Polka Dots

Again this week I am linking up with Project Run and Play for polka dots and stripes outfit. Both of my girls love polka dots so this was easy for me. I used the June Bug dress which I have wanted to sew for quite some time. I love how Elodie is playing shy in this picture. She is nothing close to shy in reality. She is more of the, "Hello World!" type. As soon as I told her I wanted to take her picture she had to get her sister's roller skates. Not getting to wear them would be a deal breaker.

Heidi Dress

During the break we watched Heidi and Saga so badly wanted a dress just like hers. I thought it would be a fun way to remix the Cottage Home dress for the Project Run and Play sew along. She loves it, and wore it today on her first day back to school. That means it was more favored than a Hello Kitty t-shirt. Yes!

A Dress Please

Saga chose this fabric and quickly requested a dress. I added the chambray collar to soften the neon hearts. She often wears her dresses with leggings. That is why I made this dress shorter to give her more movement. I have to say I love the back of this dress. I always allow the girls to choose the fabric of their momma made clothes. Saga typically chooses the brightest and busiest fabrics. Her favorite dress that I have made is bright pink with a very full skirt. I know that I am fortunate that she enthusiastically wears what we make together. I want her to enjoy them, and dance around like a princess.

Front Button Dress

I have made four of these dresses for Saga. She prefers her dresses fancy, and wants to wear them to school everyday. She has more homemade clothes than not these days. I do buy knit shirts and leggings at the store. When I find plain knot tops I always stock up because they are getting harder to find.

I love the colors of this dress. Saga calls it the house dress because you can find these colors all through our home.

Time to Reboot

I haven't been here in so long. Look Elodie has changed quite a bit. Today is Saga's sixth birthday. I guess that is what started me thinking about this place. Time moves fast, let this be the memory keeper. My bon souvenir...

Elodie

There is a good reason for my time away. Here she is. We named her Elodie. Well, actually I named her and my husband was kind enough to go along with it. She is two months now, and a total cutie.

Okay, back to sewing. I have been sewing, but mostly out of necessity. Making tote bags as gifts and the sort. Saga needs some new summer dresses because she is growing so quickly. All the tops I made last summer will not fit me anytime soon. Belly be gone! So I am working on something new today. I did make a couple of knit maternity tops using the BBW 3835 pattern. They worked out well, and I will be cutting them up to repurpose the 3 yards of fabric needed to make them. Hope to post again soon with a new top.

Lounging Pants

Yeah, I finally got to sew this morning! I made these corduroy pants for Saga. I cut them out without a pattern, and luckily they fit nicely. After I went to Joann's for more corduroy and found that it was on sale for $3 a yard. So now I have a stack ready to be made into pants. This means I have plans to get up very early tomorrow to get a head start.

Pink and Fuzzy

Even though I got early and cut out a pair of pants for Saga I never got to them. Today she wore a little dress I made for her last December. It is more of a tunic now. The cutout is from a cloth napkin I bought at a tag sale 10 years ago. My husband told me she looked like a Viking baby in this dress. Okay, I see he has a point.

Here she is wearing it last January. She was proud of those new teeth you can see

I survived the move, but just barely. Most of the house is together except the sewing room which is filled to the ceiling with boxes. I hope to make a sizable dent in it this weekend, fingers crossed. We moved back to the town where I grew up. If you would have told me I would be living in this town again I would never believe you. This morning driving to work a packed bus of teenagers rode past. I knew they were on the way to my old high school. That was the same bus I took to school. Yesterday Saga and I went for a walk along the creek behind our house. I grew up along this creek. Saga loves birds, and the creek and nearby lakes attract many migratory birds. She had a great time bird watching, and I thought about how funny it felt to be back at this place. Strange, but comforting. I was the mom now, and I didn't have to think of an excuse of why I was late for dinner.

