I took a little personal time the other month and left work early to shop at the marketplace at the Sewing and Stichery Expo.  Unfortunately, I had forgotten that I have an extremely low tolerance for crowds and after about one hour all I could think was "get me the hell out of here!"  Fortunately, I was able to pick up one or two great things before I high-tailed it for the closest door.  My favorite find was some ombre batik fabric.  Not only are the colors gorgeous, but the hand on this fabric is lovely and much less stiff than regular quilting cotton.  In fact, I fell so madly in love with this fabric that I bought one yard in this color way (which is bluish) and then I finished off a bolt in a gray color way.  I'm hoping that the gray fabric will one day magically be turned into a dress for me.  I'll add it to the ever-expanding list of things that I'd like to get around to making one day. 

But back to this little top.  It's based off of Grainline Studios Tiny Pocket Tank but it's altered to have a split-back to make it a wee bit more fun (yet another "business in the front, party in the back" top).  I followed this tutorial on how to turn the tank into a split-back and based on what was written in the tutorial I cut out one size smaller than was recommended because I was concerned about the top being too loose because of the open back.  I was still worried about this when sewing the top up and I ended up taking an additional 1/4 of an inch in on each side.  Even though I cut out a size 2 this time though, I kept the tank a size 8 in length because after two pregnancies I don't need to be showing anybody my stomach, thank you very much.

After sewing everything up it became apparent that even with the modifications the tank still appeared too loose and shapeless because of the open back, so sewed up half of the back opening by stitching down the back hemline (just like Natasha did in the tutorial).  Problem solved!   In fact - note to self - this would have been a much better solution than trying to sew a significantly smaller size in the first place.  You live, you learn.

Now go and enter your own shirt in Rae's Spring Top Sewalong!  Go on now!

Four Things

1.  We took some time the other weekend to celebrate C's first birthday.  I know that there are many moms around the internet (I'm looking at you Jess and Gail!) who can decorate for a party like nobody's business but C's party decorations?  Well, they consisted of whatever I could pick up on my lunch break at the local party store.  Hey, she didn't seem to mind!

We tried to keep the party simple (simple location - our house, simple food - pizza, simple present requests - please don't bring any!) but it still ended up chaotic and just like O's first birthday I barely found a second to snap a picture.  Oops.  And once all the guests had left and everything was cleaned up and put away  all I could think was "we have to this again in another month and a half?!?"

Apparently C felt the same way because this was her during the party (looking like "who the hell are all these people in my house?")

And this was her after the party.

2.  The weather has been stunningly beautiful around here lately which allowed us to have an outside Easter egg hunt (for the second year in a row, people!).

And yes, O picked out her awesome Easter outfit.

And yes, her bangs do look incredibly greasy.  She somehow ended up getting a huge glob of sap in her hair the other day and so we lathered her up with coconut oil to get it out and what do you know...it worked!  Thank you Google for having the answer to every question I've ever had.

3.  A couple of months ago I was able to cut my hours at work so that I only work four days a week now and that extra day has been a life saver for my sanity.  The best thing about it though is that it's allowed us to spend the weekend doing things together rather than of only doing chores (which is what we were doing before).  This past weekend we were able to explore some of the trails around Point Defiance and we followed that up by a meal in which I ate my weight in fried catfish at the Southern Kitchen.  Yum.  Of course, that means that today I'm trying to work my way through a humongous pile of laundry but it in the end it's all worth it.  Oh yes it is.

4.  And this would be a picture of me going jogging with O.  I like to jog with three year olds because they're the only people on this earth with less stamina than me.

Want to feel like an exercising bad-ass?  Pick your jogging partners accordingly.

One Year

One year. 

In abstract, it seems like such a long period of time.

But somehow you blink once and your baby is a year old.  And almost not a baby anymore.

And all those things that you were sure that you would never forget - like how she was born on the most beautiful spring day (although I swear it rained non-stop for 40 days and 40 nights after that day), like how she wailed when she was first put on your chest, like how giant your two year old looked in comparison when she came to visit you at the hospital - you're now somehow struggling to remember. 

