the Greener Grocer

I'm having a little chuckle. Apparently, San Fran is banning regular plastic grocery bags -only at the grocers that make the most money! Here's a great chance for the little guys (that generally already sell canvas bags) to start something. Why don't they just charge extra (penny each?) for the plastic, or make a bag rental system? Pick a 'store color' for these ones, sell other colors for the customers who want their own supply (after all, who knows how many people wash the bags after meat was carried, or how well the stores will provide such a service). Sturdier bags, small price. Bring them back each visit. If you don't need as many next time, leave it with the store and get a realistic bag refund.

I bring my own bags, I even walk to the store most of the time! Every time I shop, I get 1-3 cents per bag off my order (the $.01 is supposed to be for reusing the plastic bags, the $.03 is for using your own bags). $.18 cents last time, multiply that by 52 weeks: $9.36. Most of my bags were freebies, though I wouldn't mind picking up another good one with a zipper when I need another bag. I may even start using the cooler bag in the summer for the cold and frozen items.

Edited to add: Whole Foods carries green reusable sacks for 99 cents. They take off (or you can donate) 5 cents per bag per order.

Who’s Got the Time?

"Time! Time! Whose got the time?" queried the Madhatter of the White Rabbit.

Hmm.. Must sleep! But, first, I'm so much happier with the dress! I chopped off the ELD #203 bodice (it's still in usable condition, though, so I may find something for it the next pregnancy) and cut out the bodice of New Look #6587 -with a higher neckline, I wasn't sure how low it would be, so I raised it before it could confound me. The bodice and skirt are together. Have yet to do the sleeves and buttonband, neckline and hem. I'm still deciding between lace and cuffs for the sleeves.. And, I like the sash idea, so I may get enough fabric for the sash and a matching apron.. or at least little girls' dresses.

must crawl to bed...

Flutterbies

TJ takes great pictures! I love the angle on this one -he usually doesn't do that!

The dress: I think that, realistically, it would be wearable, and it's not half bad. For me, I prefer the heavier looking fabric on the heavier end, so it's upside down ;). The nursing opening currently sticks out like a sore thumb. So, I guess next time go up one size. I'm not sure, though. This seems to fit at the shoulders fine, hmm.. maybe a tad tight, so up one size should be okay.

For now, though, I plan to make a new bodice (I have more butterfly print) and take this skirt and attach it to the new top. Then, I'll just need some ribbon or something for the waistband, and I was thinking lace edging for the sleeves and hem.

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Frustration.

How am I supposed to get to the fabric store for the buttons with no car?

Can I register a vehicle that's not in my name so that I can take the one that is here? Oh, no, the baby's carseat is in the van. So, I couldn't go, even in this one.

GRR.

What not to wear: anything in my closet.

ELD #203

I'm constantly in need of a few good dresses.. Mostly because I rarely make ones that I like or will wear much. I've been liking the idea of having a few shirt dresses for casual wear, but don't necessarily want to go around with my dress unbuttoned everywhere. I have a copy of most of the Elizabeth Lee Designs "Nursing Classics" patterns. So, Tuesday night I pulled out pattern #203, adjusted slightly and cut it out. My 2 initial adjustments were:
a) lower the sleeve cap equivalent of 1 size (as mentioned in the #204 directions to give it a fitted rather than slightly gathered sleeve), and
b) made the skirt A-line.

I'd post a picture, but I can't find the camera.. It's probably in this room.. scary thought. I just fixed the locations of the nursing openings. Tomorrow, I plan to go buy some buttons (I checked, I didn't have the 'right ones'), hem the sleeves and put in a skirt hem.. I just hope it's not too uneven.

The next time I make this dress, I will do those aforementioned adjustments plus a few more.
1) lower the waistline. It's an early maternity dress as is.
2) correct nursing opening locations.. running off to mark pattern piece now (for some reason, maybe it's the right place on a larger size, the dots are really high. The lower dot is just about at my bustline). For me, the current waist seamline is the best place for the lower end of the opening (I've got the same issue with the #204)
3) change the neckline. I'm not sure if they were trying for wide scoop or odd boatneck. Perhaps I overdid the interfacing? I need to work on that, too.
4) figure out something to do with the sleeves! Details help in any dress. This pattern is wonderful to someone new to sewing.. I'm a bit more experienced and want a more polished look. Maybe something like this (Julia's blog here).
5) waistline detail. It could use something to merge the 2 fabrics. Maybe when I get buttons, they'll pull it together better.

