When Yoga is just not your thing!

Most people will tell you to relax by doing Yoga. Oh, it teaches you to breathe and stretch, and you will feel so much better if you joined a class. Well I say to hell with a Yoga class, start sewing. Sewing is so relaxing for me, and most importantly so rewarding. Everytime I finish a project, I am so proud, and confident that I can finish anything I want to. If I envision a dream vacation, it would be to lock myself in the house for a week....no husband....no kids.....just me and my sewing machines....

Here is my latest creation. I bought the fabric at LauraLeeCreations. I also purchased a matching knit and a velour with diamonds. Originally, I was going to make something out of a lightweight knit, however the weather has been so cold. She has almost no winter clothes, and this new velour is so baby soft.

The pattern I used is 2 and 3 from the Winter 2004 Ottobre magazine, Size 62. It was actually quite easy, but I had problems with the pockets. They were just too bulky, so I tried to put binding around them, and forget the lining. I did not like that either. At this point, I had spent two nights working on the pockets, so I was not happy. Last but not least, I dropped the pockets completely. The print is busy enough, that it did not need the pockets.

What I really like about the top is the length. It is just perfect for a crawler. I used a very fine corduroy for the binding, and it was very easy to sew in place using Teri's binding methods. I could not take the picture without the binding appearing sort of red in color. It is almost a perfect match. I didn't put a button in the front because I did not think the top needed it. Again, it would have been too busy for the print. The fit was perfect. I was sort of surprised that I have not seen more of these tops.

The leggings fit perfect. The pattern is such that the front and back pieces are one. Combined you have only two pattern pieces to sew together. Talk about an easy 15 minute pattern. Wonderful.

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HAPPY NEW YEAR

Just the way I like it....New Years Day, the kids are sleeping, and the Vienna Philharmonica Orchestra is playing Strauss. Now all I need is a Berliner or Krapfen and I would feel like I am home. One of these days, I will learn to make them. That will be fun. Oh goodness, no more sweets. My waistline is about to burst. I did my first set of 50 sit-ups tonight after the kids went to bed. I have to get my belly back in shape.

I hope 2008 brings lots of changes, happiness and good health to everyone! I for one am looking forward to a new year. We have lots of things planned for this year.........like going to Europe this Spring, buying a new car in the Fall, and putting Nicolas in PreSchool. Of course, I have lots of projects planned:
- Cleaning out the Garage (getting rid of lots of things no longer needed).
- Selling things on Ebay
- Making bedroom curtains for my sister.
- Redoing my Dining Room Chairs.
- Sewing a complete wardrobe for Olivia and Nicolas.
- Sewing for myself again.
- Cutting down on my stash.
I think it will be fun to experience Olivia's first year. She will be walking soon, and eating by herself. I am looking forward to seeing Nicolas and her play together and take baths. At the moment, Nicolas still has a size and speed advantage over her, but that will change once she can walk. It makes me smile to just think about those two together.

So back to my sewing. I wandered away from Ottobre for alittle while, and bought a new pattern from New Conceptions. It is a baby crossover T-Shirt. I was not too impressed with the one from Ottobre, however I may try it again with a different material. I made the first T-Shirt in a size 6-9 months, and it is huge. Now I am making another shirt in a size 0-3mos, and it looks like it is going to fit. It is very easy to put together. The binding was really easy. It took me about an hour, so if I do have a good fit, then I am sure I will be making alot of these shirts in the future. I would really like to make a dress as pictured below. I just love this owl knit too. No,no,no...first I am going to get rid of the stash I have.

So here is the shirt. I made it out of a thermal knit fabric I purchased several months ago. I thought it would look different, much lighter. Since it is not my ideal fabric choice, I decided to test the pattern with it, and then turn it into pj's for Olivia. Good timing, since the temperatures are at 38degrees right now (9:17pm). They are going to dip into the 20's tonight. Hard to believe in Florida the temperatures reaching such low levels. I cannot test the fit, since the little one is sleeping, but it comes close to the fit of several of her shirts. Yippee! I hope it fits. I like the opening much better then that of Ottobre. It sits lower. I also like the binding and how flat it lies. That is not the case with Ottobre pattern.

