A few random items

I finished Stash Game at the end of Sept with more points than I have ever earned!  I sewed an unbelievable amount of items that month!  It felt great to get so much done.  So why not share what rounded out the end of the month!

Nin still needs some items to get her through the winter so several of these are for her.  I love Farbenmix patterns and (duh, one word: Antonia!!!)  so I dug through those for some inspiration.  First, I pulled out Roxy.

One dress, (that looks more like a nightgown)



And one shirt..



a close up of the super cute fabric!



Then I pulled out Antonia. I always go back! I had never tried the keyhole neckline version so I gave that a go. Nin doesn't really like the ties. But she likes the fabric so she has been wearing it.





Then I moved on to pants for both girls. They like to wear "soft" pants, aka: sweatpants, in the winter. Nin wears them like leggings, usually under dresses or skirts. KK, refuses to wear them out of the house telling me, "mom, sweatpants should never be worn out of the house". I agree!

Pattern: Ottobre Design 1/2009 #29(my favorite issue!)
Both of these were made with super duper soft french terry from the Fabric Fairy's sale in August!

KK



Nin

Upcycles

I love to shop at Goodwill for unique t-shirts and such.  I go to Goodwill to find clothes that I can cut up and turn into other clothes!  Here are a few shirts I made for Theo Leo out of Goodwill finds!

Pattern:  Ottobre Design 1/2010 #6 size 86.

First up is the Mystery Machine!  This was an adult size L t-shirt and I used part of the front and back, and the tag from the original shirt.



Next is a Halloween shirt. This was an adult XL t-shirt.



And a motorcycle shirt. I really just love the colors of this one! It was originally a baby romper. I picked off the pocket from the front and added it to the shirt. Then I used part of the front to create the stripes on the sleeves.



I really liked the romper and almost didn't cut into it. But I don't know of any babies who are that size..



And finally, this is not an upcycle as I had this fabric in my stash since Theo Leo was a small baby!

My hubby's "uniform"

Growing up in California my hubby mostly wore shorts and t-shirts. Even though he has lived in Kansas for nearly 2 decades he still wears the same style of clothes, which may not always be weather appropriate! And I wonder where Nin gets that from....

He has complained in the past that I never make him anything, but the truth is I was always a little intimidated by men's clothes. In order to look non-homemade they need a lot of details in them. I used SG (and our anniversary) as an opportunity to challenge myself. He was very appreciative and even wore them to our anniversary dinner!

Pattern: Kwik Sew 3884
Size XL- I made an XL based on his measurements but probably could have gotten away with a L. They were a tiny bit big at the waist and I needed to adjust the waist some. I also added length because he has the idea that men shouldn't wear shorts that come above the knee.

Look at this waistband! A real metal zipper, a real jeans button and belt loops! I also topstitched these suckers within an inch of their life! Hopefully they will hold up!



The only part I had trouble with was the welt pockets. I had never attempted welt pockets before and they are ok, but not perfect. And when I look at a garment I have made, I only see the flaws! He doesn't seem to mind though!



Front pockets

Lots o' pants!

Since Nin won't stop growing, I made her some more pants.  On a side note, she has grown a little over an inch since May of this year.  In 4 months!  Since both girls are now so tall, I can't get a pair out of 1 yard anymore.  So the only corduroy that I had that was longer than 1 yard so was olive green and a brown floral.  I showed them to her and she liked them.  At first. 

So I spend several hours (until 2 am) making these super slim cords.  Once complete, I showed them to her and she immediately turned up her nose and said that she didn't like the fabric anymore.  So I used a little reverse pyschology and told her that I would give them to her sister (since they wear the same size) and she said "oh ok, I will take them now."  Roughly translated, that means that she will wear them, so that her sister can't have them.  Girls!

Pattern:  Ottobre Design 4/2009 #31.  These are a size 134.  With a big hem at the bottom so I can let it out as she grows.



What's not to like about plain ol' cords with a rainbow waistband and fun zippers!



The brown floral is a little much, but she picked out the material!





I found a pattern in one of my Ottobre magazines for a pair of cords and they were super cute. So I traced those out for TheoLeo. I saw an idea for flipping the pattern piece on the corduroy that the wales are going different directions for a little visual interest.

Pattern: Ottobre Design 4/2010 #11 in size 86. The waistband and cuffs on the pants are made out of cotton lycra, with a piece of elastic in the waist to help keep them up!



