elliemoon

SEAM ALLOWANCES...

not quite as scary to draw onto a pattern as i had thought::

much, much more time consuming than scary, as it turns out. perhaps the most frightening part though, is realizing that after committing all of this time to tracing and adding in the seam allowances, and even though i measured myself beforehand, it's looking like this dress will be of circus tent proportions. there are pleats involved though. they are my only hope at the moment. i'm just going to keep going because that's how i do. i always like to see a potential train wreck through to the bitter end! 9 times out of 10? it is an actual train wreck. but there's always that chance....

happy weekend!

 

DOLLHOUSE DOLLS

this was my plan for some of that matryoshka doll fabric. our big gift to the girls this christmas was a dollhouse for their room. i thought these little ladies would make perfect visitors. a little cutting and pinning::

a bit of careful stitching, turning and stuffing, and voila::

i stitched them double sided. two dolls for the price of one!

from sharing lasagna to gossiping before bed, i think they're enjoying dollhouse living!

i got this idea from my friend megan. she made some beautiful little stuffies out of a different fabric which made for larger dolls. then she sewed up some cute little pouches to tuck them into. if you're local and lucky, there may still be a few left for sale down at mosees!

 

 

SEWING FOR LILY

someone had a birthday, and it was little lil. one of our cutest and sweetest friends. i made a skirt for her out of this great matryoshka doll fabric::

lil picked out the ribbon trim on her own. great color choice right? so, what to do with the extra yardage. i grabbed three from joanns. i have an idea for indy and ellie that i hope will work out. more on that to come.

happy birthday lil!

 

 

FOR THE TABLE

i know i should be focusing on the many knitting projects i've just started, but i have a ton of sewing projects waiting for attention at the same time. i've decided the best way to handle this is to leave the machine out and at the ready. no excuses. sew as much as life will allow by day, knit like a fiend by night. i've taken steps (ie: bought a lot of patterns and materials) to dive a little deeper into sewing. i have some new toy/stuffy patterns on the list and some adult clothing patterns lined up as well. by adult i mean for me. as opposed to the kids. this is a family blog remember? you clearly have a one track mind.

so, in warming up to the idea of unfamiliar sewing waters, i started with some napkins. made just the same way as these::

again, i made a bunch of the smaller sized ones for the kids. these are roughly 8 inches square. maybe a little smaller. they are perfect though, not just for snacks and lunch, but for dinner and all the time. the larger dinner napkins are still too cumbersome for them i think. 

these napkins opened up a nice slot, albeit a small one, in my fabric cabinet and i'm totally inspired to keep going with other forgotten fabrics and scraps. we could use all the napkins we can get at this point. our dryer gave up the ghost a week and a half ago, the night before laundry day. paper towels are flowing like wine and outfits are harder and harder to come by. i'm pretty sure someone wore a pajama top to school yesterday. and the day before.

 

 

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013!!

hope your celebrations were as celebratory as you had hoped they would be! we stayed in by the fire and rang in the new year close and quiet. or as quiet as a family of six can be. which, after all, is not so quiet. so we savor every peaceful and quiet moment we can get::

those dover coloring books? definitely good for some quiet time.

one of the christmastime crafts i finished up at the last minute was owen's colored pencil roll. remember he was supposed to get it for his birthday? two years ago? oops. the good part is that when i cut all those strips for kai's, i also cut three additional sets of strips. eventually they will all have a carrying case for their colored pencils. eventually.

happy new year! and thanks for all of the super sweet comments yesterday!  

 

 

FOR THE GIRLS

look what arrived in the mail the other day: this too cute set of japanese fabric fat quarters i ordered from sew deerly loved on etsy::

i unpacked them, unfolded each one, then refolded, stacked them neatly back up and put them on the top of my fabric stash as a reward for when all of this holiday crafting is finished. these are destined to become a nice big set of tea party napkins for the girls.

 

 

SPOILED CAT

i am officially a cat lady. it's happened. give me twenty more years and i'll be as bad as the crazy cat lady from the simpsons. though hopefully i won't be throwing my cats at people. i kept thinking of her while crafting this little cushion. luma has taken to perching and napping on top of my big crafting cabinet. since i have nothing better to do (sarcasm) i thought i'd make her a stylish and comfortable little pillow::

up it went. but she didn't leap right on, as expected. what gives, you might be wondering::

well, it took some convincing. cats apparently aren't easily reasoned with. my explanation came across just as clearly as my plea for her to stop drinking my ice water while i sleep. she had no idea what i was trying to tell her::

it was not looking good. especially when she finally climbed up there and napped on the opposite side, where there was no weird looking thing she wasn't used to. but i picked her up and plopped her on it and the rest is history::

i guess you just have to be a little more direct in your approach. cat lesson number one, learned.

 

BIRDIE SLING, TAKE TWO

i finished up some of my procrastination crafting. it's another, much brighter, birdie sling::

that's right, polka dots on the inside too. why not?

i love this "oh deer" collection from moda. i've purchased a bunch of it. maybe one day i'll get around to a couple of simple twin quilts for the girls. the colors would match their bedroom perfectly. i'll put it on my "after the holidays" crafting list. (that's fair warning willie). i think i'm ready for some quilting! maybe.

 

 

 

PROCRASTINATION

my best friend and my worst enemy. i get so much accomplished, just not the right stuff::

i'm just going to finish this up and then get to what i'm really supposed to be working on. i promise. if it makes me feel any better, i'll wrap this up and stick it under the tree for myself. besides, about a year ago i was a little further off track. at least i'm crafting for humans this time around.

 

MY FIRST BIRDIE SLING

this is one of the multiple projects i was cutting for. i did wind up cutting everything. this is the first "sit down and sew with no prep work" finished product! it felt good. not that i don't appreciate the tracing and cutting steps, but they take a while. i always trace and cut patterns onto pattern paper to preserve the original patterns. even when completely unnecessary, ie: a bag that only comes in one size. there is no help for the way my brain works, i just have to let it do its thing::

this is amy butlers birdie sling. my friend megan can sew them in her sleep and inspired me to finally get to it. i purchased the pattern nearly a year ago.

it's a very roomy bag. perfect for a knitting project or two. there are three pockets inside as well! it calls for medium weight and fleece interfacing, so its nice and sturdy and has some weight to it, which i love. this was a trial run that i was going to donate to a fundraiser at kai's school. but i've become a little attached to it and may have to make a replica for the event!