One Little Minute

May

The Button Up Refashion Swap

I am so excited to finally be sharing a project that has been months in the works: The Button Up Refashion Swap. The idea to organize a refashion swap with a group of awesome bloggers bounced around in my head for a long time before I actually reached out to my friend Melissa and asked what she thought. She was all on board, and teamed up with me to invite 8 more amazing refashion and sewing bloggers to participate in this first (maybe of more?!) refashion swap. I’d love to introduce you to the participants:

Jennifer of Grainline Studio

Krista of Lazy Saturdays

Liz of Cotton & Curls

Megan of Megan Nielsen Designs

Melissa of I Still Love You

Miranda of One Little Minute (that’s me!)

Miriam of MadMim

Kate of See Kate Sew

Sunni of A Fashionable Stitch

Suzannah of Adventures in Dressmaking

The premis is simple: Each of these 10 awesome bloggers began with a basic button up shirt and refashioned it into something wonderful for her randomly assigned partner, creating a tutorial of the process. The only rule was to begin with a button up. Each participant was free to add or take away whatever she wanted to create a fun, new look. Today those tutorials are all published, showing off 10 new ways to refashion a simple button up! Make sure to check out what everyone came up with!

Now, let me show you the fun refashion that I created for the darling Kate of See Kate Sew:

Kate is adorable. She always looks put together and fresh. And she always (okay, almost always) wears dresses! Her blog is full of awesome refashions, sewing tutorials, and great ideas. She also has a little boy who she sews and refashions for, which is a wealth of ideas for me with my boys!

I knew that I wanted to make her something she would love and want to wear so I told her my idea to create a color blocked dress with a peter pan collar. She gave me the thumbs-up, and mentioned she also loves pleats… So, pleats she got! I used two mens XL button up shirts for this refashion, one chambray and one plain white. Using the button plackets of both shirts allowed for a simple transition from white to blue. And I love the blue collar. It’s super cute, right?!

After finishing our refashions, we sent them off, criss-crossing the country (with fingers crossed for a good fit, as we all worked from measurements.) Next week, you will get a chance to see each of the refashions modeled by it’s new owner as we do a little blog hop of the finished products. Here’s the schedule for the blog hop:

“Maternity” Monday, May 21st: Lizzie of Cotton & Curls, Krista of Lazy Saturdays (these two are both expecting!!)

Tuesday, May 22nd: Sunni of A Fashionable Stitch, Kate of See Kate Sew

Wednesday, May 23rd: Suzannah of Adventures in Dressmaking, Miranda of One Little Minute

Thursday, May 24th: Miriam of MadMim, Melissa of I Still Love You

Friday, May 25th: Megan of Megan Nielsen Design, Jennifer of Grainline Studio

I can’t wait to see how Kate looks in her new color blocked dress!

Want to make one of your own? I broke the tutorial for this dress into 6 sections, to make it easier to follow along.

Read on to the full tutorial

Posted in: DIY, Repurposed, Sew, Sewing DIY

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May

DIY Reversible Toddler Harness

Way back, when Milo had just begun to toddle around, I whipped him up a little toddler harness. I know that they can be controversial, but we loved it! I wanted my new walker to get a chance to practice his skills, while still safely contained (they can be so unpredictable) rather than just sit in the stroller. “Harness” sounds cool, right? Like walking is a new outdoor activity requiring safety gear…which it is! I felt it was simply an extension of hand holding, and there was no way Milo would have let me hold his hand everywhere we walked (he still doesn’t!) I found we used the harness from right after he took steps, at 12 months, until he was just about 20 months, when he began to learn to come when I called him.

I wanted something that looked more like a vest than a backpack, and needed it to be comfy, easy to pull on and off, and made out of things I had on hand. We used it often and well…and then packed it away somewhere with baby stuff. I’ve no idea where! Now that Eliot is standing freely and beginning to cruise, I figured it was time to make another, and even improve upon the original. This version is completely reversible, so you get to choose two fun fabrics! I used Chasing Airplanes and Racer Stripes from the Children at Play Over the Fence line by Sara Jane for Michael Miller that I picked up at Raspberry Creek Fabric. I thought the “children at play” theme was appropriate. In addition to the cute material, I also added a little stretch in the shoulder straps to keep it comfy and easy to slip over the head.

