Tying Up Loose Ends & a Shop Update

       Lately we have been in the middle of a creative super storm- all surfaces of our living space are covered in fabric, wool, patterns, paint, screen printing stuff and all the kid's art sundries. Kid's Clothing Week wrapped up just this past Sunday and I will admit I have really been struggling to finish my last two projects- one the Zephyr Romper from Figgy's Patterns was finally wrapped up yesterday afternoon. 

    I love how it turned out- so does Miss Lo obviously! As with any totally new pattern this one was not with out it's learning curve- I found the back closure to be particularly challenging however having completed it once I now know what I can do differently next time! A great part about home sewing is personalized details- like the large leather buttons on this garment- they came from my Grandma's button collection- now my daughter is wearing them- love that.

      Like I mentioned last Friday I loved participating in Kid's Clothing Week- not only did my Littles get pretty much an entire warm weather wardrobe I also stumbled across many new blogs that are completely inspiring- I loved being part of the Flickr group - seeing what everyone was coming up with! There is another Kid's Clothing Week going into Fall and I am sew looking forward to participating again- this time I may pace myself a bit more!

      In other news- I have a few new goodies going up in the old Etsy shop tomorrow- these sweet little Moleskine notebooks just happened- I am totally digging the layered prints- more of these to come for sure! These are perfect for a friend- or to pop into a Mother's Day card - what Mom doesn't need to make a million lists!What do you think of the new grey cover option?

       Speaking of cards! I have a few new cards going up in the shop as well- this wee little bunny card is perfect for a baby shower- bright and fun for Spring.

       I also have several fun and funny Mother's Day options as well- cause yes it is that time of year again- I know a few girls who will be celebrating their first Mother's Dy this May- how special! In my humble opinion every day should be Mother's Day- but alas it is but once a year- so send your Momma a card or at bare minimum give her a call!

      Friends it is Friday again! Yahooo- It's the weekend! This weekend is going to be crazy busy for me- I am teaching my first screen and block printing class to a group of awesome ladies- and my Father In Law will also be visiting- I know the Littles are looking forward to that! Friends- may your glasses be full of fine boxed wine and the sun be shining on your shoulders- see you next week!

P.S. if you haven't checked it out all ready- please pop over to my Etsy shop- plainjane34 or check out my Facebook page for updates as well- while you are there feel free to "like" my page;)

Kid's Clothing Week:Day 4

    Kid's Clothing Week day 4- I'm surprised I am still actually interested in sewing! It is usually at this mid way point with any project that I start to lose interest! Here we are though- Thursday was day 4 and I am still going strong- it may be all the amazing inspiration to be found on the KCW blog and Flickr page- or maybe just maybe a tad bit of competitiveness on my part that keeps me moving forward! It is easy to get excited about sewing with all the amazing clothes others are posting- it really reminds me of studio days back in art school when people gather for a collective critique!

     At any rate for day 4 I chose to sew the Ofelia dress from Pattern's by Figgy- such a cute little shape and again an easy breezy, fun dress for Miss Lo to wear this summer! I am not sure what this fabric is as I found it on clearance Boxing Week at our local big box fabric store- I loved the sunset colours and soft texture- while I wasn't sure what I would sew with it I knew this fabric would be something special! 

    This is a great little dress to layer up right now when the weather is not quite warm enough for shorts- I think it looks fab over Miss Lo's jeans! I omitted the ribbon detail that is called for down the front of the dress as again I was going for something simple- but I did trim out the sleeves in a warm orange biased tape that compliments the main dress fabric nicely. 

    While the over all goal of this week has been to get a jump start on our Spring sewing and offshoot for me has been connecting with some fantastic people- loving all the great blogs I am stumbling across as the week progresses! I love to see so many people sewing such incredible clothing and doing what they love- I think this is the true reward of KCW!

