greenclogs

stretching my limits

I've been sewing clothes for my kids for a few years now. I've had some successes and some more meh results, but I've always stuck with woven fabrics because I knew what to expect and how to sew with it. I have wanted to jump in and learn to sew with knits for a long time, but since I don't own a serger, was afraid to try. I don't like failure. And I hate wasting fabric - especially when nice knit fabric is not cheap. 

When Michael Miller came out with their too cute to resist knit fabrics last year, I stashed this polka dot, a solid, and a floral print. And then I froze. And it sat. I did some blog reading, and gradually came to trust that with my machine, a ballpoint needle and patient careful sewing, I could successfully sew with my precious knit fabrics. 

During the Bolt sale I picked up a few Oliver + S patterns that were marked down for both of the girls. I was going to be safe and start with one that used a woven fabric, but the knits that were stacked up in that drawer were calling my name. I grabbed the Hopscotch pattern and started tracing. I made a master out of tissue paper of both the top and the skirt, and then retraced the dress onto freezer paper so my fabric wouldn't scoot around while I was cutting. 

I strapped the ballpoint needle to my Rocketeer, went to a zig zag stitch, and was off to the races. Other than sewing the binding to the wrong side of the bodice the first time, the process went really smoothly. I'd say it took me about 3 hours to finish, and that's because I was being super slow and careful. If you have a serger or are more experienced with knit fabric, this could be sewn up really quickly. I went with both long sleeves and the dress, because I know that she'll be wearing long sleeves in June. And maybe still in August. I made the 18-24 month size, so she should be able to wear it for the next 9 months at least. My only real pattern deviation was that I had no nonwoven interfacing, so I skipped it at the shoulder and bodice seams. I figure that in a tiny size, it'll be less of an issue, but I'll pick some up before I make the next one and one in Annika's size. 

I'm going to tackle the skirt next in a hemp/cotton lightweight denim and then make this in the shirt length out of the Oliver + S knit fabric. Then we're on to tracing and cutting patterns and fabric in preparation for the Spring Kids Clothing Week Challenge on Elsie Marley. I managed to make 3 things last fall, and I have grand plans for this one - I figure that if I can be fully prepped for the week, I can bust out a good chunk of both girls' summer wardrobes. I'm sure the baby will totally cooperate. 

She says "You bet! Ready! Set! Go!"

more signs of spring

The town egg hunt was today on the first truly glorious spring day. We've lucked into a really wonderful neighborhood that's full of families and kids and a real sense of community. What a beautiful start to spring. 

spring has sprung

One of the things that I missed most about the NW was the unfolding of spring. Don't get me wrong - spring was hands down my favorite time of year in Phoenix. There were lemons to pick and parks to visit and quilts to spread on the grass while we sat and read books and drank iced tea and enjoyed the 80 degree weather. It was pretty fabulous.

Spring here, however, has been a lot of rain. It's been downright dreary and grey and cold. It was a little bit of a shock to the system, to say the least. So why did we hightail it up to Portland when we could have enjoyed another month or even two of pretty but increasingly warm Phoenix spring?

For the promise of spring growth that beckons us slowly into the glorious summer season. Because in Phoenix, spring is an end to the nice weather for 5 months, and in Portland it's just the beginning. 

We started a garden as soon as we got here - Jeff built two 4x8 raised beds and we filled them with compost and enriched topsoil. We waited semi-impatiently for the temperatures to warm up just a bit so we could plant the early spring seeds at the end of March. We planted and we watered and we watched and watered some more. And look!

That's the tiny beginning of a brussels sprout stalk. Now there are many more poking their way up out of the soil, along with lettuces and mustard greens, kale and chard, leeks and beets, carrots and peas, garlic and potatoes, fennel and herbs galore. Still to be planted (again with the waiting for it to be a bit warmer still) are the cucumbers, later season carrots, broccoli, beans, summer squash, tomatoes, and whatever else we can fit. I think we're building one more bed. Or two. 

Those lettuce leaves are getting closer and closer to needing thinning and eating. I'm picturing a teeny tiny plate of microgreens lightly dressed and served at Easter dinner. 

On Sunday the clouds finally moved along for a few days and we've been able to revel in the glory of spring while working in the yard and walking around the neighborhood enjoying everyone's flowering trees. We lack a flowering tree. Must fix that. 

