Not much sewing has been going on up here on top of the hill!  This pregnancy is kicking my butt!!  It was so much easier when I was younger!  Any time I have sewn it's been baby stuff though, which is super cute, and one would think it would motivate me to keep sewing.  But it hasn't.  I have soooo many things on the to do list and sewing just kind of falls to the bottom of the list.  Plus, I have like 11 weeks still.  If it wasn't for the last minute, I would get nothing done!

A few cute little baby outfits...

This little skirt, shirt and jacket set is from 4/2009 Ottobre.  I have always wanted to make this and finally had the perfect opportunity once we found out it was girl #3!! 

The shoulders on the shirt aren't really that big, but it's a tiny shirt on a big hanger!

The jacket is super adorable and super soft!  I have a shirt made from the same material and I love it!!!  So snuggly!  I spent so much time on the pockets because they were small and fiddly.  Because, 3 month old babies use pockets.....

I really loved the new 4/2012 Ottobre.  There are so many cute things in there for my girls in all size ranges. 

2 t-shirts

This is #4 that goes with the white t shirt above.  It's a cute little romper.  Still needs snaps but I am working on that....

This little outfit is number 1,2 and 3.  The red t shirt from above, plus little leggings and a tunic.  Aren't the little bows on the leggings the cutest things you have ever seen!!

I also made 10 receiving blankets.  Which was really boring!  I'm glad I only made 10!  I think it should be enough.

Finally, another maternity shirt for me.  A Mamu Katrin.  I have made lots of these in the child size, but never the adult size.  It's a little small up top, but should work out, if I can get past the fit issue in my mind!  This is about 26 weeks.

And that's about it!  I do have to embroider some owls on the curtains in the nursery.  And I need to make about 20 cloth diapers and ome more clothes....  But I have 11 weeks still!! 

A few random pieces of clothing

I haven't been sewing much, I just have too many other things to do.  But I did manage to complete a few very random pieces of clothing. 

Nin needs some long sleeve shirts for winter considering she hardly has any that fit.  I loved this shirt the minute I saw the new Ottobre.  And this fabric has been sitting on my shelf for awhile.  A long while. 

Pattern:  4/2012 Ottobre #28

I figured she could wear it with jeans.  You know, the ones I made her that don't fit. 

I also made these leggings from the new Ottobre to match her new twirly skirt and shirt! 

Remember these?

I figured she needed brown leggings to go with this outfit. 

Pretty boring huh?  At least they have this cute little tab detail.

I also made 2 maternity shirts for myself.  Considering I am rapidly out growing clothes, I should probably focus more on clothes for myself!

Pattern:  Ottobre 2/2008 #17

The sides have rouching so that the shirt can expand with your belly, but the rouching totally messed up my stripe matching!

I picked up a couple yards of this DC fabric from Girl Charlee for the girls.  I made one shirt for KK but figured I could use it too!  I will need a t shirt or 2 for hanging around on the weekends.

More stripe matching problems!  Or maybe it was fabric selection problems!

 

 

They are a little big right now but with the way I am growing, it won't be long before they are snug!

 



 

One of the things I love

One of the things I love about Nin is that she isn't afraid to be who she wants or to do what she wants. 

 

Even if being who she wants means she wears this....

See, it was color day at school.  At the beginning of every year, each day is assigned a certain color to help the Kindergartners learn their colors.  They encourage kids to wear that day's color to help their fellow schoolmates.

Well the problem is, Nin couldn't remember what color she was supposed to wear, and despite searching, we couldn't find the flyer telling us what color she was supposed to wear this particular day.

So, she decided that she better wear all colors, you know, just to be sure she didn't miss out.  She was very insistent that she wanted to participate, so this is the way it had to be. 

I learned years ago to pick my battles with her clothes.  She will wear what she wants because she likes it and that's it.  Her mind is made up and no amount of convincing will change it.  It's not a hill I am prepared to die on every morning at 730 so I just let her pick out and wear what she wants.  I figure, she is the one that has to explain it to her friends if they ask.  It remains to be seen if peer pressure will ever affect her choices! 

Turns out, it was orange day so she made a very good choice with her top.  Which happens to be a dress that she wore under a skirt... 

The perfect skirt

Remember the skirt I made for BTS?  It is loved!  Very loved in fact.  Loved so much it was fought over.  Since it was so easy I decided to make another.  Or 4. 

I took the first day of school off since the girls like to be "car riders" on the first day.  It's the little things!  I had several hours during the day to get a bunch of sewing done.  I started with 4 of these skirts!

I just picked 4 random fabrics and made them up in the same size and let the girls pick through them when they got home.

KK picked this one....  That's it.  It was the only fabric she liked...

 

Nin scooped this one right up!  She said she loved the hearts!

 

Pattern: 
Ottobre 4/2012 #30

Awww, what's the matter Nin?

 

The jeans no one will wear!

There has been a jeans pattern stuck in my head for awhile now so I finally traced the pattern and set to work making a pair from some nice stretch denim that I had intended to use for myself. 

They are super cool pants that have these awesome circle pockets on the back!  They also had cool circle knee patch thingy's on the front.  Notice in the picture above that there is a lack of cool knee patch thingy's.  These were for my Nin.  She needs pants.  She mostly refuses to wear pants, but that's a different story for a different day. 

Anyhow, Nin took one look at the picture and said, "you aren't putting those circle things on the knees are you?"  Me, "yes, why?"  She replied, "they look like giant knee boobies."  Note to self: Nin does not like giant knee boobies.  So they were left off.

Super cool back pockets, no?

I get the pants done, minus the hemming, and have her try them on so I can see how big of a hem I need.  Guess what?  They don't fit!  The dang waist is too small.  I made the same size I always make but they are at least an inch too small in the waist.  Can't even get them buttoned, too small. 

