These guys and I had the very good fortune this past weekend to have a grandmother visiting from out-of-town who was eager to entertain her grandkids off-site. My own mom is always eager to have the grandkids and she picked up the slack the minute my mother-in-law pulled out of town. This equalled long blocks of time for me in the sewing room and even with the paint plus crayon mishap that I had early in the week, I've really been able to kick out some new clothes for these growing kids.
First, a second school bus tee. Nothing fancy here except this fabric. I'm really just going for it this time with the good stuff. I'm confident at this point that the kids will wear the handmades until they are threadbare and I might as well enjoy the quarterly marathon-sewing that gets them back into clothes that fit. This good stuff is, perhaps, the most squishy, beautiful fabric that I've ever sewn with. It's from Simplifi. I added two inches to the tee and I drafted a quick pocket. I tarted the whole thing up with a little rainbow tab made from foldover elastic that I've had for ages.
The shorts are Dana Made It's Shorts pattern, released last summer. The fit is great, they are a no brainer - which is just what I was looking for. I think that using poly/blend bias tape from the big box store is a mistake. He's not complaining but boy, it felt so crispy and uncomfortable. I'll make my own the next time around. The sewing is super quick and satisfying.
I made a Flashback Tee for her, (of course). I used the ruffle sleeves from the Geranium pattern and I really like the effect except that the sleeves like to flip up and over, exposing the seam. I have to figure out how to get them to stay down. Any ideas???
The skirt is my fourth make from Happy Homemade. I am totally smitten with this little skirt and with the fabric. Will definitely make this one again.
Usually, at the midpoint, I start to repeat the patterns that I liked that worked best but there's still a couple of things that I want to try, namely a swimsuit, the wide-leg pants from Happy Homemade and a second pair of Kudzu's. I just downloaded an audio version Prodigal Summer (an old favorite book of mine) and the kids are hooked on the Mouse and the Motorcyle and Toys Go Out (also in audio-versions) so I think that I can continue the marathon if need be:)
