Piccoli Piselli

Turquoise Cars {zoom zoom}

2012-02-07T10:57:00.000-08:00

Bribery is still the only way to get this one to wear a jacket. I guess it's a good thing California forgot to have Winter this year. We told him that he needed to wear a jacket to eat frozen yogurt since it's "brrrr, so cold".

It helps that he gets compliments when wearing this rather loud jacket. He likes feeling like the center of the universe.

P.S. I wrote this post over the weekend and today we have crazy wind and rain expected, so California is finally getting into the game.

P.P.S. Thank you everyone for the comments on the Mac/PC thingy. I am so relieved that it's totally do-able to run Windows on a Mac. Hopefully soon I will be with new laptop in hand.

P.P.P.S I looked over the raglan tee that I had traced and I couldn't believe my eyes. All it said was "Ottobre". I never do that! I always write the issue and the pattern number. Well, clearly not always. I looked through my issues and I think it is the 4/2010 #15 but here are some other raglans if you happen to have other issues of Ottobre

6/2009 #34
6/2009 #36
6/2007#27
3/2010 #12, #14, #35
1/2006 #17
4/2008 #26
1/2003 #15

I love the fit of Otto's patterns so I'm sure all of these are great.

The neighbors aren't complaining. Yet.

2012-02-03T13:52:00.000-08:00

I tried to get Vinny to stand still the other day when I was taking pictures of the shirts I just made. This was the best I could do.

What is that he is doing you ask? Someone thought that Luca needed a full size drum kit for her 8th birthday. No, I am not shitting you. Chef somehow convinced me that it was a great idea. I understand that I married a rocker at heart, but I must have doubled up on my happy pills the day he brought up this brilliant idea because clearly I allowed this to happen so I have only myself to blame.

It's been very loud at Casa de Romeo.

Recent Upcycling

2012-02-02T20:00:00.000-08:00

I took some old t shirts that I just couldn't part with and made them into some t's for the little guy.

You would think I may be getting tired of the raglan tee, but it's the total opposite. I love how quickly they come together. The pattern I have is getting a little snug so I need to trace the next size up.

On totally unrelated news my computer crashed two weeks ago and I'm making the switch to Mac. Any help/advice would be appreciated. I haven't used Mac since college and that was a very, very long time ago. The only problem I see with making the switch is that Rocco's BrailleNote is only PC compatible. The guy at the Apple store told me there is a program I can purchase to run Windows on the Mac when I need to interface with his BrailleNote. Any experience with that? I'd love to hear from you all before I make my final decision (but I'm pretty dead set on making the switch :)

KNITerview

2012-01-31T07:40:00.000-08:00

Did you know that Made by Rae was the first sewing blog I ever discovered? Seriously. Until her blog I had been reading mostly "mommy lifestyle" blogs. When I stumbled onto her blog I couldn't stop reading. How did I not know all this sewing goodness was out there in the blogging world? Thanks Rae! You opened my eyes to a whole new world of blogging.

If you have come over to my blog from Made by Rae for the first time, welcome and I hope you stick around for a bit. If you haven't already seen my KNITerview go on over and check it out.

Knickers anyone?

2012-01-17T22:20:00.000-08:00

Remember way back last July I bought a ton of stretch lace to make undies? Grown up undies. Or whatever you want to call them. Panties. Knickers.

I finally got around to making a few different patterns based on a couple of my favorite pair of underwear. The pair above is based on my favorite (and pricey) pair of hiphugger style underwear.

They are really quick to sew and I just used a zig zag stitch to attach the elastic to the waist and leg openings. I did use my serger for the crotch lining but it's not necessary. Ewww. Crotch. What an ugly name.

This pair most closely resembles the pair I copied. It's a lightweight cotton jersey. Almost like a thin t-shirt weight. The blue stripes in the first photo are an example of how buying fabric online can end in surprises. I thought it looked like it would be a cute stripe for children's wear, but it doesn't have the weight for toddler clothes. It's very lightweight and is more suited to feminine clothes. Actually you may see it again in the future if I ever get around to sewing clothes for myself.

Here you can see the lace cutout and my zig zag stitch a bit better. When I made these I just straight stitched (3.0 stitch length) the vertical lace onto the panty before stitching the waist and leg lace. I just eyeballed where it should go. I then trimmed the fabric from underneath as closely to the stitch line as possible.

Overall I'm pleased with the fit. I need to tweak the patterns I made a bit but they fit and they look pretty cute.

I wish that I had made these sooner, especially since I bought all the lace ages ago. I can't even remember where I got it from but I do recall finding it pretty easily with a Google search. Etsy is also a great place to start looking for supplies if you are thinking of making your own fancy knickers.

I quickly searched for the place I bought the lace from and of course I can't find it. I did find a couple of other links.

Sewsassy
Lace Heaven
Kathy's Lace and Elastic
Elastic by the Yard

So hip it hurts!

2011-12-31T17:28:00.000-08:00

My child will not wear a jacket. I don't care how cold it is he refuses. We have only been able to get him to wear a jacket when going to the park because he understands the concept of "you will not get to play unless you wear this torture device".

{Vinny wearing his first Reversible Zip Hoodie by Kitschy Coo}

Chef took this picture on his phone a few weeks ago when he took the boys to the park. Remember this jacket? As you can see from the photo it doesn't really fit too well anymore. I considered making another in the exact same fabric. That is how much I love this jacket.

It's not quite exactly the same :)

The best part is the lining

I used an old t-shirt of Vinny's (size 12-18 months) that I think I bought at Target when they had a lot of cute licensed tee's. I was bummed when he outgrew it, but I set it aside knowing I would find a use for the shirt. I cut out the image and straight stitched it to the jacket lining back panel before construction. Oh, and that lining....It's my Moby Wrap! It's a heavy weight knit (interlock?) with enough stretch to be cozy and enough stability that it sewed up pretty much like a woven.

I used the faux piping technique like I have in the past and it turned out great. I just wish I had ordered a reversible zip online because the jacket looks so cute both ways. Of course I don't know how it looks on because I don't feel like going to the park today!

Gift Wrap Idea

2011-12-17T18:32:00.000-08:00

I saw this gift wrap idea on Pinterest and figured it was a quick enough project that it may actually get done unlike my gingerbread man garland that I'm "working" on.It took like five minutes. Phew, a sense of accomplishment.

They are currently clipped on our tree awaiting their final destination as gift toppers.

p.s. the tutorial is super simple and I was leery of the glitter actually sticking to the double sided tape, but it really stays nicely in place and I can't wait to use the technique on other things.

p.p.s. I used old wood ornaments (beside the pinecone), just cut off the hanging string.

{holiday crafting and all that cheer}

2011-12-13T18:57:00.000-08:00

Those 40% off one item coupons can be fan-f$%@ing-tabulous. I mean if you needed that one item anyway it's like a jackpot. For me not so much. I feel the need to walk into Michaels/JoAnn's/Beverly's/younamethestorethat'sgotmynumber and buy shit. I am not kidding that I have a table full of craft/knitting/sewing projects that have suddenly found their way into my house.

In case you are reading this and live in another country that does not do the crazy coupon frenzy thing like us Americans, let me brief you. Most of the big craft/fabric chain stores issue a 40% off one item coupon (they are issued by the bucket loads with varying dates of eligibility to get us to return multiple times, unfortunately). These stores know that by getting my sorry ass into their doors I will not only buy my one l i t t l e item at 40% off retail price, but I will continue to fill my shopping cart until all savings of said piddly little item are completely forgotten.

Moral of story. Buy handmade and forget about handmaking. It's cheaper. Trust me.

Jumping on the Christmas tradition bandwagon

2011-12-07T18:04:00.000-08:00

I totally caved into peer pressure. I mean the Elf on the Shelf has gone viral at the kids' school. Every day all I heard when they got off the bus was all the funny things these elves were doing at everyone else's house but ours.

So for his first night at our house he set a good example for the potty challenged child of the house.

Ta Daaaaaaa!

Sorry for the graphic image. Chef thought I was nuts that this is what Christmas has turned into. A softened Hershey Kiss and some green food coloring (apparently Elves have green pee much like their cousins the Leprechauns).

And here is a nice close up just in case the previous image was not enough to make you sick.

Everything is just fine (even though the photo would tell a different story)

2011-12-06T20:50:00.000-08:00

We have had a few sleepless nights around here. It looks more serious than it is, but since there was no hospitalization involved I guess we are lucky. Two other kids from our pediatricians office were sent to the emergency room this week. Bronchitis. After this little dino/dragon/chicken looking mask went to work Vinny was up and at 'em again. We left with a handful of prescriptions.

I just posted this because today I was seriously going to sit down and sew. Thought you could all laugh with me that the one day in a long time that I seriously said "this is it. The day I will complete a sewing task". Or at least you could all ohh and aww at my cutie patootie who seriously acted like such a big boy. I thought there would be some serious kicking and possibly some biting involved.

So next time I decided to declare a sewing day I will remember today.

Dirty Dishes

2011-11-19T20:47:00.000-08:00

Today we fixed the chicken coop door. And by "fix" I mean re-built, and by "we" I meant The Chef. I did manual labor today though. I wore a dust mask as I cleaned out the hen house. Ugh. That was gross. They sure like to poop wherever and whenever. We have cute little cubbies for each bird and now they have fresh straw lining their boxes. The duck gets her own special box on the ground of the hen house.

Soooo.... our shoes were pretty dirty after today and I decided to see if you can wash Crocs in the dishwasher. I think yes, but worry about the heat. I figure if that cheap-ass yellow bowl I bought at Target does just fine, then the not-so-cheap Crocs will come out all sparkly clean.

If those bowls can swing it I'm sure the Crocs can.

There's an app for that!

2011-11-08T18:39:00.000-08:00

I made a new camera strap. My old one was coming apart at the seams, literally. This time I made a cover so it'll be easier to change when I get tired of it. Maybe some beloved Heather Ross next time!

I had to use my phone for the photo and I was reminded how much I like all the camera apps that I have. I actually can't remember what app I used for this photo. It wasn't Instagram but maybe it was Camera+.

Gnomes

2011-11-07T10:24:00.000-08:00

I have a quite a collection of fabric that I really don't want to use, but I finally decided it's doing me no good just sitting on a shelf.

To ease myself into the idea of actually using the hoarded fabric I used a teeny bit of my Heather Ross Gnome fabric to make a little zipper pouch.

I forgot to use interfacing so it's a little floppy and now I have hives because I used fabric from the stash of untouchables. Once I relax a bit I'll think about cutting into some Mendocino.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-03T08:32:00.000-07:00

Halloween was great for one simple reason...

We totally bribed Vinny into wearing his costume by calling the bat hat a "candy hat" and in order to receive candy from people he was required to wear the hat. I'm totally feeling like a rock star for making that work.

Here's the other bat and the race car driver

And I just had to share this with you. This photo shows about one third of the total pumpkins on the front lawn of this persons house. It was really hard to photograph these lovelies in the dark. There were also about 20 people milling around the sidewalk and wandering through the pumpkins so I'm happy I got one decent photo.

