New Fabrics

There was a sale on knits and since I just made a successful wearable muslin for Aurora (Seamwork Magazine issue no. 7) and also a less than wearable muslin for Maria Denmark's kimono tee I needed some inexpensive knits to muslin up some more stuff. Of course I also ordered some 1 yard chunks for more Auroras... I love this pattern!

My wearable muslin is from a knit with a great pattern but horrible recovery so it grows as I wear it through the day. I decided for the next version I needed to lower the armholes a tad and take out some

of the width in the hem (like, 3 inches!). Also I want to reposition the shoulder straps so they are closer to my neck. I really prefer tank straps that way. I'll need to reshape the yoke in order to make that happen but I think I can hack it. That will be wearable (hopefully) muslin no. 2.

I got a rayon silk jersey because I wanted to try it out. It's rather thin and slinky but it does feel lovely. I'm not sure that it will work as a t-shirt (on me) but maybe something drapey like a loose cardigan. I also got some cotton-poly open sweater knit. Not sure what I'll do with that either. Probably a cardi but maybe some kind of double layered skirt? For real warmth and layering I always wear wool cardis. They are cooler in warm weather and warmer in the cold (than cotton of the same weight) so they're great at transitioning between indoor and outdoor temperatures or as the temperature goes up during the day. However for those times when I need something to just basically cover my shoulders and upper arms (when a tank might not be appropriate or I want to dress something up) then I use the thin lacy sweater knits, etc.

One yard of a red striped pattern on dark blue. Not a pattern I'm usually into but it was way on sale and I'm willing to try new things.





A darkish green spandex cotton knit for a t-shirt. It's more army green than I wanted but it's ok.







White hearts on dark blue for a second Aurora. At this point I have 10 tanks or so, 2 of which are me-made and all but one of them are black or dark blue. I really have to switch it up. Of course now that I've found Aurora I'm going to make a million and ditch the ill fitting RTW tanks so new colors should be coming.










And heathered brown cotton blend jersey. It's not as soft as the heathered teal cotton blend I got last month but it's not too bad. It's mostly for muslins anyhow although if one turns out wearable this is certainly a color I would wear.

I also got some linen swatches.

I have this problem that, because I'm always reading about sewing, I am constantly getting new ideas and getting excited about new fabrics. I originally wrote linen off because it has a tendency to grow. That would be problematic for pants or a fitted dress but for a loose summer top (and that is what I'm into right now) it's kind of ok. After all, I'm wearing that growing Aurora tank and I'm not pissed at it by the end of the day! I've been trying to find some fabric with both drape and heft. So I got these lovely swatches. The dark purple is Kaufman Washer Linen, a rayon-linen blend that is highly recommended by a blogger I read. The indigo is Kaufman Essex Linen, a cotton-linen blend. It doesn't have that much drape so I'm less crazy about it. The Aloe and the Beet fabrics are pure European linen. They also have less drape although I think more than the Essex. The striped fabric is a cotton-linen blend with tons of drape and a super soft hand. I looooove it and will make a tank out of it soon. I'm thinking about making a longish tank based on Megan Nielsen's Eucalypt tank and dress but hacked to provide more shape.

For the less drapey linens I'm going to try this salt water soak from Onawa Designs to see if I can't soften them up. I know she says it can fade colors but testing is what swatches are for!

Either way, I have made a rule that I'm not allowed to buy more fabric until I sew up my pattern assigned fabric stash... unless one of the fabrics I want is on major sale, or I go fabric shopping with my mom, or I visit Stitch Lab again. But I'm really going to try hard. Now that our room swap is done and I have my new sewing space put back together and more time (especially if it keeps raining and I can't work in the garden) I think the sewing will get done.

linings for the capes

In the queue is:

- the adorable Forest Path Cape by Oliver + S for 2 of Small's friends out of the super-on-sale wool hounds tooth coating I got this fall.
- Colette's newest patter (Aster) which I got super excited about late one night and bought during the pre-sale. The moss colored shot cloth I keep switching project plans with is currently scheduled for that.
- Sewaholic's Hollyburn skirt which I'm going to make up in a crane printed quilting cotton I've had for a while.
- Aberdeen and Sydney are also in the cue, both made up in some fabric I already had but didn't know what to sew into.
- And there is going to be a quick and simple bag with a very old short piece of grey something or other and that half yard of orange print fabric I bought a a few months ago.
- Also I have the floral rayon linen for the Betsy skirt, a length of black spandex jersey with great recovery, probably for a wiggle skirt, and a few shorter lengths to mock up some woven tanks with until I find one I love.

fabric for Small's car shirt

- Car shirt and car shorts I promised Small (also Oliver + S patterns).

When I have sewn all that I am allowed to buy new fabric!

Oh, and I also need to make some black-out curtains for both bedrooms and some cafe curtains for one of them.

New Farbrics

I swatched a ton of fabrics so I'd be able to make quick decisions and then get the fabric here as soon as I am ready to start a garment in order to take advantage of my limited sewing time. I pinned the swatches and some images of patterns and inspiration to a curtain that acts as one of the closet doors in my sewing room. It's kind of like a billowy bulletin board.  One of the fabrics that was on my short list for a low yardage shirt (because it is pricy!) is this Liberty lawn (which, confusingly, seemed to go from in stock and reorderable to unavailable forever very quickly).

The other day, tempted to buy some chocolate flocked silk chiffon that was the "special of the day" from Mood, I was browsing and saw what appeared to be the Liberty lawn I had my eye on listed as "multi colored floral printed cotton voile". I pulled out my swatch and they are the exact same pattern only this fabric was nearly a third of the price! So I ordered a few yards for a future top. It turns out that it is the same pattern but a slightly different colorway... less pastel and more saturated jewel tones which I actually like much better. I don't know what the deal is but maybe some other Liberty fabrics will make an
appearance incognito at Mood. We can hope!

In which I once again am reminded not to be a jerk

I don't know why I need constant reminders not to be a jerk. You'd think that one of these days, maybe, I would learn that lesson and it would stick. I suspect the truth is that I am one of natures jackasses. But I haven't given up! I strive to be nicer and it's helpful that I'm married to a man who's superpower is empathy. Some of my friends have that superpower too and usually keep me in line by gently pointing out that I'm being a jerk. Again.

Anyhow, the other day I was talking with a friend about how our toddlers say these crazy and confrontational things. For example her daughter, when walking past a smoker, dramatically coughs and gags and says "smoking is so bad for you" or the like. My friend, being a non-confrontational person, tries to gently and quietly say "yes, you're right but we don't need to make a scene". She said her husband on the other hand says (at normal volume) things like "you are absolutely right! Smoking is completely disgusting!"

Small has taken to saying things like "we never ever eat candy because it is soooo bad for you" and I have traditionally responded rather like my friend's husband and said "you are absolutely right! candy is a totally unnecessary food and it will make you less healthy so we don't eat it" regardless of who hears me.

And here is my latest reminder of why I am (constantly) in the wrong. This piece in Huffington Post is about explaining to privileged kids what it means to be working poor. It's only tangentially related to the conversation my friend and I were having but it talks about food deserts and that reminded me that I have no idea why people make the food choices they do. I can say "well there's never a reason for candy" but if I try (if I use the empathy I often neglect to employ!) I can come up with all kinds of reasons why giving that kid a piece of candy is the compassionate thing. Maybe he has a rough time and not much food and yes, candy doesn't help with that, but maybe it provides a little brightness. Maybe he has major food allergies and the usual, more acceptable, maybe more nutritious treats are off limits and that candy makes him feel normal and included. Or maybe the parent is creating an off-the-wall sugar monster who is going to grow up with a craving for sweets and no taste for nutritious foods who will be diabetic by 35 but the point is I have no idea what is going on!