What remains a strong memory though is the bond that I felt with this little one from day one.  I always like to say that C is the baby that you read about in all those baby books.  You know - the one that just loves to be held and snuggled and is immediately soothed by your mere presence.  I secretly loved it when she would cry and cry as Ben tried to soothe her and then I would walk in the room and she would magically settle down.  Ta-da!  It's my one and only mommy magic trick.

This past year has been exhausting (as most first years with babies are) but somehow all the exhaustion is forgotten as we see this little one grow and her personality develop.  She loves to be tickled and often laughs with big belly laughs.  She loves to play peek-a-boo and finds this game endlessly entertaining.  She loves to crawl in O's room in the morning and wake her up (and fortunately O finds this equally amusing).  She loves to gives high fives and will lean into you when you ask her for kisses.  She loves to sleep with a little cuddle blanket and often gnaws on it for fun.  And when she sees something that she wants she pants like a little puppy and because she's all mine, I find her panting both hilarious and endearing. 

Happy Birthday, little one.  Here's to both of us surviving the first year...and rocking it in years to come!

Scirocco

When the Sew Fab E-Pattern sale was announced a couple of weeks ago I debated for about 2.2 seconds before I decided to purchase the patterns.  Want to know what sealed the deal for me?

It was the Scirocco pattern.

I mean look at how cute that back is!  In fact, when I first saw the pattern all I could think was "how did I not notice this pattern before?"  And so after purchasing the bundle this dress quickly jumped to the front of the to-be-sewn pile - especially after I found that I had just enough fabric left over from this coat to make the dress.  It's like it was meant to be.

Based on O's measurements I ended up cutting out a size 2/3 for the width but a size 4/5 for the length because I was concerned about the smaller size being too short on her.  The fit ended up being perfect, but given that this dress has no closure and just slips over your child's head, I have to confess that it takes a bit of wiggling to get it on.  Fortunately, it's well worth it once it's on.

The pattern itself went together fairly easily although there was a bit of head-scratching when it came to sewing the shoulder part together.  In the end I gave up (I'm going to blame it on 12 months of sleep deprivation and utter laziness) and I just closed the seams with some top-stitching which worked perfectly.  There's also quite a bit of hemming involved given that you have three little flounces to hem and the lining of the skirt.  But again, it's totally worth it (have I said that enough times, yet?)

Once the dress was finished O was ridiculously excited to try it on and then refused to take it off for the entire day.  And, as you can tell, she also rocked it on our trip to Hawaii.

I remain madly in love with the twisted detail and open cut-out in the back.  So much so that I kind of want to plead with Figgy's to size this up to women's sizes.  Is that weird to lust after your children's clothes?

Aloha

Well, we're back and we survived our trip to Hawaii!  I was a bit (okay, a lot) terrified about flying that far with an eleven month old, but I'm happy to report that for the most part C was an absolute champ on the flights.  And as I was hoping, O was ridiculously good as well (even after we figured out mid-air that all of the My Little Pony episodes that I thought that I had downloaded didn't go through.  Oops).

O also did a fantastic job carrying all of her own stuff through the airport and on to the plane.  That little wheeling suitcase was the best purchase ever.  And recognize that backpack?  Fist pump for homemade backpacks!

For the most part we kept the trip fairly mellow and filled it with lots of trips to the beach and hanging out around Kona.   There was one day though that I did load the family up for a very long drive to the volcano.  Unfortunately, it started raining as soon as we got there, C began fussing non-stop, and then I started feeling guilty about keeping the kids in the car for so long (and the volcano was emitting toxic gases so half of the park was shut down) so we spent far less time there than I was hoping, but it was still amazing to see.

Plus we got to stop at a black sand beach and hang out with a couple of sea turtles on the way over to the volcano so you won't find me complaining.

Other than that we played at a couple different beaches, got beat up by ton of waves, ate our weight in ice cream, avocados, and papaya, and overall just had a fantastic time.

When I booked this trip I figured that it was either the worst idea ever to bring two little kids to Hawaii or the best idea ever.  Fortunately it turned out to be the latter.

My Favorite Conversation With Ben On The Airplane

Pilot:  Welcome to Hawaii.  For those of you who live here, welcome home.  For those of you visiting, have a great vacation.  For those of you on your honeymoon, have a wonderful life together.

Ben:  And for those of you traveling with two small children, try not to kill each other.

My Favorite Conversation With O On The Airplane

Two hours into a six and a half (!) hour plane ride.