The new Ottobre is due to arrive in about 10 days. Yippee! I cannot wait to start sewing Spring things. Speaking of which, I have to make a birthday todo list for Olivia: 24 days and counting.
- Pajamas
- Birthday Dress
- Orange Velour Pants and Euro Knit T-Shirt
- Corduroy Jumper Ottobre
- Pink Quilted Coat

On another note, Daddy has been working with Nicolas on spelling his Name. Tonight he said NICLAS. We were very proud of him. At least he is trying.

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Stumped or Slumped?

I cannot seem to get my sewing machine in second gear, let alone first. However, I did manage to finish this bodysuit from Ottobre. Olivia has so many clothes. My sister sends me clothes every three months, and she has not even worn some of them. I am always happy when she tells me that her daughter has no clothes that fit. Maybe then I will be able to sew something Olivia needs.

I am not sure why I am complaining. I could start sewing some clothes for the springtime. She has barely grown, and I am sure if I sew something 1-2 sizes larger, the items will definitely fit. Plus, I got some wonderful fabrics today that will look great next summer. They are so soft and perfect for a little girl. Yippee!!!!!!! This is exactly what I was looking for.So back to my pattern. I have been wanting to test the fit of this wraparound bodysuit (6/2007 #05 size 62), because I would like to alter the pattern to make dresses. Anyways, I was quite happy how the whole thing went together. Very easy, and as always, everything matched right up and the body was sewn in no time. The only problem I had was with the binding and the snaps. Personally, I like to fold over the binding and then handstitch it. It always looks clean and it lies flat. However, this is a knit, and my method is used on wovens. So I am going to have to practice until I get it to look perfect. Maybe next time I can use the coverstitch. Scary thought! Back that one up. Not ready yet. The snaps. I placed interfacing behind the snaps, however one tug, and the material was ripping. Sewing a piece of grosgrain or fabric to the back of the snap would probably help to avoid this problem, much more then my interfacing.

To do list:

White T-Shirt - Nicolas

Black corduroy pants with large cargo pockets - Nicolas

Pinafore Dress - Olivia

Wraparound Dress - Olivia

Crawling Pants - Olivia

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Deck the Halls with lots of Sewing....FaLaLaLaLa.....

Ok, this is a copy of the Pottery Barn holiday dress. I love it, and it has given me alot of ideas.

I started with an Ottobre pattern #3 from the Summer 2005 issue. The pattern includes a yoke and a skirt, and the zipper closure is in the back. I measured what I needed for the pleats, and then I altered the pattern. I started by sewing the shoulder seams. Then I added the front skirt panel, and then the back skirt panels. The pattern includes sleeves and a neck/collar facing. I did not want the sleeves, so I had to change the facing. I copied the yoke pattern, and extended it about 2 inches. The PB dress yoke ends below the armpit, however the Ottobre yoke pattern ends within the armseye. I need to change that. The PB dress is tighter around the waist and therefore more fitted. The Ottobre dress appears to be more of an A-line dress. Normally, you would start by sewing the shoulder seams, and then attaching the lining. In this case, I had to add the skirt first and then the lining. Pulling the lining through the shoulder seam is easier without all the bulk of the skirt.

The other problem was the length. I need to add at least 1 inch if not two. Then I should lower the neckline. I think it would look nicer with a blouse. And last but not least, I hate putting in a zipper, so adding some width to the back yoke and skirt for either buttons and/or snaps sounds like another good idea. Here is a picture of the Monogram.

So now all I need to do is make a blouse, but Ottobre does not have one for infants. I will probably have to use one of my heirloom patterns.

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Pink and Lace

After entertaining my in-laws for 10 days, my husband and son gave me the weekend to sew. I did sew, but there were so many things that got in the way, that I barely finished the dress on Sunday evening. On Friday, my daughter got her vaccinations and shortly thereafter developed a very high fever. I had less then three hours of sleep that night. I tried my best to stay awake on Saturday, but as soon as I read the pattern instructions, I fell asleep. Saturday night was a bit better. She woke up around midnight cying, but then fell asleep again until my son woke us up at 6:00am. Then to add to my bad luck, I woke up with a terrible migraine on Sunday and it would not subside all day. The good news is that my dd's fever broke on Saturday evening, and she was almost back to her "happy" self on Sunday.

