I know that things have been awfully quiet around here lately, but you can rest assured that it's not because things have been going terribly wrong.

In fact, in many ways, things are going terribly right around here (although being an entirely too superstitious person, I'm a bit afraid to even write that...is that just inviting something bad to happen.  Let's hope not.)

O is officially rocking it in her first year of preschool.

C has mastered the art of angrily crossing her arms in front of her when we do something to displease her (trust me, it's much cuter than it sounds).

And Ben is a champ who has seamlessly taken on more of the parenting duties while I've been in evening classes.

And as for me, well, something had to give around here and lately it's been my presence in this little space (and probably my presence in your space too because I've also become the worst commenter).

But I've tried to keep a little bit of time here and there for some sewing projects and here's my most recent one - a new pair of pajamas for O.  I loved the Oliver and S Bedtime Story pajamas the first time I made them for her, but they haven't fit her in quite some time now.  And she sadly had grown out of the size options on the smallest size package so I had to pony up the money to buy the largest sizes.   Of course that meant that I also had to tape the entire PDF pattern together and trace it, which is not an easy thing to do when you have a one and a half year old trying to tear apart everything that you just taped together.  Good thing she's so darn cute.

I cut out a straight size 4 for my four year old and the top seems a bit large on her, but hopefully that just means that it will fit her for many months to come.  The main fabric is from the Moda Ticklish Collection and the contrasting fabric is Valori Wells's Bridgette Lane flannel - both super-soft flannels.  So now she is officially all set for some warm and cozy winter sleeping.  Just in time for the super-cold weather that we've been having around here lately.

A Knitter

Once upon a time I was a knitter.

Like an all-consumed, thought-about-it-constantly,  knit-like-it-was-my-part-time job knitter.

I made hats and scarfs and shawls, but what I really loved to make were sweaters (for me, of course, because I'm nothing if not a totally selfish knitter).  And make them I did.  Many, many sweaters.

But I haven't made a sweater for myself in years.  I've started one many a times, but I just can't get up the motivation to finish it. And honestly, I haven't even knit a stitch since finished I this little hat last December.  But recently the knitting bug bit again.  Not only does the little nip in the air remind me that knitting is fantastic, but there is nothing that beats the portability of a knitting project.  Plus, knitting is the perfect craft to do in those two minutes while you're waiting for your kid to put on their shoes, or the three minutes while you're waiting for your husband to finish packing the bag, or the five minutes while you're waiting for the water to boil.  And given that that's pretty much what my free-time looks like nowadays, knitting is kind of the perfect hobby

Before deciding on a knitting project I searched through Ravelry trying to find something that piqued my interest, but in the end I decided to stick with what I love - which is knitting top-down sweaters that I design based off of Barbara Walker's book, Knitting From the Top.  Mostly I love that there is no "trying to get gauge" when you design your own sweater.  Instead there is just an acceptance that "this is my gauge and I'm just going to work with what I have."  It is liberating.

So there you have it.  Me and knitting have fallen in love once again.  And I'm currently in the middle of knitting a little sweater for O to keep her all warm and toasty in the upcoming winter.  It'll be a top-down sweater with cables running down the sleeves and probably just a simple garter stitch body (I'm a simple gal with simple knitting needs).  And I am loving making it. 

Hopefully she'll love wearing it.

The Philippines

Teenage Carolyn chillin' on a banca boat
(and yes, Hard Rock cafe t-shirts were totally cool then)
(and no, not in an ironic way)

Growing up the idea of home was pretty much a foreign concept.  I was born in the South, but then we quickly moved to the West Coast followed by a move to Western Europe followed by a move back to the West Coast followed by another move to the West Coast followed by a move back down South.

And all before fifth grade.

Home was pretty much wherever my parents dragged us.

And when I was 12 my parents moved us to the Philippines so that my dad could work in a small town near Batangas.  Originally I was supposed to spend the years my parents were in the Philippines at a boarding school in Singapore, but through a series of events I instead ended up living with a family in Manila.  There's a lot that I could say about that time in my life (like how I showed up for my first day of school and the office told me that I couldn't stay because I didn't have the proper visa...which, of course, made me start crying in the office because I had just moved in with the family the day before and so I didn't know my address, my phone number, or how to get home.  Awesome.) but what I remember most of all was that being in the Philippines was the first time that I felt "home." And considering that I was an awkward teenager, living in a foreign country, with a family that wasn't my own, that's certainly saying something.  You've never met someone who looks so Irish but could cuss so well in Tagalog and play a mean game of Pusoy Dos.

But that was over 20 years ago and sadly my Tagalog skills are nearly non-existant now and I don't even remember half the rules to Pusoy Dos.  But what I do remember is how much I love that country.  And how it hurts my heart to think about what they're going through right now - especially considering all that they've gone through in the past.

