Sailing Away

My seester saw my pretty blouses (this one and this one) and let me know it was time to make one for her, asap.  Sailboats, red and blue, polka dots, nautical buttons... those were the orders.  Before she had even finished her sentence, the shirt was made in my head.

You had me at "sailboats."

Ya see... one of the aprons of Gigi's I'd been holding on to... well... it was red, and blue... and sailboat patterned.  Perfect.  So my seester, she got herself her very own Gigi blouse!

I feel like I'm kind of a pro at this pattern now.  If you haven't made one yet, you totally should.  It's such a quick one to put together, and the result is really nice.  If you just hold it up, the finished blouse has a tendency to look a bit like a sack... but once you put it on, it hangs nicely and, to quote Raina, "It is so soft and cozy!"  :)

To mix things up, I tried my hand at cap sleeves... and although I'd like to try a non-poof version some time, I think the cap sleeve was successful.

I'm pretty excited about the double stitching on the edge.  I was careful to sew straight across the white spots, because of course, if a mistake was going to happen, it would be on the most obvious location!

POOF!

The buttons were what held up the finishing, if you can believe it!  I tried for an anchor button, but short of ordering one online that cost as much to ship as the button itself, I was batting zero.  By some stroke of luck, I found these tiny sailboat treasures at JoAnn fabric while I was playing there one day!

I love this fabric.  This particular apron was one I had pulled out to look at quite a few times, wondering what project would really have me ready to cut into it.  I considered a dress for Lucca, I considered another shirt for myself.  I am so glad I saved it for seester.

She got to keep the pockets:

I got to add some fabulous bright red dot for the top:

my topstitching came out awesomely awesome:

Each one of these aprons seems to be finding it's own special way to live on.  I'm sending this one off to my bestest sis with memories of roller skates and Roy!

Strawberry Pickin' Summer Blouse

I made another top for myself!  I used the Summer Blouse pattern again, only this time I lost the sleeves.  I really thought that challenging myself to sew things for my own wardrobe would be a struggle, since I love sewing for kids so much.  Turns out I love sewing for myself!  Now I need to opposite-challenge myself to start sewing kids clothes again!  :)  Or maybe I should challenge myself to work harder on my baby clothes quilts!!

Here's the front:

 

And here's the back!

This top is the much anticipated (ha!  By me anyway...) companion piece to Raina and Lucca's Gigi dresses - made from my sweet grandmother's old aprons.  Once again, I stuck to the pattern as much as possible, but basically just cut iff the bottom of the apron and used that as the bottom piece to keep pockets, buttons, and trims intact.

 

From the beginning, I knew that I'd use this strawberry print apron to make something for myself.  I love it - print, softness, color, everything about it.  I knew I needed to use a fun pattern to coordinate with it for the bodice top, and as soon as I saw this strawberry print I fell in love.  

It's strawberries and raspberries in pinks and reds, and has kind of hand-printed look to it. 

 

I was concerned for just a second or two that it was TOO MUCH STRAWBERRY.  It didn't last long, and I'm glad I didn't let the little voices sway me.  Love.

 

No buttons on this one, and no poofy sleeves.  Simple summer tank, perfect for picking strawberries.  Which I plan on doing with my lovely little ladies as soon as the stinkin' rain stops!!

What I meant to say.

Some kids aren't lucky enough to know their grandparents.  Some know them, but never really get to *know* them.  I consider myself one of the lucky ones who not only knew their grandparents, but had a close relationship with them.  Last month, my grandmother passed away - rejoining my grandfather who had gone 3 years before.  This past month has been a tough one for me - coming to grips with the reality that my second home is no longer what it was, and that no new memories are going to be made.  

Needless to say, I haven't gotten much done in the way of crafting or sewing.  

This past weekend was my grandmother's memorial service, and it almost seemed unreal.  (My girls wore the dresses I made them from their Gigi's aprons.  Here's Raina's, and here's Lucca's.)  I had every intention of getting up to speak at the memorial, but my sister gave an act that was tough to follow, and before I knew it, the moment was gone.  This is what I meant to say, and what has been on my heart this month:

*     *     *

Most days it's hard to imagine I'm waking up in a world my Gram is no longer a physical part of.  That Snowport is empty.  But how quickly my tears become smiles. 

