Springing into action

I haven't really felt like doing much these past few weeks. I'm lacking motivation. It's all because I have some serious Spring organizing that needs to be done and I'm overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of crap that I have around my house.

The doll sits with half a head of hair patiently waiting to be finished. She lies among too many other unfinished projects that are piled on this spare dining room table. 

Spare dining room table? This table is a daily reminder that last Spring I brought it into the house out of storage so that it could be used during the re-finishing of our current dining room table. Now both tables are filled with junk and no re-finishing has been done. *Sigh*

Just writing this both aggravates and motivates me to kick myself in the butt and just get something done! So I'm off to tackle a small project that will make a dent in my cluttered house. Possibly something crafty.  

Doll Progress

I love you guys! Thanks for the comments on my last post. It's not like I thought I was alone in this crazy crafting madness, but it feels good to hear it every once in a while. It really got me thinking about how it all started for me. I have specific memories as a child starting projects and getting sidetracked by new projects. 

As an adult it has spread to not only include crafting, but gardening projects that are half done, a couch that is not upholstered so it's covered in fabric pieces, drywall primed and not painted for over 6 years now! 

There is no method to my madness.

Let me tell you something. The lighting is covering a ton of flaws on this doll. I should wait till night and take  some pictures with a flash.  

I made her with button joints and her arms and legs move nicely. Her legs are about an inch too long. She measures 17" and I was going for a 16" doll. 

Next step is her hair. She's going to have light brown hair even though Luca requested pink. I'll make a pink haired doll soon but I wanted this one to look like a mini Luca. The eyes are a bit too light but I didn't have good shades of blue embroidery thread on hand.

Too Many Projects

{pins as markers for eyebrow, eye, nose and mouth placement}

I have a problem starting too many projects at once. I see something on a blog or Pinterest and I feel an uncontrollable urge to run out and buy supplies immediately. 

Let's see...

- When Rae came out with her Toddler Backpack pattern I totally bought all the fixins'. That was two years ago and I have yet to make ONE backpack let alone the three backpacks I bought fabric for.

- I started two tops for the Spring Top Challenge... last year! Didn't even manage to make them THIS year.

- Last Spring I decided to refinish our dining room table and bought the stripper, sand paper, and stain. Maybe this Spring I'll do it.

- While planning on refinishing the table I bought oodles of fabric to make the kids personalized placemats so the table wouldn't get ruined again.

- I bought a giant piece of wood  for a ruler size chart. It's been sitting in my front hallway for a few months.  I bought the number decals ages ago. 

- Oh and we can't forget the baby blanket I was supposed to knit for Vinny before he was born! I did buy about $80.00 in yarn for that.

There are many more. It's sad. I'm bringing this up because the last thing I need to do right now is get into doll making. I don't even have a daughter that plays with dolls. The logical thing to say would be "then sell them!" Um, seriously, doll making is like 200 times more difficult than any of the garment sewing I do. I have mucho respect for people who make gorgeous dolls like these.

Baby Steps I Say

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!

Er, um... panties anyone?

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.

Preparing

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?

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

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. 

...

Sneak Peek

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

Getting Nowhere Fast

I know why I like sewing so much. It's because after spending time and money on a project you have something that will last (hopefully for at least a month, right?). I have come to the conclusion that the reason I hate cleaning my house is because it doesn't last. I clean the kitchen every morning after the big kids get on the bus. A mere 10 hours later as dinner is prepared the kitchen is a disaster again. Rinse. Repeat. Don't get me started about the rest of the house. Laundry? I mean it rarely gets to see the inside of a closet or drawer. Chef makes jokes about the laundry baskets being modular, stackable dressers. As much as I would love to have a housekeeper I just couldn't stand the thought of all that money going down the drain the moment anyone in my family set foot in the house. 

I feel the same way about eating out. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind getting tacos at my favorite taco joint (I do this at least three times per week). What I don't get is the real eating out. You know, the kind of places where what you wear matters. My taco guy doesn't care if I waltz in there in my slippers. Chef on the other hand feels the same about eating out as I do about buying fabric. He thinks it's totally acceptable to spend unreasonable amounts of money on single meals. On our honeymoon in Italy we went to ONE dinner that cost $800. For TWO people!

So now that I'm done getting all that out I can get to the reason for this post. I am still hardly sewing. I am working on a tutorial that I'll hopefully be putting up on the same day as a tutorial I made for another sewing blog. They kind of go together all matchy-matchy. I may not get it done on time, but at least I finished the tute for the other (more important) blog. There will also be a great giveaway on that day! I'm excited. 

