Hello!

Today, I’m over at the Oliver + S blog talking about my favorite O + S pattern.  I’m sharing some of the popovers I’ve made in the past, as well a fun new spin on this dress that I made for Ellery last week.

POP on over (har har) if you’d like, and have a great day!

-Erin

 I have enjoyed a fun-filled Summer so far with my three kids.

We just got back from an utterly amazing Outer Banks vacation with our entire family, and it was just such a special week for these kids to be with their cousins and grandparents every day!

Here’s an outtake from an impromptu cousin photo shoot.  That was a nail biter.

Here are my sweet parents.  And their giant poodle, Lenny.  And my Dad’s plastic cup of fine red wine.

My mom used to make me and my sisters “Hungie Gungie” for dinner often when we were little.  You can thank her for our silly blog name!  Hey, all the other good ones were taken.  😉

ANYwho… back to the topic at hand. On several occasions, people I’ve run into at the park or pool have said, “Are your kids signed up for any camps?”

“Ah, er, Nope!”

(note to self: DEFINITELY sign kids up for a camp next year.)

We have had lots of pool time, bike rides, cousin sleepovers, ice cream trips, and slip ‘n slide sessions. Late bedtimes, lazy mornings, and so much firefly catching- I love them, but why do they have to show up and ruin bedtime every night?

I really realize how much I crave some quiet, uninterrupted sewing time.  It’s been hard to dive into the projects I planned to sew this Summer for ME.  I’m looking at you, Southport Dress, Alice Top, and Greenwood Tank!

  There’s just no time.

Because Lots of kids in my face, THAT’S WHY!  (<– that would be a shout-out to Junie B. Jones right there)

I started making these little bubble shorts, and then got so fast at making them, that I just couldn’t stop making them.

  My sewing space is squeezed into a little nook in our playroom.  Since making these became sort of brainless for me, I’ve been able to crank them out while my kids are playing in the same room.  In the A.C.  With popsicles and iced tea at the ready.

Virginia, you are hot.

Easy Summer sewing.  I’m all about it.

Anyway, I have been selling these in my Etsy shop.  I’ve been playing around with drafting my own little pattern for these for a couple of years now, and I finally have it they way I like them.  I gather the bottom of the shorts at the sides, and then attach a cuff… which I feel like takes them out of true bloomer territory, and more into regular girls shorts.

 Coco has been wearing hers all Summer and I just love the look of them!  Not quite bloomers, not quite shorts… I actually considered calling these blorts.

And then someone slapped me and handed me a cold beer.

Anyway, you can see more here and tell all your hot-weather residing mama friends!

** to see some HG bubble shorts in action, you must check-out our friend Allie’s blog, Crozette.  I have followed Allie’s blog for years now, but we met 2 years ago when we were both at the same outdoor concert downtown with our kids.  I immediately recognized them from her blog and went over to say hi- that probably seems weird if you aren’t a blogger, ha!  She has been a good friend and a huge Team Wes supporter ever since and I just love what she makes!**

XO,

Erin

Hi guys!  I thought I’d throw up some pics of my first Ruby Top.  Erin and I celebrated the last day of our kids’ school with a mama’s night out!  We had tickets to see Alabama Shakes that night.  So fun!  So, while Wes napped that day, and my big kids were in school for one last day, I whipped up this simple and breezy summer top.  I’d had the pattern cut out forever, so that saved me a lot of time.  The fabric is from our local store Les Fabriques, and I think I bought it with plans to sew pants or a button down for one of my boys.  Although my mind is always dreaming of things I will sew, it is rare these days that I have the time.  So, whimsical sewing it is!My kids thought this was really ugly.  They see all the pretty fabric I have in my stash, and I choose brown.

 I said to Wes, “How do I look?”

He said, “weird.”Well, I like it, so there.  It’s a really light weight breathable cotton, sort of like a linen.  Erin snapped some pics before we left for the show.  I love my little photo bombers!Ellery and Grant helped me relax during my photo shoot.  It’s never not awkward doing these!  I showed them how I was going to dance at the concert…They were appropriately mortified by their strange aunt.

I take pride in that. Happy summer!

*pattern modifications:  added a little more fabric at tops of shoulders, and about 1″ to hem.  I folded in my fabric edges under, rather than using bias tape.

~Caroline

It’s Twisted Tuesday!

Laura of the blog Craftstorming + Titchy Threads patterns has organized this fun little tour to showcase her newest babies, the Twisted Tank and the Twisted Trousers.

I chose to make the twisted tank since it’s H-O-T in Virginia already and none of my kids are wearing pants at this point…

 This tank pattern is another GREAT one!  You can stick to the twisted version or you can use the basic tank that Laura includes in this pattern as well.  The twisted one is cool because you can really have fun with bold color-blocking, or print mixing.

I had a decent amount of the knit scraps leftover from our STYLO looks, so I used those- both cotton/lycra blends by a company (that I can’t find much info on), Elite knits.  The watermelon-y red is a really nice color and the off-white just goes with anything of course… the yellow binding is from Joann.