They do a display like this every year, but in my opinion this was their best show yet. They are placed all over the lawn, the gate, the walkway and the roof! I asked the owner how many they had and he said he really didn't know because every time they counted they got a different number but he said it was somewhere around 160!!!

Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween

p.s. I'm so glad costume sewing is done for another year.

One Down Two to Go!

2011-10-28T19:34:00.000-07:00

I survived Velvet Vs. Satin Challenge 2011 with minor wounds. I seriously do not like sewing with velvet.

The bat wings were on the agenda all along, but the hat was a last minute addition thanks to Dana. Once I saw her costumes I knew I had to make a hat.

Aside from the whole velvet is the devil thing, I love this hat. As many of you may recognize it is the Cozy Winter Hood from Oliver +S. I made the ears a little more pointy and I added a Widows Peak along the brow line. I made the largest size and it fits Luca fine but the strange thing is that it also fits me. Hmmm.

I'm debating whether I should make one for Vinny just in case on Halloween he has a change of heart and decides that dressing up is tres chic. He's fickle that way.

I used a velvet that I bought at my local craft/fabric shop and a duchess satin for the lining from Fabric.com. The sequin elastic (used on shoulder and wrist straps) was also bought locally.

Smile!

2011-10-27T18:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was reminded about our first trick-or-treating when Luca was just 9 months old and Rocco was 26 months old (ironically the exact same age Vinny is right now).

This is the only photo I can find of that night. Luca is a little pumpkin and Rocco is Batman. Interesting that I am reminded of this night while I struggle to make bat costumes for both Luca and Vinny. Vinny wore his robot costume last year with no problem. This year is different. Well, it's a whole new year and in toddlerhood that's a long time. I'm ok if he decides to just wear his regular clothes.

You see, just a few short months before this photo was taken our world was rocked. The entire story deserves a lengthy post or two, but the short of it is, we went 19 months NOT KNOWING OUR FIRSTBORN WAS BLIND!!! Are you fucking kidding me?

As we excitedly got the kids dressed and ready to join the crowds of children roaming the streets in search of candy we pretended everything was fine. About ten minutes into the evening it hit us both at the same time. I'm not even sure what did it. I remember seeing a few other toddlers racing up to people's front doors. I remember a little girl dressed as a fairy. I clearly remember the smiling faces of adults. We weren't smiling. I'm pretty sure soon after I took this photo Chef was crying. I was crying. We didn't need words... we just went home.

I will one day write it all down. I guess right now I just want to say that we are far from that black hole now. Actually our universe doesn't have a black hole anymore. Rocco loves dressing up as much as other kids and he adores trick-or-treating. Although he does need help finding the doorbell! Our total acceptance of what he is has made our life complete.

Smile! life is pretty amazing.

Halloween

2011-10-26T18:24:00.000-07:00

Vinny doesn't do dress up. No hats, masks, wings, ears, gloves, capes. Nada. Well as it turns out Halloween is in just a few days. We have decided that since he looks up to Luca so much they should both have the same costume. Good thing she's not a princess this year. She actually chose to be a bat and requested a homemade costume (bugger). Rocco is going as a race car driver but since Vinny kind of looks at him as a rival these days I'm not sure he wants to dress like him.

So all I've gotten finished is bat masks. A bit wonky but Luca is pleased. Hers has the cat eyes and she kindly modeled them around the house trying to get Vinny on board. He tried his on and then promptly removed it.

Next I get to sew velvet and satin bat wings. Yes you read that correctly and yes, I have a walking foot for my machine. I'm pretty sure Vinny will have nothing to do with the mask or wings on Halloween. I'm actually going to sew his wings in the underarm and side seam of a black shirt so he can't take them off.

{Do you see poor Gerald in the background? He's still unfinished}

I was really freaking out earlier today about his total dislike of all things costume. I mean what kid doesn't love to play dress up? I was frantically texting Chef at work trying to figure out an alternative costume that he will wear. I even took him shopping today to see if something struck his fancy. There was an adorable dragon at Old Navy for 75% off but he screamed when I tried to put it on him. I went to three stores before I figured out the whole sewing bat wings into the side seams thing. On the way home I texted Chef (for the hundreth time) about my revelation. He put it quite simply.... "Remember our first trick-or-treating when Rocco was first diagnosed?" In other words SHUT IT!

Holy crap I sure do remember that night. Come back tomorrow and I'll fill you guys in on that part of the story.

I had no idea

2011-10-18T08:46:00.000-07:00

Oh people of the world. If you had only expressed your love for these most adorable underwear a little stronger I may have listened and made them sooner.

I seriously love how cute little two year olds look in scrappy big kid underpants.

I've made four so far and then I got a little bored. Good thing the little dude is nowhere near potty training so I have time to stockpile. Sure, he'll pee on the potty when I put him there (which is never), but forgetaboutpoop.

This One

2011-10-17T16:08:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we went to one of those pumpkin patches that is more like an amusement park. It was fun(ish). $85 later and zero pumpkins purchased the kids were tired and hot so we decided to leave and go to a small pumpkin patch near our house the next day to buy them.

Luca found a nice not too big not too small pumpkin

Rocco needs to feel every damn pumpkin they have (even when there are 100's), but we're totally o.k. with that.

What to say about this child of mine? I am not kidding when I say that out of an entire field of pumpkins he finds this. There was no changing his mind that this was his choice.

As I was taking pictures I was mildly embarrassed, but clearly not too embarrassed to post them to Le Internets for the world to see.

You hear those crickets?

2011-10-13T21:21:00.000-07:00

KCWC coming to a close and you can hear crickets coming from my sewing machine. Actually I was too lazy to re-thread the serger for these pants (black is currently on it) so I just pinked the edges. Whoo hoo for old style sewing.

It's been a less than productive sewing week. I really wanted to get so much completed, but I lacked a proper plan and ended up cutting about 12 pair of adorable little boy undies (for the little boy that is light years away from potty training and currently out of anything to actually wear). I is smaht.

I have no idea what the fabric is called. I bought it from Etsy a while back. I loved it because it has San Francisco, Chef and I lived there for a few years before we were married... and it has Rome, quite close to the town that we were married.

Since this fabric was purchased to make a Summer pant and we are headed into Winter, I lined it with white Kona cotton. I guess I would have preferred to use a flannel but I didn't have a solid that coordinated and I wasn't about to head to our local ~~fabric~~ craft shop to find some. Did you know that even JoAnn's is about an hour drive for me? Also all the lovely little brick and mortar fabric and sewing machine shops have closed down in my area. We have one quilting store but they carry quilting fabric that just isn't my cup of tea.

{image source}

I'm not sure what this style quilting is called, but there are a lot of examples like this on the walls of that store.

Crossbreeding

2011-10-07T19:00:00.000-07:00

In Vinny's world the zebra and lemur

are

a perfect match

as demonstrated by their intense kiss

He carefully explained that if there are such beings as a ...

zorse

zonkey

and a

zony...

surely a zemur could exist

Seriously though, for some reason I found myself Googling hybrid animals. Clearly I have too much time on my hands.

Guest Post

2011-10-06T07:45:00.000-07:00

Today I'm showing a few variations of pintucks over at Elsie Marley. Here's a preview of one of my favorite new little ideas. I'm thinking I'll have to try this again during next weeks KCWC.

I'm really excited to see what everyone out there in Blogland makes for the challenge week. I always find great new ideas that I want to try and this year I'll be able to keep things organized by Pinning them. Yay Pinterest!

Some New Duds

2011-10-02T21:54:00.001-07:00

I made these pants a few months ago. I'm not sure if I ever made them public (ie: shown on this here blog). I like them muchly. Kind of based on Dana's pant you can find it here.

Here is an example of "matching plaids". Ever wonder what that means? I. Did. Not. Match. Plaids. It's o.k. The pants are ca-ute anyway.

These photos were literally taken as I chased Vinny around the yard as he yelled "no" in reference to my camera.

Am I sick to absolutely love everything about that photo?

eWaste

2011-09-30T18:34:00.000-07:00

The shirt fits. He's pretty happy about it. In case you were wondering, the broken t.v. is still sitting by the front door. I have it on good authority that this weekend it's going off to eWaste recycling. Let's hope so because as you can see by this photo, the crap is really piling up on top of it.

A little recycling

2011-09-28T16:13:00.000-07:00

Rocco finally outgrew this t-shirt...

It's one of my favorites and I couldn't bear to see it go...

Now it's a long sleeve shirt for his little brother.

Baby Steps I Say

2011-09-22T13:38:00.000-07:00

I guess I just have a lot on my plate these days and that plate doesn't have much room for sewing. Most days I'm o.k. with that, but other days it just bugs the shit out of me.

Vinny has been growing like a weed so I had to go buy him clothes which pretty much seems like a waste of money since I have piles of fabric just waiting to be turned into little man clothes. It's also hard to buy something when you know it's easy to make. I don't mind buying things for the kids to wear when it's just totally cool and I would never have made it anyway. Denim for example (although I did resist the best pair of Gap jeans with a Union Jack flag stitched on the thigh). Nice screen printed tee's. Funky jackets with waaaaaaay too much sewing labor involved for a growing child. Those items can get me to part with my money, but most of it just irritates me.

I thought I needed to get some WIP's out of the way...

Meet Gerald the Giraffe. He's been sitting around here for about 5 months waiting to get another ear sewn on.

Maybe if I show him this picture he'll stop pouting

P.s. Just now when I went to Gap.com to get the link on those jeans they were on sale and I totally bought them. Booyah!

Where's My Mojo? Can Someone Please Find It?

2011-09-11T20:47:00.000-07:00

I am in such a sewing funk. I've been buying patterns like a fool (two dresses, one skirt, one blouse and underwear pattern for the tot!) and fabric too for that matter. I just haven't been sewing. Well, that's not totally accurate. I did make another pair of p.j.'s. I know, Yawn.

I did get my creative on this past week while my sister visited. It just didn't include the sewing machine.

I got out the camera to take some more pictures of my sister. I really love taking her picture. She is fun to photograph mostly because she is just herself. She's never awkward.

She loves to add drama to just about everything

Plus, looks like this just come natural to her.

She knows how to own it. Man, I wish I could look like this in front of the camera.

scraps

2011-08-29T13:33:00.000-07:00

Blogger I despise you today, but thank you for making me figure out a way to work around your bad behavior. I've been playing around with HTML in preparation for a day like this. You thought you had me. Ha!

Hello there people! I've been in a sewing funk lately. I'm pretty sure the fantastic vintage style dress that I want to make will not be made in time for the pahty that I will be attending in a few weeks. I'm going to go to Anthro tomorrow to get motivated. I'm hoping I walk away empty handed and inspired.

So here is some more sewing with knits. I almost didn't even post this picture because it looks like 90% of what I sew and it's getting a little boring.

Where I live we get a late Summer. September and October are the hottest months so I needed to make some lightweight pj's for the little one. The cars fabric I used a long time ago and I had enough left to make a top .I wish I had bought more of the orange stripe fabric when it was available because I have a crush. You can see some of it here, in a not-so-good application.