The British preacher Charles Spurgeon was quoted saying, "Carve your name on hearts, not on marble."  Is there anyone who has done that better than my Gram?  

I remember walking through the Red Maple Swamp with Gram and Pop, something we did fairly often when I was younger, but this particular time I was somewhere in middle school, only beginning to delve deeper into the meaning of love.  We were on a path through the swamp, and they were walking next to each other a few steps ahead of me.  And then they were holding hands.  And then Gram's head was resting against his arm.  It was an "aha!" moment for me.  "So THAT is what love looks like!"  

And then I noticed it everywhere.  Fixing the coffee for Pop before going to bed.  First the water, then the filter, then the coffee.  Cereal box, big bowl, big spoon.  A routine, done every night without much consideration on my part about how much it would be appreciated in the wee hours of the morning.  Until that moment.  (In a swamp, no less!)

Love is....

 ...sacrificing a beautiful bush in your side yard to 2 generations of nature soup cooks.

...gingerbread man and apple juice picnics at the beach.

...always having cold pinwheel cookies in the fridge.

...buying your own pencils back from your grandkids after they decorate them with stickers and call them souvenirs.

...shucking corn on the patio in humid August with a smile on your face.

...flicking the lights on the lamp post to say one last goodbye.

Gram's arms were full of love.  Whether I was 7 days old, on my first ride down to Dennisport in Gram's arms;  7 years old, joyously happy and bounding off the school bus;  17 and the saddest I had ever been;  or 27 and visiting "home" from 3,00 miles away. 

And really, shouldn't Grace and love go hand in hand?

It was that love, and that (G)grace, that helped make me who I am today.  During summer vacations, school breaks, weekend sleepovers.  It allowed me to be myself.  To explore and get dirty.  To glue shells to things or cut up magazines and glue the pictures into a who-knows-what.  That sometimes it's important to talk, and sometimes it's more important to just sit quietly together and watch the waves.  It taught me to appreciate nature, family, books, and good food.  It taught me the importance of a strong mind, a strong pair of hands, and a strong heart.  That life isn't always fair, but tomorrow always comes.  To love, and to be loved.  Gram taught me that.

And so, to my Gram, who was loved so much and gave it all right back, here's one last flick of the lamp post lights to you.  

Love you forever.

*     *     *

p.s. - I'll be back on track with my usual posts as soon as I can get my mind back around it (and my new sewing machine working correctly!  Happy Mother's Day to me!).  Until then, hope you don't mind the lack of humor and sewing puns.  :)  I've got some good things in store for you!

 

Gigi Dresses Part 2: Lucca's Dress

(the pictures in this post are wacky.  my tall lamp broke, and pictures without my tall lamp friend mean bad lighting.  I tried to move into the bathroom, but things weren't much better in there.  pictures on model will come soon and will hopefully be in better lighting!)

Making these dresses has been an emotional process for me.  Taking her things, well worn, soft from washings upon washings, and making them into new little things for my own littles... it's given me time to think about her.  I'd sit at my sewing table, pinning, cutting, trimming, my fingers running along the bindings and over the buttons, and my mind would have a chance to wander and remember - something it doesn't get to do often enough in the hubbub of my everyday life.  I think she'd like these dresses.  (See Raina's dress here)

This one, for my chubby little 6 month old love, is made from the pink rose print apron.

I made it using the Goldie dress pattern... with adjustments of course, to account for the fact that my fabric was not a flat rectangle... but was instead an apron with snaps and pockets and a pretty finished edge.  

I had some snafus with this projects.  I don't know where I went wrong.  Obviously, my mind wandering got the better of me a few times, and this isn't a dress I'll be showing many people the inside of!  :)

I noticed at this stage in my sewing that a couple things had happened.  The bodice and skirt were well constructed, but sewn together wrong.  So I ended up with pockets in the back, and a seam down the front of the bodice.  Le sigh.  I did find a cute fix for the seam, and Lucca doesn't really need front pockets... so it I used it as a learning experience, but didn't spend any time with my seam ripper.

And for the first time, a HAMMER made an appearance at my sewing table!  Oh SNAP!  I've been favoring the button and loop lately, but for Miss Lucca, snaps seemed like a better choice... and it was fun to bust out the hammer.