I sewed a size 4 and the fit is so great- Laura’s patterns are so legit fit-wise!  Her Rowan tee pattern is one of my absolute favorites (blogged here) because the fit is just spot on.  The twisted tank follows suit!  Highly recommend checking both of them out!

The instructions are clear and concise and very thoughtful.  And with plenty of pictures to help you along.

I thought I’d play with the regular tank pattern piece as well.  Coco doesn’t love dresses, but she loves this one!

Again, I cut a size 4, using some nice Birch knit leftover from another project.  I extended the pattern down only about 5 or 6 inches below the arm pit, and then attached a gathered skirt.  I used Kaufman dot Chambray for this and it’s super light and bouncy.  Really happy with the way it turned out!  Might need to make about 5 more of these.

Anyway, I think this is a great pattern for summertime!  I made Ellery a couple of nightgowns using the basic tank version, and I’ll share those soon.

I hope you’ll check out Laura’s patterns.  They are so professional, and well done.  I like that they are great beginner patterns, but also include options galore for people looking to make something with some extra details.

Thanks again, Laura for having me along!

Ciao!

-Erin

Hey y’all!  We’re back to talk about our second look for STYLO.

(you can read part 1 here.)

This one was really fun because we sort of threw the instructions to the wind and just let the girls hang!  We shot the other look that morning at UVA, had a quick lunch in the cafeteria there and then hopped across the street to a great Charlottesville treasure, Sweethaus.

Not a soul was in the shop at 2:00, so the girls had the whole adorable place to themselves.

They were silly, happy, and high on sugary treats!

For this look, we wanted to be fashion-forward, but really true to our styles.  We wanted to make clothes that were comfortable, but also cool.  We wanted to use colors and prints that popped, but weren’t outrageous.

For Avery, we used the Figgy’s Zephyr romper pattern but extended the legs- going for a more modern jumpsuit take on it.  Rompers on a 5-year old can either go one way or another- we didn’t want this falling into babyish territory! We fell in love with Pat Bravo’s Etno line, and were kindly sent two yards of this really great print, Drops in Pamplemousse.  The bodice is Cotton Couture in Seafoam.

Her glittery silver sandals are from Target.

For Ellery, we used two Oliver + S patterns.  For the hide and seek tunic, we used Cotton + Steel Bespoke double gauze in peach for the main fabric.  For the yoke, we used a lovely printed voile by Avril Loreti for Cloud 9 which they generously provided to us for this project.  The mini mint tassel trim is from this etsy shop.  Ellery’s class picnic shorts are made with this awesome Italian Corduroy from Joann- it’s got a different texture than regular corduroy- almost velvety.

Her Swedish clogs are by Hanna Anderson.

For the zipper bracelets, we just sewed Velcro squares to the ends- so easy.

Not gonna lie…STYLO consumed us for a while.  We went through phases of loving our ideas, getting a little unsure, and sometimes throwing them to the wind (We’re talking to you, black suspenders!).  In the end, we just stuck to our guts and made what we wanted to make.

And we couldn’t be happier with the result.

Thanks again to Jess and Celina for this opportunity!  It really pushed us (and our decision-making skills) to be better, and to nail down our point of view.

Now.

It is our Hungie Gungie sisterly duty to leave you with Avery’s money shot that sadly did not make the final cut:

It’s just too good!

Erin + Caroline

 

We hope you all had a chance to scroll through STYLO4.  Pretty amazing group of talent there- we truly are honored to share pages with this group of designers.

Today, we wills share the details of our first look.

As soon as we were invited to contribute to this “high-fructose” themed issue, we knew the brand spanking new Battle Building at the University of Virginia was the place we would take pictures.

Most of you readers know that Caroline’s youngest child, Wes, has been in treatment for over a year now for Stage 4 high-risk Neuroblastoma.  Wes has spent roughly a third of his last year in a hospital, with most of that hospital time at UVA.  When he’s back at home enjoying life, he still has to go to clinic appointments a couple times a week at the Children’s Battle Building.

This building is stunning!  Each floor features a bold cheery color on the walls, lots of natural light floods through, and the design is clean and modern.   We wanted Wes to be a part of STYLO, so we created a little theme in our heads.

For Ellery and Avery (Wes’s cheerleaders) we made some color-blocked circle skirts in some happy colors (various Cotton couture solids by Michael Miller).  The skirts are fully lined in soft solid voile, and attached to a wide gray rib knit waistband (rib knit from Joann Fabrics).

Their racerback tanks are made from a cotton/lycra blend by Elite knits(purchased locally at Les Fabriques).  We used the Sporty Maxi pattern by Heidi and Finn, and just scooped the back out more so the the racerback was a bit more defined and not as wide.