Want to make one? You’re in luck, because I created a full tutorial. Again, because of the tutorial length, just click through below to check it out.

Posted in: DIY, Sewing DIY

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May

Camping (with kids)

We’re off tonight to go camping with the boys. The last time we slept in a tent was at Assateague Island and Milo was only 6 months old (yikes! It’s been a while!) Both Dave and I camped and hiked all growing up. In fact, one summer I even worked as a wilderness counselor with an addiction rehabilitation program for teenagers, where I spent 6 of every 14 days literally sleeping under the stars (and making shoes of bark and leather, but that’s another story…) Another summer I worked as a river guide in central Idaho, and not only camped out, but helped set up camp and cook for the slew of passengers as well! As newlyweds, Dave and I worked in Puerto Rico for a summer and all of our vacation time was spent camping on the beaches. Needless to say, we feel pretty comfortable in the outdoors…er, that is to say, we used to.

Living outside of the outdoor mecca (aka Utah) and welcoming one, then another little boys into our life has weakened our granola spirits! I am really happy in a nice hotel on the waterfront, where the boys can nap in the room while I lounge by the pool and read. Hmm, that sounds nice… I do miss the outdoors, though. And it is really important to me that my boys grow up feeling connected to nature and at home in the wilderness. Silly as it might sound, my life has been so fulfilled by my relationship to raw earth.

We’re definitely tip-toeing back into nature. We bought a new, HUGE tent a couple weeks ago to accomodate the four of us. I’m packing our camp BBQ, portable crib (yep, the tent is that huge), and a cooler of cold beverages (including some Jarritos to enjoy with our veggie quesadillas tonight.) My dad taught me to bring cheese for quesadillas for the first night of a backpacking trip, because the rest of the trip you’ll be wishing for some yummy cheese. We’re car camping, and only for one night, but quesadillas sound good anyway, and I’m pretty sure the kids will eat’m!

I’m hoping all goes well and we gain some camping-with-kids confidence. I’ll be posting photos on Instagram (I’m an #instaddict) with hashtag #campingwithkids , if you want to follow along. Do any of you camp with your young ones? I’d really love to hear what tips and tricks you have to make the experience wonderful. Share them in the comments, and we can all learn from each other!

Wish us luck, and have a great weekend!

Posted in: Dave and Miranda, Trips and Travel

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May

Life, lately.

I have a much easier time taking daily photos with my phone than with my camera these days. Maybe because I can do it one-handed and still have a baby on my hip, diaper bag over my shoulder, and the three sticks that Milo gave me in the other hand. If you follow me on twitter or Instagram (@livefreemiranda), you’ve seen a lot these. If not, feel free to follow along with the nitty gritty of our days.

1. I decided long ago that when I had kids I would let them get sprinkles on their ice cream whenever they wanted, because the $0.50 would totally be worth them feeling super special. It is. 2. Starting a pile of bow dresses at 8:30 pm. 3. Finishing said dresses at midnight to get them in the mail. 4. Letterpress printing birthday cards with a rainbow roll of ink. 5. Friday is always pizza night. 6. Fish sitting Gulp and Speedy for a week (they both survived!!)

1. After 6 years of being in love with Dave, I learn that he can juggle (and I love him just a little more!) 2. Costco hotdog. I think it was my second of the week. 3. Putting shoes on all six feet several times a day makes me slightly crazy. 4. A hot, humid run with both boys=double miles and then some. 5. We reformed the meal planning a little and now have “Wacky Wednesdays”. Last week we made homemade corn dogs. They were delicious. 6. Enjoying Rita’s with my college roommate Sheryl makes me very happy.