Let Me Explain

I admit, I made Saga and I matching tops. I bought this Erin McMorris fabric and thought I would make a shirt for myself. I ended up making my standby, and I felt bad to keep this awesome fabric all to myself. This is how Saga's top came to be. This is the part I can't believe I am going to reveal. We have worn them at the same time, but just once. I was visiting my mom and she reminded me how she would make us matching dresses every year for the church tea. I remember one of the dresses, long and green that a had a 70's vibe with its belt and huge collar. So that day for my mom's benefit we wore our matching tops, and I found out people really notice that type of thing.

Beginning of Fall

This weekend we went to a harvest festival. We had a lot of fun, and there was finally a chill in the air. We walked through a cornfield collecting Indian corn, and listened to some old time music. Saga was dancing and dancing and we had to stay until the music ended. On the way home we enjoyed beautiful views of San Francisco and the bay. Excellent fall weekend.

Can you guess what Saga is going to be for Halloween? I had to hurry and make this Little Red Riding Hood costume because I need to pack up my sewing machine. We are moving in less than two weeks. I am so excited that we are moving to a larger place. While my husband stayed at home with Saga for a year and a half money was tight. Now we have the opportunity to move to a more spacious home, and I will have a room dedicated to sewing! I will share some photos when all is settled.

Hope I will need this soon...

I made this scarf in an attempt to welcome fall, but it is still no go. It did rain in San Francisco on Saturday for the first time since May, I believe. Saga was amazed and went out to walk around just saying, agua, agua, over and over. The scarf was a my bathtime project. Often after work I just can't sit still, so while Saga is in the bath I crochet. The funny thing is I get tennis elbow from crocheting. Obviously, I have bad form. I need to experiment with different positions to see if it improves.

This weekend Saga and I went to visit my mom in the Central Valley. We went to a small fabric shop that carried many designer fabrics. It was great to see them in person. I bought the ones above. The first 3 were in a group labeled 1940's prints. They were all on sale that made them even more attractive. I was also excited to find 100% cotton gingham. It was wonderful to be in a fabric store with my mom again. She is an amazing quilter, and I must of asked her a hundred questions. I actually keep a list that I go through when I see her. Just a great weekend overall...

Present for a new friend.

Today is one of my colleague's birthday. She is an amazing teacher who has helped me heaps since I started at my new school. She is the type of teacher parents hope for, and the type that young girls imitate at home teaching their younger brothers and sisters. As I was sewing this I knew she was at home going through student data and making a strategy how to teach the next lesson. I knew I wanted to make her something for her birthday. I settled on this tote bag with a elongated pocket on front to hold pens and pencils. I know she is going to stuff it full of books and papers to take home for the night. I am so lucky in my new position. I have made wonderful new friends, and feel like I have been there for years. There is nothing like sitting with fellow teachers at lunch eating school pizza, laughing and laughing until the bell sends you all back to your students. Happy Birthday Kelly!

Get your dirt on.

A couple weeks into the school year I realized I need to make Saga some play clothes. Specifically tops she could wear and I would not gasp when I say how dirty they were at the end of the day. Don't get me wrong I love that she is gardening and playing so freely during the day, but the condition of her clothes is scary. So, I made her a few basic tops out of old German duvet covers to wear over turtlenecks this fall. They are all bright, cheerful, and ready to play in. As you can see, she had this one on for an hour before she was wearing cinnamon. See they work perfectly.

Last one, for a long while. (I promise.)

I finished this shirt a few weeks ago and packed it away in my closet because I was a bit angry with it. It had to do with the sleeves. Now you can guess why it is wearing a cardigan. I love this fabric, but I need to learn that I should use "safe" patterns with expensive fabric that I am in love with. I have made 3 other shirts with this pattern which you would think would make it safe. This time I went for a better fit and ended up with a slim silhouette, yet funky sleeves. So, unfortunately I will have to cover up my fitted look with a cardi. Maybe soon I will get over it and just redo the sleeves. In the meantime I am cutting out some more love fabric using a sure thing pattern. I bet you cannot guess what pattern I am going to use. Thank you all for the nice comments about the skirt:)

The 50 minute skirt!