THe snappage, however, did not go quite as planned.  Due to my previously mentioned inside out and backwards bodice, there were original snaps in my way when I went to attach the new snaps.  The yop ended up being slightly uneven, despite my best efforts to adjust things.  See the funny insides?  Extra crazy snaps.

When all was said and done, the finished dress was adorable.  I love the details on the outside, even if teh details on the inside are imperfect.

Clever seam covering.  Lace, chiffon rosette trim, really old buttons from Gigi's sewing box.

Straps cut from the gathered top of the original apron, giving them a "poof" at the top of the shoulder!

back pockets!

back view, topstitching on gathered top of skirt

Front view, rosette trim at waist.  I think the gathering came out just right.

Finished back

Finished front

Front of bodice

Kids Clothing Week Challenge: My Secret Mission

KCWC

Last week was kids clothes week challenge!

I was excited, but tried not to be.  :)  Some weeks I'm super productive when it comes to sewing... but some weeks I'm lucky if I get a pattern traced and cut!  So I decided to follow KCWC in secret, just to see if I could do it.  The commitment?  One hour of kids related sewing a day for 7 days.  Seems pretty attainable... but things happen.  (Like no naps, babies pulling all nighters, spilled toddler potties, grocery store melt downs, Dora movie-thons... you get the picture!)

Somehow, though... I did it!  One hour a day, and I came away with 6 completed sewing projects, one nearly complete one, and a finished quilt that had nothing to do with kids clothes.  :)  I'm feeling pretty accomplished!  

One day I spent as much time battling with my sewing machine as I spent sewing.  

One day I fought with a seam ripper.  

One day I sewed while a handyman played under my kitchen sink.  

Many times I sewed while Lucca jumped to her heart's content in her jumperoo.

Many times I drank too much coffee and didn't sleep enough.  :)

EVERY time I was so thrilled when I was finished that it didn't matter!

Raina's Gigi Dress

The rainbow gown

treasure pocket pants

Snow White raglan

Lucca's Gigi Dress

strawberry shortcake popover sundress

(all except Lucca's Gigi dress have posts up about them... watch for the last one this week!)

It's been so much fun getting inspiration from the host blog and from the KCWC flickr pool.  I have a million and one more things I want to make now!  

...and now, in the wake of all this kids sewing, I've realized that while I do loads of sewing, I've never made anything for myself!  So my next project, out here for everyone to see and call me on if I stall... is to make something for ME!  I started a pinterest board with ideas... if you have any you think I need to add, please leave me a comment!  I've got some fabric stacked, some ideas in mind... now it's time to put my nose to the sewing machine and get going!

A Quilt Comes Home

One of the many treasures uncovered while cleaning out my grandparents home... this quilt.  I started sewing it with my Gram when I was in middle school!  We cut the squares, sewed them together, picked out a back, added some batting and basted the whole thing together.  And it sat like that for 16 years.

Until today!

I opened it all the way up... for the first time in almost 2 decades... and spread it out on my (dark and messy) living room floor.  It's dark because it's naptime, and it's messy because we have 2 kids living here :).  I tempted fate by tiptoe-ing around this sleepy face to spread out and re-pin the sides.  It was successful!  I used to be able to do anything at naptime - make dinner, go down to the basement to do laundry, even sew at my machine with Lucca in the next room.  Now she wakes up if I uncross my legs too quickly!  So lately naptime hasn't been a very productive time for me.  I cut patterns, lay things out, take pictures... but even typing sometimes disturbs her.  Some days I really really really wish I could get some sewing done, or start dinner, or even check the mail... but she wont be a baby forever, and I know I'll miss these sweet days... so I just do what I can :).

 Some fabrics from the 70's. leftovers from when my mom and my aunt sewed their clothes in high school...

 Some from my middle school home-ec class projects...

 Some cut from old clothes...

 Backing

and a bunch of bright yellow basting stitches, hand sewn across the back.

 Sleeping beauty... thankfully still sleeping!

 Spread out on messy floor in a dark room :)

 Here are some pictures of us lounging and playing on the quilt, which I have sewn together at the edges, but haven't actually quilted yet:

 Self portrait!

The 15 year quilt....

I'm so glad it's finally getting some love!

(I'll update when I do more work on it, pinky swear)