The top pattern is Happy Animals by Ottobre and the pant pattern is just unfortunate. The fit is not really great and I have to tweak it so much at this point I'm ready to draft my own monkey pants so I will refrain from using the pattern name. I know many of you have used it and love it, but it just doesn't fit my little guy that great. If you want to buy ready made monkey pants I found a store with the cutest designs.

Keeping the Little People Inside

2011-08-22T19:27:00.000-07:00

So today I hung this rug above the front door. It belonged to my Opa. I've had it for years and actually it found it's way outside at one point with cat vomit and fast forward two years when my dad found it on my back deck crumpled in a ball. He thought it was destined for the trash but decided to take it home and see if he could clean it up I mean it is an antique after all. I know, such respect I have.

He did a great job so to reward him for his effort I hung it on the wall away from future cat vomit (it was previously hung over a chair).

{image}

Oh boy, seeing the lock like that makes it look like some kind of torture device. Well it looks great on my door I assure you.

I decided to post this picture not because of the rug on the wall, but the lock on the door that I know you are just itching to ask about.

It's been there about 8 years now and I'm surprised to see they still sell them. I do not remember spending that kind of money on it so I'm thinking the price has gone up over the years.

Well... at around 2-3 years old my kids all seem to learn how to operate the lock on the front door. My girlfriend had this same issue with her oldest at the same time as Rocco and she installed an ugly-as-shit deadbolt up high like mine (Don't worry, she doesn't read this blog no hurt feelings). She had a locksmith come and install it too.... At the same time I poked around the internet and found this lock that kind of matches a lot of the stuff around here and it's super easy to install and lock. It even makes a great noise that almost has a Medieval sound. It uses small screws so that when removed and filled with wood filler will not leave half the marks/huge holes as my girlfriends deadbolt.

So where is this leading to? Vinny has learned how to sort-of unlock the front door so we've started using it again. I kind of forgot about it since it hasn't been used in so long.

When I was taking pictures of the front door I totally cropped them to look amazing. I mean who needs to see this monster that sits by my front door? Then I decided it would be funny to show you this dinosaur that used to house itself in our master bedroom. Our t.v. broke about 4 months ago and it has been sitting there ever since. I'm not sure which is more disturbing. That the t.v. is still here or that we haven't yet replaced the t.v.

In case you are wondering, I'm waiting for an e-waste recycling drive that happens near the kids school for the local chapter of Hope Services, at least that's what I'm telling myself every time it gets piled high with junk.

Summer Sunset Dress

2011-08-19T22:29:00.000-07:00

In case you missed it last month on Luvinthemommyhood I'm re-posting this tutorial.

Yes, that's a little shirring you see there on the shoulder. I thought I'd join in on all the elastic thread fun. I made a few of these for Luca, but I really liked the way they turned out so I may try making some for myself. I'm not much of a one shoulder gal, but don't worry... I'll show you how cute this top looks with two shoulders.

First of all the fabric you choose can be any weight knit fabric. I tried this out with everything from a thinner jersey to a medium interlock. If you are new to knits, interlock can be easier to sew with than jersey which can curl at the edges once cut. I use a rib knit for the neck and arm binding, but you can use other knit fabric for your binding.

Let's get started with your pattern. To make this tank dress/top all you need is an existing tank that fits. I chose a tank top that fits Luca pretty snug. It's more of an undershirt. The reason I have the tank hanging off the edge of the paper is because I wanted to get the top part right before I wasted paper on the length. Make sense? Sorry 'bout that.

The first top that I made from this tracing seemed to go a tad too low under the arm and looked like there was going to be a game of peek-a-boo with Luca's front, so you can see I raised the left side up a bit and added a bit of a swoop.

So here is the version of the dress that the "swoop" was too low so I had to add a spaghetti strap. It turns out this is by far her favorite dress and she's been wearing it a lot! To make a skinny strap from knit fabric you can visit my previous tutorial that I did for the Versus Mag on making skinny straps from knit fabric.

I played around with different widths of the straps and you may want to go wider than the tank you are tracing because the shirring takes out a lot of width. After tracing your pattern you can either make this into a tank top or dress. When making a dress you want to create an A-line from the armpit to the length you want. On the yellow dress I went a little narrower and longer. The floral dress with the tie is a bit wider (not much) and I decided to make the bottom hemline with a curve.

I found that five lines of shirring works pretty good for this style. Mark your lines below the seam allowance and evenly spaced after that. I use a water soluble pen to mark my lines. Using a ball point needle stitch your shirring lines. The right photo shows the shirring once it is sewn. This is actually without spraying any water, which often causes the shirring to gather up real nice and even. I found that most knit fabrics that I used pretty much looked good straight from the machine. I have since washed these dresses a few times and they hold up great.

If you haven't sewn with elastic thread before, don't be intimidated. I hand wind my bobbin and so far so good. Shannon has been making some killer things using elastic thread and she has some good tips.

Once you have shirred the shoulder of the front of one panel, with right sides together stitch shoulder seam closed with either a serger or zig zag stitch.

{here is the shirring on a thinner jersey print knit fabric}

Next you will attach your neck and arm binding. This really isn't as hard as it may seem. It's really up to you what width you cut your binding. I usually use a binding between 1 1/2-2" wide of rib knit. Cutting across the grain or stretch you want to make strips longer than the armhole circumference and neckline circumference. Extra is fine because you will cut the excess off later.

With right side of rib knit facing wrong side of fabric, serge binding onto neckline. Photo shows armhole binding completed and neckline binding just serged into place. I usually don't press my binding in the next step, but I tried it to see if this may help for someone that has not made a knit binding before. It actually worked nicely and I would recommend this if it is your first time working with knits.

Press or fold binding over double toward right side of fabric and pin in place. To stitch the binding in place you can use either a twin needle (my new favorite thing) or just a regular ball point needle that you have been using for the garment. If using a single needle make sure to use a long stitch. I use between a 2.8-3.0 on my machine depending on the knit. I test a scrap first to see how it looks.

Here you can see that I did not press the binding, but just double folded it and used pins. You can kind of see from the photo on the left that this is going to be the two shoulder tank.

If making the one shoulder tank at this point you want your armhole and neckline (which is also kind of the armhole) finished with binding. If making a two shoulder tank you want to just finish the armholes and not the neckline yet.

For a single shoulder tank all you need to do is trim the excess length of binding past the seam allowances and with right sides together, serge or zig zag both side seams closed.

Hem tank dress or leave it unfinished. That's one great thing about knit fabric! No raveling! The floral dress has an curved hem line which can be tricky to avoid puckering unless you make the edge very narrow. I serged the bottom and folded the hemline up just the width of the serge line and top stitched with single needle and a wide stitch length. This almost becomes a narrow roll edge. On the yellow dress I used a twin needle and a heftier hemline.

So how about making this cute dress with two shoulders?

{please ignore Little Dude to the left}

The only difference with the two shoulder tank is that you will shir the two front panels of the tank top pattern you traced. Next, with right sides together stitch closed shoulder seams. Next,attach armhole binding as shown above. Next is where I do things a little different. Without finishing the neckline binding, I stitch closed the side seams (right sides together). Leave tank wrong side out.

Measure the circumference of your neckline and take away about 1/3' - 1/2" depending on the stretch of the binding. Right sides together stitch neck binding closed into a circle. You'll have a headband looking thing.

With right sides of rib binding to wrong side of fabric pin binding into place. There should be a little bit of stretching of the neckline binding, not the neckline of the tank.

Stitch or serge the binding into place stretching the binding evenly as it is being attached to the garment. It may seem awkward, but you want to stretch the rib knit while not stretching the garment body fabric. Like I said before, knit fabric is pretty forgiving and you will surprised at how this comes together, especially after a trip to the laundry.

Finish neckline binding as you did for the armhole above. For the hemline I finished the heart dress the same as the floral.

I love the possibilities with this dress. Did you see the racer back tank that Anna from Noodlehead did last week? I'm thinking this could be pretty cute as a shirred racerback tank dress! Let me know if you give it a try or if you have any questions about sewing with knits. I am certainly no expert, but I kind of dove blindly into the knit fabric arena (no pun intended to those of you who already read my blog you know that I have a blind son and I rarely spare the jokes) and you know what? I am loving it... um, both sewing with knits and having a blind child!

Happy Birthday Little One

2011-08-10T18:05:00.000-07:00

{birthday lips complete with cake and frosting}

Last week was Vincenzo's second birthday and I had planned to make an adorable little outfit for the occasion. We took him to ride an old fashioned steam train in the Santa Cruz mountains and I pictured him looking all dapper in his new homemade outfit. Well, I just finished the shirt last night and the pants this morning. Good intentions and all that yada yada.

I made an Oliver + S Sketchbook Shirt and a pair of Easy Fit pants. I have such a crush on this new fabric line Children at Play by Sarah Jane Studios. I also bought some of the pinwheel fabric and can't wait to make something with that one.

A New Challenge

2011-08-08T18:26:00.000-07:00

I've been lurking around quite a few different blogs these past few weeks. I should say a few new-to-me blogs. Lot's of sewing, but not for kids. I recently decided I want to make some clothes for myself. If I ever get around to it remains to be seen. I still have yet to go further than cutting out a few pair of panties.

What I have in mind is actually very much not my norm...

{source}

I want to make a 50's vintage style dress. Maybe with a modern twist. I found a dress by Burdastyle that I like.

{source}

Actually if I could make this exact dress I'd be totally thrilled. I lurve me some blue. There are so many talented bloggers out there making amazing vintage style clothing. I am totally inspired.

I have purchased some fabric and I hope when it arrives it will work for a dress. I bought a pale blue hopefully like the picture above and a black pique. I don't always have the best luck with online fabric shopping. I haven't decided if I'm going to make a petticoat for the dress. It may be too over the top.

Oh yeah, the reason for the dress is we have an event to go to in September for Chefs work. Not a dressy thing, but a look kinda decent kinda thing. I figure why not?

Summer Fun?

2011-08-01T17:34:00.000-07:00

Summer fun for who?

Summer is a real hard time to get any sewing done. I keep saying I'll work on projects after the kids go to sleep at night, but I just end up crawling into bed with my Kindle. What I really should do is more stitchwork that I can do in bed. I'd love to make the Daisychain ABC's Sampler from Posie Gets Cozy.

I have been making a lot of friendship bracelets for the kids. All three are wearing them.
I guess that's sort of in the creative mind set. Creating at least.

If you are curious about the nails I just tried these nail stickers out today for the first time on Luca. They are called Salon Effects by Sally Hansen. They are supposed to last 10 days, but I'm a doubter. It's definitely a special treat kind of thing ($8.00 at Target) and they alleviated a little bit of this... momIamsoboredwhatcanIdonow?

Hoarding...not fabric, just junk

2011-07-31T20:08:00.000-07:00

You know that show Hoarders? I've watched a few episodes. It's actually a little disturbing. Have you ever wondered what those people were like as children? What made them into the adult that lives amongst garbage?

I introduce you to a future hoarder. I'm a little disturbed.

When school ended this year I just put the kids backpacks in the closet and didn't feel like going through them. Today I decided to empty out Luca's backpack. This photo doesn't really show how massive the pile of shit really is. What is not shown in this photo is one shoe, a shirt, a bandana, a mitten, and oh yes, a small tupperware container with a dead moth. Really.