1. Busted out the new sandals and saw my toes. 2. My freezer is simply not big enough. 3. Milo and Christian in fireman hats, hoisting logs at the park. Pretty adorable. 4. Dave’s Homemade Birthday Cake. 5. Milo “taking a boat to Mamo & Papa’s house” 6. Milo choosing 3 favorites from the dollar store to spend his $3 of birthday money from Big Mamo & Poppa. He got a hammer, spiderman umbrella (which I supplemented $2) and powdered donuts.

1. I’ve decided to start parking next to the carts, rather than next to the door. 2. A super fun date with Dave at Standard DC. We were the only ones drinking soda. 3. Milo helps himself to the leftover cake for breakfast (All of it, and some carrots…) 4. Morning antics with the boys. 5. Eliot stands up on everything, all the time! And these two brothers love each other. 6. While Eliot sleeps Milo and get to play “big kid games” like Don’t Break the Ice.

1. 30 seconds after reading Joanna’s new hair tut, I use it (and love it). 2. Milo gets to milk a cow at Oxon Hill. I did too, and it somehow felt so familiar… 3. Hanging out with one of my blog buddies Megan Nielsen before she moves this weekend. I’m a long time fan, and it was wonderful to meet in person! 4. Megan brought sweet gifts: Red Truck cookies for the boys and a Darling Ranges pattern for me. 5. Milo picks up every stick at the park before we can head home. 6. Trying to put down the phone to go to sleep. Harder than it seems.

I’ve got such a collection of Instagram photos, I am super excited to use some of Jen’s amazing ideas to display them in my home. Are you Instaddicted, too?

Posted in: Family, lately, Photography

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May

Cinco De Mayo Third Birthday Party

As a fun finale to our week of birthday celebrations last week, we had a Cinco de Mayo Fiesta for Milo and his good buddy Christian (maybe you remember him from Milo’s first birthday party?). Christian’s mom is my good friend Ivy, and we thought it would be fun to rent a big bounce house and split the cost. Serendipitously, about a week later there was a Livingsocial Deal for a bounce house rental. Done and done. We figured we’d just have a big bbq, and then realized it was planned for Cinco de Mayo, so we thought we’d run with that.

I threw together the invite with a Mexican Flag motif based loosely on these. I thought we could make some for simple decor. (I use the software Pages for all of my basic invites and design projects.) I had the stack of invitations printed and ready to send, then it was too late to send them, so I just attached a screen shot to an email. Classy. I’m obviously getting more and more laid back as I grow up:)

The flags were super easy to make, and turned out darling. Of course, it rained all morning the day of the party, so everything was a little wet. But by the time the party started the sun was shining and weather was fine. The little drips of water from the roof and tissue paper didn’t mix well, but we were lucky and only had a couple flag casualties!

We served a fun and easy taco bar with chicken from off the grill and bowls of toppings. We also whipped up some kid-friendly quesadillas right on the BBQ. Everyone enjoyed hunks of a sweet pineapple, and we had lemon water and limeade in our new drink dispensers (18 bones at Costco. For real. How could we resist?!) I ordered the un-decorated chocolate cake from Costco (since it worked so well last year!) and cut out some super tiny mexican flag pendants with an exacto knife to use as the cake toppers. Turned out cute, right?

Our good friends the Woods let us host the party at their home. It’s so rare around DC for young families to live in a house with a yard (and a porch, and a driveway…) that it was a total luxury to have a party there! I think it made everyone (all 1o or so families that attended) a little antsy for a home. I mean, as much as I adore my 950 square feet of heaven, a patch of grass to call my own sounds divine. In time, right? I digress. Back to the fiesta…

The bounce house was a huge hit. Pun intended. There were fifteen or so kids bouncing and sliding for two hours while the adults ate and chatted. Everyone had a great time and no one suffered major injuries. I was thrilled.

After bouncing and eating, we brought out the cake. Cute Christian thought the singing was a little too loud.

These two were adorable making a wish!