O:  Are we there yet?

Me:  No.  I told you that it's a really long plane ride.

O:  Why'd you pick somewhere so far away?  I knew we should have gone to Disneyland!

Matching, Of Course

When Kristin suggested that we obviously needed to take a trip to Hawaii now that O is rocking her very own Waikiki Swimsuit, I laughed out loud and said to myself "well that ain't gonna happen." But lo and behold, two weeks later I came across an email advertising ridiculously cheap airfare to Hawaii and 12 hours after that I found myself pressing the purchase button for three tickets to the Big Island.  (C will just be sitting on our lap - wish us luck with that one!). To say that I'm excited for this trip would officially be the understatement of the year!

The only "problem" in planning this trip was that before we could head out to some 80 degree weather, C would need her very own matching Waikiki Swimsuit (and yes I use the word "problem" in only the most sarcastic sense).

Well, problem solved.

With a little finagling I was able to cut one more swimsuit out of the remaining fabric so that C's version now matches O's perfectly.  Okay, not exactly perfectly because I left the back ruffles off of the baby's, but still, close enough, right?

I cut out a size 12 month for my 11 month old and the fit seems to be right on.  Just like last time the suit came together easy-peasy and I was actually able to sew the whole thing up in less than an hour.  Ahhh, instant gratification projects...aren't they the best?

With this out of the way I'll now be the one day-dreaming of warm weather and sand beneath my toes - all the while ignoring the fact that we first have to fly for five hours with two kids.  I'm not worried about O.  Stick that kid in front of a couple episodes of My Little Pony and she's an angel.  The little one, though, she's going to be a little tougher to please.  So if you happen to have any tips or tricks for flying with a squirmy infant send them my way!

P.S.  Does this baby not look totally ready to chill on a beach?

In the spirit of full disclosure, this post contains affiliate links, but, as always, all opinions are my own.

Life

C being sick for the past couple of weeks has kind of kicked my butt.  In addition to her waking up multiple times a night, I was a complete ball of nerves during the day, especially when she had an allergic reaction to the initial antibiotic that she was prescribed.  There's nothing like seeing your already sick baby break out in a rash all over her body.  But as of yesterday she is officially done with all of her prescriptions and she's back to being the ridiculously happy baby that we know and love.

Here's to life getting back to normal (whatever that is).

I'm pretty sure that it involves lots of impromptu games of chase, though.  In matching pants of course.

Sporty Spice

Is it weird that I find it endlessly amusing to see how one project inspires another and then that project inspires another and then so on and so on?  If so, please feel free to skip the long diatribe on all of the projects that have led me to this one.

First there was this top made out of sweatshirt fabric which had me day-dreaming about making teeny-tiny baby sweatsuits.  And then there was this cycling jersey which taught me how to insert a half-zip and had me thinking about how practical one would be on kid's clothes.  And then there was this dress that introduced me to the joys of flat-piping and had me thinking about sticking it in just about every seam that I sew.  Put those three things together (and throw in a bit of a ridiculously soft knit left over from this top) and - ta-da! - you have a little kid's warm-up suit.

For the top I used Rae's Flashback Tee pattern for the basic shape, but I added a band at the bottom and a four inch zipper on the front.  I probably should have taken a bit of length off of the top to make up for the added length that the band provides, but seeing how quickly O is growing nowadays, I predict that in about a week this top will fit her perfectly.  As for the collar, I kind of just made it up as I went along and fortunately knits are very forgiving so my improv sewing techniques seem to have (mostly) worked out okay.

For the pants I cut out a size 4T in Oliver and S's Nature Walk Pants and the only modification that I made was to add a band of red cotton/lycra knit fabric between the legs and the yoke to coordinate with the red zipper on the top.  Truth be told, my band started out much wider but it wouldn't lay flat so I ended up making it smaller so that it just peeks out of the seam a tiny bit.  Ain't that snazzy!

But here's the difference between me and my oldest child.  I look at this and think "ooh, that looks so comfy.  I could wear that all day and be perfectly happy."  Whereas she looked at this little outfit and screamed, "I don't want to wear it!  I hate the color gray!"

So, yes, I totally bribed my child to take these pictures.  Don't pretend like you haven't done the same.