Summer Sunset Dress

2011-07-25T08:45:00.000-07:00

Today I'm guest posting over at Luvinthemommyhood for Sewing with Knits Mondays! To see the tutorial for this dress go on over for a peek.

Er, um... panties anyone?

2011-07-22T20:06:00.000-07:00

Recently I've been inspired by all my fellow sewists who have been venturing into the world of unmentionables. I guess they aren't really all that unmentionable since many of you are not only mentioning them, but making them and photographing them.

So I ordered a lot of stretch lace. Like probably enough to make a few hundred panties. Some of the lace I ordered is not really panty worthy. More like ice skating costume elastic. Luckily the majority is great and I can't wait to try it out. I'll keep you posted.

Some Seersucker

2011-07-20T17:15:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I bought a variety of seersucker fabric from fabric.com. I do find it difficult to buy fabric online and I have my fair share of "Oh no that is so awful it must immediately go into a pile far far away from my eyes."

Out of the pile of fabric that arrived there were more than usual that fall into that category. Here is one that does not have to be banished.

I love the wide stripe and light summery feel of the fabric. I made a pair of pants based off of an existing pant that he has outgrown. I totally guessed on the length so they are about 2 inches too long. Good thing they look cute rolled up.

Do any of you notice that when you buy lot's of fabric you sew less? I've been getting packages in the mail at an alarming rate, yet all I have to show are these pants.

Chicks

2011-07-18T09:52:00.000-07:00

Today we went and bought a few more chickens. Six to be exact.

Someone had a hard time not squeezing too tight.

For now they are living in a bird cage in our living room. Soon they will join the older girls in the yard.

Newsprint

2011-07-15T15:43:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if you all enter a lot of giveaways on blogs, but I do. Well, I did. I never won anything so I just gave up.

Leave it up to my husband to win the first giveaway he's ever entered. Our newspaper was having a giveaway for the month of June and lo and behold he won. Do you want to know what that lucky duck won? A freakin' iPad. The really cool thing is that he was actually the runner up. The first winner never claimed the prize. I know, go figure.

When Chef went to the newspaper offices to pick up the prize he spotted a cart with newsprint rolls. Upon closer examination he saw they were for sale! They call these end rolls, but wow there must be 100's of feet left on those rolls. He said they had two different widths. He bought the narrower (42") for just $5.00

I was almost more excited about the paper than the iPad. Almost ;)

Did you all know you can go to your local newspaper and buy this stuff? I had no idea. I wonder if it's common. I'm going to test it out and see if it's good for tracing patterns. Probably not transparent enough.

The kids were so excited about the giveaway. They want us to enter more. They clearly think iPad is a huge roll of crafting paper. I plan on winning an iPad for myself so I'm back on the giveaway hunt!

Uh Oh...

2011-07-14T21:25:00.000-07:00

So I thought I'd just check in and let you all know that absolutely no sewing/crafting has occurred in this house for quite a while, but I am more freaked out about Blogger right now. I couldn't even find where to start a new post. Is this the twilight zone? Are you all experiencing the changes? Well, those of you using Blogger.

My sister and her man took a road trip to visit us this past week. They are gone now and headed for Solvang. Next stop L.A. and then back to Vegas. Like how I included their entire itinerary?

About 30 minutes after she left I already had two pants cut out for Vinny and a shirt. No sewing yet, but I was kind of jonesing to get something done.

4th of July around these parts...

2011-07-05T18:46:00.000-07:00

So Chef had planned a backpacking trip with the big kids for this weekend. It involved great preparation including bear vaults (yes, I'm serious), rental equipment, mapping, planning, packing, organization...

{crappy photo via phone camera at 4:30 a.m. prior to departure}

They were all prepared. I was to stay at home with the young one. It was all planned I tell you. Until...

The Forest ranger failed to inform Chef that the Sierra snow pack had not yet melted and basically the trail was impassable. Yes, the same Ranger that kindly gave the kids Smokey the Bear pins and wildlife coloring books before waving buh-bye.

14 hours into the trip my phone has a text saying they are on their way home. Uh oh. Not according to schedule people. I'm not panicked because when there is a real emergency Chef would not leave cryptic text. He's slightly smarter than that.

So they left home at 5 a.m. and returned at midnight. I won't get into detail about the treacherous few miles that these little munchkins hiked. They were pretty discouraged.

To make things a little better we took them to Natural Bridges State Beach in Santa Cruz for the Fourth of July! There were only about a gazillion other people at the beach, but we still had a great time.

Rocco tried to dig a hole to China

I wish I could say I made this adorable bathing suit but Lands End made it

Vinny ate lot's and lot's of watermelon

It was a lovely day

Little Thoughts

2011-07-02T20:49:00.000-07:00

So the other day when I picked up Rocco from Summer school Vinny screamed "pee pee" (one of his few words) really loud. At first I got real excited, like helloooooo, this is certainly a good sign for the potty training. The excitement ended when I saw he was pointing at this sign.

Uh, yes that kind of looks like someone sitting on the potty. Sort of. This story actually reminds me about the time Rocco embarrassed the shit out of me. Read it and we can all collectively go hide under a rock together because I know you will feel for me on this one.

p.s. I do have myself a fancy schmancy handicap placard for my car thankyouverymuch since I am the proud owner of one badass blind child.

two of my favorite colors

2011-06-30T16:24:00.000-07:00

Last year I bought some Heather Ross Munki Munki carnival fabric and I used some on the pocket of a pair of pants. The fabric was not purchased as yardage, I actually bought the back panel of a large pair of Munki Munki pajamas. The only thing I don't really like about the top is that the two white fabrics are too close in color that it looks weird. I would have preferred more contrast. I do love orange and blue as seen here, here, here and here.

I even have a board for orange and blue on Pinterest.

Growing Up

2011-06-29T15:37:00.000-07:00

My baby is growing up

Last weekend when we were in Target I decided to show Vinny a potty.

He sat on it in the aisle and said "pee pee" "poo poo".

Of course I bought the potty (and some Pull-ups).

I have no fantasies about this being easy.

It never is and I do not want to hear about how your 19 month old potty trained in 5 days because I totally already heard that one in the checkout line at Target.

Summer Sewing

2011-06-27T22:01:00.000-07:00

I have been sewing a bit here and there. Lot's of boring things that involve repairing fallen hems, fixing snaps and attaching buttons. I did manage to make two more Maliboo Rompers. This time I matched the stripes, almost.

This particular photoshoot little miss thang was workin' it. She gave me all the angles I needed and then some. I dread the teens with this one.

I did make a minor alteration to the pattern

The underarm goes a little too low for my taste so I added an inch to the pattern. Since I added an inch to the front panel underarm area I should have remembered to add an inch also to the back panel below where the back white band is. I don't remember if I did this and when it came together I did some strange sewing because when it was almost finished the front leg hemline did not match the back leg hemline so I ended up making these much shorter than the pattern calls for which turned out to be great because this length is totally much cuter on Luca.

Phew! I need to take a breath after that sentence (study grammar much Sascha?)

The deets:

Pattern - Maliboo Romper by Lil Blue Boo

Fabric - Cotton knit with lycra I'm thinking from fabric.com but I can't remember.

Summer School

2011-06-25T07:56:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the radio silence. I have been sewing. A few duds which is annoying and wastes fabric. Some keepers which I'll get around to showing you soon.

Rocco has Summer school and it's pretty exciting this year because the county school program was able to get four visually impaired kids to go to the same class. There are a variety of other children with special needs also. Two children with cerebral palsy, and autistic boy, and another girl that has a feeding tube. The class is being held at the middle school in my neighborhood which is awesome for me. Close to home.

{Rocco using his Braillenote}

This past school year Rocco started working with a braillenote. What an amazing piece of technology. His is an older version right now but the newer technology is pretty amazing. They have GPS, WiFi so you can email, four USB slots... it's kind of an everything-you-can-imagine-item. He loves it.

{Janie using her fancy-schmancy Braillenote}

We are so very lucky to have a blind 16 year old high school student that is volunteering in class this Summer as a part of her school credits. Here she is in the photo above. I visited class this past week to see what to expect for my future with Rocco. Well, she is a superstar. When she types there is almost smoke coming from her fingers they are moving so fast.

I had met Janie and her dad at the regional Braille Challenge back in February and I spoke with her dad a bit during the breaks. I had no idea that last year at the age of 15 she placed second for her age group in North America! That's totally big time. To say I am impressed puts it lightly. She made it to the top 12 this year and yesterday she went to L.A. to compete for the title.

Fathers Day Picnic (a day early)

2011-06-18T21:30:00.000-07:00

So we went on a short hike and had a picnic. Just thought I'd check in. Some sewing has occurred, but frustratingly sloooooow. Like stitch one seam and be done for the day. Who knew three kids would be so much work?

We went on this same hike last year as seen here. It's just weird to have the baby grow so fast. I mean he's just not a baby, he's totally a toddler. Wahhhhhhh.

It's strange how things work out. Chef and I have been together for 16 years and if I had known then what I know now... HA! If just. Too bad. I would have said let's get married sooner. Let's start a family sooner. I just had no idea that I wanted so many children. Really had NO IDEA. I always wanted two children. Since I was a little girl. That's what my mom had so it seemed logical. Of all my friends I am the only one with more than two (remember we are Californians, two is plenty to most Californians!).

This is it. My number. Three. I need to be happy and satisfied. I'm not, but that's ok too. There are days when it seems almost impossible to handle the three I have. There are more days where I long for another baby to nuzzle. It's no secret that I got lucky enough to convince Chef for number three. I won't be betting on a major mind change in the next year. After that, well, my eggs are old. I've already given birth to a child in "advanced maternal age". Boy that stung when my OB said that. Wha? Me? I'm like 25 aren't I? Oh wait, you're right. Not so much. But I'm not ooooooooold. I'm just getting started. Whaaaaaaa. Booo hoo.

Hmmm. Sounds like a post for a sad mothers day. Onward. Hope you all remember to say a special thank you to your dad on this day. Also, maybe don't forget your baby daddy.

Weekend Sewing: Pass, Fail, Fail, and epic fail to you Senor Blogger. Oh, and a cute pair of pants.

2011-06-12T20:57:00.000-07:00

I actually got a lot of sewing accomplished this weekend, unfortunately I made a ton of those little mistakes that when added up are irritating.

Here is an example of a pair of jammies that went surprisingly well.

Oh yes, Blogger has decided to randomly choose a photo to flip. Thank you Blogger. I choose not to fight with you tonight.

On to my personal favorite exhibit 3 (C?)

Note to self. Not all knit fabric will make an appropriate neckband. Chef is fondly naming this one the mini mock turtleneck.

Here are the deets...

Knit school bus fabric and VW bugs fabric from Etsy sellers. I think I saw some of the VW fabric from another seller recently. I used this same fabric here quite a while back. Boy has Vinny grown.

