you wear it well

Asher, 9 months

See any resemblance? 

My good friend Amy of Amy Prats Photography came over last week to document The Hair. You can see a few more shots of our boy here and, while you're visiting, find some great tips on getting better results with your own photography. Bonus! 

eyvind earle

I don't really consider myself a huge Disney fan, not like some people (I know one 30-something man who hits the Magic Kingdom 3 or 4 times yearly - without the wife and kids), so when this exhibit came to town, Rich and I thought we'd take the kids for their sake, not so much for our own. I guess we've become jaded by the commercialism and general gagginess of our princess-saturated market, to the point that we forgot just how much genius went into making the classic Disney films so, well, classic.

Okay, so we were wrong and you should totally go check it out if you're anywhere near New Orleans while this exhibit lasts and you have an interest in the creative process. It was great.

I was already a fan of the fabulous Mary Blair, so seeing her original sketches and paintings up close and in person was a treat. (By the way, Disney has recently released Blair's iconic concept art in the form of  storybooks retold by current authors - Cinderella, Peter Pan (those mermaids!) and Alice in Wonderland.)

Even better, though, was discovering Eyvind Earle, background artist and creative director for Sleeping Beauty. Okay, so I've seen Sleeping Beauty at least half a dozen times and never really noticed the scenery all that much. But, again, seeing those hand drawn cels in person! Dreamy. I especially love the botanical details (me = former plant geek). Earle had a modern sensibility that made his art really striking for its day. (From what I gather, that didn't win him the affection of some of his more traditional fellow illustrators. Boo.)

Sigh... 

refashioned men's shirt

This is something I've had on my mind for a while now since I've got a growing collection of cast off, button-up shirts crowding my craft closet. This project totally appeals to my craft pack rat sensibilities. ("I could do something with this" is a phrase often heard in our household.)

Before I tell you how I did it, I have to give props to My Mama Made It for all of her cute shirt reconstructions and this blouse by Angry Chicken. Both served as the kick in the pants I needed to finally take on this little project. So, here's goes. Forgive the lack of technical terms.

The starting point, one of Rich's dress shirts (thanks, hon!):

First, I flipped it over, back facing up, and cut off the sleeves and collar.

Next, I tried the shirt on and decided where best it would fit across the chest and under my arms. On me, that required raising it up about 3 inches. I had to cut new shoulders and neck openings, fortunately under the back yoke, which I removed completely. I made the neckline lower in the front than the back by about 2 inches. (For the back neck line, I ended up cutting about 1.5 inches above a button. I'll show you in a sec how I finished that off.) I also drafted new side seams to fit my form a little better (but not too much - it's still a fairly loose fit). Here it is, right sides facing and basted:

I tried it on again to check the fit before sewing the seams. To finish the arm and neck holes, I applied a water soluble hem tape to the wrong side edges and turned them under twice, topstitching 1/4 inch from the edge.

In the back I added a new button hole and a covered button in one of my favorite fabrics. I don't love how this part turned out, but it's rarely seen, so I'm not stressing. Ignore the sloppy stitching.

On to the embellishment! From the leftover sleeve material, I cut three strips, approximately 3 inches deep by 20, 18, and 16 inches wide, respectively, then serged the edges...

and used my ruffler to pleat the pieces.

Finally, I eyeballed their placement on the front of the blouse (formerly the back of the shirt), pinned and stitched them down along the ruffle seam line.

Ta DA!

      

So when I mentioned to my friend Neva that I'd made this blouse out of one of Rich's old shirts, she immediately responded, "Rich had a Puffy Shirt?!" Um. No. I was both flattered and chagrined. It's nice that she just couldn't imagine a pretty, feminine blouse having once been a regular, old men's dress shirt. On the other hand, she apparently thought that my husband might have, at one time, worn something like this.

love birds

I whipped some sweet little birds up for the kids from this simple tutorial the night before Valentine's. Of course, I didn't get around to taking pictures until much later, after they'd been loved up a little. (Can you guess which one is Asher's? I'm now rethinking the wisdom of small felt parts on baby toys...)

Aside: I would really like to explain where I've been these last months, why I haven't posted, why all holiday crafts are posted weeks after the actual, relevant holiday... Can I just skip all that and say I hope to have a few things to show you in the coming weeks? No promises, just letting you know I am still here. 

