It HAD to have the piping

April 15, 2013 by hungie gungie

Don’t you think?

I would have been finished with this Oliver + S “Music Box Jumper” days ago, but after I sewed the yoke to the skirt, I knew something was missing. Piping! It had to have piping. I just couldn’t leave well enough alone. So I made a date with my seam ripper, instead of my husband. Boo. He understood. And he agreed, it needed piping.

I constructed the yoke out of a white linen skirt that my older sister never wore, and passed on to me. The skirt was pretty see-through, so I never wore it either, but like a good up-cycler, I threw it in my stash and knew I’d at least use the buttons from it. These are those buttons! Avery patiently waited as “almost done…” turned into “frrmmshmerrdurr…” and then ” *bleeping bleeeeep!* ” and then finally…

“Praise the Lord, its finished!” And we LOVE IT! Seriously, I’m pretty obsessed with this dress. Skirt fabric is from Anna Maria Horner’s “Loulouthi” collection, and is called Coreopsis in lime. The Music Box jumper (view B) was an impeccable pattern. I had to buy it after I saw it sewn up at Les Fabriques by the talented Jamie (shout out if you’re reading!). I took it slowly and even made french seams, learning a ton the whole way.

The white linen was tricky to work with, so soft and delicate. It did not appreciate all the seam ripping! But, it feels like buttah, and gives the dress an old-timey vibe. Like out of a Dick and Jane book.

I’m not really sure when I will let her wear this dress. Maybe a certain garden party coming up ? I hope I don’t hover nearby with a wash cloth when its time for cake. After all I went through in the construction process, I will probably insist she vacuum seal it in archival tissue paper, and pass it down to her first-born daughter! I told you I was obsessed! Anyhoo, here are some pics of our photo shoot. Avery is very into making me weed bouquets!

Love the dress, LOVE the girl.

~Caroline

long-distance, Geranium-style

March 27, 2013 by hungie gungie

Earlier this month, we had a heavy wet snowstorm that knocked out our power and water for 4 days. To keep the kids happy + entertained, we had ”practice” easter egg hunts, bacon fried on a little propane burner, couch naps, s’mores a la fireplace…you know, power outage stuff. Do all Moms suck at building forts, or is it just me?

Anyway. Sounds fun for a while, right?

We stuck it out at home for about 24 hours before the novelty of of it all wore off and we high-tailed it to my parent’s ~~hotel~~ house for the rest of the weekend. I love a good flushing toilet. TMI?

One great thing about having no electicity, is that you are forced to do the stuff you normally don’t like to do, like organizing all the crap that no one ever uses under the bathroom sink, making Goodwill donation clothing piles (i’m talking to you and your t-shirts, husband), and cutting out pattern and fabric pieces.

Prepping up a couple of Geraniums with Ellery delightfully helped to pass the time.

I snagged up this fun fabric (Summersault by Erin McMorris for FreeSpirit) when it was on sale for a few dollars/yard online… I actually bought it in 3 colorways- we also have orange, because I knew Ellery would lo-lo-love it. It just exudes Spring. And jelly bean-colored raindrops? Love at first sight for my girl…

She and I decided to make one for her, and one for “Friend Caroline”- her bff that moved to Colorado last year. I showed her the options in the pattern, and she did a fabulous job of telling me EXACTLY how she wanted them to look, down to the flutter sleeves on both, and the green one having the U cut-out but not the pink one.

Our photo shoot went a lot like one of Ellery and Caroline’s many playdates:

It started off a little slow.

Maybe even a little sassy….as Caroline’s midewestern mom would say.

I say fresh.

But after some nagging from us Moms, and a little moping from the girls…

Soon, things would be just fine and dandy!

…and they were off playing princesses or fashion show, trading dresses, tiaras, and shoes….

Having some girly fun.

And of course, getting bugged by Grant… seen here, trying to eat the pink dress.

I let Ellery decide in the end which dress she would send to Caroline, and which one she’d chose for herself. Can you guess which one she kept?

It *might* surprise you.

Green! Now THAT is a good 4 year-old friend…

We miss Caroline and her Mom (a.k.a. my “sisterwife”) TONS, but we are getting used to Facetime- Ellery gets very shy when she sees C on the ipad and pretty much goes mute. So her!

I’m sure eventually they’ll be able to channel all that laughter and silliness that would ensue during those playdates.

Like here, when just after I took this shot, she walked backward and fell off the bookshelf, landed on one of Corinne’s baby toys, and kicked it on.

In Spanish-mode.

We laughed our heads off.

I’m pretty sure Friend Caroline would have too.

-Erin

Pattern Testing :: Bubble Dress!

March 19, 2013 by hungie gungie

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of testing a new sewing pattern by An of StraightGrain.

The Bubble Dress!

An makes some really sweet clothing for her little girl, and has now put her skills towards creating this great little pattern for girls ages 1-6. It is for sale now, and you can buy it here. If you have never made a bubble-anything before (like me), give it a shot- it comes together pretty quickly and it’s fun to see the bubble take shape!