Non-judgement is always the appropriate response but I can't seem to remember that from one week to the next. I'm not going to lie to Small. We will explain the reasoning for our food choices because we want him to understand. I might even think that others, in general, would be better off if they ate food like us. But I shouldn't judge others for the choices they make because that way lies all the bad things. Life (and parenthood) is hard enough without me making others feel bad about the things they do.


And speaking of regular reminders, Zen Shorts by Jon J Muth is one of my favorite books ever and I feel like I should probably read it daily to become a better person. It's the story of three siblings and their new friend Stillwater (a panda). Each child's interaction with Stillwater provokes him to tell a story and each story is a beautiful nugget of wisdom about how to live a contented life. So lovely.

More Sewing Things and the Weather

I went to Joann's yesterday hoping to find some inexpensive cotton voile (or any voile actually) to make muslins out of and I thought maybe I'd pick up some voile, lawn, and chambray to use in my final garments. I've been swatching gorgeous, fine cloth from various online sources but a few less expensive basics would not come amiss. 

Yall, the amount of polyester in that store is out of control. 

If you are a lover of polyester clothing then I envy you. If I felt comfortable in polyester my wardrobe would be easier and cheaper. Alas that is not the case. Anyhow, I really couldn't find any fabrics, synthetic or otherwise, that I thought would mock up with the drape similar to the fabrics I'm planning to order for my final garments (I am in love with this one, this one, and this one for starters and this one is going to be used for a small yardage project because extra pricy!). So I ended up buying the finest muslin I could find and calling it a plan. I also found these:

A light smooth tealish green gingham in the sale section with just shy of 2 yards on it. I don't know what I'll do with this yet. 

Also this linen/rayon blend (45/55 or was it 55/45?) which I'm going to make into a skirt. Hopefully it works out. My experience with rayon is that it shrinks a ton (I'll pre wash it of course) and stretches like crazy. And of course linen has a growing nature as well so we'll see. I decided to risk it because I love the print! Let's just deal with those colors for a moment. I could wear any color shirt with a skirt made from this. 

The moss shot cloth for the Ashland tunic

I also had a 50% off all regularly priced notions coupon which was very helpful. Not only did I find the perfect match for the green shot cloth in those expensive tiny Gutterman spools but I then got them half off. Also stocked up on needles because now that I'm doing this sewing thing for real I plan to approach it professionally which means changing the needles after each project. There were lots of other notions in the basket including a tube turner (because after trying the safety pin method on the narrow loops for the Gathering
Apron I was annoyed) and more glass headed pins, but not the extra fine ones I already had. Those were way too thin for the wool I just worked with and they were kind of a pain! Since there is more wool in the sewing stack, I needed a more substantial pin.

In other sewing news, I've been reading everything The Curvy Sewing Collective has written in addition to some of the contributor's personal blogs. The Collective rocks. Their pattern reviews are incredibly helpful since they give their measurements, describe their shape, and then talk about how a pattern worked for them fit wise and what they had to change. I narrowed down my pattern options a lot after reading all that. They also have great tutorials like how to do a full bust adjustment in general and how to do them in special circumstances, fitting sleeves when you have big upper arms, and more advanced techniques (or at least advanced for me!) like making a pocket stay. Also, while I love all the contributors, Mary is my favorite. I think her writing is hysterical!

In gardening news, the grass (and "weeds" which we love) are growing, the air smells sweet, the high today is 82 degrees... and the low tomorrow is 32 degrees. Texas be crazy. 

If all the flowers don't freeze off (and there are a lot of flowers in bloom) I'm going to take a bunch of pictures and show you what early March is like here. I've been trying to teach Small the names of the spring "weeds". So far we've done vetch, chickweed and henbit. He knows all the vegetable plants we grow so the weeds should be no problem. Pop quiz when he gets home today after MDO!

The Late Winter Garden

Horseradish. The roots were tiny!

