A day on the streets

One of my favorite traditions here is the elementary school costume parade.  It’s so fun to watch all the classes line up and walk down Main St. dressed up and strutting their stuff.

   

These little girls didn’t really care about the kids or the costumes, they were just waiting for it to get over so we could walk around some more.  Walking is a luxury my hips can’t afford right now.  They weren’t too happy about that, but suckers help.

I gave in and bought the kids’ costumes and recycled a few of them.  I know it’s blasphemy especially since I also bought stuff to make their costumes this year but I just didn’t have it in me to actually pull them together.  What I do have in me is a big chubby baby that’s due any day now so I’m using that as an excuse.  All that orange stuff I posted a few days ago… next year my friends.  Next year I’ll have six handmade costumes to show off and no excuses!

-------------------------------------------------------

I’ll tell you what else I have, a bunch of stuff lined up! Finished stuff so no excuses ;).   I have all kinds of things to share over the next little bit and a giveaway that you won’t want to miss.  Yep, I said giveaway! It’s been a while since my last one.  I can’t wait… great stuff, so don’t forget to come back next week for new stuff!

See you soon and have a Happy Halloween.

High society or just high waisted?

What a weekend! My sister in law and brand new brother in law are wed and it was awesome. Not the 12 hours of driving or trying to get comfortable in a hotel bed that doesn’t have trenches worn into it though, but nothing a little cookie dough ice cream didn’t fix.

There are 12 nieces in the immediate family so to spare any little one from having a melt down by not being chosen as the flower girl we all made our girls dresses or skirts in her wedding colors so they all felt like they were flower girls. They turned out amazing. I have really talented sister in laws that I’ll have to brag about another day since I don’t have a picture to show you. Cody was kind enough to take pictures for me while I became a part of a marble bench for a few hours so all I have is this little gem.

Her colors were gray and orange, loved it by the way, so I decided to make Very Biased Skirts from No Big Dill. They were already gray so my pregnant brain didn’t have to think and exactly what I would wear myself if I could. I made her matching headbands to. Kennedy’s (or Frankenstein?) skirt is twisted but you can kind of see how it bustled in the back. Way cute.

What’s not so cute is Jeremy’s grandpa pants!?! Where did that high waist come from? I guess he felt left out since the skirts were kind of high. Or he was taking Kennedy’s lead from the hotel room-

It’s normally mom’s job to take the pictures and pull up the tights… this is why ;).

I still have costumes to start and Cody is gone all week so I have to get off here and get sewing. Have a fantastic Tuesday!

My mother’s curse

My mom always told each one of us that she hoped we had a child just like us some day.  Usually on those days that we were being 16 and snotty.  To be honest I always thought I really would have a child just like me.  I pictured my first son to be Cody’s clone and my first daughter to have really dark half curly hair and brown eyes. To be a little sarcastic and o.c.d and to have a really stubborn streak.  Of course she would love to draw and sew and ooh and ah over everything miniature ever made.

Each and every one of my kids has a trait from each of us but I was shocked to find out that not a single one would be a clone of either of us or that they would be so balanced.  I was shocked to see that they wouldn’t like all the things we like.  Sounds dumb to admit it now but they really are their own little persons.  When Ashlyn came out blue eyed and blond and completely calm I wondered who’s baby they gave me. 

Mine.

I caught her showing Mary her “sketch” book while they were supposed to be cleaning their room and telling her she wanted a sewing machine from Santa this year.  I thought it was a diary and I had no idea she even cared about sewing.  She’s never shown an extended interest in anything really.  She likes nail polish and hoarding and tomorrow she’ll like grilled cheese and sparkles.  I thought.  Be still my motherly heart.  Are those dress designs?

 

By golly they are!  I asked her if I could see them and she said she’s been working on them for a few months.  I almost teared up.

So of course I did what any good mother would do and bought this the second I found out.  Santa is a little excited.  Okay Santa is REALLY excited.

We’ll see how long it lasts but at least I know I didn’t push her to like what I like and we’re gonna have a ton of fun while the sewing bug has bitten.  I hope it’s a big bug ;).

Have a fantastic week, I won’t be back on until Monday.   One of Cody’s adorable sisters is getting married this weekend and I have to find my fanciest pregnancy tent and finish sewing up a few loose ends for the weekend.  See you Monday!

Making

I make more than skirts and people sometimes.  Today I’m working on a little of this- I can’t wait to show you what’s going to become of the cupcake liners and orange sheer fabric.   Holy smokes it’s going to be cute!  Unless it’s not and then I’ll never tell and hopefully you’ll forget I was going to show you ;).

 

I’ve also been working on some of these for gifts-

Baby towels in boy fabrics this time.  I’m starting to get a little baby hungry.