Finally, we had everyone line up, youngest to oldest, and take a swing at the piñata. It was pretty funny. The first time through the line of kids, it seemed the thing hadn’t even been touched. Then we went backwards from oldest to youngest (hoping the older boys could break it up a bit!) and it finally started to bust. Milo got some clean hits, then Christian had the final swings.

I love the stampede when a piñata breaks! The candy and toys were gathered into treat bags in about 45 seconds.

I think everyone made out pretty well with their goodies. Milo was thrilled with a bag full of candy all for him.

The treat bags were simple brown lunchbags. I wanted to print on them (like this) but my printer wasn’t having any of that. So, at the last minute I decided to design a little ¡gracias! to cut out of vinyl with my Silhouette. Worked like a charm. (I was proud of myself for even connecting the letters to that it was all one sticker instead of individual letters. Yeah, pretty smart.)

These two three-year-olds had a blast celebrating with their friends! Feliz Cumpleaños to our boys!

Our little family is growing up!

PinExt Cinco De Mayo Third Birthday Party

Posted in: Birthday Parties, Birthdays, Celebrate, Mister Milo

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May

Tie-Waist Tee Maxi Dress Refashion

I have been staring at this yellow striped tee for two years. I love almost everything about it: the color, the stripes (duh), the light weight knit, and the fit. It was almost perfect, BUT about an inch and a half too short. Like, that annoying shows-off-your-belly-in-the-way-you-thought-was-coy-in-highschool-but-you’re-not-in-highschool-anymore sort of way. I’ve worn it with a longer tee or tank underneath, and tucked it into high waisted skirts, but it was time to make a permanent change. What better than to add a light weight floor length skirt to make a cool and comfortable maxi dress?

Here’s the before. (before ironing, before picking up the living room, before waiting for daylight to take photos…)

I cut off the arms, because I wanted short sleeves for the summer, and so I could use the material for the waist band. I also cut the hem off to my natural waistline, just a couple inches.

I cut the seam off of each sleeve, then cut one of them in half. I turned the stripes vertical (like on this skirt) and stitched each piece, RST onto the bottom of the tee. After the front and back pieces were sewn on, I stitched down the side seams.

I measured the center front, and added two small button holes where I threaded the tie.

Who knows where I picked up this micro striped cotton/lycra knit. Probably on a sale table somewhere. I was happy to finally find a fun use for it! I measured the waistband of the shirt, and my height from natural waist to the floor, then cut a simple a-line skirt and stitched down the side seams.

I decided to use the vertical stripe waistband as the casing for the tie, so I turned the skirt inside out, stuffed the shirt inside, matched up side seams, and stitched it onto the seam of the shirt and the waistband. That left the bottom of the waistband unstitched.

This is how it looked after the skirt and shirt were stitched together. There is probably a much easier way to do this, but this worked just great:)

Then I just turned the end of the waistband under, and zig-zag stitched it to the skirt, leaving a nice casing for the tie. I made the tie with the other cut-off sleeve by placing right sides together and stitching around the edge, leaving a small hole in the center to turn in right side out. Then I stuck a safety pin on it, thread it through the casing, and was finished! I just left the sleeves and skirt raw edged, since it’s knit and won’t fray. Gotta love that.

The best thing about a dress is that it is a whole outfit in one. Add a cool, hand-stamped necklace from Pretty Little Me and I am good to go. About as low maintenance as it gets (without walking around in sweatpants.)(which I sometimes do.)(this is much cuter.)

So, there ya have it! An old tee shirt, a yard of knit fabric, and a quiet evening after the kids are asleep. Good luck and enjoy!

PinExt Tie Waist Tee Maxi Dress Refashion

Posted in: DIY, Fashion, For Me, Project Repurpose, Sew, Sewing DIY

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May

Happy Birthday, Husband

Yep, this is a birthday week at our house! I brought Milo home from the hospital on Dave’s birthday, and he still thinks it was the best birthday present ever. (Although the awesome bicycle shorts I got him this year are a close rival;))

I figured making Birthday Tee‘s for Dad and Mom as well as the kiddos will be fun. I would have loved to see a photo of my own dad every year on his birthday while I was growing up. The few photos I have seen only leave me wishing for more (sideburns and denim vests, need I say more?) Dave’s Birthday Tee already fits (er…will once I wash and dry it on hot…), but will still be a great constant over the years to come.

