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Monday, January 30, 2012

Imagine {Update}

I promised a Monday update on the "Imagine the Impossibilities" challenge over at The Cottage Market so here we go.

Bean is taking a crazy long nap this morning (!) so I had some time to tackle the stash.  Several big ziploc bags and a few tubs emptied later, it's not finished, but it's looking better!  (before pics here)

Entrance to the closet space


The top shelf will be saved for my scraps. 
I have plans for some fabric bins to sort by color, yay!

Hopefully I'll have some more time to work on it today (afternoon nap fingers crossed) and tomorrow so I can update for the linky party tomorrow. 

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Impossible?

Well, I haven't made much progress on the "Imagine the Impossibilities" challenge over at The Cottage Market. 

I *did* take some before pictures though, hehe.  Technically I still have a few days to get it together and I think I can at least make a dent.  I'm holding on to hope! 

I'll leave you with just a few pictures to show just how crazy the situation is.  Keep in mind that there are several more bins with bits of fabric here and there as well.  I'll post again on Monday to see if any progress was made this weekend.  Wish me luck!

entrance to the closet under the stairs where I'll keep my
organized fabrics.... hehe organized...
here you can see there is quite a bit of room for lots of fabric to live.

sewing table (notice my machines aren't even on the table!)

Just two of the many bins of fabric/supplies I have.
The funny part is these are the most organized of the whole stash, hehe.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Chevron Fleece {Project Run and Play}

I'm excited to be done with Outerwear week at Project Run & Play by Thursday afternoon instead of taking it down to the wire Friday morning like I have the past few weeks.  I knew when they first announced the theme weeks in December that Outerwear would be one I enjoyed. 

For Christmas, Bean got a nice L.L. Bean fleece suit that she's been wearing which we love.  It's fits nicely now, but she's growing like crazy so I want to have a back up for when her arms and legs inevitably outgrow her current one. The fit is loose now, but it's exactly as I was hoping it would turn out.  Lots of room to grow!

A couple of years ago I did a promotion on black Friday for Macy's and Ocean Spray.  They gave me a gigantic bright blue fleece to wear and since it had both of their logos on the front AND didn't fit I knew I'd never wear it again. 


But there was so much of this nice fleece that of course I couldn't just throw it away.  So add it to the stash I did and it turned out it was perfect for this project.  I forgot to take a pic before I cut it all up, but you get the idea, hehe. 

I added some purple fleece that I had small pieces of in my stash.  My mother once gave me a big bag o' fleece bits that she got from who knows where.  There are some good pieces in there, but also a lot of crap.  I found this nice purple color that I thought would make the fleece jumpsuit a little more girly.



I had fun making a chevron on the front and on the back of the fleece.  So even though the color combo feels very 80's snow suit to me, I was hoping the chevrons would give some interest and modernity to it!  I also used a green blue knit fabric in my stash for the hand, foot, and head edges hoping for the same effect.  There was something about that color blue and the pastel purple that killed me until I added the green blue to it.  That helped bring it back to 2012.  Or at least it did for me, hehe.

You'll also notice above that I used a two way zipper for the front so that I can easily change Bean's diaper without unzipping the top of the jumpsuit.  That makes me feel a little better about those occasional chilly car seat changes.

I brought Bean outside to take a few pictures and she was SO happy to be out.  She loves being outdoors and we haven't done it too much in the past few weeks due to weather.  I am looking forward to the spring when we can be outside almost every day.


In other news... she's sitting up on her own now which is cute, hehe.

The following pics were barely taken before she was trying to take off.  Even though you can tell the arms and legs are too long, it didn't seem to impede her!



Lastly, I did crochet her a hat too, but I forgot to bring it outside with us.  Oh well, it's just as cute on her inside, hehe.


Linking up to:

I Heart Naptime
Photobucket Wayward Weekend  Raising Oranges 

Friday, January 20, 2012

Through the Decades {Project Run and Play}

The 50s.  That's the decade I was inspired by this week.  Or more accurately it was the following picture which I found on Pinterest that did it for me.


Although I was more inspired by Jean-Jaques' outfit than either of the girls so I guess I caught the sewing for boys bug hehe.  This time I wanted to turn up the girliness though!

I've had this gorgeous blue bottom weight fabric for years.  I've been waiting for the right skirt or dress for myself to emerge, but with Bean's bright blue eyes I thought it was perfect for her.  When the ladies at Project Run and Play mentioned the Sewing Through the Decades theme I knew I wanted a Peter Pan collar, poofy and a little frilly short legs, short sleeves, and a button down front.  Out of all that came the Joanie Jumper.