We admire our neighbors yards - especially this one - and dream of things to come. Because spring is just another word for dreams and possibilities. Welcome, spring. I've missed the real you. 

thirteen

I had a post all ready to go about the garden and the bursting forth of spring, but let's talk instead about the bursting into being a teenager. 

It came in a little quietly today than I think he hoped. No mustache sprouted forth, no baritone emerged from his vocal cords on his big day. Chest hair is a distant wish. He's still my sweet, goofy, insightful, witty, artistic boy. But he feels closer to being a man - he carried himself a little taller today. 

He takes his role as big brother very seriously - sometimes a little too seriously, if you ask Annika (he's a little too fond of instructing her). He loves his sisters with his whole heart, and it shows. 

We celebrated this weekend with his oldest friend, who came down from Seattle and with his grandmas and grandpas and uncle. He has sorely missed big family birthdays, so today he was surrounded by family love. He was gifted with a new-to-him trusty black guitar, thanks to the help of some friends in finding just the right one, and with a ukulele from his grandpa. The birthday money is going into the laptop fund, because when one is 13, one needs a laptop apparently. His sister gifted him with a set of his favorite markers and new canvases are sprouting all over my living room. I resisted the temptation to buy him clothes with color in them, because I'm trying to be sensitive to his sense of style (but really, I'm totally over the monochromatic grey and black look). I did not hand him a pair of spandex leggings and say "sometimes, when you are a man, you wear stretchy pants. Just for fun." a la Nacho Libre. But I wanted to. 

I've done a lot of thinking over the last week about the passing of this milestone - about the coming of age for our boys and girls - and wishing that we had a meaningful tradition honoring the passage into young manhood and womanhood. I found myself envious of those traditions and cultures that celebrate and mark the passing from childhood. I hope to be mindful over the next few years of nurturing his sensitive self, so that he can go into the world confident and full of purpose, but with his sweet soul intact. We've traversed this teenage road once before, and hopefully have learned lessons along the way that will guide us as we he walk with him on his path to adulthood. 

Gunnar, your quick wit and your artistic soul and your kind heart bring so much to our family. We would be empty without you. I love you with my whole heart. 

patchwork - the gift that keeps on giving

You know what's awesome? That I didn't have to log into Typepad this time because it hasn't been 7 years since I last blogged. By the way, that's a bouquet made by Annika from flowers in our back yard. LOVE. 

I think we're getting into a groove around here. Less unpacking (although there are still about 6 boxes left to unpack) and more making is happening, which makes me pretty happy. 

The studio and I are getting to know each other at naptime as well as with a baby playing on the floor just maybe making a huge mess of the embroidery thread. Or maybe she's insisting that I hold her so that I am cutting strips and piecing them together with one hand while I hold her on my other hip. Or maybe she is nursing while I quilt pillowtops with one hand. Just maybe. I should call these the one handed pillows.

 

I'm a big fan of the log cabin pillow and have made many of them. The ones that have been on my couch are sad and tired and well loved. They needed replacing. I based the new ones on the Color Story pillows in Modern Log Cabin Quilting: 25 Simple Quilts and Patchwork Projects. I didn't mean to pick exactly the same colors, but I did and I love them. Mine are 18" square and are stuffed with 20" pillow forms so they're nice and fat. We use our pillows, so starting out overstuffed is a necessity. I backed one of them in red and one in grey because I was 1" shy of enough red fabric. Oops. I like that they are sibling pillows and not twins. I'd say 2/3 of the fabrics are the same in both.

I have a strip-pieced pillow from the same fabrics waiting to be finished and I plan to make some potholders and a couple more pillows from the remainder of the strips. This is what I really love about patchwork and quilting - that the fabric seems to keep on going as you make more and more, smaller and smaller projects. Cutting off the amount you need leaves you with a smaller piece for something else. I'm going to work this pile of scraps until I have taken it down to nothing. I'll probably have 4 pillows and 4-6 sets of potholders from about 1.5 yards of fabric scraps and strips (okay, and 1.5 yards of backing fabric). Pretty fabulous, if you ask me. 

Maybe by then I'll have red/blue/yellow/grey worked out of my system. Or not. After this, it's time to tackle the Big Quilt Projects that I have on my plate. And I am not making a new quilt for my couch to match these pillows. Nope. Not me. Even though it needs it. So maybe. 

A side note about the white couch. I used to think people with children and animals who had white couches had a touch of the Crazy. We needed a new couch for the living room because I sold our big one rather than moving it. I was happily searching for a groovy vintage couch that would go with the house but two things happened. First, I realized that any vintage couch in my price range could potentially have unsavory issues or need recovering sooner than I was willing to take on that kind of project. Second, I found this couch in the As-Is department at Ikea for a smokin' deal. It was in perfect condition. The slipcover was machine washable. My friends have sworn by the washability of the cover. It was cheap. Sold. And I have to say that I adore my white couch. It brightens up my living room and really is that washable (tested out the washing with muddy dog prints - thanks Luna!). It's a perfect canvas for quilts and pillows. Ahem. Since I need an excuse to make more quilts and pillows. Overall, I have to give it two thumbs up. I guess I have a touch of the Crazy. 

Tomorrow (or soon) - the garden. Here's to having stuff to blather on about. It's good to be back, blog. 

soggy but inspired

Dang. It's been rainy. Duh, I know. It's March in Portland. However, it's been record setting in its wetness - 29 of 31 days in March were rainy and there were 23 days in a row of rain that basically started when we got here. Crazy. But, Phoenix has already hit 100 degrees and I'll take rain with a fire in the hearth and wool socks and warm comfort food over turning on the A/C already any day of the week. 

Despite all that, we've gotten a lot done. Jeff built us 2 raised beds and we have filled them with veggie seeds (I hope they don't drown). Peas are planted, as is rhubarb. There are potatoes in their fancy trash can. I have an herb bed. There are strawberries. The man has been busy. I'll try and dodge raindrops and get some photos tomorrow, because who doesn't want to see photos of big boxes of dirt, right? 

We've explored some new spots in the city and eaten great pizza, discovered even better beer, and found some of our new places. We've made new friends. Annika took a drawing class at Collage, which is a very dangerous place for those of us who love pens and papers and paint and things. Very dangerous. I have spent some quality time at Bolt familiarizing myself with the inventory. Stash sewing has to happen before I indulge in a meaningful way, though.

This weekend was super fun and friend filled. Melissa and clan came over for food and fun. Kit thinks that Manny is pretty much her superhero and she follows him everywhere. Hopefully he won't tire of her too quickly because she would be a very sad little girl. We left the menfolk and the kids to fend for themselves and headed over to Modern Domestic for Susan Beal's booksigning. Her new book, Modern Log Cabin Quilting: 25 Simple Quilts and Patchwork Projects is lovely and really inspirational. It has great instructions for new quilters and a wide range of projects for different skill levels, so there's something for everyone. It was so inspirational that I quit futzing around the house pretending to put things away and snuck up to the studio during Kit's nap to make some more pillows. My existing log cabin pillows are a couple of years old and, umm, well loved. They need to be retired. 

I'm dying to make that cover quilt, but seeing that I have a few other quilts in the queue, I had to look past it for the moment and take on a project that can be completed during a couple of baby naps. So, pillows it was. I picked fabrics from stash, and mostly from the scrap bin, in red, yellow, light blue and grey - unintentionally the same color scheme as the pillow in the book. Last night I put together my piles of fabric strips, and today I started sewing. 

Pillow top # 1 was pieced during Kit's nap. I have enough strips left to do another pillow, and then I think I'll take the remainder and sew them up into potholders and coasters so that I use up all of the scrap and don't add anything back into the overflowing bins. I'm going to spend 1-2 hours a day trying to whittle down the scraps and make some useful and pretty things to have on hand for gifts, etc. This book is fabulous for me because I love log cabin piecing. I could have most of my quilting fabric be cut into long strips and be totally happy. After I finish off this batch of strips, I need to move on to some summer clothes for the girls. There are some cute Oliver + S patterns calling my name and July is right around the corner, right? Maybe they want some skirts with log cabin pockets. I think they could rock the look and start a trend.

Oh, I almost forgot! We're starting our new little chicken flock. Meet the girls. Zelda, Rose, and Buffy the Slug Slayer. We love them already.

Funny how I don't blog because I think I have nothing to talk about and then I start talking and I run off at the mouth. Oops. Guess I should sit down and do this more often.