The guitar fabric and orange and white stripe is from Fabric Fairy

Orange jersey from FFC

Brown French Terry from Fabric.com

Raglan tee is from the still mysterious issue of Ottobre (by mysterious I mean I'm too lazy to go look it up but not too lazy to look up the link that refers to the last raglan tee I made).
Pajama bottoms are Monkey Spats (still need to tweak this pattern a bit).
Brown pants are self drafted from a pair of existing pants which no longer fit so I enlarged them, a bit too much. Better too big than too small though.

Addictions... the "good" kinds

2011-06-08T15:12:00.000-07:00

I, like many of you, have quite the love affair going with Pinterest. If you haven't yet visited... maybe that's a good thing. I'm actually not a seriously prolific Pinterester, but I really, really love that damn thing. My bookmarks folder was getting out of control and honestly not very inspiring.

Another thing I seriously love is the iPhone photo app Instagram. I find myself taking lot's more photos out and about than I used to just because you can change the look dramatically with the filters.

{I use this filter a lot. I think it's called Nashville}

Anyhoo, this post actually contains some sewing if that's why you come here. Yesterday during nap time I made this raglan tee (from Ottobre, issue #?) I used an old girls t-shirt for the sleeves, a white baby rib for the body, cuff and neckband... and... do you see it? A Heather Ross VW Van applique. Oh how it pains me to even cut the smallest amount from this fabric. I really only have less than 1/4 yard of this great fabric. If you want to see a better picture of the fabric and an amazing set of garments made with it, visit this post by Rae.

My goal this week is to make a bunch of long and short sleeve raglan tees for this Summer. They are quick to make and oh so cute. Of course I'll need to throw in a few 90 minute shirts. My favorite.

Oliver + S Sailboat Pants

2011-06-06T20:03:00.000-07:00

I haven't made the Oliver + S Sailboat pants in a while and I had to trace the next size up. What I totally forgot was to add length in the rise and length in the pant leg. With that said, I like these pants a lot. Chef said "OMG! When are you going to dress him like a BOY?!?"

In the photos they really don't look all that girlie, but when I put them on... well, I am the first to admit, he was awfully pretty.

Fabric is a pale blue cotton twill from Fashion Fabrics Club

Front yoke lining is a rocket fabric (anyone know the designer?) which I once made an adorable pair of pants for Vinny for his older brothers space themed birthday party. I clearly forgot to document the awesome outfit I made.

Maliboo Romper

2011-06-05T19:23:00.000-07:00

I bought this pattern the second it came available. I can't believe I waited until now to make it. I totally love it! This is really a great Summer item that any girl needs to have. It will be perfect as a quick pool cover up for Luca.

Just ignore the fact that I completely did not match the stripes. Bugger. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I made this. It's about one of the simplest garments to sew you would think I would have concentrated a bit more on matching wide stripes.

This is something I wish Luca could wear to school on hot days. Unfortunately our school has a no halter top rule. Fortunately there are only three days left of school. Next I want to make the longer version with elastic bottoms.

I made this in a French Terry from Fashion Fabrics Club

Lined in cotton baby rib knit maybe also from FFC

Urban Unisex Hoodie (again)

2011-06-02T14:44:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I decided to make some more Urban Unisex Hoodies. I've made a few now (here, here and here) and I really love them. We tend to have foggy Summers along the coast and the kids are always in need of layers. This sweatshirt does the trick. I thought I'd be fancy schmancy by making three assembly line style. Um, FYI, that only works if you are making things that all require the same color thread. So I made two and the third is still on the cutting table ready to go.

I wasn't even going to post about these, but I was doing laundry and I pulled the black one with the penguin button out of the laundry basket and I thought, awwww isn't that cute? This should be shared.

O.k. so that's totally not what went down. I mean I did get it from the laundry basket a few minutes ago, but really, I just wanted to post about something and I didn't think you really needed to hear about the weird poopy diaper fiasco that went down this morning.

Ottobre pajamas and a bottle of wine

2011-05-31T17:37:00.000-07:00

This school year is coming to an end. The kids only have 6 days left of the school year which means the teachers are totally over it. These last few days are pretty much dedicated to goofing off. Today was sports day where the kids could dress in any sport uniform that they wanted and they got to play sports outside all day. Tomorrow is crazy hair day. Later this week is pajama day. Luca requested a special pair of handmade pj's. I love that she's not embarrassed to wear handmade. I'm worried that is all soon to change.

I used an Ottobre Design pattern from issue 1/2003. It's called "T-Shirts" and I used view C and added cuffs. I think I traced size 122/128. If I were to guess I'd say it's closer to an American size 8. For the bottoms I just traced a pair of her leggings and added a bit of width. As simple as this pair of pj's is, I still managed to get in a good workout with my seam ripper.Don't ask... it was ugly. All for silly reasons, some of which may have to do with wine.

China Dolls fabric: Fabric Fairy. Not really the softest knit fabric but the cute factor outweighs the comfy factor in this case.

Pink cotton rib knit: prolly JoAnn's? My closest JoAnn's is an hour away so I try to stock up when they have rib knits.

May Giveaway Day Winner

2011-05-29T17:36:00.000-07:00

Sorry I didn't put this up sooner. I've been working on a special pair of pj's for Luca and let's just say the seam ripper and I are very close this weekend.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to enter my giveaway. It's great to get to visit your blogs. I love "meeting" new people through the Sewmamasew give away day. It's a great way to find exciting and like-minded blogs.

Looks like the Pea Pod is headed to England!

Brooklyn Shrug

2011-05-26T08:58:00.000-07:00

Luca has been asking for a shrug/bolero jacket thingy for a good year now. I've been meaning to just take an existing pattern and just fiddle with it until I found this garment in the book Sewing Clothes Kids Love. I've had the book for at least 9 months, but you know how that goes... tracing. Ugh.

So I clearly forgot to add hem allowance on the sleeves. I did remember to add seam allowances but I'll make it a little bigger next time. She also wants a little more coverage so she requested 2" longer and a little more swoop toward the chest. What a diva. I kid.

I also added a rib binding around the entire shrug (sorry for the lame pictures). I did the binding because during the final steps it was looking like the hemline would get wavy if I hemmed it. The ribbing is really cute and I'll be adding it to the next shrug which hopefully won't take another year to make.

p.s. I'll announce a winner for the baby carrier a little later.

May Giveaway Day!

2011-05-22T21:20:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd jump in on the sewmamasew fun and give away one of my Pea Pod carriers

Since I originally created this pattern for Sewmamasew, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to give away a carrier for their Give Away Day in May.

The carrier I'll be giving away is made with one of my favorite fabrics... Echino Helicopters. My sister (a helicopter pilot) is quite the fan.

The adjustable two buckle closure allows for easy on and off, and it carries babies from approximately 5 months (or when baby can hold head upright with good neck control) up to 35 pounds. This carrier will quickly become your “go to” carrier for quick trips into stores. It takes less than one minute to put on and carry baby… considerably less time than most front/back baby carriers. The wide shoulder strap is meant to be worn on the ball of your shoulder taking the strain off your neck. The child’s weight is distributed evenly and this carrier can be worn with great comfort leaving your hands free. This particular carrier is made for left hip wearing. If you are interested in making your own carrier using my pattern there are instructions for making it a right hip carrier.

So do you want a chance to win this carrier? I'll keep it simple. This giveaway is open to everyone, everywhere! Just leave a comment on this post between now and May ~~27th~~ oops 25th (sorry, my bad) 9 p.m. pst. If you want to double your chances just become a follower (or add me to your reader, I'll take love anywhere I can get it ;) and leave a second comment letting me know. a winner will be picked by random.org. Good luck.

An Artist

2011-05-19T18:04:00.000-07:00

Did you know there are coloring pages for blind children? They have raised edges and other raised textures to show dimensions of drawings. It's really quite simple and brilliant.

The above image comes from a coloring book Rocco had when he was younger. It's called "The Farm Bumpacolor by Kelly". Do you know the most amazing part about this book? It was created by Kelly Rickard for an entry into the Western New York Regional "Invention Convention" competition, when she was in just 5th grade! Of course this won her first place. Since then, Tactile Vision Inc. has made her idea a reality for blind children all over the world.

I must have spent the last hour trying to find any information on Kelly and her story. Nada. I don't even know what year she entered this competition. Is she all grown up now? Does she realize her simple invention changed the world of art to blind children?

Rocco loves art. I mean absolutely loves it. He draws almost daily. He gets absolutely absorbed into a world of fantasy when he is drawing. He leaves out no detail. It's all scribble to our eyes, but to Rocco it's his work of art.

Sailboat Top

2011-05-17T09:14:00.000-07:00

I sometimes forget to let you guys know how a pattern fits, or how I liked sewing with it. Since a few of you asked me how I liked the way this Oliver + S Sailboat Top works with knit and how it fits, I decided to wrestle the monkey and hope for at least one not too blurry picture.

Like all other Oliver + S patterns there really is nothing to complain about on fit or construction. I made this in a size 2 (Vinny is 21 months old), so I think the size is right on. Although in the photo it looks like it bunches around the toddler pot belly, it really doesn't stretch or pull across the waistline. The length is perfect and I love the scoop hemline that has a facing. I had worried about the faux buttonholes on one side, but his head fit through fine with just one side of the neckline opened.

Since I made this in a knit I added a rib cuff to the sleeves which the pattern doesn't call for. If you want to add a cuff here is a cuff pattern that I have (or just click on the button in the left column.

About the knit. It is 100% cotton with minimal stretch which made it sew more like a woven. I think if I make this top again in a woven I may want to add a little bit of width in the midsection of the front panel and I may have to work on my buttonhole skills so that all four buttons are operational.

So that was all a bit wordy just to say I like the pattern bunches and the fit is awesome.

Union Jack

2011-05-15T10:26:00.000-07:00

I made a 90 minute shirt with a men's XL t-shirt from Target. This one is definitely a keeper. I totally love it. The pants are from a blue ticking called a 9.4 oz. denim from fabric.com.

I know this should feel like a productive week for KCWC, but I didn't finish a few items from that pile of already cut garments.

Sailboat Top

2011-05-14T18:58:00.000-07:00

Although it wasn't on my original list of things to sew this week, for some reason I felt like making an Oliver+S Sailboat Top. Their patterns are always impeccable and full of detail which makes for not a quickie project. I do appreciate the attention to detail though. I also had to trace a new size since I had only traced 18 months. I really hate tracing patterns. I have stacks of patterns ready to be traced.

There are so many ideas swimming around in my brain. It's only gotten worse since I started adding to my "Things to make" board in my Pinterest.

p.s. I made a royal mess of the buttonholes on one side of this top so those buttons are faux buttonholes with the buttons stitched permanently closed. The other side turned out fine and I'm hoping his big head will fit through the opening. I really don't need another sewing fail this week.

Cotton Knit Fabric - Fabric.com

Cotton Rib knit - JoAnn's

Be A Hero ribbon - Farbenmix

Drat!

2011-05-11T09:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I thought I could quickly sew up another pair of Monkey Spats and another Happy Animals shirt. Actually the pants are a little different than yesterday. These are the Monkey Spats, the wider leg without cuff is the Monkey Pant.

My problem was thinking I could sew while all three rugrats were home-awake-crying-pooping-bothering, you get the idea. On the pants above I did not intend to have the cuff serged onto the pant with the stitching showing. Turned out looking cute so I'm okay with the first blooper.