Bean's Nana (Joanie) has the same gorgeous color of blue eyes so I thought the name suited.  You can see the poofy legs which are created by the knife pleats in the front and some gathering in the back.  They get a little frilliness from skinny elastic at the hem.  As usual, I made a snappy crotch to make diaper changes easier (though Bean has suddenly decided launching herself from the diaper table is an AWESOME idea so "easier" is relative).

I also wanted to crochet some shoes for Bean to wear.  I love this pattern from Sylver Designs on Etsy.  I've made a few of the cross over strap mary janes for friends' babies, but I thought it was time Bean had her own pair.  To fit with the 50s theme I thought I'd do some color changes and make them look like saddle shoes. 

Disclaimer: I haven't crocheted in a while and to be honest I MUCH prefer knitting.  Knitting seems to be more neat and tidy in the finished product.  But wow I forgot how quick crocheting is.  Also how easy color changing is. 

They came out pretty cute for an on the fly decision, hehe.

In the picture on the right they are hanging on the closet door which is why you see the mirror in the background.  I didn't think about how hard it would be to take a good picture of shoes made out of yarn, hehe.  But lordy that picture on the left is cute.  Chunky baby feet,  hehe.

Last but certainly not least here are some pics of Bean in the Joanie Jumper.  They show a little better how the short pants poof.  If I could get her to sit still it would be nice to get a normal picture of her.  But for now these crazy action shots will have to do.  Little lady is feeling under the weather, but these were taken post nap (a LONG nap!!) so she was temporarily silly, giddy, and happy. 

Yes, she's eating one of the precious shoes....


The picture on the left looks like she's saying something like "you little whipper snapper."  Oh and before my older sister asks: no, she's not hanging from the closet by a hook.  She's lying down in her crib, hehe.

Linking up to:

I Heart Naptime
Photobucket Wayward Weekend

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Sharing the Pain {Blogger's Choice Bundle}

Well, Laura has decided to help the judges out a bit and do a reader survey to see which bundles are the favorites out there.  There are so many goods ones!  I had already picked a few I liked and visited those ladies, but it's fun to be able to vote now too.  You can pick your favorite three out of the 341(!) submitted. 

My favorites are:

335 - Mine, hehe!  Well, come on... if mine isn't my favorite then all that effort I put in choosing the best matches for MY blogger's choice was for nothing.  Also, Laura said it was fine to vote for ourselves :)


311 - Lynne from Le Petit Cardinal Rouge's has a similar feel to mine.  Hers has a deeper pink color theme that I really like.  The fabric at the left two down from the top is the same as in mine at the right two down from the top.  They are just slightly different thumbnails :)
111 - Lisa from Six Munchkin Stitching's has a few fabrics that I went back and forth about.  I also love the giraffe print!
So take a minute and go vote for your favorites!  I'd love to hear which ones you choose.

Imagine the Possibilities

Oh lordy. What have I done? Hehe. Somehow I have joined the "Imagine the Impossibilities" challenge over at The Cottage Market.  There are actually 6 blogs which have joined forces in hosting this challenge so you should check them all out.

 

When I first read about the challenge I immediately thought of my gigantic fabric stash. It's in desperate need of organizing.  We moved so many times in the past few years and I dragged the stash along for the ride.  When I say it's gigantic, I'm not sure anyone (except maybe my older sister who may or may not have been the one ACTUALLY dragging it during at least one of the moves) understands just how much fabric I've accumulated over the years. 

We're settled in now and I have the space and even the shelves, but I haven't had the push I needed to get it under control.  Well as you can see here, Andrea has announced to the world my impossible dream and if that's not enough to get my butt in gear I don't know what is, hehe.

The stash will need to be organized and shelved by the 31st of January.  That's coming up fast (that's what happens when you join in HALF WAY through the month!),  but I know I can do it.  I'll post an update next monday just to keep myself on track.  It will be amazing to get it all in one place and be able to see what I have. Especially since I'm trying to sew regularly for Bean. My goal is to not have to buy any new fabric for the clothes I make for her. Notions maybe. But not fabric.  I may need to come back to look at the button a bunch of times this week 'cause the "YOU CAN DO IT!" line might come in handy.

I'll tell you one person who's going to be happy about this challenge.  My husband.  Although, I'm not sure even he won't be shocked to see all that fabric in one place, hehe.

Monday, January 16, 2012

Through the Decades Preview

This week's Project Run & Play theme is Sewing Through the Decades.  We're to choose a decade and make something with those years in mind.  I think I'm going with the 50s.  I have this picture that I'm using as inspiration:


There are lots of ideas floating around in my head so we'll see what comes out, hehe.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Ajaire's Blogger's Choice Bundle

Thanks to Sunni at Love Affair With My Brother (after months of following I still chuckle at such a genius name) I found out about this challenge presented by Quokka Quilts. 

