together and tying them up tight.  I think they need some noise, like jingles or maybe just some ribbon.

The Cathedral Windows Ornament is a bit harder to explain but I started with 2 nine inch squares of fabric, which I sewed up like you would start a CW quilt. I need to refine them a bit but if there is an interest I will try to post some how to pictures.