Anyway, without further ado…

Here’s Corinne enjoying her new frock:

I tested the 1 year size for my Coco-girl who is turning 1 next week. WHA?? Crazy. I mean, I just had her, didn’t I?

Anyway, it fits great… she’s lean, so this will fit her right on through the Summer I’m sure.

I’ve had this fabric (Jessica Levitt, Timber collection) since I first started sewing 3 years ago. I never was quite sure about what to use it for, but I’m so happy I finally cut into it. Pretty perfect for Spring! I’m not usually drawn to geometric prints, but i love the combo of geometric and organic shapes here. Such cute little bird’s nests they are!

Check out that bubble!

The peter pan collar is an option in this pattern, and is a fun way to use a contrasting fabric.

I figured if I was going to learn how to make a bubble skirt, I might as well learn to make a collar too. That was the hardest part for me, but it turned out just fine- i took those steps pretty slow, especially when attaching it between the outer bodice and the lining.

The back closes simply with a button and loop.

I used 1/8″ elastic, though you could use ribbon too. Anytime I can get out of making a buttonhole, I’m gonna take it! I think the elastic is nice for a squiggly toddler too. Easy on, easy off.

We had fun during this photo shoot. Her cuteness was bubbling all over the place. Sorry…but you knew the pun was coming…

Someone’s ready for Easter….

So, hop on over to An’s blog and look around… She’s from Belgium and is hosting a great series called Kid’s Clothes Belgian Style - Lots of awesome sewing happening over there!

Thanks for stopping by

-Erin

My First Flashback

March 17, 2013 by hungie gungie

I bought this shirt a while back at a thrift store, thinking that it looked big enough to fit me. I just loved that retro squirrel print! Trying it on at home, I soon realized that this shirt came straight from the tween department. It wouldn’t even stretch over my rib cage! That’s alright, I knew I could turn it into something cute for Avery.

Rae’s Flashback Skinny Tee was the perfect opportunity to use this fun print and to get some practice sewing with knits. The thrifted shirt only provided enough fabric for the front and back of the tee. So, I had to scavenge for sleeve fabric. I found a purple rayon knit shirt that I’d never worn balled up in my closet. (I couldn’t take it back to the store because my parents’ puppy chewed up the tags, thank you Lenny. ;) ) It was the perfect color for my sleeves, albeit, a difficult one for a novice- so thin and drapey.

Pretty sweet right? With all new sewing projects, you learn a lot. Rae’s pattern is perfection, and she gives so many wonderful hints and options. My excitement got the better of me, and I made a couple of errors.

#1. I did not pre-wash that rayon shirt! My cuffed sleeves shrunk to a 3/4 length! I cut them off, and may decide to turn it into a short sleever later. For now, its cool with a raw hem.

#2. I did not measure my child. She is 3 1/2 , and is always 50th percentile at the doc, so I just went with the standard 3T sizing. I should have taken into account that she “has a pot”(Pulp Fiction anyone?) and used Rae’s instructions for adding length. Oh well, I took out the bottom hem, and left that raw too.

Now we’re in business.

I added the stripe across the front to cover up a seam that existed in the original shirt. The back of the original shirt became the front of this tee. I’m kinda glad it was there because I wouldn’t have thought to add such a cute detail!

Avery loves it! And so do I! I cannot wait to make another Flashback Tee! It is just so satisfying to be able to create something as mundane as a tee-shirt. What kid would object to such comfort? Not mine!

Happy Monday!

~Caroline

vintage floral crowns

March 14, 2013 by hungie gungie

Hey y’all!

Just popping in to share with you what’s been consuming my evening sewing sessions lately….I’m not sure what inspired these crowns, but once the idea came to me there was no stopping the production!

vintage floral pillowcases + wool felt = soft, sweet, and subtle crowns perfect for Spring.

(side note- no matter how much you wash a vintage sheet, it still smells OLD. or, seasoned as i like to say….)

The above fabric is from the same pillowcase that this dress was made from.

These are going to be for a certain special girl’s 5th birthday party coming up in April. I am making one for each of her little guests. Hence the production line! We’ll be having a little girl’s luncheon in our backyard garden and I’m excited to plan for it- I’m usually not big on birthday hoopla for little kiddos (a ton of work/stress/money- plus all three of my babies have birthdays within a month of each other!) but, now that Ellery is old enough to help me with ideas and planning, it’s actually something I’m looking forward to! Except that every day she tells me EXACTLY what she’d like her cake to look like… different every day of course!

I like that these crowns (which they can wear for the party AND take home…) don’t cost a lot, but are made with a lot of love.

More to come!

-Erin

Geranium in Voile

February 22, 2013 by hungie gungie

I sewed up a Geranium tunic for Corinne last week and finally cut into some much-loved AMH little folks voile.

I love how my last Geranium turned out for Ellery, and I love how different this one is. This fabric is so nice and light, i thought it would make a nice breezy top. I’m happy that she can wear this now right on into the Springtime.

