In which she sews ...

I have been the very lucky caretaker of a sewing machine the past few months, and I've made good use of it--perhaps to the detriment of writing, reading, knitting, keeping flickr current or just spending time with Matt. But it has been good. SO good.

Beyond the simple joy of playing with fabric and pattern and color, and beyond the satisfaction of creating something useful with my own two hands, there is the very necessary gratification of starting and finishing a project. It's a gratification that comes rarely in life with little ones, a life where "clean" and "tidy" lasts only a few minutes and where bits of time for my own projects come in 15-minute increments, if that.

But--15-minute increments do add up. A seam here, a seam there--and a child's top or pair of pants is only a few seams, really. So by taking little bits of time over and over again, I've made our home more beautiful and I've kept my kids clothed. Not bad for 15 minutes, is it? 

a few notes: 

:: the quilted squares at the top are seasonal wall hangings, made in a very simple, random log cabin pattern.

:: the pants are made from directions in Amanda Soule's The Creative Family for copying pants from a current pair. I've done this tons of times for Finn, making shorts and pants (and even some flannel-lined ones this cold winter!) Most often for him I've used old t-shirts from Matt, positioning it so that the hem of the shirt is the hem of the pants. I added a butt panel to accomodate Willa's large cloth-diapered bum. And really, how many years in a girl's life will she want attention drawn to her bum? Celebrate it while we can, I say!

:: I've appliqued tons of shirts for Finn like this. Each season he gets a few more ... it's such a great way to cover a stain on a hand-me-down, or just add interest to a plain shirt. This year's additions were a train, a monkey, a panda and an "F". He's previously gotten guitars, elephants, turtles, fish and a sail boat. I use some interfacing to line the applique, then use a zig-zag stitch around the edge. So easy and satisfying--some of my favorite sewing to do. 

:: Two tops for Willa were copied from ones she has, as were the shorts. 

:: The flaphats are from here. Willa is wearing size small, and Finn has size medium. Love these! The pattern makes a reversible hat, and I made Willa's that way, but Finn's I just made with one layer so it wouldn't get too hot. Just added some seam tape around the inside to compensate.  

Some other sites I love for sewing ideas: 

The Purl bee

Oliver + s --they have a new book out called Little Things to Sew--can't wait to get my hands on this! 

Made By Rae--this winter they had a "sewing for boys" month, filled with contributions, patterns and ideas for boy's sewing.