determination.

so, i have this sewing book that is devoted to purses and skirts. glorious, right? it really has some wonderful ideas. and in the book i saw a picture (several pictures) of a drawstring tote bag that has a circular bottom. it. was. wonderful.
and the pattern/directions were no where to be found. and i flipped through that book many, many times.
who in there right mind puts out a sewing book just for purses and skirts and then pictures a super cool purse that they don't include a pattern for?
argh.
so. i did my best, to recreate the project. and this really looks nothing like it.

but i love it.
after realizing how much i really liked the way this bag was coming together i had to throw in some pockets. after all, the bag is really deep, and i just knew that if it didn't have pockets i wouldn't be happy.
and i am sooooo happy with this bag! i just love it.
it was pretty confusing to put it together. involving math to make the circular bottom, creating pleats where maybe there shouldn't have been pleats, and then realizing at the last minute that i couldn't attach my lining in any of the normal ways i usually attach it.
somehow, it worked.
ahhh, and now, this bag needs a name.

before things get really crazy

so really, i haven't been just sitting around, diddling my fingers, waiting for baby 4 to come. i have been sewing like a crazy person. i guess i figure that in just a few days my time for sewing will be thwarted by other things.
*other things: staring at new baby, holding new baby, falling in love with new baby, nursing new baby, and cuddling all my babies.
i love to sew, but nothing quite beats those precious few first days of newborn love.
but- this is what i've been sewing.

i've been trying to create a drawstring circle bottom purse. this did not turn out the way i wanted it to- at. all.

but, i LOVE this fabric. i'll probably use it, even though it isn't lined and the linen is paper thin, but still, they were scraps i had and i just can't stand cutting into new fabric.

burp clothes. its just white flannel that i sewed together, and did a little felt/fabric applique on. the duckies on the bottom is a receiving blanket that i made for the new baby. its stretchy and not flannel- its so unbelievably hot here. i know i have some amazing receiving blankets in one of my newborn bins, so after the baby is born i will send sam searching for them. i have fabric to make one more- but if i don't need it, then i'll use it for a different project.

the little white shirt that i made for baby 4 came in a 3 pack. well, i couldn't just let that go to waste. so i had fun resting on the couch and embroidering these.

any guesses?

we went up to redding last week to visit dear friends and to have family pictures taken. my wonderful friend (and great mothering encouragement) just had her 4th son and thinks (falsely i might add) that i behold some creativity in sewing. ha.ha.ha.
anyways, i have yet to create anything for her. so, as a woman living in an all boy house i thought she deserved just a little clutch style purse, something to always help remind her that girlie things are great.
i also made her a coffee sleeve, which i forgot to photograph.

i literally whipped this up the early morning hours before we left, because i wanted something else besides the coffee sleeve. i "came up" with the design myself. so the flaws are apparent. one of those- oh, i should have done it this way kind of things after you are half way through.

below are messenger style bags that i made. the blue one i really don't like. mainly because i wanted it turn out totally differently so that i could use it for a camera bag.
the green one (right below) i actually do like, but it could have used some interfacing. but that's what i get for hurrying through a project just so i can see how it will look.

this bag was my own design. and i have used it a couple of times. i sure do love this color green. a lot.

and this purse i really don't like. mainly because the tutorial was AWFUL.

there's a flap. i didn't even picture it. whoops. oh well. i'm not quite sure what i will do with this bag. it's lined with padding (you know, because i wanted it to be used for my camera) and the pockets are sewn to a specific size (for camera things) but it just did NOT work.
and did i mention the tutorial was dreadful? you know someone isn't grand at tutorials (not that i have any room to speak at all) when you mention who did it to someone and they comment, "oh yeah, so and so does terrible tutorials" you know its not just you.

i do have one more unfinished project on the ironing board. its almost done. and again, its coming from my crazy crafting brain, so i don't know how it will turn out. but i did figure out how to do a circular bottom, so i am pretty excited about that.
and today my dad is here, helping me transform some rooms.... so pictures to come from that.
oh, and did i mention that i am going to try and naturally induce labor tomorrow with some castor oil?
i guess i have a few things going on.