I better get back to not sewing... or cleaning for that matter. Guess I'll just have to head out for some tacos. 

I'm Melting

I am going batty around here. We are in the middle of the most hideous heat wave. we live in a part of California where the weather is generally pretty mild all year long. We expect about three little heat waves per year and right now we are experiencing heinous heat number two. I love warm weather. I even love hot weather, but our house is just not equipped for what happened yesterday. It reached about 103 degrees outside which translates to 95 degrees in our living room by 5 p.m.!!! I am not joking. We have four sliding glass doors in the living room so it's like a giant fish bowl. Speaking of fish bowl, our poor tropical fish got so hot I had to put ice cubes in their tank! 

What does all that have to do with the scooter fabric above? Not much, other than I hate posts with out a nice picture. It also happens to be the fabric I am using on an upcoming project. If you like this fabric as much as I do you'll be excited to know it involves a giveaway I'm preparing. Yippee! So check back often to see what I'm making with this great print.

Pattern Drafting: A true artform

I recently saw an adorable little girls top with shirring so I thought I would try to make a pattern for it. Since everyone is doing shirring these days I thought I would give it a try. First off I had to start playing around with elastic thread which I have never sewn with before. I used yellow thread for contrast while testing. I was too lazy to draw lines on my fabric so the expected results are above. It's hard because the pattern piece is cut on a curve so the lines follow the curve.  On the real garment I'm going to have to take the extra time... maybe. I can always make it in a busy print and my stitch lines may not be too obvious. Yeah, that's what I'll do! I'm also not really fond of making muslins. Since I will be designing this from scratch I imagine I will be making quite a few test garments before it looks right.

So designing a garment from scratch is hard. I have no pattern making skills. If I can work it out and size it correctly and if it even looks half as cute as I hope it will I'll upload the pattern for you guys. Just don't hold your breath.

P.s. I'm really going to freak out if I work on this design and there is a pattern out there for this top/dress. Crap. It's probably in some cute Japanese craft book. I'm going to have to look around a bit before I spend more time figuring out what may already be available.

Pattern Challenge

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this before, but just in case I haven't, I am terrible at finishing projects. I know you are all like "yeah right, she just made five new tops for Spring Top Week". But seriously guys, that is five finished out of ten started. I'm not kidding. It sounds crazy (and probably is), but I like the process of starting something. Usually about half way through a project I can envision the finished product and in my mind that's enough. I still have two tops for Luca cut out and ready to sew in a size 5. She now wears a size 6.

So now I am joining in on Sarah from Come And See The Seitz and her Pattern Challenge. This is exactly the thing I usually shy away from, but I'm trying to trick myself. Let's see how it works out. The challenge is to set a goal for yourself and what you plan to achieve. It's really perfect timing because Luca is on the verge of never again wanting to wear homemade by mommy. I figure I've got about one Summer left. Maybe it'll stretch into Fall (she'll be starting first grade so I seriously doubt it). So my goal will be to sew her a summer wardrobe! Oh how extravagant. The word wardrobe has such a heavy ring to it. I purposely am leaving the quantity of garments blank because as you all know, me no likey commitment. This way if I make 6 pieces for her by Summer I'll feel pretty darn special.

So I invite you to all join in on this challenge. For lot's of you it will be easy. Hello. I know some of my readers. Those of you, you know who you are, seem to be able to live on two hours of sleep per night. I mean that's the only way I can imagine so many projects are getting done while also keeping the house clean, feeding their children and showering more than twice a week. 

Here's a little sample of the first project on my list. It's the colorway from the selvage of the fabric. I love how it has butterflies instead of the usual dots.

Stay tuned to see what I make!

Patterns

Like I need another sewing project. These patterns are just too cute to resist. What did me in was seeing some of the great examples of the Ice Cream Dress in the Oliver + S Flickr Pool so I had to get it and since I was paying for shipping I thought I may as well get a shirt for the bambino. I just have to keep my fingers crossed that Luca will still wear something I make for her. Six is the new sixteen around here. Can you say drama?

Mystery Project

A Little Progress

I actually made a little progress in my ruffle project. It wasn't fun. 125 inches of piping sandwiched between ruffles and upholstery weight fabric did not go well on my little home sewing machine. After ripping it out 3 times I cried uncle and headed over to my mom's house. She has industrial sewing machines (picture Project Runway) and the task was done. Simple. 