 

And a little of what I should be doing right now but I don’t want to-

A bigger project than I want to tackle today that has to be finished by next week.  It’s turning out pretty darn cute though so I’ll pick it back up tomorrow.  Or maybe Thursday.  I’ll definitely pick it back up by Saturday… maybe.  

I have about 12 dozen more things sketched up and ready to be made.  If there were only 48 hours in a day.  Then I could watch 24 more hours of t.v. and talk about all the projects I still have to finish ;).

What are you working on this week?

Trapeze skirt how-to

I get really bored really easily so I wanted to make something that was quick, easy, and wearable using my serger one Saturday night. One can only have so many napkins and receiving blankets so I decided to branch out. I wanted a knit skirt that didn’t require a pattern and could be made in under 1/2 hour. I mashed a few tips together and did my own thing and came up with this-

I made this baby in under 1/2 hour and that includes looking in my manual to figure out how to do a stinking rolled hem.

You don’t have to have a serger to make this (but use one if you have it). If you use your sewing machine just use a stretch stitch or a zig zag. *Make sure your fabric has some stretch to it. Mine doesn’t have a ton but enough that Ash could slip it over her hips without ripping out the stitching.*

~Here we go~

Making the waist band.

1. Measure your waist (or your child’s waist) and cut a strip of fabric your exact waist measurement long x 6” wide. For an adult I would make it 8” wide. Ashlyn’s waist measured 23 1/2 so I cut a strip 23 1/2” x 6”.

You want your skirt to stay up so don’t add a seam allowance. That’s what the stretch is for.

2. With right sides together serge or sew the short edges together, making a tube. Fold the tube towards the outside so the wrong sides are together and the raw edges meet together at the bottom. Set aside.

Making the skirt

1. I wanted the shortest side of the skirt to be no shorter than knee length so I measured Ashlyn from waist to knee and got 18”. Measure from your waist down to where ever you are comfortable with the shortest side falling, this is your length measurement. Take your length measurement and double it. Cut your fabric into a square the doubled measurement. My fabric cut was 36” square.

2. Mark the exact center of your square. Measure across your sewn waistband. Mine was 11” across after serging. Take 1” off that measurement, so that makes mine 10”. Center that measurement on the middle of your mark with a tape measure or ruler. I placed the 5” mark right on the dot and marked the ends and drew a line from 0” to 10”.

3. Cut your line making a slit in the square. Not a big gaping hole, a slit!

Finish line

1. Grab your waistband and slip it inside the slit with right sides together, matching the raw edges of your waistband to the raw edge of the slit in your skirt and pin all around.

2. Sew around the inside.

3. The hem- you can leave it raw, do a rolled hem, zig zag, or fold up the bottom edge and sew. I did a rolled edge on the serger and it made it kind of lettuce. I didn’t mean to do that but it still looks cute. Here’s what it looks like laying flat.

Ashlyn likes to hang her skirts on the floor.

That’s it! One rectangle, one square, one slit. You’re done! You’re welcome ;).

Have a fantastic Thursday and show me if you make some. mailto:some-dontlickthefloor@hotmail.com

Fun with Gum tutorial

Before I forget to bring it over here and in case you missed it I thought I should throw up the tutorial I did for Mique’s Funner in the Summer guest post in July. I think it would be a fun idea to make for the holidays coming up. A spider bag or a fun Christmas stocking shape would be so cute. Enjoy!

I have a craft drawer filled with kids craft stuff that they know they can use whenever they’d like but when that doesn’t work I like to get them reading a book. One fun way to help encourage them to read is with this little poem bookmark, a bag full of gumballs, and a new book. It works like a charm and it’s a great way to keep them reading over the summer.

 

To make your own treat bags and bookmarks just save the bookmark image and print it out and gather a few supplies.

 

For the treat bags you’ll need-
6” x 7” piece of fabric
2 1/2” x 2” piece of clear vinyl (look for small rolls in the remnant bin).
16” piece of ribbon
Tape

 

 

 

 

.

First fold and press the top edge of your fabric down 1/4” and then again 3/4”. If you don’t have a non-stick foot for your machine put a piece of tape on your presser foot and cut out any holes for the thread to go through. Tape your vinyl window to the wrong side of your fabric on the bottom left.

Sew around your vinyl trying not to catch your tape. Flip your fabric to the right side and snip out just the fabric square from inside your sewing lines being careful not to cut the vinyl underneath. You don’t need the tape anymore so you can take that off.

Fold your bag in half right sides together matching fold lines at the top and stitch along the bottom and side edge.

Turn your bag right side out. With the inside seam open fold the top edge towards the inside 1/4” and then 3/4” making a casing for your ribbon to go.

Sew around the edge of your casing on the inside of the bag as close to the edge as you can, completely closed.

