October 2008 Archives

OK, so things are looking awfully redundant around here and even I have to admit that perhaps I should start taking photos elsewhere...but the light is so pretty in the bedroom by that wall...oh well.

Anyway, here is the other pair of pants I whipped up. I wasn't too sure about the knickerbocker look at first, but now I'm liking it a lot. I made the shirt awhile back, using the same pattern as this shirt. The pants are from yet another Japanese craft book ISBN978-4-579-11194-7. The roughly translated title is "Innocent and Cute Girl's Clothes".

We've managed to fend off the second bout of flu. Hooray! I'm now working on a cute little sewing project I'll show you in a few days. Oh! And Halloween is just around the corner. I made a ladybug costume last year and when I asked the Koom what she wanted to be this year she said "Bat." Then she said, "Purple Bat!" So I guess I'll be on the lookout for serious yardage on purple felt. Anyone know of a good pattern for a bat costume?

I made three pants for the Koom Koom recently. Two of them look like the one above (the other one is gray) and aren't really anything to write home about. But they are GREAT. So easy to match up with the mish mash of tops she has, so comfortable and perfectly fitted. The top she's wearing, now that's something to stir up a conversation. My ever talented mama made it out of scraps and it's one of my favorites.

My life goal is to be able to just make up outfits in the spur of the moment like my mother does. No laborious pattern (in fact, usually no pattern at all), no constant checking of steps 2 to 3 to 4 in a book that refuses to stay open. I'm still a mere novice needing the gentle and careful guidance of pre-printed patterns and instructions.

The thought of designing my own line of well-made children's clothes is enough to make me want to dance too.

By the way, the inevitable is happening. Around this time last year the flu entered into our household and the illness refused to leave. It mutated and morphed and caused general malaise for MONTHS. I was bed-ridden this last Saturday and am just now feeling a little like myself. MF too was feeling milder versions of my pains and now the Koom seems like she's starting to get another fever...oh no oh no oh no.....

The Koom has been feeling a tad under the weather. She had a fever last night and had that expression above for most of today. But by evening, she insisted on "family dance" which involves a lot of bopping around by the three of us to funk music. My poor downstairs neighbor.

So here is a suspender dress I've been dying to make. I stayed up till the wee hours of the night because I was so excited to make it. I have to say the end result is...eh. I used a pattern from my Japanese craft book (ISBN978-4-579-11194-7) and I had the hardest time deciphering the instructions. There were many mistakes made. I also had barely enough of the fabulous pink wool fabric so I had to shorten the suspenders quite a bit. Yet they're still too long!

My favorite part about this outfit is the boots/tights combo. That gross looking thing on the green plate is homemade play dough. The consistency is amazing and it was really easy to make. I got the recipe via The Crafty Crow and you can find it here. Just don't use India Tree natural food coloring like I did because you'll end up with pukey, poopy colors.

Here's another shot -- I just love those boots! I got them at this hip consignment store for eight bucks and they look brand new. Plus, they fit perfectly. Koom Koom was not cursed with my calves, thank goodness. I've always wanted knee-length boots but have never been able to find a pair that can handle my calves. Sigh.

So I have more pictures of other linen items I've been sewing up. But they'll have to wait for another day. We've been freaking out about the economy and I've been sucked into reading the news. I never read the news. It's truly a crisis when you find me glued to the screen poring over the New York Times and Bloomberg.com.

I could not, for the life of me, remember how many months my little girl is and had to check the last monthly update. October snuck up, and here we are at 26 months. I have been slacking on the blog front, I know, but no one warned me that pre-school would take over my life. To make up for it, I am including lots and lots of pictures.

Yes, it's true. The Koom Koom started pre-school last month. But it's a cooperative pre-school which means she only goes twice a week for a couple of hours each. And of those two days, she goes alone only one day. What makes it a cooperative is the heavy parental involvement, including attending pre-school with your child on the other day. And when I say heavy, I mean HEAVY. There are meetings, jobs (mine is health, safety and nutrition), stations (i.e. playdough, art table, dramatic play), snacks (for 18 kids), and on and on and on. It's a doozy and I'm a bit overwhelmed.

What makes it all worthwhile is that the Koom LOVES it. Absolutely adores it. She didn't even mind being dropped off that first time, and has barely looked at me as I leave on drop-off days.

And because there needs to be a picture at this point, here's one of the linen lovelies I made.

I am venturing into designing from scratch, rather than using the many patterns from my beloved Japanese craft books. That crooked hemline? Not your imagination. This is what happens when I make up the patterns.

Fortunately, you can't tell at all once the dress is on. You might also recognize the fabric from the Colette doll.

It's getting challenging coming up with new props.

I love these buttons on the back. They're super thin and organic looking and I like brown with orange. Then again, I like brown with every color.

Here's a botched attempt at designing from scratch. Please tell me the buttons don't look like blue nipples. I would really appreciate that.

It's way too big, way too wide. The striped long-sleeved tee underneath is actually a onesie -- I snipped off the snap portion and made it into a t-shirt. The ensemble is kind of cute, no?

Another development is that she refuses to sleep in her crib. For the past month she's been sleeping on the futon in the living room, calling it her bed. The good news is that she's sleeping mostly on her own. Then I discovered that the crib (which we got for free from a friend) converts into a toddler bed, and so gave it a shot today. Voila! Koom was super excited that the crib is now a bed and she is sleeping in it as I type this. She's already fallen out of it once, but fear not, the bed is surrounded by big, comfortable cushions.

So when I haven't been involved with pre-school or DIY bed conversions, I've been sewing. So far, this skirt has been my favorite. It's from one of my trusty Japanese craft books ISBN978-4-529-04526-1. It's a linen/rayon blend with the cutest box pleats on the back.

Don't those braids kill you? And here's the awesome back.

More soon!! Maybe even tomorrow -- I'm a sewing fiend!