Fibre Blogger..

Working ob getting this:

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on the sidebar...

Too Cute..

BB likes her black&white dress:

BB: "I cute"

Ben: "And modest"

BB: "I cute"

Ben: "And modest"

BB, firmly: "I cute"

Ben: "And modest"

BB: "No. I cute!"

Ben: "You're cute?"

BB: "Yeah!"

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Something Green

I know I'm a day late, but here's my green:


My wonderful husband splurged by getting me two citrus trees! The close one is a Valencia orange tree, the further one (at the edge of the hedge) is a 'Eureka' lemon tree. I've been wanting fruiting trees since we bought a house in 2004, even half-heartedly tried from itty bitty dormant ones, but they got run over by a lawn mower. Then we moved. I showed him the flyer for the local nursery and he agreed to head over there to look at the mini-citrus that are on sale. We wandered the nursery and, as we were looking at the minis, he noticed that the standard sized trees had fruit on them already. That did it! With all the moving we've been doing (once a year since we married until now) he didn't want to have to wait more than a year for the first crop.


Ben has also been working on the aesthetics of my garden area. We chose the Scotch Moss for the color and he planted that as a ground cover. We got some sort of a runner-weed under the garden area and hope that a good ground cover will eventually choke it out of there.


"Watch this space." Haha.. I was going to plant the sunflowers and smaller veggies over here, but the man had fun with the flower seeds. I can hardly wait to see what it blooms as! I think I'll go and stick my sunflower seeds in there anyway, I was going to put them by the windows to help reduce the summer heat (we don't have A/C).

Cabin Fever?

Ben asked if I've got cabin fever. Well, um, probably? I dunno. I was just trying to plan for the summer when my summer plans went out the window -yes, I only had one thing planned this summer. Maybe I'll plan something else, but I really don't know if I'm allowed out of the house, hahaha. Then Grandpa's birthday party was brought to my attention. Wouldn't it be fun to pack up all the children and drive down there? It's only like a 6 hour drive. We could easily leave in the morning and get there in time for the party. Then I'd get to see my SoCal relatives and they'd get to see the children, and we'd all get to meet my Grandpa's wife's (setp-grandma?) kids! They're visiting (or have they moved here?) from Indonesia. I think it would be fantastic to meet them.

I really have to start setting aside pennies for sunny days.

Girls in the Pool

Last night, I cut out AJ's and this morning I sewed them both:

I did make BB's shirt part a little bit long. I may shorten it a little, but, then again, she may grow into it. I used the One-Hour Bodyshirt pattern from New Conceptions for the bodice of BB's suit. I used the largest size, and the long sleeve and cut it off at the shortest mark -I did take it in on the sides because it's quite wide for swimwear (about 2 inches off total, one from each side, tapering to nothing at the hem of the sleeve). I think using the short sleeve, this pattern would work just fine.. Maybe even for making a larger person's swimdress! Just make the sleeves a touch wider if needed. I chopped it off above the snap extension and added an A-line skirt. Because of the stripes, I turned it and put the seams centered front and back to have that chevron design.



AJ just loves hers. I used the size 4 'Little Girl's Modest Swimming Suit.' This pattern gives you the basic pattern which you then have to lengthen according to your wants and needs. I attached the skirt to the top instead of the shorts (no length change to the bodice), and simply added 2 inches to the sleeves, 3 inches to the shorts and about an inch to the skirt, and I could have easily added another 3 inches to the shorts! Oh, and I left out the 'panties' from inside the shorts. As is, it came out really cute.

She was quite taken by the way the skirt floated around her in the pool! They're still wearing them, and getting everything they sit on soaking wet!


Cow just enjoyed the sunshine and watched the girls swim a bit.

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What’s In Your Pockets?