Stretch the seam on the outside top open a little and clip 3 or 4 stitches.

Thread your ribbon through the hole with a safety pin and tie in a cute bow or knot the ends together and ta da! Now you have a cute little bag to fill with gumballs and tie on to your favorite book.

Have a fantastic Wednesday!

Hello Toes

Long time no see!

Sunday meetin’ clothes

Ah, the tube top. An article of clothing that’s near the top of the list of things I would never ever in a million years wear to church or allow my girls to wear to church. Not that some people can’t pull it off under a cardigan or something but there’s just something about the word “tube top” in the same sentence as church that seems so very wrong to me. Like studded leather pants and church wrong. Maybe it’s just me.

But… there’s nothing wrong with tube skirt! I found some tube tops at the Mart that were on clearance for $2 or $3 a piece and thought they were so cute. I loved the dress shirt details (there’s a buttoned vent on the sides, seriously) and they were calling to me but I hated the fact they were tube tops.

Into the old cart they went and became tube tops no more! They look so much cuter as skirts. I can’t wait for colder weather so we can layer these with leggings and funky shirts.

Here’s the rundown if you’d like to make some for yourself. Or make some for your daughters if you still feel weird wearing one- ahem.

Find a clearance tube top you can’t live with/without.

Lob off any buttons on the smocking at the top and cut out any plastic strap doohickeys and such. Cut out the tag in the back and set it aside.

There’s a little elastic around the top of mine but not enough to hold it up as a skirt. Leaving everything as is fold the top down about an inch. Sew close to the edge making a casing, stretching the fabric as you sew.

Tuck the tag back in at the back if your 6 year old will not know which way is the front without it :). Thread some 3/4” elastic that’s cut to your waist measurement through the casing and stitch shut.

That’s it! No one will be the wiser, unless they happen to shop at the Mart to because it’s the only store in town.

They probably won’t be wearing them as skirts though. Lets do the world a favor and hoard all the tube tops and make them into skirts. For the good of humanity.

Have a fantastic Tuesday!

1+1+1+1+1+.5= Full?

I love my kiddos very very much.  That said, does anyone really want to take 5 kids to the store?  No, I can tell you right now unless you are planning on only shopping for 13 seconds and don’t mind coming out spending way more than you planned- you do not. With Cody’s work schedule being what it is if I want to leave my house for anything at any given time I have 5 little tagalongs that are coming with me or I stay home.  I stay home a lot.

I love my kids (did I say that already) even the screamers.  It’s the comments I get when I show my brood off in public, especially when I have a belly the size of a watermelon so it’s obvious that I don’t intend on stopping at the 5 I have.  I know the comments are mostly well intentioned but I feel I don’t get to share my side of the story.  That’s what my blog started out as and I haven’t done it in awhile so here goes. 

Are my hands full?

Sure. 

Am I busy?  Every. single. second. of every. single. day. 

Wow?  Yep, wow.  

Do I know what causes that?  I’m pretty sure by now I do ;). 

Would I have it any other way?

Nope! 

I got asked no less than a dozen times yesterday about our family size.  I’m usually used to it but I usually only get asked once or twice a trip.  Yesterday was a bit much.  I know 5 plus kids is the right size family for us right now.  Do I think any less of those with less or more kids?  Not one single bit.  In fact I know a few of mine that were for sale at one point during our trip.  Really though, what’s full for some is half empty for others and that’s okay!  I won’t force you to take my full if you don’t force me to take half empty okay?  Oh, and let me pick out apples in peace.

Excuse me while I run along to go squeeze some kids, kiss some cheeks, and release one from time out.  I’ve never been more grateful in my entire life to be so “full”.

Have a fantastic Sunday!

Gotta check it out

I love waking up in the morning with my mini wheats and checking my email first thing to find happy mail. I got an email a few weeks ago from Marcia (who made the adorable dresses I posted about here) that a group of sewers on SewForum wanted to do a challenge and chose to do the Double Layer skirt.  So exciting, totally made my month.

Here’s Terri’s version-

She sent the picture to me and I asked her if I could share it.  Don’t you love the added bias around the bottom!  I can just see this with a cute sweater for fall.

I hope anyone thinking about making one of these skirts checks out Sewforum first.  You might have to register there to see the pictures but it’s worth it.  There are so many cute skirts on there in all different variations with new ones being added all the time. I’m completely inspired to pick up project cousin again and crank out a skirt or two and mix it up following some of their ideas. If you want even more inspiration you can also click on the links at the bottom of the double layer skirt post on my blog under the comments where it says “Links to this post”.

I love it when something I’ve done inspires others who inspire me all over again.  That my friends is why sewing rocks!  Things just get better and better the more they are made and the more people that make them.

Have a fantastic Thursday! I’m blushing and gushing all over.