KCWC - Day 1

Was I being ambitious? Yes! A little delusional? Absolutely! Day 1 of the Kids Clothes Week Challenge did not go very well for me. Why? Well, for the first time in a while, I really just didn't feel like sewing. So last night, I spent my hour (and a bit) tracing and cutting out a couple patterns I wanted to use. The Dapper Dillinger Trousers for Big C, and the Tee for Two dress for lil C.

After cutting out the dress pattern, I realized that I actually didn't have any knit fabric that was big enough for the dress. I don't usually keep knits in my fabric stash, other than some old/thrifted t-shirts I thought might fun to upcycle. Unfortunately, the fabric from the t-shirts wasn't big enough for the dress. Sooo, the dress (and the t-shirts, and the Maya Skirt, and the Princess Leggings) has been put on hold until I get out to the fabric store.

I did find some navy cotton twill fabric to use for the Dillingers, and some fun Michael Miller 'cars and trucks' fabric for the contrast. I got the OK from Big C so I think that's what I'll go with for Day 2 tonight. As for the rest of my projects, I think I will dig through my fabric stash and let whatever I find there lead the way (I'm thinking there will be at least one dress for lil C made from that vintage sheet I bought a while back). Ok, enough chit chat. Off to sew now!

crafty sightseeing

A happy belated Mother's Day to all the Mamas and Mamas-to-be out there! I hope you had a fantastic day brunching, being pampered and feeling very loved!

I had a low-key but wonderful Mother's Day. One of my 'wishes' for the day was to be able to spend a little leisurely browsing (kid-free) time at the local Got Craft market which was held at the Royal Canadian Legion on Commercial Drive. It was so great to be surrounded by such awesome local talent. I didn't end up buying very much, just a small bottle of hand cream by Earthgirl Aromatherapy (which smells sooo delicious!), and a couple cookies from The Gluten Free Epicurean (which tasted delicious). I also came away a little 'prize ribbon' that  I made at the Spool of Thread DIY craft table. All in all, a great way to spend the afternoon!

On Saturday, I also got out to another community market that my friend Jenn of Jenn's Yarn Addiction was participating in. Although it wasn't specifically a 'craft market', she was there with all her crocheted goodies!

Her Angry Birds are by far her best sellers, but I came away with a couple of rabbits (I couldn't resist), and a rocker-girl doll.

Kids Clothes Week Challenge

I've been following the Elsie Marley Blog for a while now, and there is never any shortage of sewing and crafty inspiration to be found there. This year, I've decided to join in on the fun and take part in the Kids Clothes Week Challenge (kcwc). Basically, I've committed myself to spending at least one hour a day sewing clothes for kids for an entire week May 9th-15th.

Now I think I'm already putting in an least an hour of sewing every night, so I'm going to give myself a few additional challenges. Along with my fabric stash, I have a pattern stash (sewing and knitting). My goal for this week will be to make clothes from these patterns (the ones I had every intention to use when I purchased them, but they somehow fell to the wayside). My second personal challenge will be to sew at least two pieces of clothing for my son (or possibly start knitting a sweater for him which will NOT be finished by the end of this week but will hopefully be done by the end of summer..). Every time lil c prances into the room in a new, freshly sewn dress, Big C very kindly smiles and comments on the lovely 'princessiness' of the garment, and says how nice she looks. Sometimes he asks where his new dress is and I feel so awful.. So this week, we are going to even up the score a bit and crank out some boys clothes! My final personal challenge will be to try sewing with knits. I'm typically a woven (non stretch) fabric kind of gal when it comes to sewing, but there are so many great knit patterns out there and they look oh-so-comfy! Time to give it a try.

Like I've said, I have a huge stack of pattens I would love to get to, but here are my top few items to get me started:

Dapper Dillinger Trousers - Patterns by Figgy's
Tee for Two (raglan-style t-shirt) - Patterns by Figgy's
The 90-Minute Shirt - Made Blog Tutorial
Princess Leggings - Heidi and Finn
Maya Yoga Skirt - ModKid by Patty Young
Ice Cream Dress - Oliver + S (I'm thinking I'm not really going to get to finish this one, but I would be happy to at least cut out the pattern and figure out what fabrics I'm going to use. I LOVE this dress!)
Classic Raglan Pullover - Jane Richmond (knitting pattern)

Wow, that's looking like a pretty ambitious list! Wish me luck!
Anyone else want to join me in the challenge?

{this moment}

'A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.' - inspired by SouleMama

rrrruffles!

I've been wanting to make a little ruffle skirt for a little while now, and I found an adorable pattern by Pink Chickadee Patterns on Etsy (the Cupcake Skirt which, by the way, was a really well written, very detailed pattern). I have to say that I LOVE the way it turned out, but I didn't really enjoy sewing it. First off, I don't have a serger which would have made this so much easier and cleaner (lots of raw edges and seams on the inside that need to be finished). And secondly, I don't think sewing ruffles is for me. They are really finicky and, in my opinion, require extra patience and lots of trust that it'll all work out in the end. I tend to like clean (straight) lines better not just because they are easier to sew, but because they are more predictable. Hmmm, sounds pretty boring... Maybe I should give ruffles another try...

Ok, back to the skirt... the top ruffle is from a vintage pillow case, the middle ruffle is a soft cotton chambray, and the bottom is a yarn-dyed gingham. I really do love how these fabrics work together! Maybe while I'm working up the courage to try ruffles again, I'll try this fabric combo in a more simple, 'sensible' sundress.

fabric stash

Since I started sewing (again) about a year and a half ago, my fabric stash has, ahem, grown to quite a sizable collection. I started off storing my fabric in one suitcase, then I added two more suitcases, and now it has kind of taken over half of my dining room. It's a mix of new, designer fabrics, vintage (from my mom's own stash as well as from my thrifting adventures), and thrifted clothing and linens for my 'upcycled' creations.

I do find it a bit hard, however, to dip into my stash to actually sew something (gasp!) I'm always thinking "is this REALLY what I want to use this fabric for? Maybe I should save it for something even more perfect..." blah blah blah.. This is especially with my vintage stash of fabric, retro tablecloths, hankies... They just seem so precious!

So, I was pretty proud of myself when I finally decided to use two pieces from my stash to whip up these grocery tote bags

It's actually a reversible tote bag so I made two identical bags from just 2 yards of fabric. The floral print is Camelia Metal from Alexander Henry. The neutral side is a lovely subtle pinstripe linen blend (with a hint of metallic shimmer). The pattern is from Keyka Lou Patterns. Aside all the reinforcement stitching (and stitching and stitching - to make sure your groceries don't spill out of this lovely bag onto the sidewalk), this was a pretty easy and fun project. I can see this being a great go-to gift. Or maybe I'll just whip up a few more to store some of my fabric stash...

horse play

I've had horses on my mind lately. So I think I actually 'willed' these beautiful Breyer horses and stable to appear on the dusty shelves of my local SPCA thrift shop yesterday (with a sweet little price tag of $8 - SCORE!).

I pictured it being a great new toy for my daughter, to balance out the number of Hot Wheels, trains and constructions vehicles in our house. And there's just something about little girls and horses... But I think my son was even more excited about getting his hands on this darling set.

And of course, with horses on my mind, I am counting down the days until I can get my hands on this insanely awesome fabric from Heather Ross' new Far Far Away III collection. LOVE!!

http://heatherross.squarespace.com/journal/introducing-far-far-away-iii.html