Christmas package for the mmmcrafts family

Some fun Christmas crafties made with the kids, thank you, Martha...

A little retail love from one of our favorite places...

A couple of local edibles...

a favorite book for the girls...

And a nose warmer (by request) and old license plate (he collects them) for Mr. mmmcrafts.

And I got these! 

happy birthday dear larry

Well, I figure the birthday of my bestest friend in the whole world is worth dragging myself out of blogger hibernation to send out some well wishes in her honor. So, to the most creative, industrious person I know, not to mention, funny, loving, generous and beautiful, happy birthday, my dear.

Oh, and since I couldn't pull off getting your gift to you in time for your actual birthday, I'll just share a teensy sneak peak...

As is becoming tradition, you'll be seeing the real deal some time during your birthday season. Just trying to make the party last, you know?

Simplicity 3678

Ever since this guy came along, I've been racking my brain and scouring my closet for some non-maternity, nursing friendly, but still stylish clothes to wear. I daydreamed all summer about finding the perfect button front dress patterns so that I could then fulfill my other daydream, which is being able to wear simple cotton dresses every day, cool in the summer and perfect for layering in the fall. Something similar to this or this, maybe.

Daydreams aside, for the most part, I end up wearing knits, since I can't seem to button up any of the few button front blouses and dresses in my closet. Hence my foray into the world of home sewn knitwear, starting with Simplicity 3678. 

Here's my take: 

Pattern sizing: 

Okay, so I generally wear a size 10 these days in ready-to-wear clothing. If you've never sewn clothing from a pattern before, take note: you CANNOT go by your regular size when it comes to choosing which size to sew from a pattern. Really, you can't even go by your measurements. On this pattern, if I went by my measurements, I would have sewn a size EIGHTEEN! (What is up, pattern companies???) I guess, if I had to nail down a general rule of thumb for myself, I'd split the difference between my measurement-indicated size (18) and my ready-to-wear size (10). For this dress, I made a size 14 and it fit pretty well. Just let your ego go, ladies, when you're sewing from these patterns. 

Did it look like the pattern photo on the envelope when I finished it? 

I think so. Plus a few (ahem) extra pounds of model underneath and a more open neckline/bodice which I'll explain in a sec. 

Were the instructions easy to follow? 

Very much so, in theory. Still figuring out how to sew knits without it becoming a comedy of errors. See below. 

Fabric used: 

A thin, cheapy, for-experimentation-only knit print out of my stash. (This could explain some of my problems.)

Any adjustments made?

Um, yeah. I tried sewing the neckline and facing with a double needle, to give the dress a more professional finish, but I just wasn't happy with 1) how the facing was laying (it was really bunchy) and I could just imagine it flipping out every time I wore the dress (assuming I ever actually got that far) and 2) how the fabric actually bubbled up between the two needles. (Anyone know what that problem was all about? Double needles are meant for knits, right?) So, anyway, not wanting to spend time troubleshooting or seam ripping, I serged off the seam and facing.  

Then I tried turning a narrow hem and stitching it down without a facing. Which I think would have been fine had I not (apparently) stretched the fabric as I sewed, so it got all wonky and wavy. So I serged that off. 

At which point I tried Heat N Bond No Sew hem tape, because I had it on hand. I stuck it onto the inside of the serged edge, folded it down, then tried to stitch over it with my trusty double needle. Surprise, surprise, that didn't work. Apparently, when they say No Sew, they mean it. It kept gumming up my needle and breaking the thread. So I serged that off. 

Finally, I purchased this lovely little product from my local fabric shop, so much more appropriate, and used it to stabilize the newly cut and serged neckline, turned it under, and stitched it down. Done, but now my dress absolutely requires a cami underneath. Which I probably would have worn anyway, so no big loss. (pointedly ignoring precious loss of time)

The only other "adjustment" was that I serged the bottom hem and left it at that. L-A-Z-Y. But, hey, I think I paid my dues on this little project, especially considering that it may never pass through my front door. 

Would I sew this pattern again? 

Actually, yes. I think so, if I had a nicer, more sturdy knit to work with. And assuming the Wonder tape washes up well, I'll stick with that little revision to the pattern. Facing schmacing. 

The final product, as photographed by my 6-year old: