Oliver & S Kimono Set for Two.

I finally finished Nicolas’ PJ set.  I just love this pattern.  I finished it in less then 2 hours.  It is amazing how fast and how much better I sew during the day, when the kids are not around.  I dropped Olivia off today at daycare and decided that I deserve some sewing time.  I completed the pants, and almost finished the top before the 2.5 hours were over.  The fabric is so nice to work with, and such an excellent quality flannel.  Seriously, when you see some Flannel sheets on sale at Target, grab them.  You can make at least six pairs of pajamas out of a Queen size set.  Here are some more pictures, and before I forget to mention it, Nicolas was hit by a swing this weekend.  It gave him  several bloody noses and a very fat lip.  The poor baby.  It could have been so much worse, but that explains his face in these pictures.  By the way, Olivia is feeling better.  I have been wracking my brain trying to figure out why she has been so cranky, and has had a runny nose for the last two months.  I finally decided Friday morning that I was not going to feed her anymore Zyrtec.  She had nine ear infections last year, so we have kept her on the Zyrtec to protect her from ear infections.  Well believe it or not, she is a completely different child.  I replaced the Zyrtec with Benadryl, and she has been so happy, and so loveable, that we can hardly believe it.  Even my friends are just in awe at this 180 degree turn she took.  I hope it was not a coincidence.  I hope we solved our little problem of crankiness, clinginess and whininess.  Her nose stopped running on Saturday afternoon.  Coincidence.  Whatever.  I will take it.

I wish I had more to show you, but all I keep reading in all these lovely blogs is that nothing is going on.  I guess we are all “inbetween seasons”.  It is really hard to sew summer things, when the temperature is still around the freezing mark.  It just has to warm up soon.

New Look 6692

 

The pattern was easy, and I have made this type of dress so many times.  I decided to line the dress, so I had to make some minor changes to the pattern and the way I put it together.  Other then that, it fits perfectly, and has a cute shape.   I love the fabric, and wanted to make something out of it as soon as I could.  It matches perfectly to the Vilka velour pants I made a few weeks ago.  This is a size Medium.

What a lovely day!

Spent the day cleaning, working on my taxes and finally taking a nice trip to the park with the kids.  We had fun.  The weather was chilly, but perfect for two little ones to run around.  I am afraid that both of the kids have the flu again.  Nicolas is almost over it, but Olivia started on Friday night with the fever.  Running around the park sure did keep their mind off of how they were feeling, and the fresh air did all of us good.  My husband and I spent the entire trip running after Olivia while she walked through this big maze of wooden beams that led to slides, bridges and tunnels.  Everytime she reached a slide, she would begin to cry, and one of us had to become a kid again and rescue her.  Fun!  We left late, ate dinner late, and got the kids to bed late, but it was worth it.  Now I am off to finish another project and will probably post pictures tonight.

Ottobre Wraparound Tee Modelled

I could hardly wait to see if the wraparound tee fit her, so first thing this morning I tried it on.  Forgive the unmade bed please.  The Tee was a bit big.  I think a size 68 would probably fit better.  The sleeves were about an inch too long, and the shoulder seam extended beyond the shoulder about 1/4″.  Good, at least this will fit in fall.

 

Ottobre Blumenhose #12 1/2004

 

Oh, I did not like this pattern at all.  Talk about a flop from beginning to end.  First of all, when I finished tracing the pattern, I could tell it was too wide, so I immediately took off about 1/2″ in width.  Then it was too short so I added an 1 inch in length.  However, it ended up being too short anyways, so I took off the ruffle and added a 3 inch piece of red jeans fabric.  In the end, I still did not like the way this pant looked.  There is way too much fabric in the front (and Olivia still wears a diaper) hip area, too much width overall, and it was too short.  Yes, I did cut out the right size.  I am not going to use this pattern again, and hopefully will find another pattern that is more suitable for my needs.  Thank goodness, Oma just bought her a pair of jeans at Janie and Jack.  The fit on those pants is great.  

Ottobre Winter 2004 #3 and Ottobre Winter 2008

 

I finally got around to sewing for the little one, and finished it yesterday. 

I was hoping to add some embroidery to the finished garment, but I did not get the file emailed to me until this morning.  Too Late.  
The pants were from the latest issue Winter 2008 – Size 74. 

Since she is 72cm, I was hoping that they would fit, but as usual they are a bit big. 

Ottobre just makes everything very wide, so I need to take in the width on everything I make. 

The length of the crotch and the pants fit very nice. 

So I decided to make a top that was long.  

 did not want a tight fitting tee, because she has a bloated stomach everytime she eats. 

I used the pattern from Winter 2004 #3, and altered the front. 

I love the way it turned out.  It is a nice dress. 

 I will probably make it again, and shorten the top, and take in the width. 

I will also open the neck in the back and add a button for easy access.  It is a cute outfit, and as soon as the weather warms up I will have some modelled pictures.

Here is some more inspiration from

One thing at a time….

I have been trying to paint my sewing room for a few months, however I could never find the perfect moment.  I knew I would have to move everything out of the room, and set things up in the hallway and the dining room, etc. to make sure that I  everything is done right.   The room needs paint due to the many holes I managed to put in the walls.  I’m sorry, but I love to move my furniture, and with it the pictures, shelves, etc…..  in the process alot of holes are usually inevitable.  I am glad that it came to this, because the color I chose for the room really warmed it up.  I think once I put the curtains up, and the shelf, as well as a few other things on the walls, it will look adorable.  I am looking forward to sewing again.  The itch got a hold of me this weekend, and I could not wait to finish up the room.   As soon as I am finished I will put the pictures up on my blog.   I am sure it will take a few days, since everything else in my life has been put on the backburner while I was doing this.  This was fun, and although I have a pink room and a yellow room, which is not the best thing for selling a house, I love the colors.

My model loved the mess we created, and managed to find a few things that made us laugh.

This was fun, and although I have a pink room and a yellow room, which is not the best thing when it comes time to sell the house, I do love the colors.

LOST IN SPACE!!!!

Seriously, I have been without internet for the last three days, and that was truly terrible.  I caught myself walking up to my computer almost every 10 minutes.  I knew right then, that I had a problem.  Thank goodness, it was not as bad as when I had to quit smoking.  I managed to stop my bad habit within 24 hours. 

So, my weekend was just a whirlwind.  My air conditioner quit on Friday afternoon (3:00pm of course).  I did manage to get someone out to the house by 7:00pm.  Then my internet quit on me the next day.  My entire modem went dead!  I have never been without internet access for this long – not ever! Scary!  Then Olivia got sick and threw up after dinner.  Is there anything else?  Well yes……

 – I managed to clean my outside windows on one side of my house.

– Clean up and change my sewing room to better suit my new needs.

– Rearrange my furniture in the living room to deep clean my house.

– Finish three garments for clients.

– Finish a bubble for a dedication (?).

Client Bubble

Close up of Bubble

 

 

Tomorrow my mother arrives, and when she does everything in my life comes to halt.  My Etsy shop will be closed.  I don’t sew, and I won’t blog.  It is time to relax and enjoy the one thing in my life that taught me everything I know….my best friend……My mother.  I only get to see her twice a year, and all my energy goes into spending time with her and the kids.  So hope everyone does alot of blogging, so I can read all about it when I get back.

Ottobre Blumenhose and New Look 6576 Update

I could not wait to put the outfit on Olivia to test the fit of both the top and the pants.   The pants were way too big.  I added the waistband as a seperate piece to extend the crotch length, however that was a mistake.  The crotch length is too long. 

By not adding the seam allowances, I changed the curve of the crotch, which probably caused the pants to look so big.  Next time I will make a size 62 and extend the length of the crotch and the leg.    This should make the pants narrower. 

Conclusion:  I love the Ottobre patterns, but I must say that I am a bit tired of making all these changes.  Whenever I use a Big4 pattern, I just go down one size and it fits perfectly.  The only problem is the style they offer.  It is always the same.  I love the European flair you see with Ottobre patterns.  I wish Vogue would make children’s patterns.  I never had these problems with Nicolas because he was a chubby little child.  If I had to go down one size it fit him perfectly.  Olivia is skinny and small.  I am always guessing what size to put her in.

New Look 6576

I have had this dress finished for over 6 weeks now.  I just have not found the time to make the matching pants.  This is a cute A-line jumper/tunic/romper that I had collected before Olivia was born.  I cut out a size Small for weight 13-18 pounds, and probably should have cut out a size Medium.  It fits, but not for long.  Easy to sew, and I really like the fit.  Instead of sewing the romper with facings, I decided to double the front and back pattern pieces, and sew them together like I learned from Martha Pullen.  I added the front pocket.

What’s going on?

Whats going on?……..

Well, alot right now.  I’ve been busy taking care of my baby, who had tubes put into her ears this week.  Thank goodness for our great hospital and its’ staff that always welcomes us with smiles.  I really like West Florida Hospital.  When you park your car there, you have to walk quite a distance, but inbetween the parking lot and the hospital is a beautiful pond.  They put a pond with ducks, fish and turtles right there to entertain the patients, the kids and the staff.  It is a perfect place to sit and relax.  My kids love it, and so do I.  It gives me two minutes of interruption from the constant whining I hear in the car about visiting the doctors office.  On this particuliar morning, the ducks were not hiding from the sun (5:30am), but laying all over the grass.  Olivia put out her hand, and the ducks came waddling behind us.  She was so happy watching them, and trying to pet them, that it made me forget what we were about to embark on.  Everything went well, and it was all over in less then three hours.  One of the  reasons we were doing this, was because she was not yet speaking.  I have not heard the words “Mama” or “Dada” since she was born, and she was way overdue.  The nurses told me that she will hear much better within hours after the operation, and I was praying that it will make a significant difference in her speech.  Well, later on that evening, I was explaining the same story to DH about the ducks, and used the words “Quack Quack Quack”.  She came up behind me and muttered the words “bak, bak, bak”.  YIPPEE! 

Since the operation, she has been babbling alot.  It has taken 3 days of fussiness, nautiousness, and being tired to finally come out of her gas induced coma, but all is well again.  I enjoyed the time spent with her.   

Other then that, I have been receiving alot of Euro fabrics from Sara.  They are so beautiful, and I cannot wait to get going on some beautiful projects with them.  Of course, I do think that most of them will have to wait until next year, because noone wants to buy summer clothes anymore.  Although the heat is still on, the colors everywhere reflect fall.  Here are some pictures of the goodies I got.

 

Lovely goodies that remind me of what good quality fabric is all about.  To continue on the topic of fabric, I took the kids to Hobby Lobby today.  Thank goodness they have alot of other things besides fabric, so I can entertain everyone.  My son loves their train sections, and my daughter loves the bead sections.  Of course both them, love the Christmas decorations.  Yes, the Xmas section is already up.  Pretty pathetic if you ask me.  How do you explain to a four year old that Christmas is still 5 months away.  “Don’t bother” would be the correct answer.  They had a great sale on Seersuckers, so I grabbed a few for some baby JonJons for boys.  I assume the pink seersucker will make some cute pants for Olivia among other things.

Oh, I also found some long sought after curtain material for my brite pink baby room.  I mean how do find something to match this?Well I did at Trendyfabrics.  It is a white pique with large pink and dark pink polka dots. The picture is dark, but it really does work.  I am sure the fabric will look stunning.

Last but not least, I spoiled myself again with two new japanese books.  The first one is another favorite.  The second one is just as charming.  I am addicted to these books.  I find the patterns to be simplistic and elegant.  I love the pictures as much as I love the fabrics.  I guess the entire book – photographs, fabric, girls, and patterns – are just perfect.  At least I feel that way now.  My only problem is that Olivia does not fit into any of the patterns yet.  That has not stopped me from making the patterns, however I would enjoy them more if I could sew for my child and not someone else’s.

Oh, I almost forgot.  I was nominated by Lori for a  award.  I am honored that she enjoys my blog and my blog and pictures.  I know I certainly enjoy reading hers.  Thank you Lori.

If only I could keep my eye’s open past 10:00pm, and sew to my hearts content throughout the night.  Aah, the peace and quiet of just listening to my sewing machine and the frogs.