Beautiful Patchwork

The oldest had a tear in her favorite flannel, so she created a beautiful patch with cross stitch fabric and embroidery thread. She's self-taught, basically, using cross-stitch and needlework books and You Tube videos and years of practice on other projects and trial and error. Now it's an even more beloved flannel! 

Quilting

So, so many years ago, I made a lap quilt out of the same fabrics that I used to make our Christmas tree skirt and matching pillow cases.  

Now I am finally attempting to bind it.

I am using a simple matching bias tape as binding.  

I'm not at all certain about what I'm doing. 

But as I stitch, I'm sure of one thing: 

I'll be better at whatever it is I am doing by the time I finish.  

Merry Christmas!

I made this nightgown for Avril today. As you can see, she loves it! As simple as the ruffled sleeves look, it took a surprising amount of concentration and effort for me to learn how to do them. I had to use bias tape to make a casing for the elastic inside the sleeve and then once I put the elastic through the casing, I had to learn how to hand sew a slip-stitch (hidden seam) in the bias tape to close it up and then learn how to do a finishing stitch to end the slip-stitching. These little stitches in the bias tape (or casing) were on such a small scale that they just couldn't be done with a sewing machine... they needed to be done by hand. I had no idea how much hand-sewing a very simple dress like this requires, but it's a lot! Some of the more complicated patterns require even more hand-sewing, so I am glad to be getting a feel for it.

I made Norah a flannel nightgown this evening. It's getting easier and easier to sew. (I am sure that is mainly due to the fact that I am using the same pattern over and over again.)

Norah really likes her nightgown, but she did end up complaining after a while that the armpits were "tight." I think that means that this pattern size might not fit her and that I should use a larger pattern size on her next time.

I suspected that the size I chose might end up being too small when I started, but pattern sizes tend to turn out much larger than their numbers suggest they will. For example, Avril wears 3T in store bought clothes, but she wears (and has plenty of room left over in) a size 2 pattern... but it might not be the same for Norah. I am still learning how to measure my kids and then pick the best size that works for them. You know, "trial and error" and "experience is the best teacher" and "practice makes perfect" and all that.

I managed to make another dress for Avril this afternoon / evening. As you can see, I purchased tights to go with the dresses.


I got the tights first, actually, and then took the tights with me to the fabric store to find material that matched them. I've learned not to pick fabric first because I can never count on finding tights that match the fabric I choose. Stores just don't offer that large of a selection of tights and even if they have pink, it might not be anywhere near the right shade of pink. So, I've found that it's best to go at it the other way around. There are hundreds and hundreds of fabrics and I know I am bound to find something that I like that also matches any color tights I bring with me, so I get the tights first.

Dwayne got me a serger for Christmas. But he didn't wait until Christmas to give it to me because I have several projects I plan to make before then and this way, I can use my serger on them.


I took me several hours to learn how to thread the serger. I had to watch the how-to videos ten times or more! But, once it was threaded correctly, using it was pretty simple. It's similar to using a sewing machine.


I spent the afternoon making another dress for Avril using a pattern I was really familiar with so I could concentrate on learning to use the serger. I was amazed at how quickly the side seams came together and how neat they turned out.



I told Dwayne that sewing with a serger is like chopping vegetables with really nice kitchen knives. (Dwayne bought me a set of knives a few Christmases ago and after I used them, I was not sure how I ever did without them... ) Well, that's how I feel about my serger. It makes sewing at least ten times more enjoyable than it was before. Dwayne always gives the best gifts.

I went over to a friend's house after dinner and she showed me how to make the border, the knots and the loop at the top of these felt ornaments. She and I made the four Christmas trees above while we visited.


I got up early this morning, eager to try and do this by myself before I forgot everything my friend showed me. I made two mittens like the one above before the girls got up.

I am pretty thrilled. I've never learned to sew anything by hand so this is very exciting to me. And I am looking forward to sharing my new skills with Norah. I think she will really enjoying making these ornaments.

My friend wants to learn to sew and I've been talking to her about the process today. Learning to sew is a process, I think, because you don't just learn everything you need to know at once. It takes a lot of trial and error.

So, with sewing on the brain and for the fun of it, I thought I'd go back and see if I could collect some pictures of what I've made over the years. I wondered if my pictures would show any apparent improvement in my sewing abilities. And I think they do!

It's clear to me that my projects have gotten more difficult over the years. This has been very encouraging to me today and it just makes me want to go sew some more!

Using a poncho pattern, I made Norah a ladybug poncho for Halloween in '08.

I bought Norah's pajamas way too big and hemmed the legs (then let the hem out as Norah grew) so we could get more than one year's wear out of the same pair of pajamas.

I followed (and then altered and customized) a pattern for an Native American costume to make Norah's Halloween costume in '09.

I made my own pattern for this Christmas stocking for Norah in '09. (In my opinion, the store's stockings are never big enough or they are always made with the wrong color red or green.) I only had to make one that year because Avril was a baby and didn't even understand Christmas. But, I got enough fabric for several stockings and I will need to make one for Avril before Christmas if I ever want to hang stockings again. She's old enough now to notice whether or not she gets one!


I made a patchwork tree skirt without a pattern and matching pillow cases also without a pattern.

When I served as my friend's birth partner in December '10, I made a baby blanket for her little baby boy. I didn't have a pattern, but I watched some online tutorials to figure out the process.

I made the blanket complete with ribbon tags for him to suck on and play with. (My babies always loved tags.)

I followed a pattern and made Avril this little dress last month. It was the first time I actually finished something with sleeves! I have some fabric with a red and white design to make another dress like this for Avril to wear this Christmas season.


I made this skirt for Norah's Halloween costume this year without a pattern and I sewed Avril's Yoda ears, also without a pattern.

We had heard people talking, but we weren't totally sure until we found the mayor's official announcement in the newspaper online: Waterbury has moved Halloween to tonight. (It was canceled on Oct. 31 due to the big snow storm that took out most of the city's power, including ours.) So I have been finishing the girl's costumes this morning.


I was going to cut this old, brown shirt and sew it to make it into a genuine cape, but Dwayne talked me out of it. With a brown shirt and pants and boots, he's right when he says this will pass for Yoda's cape as it is.

I also finished attaching the yarn braids to Norah's ear muffs.

And instead of making a separate belt, we saved serious time and effort by attaching the silver-gray patches directly to the skirts elastic. And we did this in a matter of seconds with crazy glue. So the girls are ready for tonight, basically. I'll take more pictures when they are all dressed up and ready to go and if I can, I'll post them before we all go to bed.

I've been sewing the girls' Halloween costumes. You can see the beginning of Norah's Princess Leia costume above. But being around all those great fabrics and patterns in the store inspired me to make Avril a little dress for the winter. I've been meaning to learn at least one simple pattern that I can use again and again to bang out some clothes for the girls when they need something new but when we may not have the money to shop or be able to find something we like in the stores (which seems to be happening more often these days since clothes for little girls are getting more and more mature and provocative, even within just the last few years).


This pattern seemed like a good choice because I can make minor changes to the length of the sleeves or the dress itself and have simple dresses, shirts and even nightgowns. And, depending on the choice of fabric, this pattern will work for winter or summer clothes alike.


I've lacked the confidence to try anything with sleeves till now, but I felt like it was time to force myself to learn the skill because it's pretty critical to sewing garments. I used fabric from an old twin sheet and quick stitched the pattern, learning and making and then fixing all my mistakes as I went. (I sewed the sleeves with the hem on the outside on my first try.) But once I learned what to do/ what not to do, I made the dress again right away with the fabric below. This time I took time to iron as I went, reinforce the seams, serge and trim all the inside edges, etc. I also added an inch to the length and took off an inch from the sleeves, making it a better fit for Avril's frame.

I am very proud of myself and feel as if I have opened up a whole new world of possibilities for myself now that I can sew things with sleeves. This dress is a soft flannel (thick enough not to need a lining), so Avril will be able to wear it through the winter with some thick tights and boots. I've been thinking about making another dress or two like this because there are several adorable fabrics in the store right now and it would be an easy way to get her better prepared for cold weather. But I really should get back to making Leia and Yoda costumes, at least for now, because Halloween is only five days away!

So. We tried the costume on and it was way too big. Norah looked more like a Monk than a Native American. And she has no love for the Middle Ages, so we have to do some alterations in the next few days. It turns out that this is what happens when you buy a pattern before you measure your kid. Hum!? Who knew?!

But! Lesson learned. And like I told Norah, who stood like a statue when I put this over her head and looked back and forth nervously, not sure what to say for the first time in her life for fear of hurting my feelings... when I am done with this potato-sack of a costume, my husband and children will rise up and bless me and call me things like "Costume Whisperer" and "Design Star" because of the amazing thing I will have wrought with the help of my sewing machine.

I've got to psych myself up for this, but I vow that by Saturday I will make this costume ROCK! Raise your arms and say it with me now: Poca- whose your- hontas? Sacaja-what?!!!