Upon first inspection everything seems fine. Not true. The lap shoulder is stitched backward. On the hanger it all seems like a slight imperfection. In reality it cannot be worn without looking plain silly. The worst part is this is not my first time to this particular rodeo. I'm pretty sure this exact same thing has happened to me FOUR TIMES! The strange thing is that it has happened with this fabric before. The giraffes must mess with my eyes.

KCWC

2011-05-10T14:46:00.000-07:00

Shirt is "Happy Animals" from Ottobre 3/2011

Pants are a PDF patterb from Dans la lune called Monkey Pants

Fabric from Fabric Fairy.The Guitar fabric is by Kumquat and there is a little orange dot that ties it together with the orange stripe.

I Finished the shirt last night and the pants today at naptime. I made the pants in a size 2 and he's 21 months old, so probably a little big. The shirt I made in a size 98 (lord knows what that translates to). When Cenzo woke up I quickly raced to try them on...

The shirt is a little long, but it's a keeper. The pants I need to work on a bit. I have him wearing a disposable diaper and these are definitely going to be better with cloth, so all you cloth diapering mamas rejoice! No alterations needed. That's a first. I have been putting him in disposables when I bring him to day care at my gym so off the rack clothing have been fitting him. I must say I love how cute he looks in jeans. I digress.

The fit of the back circle panel is a little off so I'll have to see what I can adjust for the next pair. Also, the fabric choice although adorable, reads pajama. At least the pants look very pajama. Since we rarely have short sleeve p.j. nights here, I'll make a long sleeve top in the same guitar fabric so these will become Summer p.j's. The orange stripe with blue rib knit trim will look great with denim. I'm clearly a fan of orange and blue as seen here.

I have to say I bought this pattern the nanosecond I saw this post.

Getting Started

2011-05-09T09:02:00.000-07:00

I did some cutting last night.

In preparation

for

some kids sewing this week.

It's such a small pile, measuring only 4 1/2" high.

hopefully soon it will become...

two hats

three knit pants

and

two knit shirts

Hopefully

The Name Game

2011-05-05T20:27:00.000-07:00

When I first thought about starting a blog I really didn't think I would be posting about my sewing projects. Coming up with a name that I wouldn't get sick of after one month was difficult. I actually was so unsure that when I opened the Blogger account I used my actual name. That is one thing I knew I wouldn't grow tired of. I kind of wish I had just named my blog Sascha Romeo, but I didn't.

About the first 12 blog names I came up with were already taken. That became a little frustrating. Actually, in hindsight I am glad a few of them were already taken. They are cute, but just not me.

Then I decided since all my children have very Italian names, why not give the blog an Italian twist? I did like the idea of using the Italian word for "little" (piccoli) paired with something. I think I Googled quite a lot of words that sound cute in English to see how they pair with Italian

little elephants = piccoli elefanti

little birds = piccoli uccelli

little babies/children = piccoli bambini (I think this was taken)

little owls = piccoli gufi

little friends = piccoli amici

little thugs = piccoli delinquente

Some roll off the tongue better than others. The funny part about all my "research" is that all I did was use babelfish for my translation. I figured it didn't matter much since who reads this blog anyway? What is funny is that I used the English to Italian translation, but if you reverse it to Italian to English translation my blog title becomes "little ones peas". Whatevs. I'm o.k. because bottom line is that I like the way piccoli piselli sounds so I went with it.

Why the long post? I guess I'm just wondering what the thought process was for you guys when it came time to naming your blog.

~ My little peas are my little bambini ~

Preparing

2011-05-04T17:36:00.000-07:00

Kids Clothes Week is coming up and I figured I better commit myself by at least documenting one item that really needs to be completed.

Someone's head grew and is in need of a Summer hat, or two. Don't you love how the hat is just kind of sitting on top looking rather silly? After I took this photo today it fell off into the kiddie pool.

I've traced off the Bucket Hat pattern from Little Things to Sew. Hopefully I can get more accomplished that week than a little hat, but I'm thinking baby steps right now. The only problem is I'm not sure I have fabric I'd like to use for the hat and if I order it online I may not get it in time. Locally the selection tends to suck big time.

What are you planning on making during Kids Clothes Week? I actually really need to consider sewing some basics. None of the kids have Spring pajamas and the baby is in need of pants of all sorts. There I go, leaving those baby steps behind.

Oh and totally unrelated (I've been doing that a lot lately on my blog and in person, changing subject), why can't Cenzo poop his diaper and put his hand down the back and grab a fistful of poop when I'm not home and Chef is watching him? Just once?

So Much for Sewing

2011-05-02T18:18:00.000-07:00

I haven't been sewing at all. It's driving me nuts. I have been pattern tracing. I even set up a second table in our dining/living room to use for tracing. Our dining table just wasn't working out on account of needing to use it for what it was actually intended... dining. Silly details.

In other totally unrelated news I finally got my order from Vintage Lucy's. I just love their funky t-shirts. I've bought a few in the past and when Cenzo outgrew them I missed them, so instead of making him some cute clothes I took a shortcut and bought them. The only thing I don't totally love is the logo on the back neck (third photo), is a little girlie looking. That paired with my inability to cut his hair so that he resembles a boy kind of puts it over the top.

p.s. The moccasins (above left) I made are still fitting him. Barely. I need a source for leather. Damn you local thrift shops. There has been nothing I tell you. Nothing!

My Big Boy

2011-04-28T08:49:00.000-07:00

Our school has a fundraiser every year that comes up with some pretty unique ways to get you to part with your cash. One is to buy a parking space right up front with a placard saying "blank" family parking only (insert winning name), so when you pick your kid up everyone gets to see who forked over $1,000+ to park up front.

Another item is principal for a day which let's the winning child walk around school all day pretending to give orders, or something like that. Besides getting to read the announcments on the loud speaker and other principal duties, the child gets to invite 4 friends to eat pizza in the faculty lounge.

One of Rocco's close friends is principal for the day today. Her parents bought it for her and bought the principal for a day for her older sister at the other school in our district. Some people have money to burn. Who am I to complain though? One, the money goes to a good cause... and two...

Rocco was one of the kids that she invited! Last night he said he wanted to dress fancy for the special lunch. I was baffled because he has nothing in said category. Before I could utter a word he stated he wanted a bow tie. That boy listens. He remembered all the attention little brother got from his bow tie. So late last night I was making a bow tie that hopefully would not garner snickers from the other kids at school today.

This is where the story may just melt your heart a teeny-tiny bit. The girl that invited him is genuinely a friend to him. She isn't told to hang out with the blind kid that is socially awkward. She also is one of the pretty girls in school. Well, that sounds creepy. She's in second grade. Maybe I should keep it at "she's so stinkin' cute". He's in love with her and has no idea what she looks like. I love that about him. The judgements he makes in life will never be based on people's appearances.

p.s. On a funny note, last night when I put the measuring tape around his neck to measure the right length for the bow tie, he got all excited and said "it fits!". In his defense I was using a fabric measuring tape, but I still laughed.

2011-04-27T07:17:00.000-07:00

Come see what I have to share on Luvinthemommyhood

I'm duking it out in the Versus ring

Because I Care

2011-04-22T16:20:00.000-07:00

Have you ever put a drip dry item in the laundry basket thinking you would remember to pull it from the wash before everything goes into the dryer, only to have the item come from the dryer shrunk up to Barbie sized clothing?

I made this little sign to remind me (or my husband should he walk by the laundry room and decide to put a load of laundry into the dryer and accidentally ruin a sweater. Yes this has happened).

The reverse side of the card says "Dry Low Heat". I laminated the sign at Kinko's and I keep it attached to the side of the washer with a heavy duty magnet. When I need to use the sign I put it so the sign overlaps with the door of the washer so I can't "forget" about the item that needs attention.

I keep a sign in the master bathroom for Chef to use (he has a few work shirts that need special attention). We keep the card with a clothespin in a drawer and hopefully it gets remembered before something else is ruined.

On my signs I didn't use accurate symbols. I just picked some icons that I liked. For all I know my sign says "hand wash, hot dryer, line dry and add an extra dash of bleach".

Works great for the portable laundry baskets also. There are obviously many different cards you can make. "Pre-treat", "Use Bleach", "Tumble Dry Low"...

The free fonts I used are from two sources...

DaFont

Fontspace

I'm thinking these could be fun for lot's of other uses. Any ideas? Let me know in the comments. I want to use these symbols on something else.

Nap Time Sewing

2011-04-19T10:41:00.000-07:00

During nap time yesterday I was able to make a quick pair of pants.

Taking photos of a toddler is a test of patience I tell you.

We're back... so what?

2011-04-15T17:03:00.000-07:00

So did anyone miss me? No I didn't think so. It's o.k. I'm secure that way. Kind of. For those of you new here, the famdamily went out on a road trip to San Diego. Mainly to visit Legoland.

As you may recall I made some Lego pants for the littlest one. He wore them. Proof as seen above. Yes, EVERYONE thought they were adorable on our daughter! That's o.k. I'm secure that way too.

{my kids in the brig: USS Midway}

As you can see I took some real quality photos on our trip. This pretty much sums up about 99.9% of what came out of my camera.

Oh yeah baby, I did not bother much with appearances on our trip. I thought San Diego needed to see how little I care for brushing my child's hair. I should have had him wear the bow tie. All cute up front and party in the back. {He did wear the bow tie to dinner one night and people just about died from the cuteness. I highly recommend making these for your little boy. Luca got so jealous that she asked me to make her a tie}.

We bought tons of junk at our many stops. These vintage style aviator goggles were a hit with both boys. Currently all three kids are going to be pilots for Halloween.

Everyone behaved well (mostly)

I'm back and itching to get some sewing done.

Celebrate the Boy Bow Tie

2011-04-07T08:12:00.000-07:00

So during Celebrate the Boy month Delia Creates shared her tutorial for a boys' bow tie that you actually tie. As in, the old fashioned way. I thought the littlest little is ready for an adorable tie, or two or three.

So here is bow tie number two. The first one was too small. As crooked as this looks it's close to just right. I need some more practice on the actual tie part of a bow tie. You tube is perfect for that task. I think I need to add only about 1" more to make the tie easier. Hopefully I can make a few more before out trip to San Diego. I'll show you any exciting deets if there are any. I pretty much followed the tutorial, I even used bra/swimsuit hooks that Delia recommends and I liked it just peachy.

On a total side note: we saw a new pediatrician when we moved from Ohio back to California and he wore bow ties. I kind of liked him right away. He took one look at Rocco from across the room and said to us, "he needs to see a pediatric opthalmologist as soon as possible."

I cried. From relief not sadness. I just knew something was wrong with my baby. Rocco was 13 months old, blind as a bat and totally undiagnosed. I knew I liked that doctor, and his bow ties were pretty cool.

A Little Bit of Love

2011-04-05T20:46:00.000-07:00

It's safe to say around these parts there is a serious love for all things moccasin

1. Bought these a while back and they are yet to fit Cenzo. I see they are no longer available here.

2. Bought these 16 years ago while I was dating Chef. Sixteen years I've had these shoes! I love them so seriously. They are the Minnetonka soft soled version still available after all these years. I purchased them at the L.A. Farmers Market which is now apparently a crazy outdoor mall.