    

      Friends it is Friday again! I still have a couple of days of sewing left- I saved a brand new(to me) pattern for over the weekend- I am excited to get started on that! Also if you are local to Vancouver- this weekend is the GOT CRAFT? show and sale that has been moved to Templeton Highschool- if I am not too busy sewing I may swing by- a few of my favourite people will be there including Draw Me A Lion!

Kid's Clothing Week: Day 3

      Kid's Clothing Week- day 3- Children's Blossom Blouse from Sew Liberated- one of my favourite pattern and lifestyle books- with 20 great patterns to chose from I have made almost every single one- yes it really is that good! If you are looking for a wonderful handmade book to act as a jumping off point to a handmade life- this is a good place to start- very easy to follow and lovely pictures to inspire!

      For day 3 I chose to sew the Blossom Blouse- or a version of-  I have made several of these blouses  for Miss Lo over the years as she grows and love how you can change a basic pattern so many times to create very different looks. Today I shortened the sleeves a tad- omitted the elastic gathering for a more simple and clean look. As necessity is the Mother of invention- ahem I was out of elastic- I made a button hole opening at the neckline and inserted vintage silk ribbon into the neck casing.  I love the look of the little drawstring at the neck- paired with the simple sleeves I think this top is very French looking- think Bonpoint style!

     The fabric used is actually Memoire a Paris from Lecien- beautiful soft printed cotton from Japan- very reminiscent of the smocks and nightdresses my Mom sewed for my sister and I in the 70's- really innocent and childish- perfect for the coming months of warm weather when we want to be cool but not let the sun touch those perfect little shoulders!

Kid's Clothing Week: Day 2

 Day 2 of Kid's Clothing Week and it was decided that The Boy needed some new shorts- this in it's self is nothing new- this kid is growing like a weed and always needs new pants! I think I have sewn this pattern- Oliver & S Sandbox Pants- three times already for him in the past few months- blogged about here and here. To say it's a favourite of both the sewing Momma and The Boy would be an understatement- this pattern is simple and straight forward with fantastic details like the pockets and draw string!

      With the temperatures steadily inching consistently towards 20 degrees I decided to make this pair into shorts- or as we used to call them back in the day- which was also a Wednesday- "Jammers"! The Boy spotted this great whale fabric  at Spool of Thread a few weekends ago- it is Set Sail for Birch Fabrics- lovely soft organic cotton in a great teal shade- accented with a pop of green organic cotton at the cuffs, pockets and waste band. Because this is technically a full length pants pattern all I did was shorten it by about six inches and then add the contrasting green cuff- which finishes the leg off nicely.

       It can be really tough for me to sit down and sew for my boy- the patterns aren't as fun and neither are the fabric choices ( as patterns for the gals)- I am so glad that Spool of Thread is such a great resource in Vancouver- carrying not only inspiring boy's patterns but also tonnes of "masculine" fabric selections that my boy totally digs! When I'm working with great products it is easy to get carried away and want to keep sewing more- hence I have another pair of the Sandbox Pants cut out in a super sturdy brown twill for another day this week!

Kid's Clothing Week: Day 1

      Yesterday - which was Monday- was the first day of Kid's Clothing Week- for those of you needing to catch up... Kid's Clothing Week is an online challenge where in the participants pledge to sew for at least an hour a day for the next seven days. The idea is to get a jump start on that growing stack of kid's Summer clothes that we all have lurking in our sewing room!

    For my first project I chose a fairly easy McCall's(M6022) pattern- and while I had not made this configuration before I have sewed other tops out of the pattern- so I was pretty familiar with the construction and everything came together fairly quickly. The fabric I chose was this sweet little vintage table scarf that I picked up at Community Thrift & Vintage a while ago- hand embroidered and washed so soft this has turned into the perfect Summer top for Miss Lo! Accented with some organic teal blue cotton at the yoke and bias- the blue is a soft wash that nicely compliments the vintage embroidery.

     Not only was yesterday the first day of the sewing challenge it was also Earth Day- so I thought I would start things off by re-using this little vintage pretty. I love breathing new life into something that others may think to be obsolete- giving a wee girl a soft new top- perfect for a Summer day!