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Rockin’ the Raccoon on Vacation

Raccoon Top

I’m back. I just realized it has been forever since I last posted. I knew it had been a while, but where the heck have the last two months gone!? I keep feeling as though it’s still January — perhaps because Connecticut still feels like it’s stuck in January! Grrr…. enough of the cold and lingering snow!

In January I was going strong, feeling energized by the optimism that a new year tends to inspire in me. I was recommitted to exercising regularly. Intent on blogging more. I was inspired by new sewing projects. I was even prepared and on schedule with my Kids Clothes Week (Winter) sewing projects.  And then — boom! — the rose-tinted glasses of 2014 bliss and renewal were yanked off and exchanged for an unwelcome visitor in the form of the stomach bug. I suppose I was being uncharacteristically optimistic we’d avoid it, since the bug had been winding its way through my son’s preschool. It visited and stuck around for a while. Thankfully my husband and I were spared the worst of it, but my daughter experienced more than enough for all of us — yuck. And although we’ve long been recovered from the nastiness of GI bugs, it really knocked me off kilter for a while. I was rationalizing a newly adopted attitude of underachievement, “Listen, after that whole house o’ vomit thing, can’t I just coast for a bit here. Housework and fitness and general productivity are so overrated.”

And, well, what do you know? It’s just about time for Kids Clothes Week again. It’s as though I hardly missed a beat; February and March serving as mere filler between sewing challenges. Now that KCW occurs 4 times/year and is scheduled along with the seasons, I kind of feel like I just finished sewing for one KCW and need to get organized for the next. I’ll admit to a preference for the old days, when KCW happened just twice a year. And I realize that’s a silly lament, because it’s not exactly as if someone has the metaphorical gun to my head, making me sew myself silly for all four KCWs. It’s just so hard to not get wrapped up in the KCW excitement and want to create for my kiddos. Especially when folks in the sewing blogosphere start previewing their KCW sewing plans weeks in advance and recommending patterns and fabrics and loads of other goodies (you can check out the kids clothes week blog for a taste of the KCW Spring fervor).  Alas, KCW Spring is right around the corner.

kid's clothes week

Now putting aside my complaints of late winter doldrums and stomach bugs and irresistible sewing forums, there was a very bright and warm part to our late winter. Vacation!! It came together kind of quickly, although we’d been talking of getting away for some time. And it was really nice. Like perfect-weather-fun-at-the-beach kind of nice. And I had the chance to sew up a couple simple items for the kids to wear on vacation; although I only got the chance to photograph one top (on location, of course).

Raccoon1

Enough Raccoon

This top is a simple self-drafted peasant shirt using raccoon-themed fabric from the Acacia collection designed by Tula Pink for Free Spirit. The sleeve fabric is from the same collection. I sewed up the top the night before we left for vacation. This fabric just makes me smile, with the big raccoon eyes looking out at you. And the colors go with a bunch of other items in my daughter’s wardrobe, so it has a high wearability factor. Since we returned home she’s been wearing it layered over long-sleeved shirts, so this top has already seen a ton of wear.

Lookin' good, girlfriend!

Lookin’ good, girlfriend!

Daisy and I snuck out early one morning to snap these photos, while the boys made the breakfast and coffee run. She insisted on wearing her brother’s sunglasses. Always hiding from the paparazzi, this one.

Raccoon2

 

Raccoon3

This year’s vacation was better than last year.  I was grateful for the improvement a year made in terms of my children’s adaptability. There was less fussing, more napping and they were just generally more portable.  I think it was due to all of us being a year older and wiser — the kids starting to shed that knee-jerk reaction of being instantly irritable when faced with a series of new experiences and a disrupted sleep schedule, and the parents (reluctantly, at least in my case) accepting the difference between a “vacation” and a “family vacation.” As much as I sometimes wish they could just stay little, I guess growing up has its benefits, too.

I hope to be back next week to share some of my KCW plans. Have a great weekend!

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Hosh Pants: KCW January 2014 #3

Hosh Header

Day #3 of Kid’s Clothes Week and I’m serving up HOSH Pants (by LouBeeClothing) for my daughter. These are some fun, crazy pants with a bold print.

I made a pair of bright red Hosh Pants for my son during KCW Fall 2013, and really wanted to try them again. Ultimately they weren’t the best choice for my son. He only wore his Hosh Pants twice. They ended up a bit too fitted on the legs, and I don’t think either one of us was comfortable with the fit. As much as I tried to convince myself that boys do wear skinny jeans, I couldn’t get over the feeling that I was dressing him in bright red leggings. I wouldn’t entirely rule out making him another pair, but I would definitely cut the leg with a wider profile next time. Just a personal preference.

Hosh Pants, Take 2. I’m happier with the result this time around. I made a size 2T and shortened the length by about an inch, because according to the pattern guidelines I knew she was on the short end. My peanut! The pants are still pretty roomy overall. Daisy is a difficult fit for pants right now – 18 months are a bit too snug in spots, but 2Ts are generally too big.  (Hence my excitement about yesterday’s legging pattern; leggings are just so much easier than pants for her!) I’m not displeased with the fit – the adjustable waist allows me to tighten the heck out of the waist so they stay up, and she’ll continue to grow into them. I think if I wanted a perfectly tailored look, I should have blended the size 18 month and 2T patterns.

Hosh Jan KCW

Talk to your doctor about the best treatments for erectile dysfunction from oral medicines to buy cialis online Source penile implants. Generally, the medication requires three-fourth fraction of an hour to generico cialis on line cute-n-tiny.com mix into the bloodstream and becomes effective for long hours in the office and after long time mobility becomes a problem because of workplace related stress on muscles and bones. Step Three: Cure Wounditis Without question, partaking in prescription canada de viagra habitual behavior simply not only causes you pain but, it inflicts pain on the individuals around you as well. It also helps a person maintain an erection during sexual intercourse. lowest prices viagra Looking at my projects from yesterday and today, it appears that my girl sewing for KCW has taken on a purple and teal theme. It wasn’t even intentional. I found this stretch cotton sateen a few months ago on Fabric.com (it’s no longer available) and had been saving it for a pair of Hosh Pants.

Hosh 3 Jan KCW

Highlights of this pattern for me: (1) The pattern is constructed with only one piece for each leg, which means the legs have only an inseam and no outseam (I just learned that “outseam” is an actual word). The beauty of this means no need to match prints, etc. on the outside of each pant leg — all the better for using some bold prints for these pants. (2) The waistband: it’s attached separately to allow for a nice flat front and an adjustable elastic back. Great for accommodating baby bellies and skinny kiddos, alike!

Hosh Jan KCW 14

These pants seem to have inspired Daisy to get her groove on. She’s been dancing around all morning. Definitely fun to watch; not ideal for photo-taking! But I’ll take moving and grooving over staying still any day!

Hosh 4 Jan KCW

Thanks for stopping by!

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Planes, Trains & Hot Air Balloons: KCW January 2014

KCW Jan Float

Kids Clothes Week is ba-aack! A perfect excuse to set aside my New Year’s resolutions of organizing my sewing room, and simply get down to sewing. (As though that took a lot of arm twisting, ha!)

I took a very long break from sewing during the holidays. It wasn’t intentional. I blame it on reading. After my last holiday sewing project, I started catching up on reading and suddenly found all my “me-time” being dedicated to reading rather than sewing.  And I truly enjoy reading, so I decided to just go with it. Time to feed my brain some literature. Not that I was exactly dedicated to high brow lit, mind you. I think I need to find a way to balance time for both reading and sewing in my life, so that it doesn’t seem so feast-or-famine-y between the two.

But now that KCW is here, I’m feeling very energized to sew again. I selected and traced my patterns and cut all my fabric prior to the start of KCW, just so that I could focus on actual sewing this week. And I started this project early – I was too excited to wait!

Today’s project is The Everyday Camp Shirt by Fishsticks Designs. I purchased the “big kids” pattern (there is also a separate pattern with toddler sizes), and made a size 5. My son is currently on the fence between the end of toddler sizing and the beginning of boys’ sizing, but this big kid size 5 is a great fit for him. It works perfectly paired with a long-sleeved shirt for the colder weather, and it should fit well on its own for the summer. He’s grown a bunch in the past couple of months, so I’m eager for something to fit him for a while!

KCW Jan Float 2

The fabric is a cotton poplin from Lisette’s Spring 2014 collection for Jo-Ann’s. I adored those clouds, hot air balloons and paper airplanes the moment I saw them. It kind of makes you want to just float up among the clouds. Alas, no such lofty trips were had. The only trip I made was back to the store with Eli to obtain his stamp of approval before purchasing the fabric. He was just as enamored as I was. Actually he was equally excited about another fabric from the same collection – featuring green wavy stripes and cars – so I had to employ some maternal powers of persuasion to convince him we should start with this blue clouds print. If he hadn’t been so amenable, I may have been forced to institute a new rule – the person doing the sewing gets the tie-breaking vote!

KCW Jan Float 3

With the perfect fabric in hand, I set out to tackle my fear of shirts. More specifically, shirts with collars. When I just started sewing, I read a how-to article about sewing shirt collars, which was featured in a popular sewing periodical. I’m not sure if it was due to my limited sewing knowledge at the time or perhaps a less than user-friendly writing style, but the whole thing seemed incredibly daunting. I remember thinking it would be a long time before I made a shirt with a collar. So, I’ve never attempted a shirt until now. (I’ve also never purchased that magazine again!)

KCW Jan Float3

The Fishsticks pattern was easy to follow, and the end result was completely satisfying. Yay! The pattern allows for some variations such as making the shirt with a yoke, which I did not do here. Since the pattern goes up to size 14, I think I’ll have plenty of time to try different styles. (After all, there is that other Lisette fabric with the green stripes and cars…..) And the collar — no problem! I shouldn’t have been such a wimp.

