JemJam

1 Bird for Me, 2 for You

Recently, I made a sleeve for my eyeglasses because the one that came with them is so terrible to see, even without my glasses. I just used wool felt and found an embroidery pattern that was a perfect size, also, ridiculously cute.





As soon as I finished sewing the sleeve together, the E monster claimed it! The bird motif is from Embroidered Effects and was featured on a pillowcase dress, which I do not fancy. I made her this dress and embroidered the birds.

The lining + heart:

When I gave the dress to my babe, she said, "Mommy, I like my birds," and hugged the dress.

Ready for Winter

In August, I bought a 2 piece set for little E that I could not get out of my mind. Unfortunately, I had to wait for winter to rear his ugly head. Finally, it became cold enough for her to sport the Nancy Drew 2 made from vintage wool by Figgys Kids.

 

This color combo screamed for navy argyle knee socks and I was happy to oblige, mostly, because everything needs knee socks. Don't you just love the little scarf from my favorite bird? E is pretty happy about it! 

My husband's mom made this 2 piece for E. The jacket is lined and oh so cute!

  

 I love the colors! Black and white tights, bam, she's ready for winter.

Silver Bella 2009, Part Trois

I really need a curtain call on Silver Bella 2009! It's been a month already! Times are busy around these parts, oh well. So, Robin and myself took another class together for a total of 3 (out of 5). We really had a great time together, there really isn't any "getting tired of her," well, we will skip the "I NEED my coffee incident..." I think that I saw horns. Anyhow, here's my hodge podge journal cover:

   

The wallpaper is from Holly, she gave us some during a summer visit to her home. The guts of the journal are random papers/ephemera that Rebecca Sower provided and from my own stash, which will quickly thicken the project. I love this journal, I have not quite decided on how to use it, I have been recommended to use it for myself, and that I will do.

On Saturday during lunch, we had a guest speaker, Jo Packham, oh my, she really blew away all of us! She was an incredible public speaker, she made me feel really good! (Think Barack Obama at the Iowa Caucus, really!)

 

We received swag bags on welcome night with these goodies inside:

  

I made skinny key fob wristlets, 190 of them! My friend Liz helped with cutting, stapling, and notching the satin ribbon. Husband helped with attaching the key rings, thanks, Jimmy! Why anyone would want to help me do anything is beyond me, I am so particular. But, hey, I guess I attract sadists.

  

 Okay, I must speak about the goodies that my bird has given me. I asked for a shrug a while back and look at the rosette that she made for it! Who are you kidding with that button? Damn!

  

 I love my earrings, I could seriously wear them everyday, she is so awesome, yes, she made them, too! The little red pouch there holds business cards & there is a separate pocket for mini moo cards. That is very handy at Silver Bella and in my purse at any other time in my life. The blue bag held the red pouch, and look at this!

  

Get the hell out of here with that!! Yes, Je is my nickname, it is pronounced "G."

Silver Bella 2009, Part Deux

Thursday night at Silver Bella is welcome night. 200+ Bellas congregate in a large banquet room, we see old friends from years past,

new friends in which we've established cyberships (yeah, I said it) and we meet new people as well.

We do a group project, which is probably the hardest teaching job there. A little Bella math: happy hour + 200 giddy adults + chocolate + sleep deprivation + swag bags = a tough crowd to wrangle. I learned how to "rope" in third grade, I wonder if I've still got it...
Luckily, that wasn't my job, it was Stephenie's from Fiskars and she did great! Thanks for the ornaments and the extra goodies!

Friday, we all take classes. Robin and I took 2 classes, we did Rebecca's class together, this is what I made:

I did not like messing with that wire, so, it looks icky, but, whatever, it's complete!

Later in the afternoon, we set up our 2 Birds in a Pod booth.

Here we are on Vendor Night, we started with an apron...

Check out how ridiculous Robin looks. Her apron is from the 1950s, dress from the 1960s, you cannot see them, but, her shoes are from the 80s! I dislike her right now, no, wait, she's carrying a bag that I made.

Well, my apron is from November, my skirt that you cannot see is from 2008, shoes-2006 and blouse-August 2009.

Robin's knits rocked the house! She brought home almost none, she had to make some in the car on the way home, actually!

More Silver Bella to come!

The Crucial Part of a Dinner Party

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, we are hosting it. Husband is smoking a turkey that is bathing in brine for a day. I will make everything but dessert. I should be making cornbread for stuffing right now, but, I needed to write a post.

Our toddler will be sporting this simple number tomorrow for lunch:

Yes, I started with the shoes, then decided on fabric.

You can look under, really, it's okay...

Baby E, I've always got your back.

xoxo.

I will pick up on Silver Bella this weekend.

Silver Bella-Where to Begin?

Alright, so, I've been home for 5 days and I just finished uploading pictures from Silver Bella. I did not take very many pictures while in Omaha, most of them I took here and that took a very long time. I am overwhelmed with it all and I have not posted anything because of that. I still am having a hard time deciding where to start, so I picked my favorite project to begin. 

