Whale Watching

In addition to finishing the pair of jeans for K, I made a shirt to match another lonely pair of Gymboree leggings.  This time I started with a RTW shirt and did a reverse applique of a whale using a template from Lollychops .  I then cut out a pair of long sleeves and sewed them onto the existing sleeve seam.  Tip:  It's a lot easier to do if you sew the sleeves together before attaching them to the the shirt.  I'm thinking of going back and adding some blue to the hem as B seems to have grown again! 

K in her Sarita jeans

I think she managed to lose a few pounds between Tuesday and today. *rolling my eyes*  Even though I took in the waist/hips 3 inches total, the jeans are still a little loose in the waist.  I swear they fit fine when she tried them on Tuesday night.  She ended up wearing a belt to school.  I had a bit of a fun reaction from my husband this morning over the jeans.  K told him I had made the jeans and he asked, "From what?", thinking I had just embellished a regular pair.  I said, "From fabric." and he was shocked and replied, "I didn't know you could make pants!".  :)

I also took some pictures this morning before the rain started of M in B's Ottobre outfit that I finished last week.

Both the shirt and the leggings are from the 06/07 Ottobre Design issue.  The shirt is the Tilda T-shirt dress and the leggings are the Lily leggings.  I originally made this for B in a size 92 but the top was a wee bit big on her so it's become M's for now. The fabric is from Hobby Lobby.  There's been talk on the Ottobre group I belong to that HL knits shrink quite a bit so maybe after a few more washes it'll fit B better. 

Sarita Jeans

I'm down to one last lonely skirt to sew and K's SWAP will be completed.  Phew!

Yesterday, I finished the jeans.  I thought it would be one of the harder pieces to sew but was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't as bad as I feared.  I'm becoming a pro at pockets and zippers and waistbands...not really!  But at least I'm able to make patterns with those details and have them turn out not-so-bad.  A first for me this time was the belt loops.  Another detail that I had been dreading but is really simple to do.

It's hard finding someplace to lay these suckers out and get a picture of them.  K is planning on wearing them tomorrow so I'll be able to hopefully, take a better picture.  I think the Sarita jeans would look nice with a contrasting top stitch.  I wasn't feeling too confident in my ability to top stitch straight so I used matching thread.  These would also work well with a twill instead of denim.

The only adjustment I made to the jeans was to take 1 1/2 inches off each side through the hips.  Otherwise, the fit is good. The only snag I ran into was the back pocket embroidery.  It's not complicated but for whatever reason, it was giving me fits.  I kept trying to use a triple straight stitch but couldn't manage the curves with it.  I've been practicing though since it seems like it would be a useful stitch. 

I hoping to have the skirt and the SWAP finished next week.  We'll see....

Some Recent Sewing

B in the AS&E jacket Grandma made

I wish the weather today was more like it is in the above picture.  We're currently dealing with what the Weather Channel is calling the "Atlantic Assault".  School has been cancelled due to flooding and power outages.  Luckily, the power is on here and the kids are watching Madagascar and snacking on popcorn which translates into free time for me.

I did get some sewing done over the last 2 days.  I've started the jeans for K.  It's been slow going as I spent most of the afternoon on Tuesday with the back pocket embellishments.  They look simple enough but often times, it's the easy embellishments that take me forever.  Then yesterday, as I was sewing the inseams I ran out of navy thread so that project has been put on hold until I can make a run to the fabric store. 

My wonderful mom made pants for M (pumpkin pants OD 04/06 #22) and B (tulip pants OD 4/09 #12) over the last week.

Now it's up to me to make coordinating shirts.  I have red, green, and green striped interlock and I'm thinking of making the Orvokki top from the 01/09 OD issue.  I can't make my mind up though as to which colors will go where. 

Yesterday, I made a matching top for a pair of Gymboree leggings that I had purchased at a consignment sale a few months ago.  I have a several pairs of Gymbo leggings for the 2 younger girls that I've acquired from thrift stores/garage sales/consignment shops.  I love the knit prints.  However, finding the shirts that match the leggings is harder unless you try ebay.  But there you have to pay shipping so even if you find a shirt for an okay price you still have the additional shipping charges.  I'm too cheap for that so it's a good thing I can sew.

 

The rib knit came from Jo-Anns and the mushroom template came from  lollychops blog.  I used the Sweet-n-Cosy shirt pattern from the Ottobre Design Winter 2008 issue, size 98.  I'll try for a modelled picture when the weather improves and the sun comes out.:)

Sad to say it, but still no sewing happening here.  My 2 remaining SWAP pieces are cut out plus a few other projects...PJs for P and an outfit for B. 

I've also been thinking ahead to Christmas outfits.  By chance, I ended up with 3 Gymboree turtlenecks approximately the same color in sizes to fit all 3 girls.  Throw in 2 gray jumpers and a dark gray wool knit dress that I bought at a thrift store for the fabric and you have the possibility of coordinating outfits.

P's not left out of this either.  He has a burgundy and gray sweater hanging in his closet that will fit in nicely.  I haven't decided yet what pattern to use to make K's skirt.  I'm considering using the Oliver+S Sunday Brunch skirt pattern.  I bought the pattern a few months back because I wanted to make the jacket but it's still sitting unopened on the shelf.