So, back to the dress. I decided to try something besides an Ottobre pattern. This is NEW LOOK 6687 in a size NewBorn. I really liked the pattern picture. The Ottobre patterns in a size 62 have been too big, so I thought I would try something new. This dress was too big too. It will most likely fit her in about 4 weeks. The fabric is a pink and white striped seersucker.

The pattern went together very well, and the instructions were easy to follow. The bodice is doubled, which I will probably not do again. Instead I think a batiste as the lining would probably feel lighter and feel softer on the baby's skin. The armhole and sleeve binding went on very easily. I liked the way New Look applied this part of the pattern. The binding was sewn together to form a circle and then a 3/8" was pressed under on one of the long edges. The other edge is then sewn (3/8" of course) to the dress. I will probably use their idea again in combination with some other patterns. The skirt had a nice fullness. I was not fond of putting a zipper into the dress. I used a lightweight invisible zippper. Have to practice my techniques again. It has been a long time since I had to add a zipper to anything.

Very happy with this pattern, and I cannot wait to to make the romper.

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Ripe Red Cherries

Frannie Baby

A pattern I bought last year from Childrens Corner. The dress is actually small enough to fit Olivia. This was a test garment. I needed to find out how easy this pattern was to sew, and if it fits.

I actually hit some rough spots with this pattern. The dress is lined, and it calls for piping at the neck - not binding. I did the binding, because I was too lazy to make the piping. It actually worked out quite nicely. I had a hard time with the elastic that ran under the arms. I could not pull the safety pin which was attached to the elastic, through the middle seam. I figured out a new way to get the same results, so in the end it worked just fine. Attaching the lining to the dress and pulling it to the right side also gave me a bit of a problem. I had to rip the stitches out at least once on the hem. Other than that, the dress fit wonderfully.

The bloomers were easy to sew. I added lace to the bottom of the bloomers. The fabric is red and white seersucker gingham. As usual the bloomers were way too big. I have no idea why. I could have pulled them up to her chin.

Conclusion: She looked adorable, and we got compliments in the Ralph Lauren Factory Store. Now I know I can add this pattern to my list of things to make in the future.

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Next in Line

I'm finished. I am finished sewing in a frenzy trying to get everything done for Sophia's birthday. It was fun. Hectic but fun. So of course my mind continues to work, and I have to think about what I am going to do next. It will be awhile before I start sewing again, because my house has some serious "hot spots" that need to be addressed.

In the meantime, I am blogging alot of pictures of sewn items that I would like to make. I started a new blog which I am using as a source of inspiration. That was alot of fun.

Well, these shoes are going to be the inspiration for my next project. Mom bought these for Nicolas when he was a baby. I think she bought them in Portugal. There is no reason that Olivia cannot wear these shoes as well. I just dont have anything in navy blue for a little girl. I just need to find a pattern and material that will go well with these shoes. So how about something in white? White....boring, but so clean and crisp as a summer dress. That would be cute. I have some cute white fabric in my stash that I think would do well. Ruffles. How about this? Cute dress and it would look great in white.

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Girlie Things

I had so much fun sewing for my son, can you imagine how much fun it is sewing for a girl! There is so much to choose from. The choices for patterns and fabrics are endless. So I always like when I am inspired by something or someone else. Coming up with new ideas is just not my strongpoint.

So I found this burda pattern, and since Olivia is not blonde like me, I thought the red prints would look great on her. I intend to add some more pieces to this ensemble, however I really had to work on another important project.

This was a size 62, and it turned out to be bigger then her normal size 62 clothes. The construction was easy and fast. I had problems with the front ruffle piece, which ended up being too short. I also thought the ruffle was too wide, at least for the baby sizes. I reviewed this pattern here at Patternreview. I will definitely sew this up again, but most likely when Olivia gets a bit older.

