Monday, May 16, 2011

kids clothing week challenge

last week a fabulous seamstress and blogger hosted her annual kids' clothing week challenge. the rules: spend an hour sewing garments for your kids each day.
i've checked out the challenge and the delightful projects that others have completed during the week in the past, but already up to my elbows sewing children's clothing for at least four hours a day in the fall, i never participated until now. this year, with a few projects crossed off my list earlier in the month and orders under control, i decided to try to make at least one thing for the girls each day. it was really fun sewing for them, as i far more often sew for others (which i also love doing!) and i snuck in a project for myself too--a maternity skirt! {don't worry, i have been working on the romper and maxi dress orders all along the way and most all of them will ship out by the end of the week!} so here are the projects i completed last week during kcwc!
day one: shorts...i attempted to make a ruffle pair and a knot pair...the knot pair looked goofy on little m, so i chopped off the knot part and made them straight leg shorts (with a little flair).
day two: the knot shorts pattern was just too cute to not try again, so i worked on a pair for big girl r and i love them! and she loves them despite the fact that there is not a hint of pink on them (the only bargaining tool that really works when i want her to try on a new project--it must have pink!).
knot shorts were the nap time project and hats were the evening one! i didn't receive even so much as a mother's day card this year :( so in my pity party state of mind, i splurged and bought myself several cute sewing patterns i have had my eye on! first up...made by rae's sunbonnet for little m. starting this project had me breaking out my new (but still unused at that point) bias tape maker. now i am so addicted to bias tape making that most of the rest of the projects i made this week have some bit of bias tape figured in!
day three: i loved the bonnet so much that i decided my niece needed one to protect her against the hot georgian sun (which has altogether vanished the last few days!) and that a sweet little newborn my friend is expecting to arrive any day also needed one to match the romper she is going to wear home from the hospital. so those were fun too, and i can't wait to make more! we tested out the hats at the centennial park fountains!
  that's my niece in her new bonnet!
all these hats are handmade! my sister made my oldest niece's hat!
day four: while i was making a customer order in this peasant top style,i cut one to sew for miss r! i wasn't sure about the fabrics together and as a top, but i really think i do like it now that it is all finished!
i made two pairs of coordinating pants...the pink and brown knit straight leg capris i like...the chevron yellow ones...not one bit! they're going in the re-do pile!
day five: baprons! just what exactly is a bapron, you ask? i had no idea myself until my sister sent me a link to a tutorial for a baby bib/apron that i think is the best bib style around! i was in love with our baby bjorn bibs, but my mom lost one and i knew i needed a solid replacement...enter the bapron! viola...another great excuse to make cute bias tape!
i captured her mid-banana, but you get the idea! had to sew up another matching one for my niece since we had a lunch date the next day! (i used oil cloth left over from a toddler table cloth and mess mat project i made last year)
day six: had to find another reason to make more bias tape...i remembered a cute smocked dress that incorporated bias tape from prudent baby. since i was already smocking rompers and maxi dresses, i went to work on a shorter version of the dress. so quick and a fun way to reinvent lovely pale aqua sheets that we no longer use!
day seven: didn't sew for a complete hour, but i decided that little m needed matching pink/cocoa knit capris like big sister (and incidentally, the skirt i made for myself is also made with the same fabric). i don't have many good shots of them yet--the girls wore the pants to the finale of daddy's big adventure race and they were running in all sorts of directions the entire time so this is the only picture i got that shows even part of her legs!! after four days without him while he played race director at his race,
we were all glad to be reunited yesterday!    
and some more photos for you...i didn't work on these in time for kcwc, but i still want to show you!  please ignore grumptastic's post nap expressions in these photos...
  and ignore the messy, fresh-from-waking-bowless hair...
 and i also got some new fabric in over the weekend! i think these prints will be dreamy for fall!!

Monday, May 9, 2011

hats off to summer!


 
down here in the south, spring is pretty much gone...summer is here! the pools are open and it is full-on sprinkler-running and swim-suit-wearing season now! with a week of temps in the 80s and 90s forecasted, i decided it was time to sew the girls' summer hats! a bucket hat for big girl r
and a sunbonnet for miss m!
  
i had so much fun sewing the girls' hats that i turned out two more this afternoon (yea for 3-hour naps!!)...a newborn bonnet (that just so happened to fit miss r's bitty baby perfectly!) and another sunbonnet for my niece!