Okay, my plan worked! Cut out a pattern on the weekend and sneak in sewing time at night. I was able to get this skirt together quickly. As you can see it takes 10 minutes more than the 40 minute skirt, it's the trim. I wanted to use this fabric for myself, but I knew a whole skirt made from it would be too much. So, I just did a cutout. I never sew with black fabric so that was a little strange. It felt like I was making a witch's costume or something. When I added the color it started to look like an Amish quilt to me. (I love Amish quilts!) But I have to say that I am the least precise "seamstress" ever. I swear it would kill me to use a measuring tool. I am sure stone age women were more accurate in their sewing of animal skins. If you look closely you can see the pieces in the front are not even the same size. oh, well. I added the bias trim because I don't like to wear black skirts and black tights together. The trim breaks the two up, and the fabric is very lightweight so the trim gives it some heft. I won't be wearing this skirt anytime soon because it is 85 degrees here! I am not a fan of the Indian Summer. I can see how fall in approaching through others blogs, and I am jealous.

*Disclaimer* I realize I made Saga and I garments using the same fabric, but I promise you will never catch us wearing them at the same time...

New Dress for Saga

I made Saga another one of these dresses. I love how it turned out. I wasn't sure if the fabric combo would work. I wanted to make her a dress she could wear with her favorite patent red shoes. I had her try it on over her clothes and she wouldn't take it off. This is a good sign. She really enjoys putting her hands in the pockets. Other than sewing we have had a busy week. I finally have my work stamina, and can get so much more done. On Wednesday we went to the Mexican Independence Day celebration in our city. It was a great time with an amazing atmosphere. I saw so many families I know, and Saga danced the night away.

So good to be back.

I can't tell you how excited I was to sit down at my machine and make this tote bag. After 2 weeks of a serious dry spell, it was heaven. I have been so busy getting back into the swing of things. I have not been able to keep up with my fave blogs, and having the energy to sew was out of the question. I now have more of a handle on things, and I have been daydreaming about sewing all day. Let me tell you a little about this simple tote. I bought the fabric at the Alameda Flea Market last weekend. It is a nice canvas, and I love the print. The pocket is made from one of the many German, gingham duvets I bought. I really like how it turned out. I always use totes. I have so for so long that having to use a proper purse feels very fancy.

Even after posting this sign in my classroom, I got a cold. The first one this year, but it was not bad. It moved through the classroom like wildfire. Colds are just considered an occupational hazard. I also saw this sweet doll at the flea market. I have had this same doll since I was four. It surprised me to see it sitting all alone. I took the picture to show my mom because she saved my dolls for me for so many years. Saga plays with them, and that makes me so happy.

Endings and New Beginnings

So the summer is over. It was wonderful, and I can't wait for next years. I am excited about working in a new school, and meeting 20 new children that I know I will love and grow with throughout the year. Over the past weeks I have been working to prepare my classroom, and let me bore you with some photos.



Here is what the room looked like when I moved in.

Remember how I made a goal for myself to make 6 shirts. I thought I was going to have to settle with one short, but I got this one together over the weekend. I end the summer with a BBW just like I started. BUT, I have learned so much between these two shirts. Now it is time to set new sewing goals, and I can't wait to see where it takes me.

40 minute skirt!

Here is my 40 minute skirt. Yes, 40 minutes from the first cut to the finishing the hem. I just used another skirt as a pattern, and wished for the best. I actually made 2 skirts. You can see the first blue one peeking out on the side. After that one worked out I was brave enough to cut into this beautiful fabric (Kaffe Fasset, Verbena Trees). Oh, If I were to design a fabric it would look just like this one. I can't wait to wear my skirt with brown tights and a cardigan. Since it has been near 100 degrees the last few days I think I will have to wait a little longer. The funny thing is that I made these two skirts on Monday, but I just have been so busy I didn't have time to photograph them.