I love celebrating Dave. He turned 26 about 2 months after we started dating (6 years ago now…weird!), and I threw a funny little corn-dog-themed surprise party for him. I love this series of photos someone took as he made a wish that year. (His pleased-with-himself face in the middle photo makes me laugh!) I think we knew then that we were going to spend our lives together.

We have fit into each other’s lives perfectly since the start. You want to know why? Because Dave is such a good man. Simple as that. He is perfectly honest, fiercely loyal, surprisingly funny, quietly confident, openly understanding, and completely wonderful. He makes up for all I lack. I couldn’t ask for more.

Happy Birthday to my love, who anchors me to a good, solid, happy life regardless of the highs and lows of circumstance. Here’s to many many many more.

Posted in: Birthdays, Dave and Miranda

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May

Milo is Three and The Birthday Tee

My firstborn is THREE today! That’s insane. I love the crazy awesome little boy that he has become.

We’re enjoying celebrating all day today, and I wanted to show you one of the fun ideas I had for him: The Birthday Tee.

I guess I have a thing for charting timelines with tee shirts. I bought him and XL Men’s shirt (that he will eventually grow into) and freezer paper stenciled “Happy Birthday to Me” (with a pretty cute birthday candle “i”) on the front and his name on the back. Then, this morning with a Sharpie we drew his “3″ on the front and took some birthday photos! The plan is to do the same every year and watch as little Milo grows up, year by year, in the same tee shirt!

I’m sure that some years will be easier than others to make this happen. I foresee monetary bribes, that will totally be worth it. This year all he needed for a bribe was an M&M cupcake. Easy Peasy.

And now, and interview with the Birthday Boy (thanks Chelsea, for the idea!)

Me: Milo, Can I ask you some questions?

Milo Yeah. About what?

Me: How does it feel to be three-years-old?

Milo: What? Look, Cupcake!! (pointing at the computer screen)

Me: What’s been your favorite part of your birthday?

Milo: (yelling) WEEOW TRUCK!

Me: Oh, the fire truck?

Milo: Yeah.

Me: So, Milo, what’s your favorite color?

Milo: Green

Me:What’s your favorite food?

Milo: Spaghetti

Me: Who’s your best friend?

Milo: Christian

Me: Milo, what do you want to be when you grow up?

Milo: I, uh, I wanna…what was it?

Me: What do you want to do when you are bigger?

Milo: Uh, I…(turns on fire truck siren and looks away)

Me: What do you like to do for fun?

Milo: PODOS.

Me: What? Podos?

Milo: Yeah, Podos.

Me: What is that?

Milo: Shoulders. (Putting hands on his shoulders) My shoulders.

Me: Okay. So, what is your favorite toy that you have?

Milo: Holds up his new fire extinguisher

Me: Your fire extinguisher?

Milo: Yeah. It goes with my fire truck. Mom, I want you to ask me a question again.

Me: Okay.

Milo: I want you to ask me a question again. AGAIN! (walks into the kitchen and climbs up onto the chair.)

Me: What are you doing?

Milo: I want a BANANA!

Me: Oh, okay, you want a banana. Eat it in the dining room.

Milo: What the dining room is?

Me: It’s over here where the table and the rug is.

Milo: Oh, where that rug is?

Me: yep. Okay. Where do we live?

Milo:We live in Zandria, with Andrea. (our neighbor’s name is Andrea…well, was. They just moved)

Me: What is you very favorite thing to eat

Milo: I said, Spaghetti!

Me: What do you not like to eat

Milo: I don’t wanna eat chocolate cake!

Me: You don’t want to eat chocolate cake? I thought you liked chocolate cake?

Milo: Yeah, I like Chocolate cake.