baby 4

everything i had hoped to sew, crocheted, or knitted (for me) for this new baby is complete and packed away neatly in this little bag, just waiting to be taken to the hospital.

and here is what's in the bag. a little baby t-shirt with a zebra that i embroidered, (that is not a patch- i made every little stitch myself) tiny little shorts for the baby to wear (in neutral muslin) a small blanket with green trim that i crocheted, and a beautiful knitted hat that my dear friend made for the new baby. although, this time it was delivered to my house. for henry she had shown up at the hospital to see her sister-in-law's new baby and i had surprised her by being there as well, and she had henry's hat in her purse.

a number 4 sewn onto the back of the shorts

and a close up shot of the zebra. my friend christina was there as we tried to determine 3 different shades of gray. it was actually difficult.

so, my hospital bag is packed, the baby's bag is ready. i need to get the other kids ready with some little bags. and we still need to find a bear for this baby. we've had bears at all the births. so.... we need a bear.

in my free time.

or something like that :)
i have been sewing! i had some very odd goals of getting all of my christmas gifts made before the baby came.
ok. please stop laughing. you won't be able to read this if you are still laughing.
anyways. that hasn't even started. and i realized that today marks 3 weeks from when i intend to take my 2 T of castor oil and beg the baby to come. so unless i either get an energy transplant or my children become amazingly self-sufficient without needing any correction or training (or a combo of both) i highly doubt that any christmas gifts will get done.
never mind that. i still have plenty to keep me busy. i have made a massive to-do list, that does continue to grow daily, but luckily somethings are getting crossed off of it. but it does still feel like a lot to do in a short amount of time.
instead of dwelling what's still not done, take a look at what i have done:






another one of the bags i "designed". i really love how big they are. i think i might do another one, but vary it a little. maybe. it's always fun to experience.
i keep experimenting with the coffee cozy as well. i am having a fun time adding a little personalization to it, and this one is reversible- there's a button on both sides.
now if only jess hadn't changed her drink to a grande non-fat latte everything would have been perfect.

the little project that could

alternative title: why do i think i can sew?

i never officially made a list of things i wanted to accomplish in the next few weeks (incredibly boring post you can reference here) but one of the many things floating through my crowded brain has been to make little mason some summer dresses and bloomers. no big deal, i have tons of cute fabric, and the best thing about little girl clothes is that they are projects that don't take up a lot of time.

insert laughter here.

i found a yard of really pretty fabric that had tiny red and yellow flowers on it- lovely. i grabbed an "easy" mccall's capri pant pattern. did the xl size, because i wanted mason to be able to wear them next year too, and cut away.

the pants were really easy to sew together. i mean, i had 4 cut pieces, and it was done. elastic in the waist, and grabbed my daughter to try them on.

and they came up to about her little bum crack. they weren't too tight, there just wasn't any more room in the crotch- they just stopped.

now, i have had this problem with pants more times than i care to admit. so, i did what i usually do (no, not scream and cry and tear my project apart- that's what i used to do) i improvised.

so i took out my elastic, seam ripped out my casing, and cut out about 3 inches of muslin to add to the top of the pants and give them more height.

if i were to call, lack of crotch room problem #1, here would be problem #2: i figured that since the muslin was the same on both sides, meaning in my head there was no wrong side, it didn't matter how i attached it to my fabric. so i sewed it on, pinned down my casing for the elastic.

it was at that moment, needle in the fabric ready to go, when i realized that my slight slip of the brain had made it so the right side of the bloomers was showing the exposed seam of where the muslin attached.

well here i am, already re-doing this bloomer project, and now, the casing is complete and i am what, going to rip out again?

nope. i sewed my casing and then flipped my bloomers over and ran a row of zig zag over the exposed edge (where the muslin and fabric met) tacking it down.

it looks raw and rad. and like i was too lazy to rip it out, especially when i realized- no one is going to see the tops of these bloomers.

ok- bloomers 1 done. sure, my waist measurement of the elastic was way to big, and has had to be readjusted 3 times. but they are cute.