BEFORE...

{source}

I'm not that old, but this is pretty much the way it looked while I was growing up. Now, not so much.

AFTER...

Back to the shoes...

3. These are Luca's current favorite pair. They will be available in pink on April 15th. I may just have to get them for her.

4. Love these, they come in red and pink too. Adorable for girls, but... although cute, they are not really designed to fit a baby foot. The instep (?) is not high enough for their chubby feet. I bought them because of the ease of hook and loop closure, but it's the cut that's off. Not quite right. They are cute anyway.

5. These I made by altering a free online pattern. The size comes in 0-6 months and it took some working to adjust to a size 6-ish. Here's another free pattern, but I haven't tried it yet.

~On my pair (#5) I lined them in quilting cotton and used fray check on the raw edges. I used some leather that my mom had for the shell and for the sole (sorry forgot pic.), I used a thicker beige suede that you can get at Michael's Crafts in rectangle pieces about 8 X 10. It's pretty hefty and works great for soft soled shoes.

~ Sewing leather can be a pain in the tush. You need to get a leather needle for your machine. Also, thick thread. It helps to use a Teflon foot on your machine. If the layers are too thick your machine will revolt.

~And don't get me started about finding leather. Apparently many of you can totally find items (purses, skirts, jackets) at your local thrift stores at reasonable prices, but not me. I had visions of making moccasins in a wide array of colors. Online it's not much easier. Usually you have to buy the entire hide. If you all have a good, cheap source for garment weight leather PLEASE let me know.

6. So in other words, just buy these shoes. Oh my holy h@ll these are my most favoritest moccasins evah! They are from Freshly Picked. First let me tell you they are worth every penny. They fit well, the leather is fantastic (she has metallic pink, silver and gold to name a few). I am so lucky I don't have a baby girl right now. I like this particular leather so much I'm pretty sure when Cenzo grows out of them I'll buy the next size up.

To make moccasins more wearable for an older toddler I like to add a padded insole. otherwise it's just a thin layer of leather between the foot and the ground.It's super easy and pretty darn cute.

If you are adding an insole to a pair of soft shoes that you are making you can trace the sole pattern piece onto your fabric choice (I used quilting weight cotton). If it's to add to a ready made moc, just trace the bottom of the shoe and add some.

I use two layers of fusible fleece, but if the shoes are already a little big you can use three layers. fuse the two layers of fleece and the cotton. I then use fray check along the perimiter of the sole tracing so when it is cut out the edges won't fray. I use pinking shears to trim, but I like the added security of the fray check.

Here are the soles that I made for the Freshly Picked pair of moccasins. Since the fabric is fused to the fleece you can cut your sole on the bias which can give you more options for the look of the insole especially if using a geometric print. The right photo shows the flip side of the insole.

So there is my little bit of love.

LEGOLAND or Bust

2011-04-01T16:37:00.000-07:00

So we are headed to Legoland in a little over a week and I wanted to sew an outfit for the baby to wear to the park.

Can you see something I may have done wrong before really thinking things out? Long sleeved shirt for a day at an amusement park in San Diego. So now I need to make a short sleeved shirt. I have more of the yellow stripe knit fabric but Cenzo really doesn't need two striped shirts almost exactly the same. Hopefully I have something in my stash that will pop like this does. The photo actually doesn't look like they go together well, but in person it's a totally funky combination that just works.

Watch, now I'll make something short sleeved and the day we go to Legoland it'll be some freaky cold spell. Do you think maybe I need to look into average daily temperature for San Diego in early April? Brilliant.

Pants pattern: Quick Change Trousers from Handmade Beginnings
Shirt pattern: OTTOBRE magazine Muksis Tee 1/2009
Lego Fabric Superbuzzy
Stripe knit fabric Fashionfabricsclub (I think)

Once Upon A Thread

2011-03-30T09:51:00.000-07:00

So Katy of No Big Dill had a fantastic month centered around sewing and children's literature. What a great idea! Those two subjects are quite high on my priority list. I've loved seeing the interpretations that came from her guest bloggers. When she first announced Once Upon A Thread I was pretty excited to see some of the books that people would choose. We love reading around here and I'm always on the lookout for new books to read to the kids.

Growing up, my mom read to me a lot of stories from the Brothers Grimm. Although the original stories are pretty scary, the cleaned up versions made for kids these days are delightful. One of my favorites has always been Rapunzel.

{This version by Sarah Gibb is especially nice because of the illustrations}

Since I love the story of Rapunzel (I also had fun taking Luca to see Tangled in the theater), I knew I would create something based on the story. My original project was a library tote made from Heather Ross FFAII Rapunzel fabric. I started the tedious task of embroidering one of the caste motifs. Like how I say started? About halfway through the project Cenzo got a hold of it and a pink marker. I'm just hoping it's washable. I have put it away for now.

Image from Rapunzel by Sarah Gibb

So I pulled out a project that's been in the to-do pile for almost a year. I think I have mentioned this coat a while back. I actually cut the pieces out a size larger knowing that by the time I got around to finishing the darn thing there would be some growth in my kid.

{Label in the top left photo I made using twill tape, a little birdie stamp and a purple sharpie}

I used the Oliver + S School Days Jacket and Coat pattern to make a nice Spring Coat for Luca. The Heather Ross linen paired with a lightweight quilting cotton lining make this the perfect coat for our usually foggy coastline. The pattern was as usual written beautifully, and although it was more sewing project than I usually take on, I found I loved the detailed design. I made this in a size 7 and it's definitely roomy. It's good to know the design was made to accommodate sweaters underneath. I'll be making one of these for Cenzo next Fall.

I know when you think of Rapunzel, a coat doesn't really come to mind, but let's just say that when she was finally rescued from her tower she was a smart girl and took a coat to go explore the world.

A year in the making

2011-03-24T18:11:00.000-07:00

Seriously. This took me a scant year to make.

I used an Anna Maria Horner pattern that I got from a Better Homes and Gardens magazine called "Bags, Pillows & Pincushions". I'm not sure if it's a pattern she has published elsewhere. The weird thing is that I really can't imagine what possessed me to buy a magazine that cost $12.95. Whatever. Another strange thing is the quilting store that I got it from is also where I bought a fat quarter of the blue and white print that I am now realizing is most likely an Anna Maria Horner print since it is featured on the main photo for the Baby in the Hood Jacket from her book. Totally coincidence. Anyone know the name of the fabric?

So it's cute and it's huge and the petals are sewn all wonky but I like it fine.

The Jacket Fits

2011-03-21T19:56:00.000-07:00

So in case you were wonderin'...

The jacket fits. I made a size 2 for Cenzo who is just shy of 20 months. It fits just right and when I make it again I'll just cut a little outside the pattern lines for any given size. The hood seems really big, but it looks cute that way. Since I cannot get him to wear it on his head for even a nanosecond I don't really know if it is a big hood. I still love it and I'll weep when he outgrows it.

Reversible Zippy Hoodie : Kitschy Coo Kids

2011-03-20T20:50:00.000-07:00

Oh my holy hell this jacket kicked my ass. I chose the fabulous Echino Cars fabric for the outer and a cream waffle knit for the lining. The lining was my mistake. It was wriggly and jiggly and it walked like it was some kind of high and mighty velvet. In other words it was a total bitch. I had intended to use the same interlock as I used for this shirt, but it was mysteriously in hiding.

But here it is and I LOVE IT SO FREAKIN ' MUCH!

Oh, there are problems a plenty with this bad boy, but I'm forgiving. The zipper is not stitched in too well, the front doesn't match up (luckily I was smart enough not to use pockets), the inside knit stretched and bagged out so there are puckers, the snazzy little size 2 tag that I made is sewn in crooked, and honestly the list goes on, but oh I LOVE this jacket.

When I first bought the pattern I read the instructions once before I even cut out the pattern pieces. I was totally lost. Even though Amanda said to have faith, I was a doubter. So I emailed Katie from Kadiddlehopper, who has made a few of these and was a pattern tester and is a totally amazing seamstress, to ask her if it really would come together by following the pattern instructions. She assured me to just follow the instructions. Well, on Friday night I had a few hours to get started and on Saturday a few more. Tonight I did the finishing touches. Voila! It worked.

A piece of advice to you all wanting to try this pattern. Do not mix a knit with a woven unless you are very comfortable sewing with knits. If you want to line it with a knit use an interlock that behaves most like a woven. Also, it will come together. Just follow the instructions. Oh and maybe for your first try, omit the pockets. I personally like the look without so I'm probably not going to make it with them in the future. I do want to make a bomber jacket using this pattern and omitting the hood. Maybe the next version.

By the way the pattern comes in two size ranges for purchase. I bought the 18m - 4y and I am so totally buying the next tier of 5-8y. I really like it that much.

Fabric:

Echino Cars from Esty (not available right now)

Lining cream waffle weave knit 100% cotton from stash

Quick Change Trousers

2011-03-17T09:46:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to making the matching pants to this shirt. It's another pair of Quick Change Trousers. To say I am less than pleased is an understatement.

They look fine in the photos but there are a lot of little things that went wrong and they all add up to the pants looking quite home made. The back yoke doesn't match up (in the photo it magically matches up). Also, the elastic is twisted even though I un-picked it and straightened it out. Clearly, when I thought I was straightening the elastic I was actually twisting it again. The worst part was that I should have cut the knit a little smaller because it bagged out and the hemline is sewn very poorly.

I'm showing them in reverse but really you would never put the denim on the inside. They are comfy pants and I'm definitely going to make a pair in Lego fabric for our trip to Legoland. I'm also definitely not going to line them in knit fabric. Ugh.

Totally unrelated but, remember these pants? They are a little short now and I'm too lazy to let them down. Cenzo loves them because he's kind of bus obsessed these days. He keeps pointing to the patch making loud "bus" noises.

It works!

2011-03-15T09:11:00.000-07:00

... Thanks to everyone that has left such lovely comments. It's so nice to hear from my readers. I love to hear from all of you. The play table is a success!

Complete with vroom vroom noises! Maybe it will keep that one busy so I can finish the matching pants to that shirt he's wearing.

Reversible LEGO Playtable

2011-03-13T23:20:00.000-07:00

I'm so happy to be a part of Celebrate the Boy this year. In terms of Blogland it is my favorite time of year. This project is actually something that the entire family will enjoy. I've had this idea in my mind for quite a while and since we are going to Legoland for Spring Break next month, this is the perfect project for the Romeo kids. I decided since this is a Celebrate the Boy project that I needed to get some of the big boys around here involved, so Opa (my dad) came over one afternoon to work on this project with me.

My kids love to play low to the ground so I created a table that could be used with floor pillows or just hanging out on their knees. You can make a table with longer legs if you want to use chairs.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO INSTRUCTIONS

I made the Lego bag using this tutorial that was featured earlier in celebrate the Boy.

A post in which I may refer to myself as a jack*ss

2011-03-09T14:10:00.000-08:00

I'm still working on my Celebrate the Boy project. I may have bit off more than I can chew, but don't let my slow progress deter you from laughing at with me. Have a look at my living room.