Me: Well, what do you not like to eat?

Milo: I don’t want to eat Spaghetti!! Haha. No, I don’t wanna eat Pooh Pooh, that’s yucky.

Me: You’re right, that’s yucky.

Milo: Yah de de dwa dee, ya dede dee dah dee, I neenamotee

Me: What is cool?

Milo: Oh pa de dewo dodos

Me: Use words I understand. What is cool?

Milo: Doing like a Rainbow!

Me: A rainbow is cool?

Milo: Yeah.

Me: What is your favorite snack?

Milo: My favorite snack is crackers. Crackers and panana…

Me: What is your favorite animal?

Milo: Favorite animal is a COW! Haha, cow and a sheep, padee da dee bodo

Me: What things do you love?

Milo: Hey, Mommy, look! (sits down next to his Madagascar 2 DVD case and examines it.)

Me: So, are you done talking to me?

Milo: (walks out on the porch.)

Me: (yelling to the porch) So, Milo, how does it feel to be three?

Milo: Uh oh mommy. Something fell down.

Me: Did you throw something over the edge?

Milo: Yeah. Gotta go get it.

Me: Yep.

So, I guess that concludes my interview! We’re off to retrieve the fallen object and head to the park. Happy Birthday to my boy!

PinExt Milo is Three and The Birthday Tee

Posted in: Uncategorized

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Apr

Spring Clothing Swap

Hi there! My weekend was filled with congratulations and high fives from people who had followed along with the Sewvivor competition. It was fun. I felt a little sheepish, but so loved, and that feels good. I spent a little time browsing all of the sponsors shops to get ideas about what I’d like to claim with the prize credits I won. Shopping for free is pretty cool, right?!

Here’s a way you ALL can get a chance to shop for free, and you won’t even have to MAKE anything with what you take home: A Clothing Swap!! If you’ve been reading this blog for a little while, you’ll remember that I hosted a fall clothing swap back last year. Everyone loved it so much, I decided to pull together another one. The change of seasons is a perfect time to go through and weed out those unwanted, unworn clothes and trade them for things you will actually wear!

Hosting is really simple. I sent an email to a few good friends, inviting them to bring unwanted, clean clothes on hangers. Pants, shorts, shoes and jewelry end up on the floor. Having the tops and dresses on hangers just makes it much easier to look through. It is nice if everyone is similar sizes, but part of why people get rid of clothes is because they are too big or too small, so it can work with a variety of sizes as well. Once everyone is there, and the clothes are all arranged, the swap begins. I discuss the details in this post, but I’ll do a quick review:

1. Cut several colors of yarn or string into 6″ pieces, give each person 10 of one color

2. Browse for 5-10 minutes, tying a string onto the pieces that you want

3. At the end of the time, go through giving out the pieces. If there is more than one string on something, put the two strings into a bowl and draw for the winner

4. Repeat, repeat, repeat, until everyone is satisfied

5. Take the piles (and piles, and piles) of leftover clothes to donate

Here’s some of the ladies in their finds. Check out those sweet polka dot platforms!

I hosted this swap in our apartment’s storage room, because my living room is just a tad small for all of the people and their clothes. It worked out great, in a garage or back yard would work wonderfully as well.

I think Maren made out pretty well with this chartreuse silk skirt and navy patterned top. Someone’s trash became her super stylish outfit!

I used old fabric bolt rods, tied to the pipes with twine, as hanging rods. They worked just fine:) I also brought down a full-length mirror so we could see how we looked in the duds. Sometimes, how the items fit became the tipping point for who got to take them home.

Even my two pregnant friends found some things that they loved, both for now and later. I took home a couple sweet pairs of well-fitting jeans (so hard to shop for, yet these were delivered right to me!), these patent leather peep toe platforms, and two great tops. And I got rid of several bags of unworn clothes. We decided to send our leftover clothing to the Young Women in our church before it went to Goodwill. They got to sort through and pick out whatever they liked. How awesome would that have been as a teenager!