For two weeks I have been working at trying to pull together my own "blogger's choice bundle" from the fabrics at Fat Quarter Shop.  This was no easy feat.  There are so many different fabrics you could get lost in there for weeks.  I knew I wanted mostly pinks and greens and there were unbelievable options to choose from.  We were to choose 12 prints and 3 solids.  I must have changed my mind 30 times.  I kept a folder with the thumbnails of all the prints I swapped in and out and there are 52(!) different thumbnails in there.  The following is what I came up with.


Numbered from left to right and top to bottom:
1:   Emma Strawberry Tiny Swirling Dots Yardage
2:   Pinfeathers Pink Birds of a Feather Yardage
3:   Early Birds Lime Curlicue Yardage
4:   Daisy Dance Pink Tiny Flower Buds Yardage
5:   Froggin' Dark Lime Water Vines Yardage
6:   Sugar Hill Cotton Ivory Lantern Yardage
7:   Home to Roost Pink Sheep Yardage
8:   Power Pop Strawberry Big Star Yardage
9:   Finally Free Flamingo Allover Florals Yardage
10: Urban Zoologie Garden Tossed Whales Yardage
11: Finally Free Green Tossed Flowers Yardage
12: Modernology Sachet Impressions Yardage
13: Kona Cotton Grass Green Solid Yardage
14: Kona Cotton Cactus Yardage
15: Kona Cotton Melon Yardage

Linking up to Blogger's Choice Fat Quarter Bundle

Friday, January 13, 2012

Froggy Shromper Boy and Girl Styling

Below is how I changed up the Froggy Shromper (for Project Run and Play) from boy's styling to girl's.

First a few pics of the boy's styling since it is technically still Boy's Week. 



As you can see, the boy's style is straightforward and plain.  I didn't want to embellish too much, though I thought details were important.  So I created some pockets including a fun upper pocket that is shaped like a froggy's mouth to go along with the big white froggy-eye buttons.  I fully lined the shromper in a creamy fabric with green vines that I have a ton of and LOVE.  Once again everything I used for this project was in my stash. 

For shorts, the legs are a bit long for Bean right now, but I really would like this to fit her (the buttons are adjustable) in the spring so I left them longer.


Now that Bean has so many teeth, she has started doing this cheesey toothy grin that looks hilarious.  I love it.  Her hair is also growing like crazy and sticks up every which way, hehe.

As far as any other detailing, it should be noted that I used a snappy crotch for the inner leg seam and inside each leg hem is elastic which pokes out underneath through eyelets.  I then use these along with a cute little flower I crocheted lickity split to transform the shromper for a girl.

You can see in the above picture how the elastic comes out of the right side eyelet and then gets buttoned to the left side button in order to pull some tension on the elastic in the hem and create some rouching.  For the boy's styling, the elastic simply buttons on it's own side (ie the elastic coming out of the right eyelet wraps around the right button).  This little bit of tension is enough to make a difference in the leg hems.  I think it's really cute when a shromper bubbles above the knee.  Pair with some tights (couldn't find them since our trip!) or leggings and attach the flower to the button on the back of the shromper and voila!  Girl!


It's subtle, but really makes a difference when it's on.  I think with tights it'd be even cuter.  If I can ever locate Bean's cute pale pink ones I'll snap a pic and you'll see, hehe.

But for now:

I am not kidding when I say it's nearly impossible to get pics of her these days.  These ones don't do the transformation justice, but I must say they're pretty cute all the same, hehe.

If anyone's interested in seeing more pics or hearing more about the construction of the froggy shromper just leave a comment and let me know!

**Update**  I forgot to mention that I used this pattern which I found on Pinterest for the flower.

Boys' Week {Project Run and Play}

Well, I made it through Boys' Week over at Project Run and Play without a boy and I actually LOVE what I created.  I wanted to make something for Bean even though it would be boy-ish.  I thought of a cute way to girl it up once the contest was over and for something that was just a thought it my mind to actually turn out exactly as I was hoping is kind of exciting.  Especially since this was a functional-type of experiment and not something asthetic. 

After seeing You and Mie's GORGEOUS winter romper entered for the Junebug Dress Remix, I fell in love with the idea of making a shorts romper.  A shromper.  With a few details I thought I could take a boy's shromper and fit it for a girl.  This is what I came up with.



A fully lined shromper.  I fell in love with how the top pocket I made adds a hint of frogginess to the front.  So I call it the Froggy Shromper, hehe.

Stay tuned for some pics of Bean in the Froggy Shromper with both boy AND girl styling.  It turned out so cute!  I swear it's worth the wait to see how the girl pics turned out :)

Linking up to:

     

**Update** You can click here to see the post of the transformation!