But after 4 hours working on these suckers, I wasn't about to give up.  I took them to KK and asked her to try them on.  She has a smaller waist but is taller than Nin.  They fit!!!  Hallelujah!!  But guess what?  She doesn't like them.  BTW- she doesn't like giant knee boobies either.  I guess my kids just aren't knee patch wearing kind of kids. 

They aren't skinny jeans, she complained.  That is all I want to wear this fall.  Seriously?  Yep, 5th graders wear skinny jeans.  Appearantly. 

So now these poor top- stitched, perfect zipper fly pants hang on a rack.

No love!!

Ottobre 1/2010 #37 in size 140.

A few baby items

Slowly but surely I have been sewing up a few baby items.  Two more outfits done!  Hopefully by January I will have a complete wardrobe!

I have loved these little MC Hammer pants since this pattern originally came out.  Even if the pattern came in bigger sizes I am sure my girls would not wear them!!  But little babies don't have any choice.  Hehe.

Pattern:
Ottobre 1/2011 #1 and #2

I also made the bodysuit/onesie that they had paired with the pants on the model in the magazine.  Just a regular old onesie. 

I did have one issue though....  The underneath crotch hem was shorter than the top.  So the top hem kind of bubbles between the snaps and creates these little gaps.  I guess in the grand scheme of things it won't matter since you won't be able to see it when the pants are on the babe.  And honestly, once you get a cute little baby in the outfit, no one will pay a bit of attention.  But I know it's there.  And it bothers me! 

See!!!!

The other outfit I finished is a jumper with a matching t shirt.  I made one of these last fall and decided to finish this one since it seems girly enough for a cuttle little girl to wear.

Pattern:
Ottobre 6/2009 #4

Cute little Humpty Dumpty!!

The shirt is Ottobre 1/2011 #4.  Just a basic tee.

The good news is that I still have the girly one I made before.  I completed it too late to send the intended recipient.  So now my babe will get to wear it!

Remember this one?

Back to School

I recently started on some back to school/fall sewing for Nin.  I went through her closet the other day and found like 1 shirt and 2 pairs of jeans that fit her.  Last winter I knew all her clothes were getting small and some of her pants were short but we made it through the winter.  And since its like 1,000 degrees I haven't really thought about winter clothes until I was digging through her closet the other day looking for hangers. 

So I decided since she needed so many things I would make some of it mix and match and then a few special pieces. 

For the first installment, I started out with some browns. 

A nice twirly skirt with a plain ish brown shirt.  My girls would never let me get away with sewing just a plain anything so I had to spice up the shirt with a few ruffles. 

The skirt is made from some nice jersey with a yoga waistband.  Seriously, it took about 15 minutes to sew.  2 side seams and then sew the waist on.  Afterwards I did go ahead and do a narrow rolled hem with my serger but it's jersey, so it wasn't needed.  I just had the machine set up to do a rolled hem for the shirt so I figured it wouldn't hurt.

Ottobre 4/2012 # 30

The shirt is also from Ottobre.

Ottobre 6/2009 #29.  I have always really loved this shirt and had it tabbed for like the last 2 years but have never made it! 

The other skirt is not quite as twirly. 

Farbenmix Noelle, size 146. 

This one is made from a twill from the juvenile section at JoAnn's.  I originally bought it for KK since she liked peace signs at one time but I figured it matched my brown theme.  And just don't tell her because even if she doesn't like it anymore she would argue that it was bought with her in mind so it should be hers.... 

I didn't have a matching zipper....  And I goofed a little on the spacing.  Good thing 8 year olds don't care!

There are 4 big pleats across the front and back of this thing.  There were also supposed to be little panels across the back that you put buttonholes in so you can thread ribbon through and then cinch it up.  This skirt doesn't need any cinching, but that's not why I didn't put them on.  I just forgot.  I got the whole dang skirt done and then I looked down and saw I had extra pieces.  Oops!  I tend to just throw caution to the wind and forget about directions, since I can usually figure out how something goes together.  Which is how I forgot to include the little back pieces...

Do you see all the pleats?  And my red chalking marks...

I think I will make a few more brown pieces and then switch to a different color. 

Nephews

I recently completed some sewing for my nephews who live in another state.  Theo will soon be 3 so I needed to come up with a present for him.  And little Elliot was just born so he just needed some auntie made clothes! 

Even though everyone told me that a robe for a 3 year old was impractical, I just really wanted to make it!  It looked so cute in the magazine!  So I picked out the perfect fabrics, a striped cotton outer layer and a space alien flannel for the inside.  The robe was bound in bias tape so I made my own using the flannel. 

I really need one of those machines!  I used this tutorial to make the tape and it made about 4 yards! 

The robe is from Ottobre Magazine, 6/2011 # 33.  I made size 86 which seems kind of small but that is the size I usually make for him.... 

It has a cozy little hood!

The pattern didn't include belt loops or a loop to hang it up so I included both.  I could just imagine the belt getting lost in my own house so hopefully the loops help it stay where it belongs!

Cute little space aliens!

For the first time in my life I got a gift in the mail early! 

I also wanted to make the boys some matching cardigans after I saw a completed version on another message board.  I just happened to get lucky and the pattern came in both the boys size! 

The pattern is Ottobre Magazine 6/2011 #5.  It's called Grandpa's cardigan.  Size 86 and 62.

They are very adorable!  They are made out of a sweater knit from Girl Charlee that is a denim stripe.  The black stripe is not a solid black..

The pattern used buttons, but I chose to use snaps.  I also shouldn't have cut the binding the same size I always do because it is pulling too much and causing the area between the snaps to gap. 

I will have to remember that next time!