Adventures in Vintage Resales... fka adventures in baby-sewing

I am talking about the Kreative Blogger award and others. I am NOT trying to sound sour, and I am NOT sour, because there are others that are better bloggers and sewers/crafters than me. I am pleased to see some like Carolyn of Diary of a Sewing Fanatic basically shared it with her following and readers. But I did not post it, as I would rather wait until my blogging is deserving, but I am not demeaning anyone who does, at all, because I think we are all creative bloggers and deserving it for our unique and various talents. This comes under ramblings that have no purpose, I think. Sorry, this is something I had to get off my chest, thinking about it as I come across it. I hope no one gets offended about it, if so, sorry...

Not really, just my oldest is sick & skipping school. A tummy ache/bug has been going around at school and I guess she got it, but no fever, no throwing up, just achy. Could be those 3 eggs last night she had for breakfast??? They had pancakes, eggs and fruit, since they rarely have much breakfast in the mornings here. They eat at school and a light one here, so they love pancakes for dinner with some fruit and farm eggs. We limit it to 1x per week because of the eggs. So today will tell, if it's just egg overdose or a bug. Her pants may be too short, she has grown alot, so they may be saved for capris in a month or two. Otherwise, they are done. The oldest son's are done & he is wearing them today. I used a basic Simplicity pant/top pattern from #4336 in a size 3 with a 4 length for legs. He is 5 years old and skinny b/c of CP. I did something different, using a wide bias strip from quilting cotton to make the casing at the waist with 1" elastic. Made ...

I hadn't been doing much as I caught a winter cold/brochitis, and have been laying low for a few days. I can't keep focused when I am coughing and sneezing alot. I have been taking a lot of naps, too. I have worked on the oldest's pants some, but really haven't done much of anything other than laundry, basics at home. I did read some of the other blogs. Carolyn's post about TNT's was great. She is a great example of developing TNT's that work for you and using them as a jumping-off point to keep in fashion. If you think about it, most patterns are a basic shape for a top, skirt, etc. and then add details, length, width, etc. If you already have that basic shape down, you can change it as your needs dictate. Something to explore this year as a goal. Well, that's it for now, I need to get back to the dishes.

Today Baby H turns 1! It was a freezing cold night last year when I went to the hospital at 3am after breaking my water. The deck was icing from the drizzle. On the 45 minute drive through the country, we saw every deer in the county by the sides of the road. Now my baby turns a year old. And we are not pregnant, which was bittersweet as we were kinda gearing ourselves up for another, but really do have a full house with 4 and one with CP. But we would have managed and been fine. But it was not meant to be, which is also ok. Today was spent cleaning carpets and sewing a pair of pajama pants recycled from receiving blankets for the baby. I used B4433, which may be OOP. I was lucky enough to have 2 matching blankets as one would not have been enough. These have been around since the oldest child and were still in great shape, just washed soft. I finished them rather quickly despite many interruptions from the kids. I had to challenge myself for what should have been 1-2-3 and...

I have been sewing some, not for me, though. I am still working on (at the same time), the baby gifts (the package keeps growing), the Urban Indigo charms quilt blocks, a wall hanging for Valentines day and pants for the oldest. I am using a poly/cotton twill from Fabric.com. It seems like it will be wrinkle-free or almost. It has been easy to sew, too. I am using bias tape to finish the pocket seam allowance to learn a new finishing skill and to weight the pockets down a bit. I am using the basic Butterick pattern I always use for her. She always needs new pants for school and she is really rough on the clothes. She is down to two pairs of jeans and her fleece ones are getting too short. She plays with the boys like a boy and always looks kind of dusty when she gets home. I never know how she will look when she gets off the bus. The wallhanging is cool, from "Bits and Pieces", a quilting book about mini-quilts, emphasizing hand piecing and hand quilting. I will ...

I have been reading others histories and decided to join in. I gave a version on Pins and Needles, but not here. My mother sewed for me, my grandmother sewed alot in her day, usually making her own pattern from RTW in downtown Houston shop windows, making notes and a sketch. I resisted learning how to machine sew, absolutely would not do it. I hand-sewed doll things about 8, learned to crochet and embroider from my grandmother. I fell in love with cross-stitch in my teens and did that for years, now my eyes are too strained to do much with it. I cross-stitched through two pregnancies on bed rest. Fast forward to 2007. I was pregnant again after a recent miscarriage (I have had 3 lost, we have 4 living children, oldest is adopted). At the end of the first trimester in Jan 07, I had an ultrasound, no heartbeat. I was devastated again. I needed something to concentrate on, so I decided to learn patchwork, log cabin blocks, and got a 2nd hand machine from one of the church ladies...

I looked up the new ones from an email I received. There are some nice ones, but I am struck by how vintage-y some were (which is good). 1930's - #8556 with a long dress, slinky-like 1940's - 1086 with the cap sleeves, 8553 & 8554 all three with swingy skirts and 8557 has a silhouette like an old Butterick I have (short-sleeved) 1950's - 1084 & 1094 1960-70's mod - 1090, 1091 and 8552 shift reminds me of the old shifts/housedresses (look at the pose), not that is a bad thing, I think our world is too casual at times and women dressed more than we do for homemaking, because it is a job, a profession, albeit it at times tedious and boring. 1980's - 8563 and 8564 definitely remind me of Dynasty ad Knot's Landing dresses, sans peplums. Feminine Power Suits. Now these notes were made this morning and I may have shuffled them a bit, so forgive me if my numbers and impressions are a bit off. A gripe: Renewal notices for magazines I no longer want. They st...