This one's for DressADay. She had a great tutorial on her blog for adding pockets into a 3-panel skirt. She asked if anyone would show other ways to add pockets. I usually add jeans-style pockets to my A-line skirts:

Here's what jeans generally look like inside:


First thing's first: Get out the ABC and put baby out of the way.

Baby Cow snuggled on my back through most of the sewing parts of this tutorial. Good thing, too, the camera was charging in the other room, so I had to wander back and forth.

Let's get to it. In the spirit of Erin's post, let's pretend you're buying this pattern at one of those lovely sales where they're only a buck or two. I suggest you get the pattern you want, plus one that has the pocket style you want. (I shopped my stash for a pocket pattern and came up with one that I must have bought when TJ was little.. Never been used, too)


Step 1: Trace the pocket edge onto the side of the front pattern piece. If you have an A-Line or other front pattern piece that doesn't match the shape of the pocket, trace that shape onto the side of the pocket pieces (both because they have to be the same shape to work well and you don't want wonky pockets in your skirt). I didn't have to do that on this because I'm making long pants.
(pattern piece on the right is the pocket edge we're tracing. pattern piece on the right has the traced edge for each size because I'm not sure which will fit her right now)


Step 2: Cut out pattern pieces. When using heavier material, like denim, I like to use a lighter weight fabric for the pocket pieces -I used a fun green print because it makes me smile (what will you use?). This keeps from having too much bulk on the front of the hips, and drying time to a minimal. Taking the jeans as an example, to have the same fabric above the pocket opening as below, I've cut a piece for my pocket with a bottom edge that will be at least an half inch lower than where the opening seam edge will be.
(top left: pocket facing, bottom left: pocket, flower piece: Visible piece [matches cuffs on these pants], right: front pattern piece)


Step 3: Sew pocket facing to front piece, Right Sides Together. Grade seams, clip curves, turn, press, topstitch, and all that jazz.


This is what the inside vs outside looks like (Left piece sewn but not turned, Right piece is ready for next step.


Step 4: Finish the lower edge of the Visible Facing thing (whatever, the flowers in this example) if using one, sew it to the pocket piece, matching edges.


Line up with front piece: Place pocket Right Side UP, then place front piece Right Side UP. Match notches, edges. Baste. Treat as one piece for remainder of pattern construction.
(left: inside, right: outside)


Finished example, capri-type things:

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Patch Pockets

The baby does have a face!

I made those pink bloomers for AJ the other day. Only problem was No Pockets. Someone explain to me why the Pattern Makers insist that people look pretty but not for Real Life. Nevermind, don't explain, I know. They refuse to add pockets to keep the aesthetics of the item pleasing to the eye. Sorry, we live in our clothes! Back to the bloomers!

AJ wants pockets in/on all her clothes. I made this first pair according to pattern as a fitting-muslin to try out how the pattern fits her. Must go down a few sizes! She's 4, it's a size 4. I folded down the waistband and sewed it in place again when I finished because the crotch curve area is super long. The elastic was pulled in an extra couple inches. These are wearable and she loves them.


The trick to ironing edges like the patch pockets is a greeting card:

Just mark the needed fold size and press fabric over edge of card:

I learned this on the NMSL, gives nice even smooth folds:

The left pocket has been marked with basting thread. This is wonderful for hems! Just fold and press at the line of stitching, and once the hem is sewn, remove the thread.

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I Found It!!

(edited to stick a picture up here at the top; see, I sewed)


My computer's being a little slow right now, but in just a few minutes I'll be posting pictures again! Yippee!! Oh, and I made the second pair of pants -really, they're too cute with the styling pockets that I added so I could take pics for a tutorial for Dress-A-Day, so pants, not bloomers. :)

I'll get to making that tutorial next, after my pics import and I reboot.
OK, rebooted 3 or 4 times to get the computer to import my blasted photos. Now, where was I?

Oh yes, when last I had pictures, my parents were visiting, Poppa gave baby Cow her first bath:

We had a nice visit and they went on to visit the rest of the family down south.

Our neighbors have been so sweet! We've been given several random congratulations gifts, this one BB wanted for her own:

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Patterns!

The first of my mail order patterns have arrived. I have the girl's 10,12,14 and the ladies sized Modest Swimming Suit. I was hoping to have and begin working on the little girl's 2T-8 pattern, but there was a mixup and they'll send it out tomorrow. Thankfully, the web makes fixing mistakes really quick, too!