The knee pieces



pockets lined with baseballs!



a little helicopter tag under the pocket



Although there are only 3 pairs, they were a lot of work!

Conkerr cancer

One of the ways to earn points in Stash Game is to sew for charity.  This time around the charity is Conkerr Cancer.  A group who collects bright, fun pillowcases for children who are undergoing cancer treatment.  I decided to sew up some pillowcases that would use up some of the many yards of flannel I purchased on Black Friday last year.  And the year before.  And the year before that....  It's just so cheap that day!  Cheaper than any other day of the year! 

I thought I would start off with ten and see if I could get those sewn up in one night.  Success!  I sat down Friday night at about 9 or so and finished up all the pillowcases by 11 something.  I even made a pillowcase for my brother.  I found the fabric for that one in a tub of fabric I purchased from a coworker.  It was 1994 Power Ranger fabric with all the original Power Rangers on it!  Daniel has loved the Power Rangers since he was young (he was 3 in 1994).  I couldn't figure out what to do with this as 1 yard wasn't enough for pj pants or a button up shirt.  So it was destined to become a pillowcase! 

I made all these pillowcases and then discovered that the only place in ALL of Kansas that accepts them is a hospital about an hour away.  I want to try and get about 10 more finished in the next 10 days and then mail them all at once!





I know the fabric is kind of hard to see but there is Muppets, Barbie, Hannah Montana, kitties, Dale Earnhardt Jr, pirates, and gold fish.
You can go here and learn more about what you can do to help!

Do you sudoku, and other stuff

I love making the Sudoku skirts from Ottobre 1/2009.  And I especially love making them during Stash Game since they give me lots of points!  But really, how many of these same skirts do my girls need?  I mean, we have like 4 floating around the house.  So I made a couple for the other little girls in my life. 

Let me tell you, I spent an hour hemming and ruffling the bottom ruffle to these skirts.  That doesn't even include attaching it or topstitching it.  Hemming and ruffling.  Aaack!  But those ruffles are so lovely!  The bottom ruffle on each skirt is like 28 feet long and then gathered to fit the skirt. Ridiculous! 
For an explanation of how I put them together take a look at past Sudoku's.  Each of these has 24 different scraps in them. 

Pattern:  Ottobre Design 1/2009







A look up at all those ruffles!





And the other stuff! A few long sleeve shirts.

Ottobre Design 4/09 #35 in size 134
I love the way this shirt is cut and the stripes face different directions! I barely eeked this shirt out of the fabric I had left though and the sleeves ended up being barely long enough so there was no way I could hem them. I solved that problem by hemming them with picot elastic. Perfect!







A tunic for KK. I ordered a yard of this fabric from Girl Charlee awhile back and liked it so much that I re-ordered 2 more yards of it when I placed another order! :)

Pattern: Ottobre Design 1/2009 #28 size 134
(Have I mentioned lately how my girls are 3 years apart in age and wear the same size? I'm sure you are thinking, great they can share clothes and I don't have to buy as many. Yeah right, they fight over everything. Each girl must have their own!)

(Have I mentioned lately that Ottobre 1/2009 is my favorite issue? I have made most everything in that issue!)



The pockets are a little hard to see..



Finally, a Mamu Sabrina for Nin. I also ordered this butterfly cotton lycra from Girl Charlee. Very nice fabric and the girls love the butterflies! Maybe I should just have my paycheck direct deposited to Girl Charlee's bacnk account? She has such great stuff though! Do you know how hard it is to stay away during SG?

The thing I love about the Sabrina pattern is that it is open to personalization. Hood or no hood, long sleeve, short sleeve, cap sleeves, puff sleeves, pocket, tunic or dress length.

This just happens to be a dress with a pocket, no hood and long sleeves! I promise it's not wonky in real life. Just on the hanger...

10

Ten years ago I sat in my hospital bed holding my new baby while watching the horrific events of 9/11 unfold on the hospital tv.  A lot has changed in 10 years! 

KK turned 10 today, 2 hands worth of birthdays!  She wore her new outfit to school that she picked out at Justice and took rice krispy treats to share with her classmates. 

Here she is in 2008.  No glasses and such a baby face!



A year and a half ago. Same face, but longer hair and glasses!



Here she is today on her 10th birthday!



And one with me!   I made Nin take this pic!



Happy Birthday KK!!