 
I felt so lucky to be in a class that Kaari Meng instructed, she is an amazing teacher, really. I have followed French General's website for 4 yrs and this was so exciting to meet her and learn to make a piece of jewelry! I made this charm bracelet, I made it! I made it!

Luckily, I sat with my Silver Bella partner in crime who kept her composure and did not gouge out one of my eyes because of my lack of knowledge. Thanks, Robin. A new Bella sat on the other side of me and she was also very knowledgeable about jewelry construction. I finished this project in class and I am very, very proud of myself. I say that my bracelet "rings with pride."

A few days ago, a lady stopped me and complimented me on my charm bracelet. She asked where I got it and I told her that I made it (I made it!) and she was floored! She went on her way and 20 minutes later she was back to talk about it again! It was pretty magnificent.

Apparently, I need structure so, next post, I will start with this:

Win an Apron!

The good news: I am back from Silver Bella, I am tired, oh so tired! I have an exam tomorrow and a toddler to keep alive. 

The bad news: I'm giving away an apron. Go to our 2 Birds in a Pod blog to see the details on a giveaway that we are having. Good luck!

Will Sew for Birthdays

Our two year daughter had 4 birthdays, 3 parties to attend in a month, that is a lot of cake to eat! 

The first of the four was a set of twins that live in our neighborhood and old MDO mates of E.  G & A turned 2 in September and had a pool party in their backyard. It started raining at the beginning of the party, but, the sky soon cleared and the water fun commenced.

I am not good at buying gifts for children, I do not look at toys when I go to Target, ever. Not even for our own. I like buying books for kids, but, you never know what they already have, E has already received duplicate books!

I decided to make smocks for the twins, they may not think that they are that cool of a gift, but, their parents may appreciate them.

On George's smock, I used a navy pinstripe and red binding

Here is the back, yes, I used a zigzag because I did not think about using my walking foot. I do not care much for visible zigzag, but, he's 2.

   

Abigail's smock is a bird fabric that I really like and I have an entire bolt!

   

I used a rolled hem on the serger instead of binding the entire thing, it would have looked nicer, I do believe.

   

Moving on to the next birthday a few weeks later, a little girl turning 3. She goes to school with E, I figured she could fashion a skirt, because, really, who can't use a new skirt??

   

No sight of skirt since, but, hey, my intentions were good. The next day, was the third party, for a boy in E's class. He got a smock as well.

   

Oh yeah, a thank you card and a play date invite!

*Smock pattern is from Amy Karol's first book, Bend the Rules Sewing.

I'm Late, I'm Late!

Awww, I missed the pajama party. I am behind on some things right now, living, for example. Well, here is my pattern and fabric choices for E's pjs.

   

The pattern is by Oliver + S, I have not seen very many cute bedtime clothing patterns and I ordered this a few months ago with the intention on making a pair with flannel, which I will do soon. I procrastinated this project because E gets hot fast and there was just no rush to put pants and long sleeves on her. The temperature has dropped significantly over the past 2 weeks, so, the timing was perfect.

   

The pattern is rated 1 scissor of 4. If this is your first or project, it's rated 1 scissor + curse words.  

The instructions are written well and the diagrams are helpful.

When I make more, I will use ribbon for the ties, because there are just some things that are not worth 40 minutes of your time and possible steam burns to your future modeling hands. If you use ribbon, use good ribbon that holds a tie well, not cheap grosgrain. 

I prefer to never attach a waistband or pants trim the way it was instructed, I think. I may do it that way one more time to confirm my initial feelings. 

The kimono style top is quite cute, leaving me no choice but to recommend this pattern!

   

The pictures are of the worst quality, but, the lighting is not so great here, we use florescent bulbs and it is the most hideous cast of lighting ever, but, hey, our kid might have a kid one day...

No Time to Say "Hello"

I bought two pieces of fabric from a line called Wonderland this summer, it really spoke to me and I just had to make something for lil' stinker with it. I kept it out for a few months, pondering the perfect piece--dress? Skirt? Tricycle cover?? I put it away until I was ready for cutting it, which was also hard to do.  I decided on a Butterick pattern for a top.  

 

 
I was happy with the results, but, that dot fabric is just so damn cute, I needed more. I wanted to do ruffle capris, but, I do not have good luck with E wearing those (too tight, pooped in them, made a hole in the crotch, etc.). I opted for a Lazy Days skirt, because, it is simple and would not be too much with the top, it turned out cute. 

 

 
I was not thrilled with the two pieces together when she put it on, but, she insisted on wearing it. Pants look much better with a blouse that is flowy like this. Yes, I am an expert in the baby fashion industry, my credentials came with her birth certificate.

   

I did give in and bought two pairs of denim jeans for her for the cold weather season, I prefer her to wear skirts and dresses, but, sometimes, a girl just needs pants (now she has 5 pairs of pants for fall/winter) I am proud of myself, she only had 4 pairs of shorts for summer and 6 times that amount in dresses or skirts.