so. in all my brilliance i decided that i must immediately tackle this bloomer project again, and outsmart the pattern.

in my first attempt they were to short in the waist and oddly long in the length, so when i cut out the next set of bloomers, i first added 3 inches to the top, and instead of the xl length, i did the medium length.

what a clever girl am i, right?

so, imagine my surprise when i complete the bloomers and go to start my casing that i realize somehow i have created the exact same problem. there was no crotch to these pants.

what?!?!?!?!

i was fairly annoyed. and sat staring at them, bewildered. so i decided, fine- i'll just add fabric to these and try this again (supervised). but then i thought- no. i won't learn if i keep "improvising".

so. argh. i took the bloomers completely apart. it wasn't so painful. i sat upstairs with the kids, watching them play (supervising the chaos) while i carefully plucked out seams.

then, took my fabric pieces back downstairs, and discovered my problem.

somehow when i was "following" the "easy pattern" i had somehow screwed it up and sewed my pants together upside down. the pant legs became my waist line, and the waist line- the legs.

and i am pretty confident (as all the pants i have made are to short in the crotch) i have been doing this on every pair of pants.

i tried countless times to re-read the pattern to follow it correctly. and just couldn't. i grabbed another "easy" pattern with a similar pant. nope. nowhere in the 3 steps could i figure out how on earth i had screwed up.

so, i grabbed the Little Stitches for Little One's (i think that's the title) and used amy butler's wonderful wordiness to my advantage. she had bloomer pants assembled in a different way, and i followed her instructions, and viola! bloomers that looked right!

this is an already long post, but i have to mention that both these bloomers were made to go with little dresses i had already made but that needed to be fixed, one was this christmas dress:

remember, i couldn't figure out how to do the elastic casing in the arms? hello wings.

and this pillowcase dress of mason's.

which has been changed now 3 times. the other two are here and here.

ok, i think that's enough talking about it- here's the final outlook, modeled by my beautiful daughter.

the bloomers are a bit long- and honestly, way to big in the waist, but i have already shortened the elastic.

the traditional ties of the pillowcase dress were impossible to keep tied and on her arms. so i cut them off and made simple straps with elastic thread.

can you tell (in these terrible photos) how much more straight legged these pants are? the dress is still a bit "wing-ed" but looks better.

the oddest thing about the 2 different bloomers is that i do like the style of the red and yellow floral ones. they look almost like pants. i think i may try and trace the pattern (upside down) and sew it together the correct way- so that i can make little pants for boys. the green daisy bloomers look a little girlie, but i do think that a little smaller and they'd make good shorts for henry or campbell.

we'll see, now i am off to try my luck at another project. i want to make each of the kids a little cinch bag, something new and special to fill with car toys and treats for our future road trip. 12 hours, 3 kids. yikes.

i sew!

and i have been sewing more. which means that my living room corner is currently lost to a pile of fabric. i tend to think that if i am going to prep (pick out and cut fabric out) for one project, then why not do 10? this thinking has lead to a huge pile of unfinished (due to lack of interest) projects.

but still, sometimes just playing with fabric is half the fun.

my pictures aren't great, but i really love this bag. i had wanted to make a simple black bag for awhile now (try over 2 years- which was how long i have had this fabric) and i had been planning on following a pattern, but then i thought- well, i think i can come up with something on my own.

and presto- i did.

3 series of pleats here at the bottom of the bag. if you look closer in the top picture you can see that the sides of the bottom of the bag tend to stick or pucker out, i decided to not curve or gusset the purse, and i am very happy with how this turned out.