I'm hoping to make one for my friend in OK's daughter(s), so maybe I'll just start on that one! I just need to figure out what size everyone is! And, hehehe, they're on diap-up, so they don't read my blog... (they've had issues with sites loading.. and I like picture heavy content when I can).. so, I can post pics and info on surprises like this and they won't even know!!!

Anyway, the pattern is a shirt (top) and skort-ish-thing (skirt & shorts & panties that are all sewn together at the waist). I'm not so sure about the skort thing, but I get the concept. Maybe the panties are supposed to make it more comfortable? I hope they don't ride.. I plan on making the top a touch shorter and attaching the skirt there and just making the pants/shorts thing a second unit. Then, I'll send it out to OK and make them test it and find out if it's comfy.

Oh, and I'll make AJ a suit of her own, too, to see how she likes it. Right now, I've cut out most of a trial run for BB from the New Conceptions'' (I use the Side-Snapping PooPockets pattern for my diapers, when I use diapers) One Hour Bodyshirt pattern. I used the largest cutting line (3T), folded it where it looked good to get rid of the snap area, and used the long sleeve cut off at Newborn length. I need to cut out the skirt and get it sewn to try it on BB. Then, I can make up the swimshorts.

I did Something.

Woohoo! I finished sewing up the first pair of bloomers! This is my 'trial run' pair and they came out cute. Best of all, she likes them. When I find the SanDisk drive, I'll post pictures.

Waiting for a Package

So, I ordered that swimdress pattern (another is here, I'll tell you which I like better). And, I found a link to this company that sells a one piece already made version. I prefer the separate top and bottom, so I'll stick to making ours -Swimwear Solutions pattern makers sell ready made also-, but this one is also available. I've been looking for pattern reviews on either of these patterns, but haven't found any! I may have to dig up what my PatternReview.com membership info was and post one myself! um.. when I have the time..

I've been trying to clean up my sewing room. Imagine having a one month old and trying to make the time to clean up a disorganized sewing room. Add to that the slightly jealous (but getting better with each passing week) nursing 2.5 year old, and clean up that room. And, the somewhat whiny high-touch (not high-needs, mind ye) 4 year old, and keep cleaning. Now, add in the sweet but procrastinating 9 year old who could use a motivation to finish his schooling, and clean up the sewing room. Needless to say, it's a long slow process with crazy piles bigger and more plenty than usual. My husband has been wonderful, while he and TJ were playing WoW on the computer, he held the sleeping baby in the sling to give me a head start.

I found my ironing board.

And my swimsuit fabric.

Bliss.

Last night, I finally cut out some bloomers for AJ from a pattern (New Look 6258 peasant style top/dress and pants/shorts) I bought a couple years ago (I'd post a link, if there is one, but Simplicity.com is having issues). The pattern is sizes 1/2 (half) through 4, so I cut out the size 4. Even if they end up too wide, they'll fit eventually. I picked up some baby sweatpants for Cow last night and AJ put on the size 6mo as tight knickers (pantaloons? shorts to the knees)! The pants/shorts in this pattern are for woven, but still. I cut out 2 pair in corduroy that was lying around, so she can wear them in the fall or on cooler days this spring. Nights can be a touch cool around here sometimes in the summer, but not often.

I've found at least 3 fabrics that can be used for dresses for the girls. AJ could really use some longer dresses. I'd like to make her some from the lighter color fabrics for the summer, that's at least 2 so far.. I may be not seeing one. I'm sure they'll end up soaked and covered in grass stains, but she a child, so who cares? Plus, I still have to have TJ finish the orange dress for her (I messed up with the zipper, is that even possible? I don't know how to put in a 'lapped' zipper it seems and I was trying to follow the directions in the package. When I find my sewing desk again, I'll sew in the zipper properly -it has been removed- and then let him finish up). Has it really been that long? I seem to have no concept of time. It's time to get it done before it fits the next girl!

Someday, I'll even get pictures on my site again! Maybe after I find and use the sewing machine (it's on the desk, just have to make the desk useable).