Happy New Year

The radio silence here followed a tough autumn full of infections and viruses and at some point there was no more sewing happening at all. No more anything happening at all except trying to get healthy and ready for a Christmas road trip. Barely has the elf dust settled and we're back on the road again. It's really tough to squeeze travelling into such a short school break. We'll be driving into the end of 2011 and arriving home for a fresh new year which I hope will hold lots of sewing, knitting, organizing and sewing studio creation. Here's a tiny preview of baby's Spring wardrobe.

This will be a beautiful little sweater, but was decidedly not the right choice for car knitting! I found myself a friendly yarn shop deep in the Atlanta exurbs and acquired simple scarf knitting for the ride

home.  

I have already begun assembling spring fabrics for patterns she will soon outgrow, as well as a few I haven't even tried yet. There will, after all, be another version of that lovely Citronille pattern with perhaps Puppet Show shorts. There will be a spring Sunday Brunch jacket and I plan to try adapting some pants into skinny stretch pants. There will be an Easter Bubble Dress. But first, some black chambray is only waiting for the right trim fabric to become a new Playdate dress. Early in the New Year, I will post instructions on how I finish that yoke seam so neatly.

We will ring in 2012 in a hotel halfway home and I wonder what kind of harbinger will that be for 2012. I wish all of you a restful, happy and handstitched new year!

little comfort clothes

There was so much sewing in the late summer and early fall that I actually forgot to buy her a winter wardrobe. When we started to feel a chill in the air, I realized I had little to nothing in the way of warm play clothes. Kids’ clothes always seem to sell out by early fall, so I had no choice but to sew some. I’ve had the Class Picnic pattern since it was released, but I was already starting on summer things by the time it arrived and never got to it. I looked at it again and thought of some flannels in my stash from last year.

This may be my favorite Oliver + S pattern yet. It is simple, yet elegant. It has subtle well-designed details and I think it would look lovely made up in nearly any fabric. I love how the elastic casings at the shoulders not only make this top easy to wear, but creates a look similar to a puffed sleeve. That slight puffiness looks positively darling on a little shoulder, but isn’t fussy at all. It’s a thoroughly modern design, but rooted in a traditional look.

The Picnic Blouse is only slightly more complicated to construct as the Ice Cream dress and so could easily be made over and over. There is so much room to add you own touch to this design. It could be lengthened into a dress; the sleeves could be lengthened or shortened. I’m already picturing this in white linen for the summer with tiny details out of some Liberty scraps.

You can see it’s perfect for playtime. It’s loose and easy to move in. We like the Picnic Blouses paired with skinny jeans or Ponte leggings. The three quarter sleeves are great for babies. Long sleeves tend to get wet or dirty. I hemmed them with large stitches so I could let them out if need be. This flannel is just some cheap stuff I bought on sale at Joann last year. For the 18month size, I used a mere 25” of fabric so this top cost probably less than $4.00.

The only reason I hesitate to call it my #1 fav, is that finishing is not as easy as for the Ice Cream dress. These were quick easy playclothes, so for once I simply pinked the seams. After all, flannel doesn’t ravel much. Normally I’m absolutely nutty about seam finishes. My French seam favorites might still work here in a very lightweight fabric, but the yoke facing creates an extra layer in the seam which might make them a little bulky. I think for a fine finish on a slightly heavier fabric – wouldn’t this be so cute and cozy in corduroy? – a very lightweight seam binding might be in order. I will work on finishes when I sew this for spring - and I will be sewing it for the spring!

This is a tough time of year to snap photos. The sunlight hours are so short and so many days are gray. If we have just one thing to do in the morning hours, I’ve lost the whole day as far as photos are concerned. There are only three quiet mornings when boys are at school, so this is the best I could do this week. I made two of these, so there will be more next week. Don’t you love the bottom lip?