We just built a bunch of new beds and with the three we have left to build it will about triple the garden size - back to pre-baby square footage. YAY! I'm very excited about this year. Now that my son is older and we've made the section of the yard that contains the garden safe (as safe as anything can be for a toddler who has more ability to lift and climb than he has sense) I think I'll be able to garden regularly. 

Happy sigh.

Gardening makes me feel very much like me. It's who I am. I am a grower of plants. 

I transplanted a bunch of runners from last year's strawberries into a new bed. I think we'll have around 30 plants this year without having to buy more. We'll see how it goes. A few of them are already blooming (silly strawberries) and it's going to freeze tonight. Everything got heavily watered today to help prevent frost damage (except the strawberries. whoops.).

Tiny wheelbarrow

On an adorable note: To my son, all red berries are strawberries but blueberries are "blue strawberries". Also, he started digging holes and "planting" sticks and acorns and leaves. Upon observing this, my

Onesies to T-shirts

Lately I've been reaching for the t-shirts rather than onesies when dressing Poppyseed (although he's still mostly naked) only we don't have many t-shirts.

But boy do we have onesies!

 
I was browsing ThredUp thinking I'd get some shirts there when I had a brainstorm:

snip, snip, snip...

 

 

Problem solved.

The Non-Disposable, No Waste Life and Baby... Post Birth Update

So... after 9 months of being sick and 2 months recovering from surgery I now have a 10 week old baby boy. Hooray!

baby feet!

I got to thinking about the planning we did before Poppyseed was born regarding the stuff we need, the stuff we want, and the stuff we don't need (or want). Now that kiddo is 10 weeks old, I have some revisions to make, thoughts to contribute, and things to add.

Diapers, etc. My baby is a super pee-er. I know we have 35-40 diapers and for the first month we went through more than that each day. We could have used more diapers in the stash although our diaper pail (a bucket salvaged from the dissection lab at the high school) just barely holds every one we have. But, it would have been nice to not have to wash every single day. As it turns out, Mom, Dad and Grandma have different preferences (and success) when it comes to style of diaper. Good thing we have flats, contours, prefolds, and fitteds with both pins and snappies because otherwise one or two of us would not have been able to diaper the baby.

The Making of the Diapers, Covers, and Wipes

For the past 6 months (when I have a day where I feel well enough) I've been working on sewing up my diaper stash. They're made from an assortment of old towels, flannel sheets, t-shirts, and a few pieces of purchased-on-sale baby flannel. (Thanks Mom for giving me your old towels and flannel sheets!)

The fitteds were made with a pattern purchased from Very Baby. I used 1/4 inch swimsuit elastic, Aplix hook and loop tape (also from Very Baby), and the serger. The pattern also has options for snaps and using a regular sewing machine. The semi-fitted (I'm not sure what else to call them), which only have elastic in the legs, are from a pattern a friend sent me. I don't know where it came from since it's actually cut out of newspaper. Those are a little easier to sew (elastic is kind of a pain and these only have half as much). I didn't bother to put Aplix on them since I'll have pins on hand for use with the prefolds.

The Non-Disposable, No-Waste Life and Baby

I often hear people say babies are very expensive. I have observed that babies can produce a lot of waste and accumulate a lot of stuff. Since we're all about less waste and less stuff, how will the baby fit in? How much will a baby cost if we apply our life governing principles to the process of adding the baby in? We are at the very beginning of the process but we're starting to develop a plan.

What (Our) Baby Needs:

Diapers. For us it's going to be cloth. There is hardly anything left in our house that is disposable plastic or paper so diapers will be no different. I'm making the diapers from old flannel sheets, old t-shirts, wool sweaters, old towels, and as a last resort if I run out of material before I'm finished, purchased fabric or thrift store flannel sheets. I plan to have a mix of prefolds and fitteds with wool diaper covers. We'll see what I and baby like best. I'm basing the number of diapers and covers on Babywork's suggestions for a diaper layette.