A clothing swap could be a perfect place to gather items to refashion. I have plenty of that on my own, so I was just looking for things I loved and would wear often. That’s just what I found! I promise it’s not hard to put a quick clothing swap together. Your friends (and your closet) will love you for it!

Posted in: DIY, Fashion, Good Ideas

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Apr

I Sew-Vived!

After linking up my entry on a whim in February, being picked for the top ten, then spending this whole last month cranking out a competition entry each week , today the Sewvivor Results were announced…and I won! Aahhh!

It has been an amazing journey with lots of crazy unexpected twists, late nights of sewing, feeling totally nervous all day on voting days, and best of all, great new friendships. I feel very blessed to have had the chance to get to know the other contestants, and the host Rachel. They are all really talented, awesome girls that I hope to work more with in the future.

I really appreciate all the support and love I received from you guys, my family, and friends. Your comments made me smile, your votes helped me stay in it! I really pushed myself creatively, and learned some new things along the way that have made me a better seamstress and (hopefully) a better person.

Here’s a quick look back at the rounds:

Judge Inspired: I made the Summer Chevron Dress (tutorial here)

Recycled or Repurposed: I made these Sweater Sleeve Hand Puppets

Sew for Someone Else: I made Emmy a Stylish, Comfy Maternity outfit

Anything with Pleats: I made a dress and clutch with Stripes, Leather, Fringe, and Pleats

Whew! Wears me out all over again! But how fun.

I’m going to take a little break from sewing today and spend the morning at the letterpress studio (making time for my second favorite hobby:))

I hope you all have a really awesome weekend, filled with the things you love most!

xoxo

Posted in: Sew, Sewvivor

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Apr

Stripes, Leather, Fringe, and PLEATS: Sewvivor Final Round

Today is the day, folks! The voting for the final round of the Sewvivior sewing competition is open, and I need your vote right now!! After you check out my entry for this week, please please please head over to VOTE HERE. Thank you!

I am so excited to reveal my project for the final round: Make Something with PLEATS!

I love pleats (see here and here and here). They are classic and versatile, and when paired with the right material, really make a statement. My entry for this week pairs a classic pleated silhouette with an unexpected striped fabric. And I made a clutch. Out of leather. With a tassel. I’m pretty much in love.

When I saw this striped cream and tan cotton upholstery fabric on my daycation to Charlottesville a couple months ago, I immediately knew it would need to become a dress with a wide box pleated skirt. At that point I had entered Sewvivor, but didn’t yet know I would be competing, let alone in the final round! This week’s challenge gave the perfect opportunity to create the dress I was designing in my mind. Horizontal stripes on the skirt, front panel of the bodice, and sleeves…

Vertical stripes on the sides and back of the bodice, just for fun!

I created the pattern from scratch, draping onto my dress form to make the pieces fit together just right. I took great detail to align everything just so. The stripes on the front continue seamlessly onto the skirt (no…actually there is a seam there, but the colors continue seamlessly;)) The cream stripes on the side front panels, meet the cream stripes on the back panel, allowing the stripes to continue around the bodice and the cream stripe to fall exactly center on the back.

The horizontal stripes on the sleeves are inverted colors to the bodice, mainly because I was dealing with scraps of my one single yard of fabric at that point, and that’s how they fit, but I think I would have chosen that regardless, because I love how the cream of the sleeve meets the tan of the shoulder, continuing the stripe there, as well. And how about elbow-length sleeves? I love them, and they’re so rare to find.

Aligning the pleats to the exact center on the front and back was a little trickier than I planned. I finally unpicked both sides seams, pinned them in place, sewed the separate pieces to the bodice, then went back down the side seams. I used my stripe matching skills to align the stripes on the skirt exactly. Oh, and of course I added fun pockets. Thought the dress could use a little polka dot with all that stripe!