(Seriously, Spring. Get a move on it!)

So, I added long sleeves here - not an option in the pattern, but I figured it would just look super cute and couldn’t be too hard.

For the sleeves, I used a pattern piece that I already had handy- from the baby in the hood jacket (from this book) that I made a couple of years ago for Grant. I added an elastic casing at the cuffs. I did trim my sleeve pattern piece down a little bit along the sides, but I wish I had left it as wide it was- I think this shirt would be perfection if the sleeves were just a teensy bit roomier. But, it’s totally wearable, and I’m loving it on her, so no biggie. Next time, next time….

Here’s “Coco” (as she is affectionately known around here) and her bribery snack of choice: baby Mum Mum crackers.

Anyway, to attach the sleeves, I didn’t really have a plan of attack since I’ve never sewn sleeves to a lined bodice. But, I remembered Rae’s tutorial and video for adding sleeves to a Washi dress, so I followed that… I’m sure there are other ways to add sleeves to a lined bodice, but the girl knows what she’s talking about, so I let her guide me through it. And it went very well… even though it looks all kinds of crazy when you’re sewing it up! No really… check out that video to see what I mean.

That’s what I love about sewing- sometimes you just have to trust the instructions in front of you and forego your own thought processes.

I always learn something. Always.

I made the 12-18 month size for my almost 11 month old! 11 months already?? what??

Instead of using 3 buttons as the pattern suggests, I decided to use 2 here just because I liked how it looked. I’m really digging this pattern and have seen so many great variations in the flickr pool.

Action shot!

Corinne has been walking since just after her 9 month birthday, and I really feel like she’s in the mix with the other *big* kids because of that.. but it’s funny because she still looks like such a baby to me… I took her to an open-gym today with tons of other kids and she had no problem leaving my side to cruise around after balls, crawl through tunnels, and at one point even walking up to some random boy on a bike and planting the biggest slobbery open-mouthed kiss on his face.

He liked it.

C’mon, wouldn’t you?

-Erin

Two new additions

February 17, 2013 by hungie gungie

Hi everyone, I’m baaaacckk! After a long hiatus, I’m finally stepping out of the fog, and ready to introduce you to the little something that’s been keeping me so busy these past few months…

Isn’t it the most beautiful hallway that you’ve ever seen?! It is when you’ve been living in 800+ square feet for 6 years! We added 3 bedrooms and a basement to nearly double our living space and create a small roller-rink below. Slab basement for now = future cave for stinky teenagers (or home theater, mini gym, sewing studio … endless possibilities). In progress photo:

Living in a tiny house, I learned a lot about organization and space management. I love getting rid of STUFF! It is like a giant *EXHALE*

However, even with my diligence to conquering clutter, I was losing the battle. Pei’s cookbook collection ~~was~~ is getting out of control, my sewing stash was bursting out of our closet, and Jet and Avery would NOT STOP GROWING!

Oh yeah, and there was this other little thing:

Meet Wes Charles Chang, born November 10, 2012!

I’m such a slacker, he’s already 3 months old. Best baby EVER! Don’t tell Jet and Avery I said that.

So, yeah, just to add to the chaos of living in our home during construction, we decided to bring a newborn into the mix. The only thing that kept me sane through the holidays was knowing that I would soon have a walk-in closet. And, a second bathroom! *high-fives with husband*

Slowly we’ve been moving into our new rooms, but we left a lot of the finishing work to ourselves (painting, plumbing, light fixtures, tiling). And, as most of you know, newborns and getting-sh*t-done don’t really mix! Looking forward to sharing many DIY reveals with you in the future!

While my sewing machine enjoyed a long winters nap, I did manage to squeak out a few holiday crafts…

Inspired by one that I pinned, this door mat looked so cool for about 2 weeks. I spray painted an old one with silver, taped off the triangle shapes, and painted them shades of green. I won’t show you what has become of it. Next year, I will leave it on the covered porch that no one uses.

I made these beaded icicles out of a necklace that my mother-in-law made me. She doesn’t read this blog, in case you are wondering.

I wish I could’ve captured how beautiful these looked on the tree with the lights sparkling through. My photography could not do them justice.

01-chritmas to jets b-day jan 2013 001

When Avery decided just days before Christmas that the one and only thing she wanted from Santa was a rocking horse, this one, donated by a friend, saved the day! But, since Avery was familiar with said friend’s rocking horse, I needed to give it a new look (on Christmas Eve mind you).

Ah, the lengths we go to in order to perpetuate a gigantic lie, I mean preserve the magic of childhood! Don’t worry, Avery doesn’t read this blog either.

I will leave you with a few more photos of our new favorite kid. Did I just say that? Ha! Kidding! Kind of.

Wes is wearing a beautiful hand-knit Baby Surprise Jacket (a Soulemama go to), made for him by dear friend, and often-mentioned-here, Grayson Butterfield. She also made him these: