KCW: Sheep Ice Cream Dress

Yay!  I actually finished a dress during Kids Clothes Week!  The Oliver and S Ice Cream Dress to be exact.  I sewed it with the delightful Locally Grown from Marisa at the blog Creative Thursday.  My local fabric store ZFabric carries almost the whole line and I was so excited when I saw it.  I got immediately buy-in from Claire when she saw the fabric and was equally pumped to wear a dress that had farm animals on it.  Now she is begging me to make Amelia a 'chicken dress'.  As Claire gets older I try to make sure she is going to wear the dress I make for her before I sew it (it would just be too tragic to sew something up and have her flat-out refuse it).  She was definitely waiting for this dress to be done and because of Kids Clothes Week it was done in three sewing days!  When it was done she couldn't have been more enthusiastic and gave me a giant hug and kiss and I almost cried a little.  So sweet.  She even agreed to a photo shoot outside on a windy day, and was nice enough to take off her sweater to show it off.  To fulfill my end of the bargain I had to agree to spin her around and around many times without stopping, and I did my best, dizziness and all.

Kids Clothes Week

I have seen Kids Clothes Week online for a couple of years now and for the last year I have actually wanted to participate, and I am finally doing it this week!  The challenge is to sew one hour a day for a week for your kids.  It actually came at a perfect time because I have been buying a ton of fabric lately and my brain is swimming in inspiration, I find myself daydreaming and making virtual checklists of what I could sew, with what fabric, and when.  I tried so hard to finish a Washi dress I'm working on for myself this past weekend knowing I was going to be focusing on the kids this week, but with time management and all, I am trying to 'know when to quit'.  As in, 'I could finish this dress while Amelia is taking an extra long nap on a Sunday and it would be satisfying, but future me tonight will be super overwhelmed and irritable that there is no dinner plan and the house is a mess'.  I do better some days than others quitting appropriately (or not sewing at all) - when Greg was out Friday night I fell asleep at 8:30 with the kids, and literally dragged myself out of bed (and a good night's sleep) to sew the Washi and watch Call the Midwife on the laptop.  (It's my first time sewing with this rayon challis)! This surge of sewing frenzy happened to me last spring as well, I'm sensing a pattern.  I cranked out projects in March and April before burning out and I didn't sew much all summer.

For Kids Clothes Week I started on an Ice Cream Dress for Claire, this is also the third spring I have done a lot with this pattern, I blogged about another one here.  It got me thinking while I sewed for my one hour this afternoon how I was really only glancing at the instructions for a reminder, and I was brought back to the first one I sewed two years ago, and how long it took me, and all the seams I ripped out and did again.  It's fun to think about how much I've improved, and like so many other people who sew, I really have learned how to sew from my Oliver and S patterns.  I grabbed some photos of the work in progress, Claire is excited for her 'sheep' dress and I'm excited to finish it this week!  I'm thinking to stay with the spirit I'll try to sew during naptime and after bedtime one or two nights this week, because to be perfectly honest I think there are a couple days there is NO way I will get sewing in.  (Perhaps this Friday when I work at 12 hour shift a 3 pm??)

1.  I'm happy with the progress in 1+ hour!  I sewed both pockets and got the pockets sewn on the front of the dress!

 Claire was excited about the pockets - She said 'They're so clean inside, there's no dirt!' What a compliment.  Claire's wearing the first Geranium I made last year.

 We 'opened' up the sandbox today!  I couldn't get the tarp all the way off, some was still frozen on!  But we did enjoy the sun and 50 degree weather for a bit!  Spring is here!

Parsley Pants for Claire

These are definitely some dated photos, but I do love the Parsley Pants pattern!  I have since made a couple other pairs, another pair for Claire and I just made both kiddos some Christmas jammie pants, the most basic version of this pant. 

I sewed these back in October I think, and even with the little add-ons like the pin tucks I added to this pair they were a breeze.  I like having a go-to pants pattern that I can tinker with for a lot of different looks.  I think that's the point of her pattern!  I loved this fabric, I think it's an Anna Maria Horner flannel.  I love sewing flannel pants for Claire each winter.  A lining would probably be great with this pattern too, this fabric leaves them a bit on the thin side for windy winter days here.  I'm sure it is relatively easy to figure out, but it's one of those things I'm not very inspired to do right now, I tend to mostly just follow the pattern to get the finished product.  But I did follow Rae's instructions and finished all the seams on this pair of pants, something my over-excited for a finished product brain could barely slow down to handle.  But it was worth it.  Ten-ish extra minutes for a professionally looking finished pair on the inside?  Definitely worth it.  As for the lining, I just throw on some tights or leg warmers underneath and she's good to go.

These pants have been worn a lot this winter.  And just barely six months later she is already growing out of them, time to let out some of the hem!

A March Afternoon

 This afternoon, another cold blustery afternoon in the longest March ever, I was really motivated for some kind of craft project or activity to do with the kids.  I woke up in the early afternoon after a night at work, and began the strange rhythm I've grown accustomed to on the days after I work all night.  I have an hour or so of alone time before my mom drops off the kids (a little more if I feel like sacrificing on some sleep).   I'm always so happy to see and snuggle the kiddos, and today I felt really motivated to do some kind of craft activity or art project with them.  I spent a few minutes looking on the internet, was inspired by some more involved projects, and then realized I was crazy to be looking at anything slightly complicated, and decided to do some kind of dough project.  I always have to balance how I actually feel these days after working (overtired, but excited to be home, short on patience, kind of sluggish but hopped up on coffee) with how I want to feel (inspired, motivated, accomplished - this is usually the coffee talking and it's short-lived).  So I'm glad I tuned into my need for easy and simple with my desire for crafty fun with kids and settled on making cloud dough.  It's just flour mixed with baby oil, and it makes this cool silky mixture that can be solid and molded, but also kind of well, crumbly.  It is so easy to make and I just let the kids go to town.  It was really satisfying to see them BOTH spend time with the same project! Claire is at an age too where craft projects are just really hit and miss - I have definitely spent time getting something complicated together and she ends up being not interested - which can feel frustrating.  I find that when I go with my gut and stick with simple things I know SHE likes (play dough, water play) she and I both end up satisfied. 

This really helped take up a large chunk of the afternoon peacefully until Greg got home.  By that point I was trying to make a game with the kids where I lay in bed and close my eyes.  I am dying for some 50 degree days where we can actually spend the afternoons enjoying outside!