Finished Object: Rainbow Blanket

My oldest little one is obsessed with rainbows, so I decided to make her a rainbow blanket for her toddler bed. Originally, I was going to make a simple pillowcase style blanket. After I got the most rainbowest fabric from Jo-Anne, I realized that the pattern would cause vertigo if not broken up some. so Then I just decided to do a simple window pane quilt. I am getting better at top stitching (still make a ton of mistakes).. but each quilt everything looks a little more polished.

She loved it and it warms my heart every time I tuck her in under it.

 

Finished Object: Reversible dress (whales and robots)

I sewed clothes for my youngest daughter and it did not suck! I have this issue where I can't seem to sew clothes very well. most other things.. sure... but clothes are super scary to me. It's totally a mental ("little voice of doubt in my head"). Anyway, I decided to try a class at Stitchlab (in Austin) http://www.stitchlab.biz/ and had the best time. The instructor was great and super patient. In the four hour class ("easy sewing for littles") I had a finished product that I was so damn proud of!

Here it is in all of it's whale and robots reversible goodness!

 

I sewed pants!

I made pants for my daughter! Might not seem like a headline... but I've had this fear/no confidence when it comes to sewing clothes. I'm not sure why my brain decided I am incapable of sewing body coverings but I was convinced... this has persisted since high school. Recetnly I was having trouble finding pants for her that were not jeggings or skinny style.. so in a courageous or foolishly optimistic move I consulted with some folks in the know and found a pants pattern to try. I wanted to use fabric that I had in my stash in case they were a complete disaster. Actually this pattern: 

I can't say enough good things about the pattern really. It was great for a beginner. 

 

 I will definitely make more and might dabble in some other clothes related patterns... maybe... here is what I learned a lot with one pair of pants:

  • Quilting cotton can be used to make a light-ish pair or pants. Not just for quilting i guess :-)
  • I would like to try different fabric that would be more "pant-like"... that's an adjective right?
  • I should have done some zig zags to prevent fraying/unraveling
  • um, measure and trace the pattern carefully
  • I definitely want to add pockets and the ruffles are adorable!
  • I should loosen up and treat clothes sewing the way I approach making other things. They are experiments and "failure is always an option"... and i should not let that deter me from trying. In general, I have a very good attitude about this but sewing sometimes I get frustrated with myself. 

sometimes crafts fail

It seems logical that if i treat making this as experiments, that some don't quite work. failure is a result and i definitely learn a ton each time I have a project that... well I wouldn't exactly put out to show. One of these is a clutch I decided to make a few days before a wedding.  Between the aggressive time frame, a new tutorial and my modifications... well I learned:

  • Always have enough time for a second attempt
  • If it is last minute, keep it simple
  • If you aren't happy with the machine embroidery, then putting it together with other components aint gonna make it prettier
  • simple logic does not happen when you are rushing and over tired

The tutorial was great, and I might use it again to do something similar, and apply more logic, time and versions. 

Here is how it came out (try not to judge me too harshly ;-) )