But if there's one thing that I learned in the three years that I lived there is that you never count the Philippines out.  And if there's one thing that country has going for it, it's the unbreakable spirit of the Filipino people (and the fact that they start playing Christmas music in the stores in early September.  Man, I loved that as a kid).

So, stay strong, the Philippines.  Stay strong.

Making Lemonade

You know the saying "when life hands you lemons, make lemonade?"

Well, to be perfectly honest, when sewing hands me lemons I usually don't make lemonade - instead I just make trash.  It's wasteful and lazy and I'm a bit embarrassed to admit how many projects have ended up in the garbage.

On the flip side, it is oddly satisfying to wad up a project that has given you hours of frustration and shove it in a garbage can.

And that was what almost happened when my version of the Hemlock Tee came out looking utterly ridiculous on me.  Even my 4 year old said "um, I think you made the wrong size."  Perhaps the over-sized look is not one that I can pull off.  In any case, by the time I finished the project is was clear that it was a failure.  The good thing about the fact that the Hemlock Tee is so oversized though is that it leaves large pieces of fabric in tact so I was able to refuse the fabric to make a Flashback Tee for O.

Look at me making lemonade out of lemons!

Find the bird, C!

The fabric is from Girl Charlee.  It's a fairly thin, drapey jersey that is part cotton and part rayon. I opted for a super-simple version of the tee, leaving off the cuffs, and just hemming the sleeves and bottom with a double needle.  Done deal.

Now if you'll excuse me I'm off to go drink my lemonade.

Her Saving Grace

Allow me to introduce you to the world's worth teether.

I woke up this morning feeling like I'd been out drinking all night, but in reality I was up half the night with an inconsolable toddler and I was sleeping the other half of the night in the living room with said toddler on my chest.  And for the record, having a toddler sleep on your chest is not like having a sweet little baby sleep on your chest because the toddler is much, much heavier.  And she has more hair on her head which tickles your chin when you're trying to sleep.

Her saving grace as always, though, is just how darn cute she is in the morning.  It almost makes me forget how miserable the night was.

Almost.  But not quite.

Snow White

Let’s just start by pretending that my peter-pan collar actually meets in the middle as it’s supposed to, okay?

Good.  Glad we got that out of the way.  Now on to the rest of the post.

I knew that I wanted to make at least one Halloween costume this year but I also knew that free time is at a premium around here nowadays so I didn’t want to spend a whole lot of time trying to figure out how to sew random amounts of fun-fur together.  So instead I opted to use a pattern modification that had already been figured by some other kind soul in blog-land.  Just like Janimal, I modified the Oliver and S Puppet Show dress to become a Snow White dress and I followed her directions for creating these lovely pleated sleeves.  O is really into floor-length dresses nowadays so I opted to add some length to the dress by adding 8.5 inches to the bottom.  Because this also resulted in a wider dress I decided to just leave off the hem facing and instead I finished the bottom of the dress with a regular hem.  Also, because this dress is longer than intended I added some extra buttons down the back to accommodate the extra length.  

And can we just talk about these buttons for a second?  I know it's next to impossible to see in these pictures but they’re gold!  And super fancy!  And kind of perfect for this dress!  And I actually had enough of them since I bought two packets of them from an antique store many years ago.  That was a miracle in itself. 

Not a Christmas miracle.

A Halloween miracle.  Which is usually just me not eating all of the Halloween candy before Halloween night.

Letting Go Of Summer

I loved having my babies in the spring - mostly because I don't do so well in the winter.  Honestly I was afraid that chronic sleep deprivation combined with winter-time lack of sunlight would have turned me into a very unpleasant person should my babies have been born in the winter.  But despite my love for them being born in the spring, I always considered the summer after they were born to be a loss.  I know that some people hit the ground running when they have a newborn, but that just doesn't work for me.  Instead, I'm all for hunkering down and staying close to home when we have a new little one in the house.  So while last summer was a bit of a loss, it just meant that this summer was that much sweeter.

And sweet it was.

I'm sorry to see it go.

(Although I am excited for up-coming Thanksgiving food.  Bring on the stuffing and the apple pie!)

Nom, Nom, Nom!

In case I have you wondering, the blog silence around here is mainly due to classes starting up again.  And yes, it's classes plural this time because apparently I'm glutton for punishment.  So needless to say there hasn't been much sewing around here lately and there will probably be a bit of a drought for the next ten weeks or so (although I am hoping to sew at least one Halloween costume this year - wish me luck!).  Luckily, though, I was able to eek out one super-simple project before the dust started to settle on the sewing machine.

After seeing Rachel's version, I quickly purchased the Sunki leggings pattern (at four bucks it's kind of a steal) and used the last of my Briar Rose jersey to sew a little pair of leggings for C.  They happen to be the perfect fit - which kind of makes me sad because all that means is that they soon won't fit her anymore at the rate that she's currently growing.  I guess I'll just have to enjoy them while I can still squeeze her into them.  So if you'll excuse me I have some baby legs to go gnaw on.