Since the only time I can get my craft on is when the kids are asleep, I've resorted to bringing the saw horses inside.

It appears that the saw horses have my picture on them. At least I'm smiling.

...

A weekend of firsts

2011-03-07T09:41:00.000-08:00

First of all we paid a shit ton of money for gas over the weekend.

Over the weekend we went skiing with the kids. Lot's of fun for the family except the baby is one season away from learning to ski. So I became the nanny while everyone else enjoyed the slopes.

There is a great organization called Discovery Blind Sports that trains guides to accompany blind skiers of all ages and abilities. I can't say enough about what a great program this is. What stands out the most is that the guides are all volunteer and do this on their time off.

We have had a few different guides (all fantastic) but we love Jeff and always request him if he is available. He's super patient and easy going.

I wish I had a semi decent photo of another first. Rocco was able to graduate into Horse and Buggy style skiing with his guide. In the photo (top left) he is skiing side by side which is the way he's been doing it since day he first started skiing. On his second day skiing this weekend he was able to switch so that the guide is up front (horse) and Rocco is in back (buggy), using the black and orange striped poles. This technique prepares Rocco for independent skiing in the future.

Did you just say INDEPENDENT? But he's blind! I know, I know... that sounds mighty dangerous. It's really pretty cool and it just so happened there was a 10 year old blind independent skier there this weekend and we were able to witness it with our own eyes (Har har. Had to throw in the sight joke). Her guide skis behind her and calls out directions. She was amazing to watch.

Chef and I are snowboarders but that has all come to a halt. You see, blind snowboarding, not so cool. But blind skiing is totally where it's at. We started Rocco on skis when he was 6 and now it was high time Chef dumped the board and got on some planks. So Chef decided that this year he would commit to crossing to the dark side.

Luca is a natural and it was great fun for her to "teach" daddy to ski. They maintained the bunny slopes for most of the weekend.

{My sister is also a die hard snowboarder and I had to text her a demeaning picture of Chef wearing skis. She texted back that he's a traitor}

Cenzo's first snow! Believe me when I say I was more excited than he was. He was more irritated that he wasn't allowed to go skiing. And more irritated about snow in general. Snow required the use of a hat at times. And dreadful mittens. This did not go over well. Especially on Sunday when it snowed the entire day.

I saved the best first for last. My baby fell asleep in my arms. A total first (excluding boring infancy). I was able to get a hat on him (a first of sorts), and walk around the bottom of the ski runs cheering on my two little skiers.

Oh, and because I can't leave you all serious and weepy over my mommy and me photo, I've got to tell you there is nothing more entertaining than watching sighted people watch blind people. They totally stare. Duh. they can get away with it. And it just so happened a girl accidentally ran into Rocco near the bottom of a run and knocked him over (no harm done). You should have seen her expression when she read his orange bib. Priceless.

Sneak Peek

2011-03-03T18:26:00.000-08:00

My dad came over today to help me with my "Celebrate the Boy" project. He totally doesn't get blogging and he was pretty confused with the picture taking for the tutorial I'm working on.

Here's a sneak peek at the project I'll be sharing with you

Oh, and the giraffe shirt is adorable and still waiting for it's matching pants that I have cut out and ready to sew

Urban Unisex Hoodie {again}

2011-03-01T13:27:00.000-08:00

It's official. I'm addicted. Although this fabric kind of annoys me (train repeat is awkward at best), I like the way it turned out. We've recently had a cold spell here in Northern California and Cenzo has been wearing one of these (other versions seen here and here) almost every day. Right now he's wearing this one with a pair of upcycled cashmere pants that for some unknown reason still fit him.

A little edit:
He woke up from his nap in a surprisingly good mood. He's chasing the cat around the house with a comb and a cell phone.

I think for my next hoodie I'll need to print out the next size up.

Fabric:
Train print PDF Jersey (don't know what that is) purchased from Fabric Fairy
Black T-shirt knit from fashionfabricsclub.com

Understatement of the Year!

2011-02-28T08:18:00.000-08:00

To say I am the most proud momma right now is truly the understatement of the year.

Rocco placed first in his age group at the Braille Challenge in San Francisco this weekend. I am so freakin' proud of him right now.

I know I don't write much about being the mom of a blind child and I really keep meaning to sit down and write some meaningful blog post so you all have a better understanding. I mean, I'm sure if you are anything like me, you are just itching to know some of the details but are too scared to ask me about it. Especially since this blog has somehow become more of a sewing blog than a lifestyle blog.

How awkward is that? "Um, I really like how you finished the seam of those pants. And by the way... how the heck do you parent a blind kid?"

I will sit down soon and write some stuff. I promise. It's actually quite a story. Until then I leave you with a photo of this little homeless child I picked up in downtown San Francisco. Although quite filthy, he is totally adorable.

I really recommend a visit to "The City" (as it is called to people who live within 100 miles of SF). It's cultural, beautiful, exciting and there are cute things like the above pictured hanging around the streets.

Raglan Tee

2011-02-25T10:20:00.000-08:00

I'm really trying to get some serious sewing done in the next month or so. Cenzo had a growth spurt and nothing fits him anymore and I am so close to just caving in and heading over to Gap to get him some new duds.

Don't get me wrong. He does not wear exclusive home made. I actually buy more than half of what he wears. Oh, and I did get a huge amount of hand-me-downs when he was first born. It's just when I go to buy him things I am drawn to the simple garments and I inevitably put it back on the rack mumuring to myself like a crazy lady about how can they charge that much for something I can sew in like 30 minutes.You know the deal. I leave the store with more ideas for outfits than I have time.

{I'm pretty sure that is why I have no problem spending obscene amounts of money on shoes that he will outgrow in three weeks. I can't make shoes. At least not the rubber soled leather variety}

Of course it's also Celebrate The Boy month which really gets me motivated to make new. Just wish I had more time. We are headed to San Francisco this weekend and I wanted to make some cute clothes for the littlest. I did make this top.

The matching pants are waiting to be cut. We leave in less than four hours and I'm not packed. Wonder if I have time to swing by Gap on my way out of town.

Fabrics:

Parading Giraffe from Fabric Fairy

Green jersey knit from Fashion Fabrics Club

Orange 2 X 2 cotton rib knit JoAnn's

Sew Annoying

2011-02-23T10:22:00.000-08:00

Ha. How do you like that play on words? Sew original I'm sure. Okay, I better stop with the comedy and get on with the joke...

That pocket killed me. This project is what makes sewing with knits frustrating. If it wasn't a pocket I would have used some kind of fusible something to keep the pocket from wiggling around while stitching. Hey, babies don't use pockets. Maybe that's what I should do next time.

I wanted to have contrast stitching which further accentuates the sewing flaws. I'm not getting too down on myself because it is my first attempt at this pocket. I'm hoping to improve on my next version. Greatly improve.

Pattern: "Muksis" Ottobre 1/2009

Edited to add Cenzo wearing the shirt. Oh and wearing a plastic bag scarf. So safe. I swear I went to the bathroom and this is how he looked when I returned. Since he wasn't being strangled by the "scarf" I ran and got my camera.

Another Edit: A few weeks ago I saw this outfit and forgot to bookmark the page. This morning I was furiously searching the internet for my inspiration photo (I wanted to give credit for the color combo. Totally not my idea). I could have sworn I saw it on Flickr. Anyhoo, lucky me because when Greatjen left a comment I immediately had the lightbulb go off in my head. That's where I saw the shirt. So go visit her site 'cause her version doesn't have a bleeped up front pocket!

Boy oh Boy

2011-02-21T09:36:00.000-08:00

My favorite time of year is here!

So word has it that little 'ol me will be showing up to join in on the madness sometime in March. So make sure to visit with

Rae.....

and

Dana

All month long!

Oh and don't forget to come by and visit with me too

Just Some More Sewing

2011-02-15T17:43:00.000-08:00

A while back I bought some knit skulls fabric from Japan. I mean I didn't go to Japan, rather I purchased it from a seller in Japan. Unlike most knits it is a very narrow fabric which I failed to notice during purchase. It sat for a while and then one day I happened to buy this Circo t-shirt from Target and well, the two look smashing together.

I made a basic pull on pant and went the super lazy route. I didn't even pull out a pattern. I just traced a pair that fits Cenzo currently. I also just cut out a front pocket. I tried my new favorite technique. Faux piping (thanks to Patterns by Figgy for the idea).

I added my little "pp" tag and sandwiched a piece of blue twill tape for extra detail.

Urban Unisex Hoodie {Organic}

2011-02-13T16:05:00.000-08:00

I really like the fit of the Urban Unisex Hoodie. The last one I made used a mix of two completely different knits. I used a rayon/lycra jersey with a lot of slinky movement with a cotton interlock lining to stabilize it. I wasn't sure how it would work and I have to say it's a garment I have Vinny wearing quite often. I even had a woman from Germany come up and ask where I bought it. That's always fun because who doesn't love to be able to answer "I made it!"

This time I made one using a brown organic cotton French terry (fabric.com) and a lime green organic interlock (Stitch Simple). I also liked the idea of making a faux piping so I could show a little more of the green lining. Since knit is so very forgiving (and FYI easy to sew with), this little trick was pretty easy. All I did was cut and sew garment as directed. Before doing any topstitching I pressed the garment so that a small bead of lining was evenly showing.

Then I topstitched which gives it the look of piping. I also used lime green thread for the contrast stitching.

One of the reasons knit fabric can be intimidating to sew with is that it often gets dragged down into your feed dogs and ends up in a bunched up mess. This especially can happen when stitching buttonholes.

What I do, because I'm too lazy to reinforce from the inside (which takes some foresight, which I do not have much of), is to cut a small square of tear away stabilizer to add to the back of the garment where the buttonhole will be stitched. Once the buttonhole is stitched just tear away. Done.

Edited: Thanks reader Emily (see comments below, love your blog BTW) for asking me about the brown sweatshirt fleece I had originally posted. I went back to my fabric.com order history (love that feature) and realized I was using a different fabric! If you are just reading this post for the first time and didn't read it earlier than you have no idea anything was changed. Boy that was a lot of talking to say "I goofed, here's the change".

Elusive Sleep

2011-02-09T09:33:00.000-08:00

I am in a surprisingly good mood despite having such little sleep last night. Scratch that. Despite having such little sleep for the past 18 months.

The subject number one around here is weaning. I'm not in a big hurry, but if you ask everyone I come in contact with about the subject, you'll get an earful. Apparently once I wean this little bugger he will sleep through the night within like three days. I'm tired. Very tired. I may go postal if this backfires.

{The high chair is now a staging area}

Did you know that for every project I post on this here blog, there are really-no-kidding, 12 more lined up. Exponentially over the past 18 months it has grown to a monstrous amount. A majority of the ideas will no longer even work because they are for 12 months and under. And poor Luca could have had some really cute clothes by now. You should see the Heather Ross FFA II Oliver + S coat that I have halfway cut out for the past 8 months. Luckily on that one I thought ahead and started cutting a size 7. Let's just hope that I can make it and have her wear it before she turns 8. That fabric isn't cheap.