I need another pattern like.....

a hole in the head.  Or, so, that's what I thought.....

The new Oliver + S patterns came out.  I'm going to buy some for my shop - in fact, they're on order.  But, could I wait?  No.  So, I got the digital download of the new Roller Skate Dress pattern. 

When I first ordered Moda fabric, the new line from Zen Chic - Comma - just hit the right chord for me.  It's got bold patterns and colors - right up my alley!  For this project, I chose this:

I loved the colors, the print.  Everything.  Generally, I wouldn't use such nice fabric the first time I sewed a pattern, but I pretty much knew the Roller Skate pattern would be perfect from the ones I've seen popping up in the Flickr group right after the pattern release.

The pattern is a fully lined, very simple dress - with beautiful lines, an elastic waist, and a yoke overlay option.  I used some shot cotton leftover from another project to make this version:

My kid has some new orange Saltwater sandals, so we're also trying to incorporate some orange tones in the wardrobe....

The dress was simple to make, but the neckline could be a little fiddly.  Maybe that's why they rated this as a "two-scissor" pattern.  The construction - as you can always expect from O+S - was ingenious. 

I will DEFINITELY be making several more of these dresses.  This is a size 3 on my 3 year old - fit is perfect.

Post-photo shoot reward for pictures - playing with my buttons with some wooden dowels.....who needs toys!

My Fabric Stash!

I have a really huge bedroom - there's the main part of the room, then there's actually an alcove off the room.  The people who built our house were cabinet makers by trade, so we have tons of closet space, and storage space.  Before Julia came into our lives, the room was pretty empty - two computer desks, and our bed.

Now, however, I've moved all my sewing equipment into our room, and we have more toys than we ever anticipated taking up space....

I have a bunch of my fabric that I think I may make something from on cubes we bought from Target.

 

I have some more Tupperware cartons in the garage with large pieces of denim, and corduroy.  I'm pleased with how I've fit a lot of fabric into these cubes....they are semi-organized - which means that I can actually pretty much find whatever I'm looking for.

 I moved my embroidery thread, and separated all my buttons into separate jars - it certainly helps when looking for buttons to have them color coordinated - and Julia was VERY helpful with the separating.  I'm the smaller child in the picture on the left - I loved that picture - looks so old fashioned....

I bought this kind of ugly shelf at an estate sale - it's made of actual wood, and was $10.  When we finally move some big kids out of this house, and Julia gets her own room, I envision painting it and using it for her storage.  In the meantime, it works for keeping my notions and patterns in reach.  Plus, I get to put my Boston Celtics autographed basketball on top....

This is the lovely Ikea table and chair I use for my machines.  It works just fine.  There is a pile of random magazines, etc. on the left of the table that had been ignored for months.....when I went through it just now, there were two $50 Marriott gift cards and a $35 restaurant gift card in the pile. 

So, that's my personal fabric stash.....not too bad!

My Nani Iro Addiction

I had a nice long four day weekend off of work - had all kinds of plans to finish up a bunch of stuff, clean the house, organize and donate outgrown clothes - did I do all these thing?  No, not even.

I got sidetracked in my sewing - I had seen so many nice Oliver + S 2+2 tops in the Flickr that were sewn from one fabric only that I knew I just needed to make one for the child.  And, of course, I used some of my favorite fabric - gauze from Nani Iro's Naomi Ito. This is from her Little Letter line, and it's really beautiful.  Her work is really like artwork on fabric.

If you want to see any of her fabric lines, you can check out their online shop here:  Nani Iro 2013.  I am going to Seven Islands fabric in a couple of weeks to order more for my shop, and I keep looking at all these beautiful designs - I can't even begin to decide which I want to stock....I wish I had enough money to get them all!

I really think this pattern works nicely in all one fabric - gives it a totally different look.  In my opinion, this works especially nice in a muted color scheme.

The child seems to like it....time will tell if she'll wear it!  This is a size 3T with 2 1/2 inches added length.  Hopefully, this will last through the summer.....

A Posy Geranium!

I've been seeing so many adorable Geranium Dresses in the Geranium dress Flickr pool.  So, in spite of the fact that I need another pattern like a hole in the head (as my father used to say!) I broke down and downloaded it.  What I loved is the fact that it is exactly the type of dress my dress-wearing child likes - a gathered skirt, no sleeves, and pockets.  How could I go wrong?

Well, really, I couldn't go wrong.....

I chose some adorable, soft, sweet fabric from Aneela Hoey's Posy line from Moda.  I love the teeny bunnies!

There are a few shades of pink on a very pale lavender - perfect for my girly girl....I did some embroidery around the neckline to add detail and emphasize the really sweet neckline....

So, here's where I went wrong - the front and back are cut from the same pattern piece - one on the fold for the front, and the back not on the fold.  When cutting the piece for back, I laid my front piece on the fabric and cut around it.  Well, I also sliced a hair's worth of fabric off the fold, resulting in a gaping hole down the front of the dress.....I kind of figured I could hide the mistake in the pleats and just sewed a very narrow seam down the front.  Kind of ugly really....and, next mistake, I sewed the pockets too close together and am way too lazy to pick them out and re-do them.