Back when we were deciding what to make, Ellery and Avery (well, all of us actually) became obsessed with this fantastic sister version of Boom Clap (the awesome original one here by Charli XCX).  It’s a catchy tune and we thought BOOM + CLAP would be cool stenciled on their shirts.  We used the old freezer paper technique.

On to the MVP, WES!  We made Wes a sleeveless hoodie (also made with Elite knits) using the Titchy Threads Rowan Tee pattern.  And some laid-back Mini Hudson pants (Anna Maria Horner pretty potent knit).  we found some Old Navy shoes that were perfect with the girls’ Natives (from Amazon).

We spray-painted the hula hoops for a fun prop to have.  Avery is a crazy-good hula-hooper and can do a couple at a once, and she can basically hula for minutes at a time- it’s so nuts.

It was good to have a prop that helped the girls loosen up- at first they were NOT liking the stares and smiles from onlookers!  Getting kids to do what you want is just impossible if they are uncomfortable.

We recommend lots of small treats, and potty jokes to help you get through it.  Kids love when Moms make jokes about poop!

We will be back some time in the next couple of days with details from our 2nd spread, so come on back soon!

Erin + Caroline

We were thrilled (understatement) to be contributing editors to volume 4 of STYLO magazine!

If you haven’t heard of STYLO, it’s a beautiful online magazine focused on fashion-forward children’s clothing- all handmade by people like us!  It’s like the Vogue of the sewing blog world, and it was cooked up a couple of years ago by the immensely talented Jess of The Sewing Rabbit, and Celina of Petit à Petit and Family.  It features stunning photography, gorgeous fabrics, tons of inspired sewing patterns, adorable kiddos, and so much more.  You will want to put the babies in front of the TV for a while so you can enjoy it in peace!

 

We created two different looks + photoshoots.  Our first features colorful, sporty looks for Wes, Ellery and Avery.  We had a loose “cheerleader” theme going on there- Avery and Ellery cheering on their hero (and cancer ass-kicker), Wes.  We shot those photos at the amazing new University of Virginia childrens Battle Building- it was perfectly fitting for the fun, bright vibe we were going for, and of course fitting because little Wes has spent so much time there over this last year.  You can see that spread beginning on page 17.

 

The second look was more high-fashion, combining a couple of bold prints with some great indie sewing patterns.  We wanted this to feel cool and fresh and wearable, but not over-the-top.  Basically, we wanted it to be very “Hungie Gungie-ish”!  We took the girls to a cute little cupcake shop in town and let them relax and just hang out together snacking on sweets and orange soda.  Like a little kid coffee date.  This spread begins on page 233.

So go!  Go now!  Check out STYLO!

We will be back this week with more detailed blog posts about the clothes we made and photos galore.

Thank you for reading, it means the world!

Caroline + Erin

(*for detailed posts about each look, visit PART1 here and PART2 here*)

Recently, I sewed a couple of custom girls dresses for a friend.  I turned her loose into the world of online fabric stores and she chose an adorable Flamingo print.  I posted a picture of the dresses on Instagram, and joked that I would like to nominate the flamingo as the new fox.

Can I get an amen?

This quirky, long-legged, pink-all-over giant bird has just completely won me over.  Flamingos are cool, man.  And I want more of them in my life!

My friend Virginia Lindsay of Gingercake came through for me at the right time.  She released this fantastic new book called Pretty Birds 18 simple projects to sew and love.  While I couldn’t participate in her actual book tour due to my head spinning from another certain project (eeek! STYLO called!), she offered to send me the book anyway and I could make a bird from it in my own time.  What a gal she is!  (Really, she is awesome.)

There are so many cute birds to sew in this book, and they all require small amounts of fabric- perfect for those sweet odds and ends that you’ve been holding on to.

I remember first flipping through the book and deciding that I’d sew this bird, no that bird, no this bird.  And then, towards the end, I happily found my flamingo.

I decided to keep my guy in all solids, but how cute would this be with the wings  or the belly made in a print?  I took some liberties here and decided to incorporate more wool felt into my bird- Virginia suggests you use wool felt for the face, beak, and feet, but I decided to use it for the wings and the legs as well.  I stitched it on using a blanket stitch- hand stitching is not my forte, but this was fast and fun!  I love working with felt and I think projects like these tend to get more fun as the project goes on and your creativity comes out and makes you move in a different direction that originally planned.

A friend of mine had a baby girl a few weeks ago and I’ve decided to give this to her.  Handmade stuffies are kind of a perfect baby gift. I think it’s so cute hanging out on that stack of baby books.  I made my bird’s legs extra long, and then the other day, I caught Coco swinging him around and pulling so hard on them that the felt stretched out even more. HA! (I can laugh now….) But, it didn’t matter.  The exaggerated long legs is I think what I love most!

Pretty Birds would be a great book for a sewing friend, a bird lover, or yourself!  It’s such a pretty book to look at too.

Thank you, Virginia!

I love having this book on my shelf.  Now, c’mon friends, have some more babies!

-Erin