what's in the bag

Saturday morning after exercising I went to the rummage sale at a local church. If you know me or read my twitter you know that I really miss thrifting and flea markets but, with the ages my kids are at taking them with me would not be the same. That said, the kids were at the playground during my 45 minutes there.

It was the second weekend of the sale and I wasn't expecting much. I really only looked at the clothes and I managed to walk away with several good things and the money I spent all goes to a good cause.



A blue cashmere sweater. A few tiny moth holes but, nothing serious and if I don't wind up wearing it there is always re-purposing into winter accessories. It's a little snug.



A lambswool angora short sleeved sweater in this perfect golden pumpkin color.



A deep red silk blouse (my favorite of all) because the fit is so nice and the shade is so pretty.



A brown kick pleat Banana Republic skirt that fits perfectly (not bad for not trying on)

Some butter soft green linen napkins and an apron. It all set me back $11. Now I just need to wash and dry clean and I'm all set.

floating along

In an effort to start what I finish and I start a lot I sewed this seahorse and nightgown. The seahorse has been waiting some time since July maybe and the nightgown for a few weeks.

The nightgown is from a costume pattern and is meant to be long. Perfect for floating down the make believe aisle or pretending you are an angel. It's for the little one. I used the egyptian cotton sheet again that I used for my Colette bloomers and the material is lovely but, very slippery and a bit hard to sew with. She has yet to try it on. Right now she would prefer if I would let her wear her winter coat, sweater or tights. The later I have allowed. Hmmm. I didn't realize two years olds got excited about Fall wardrobes. I don't know the proper name for the gold ribbon tie I used but, it is vintage and really lovely.

The seahorse was sewn with fabric from a costume I picked up at a big theatre sale in town a few years back. That sale was absolutely amazing and I remember wanting to walk away with a lot. This was a big skirt and had tears in it. This material is some sort of synthetic and also slippery but, wasn't hard to sew with.

Unrelated: I dropped off a lot of new items at Mackey Blue this weekend most of which I have not blogged about but, some really sweet things. If you are local you should swing by. Dinner at Maxwells was had. And, I've been adding some things here and there to the Etsy shop and hope to continue doing so.

veyla in green

Lately, I've been doing a lot more knitting then sewing though some sewing has taken place and some needs to be unpicked. I've had a summer cold but, we snuck in a day at the beach and a dinner date on Saturday which I am so thankful for since the last 4 days have been rain. Rainy days usually mean I rearrange the den/playroom and swap out toys to keep the kids interest.

Anyway, these fingerless gloves were knit in Frog Tree Alpaca which I got in a yarn swap. They are sport weight and the pattern called for fingering but the yarn was light enough and knit on the needle called for (US 3) they worked out just fine. If I were to knit these again I would go with either a more neutral shade or red in the fingering weight so that the lace is more visible and not so fuzzy but, am happy that I branched out and worked them up in this green. The pattern is by Ysolda. The buttons are vintage from a friend. They are dark and iridescent sort of blue, black and green.

I plan to take the cuff pattern and turn it into a border for a dress after seeing a gorgeous little dress on Ravelry someday and have a skein of cashmere and some Liberty of London set aside for it.

kitty cat birthday dress

The Oliver + S Birthday Dress has been made in the kitty bud fabric by Melinda Josie.
I mentioned when I made my pillowcase that this was going to happen and so here it is and there is still enough left over for a pillow for her.

I made it one size up and in my mind I'm thinking she is going to wear this for her birthday however, that is not until February so we'll see. I like to think about children's birthday parties and all the different themes and decorating schemes. I was thinking a old timey kitty cat birthday with vintage kitty imagery would be fun. We'll see.

So, I don't know about your experience with two year old girlies but dressing has become a big deal- changing outfits, discussions on what to wear etc. My boy just gets dressed you know and only changes if he has like peanut butter all over his shirt for example.

Anyway, maybe she is just playing games with me but, she wasn't sure she wanted to try this dress on. Shocking I know as it's super sweet and even has her favorite color in it but, then I mentioned I'd get her a pink balloon if she would try the dress on for Mama which was really perfect anyway because you know it's the birthday dress after all....

floral seam binding

I have been wanting to try to make continuous seam binding ever since I saw the method in Bend-the-Rules. It seemed a bit daunting especially the last seam in which I wasn't sure how much of an allowance to use (I used a 1/4"). This method is hard to explain without just re-writing the directions.

Basically, it starts with a square and then gets cut into triangles, one seam is sewn, lines are drawn and then folded and matched up but off by one and then another seam is sewn and the long strip is cut out. That probably didn't make much sense, right? I would recommend the book. It came out mostly perfect with a few small sections where it is more narrow then it is supposed to be. Once I run it through the Clover seam binding tool I will see if I need to cut out those spots. In any case, it's not a problem because it can be stitched together again.