Other than my mistakes, the pattern is wonderful!  Great options for flutter sleeve, sleeveless, and a faux cap sleeve - all great options for my sleeve-hating child!

The fabric is wonderful - very, very soft base cloth, which would be great for girls clothing or an amazingly soft quilt.  This dress is a size 3T with 4T length.  Fits exactly like my kid likes it.

She loves the dress and won't take it off....success!!

Heidi & Finn - Ballet Sweater

I've always loved the style of Heidi and Finn's patterns and have always checked out their Flickr group for inspiration.  Lots of people use their patterns during KCWC for good reason - they're generally pretty simple, and very cool style-wise.

I follow their blog and got a chance to test a new pattern - a very cute ballet-inspired sweater:

The directions were perfectly clear - lots of pictures which is good because I'm not really big on reading directions....until, of course, I screw up....

This was made from a sweater of mine that I never wore.  I made it in a size 3T and it literally fits perfectly.  Sleeve length, everything.  I finished it in probably an hour and a half or so, with the usual constant interruptions from the kid......she wore it all day yesterday which is a huge success.  Since I finished it toward the end of the day, I believe there may be some food residue on it for this morning's photos, so please excuse them!

I will definitely make this again, but next time, will either use a knit band for the waist tie, or a strip of chiffon.  The ribbon was too slippery, and kept slipping down so she ended up with a ribbon around her toddler belly.....

Thanks to Heidi and Finn for letting me test their pattern - I'm sure it will be a hit!

Placket Pride!

I've made the Oliver + S Jump Rope dress pattern before (view A) but have seen a lot of really cool view B's in the Flickr pool as of late.  I'm generally drawn to loud bold patterns, and have seen some very successful versions using bold fabrics.

I used some fabric from my shop - Free Spirit cotton from Eleanor Grosch's Imperial Pheasant line.  I love her designs - she's doing a new line for Cloud9 Fabrics that looks pretty cool as well.  The placket and collar are shot cotton from Kaffe Fasset.

 

I started this last weekend - put together the collar and placket and let the dress hang on the hanger all week, admiring my work.  The placket on this pattern goes together so beautifully - it looks so professional, and really all you have to do is follow the directions, and make good pattern markings. 

View B is definitely a quicker sew - there is no belt, no belt loops, no gathered waist.  On the other hand, I think my child prefers the more girly version.  Next time - and there will be a next time.  Unfortunately for me, I have to buy the larger size for the next one.  But that's ok - I'm sure I'll get a ton of use out of it.

This is a size 3 and is a perfect fit.  The pockets get lost a little in the loud fabric, but in person, you can see them better.  I love how they go together and add a really cute detail to the plain front.

 

Love the collar, love the placket.  And, I loved the buttons I found that are a great match - in fact, my 18 year old son even said he liked the buttons!

So I've done both views of this one - next I want to try to make it in a knit as a rugby shirt....how cute would that be??

Cold Weather in SoCal....

At the beginning of the past week, the temperatures plunged....well, plunged as far as they go in Southern California.  When I left for work at 5:30 in the morning, the temperature was 45 degrees.  People were freaking out....wearing scarves, gloves, etc.  The Easterner in me knows that this was hardly cold....

My daughter doesn't have a winter coat, because "winter" is so fleeting around here.  I decided to try a pattern from Figgy's that I had always liked, but never tried - the Nituna jacket.

The pattern gives two options - a single layer such as wool coating or fleece, or a lined version.  I opted for the lined version and decided to use a blue corduroy and some quilting cotton designed by Liesl Gibson from her Ladies Stitching Club line.  The minute I saw this fabric, I knew that I was going to use some and coordinate with the beautiful shade of blue in the fabric.

I started this jacket at the beginning of the week, working on a teeny bit every night after work.  First tracing the pattern, then cutting/marking, and finally by Friday was able to sew it together.

Of course, by that time, the temperature was about 75 degrees during the day.....

I really like the finished jacket.  I made it in a size 2/3 with the length of a 4/5.  Typically, my daughter, a tall skinny 3 year old, wears between a 4 and a 5 in ready to wear, and I typically sew a size 3 with 4 length in patterns.  The sizing on this is generous to say the least.....

This is the first time I'd used one of Figgy's patterns.  It went together very well.  If I were to make this again, I think I'd actually use the smallest size (18 month) and length somewhere between the 2/3 and 4/5 for the sleeves.  I believe that perhaps it's sized so generously to accommodate most people's winter clothing underneath like heavy sweaters, but we don't typically have need for those here.

Corduroy plus quilting cotton make a great weight for our purposes.  Paired with a turtleneck jersey, I'm sure that this jacket will be quite warm enough for my kid to play in the sandbox at school on our coldest "winter" day.