Ponky the Giant Squid

I may have been crazy, but I did it anyways, I made an eight foot long stuffed giant squid.

M loves sea creatures these days, and when I saw these directions pinned on Pinterest… and with Mr. OHM's encouragement, I had to make it.  Lots of fleece and a GIANT bag of stuffing later, here he is!

He greeted the kids Christmas morning and M was thrilled, giving him lots of hugs before he had him attacking the pirate ship he got from Oma (oh and massaging him with his new toy drill too… poor Ponky).

The directions I had were pretty good, and I think he turned out well.. Stuffing the loges tentacles was a super huge pain, and I ended up having to add a second opening (more hand sewing yay!)

And I was sooo on top of things before Christmas that I was sewing the eye on Christmas morning before they kids woke up…. 

Why Ponky you ask?  I have no idea, that's just what M named him, and I think it's rather cute.

2013 - A Short Review

Sure I didn't sew or blog as much as I wanted in 2013 (I'm blaming getting used to having two kids and trying to sell a house!), but I'm still happy with what I made!

So heres a little recap.

And here are a few things that I made by haven't blogged (and might not blog) yet.

I also started making these scarves from woven wraps to sell just last month.  I've sold a number, and we'll see how it goes, I do love them! (more details on my Facebook page HERE.)

What in store for 2014?  I'll keep it simple.

- Sew mostly from my stash.  I managed to acquire a LOT of new patterns and fabrics this year (probably because I have easy access to all the lovely stuff at Fabrications!)  So I plan to sew mostly from that this year!
- Learn to draft patterns.  I'm taking a course on drafting a skirt at Fabrications next week so hopefully that will go well!
- Organize and finish setting up my sewing room, I moved and started this in the summer, and when it's done it will be awesome!  I also plan to better organize my fabrics/patterns/projects (in an app or database)  I so easily loose track of what fabric I have and what I plan to do with it!

How was your 2013?  And whats planned for 2014?

A Ruby Christmas

Since I don't have girls to make Christmas dresses for, I figured, I could make one for myself right?

I bought some of this fabric at my local chain store because I LOVED the Rudolph cartoon as a kid, and my son loves it now too.  I figured I'd make like a pillow or something, so I just got a meter of it.

But then I thought, maybe I could make a dress!  I thought a bit, and wondered if maybe Made by Rae's new Ruby dress might fit the bill as it didn't need much of the main fabric.  Sure it calls for more than a meter, but with some careful cutting (it's the Dutch part of me) and since I only needed to cut an XS, it was JUST enough.

(Please excuse my crazy hair ;)

I paired it with some blue cotton and bingo.  Only one problem remained, this dress is NOT accessible for my eager nursing babe.  So I thought, can I just add a button placket.  Not too hard, just cut the front bodice in half at the centre and lengthened each side a few inches so I could make a placket.  I still finished it with bias tape (although the wider stuff was all I had on hand)  It's not perfect by any means, but as Christmas dress that won't get worn very often, it was ok.

The final issue was that the top bodice is NOT long enough to access the girls.  So I slit the skirt down 3 inches in the centre front, rolled a tiny hem and top stitched it.  With the gathers in front it isn't obvious, but gives a bit more room.  If I make this again (which I likely will as it's a quick sew even with the changes)  I'd go down another inch, add a proper facing (I just zig zagged around the bottom of the V, but it'll give out with repeated use.) and a small snap or so as it may gap if longer.

So now we're ready for Christmas! (please excuse me while I finish sewing three more gifts)

Oh and I'll share too that I made a couple lengths of Christmasy bunting this year too.  I wanted quick safe ornaments for our tree, and so I've hung the bunting there this year,  its a bit big, but ok, and in future years I can hang the bunting elsewhere!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS ALL!

Facebook and a new endeavour

So I've finally created a Facebook page for these here lil blog.  Sure there isn't many of you followers, but I thought why not!  Check it out here: http://www.facebook.com/oldhousemamawears

And plus, it seemed a good platform to hawk my new mini endeavour.  Making infinity scarves from woven wrap fabric, Didymos indios in particular.  After making one up from a scrap and getting such a positive response, and encouragement to make more from other mamas in my local babywearing group, I thought hey, why not try it!