Now I need to trim and pick thread from all the ripping. That sounds like fun.

Ruffle Your Stuff

So now I'm kinda wondering if I can finish one project let alone the two I have planned for the Ruffle Your Stuff contest. I have most of the "stuff" cut out. This is where I tend to rest on my laurels. Where did that saying come from anyway? It's Greek for sure. Anyone? I'm too lazy to Google it right now. Back to your regularly scheduled programming.  Next will be sewing. We'll see what the kids have to say about that in the upcoming days.They don't seem to like my sewing space much. I'll show photos soon.

Actually I have a little more done than just the cutting. I did gather my ruffles. Hey, it's a start, this is a ruffle contest ya know.

O.k. I had to look it up... To rest on one's Laurels: to be so satisfied with your own achievements that you make no effort to improve. Etymology: based on the literal meaning of laurels (a ring of leaves worn on the head in ancient times as a symbol of victory).

Rock The Vote!

Oh.Ma.Gersh! Did you hear? I am a finalist in the LBB & Dharma Trading Challenge! Are you serious? I just peed my pants. Pinch me. It feels like the popular girl in high school just said "hi" to me in the hallway between classes. I dorkily reply "Hi Ashley!" (yes, dorkily is apparently a word. At least according to Urban Dictionary. Where have you been?). Uh, yeah, like back to the important stuff. This newbie blogger made it to finals!

Here is the entry that made it...

So what are you waiting for? Go forth and VOTE!

See two more of my entries here and here.

This girl is not to be held accountable

You know how some people have a nice little column on their bloggity blog with projects they would like to complete this year? And when they complete one of those nice little projects they get to put a strikethrough on that lovely little task? Um, no thank you. That is way too much accountability for this gal. I mean, sure, I'll complete some projects this year (as I've nicely documented in previous posts), but I cannot be responsible for that list burning a hole into the back of my head for the duration of 2010. So instead I have this handy dandy little idea book that I jot down ideas, sketches and most of all... I love to have hard copy of all the ideas that you crafty bloggers come up with. Nothing beats a beautiful photo to kick the procrastination right out of my butt.

Something I have in mind is to make a cute lap tee with a dino-monster like the one I recently saw in Mini Boden (some of the cutest boy clothes around). 

So what am I still doing sitting here at the computer? Get on to sewing! Charge! Full steam ahead!

Getting Stuff Done

I'm finally starting to clear through some of my WIP's. Don't get me wrong, I'll always have way more projects started than any human can ever hope to complete. Remember this great bed I found? I posted about it a while back. I would link to that previous post but as a newbie I have no idea how to. The bed needed a lot of elbow grease and as it turns out also needed a custom sized mattress made. That's a whole nutha story. I'm just glad I got through this one. I actually finished it before the baby was born but I finally got around to taking some decent photos. It was also a good excuse to clean up Rocco's room.


The steps I took to bring this bed back to its old glory were as follows...

• Cleaned with denatured alcohol
• Sanded
• Stained with Minwax Golden Pecan
• Varnished with Minwax Fast drying Polyurethane in satin
• Steel wool (000)
• Varnished second coat
• First coat of Johnson's Paste Wax (I like the smell). Let dry and buff out
• Second coat of wax. Let dry and buff out.

Of course this all took me about a week to complete. The stain and varnish are the stinky part of the project and the waxing is the hard labor. The picture does the bed no justice. The sheen is so beautiful. The red nightstand is a project I completed a few years back. i found the nightstand at an unfinished pine furniture store. I used the greatest product for painting furniture. It's General Finishes Milk Paint in Brick Red. I love this paint.

The paint comes in beautiful shades and it's really an easy paint to work with. There are a lot of different faux finish techniques you can use with this paint too.

I kid you not, after less than 48 hours Luca sat on the bed dangling her feet over the edge while wearing her tap shoes. Yes... scratches. Lots of them! Hey at least I got a photo. I love this great bed. My dad believes it to be a bed from Germany around 1890's. Since he's a retired antique dealer I kinda trust him on that one.

I still need to find bedding that I looooove. Right now it's just a set from Target with blue,white, brown and orange fishes. Kinda cute.

So I can check one project off the list. Of course that means I'll start five more cause that's the way I roll.

Crafty Dad

My dad is helping me fix up the old bed I purchased. As you can see from the photo the original foot of the bed needs some tlc.

My dad is awesome!