So I’ve shown you the balloons and planes, what about the trains?

After a quick photo shoot of the shirt, we went to visit the nearby Eli Whitney Museum to catch the last day of the annual A.C. Gilbert train show. A trip that, by the way, and for reasons known only to him, necessitated my son changing into his Superman shirt and cape. The visit was the perfect remedy for the cabin fever we’d been feeling in trying to avoid the frigid temps around here.  I am often amused and a bit surprised by how taken both my son and daughter are by trains; the kids love trains. But you know what? Their parents were just as mesmerized during the visit. The level of detail that went into the models and the scenery, the authentic chugga-chugga as the trains went whizzing by, the smell of the steam engines (yes, real steam!). So fun!

KCW Train Table

KCWJan8

KCW Trains

KCW Circus

I was obsessed with this circus tent. With the push of a button, the lights came on, trapeze artists started flying by, the elephants and tigers twirled and did tricks.

And there was a miniature New Haven of yesteryear, too.

KCW New Haven

And in addition to the trains, this year’s exhibition was highlighting 100 years of Gilbert’s Erector Sets. There were many impressive Erector Set displays – including a replica of the Woolworth Building that reached the top of the museum’s vaulted ceiling (unfortunately, my picture was not worthy), ferris wheels, airplanes, and all sorts of inventions with moving parts and lights and fun gadgetry. There were stations set up to encourage visitors to try their hand at building something, too.

KCW Erector 2

It was so refreshing to spend an afternoon around objects that were intended to inspire invention and hands-on creativity, as opposed to plastic toys that do all the work for you! No one was standing around texting or with their head stuck in their phone at this venue! As soon as Eli saw the tables with the tools and parts, he was excited and inquisitive and wanted to build something – anything! Poor Daisy, she was excited too, but couldn’t quite reach the table top yet.

FlyHigh6

KCW Erector

As impressive as the Erector Sets were, I’ll be sticking to sewing for now. I hope to have a couple more projects to share during this KCW. And you can always check out more on the kids clothes week blog.

Thanks for visiting!


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Holidays! 2013

christmas kiddos

I can honestly report that the holidays were quite happy around here. There was none (or at least, very little) of the last minute rushing around that creates needless stress. Of course, not everything that was on my to-do list was accomplished, or accomplished in a timely fashion, but I decided to make a focused effort this year not to be busier than necessary. There’s a poster I see making the rounds on various social media outlets that reads, “don’t glorify busy”, or something to that effect. I took it to heart this year. And I liked the results. By not rushing around for extra stuff, it allowed me to put the focus where it should be — on family and friends and embracing the holiday cheer.

It did require me to reign in some of my ideas. And why, by the way, do many of those seemingly great ideas only pop into your mind at the last minute or when your plate is already full? Better under pressure? 

Christmas tree skirt

I admit I couldn’t resist one last minute project — this Christmas tree skirt for my daughter. This was a one-hour at midnight project. I was headed to bed when I realized I didn’t have anything very Christmas-y for my daughter to wear to a Santa brunch we were attending the next morning. I originally envisioned this as a red fleece vest with green tree appliques, and a coordinating denim skirt. Thankfully sanity arrived on the scene and reminded me of this sparkly red shirt I bought Daisy (a la Target), so all I needed was to make a quick skirt. And, no — I did not forget about Christmas attire for my son! He just wasn’t cooperating on the wardrobe front that morning. I was placated, however, by the fact that he’s still wearing and liking the pintuck pants I made him during the last Kids Clothes Week. (And speaking of KCW, the organizers just announced the next KCW for the end of January!!)

Christmas2013

I hope you all enjoyed a peaceful and happy holiday season, too!  And, Happy New Year! 2014. Wow.

Remember when 2000 (Y2K!) seemed like such a big deal?! Hard to believe that was fourteen years ago. I’ve been amusing myself by remembering how cuckoo lots of people were with Y2K-fever. Hey, weren’t all our computers supposed to simultaneously combust upon the stroke of midnight that New Year’s Eve?

With 2013 behind us, it seems predictably appropriate to spend a little time looking back. Last January, I established two sets of goals for the year ahead. A more set, for things I wanted more of in my life in 2013; and the other was a set of less, for things I hoped to reduce in my life.

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 More:

  1. take more photos
  2. create a few things using real sewing patterns, not just the patterns I draw for myself
  3. sew an article of clothing for myself

And as a further example of self-indulgence, I am electing to ignore the results of my “less” goals. Why start the year being self-critical, huh?

I haven’t made any resolutions for this new year. I also haven’t sewn anything since December 22nd! I’ve barely spent any time in my sewing room. I’m not stuck in a rut, not being lazy. I’ve just been enjoying the way the holidays tend to make us smile more, be kinder, more expressive, excited about each other’s company and more willing to linger over visits with friends and family. I wonder if I could make this feeling last all year?