Nom, nom, nom!

PS - I realize that photography is not my strong-suit but I'd just like to go on the record as saying that it's next to impossible to get a good picture of this kid because she never stays still.  For photographic proof, please see exhibit A below.

Exhibit A

Mrs. Greedy-Pants Makes A Gift (Two Actually)

Call me greedy if you must, but the truth is that I'm generally a pretty selfish sewer.  Ninety-nine percent of the things that I make are either for myself or my children (with a little something sewn for someone else every once in while).  A few years ago, though, things were quite different and I often knit and sewed gifts for other people but the fact is that people who don't make things by hand rarely appreciate the time and effort that goes into handmade gifts.  At one point I was a bit bitter about this but I've come to realize that there are many, many things that I have no appreciation for or any idea of how much time and effort it takes to create.  So to each their own, I say.

So given that I'm generally Mrs. Greedy-Pants when it comes to sewing, I was as surprised as anybody to find myself sewing not one, but TWO baby gifts for co-workers who are currently expecting new little ones.  For the baby-boy-to-be I decided to make a Baby In The Hood jacket from Anna Maria Horner's Handmade Beginnings and I settled on a 9-12 months size hoping that the coat will fit the little guy next fall.  The only modifications I made in making the jacket were to make the elastic in the hood a tad bit shorter so that it would be more fitted around the face and I added a little coat hook for easy hanging.  As you can imagine, those were both incredibly difficult modifications to make (that's a joke, people).

It must have been kind of entertaining to watch me at the fabric store as I tried to figure out what a "boy" fabric is.  On the one hand I didn't want anything too traditionally "boy" but on the other hand I know that I'm far more accepting of gender-neutral fabrics than other people and I didn't want to make something only to have them deem it too "girlish."  I also knew, however, that the mom is a lover of bright colors, so in the end I settled on this elephant fabric and some bright orange polka dots for contrast.

I decided to line the inside with flannel to make the coat a little more seasonally appropriate and once again I cut up an old baby blanket for the flannel (which coincidentally also has elephants all over it).  It's almost like it was meant to be.

For the baby-girl-to-be I cut into my Briar Rose jersey and made an Oliver and S Hopscotch Knit Dress (there are few things better than rediscovering a new love for an old pattern).  When both my girls were infants they had a little strawberry outfit that I loved to have them wear so little baby strawberry clothes hold a special place in my heart.  Although I guess this dress isn't particularly infant-ish since it's made to fit a 6-12 month old.  It's still absolutely precious though.  Man, I love this fabric.

A Butterfly Saltspring

When I bought this fabric a couple weeks ago I immediately knew that I wanted to sew it up into another Saltspring dress.  But then time slipped away (as it usually does) and I eventually made my peace with the fact that I probably wasn’t going to get around to starting this project by the end of the summer.  But then I turned a whole year older the other week and Ben gave me the greatest gift you could give a mother of two – the gift of time.  Time to do some really fantastic things with him and the kids and time to be all by myself.  It was bliss.   And with that perfect gift I had enough time to cut, sew, and finish this dress just in time for the last hurrah of summer around here. 

The fabric is a Valori Wells Cocoon voile  and it is both lovely and vibrant.  I was a little concerned in making the dress that the skirt might be a little too sheer since it's not lined and honestly I’m still a little on the fence about it.  In regular light I think it’s absolutely fine, but I’m worried that in direct sunlight it might be slightly see-through.  I’m thinking that in the name of modesty (and just to be on the safe side) I may go pick up a slip at the store before I wear the dress in polite company.  

As for the pattern, I lengthened the skirt by about two inches since I found my first version to be the perfect length before hemming and I knew that I was going to have to hem this version.  I decided to sew the hem by hand with a catch stitch and while it felt like it took an eternity to sew it was completely worth it in the end because invisible hems are kind of awesome.  I also used an invisible zipper on the back but that choice was mainly dictated by the fact that that’s all I had laying around the house and I was too lazy to drag myself to the store to buy a regular one.  Given that the back of this dress is quite different than the back of a regular dress I was a bit worried that an invisible zipper wouldn’t work, but in the end it seems to have worked just fine.

I do have to say that the two most frustrating parts of making this dress were making those damn little straps and threading the elastic through the waistband.  I tried to make the thinnest straps possible and even with the help of my nifty fabric turner I just could not get those suckers right-side out so in the end I decided to make the straps a wee bit thicker.  No big deal.  And for some reason I also struggled like hell to get my elastic past the seams when threading it through the waistband.  But after a good half hour of shoving it through the casing I finally showed it who’s boss and got the elastic through.  Victory at last! 

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to twirl and sashay around town in my new dress.  See ya!