Pre-School Parties!

Well, we made it 6 months without a birthday party invite, but then we received two invitations in the same week!

Now, I'm not normally crazy with making gifts for people -- it's just not my go-to response -- but what do you get pre-schoolers that you don't know that well?  I'm pretty sure they don't need any new toys, so I went ahead and decided to sew something.

One of the first patterns I ever bought was for a Child's Coloring Wallet by Jennifer Casa.  We use ours in restaurants all the time, and I figured this would be a good gift for both child and parents :)

It's really easy to put together, and I have a lot of scraps around, so it seemed like a perfect project (it was!).  The only thing is that I like to make things more complicated than they need to be.  The pattern calls for the fabric used for the pockets to be folded in half.  This is great -- no raw edges to finish, no chunky seams for things to get caught on.  Of course, I wanted to use smaller scraps of fabric, ones that I realized would fit the front part of the pocket, so I just used some muslin scraps for the back.  So long as I am prepared for the worse, I'm finding that these sorts of decisions don't have to be disasters (although they are often challenging).  This particular change worked out well, and I even remembered to add the seam allowances when cutting out the pieces (yeah me!).

Crisis averted.
Scraps, busted.

I really enjoyed making these, and I need to make a few spares to have around for the next invitation (or two).  They are so cute!

Little Hankies for Little Pockets

It's more challenging to keep up with posting and documenting my little projects than I thought it would be, but that's ok.

So, a little bit a go my preschooler, Little Girl, had a slightly runny nose and it was time to leave for school.  I asked her if she wanted a handkerchief, and she said "yes".  Now her big brother and Daddy carry handkerchiefs, but I found them to be a bit big and chunky for her little denim pockets (totally didn't think this through before asking the question, did I?).  Ok, panic time.  I ran into my fabric stash -- what to do?  All the quilting cotton seemed to rough for little noses, and the jersey was just too squishy.  Then I saw it: an old pillow case.  I cut a quick square, put it in her pocket, and had a very happy little one.

Of course, this coarsely cut little square wasn't a permanent solution, so later in the week I experimented with a few finishes.

First I cut the pillow case into 9" x 9" squares.  I have since learned to be more careful about staying on grain, but this was a learning exercise :)  Then I had to finish the edges, and I opted to try a few different ones out:

1. Bias binding

• I had some leftover fabric strips, so I cut them into 0.5" strips
• I folded those in half, and ironed them
• I sewed the raw edges to the edges of the handkerchief square (just like binding a quilt), taking care to miter the corners (because that's how I like it)
• When finished, I folded the edges over and topstitched

2. Decorative stitch

• Picked out a cute stitch on my machine (Janome MC6300), and narrowed it a bit

• Stitch: 59

• Width: 3.5

• Frayed the edges for a cute look (this is where being on grain would have made a difference in how even the fraying was/looked)

3. Zig-Zag

• Narrowed the width of the zigzag
• Width: 3.0

I would say that the decorative stitch was my favorite.  The narrow zigzag is probably next, but it was a bit challenging to pull off (maybe next time stitch before cutting the square).  And the bias binding is my least favorite, I think because of the bulk (may have been better if it was single instead of double bias tape -- ie: don't fold it in half).  Either way, Little Girl was happy, so I'm happy.  And, as a bonus, she's more willing to wear her jeans to school (I think they hold up to the playground better) because they have pockets for the hanky!

And Here It Begins...

I like the ellipses, as you may have noticed.  I'm pretty certain I don't use it correctly (well, sometimes I'd like to think that I do, but often times I'm sure that I don't).  That's ok, because I don't think it's a horribly poor reflection on me, and I like the way it looks :)

You may be wondering, "Is this blog really about grammar?".  No worries (unless you're into grammar, and then I'm sorry to say you'll be disappointed), this blog is more about my adventures in sewing (and probably a few other things).  I started sewing about 7 years ago maybe (see, that's why I need an electronic trail!).  I made some curtains for the pending arrival of my first child.  Then I tried quilting -- started very small, then just jumped into a bed quilt when aforementioned child was ready to transition from crib to bed.  After that accomplishment, I was pretty well hooked.  I did another quilt or two, a few baby blankets, valences and curtains, bags, and then I had another baby.  Ah, now a cute little dress was totally required!  Wow, it's just sort of taken on a life of its' own.  I am constantly challenging myself, and I really just love it when a project comes together.  I haven't had too many total disappointments -- you just have to figure out how to make a mistake into an interesting and artistic design "choice" (unfortunately, that often means I tear it out and try to fix it with said design enhancement, but, it's better than scrapping it, in my opinion).  So, as I've been growing my skills and reading blogs and buying more patterns and fabric than I should, I've found myself doing a lot of thinking.  I've started thinking about my own wardrobe, how things fit, how they could fit, how I'd feel better about getting dressed if they did fit.  I've been thinking more about sustainability, natural fibers, using up my stash, quality vs. quantity, and the state of the clothing industry and the quest for cheaper clothes.  It's been interesting, but I don't typically think too deeply about things -- I just let them skim the surface.  I thought starting a blog might help me do two things:

1.  Delve a little more deeply into some of these issues (hopefully my own thoughts, rather than just linking to what others have said, but if I do that, at least I'll be able to find those posts again!)

2.  Document my sewing journey.  It would have been nice to start from the beginning, but how many people really know when they are at the start of something wonderful?

So, if anyone is out there, welcome, and glad to have you for the ride!

(Oh, and to be sure, I won't be quitting my day job.)