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Olivia's Room

Although I am not completely finished with her room, I have finished everything important, and thought it was time to get the pictures up on my blog. I actually only have a few small things that still need to be done, like hanging pictures.

Cool Slideshows

First of all, I owe the completion of this room to my parents. If it was not for my father and mother painting and sewing, and their great ideas, I probably would still be working on this room. The only thing I did was the crib. Thanks mom and dad.

My father painted the room. It turned out to be a bit more neon then the paint chip, so we had to paint the room twice, adding a quart of white paint to dim the color. My father also painted the dresser, the dollhouse, and the flower hooks. Yes, he is a great painter!

My mom put everything together. She made the daybed cover, and all of the pillows. She found the carpet in Target, and loved the various pastel colors. I was stuck on pink and green, but she liked all of the colors, in particuliar yellow and pink. She was right. The yellow looked much better with the pink then the green. She went to Michael's and found all the knick-knacks for the wall, and the dollhouse. She also added the roses to the lamp.

I did the crib and the bulletin board, and the pictures which are not finished yet. I saw the bumper pads on a website and fell in love with the plush padding. They really turned out nice. I do realize that they will probably have to come out once she is old enough to stand. The idea for the bedding came from a store in Germany called "Baby Royale". The bedding in that store was simple and very elegant. I copied their boys room for Nicolas, which was alot like this one, except navy blue ribbon and no ruffles. If I can find a picture I will post it.

I am very happy with how the room turned out. Although the room is a bit cramped due to the sleigh bed, it comes in quite handy. I have often spent the night there when Olivia gave me a hard time sleeping. It also allows me to keep my sewing room intact. We don't get that many guests, and when we do, I will have to move Olivia into our room or the sewing room. It is that simple.

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Creativity and my mom

I love it when life just throws you things, and suddenly everything just comes together - like a game of connecting the dots........

I recently discovered a line of fabrics through a group on Yahoo, which I would have never looked at if I was not having a little baby girl on Valentines Day. At the same time, yesterday I was introduced to a blog, again which I would have never looked at if I was not pregnant with a little girl. It turns out that this blog www.HELLOmynameisheather.com just happens to be written by the woman who designed the above mentioned beautiful line of quilting fabrics. I really enjoyed reading it. This woman is not only very creative and a talented writer, but has two children, loves to sew and is a stay-at-home-mom. She has also managed to have a career on top of everything else. How absolutely wonderful! I am so envious.

After reading everything I could about her and her beautiful life, another thought would not leave my mind, and it was something my sister said to me earlier on the phone. I was telling my sister about how Nicolas, my three year old son, was once again sick with the flu. This is the second time in less then two months. I thought he had a cold, however yesterday (day 6) he got a very bad fever. I knew then, that he had a bug again. I spent the entire month of December taking care of him and my husband, because they both had the stomach flu. I was 9 mos. pregnant at the time, and still feeling pretty good, however this is no longer the case. I have four weeks left, and I am not always my cheerful self. Finding time for myself is a bit harder, because I am always so tired. I have a tendency to blame life for alot of things, and I guess that was what I was doing again to my sister. She, however, very quickly turned everything around, and reminded me about how mom did such a wonderful job of taking care of us when we were sick. She put us in bed, with the tv on, serving us food all day, and entertaining us. She always made us feel so special.

My mom! Yes she did do a wonderful job of making us feel special. My mom is and was probably the most important friend and inspiration in my life. She had also managed to raise two girls, sew most of our clothing, and sew much of our interior decorations. She was and is the best interior designer I know. She is also the best cook, always coming up with new ideas. (Having a german background helps.) She has always dressed and looked beautiful, and has a heart of gold. I could go on and on, but I guess the point I am trying to make is that she was the best Stay-at-Home-Mom.

So, last night I fell asleep thinking about Heather, my mom and myself, while my son Nicolas laid next to me in my king size bed. I no longer felt sorry for myself, and the fact that this little girl's nursery was not going to be finished on time. Instead I felt like I was being a good Mom, and that my creative side would find time tomorrow or the next day to still accomplish something.

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