I have made seam binding before combining fabrics but I've just cut straight or on the bias strips. This method is really great and makes a lot of binding. I plan to use it soon.

doll clothes for Emma

I mentioned I was making doll clothes. Well,I haven't gotten past the first outfit for one doll as I've been distracted with other projects but, am happy to report that it fits. I guessed the size of this doll (because you know the doll wasn't with me in the attic that night) who happens to fit perfectly into the 14" Vogue doll pattern I used. I haven't let S see this outfit as I'm still thinking there will be a little collection in a tiny suitcase for gift giving time.

So, a bonnet with bow and little overalls in pink cotton with tiny ric rac detail for her 'baby.' Very sweet and super fun to make.

-I am not sure how Emma got a beauty mark. It appeared one day out of nowhere it seems. Emma is vanilla scented and the scent stays through baths and all. Sometimes I can smell her from far away. I happen to like vanilla so this is all good.

Children's Teatime

As promised I am posting some pictures from the book Children's Teatime.

What I like about tea I have stated before and it not simply the drink itself but also the time spent with it alone or in the company of others whether they be human, animal or toys. I like the order of it, the preparation and practice though I am not so good at always including it in my day.

I hope for this to become someday part of the daily routine with my children. Why not change snack time to tea time?
If only I could get Matty to drink tea. He is under the impression that tea tastes bad which I wholly blame on his Father and am not ashamed to say so as my husband does not like tea (the horror) and I have only persuaded him to drink it once or twice when sick with much complaint on his behalf.
Well, I say no tea, no cake..

And, with that I share the rest of the beautiful old images reprinted in this book.

Tiny Tea Leaves

Here is a Tiny Tea Leaves for Scarlet in Madelinetosh yarn in a color called Betty Drapers Blues.

I fell in love with this color which surprised me a little (not normally a blue person) and hope she will too. Blue is not #1 but #3 on the list of favorite colors.
i made the size 2 and blocked it to measurements but it is still too big on her so this will wait a year or maybe not. A lot can happen in 6 months.

We should be all set to wear the owl sweater i made last summer and maybe this one too which have been waiting around for wear.

And, since we are talking about tea (sort of) I think I will scan some photo from a teatime book that I adore for the next post.

yellow dot pocho pants

For snuggling and reading stories in:

These are wide leg pants made with Nani Iro fabric I put together in under an hour one night this week.
You can buy this as a kit from The Fabric Bar which is how it came to me and includes all materials other then the thread. You don't even have to cut the fabric- sweet! Also a cute little tag with girls and balloons so she can tell the front from the back.

It's a perfect first project for someone getting into sewing or a great quick project for a tired end of the day lady.

-I made M some great monkey pants earlier in the summer with knit fabric from the Oliver + S pajama pattern that he loves and some pink linen ones for S that I cut from a very loved old tablecloth using the tutorial from One Girl which have a nice lean leg.

cupcake morning

This morning I ate a cupcake before 9:30 AM in the kitchen while the kids were in the other room and I didn't get caught. It was that kind of day.

I wish I could melt into the water like a mermaid

My baby is wearing her baby.

The baby sling was made last night and she adores it and has been wearing all morning. It went to the pool for her brother's swim lessons and it seems to make people happy...everyone was smiling at her.

After staring at my fabric stash for a while my eyes rested on this adorable Shinzi Katoh print that I have been holding onto for a long time and I knew it would pass all her tests.

This was so easy to sew up. The pattern is McCall's 3430 from 1972 and was picked up at a church sale for 25 cents last year. I used snaps instead of trouser hook and eyes for the closure and I think I may add another set so it won't sit as low as this is meant for a older child. I have also been sewing doll clothes. Once I see how the first few outfits work on the two sizes of dolls I'm making them for I will be adding more over the coming months. I'm thinking a little suitcase full of clothes for the holidays or birthday would make a sweet gift. The pretend play is getting more adorable by the minute. S has been preparing food for me between her fingers or pulling it from her toes.
A typical conversation:

S: Honey?
Me: Yes, please.
S: Alright.
Gets to work preparing the food. I hold out my hand and pretend eat or drink it
S: Really good?
Me: Yes. Mmmm
S: More some?
Me: Okay
Pretend eat some more
All done
S: Turns my hands over to dump food
Wash hands

-So stinkin' cute.

garlands

A new paper garland made of circles folded and glued. A simple thing to occupy my hands.

To hang perhaps when I have friends for dinner. A little something exotic floating in the air above us.
The gorgeous colors and patterns of the papers remind me of India and all the colors of the saris, the markets. I haven't been but, I've seen photos.

So, whose coming to dinner?