2 small pockets for organizing.

one little pleat at the top of the bag- and i did pleat the lining as well. the bag needed a little something else, so i just traced some petals on felt and threw together this little prototype flower. once i did one, i figured out how i could better do them (you know simple things like matching your top-stitching thread).

more sewing projects to come! when motivation strikes that is.

oh, and seeing that i did come up with this bag from the juices in my brain, technically this is something i could sell.

technically.

forever changing.

remember how happy i was to have a tiny little room for my sewing? that didn't last. the room is still there (currently my fabric habitat) but the practicality i had hoped that room would provide, well... it just didn't. someday a sewing room will be wonderful- when i have the opportunity to truly shut myself off for hours at a time, but honestly, right now i just don't have that. so if i "want" to sew (wanting.... hmmmm.... some days i really just want to lay on the couch, vegging, and dreaming of all the things i could create) i need to be where my children are. it's not a bad thing at all, pretty soon i'll be teaching campbell to use a seam ripper because i believe my sewing will go quicker if i don't have to constantly fix a mess-up.

i am already getting side-tracked with this post.

back to it- the original sewing space i had created has moved. one of my favorite features of our new house is the separate dining space we have created. i will be very sad when this room slowly disappears into the great room remodel we will have- but that is a future project. in this room, we eat, the kids eat (these things do occur separately at times- for sanity sake), i home-school campbell and mason, the kids color, and i craft. this room was technically a bedroom, so it has a wonderful closet that holds all of my crafting supplies and all of my home-schooling books.

at first (sorry, no pictures) our round table was in the center of the room, and we had a hollow box acting as a seat bench (this was full of my crafting supplies). however, this room is small- and having the table center made it incredibly frustrating to navigate around the room.

anyways. when sam was gone earlier this month trying to climb mt. hood (it just didn't work out) i moved my sewing machine in here (and all that goes with it, iron and ironing board) and set it up on the table, and for the second time since we've lived here: i sewed.

and that's when i realized, i have to be near my sewing machine to sew.

um... duh, but i think you get what i mean.

so, sam brought down the sewing table and pushed our round table into the corner. my ironing board is often set up in a separate corner- but when i am really having a sewing lapse (or company over) i can put it in the adjacent closet.

so know, when the kids are taking forever to eat their meal, or working on a project- i can sit close by, prepping a project, running a few stitches, or whatever else my heart desires.

it is already a wonderful fit. and already the table has evolved.

the closet

the sewing table, stage 1

stage 2: adding a little fabric flare

stage 3: getting more of the practicalities there.

my hope is to hang wonderful fabric covered bulliten boards on the wall above my sewing machine, to pin fabric and other wonderful sewing inspiration.

i have been creating, and will share soon.

finally found.

so i thought joking about my camera charger was just that- a joke. but it did take me quite a while to locate the trusty device that gives my camera life. unpacking is still going on, although i don't think we have any boxes in the house anymore, but we do have a bunch of stuff that needs to find homes (preferably someone else's home) besides our garage.

great news- my sewing room is all unpacked. and i actually pulled my iron and ironing board out of there closet and set them up. there is a baby shower in, oh, 18 hours? and the gift remains unmade. but its very simple (and already cut) so a about 30 dedicated minutes and it shall be complete.

technically our house is a duplex, and i have set up my sewing room in our second kitchen, which is right off of the living room on the second side (which is what sam and i use as our bedroom). the plan is to eventually have bedrooms and a playroom built into our downstairs garages (connected inside by stairs) and then sam and i will move into the old playroom and kids rooms, turning the living room (our current bedroom) and kitchen (my sewing room) into a studio apartment to rent out. and i love this idea. i love that we will have a little bit of extra income each month (even though renting the house will take awhile). and i love it- until i pull my curtain back and walk into my cozy little sewing area. and even though i know that after the shifting of rooms i still will have a sewing area (with my table up to a beautiful window that overlooks our yard) i just adore this private little space that i have created for creating.

pictures to come, when i make it a little more personable. right now it is functioning. but now for the first time ever my sewing is not apart of our day to day life, so i can make it my own.

back in time (when i made time to sew, and was currently on a book re-reading marathon) i made the following:

appliquéd trees on the backs of some old navy t-shirts

the boys were matching.

mason's easter dress

little flower topstitching

and a little felt flower appliqué.

the kids at nana and papa's with their easter loot (fyi, sam's sister filled 100 easter eggs full of candy- 100 easter eggs- for these 3.... it was awesome)
campbell hunting for eggs

i didn't get a good shot of mason in her dress, and i never will, as she grabbed a handful of olives and sent a trail of olive juice down her front, staining her pretty dress. oh well. i still enjoyed making it!