Making the clutch was a totally new experience for me. I had never attempted more than a simple tote bag, and never used leather with my sewing machine! I used this pattern, which turned out to be really clearly laid out and easier to follow than I expected. The soft, calf-skin suede that I used was fun to work with, and I love the texture. It’s dreamy. I lined the clutch, including the little interior iPhone pocket (for real-the exact dimensions of an iPhone!) with a vintage floral linen that I bought a couple years ago at the Alameda Flea Market. No project has seemed special enough to use it on, until now!

Possibly my very favorite part of the clutch is the long fringe tassel that I made for the zipper pull. I had just enough leather left over after the clutch to slice into strips, and roll up into this funky tassel.

(Earrings: c/o Pretty Little Me, Necklace: made by me, Belt: J.Crew, Shoes: Bakers, borrowed from a friend)

So, what do you think? I’m going to go ahead and declare this my favorite project of the competition, and possibly two of my favorite things I’ve ever made for myself. So, regardless of today’s outcome, I am a winner.

(but seriously, I really do want to ACTUALLY win, so head over and VOTE!! and feel free to share on twitter, facebook, text, etc to invite others to vote as well!! I’ll take all the help I can get. Thank you!)

P.S. a HUGE thank you to my dear family for being so supportive throughout these last four crazy busy weeks! Of the little time Dave and I have together on the weekends, he played babysitter and (awesome) photographer so I could prepare my entries. The kiddos got to tag along for the fun…

And hey, now we know this dress can handle mom-potty-training-toddler duty as well as jeans and a tee can!

Okay, NOW go VOTE!!

PinExt Stripes, Leather, Fringe, and PLEATS: Sewvivor Final Round

Posted in: For Me, Sew, Sewvivor

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Apr

Eliot hits double digits!

I blinked my eyes and Eliot turned 10 months. He is wonderful, and as cliche as it may be, I can’t remember life without him! I don’t know many babies with as sweet a temperament. This boy is content 98% of the time. He sits and plays by himself, which is totally new to me because Milo never did (and still doesn’t) like to be by himself. He smiles and giggles easily, and man oh man, what a snuggler. I love nuzzling into his chubby neck and hearing him squeal with delight. He’s got both bottom teeth, and his two top incisors broke through this week, bringing with them lots and lots of congestion. I bet he’s going to be so thrilled to have more chompers, though, because this kid can eat. Seriously, he eats whatever we are having (rice, noodles, meat, veggies, chips, seafood, cheese, etc.) and about as much as me. Not kidding. For lunch today he had 3 chicken nuggets, half a corn on the cob, a hand full of grapes and a cookie. Despite his bottomless stomach, he’s still hovering around 50% for both height and weight.

He began really truly crawling the day before his doctors appointment two weeks ago. Now he cruises all over the place. This last week, he really started pulling up to standing…on everything. I love to see him making such great developmental progress. And he seems to know that he’s got to practice his standing to get ready to walk. He pulls right up, lets go and tries to balance for a couple seconds, then sits down. Over and over and over.

Of course, that means that instead of just Milo being into everything in the whole house, now I’ve got double mess making potential. Somehow it’s really cute and endearing when Eliot takes things out. I love seeing what toys and books catch his eye.

The other night I was making dinner and Dave called out for me to come see what Eliot was up to. He had pulled himself to standing at the toilet and had wrapped his arm into the bowl to keep stable (luckily Milo is good at flushing!) Then with the other hand, he was slowly unrolling the toilet paper into a little pile! Such a classic toddler mess…being made by my baby. Hilarious.

I gave both boys little haircuts on Saturday, and Eliot’s ended up a cute kiwi cut. I rarely go to the trouble of styling it, but a little lotion on Sunday morning made a pretty adorable mohawk. I might have gotten a little emotional when I realized it was his 10 month day. Eliot has always seemed more like a little baby to me than Milo did. I think it’s because when I see them side-by-side, Eliot is the baby. I didn’t have a measuring stick for Milo. I love that even though our life is much busier than it has been in the past, I still feel like I have some real quality experiences with Eliot. He is adaptable, calm, curious and wonderful.

I’m a happy mama.

Posted in: Baby Eliot

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