This is the one I made for me from a hemp blend indio called Lila.

I have several other indios to chop up on the way, and one here already.  So you all should go check them and me out here  http://www.facebook.com/oldhousemamawears  sometime.

One Year Old in a Bimaa Hoodie

Hard to believe this sweet, sweet boy is already one!  It seems just like yesterday we snuggled into bed after his birth a chilly morning in December.

And today he's a bundle of silliness, just starting to form almost words, and just starting to stand on his own.

To help celebrate, I thought I'd make him something new, and made him up a Bimaa hoodie.  I got this pattern in a bundle a few months ago, and loved the slim fitting style and oversized hood.  And it delivered exactly what I wanted.

I made the 12 month size, and it fits exactly.  I plan to make more, but I'll definitely size up.

I wasn't 100% sure of the big hood, but it's the perfect oversized hood!  Look at it! it's too much cuteness!

And now he can sorta match his brother when he wears the cardigan I made him!  I need to get a picture of that at Christmas!

A Spring Coat in the Fall

I admit it, I'm behind in writing posts.  I have been sewing, sure not as much as I'd like, but I have been.  But everything with two kids is kinda sporadic.  So I think I just need to embrace it, and post when I can!  I have a backlog of a few projects, and this is one of them.

A coat for baby E.

This is Anna Maria Horner's Baby in the Hood pattern from her Handmade Beginnings Book.  You may remember I made for for M 2 years back.  I love the hood and contrast fabric panels, so I thought I'd make up one for E's first spring and fall.

I made his back in April, and Little E did get some wear out of this little coat though in the spring, but lots more this fall as it fit him better.  I made the 9-12 months size, so he some room to grow when I made it for him at 5 months, but sadly he's now to big for it and well, it's about winter anyways!

These pictures are from back in September, and gosh he looks adorable eh?

I did make some changes when sewing this one up though.  One is obvious, I put a zipper in instead of toggle buttons.  I found it almost impossible to get toggles done up on a squiggly baby, and much prefer a zipper.  I didn't change the pattern at all for the zipper really, so it's a bit awkward as it's just attached to the outside edge of one button placket, and sewn into the inside edge of the placket on the other side.  Problem is the way the seam lays on the inside edge means that the zipper teeth are facing the wrong way.  it's not really noticeable when warm, so I didn't care.  It made it way easier to get on!

I also lengthen the coat as I found my previous version a bit short.  I can't remember by how much, but I think about 1.5 inches on this one.

I love little coats on babies eh?  Especially with adorable hoods!

Selfish Sewing Week: Lemon Saltspring Dress!

I finished something!  For me!  It's kinda miraculous!

It's the new(ish) Saltspring Dress by Sewaholic Patterns.  I've been on the lookout for a go to knit dress.  One not too simple, but not too involved, and I think I might have found it in this dress!

It's a pattern for wovens or knits, but with a good knit you can omit the back zipper which I did and it's an easy fit, and super comfy dress!  And it hides those middle bits you might not like so much too!

I'm not convinced yellow is my colour, but I thought I'd try it, and it sure brightened up my fall!  And with a sweater and some boots I think this dress, despite it's rather summer friendly looks, can be an all season dress!  And well I even wear my summer dresses in the dead of winter with sweaters and tights so for me there are no seasonal limitations on sleeveless dresses!

Despite some issues with this fabric (I really think the triangles should be point up, but thats not the way it was printed)  The weight of it was perfect, and I actually cut this from 2 meters (probably aided by cutting a size 2 and having narrower back pieces without the zipper.)  And I think it's the perfect size.  I'm a size 2 up top, but a umm.. 6 or 8 at the waist (depeding on time of day)  But all I did was cut my elastic the length recommended for the size 6 and it worked fine!  I suppose the skirt is a teensy less full, but I like it!  I Also cut the bodice and skirt longer (the length of the largest size) to accommodate my long torso and long legs!  

And bonus (and one of the reasons I like this dress) it's nursing friendly.. just untie a strap!

Now off to hopefully finish my second project before I fall asleep or a baby wakes up!