Father's Day Gift: Rolling Couch Cart

This is my dad.

(and my little sister Lynette)

About a year ago I bought my dad a little TV dinner wood table.

On our last visit I noticed it's trashed.

So I thought for Father's Day next month I'd build him a rolling couch cart.

The basic plan came from Ana White.

I didn't follow her dimensions or the plan really, as I was using scraps I had already.

Basically you can pull it up to eat on, slide it under the couch to hold snacks or a laptop, or next to the couch as a side table.

I used scraps from other projects to make the cart.

I chose to use ball casters to help it roll better on carpet.

Because each piece was a different material, I knew I had to paint it and just went with basic white.

1 coat primer, 2 coats semi gloss latex paint.

I thought I'd stock the shelves with containers of straws, napkins, mints, toothpicks, etc since I think it will be where he eats while he watches baseball this summer.

Happy Father's Day next month Dad!

Blessing Dress for Izzie

Isabella was blessed in our church recently.

I'm feeling the difference for the third child and second girl.

I had a quilt and blessing/ christening dress already made before I had Ellie.

But this time around I started and finished Isabella's dress the 2 days before the big day.

 But making it last minute means I get to post photos of her wearing it!

This was my favorite of Isabella, kind of a pirate smile: 

I had a meeting before church so my husband had to get all three kids ready, and not only did they all look pretty good, he was there 10 minutes early.

I kind of hate when he's a better mom than me!

I used eyelet again, as I did with Ellie's.

But this was more of an embroidery than the regular eyelet with holes in it.
The base fabric was actually a men's dress shirt from dad I upcycled.

Lots of times I've seen where they'll use fabric or the mother's wedding gown to make the baby's dress, but this girl's getting her dress from dad!

The embroidery was designed in circles, so I took the opportunity to hem the dress in scallops.

The bodice is in the embroidery as well with little tulip sleeves.

I should have encased the zipper between the lining and embroidery but was in a hurry and sewing lazy and a little sloppy, so excuse that crappy zipper top!

I figured Izzie wouldn't know or care.

I can't believe she's already 4 months old.

Time seems to fly faster and faster with each baby.

She's been such a good baby and we're hoping the peacemaker to our family.

Every family needs a peacemaker, and I'm feeling we could really use one in the third child!

Japanese Fabric First: Girls Lamp Shade

I was pretty excited to receive some fabric from ModeS4u.com to review.
They are a Hong Kong based company that specializes in selling Japanese arts and crafts, bento boxes, stationary, and of course what I was most excited about--fabric!
Just because I thought it was cool, you can see inside their warehouse on their about us page, they have a lot of fabric!

I've never actually used Japanese fabric, but have read a bunch of other bloggers rave about the quality and so I was pretty excited to try it out.

This lamp is right between the crib and twin bed, so most nights RJ likes to stay up a few minutes to read books, but the lamp was too bright, keeping Ellie awake.  So I thought I could cover the shade to dim the light a little (in addition to the lower wattage bulb) and make it cute.

I chose a cute woodland print from their Japanese Kokka line, Beige Kokka Oxford Fabric with Toadstools.
The Oxford fabric is a light canvas, (100% cotton) which I thought would be durable enough for the lamp shade, but still allow some light through.

It's really easy to recover a lamp shade.
Drawing on the wrong side of the fabric, I start on the seam of the shade and trace the top and bottom curves as I roll it across.
You can add a little at each end to allow it to overlap.
I cut out the shade with a rotary cutter, and chose to leave the edges along the top and bottom raw.
Because it's a lamp it shouldn't see and wear or tear to fray.
To attach the fabric, I chose to use double stick tape to make a smooth contact.
(I've used hot glue in the past which bubbled and was too thick under the fabric)


I normally wouldn't think of canvas for clothing, but once I got this Oxford cotton, I thought how awesome it would be for kids clothes.
It has the durability of the stronger canvas weave, but is still pretty soft and not stiff.
I'm hoping to squeeze out a pair of shorts from the scraps I have left of this toadstool print!

I was also really impressed with all their unique laminated fabrics and have another project to share soon!

Jute Suit

RJ turned five recently and we've somehow lost all his dress pants (hoping they're at Grandma's or something) so I thought I'd make him a new summer suit.

Getting clothes for your birthday as a little boy is as exciting as getting toilet paper, so obviously he didn't love the gift, but I guess it was something he needed and gave me a deadline to get it made.

I had planned a blazer, as I made him the corduroy and Real McCoy ones in the past which he grew out of.

But for the heat of the summer, I thought maybe just a vest would be good.

So I guess when I say "suit" it's just pants and a coordinating vest.

I used a jute colored pin stripe, thinking the lighter color would be a good spring/ summer option.

It's a basic vest and for the trouser--the pants being another pair of Grandpa pants.

I'm so glad I actually cut a paper pattern when I drafted the first ones, because this is the third pair I've made for him.

Those original gray pants have received far more compliments and other moms asking where I bought them than any other article of clothing I've ever sewn.  

Grandpa pants are definitely my "go to" pants for this kid.  

When we go out of town I always bring them for double duty from play to church and everything in between.

I'm shocked his original pair have worn so well and don't have holes in the knees like most of his jeans.

We both like them so much he needed another pair.

 But the vest first of all:

I drafted the vest from his measurements, which was weird to discover his chest is now 1" wider than his waist.

He's morphing from toddler into this boy body!  

I didn't do anything interesting on the best.  

I thought about adding a collar or making the hem straight, but just went with traditional points. 

Most vests have the back piece from the lining silk fabric, but I like to do it in the same fabric.

No real reason, just my preference. 

I did add welt pockets to the waist like usual and a smaller chest pocket.

Occasionally he'll put his dad's pocket watch in there, but most of the time he thinks it's for candy to eat during church.

I also drafted the front to meet what seemed higher than other vests.

I like room for more than usual 2 to 3 buttons.

I know vests and suits should always be worn with the bottom button undone, but I have to say it kind of never feels right. 

On to the pants!

Some changes from the first Grandpa pants are the addition of belt loops, and the welt back pockets instead of patch pockets.

Other than that, these have the zip fly, front pockets, and elastic waistband.

I always ask him whether he wants a button, snap or hook/eye on the waistband closure, and he seems to prefer the hook.

His belt is a little small, but it's my husband's childhood belt so we're wearing it as long as possible.

The back belt loops cross and I encased the tops in the seam to make them stronger on top with this lighter non-denim fabric.

Hope your Spring is going well!
This would have been good for Easter, but I'm behind schedule on my "need to make" list it seems!

Finneus Sweater and Pants Baby Gift

I have two friends that recently had baby boys.

So I thought it would be fun to make each of them a little outfit for this fall/winter.

A charcoal and mustard sweater with little baby dress pants.

I've been wanting to sew my idea for this little sweater with the two-tone collar for a while.

The shawl collar is inspired by Danielle's Little Man Tuck look that won Week 2 of Project Run and Play (season 3) she hand stamped the herringbone on that sweater too!

The contrasting buttons, wrists, and waist chunk are like The Daniels tee from Film Petit: The Birds.

These outfits are size at 12 months for this winter, but I tried it on Isabella just for fun.

She's wearing 6 month clothes right now, so I think these should hopefully fit these boys in a few months!

I tried to slick her hair down with a part on the side to look like a boy.

 Apparently she's not into cross-dressing.  

Yuck Mom!

 The pants are simple elastic waist baby pants.

I did add faux back flap pockets with gray piping and contrasting button to make them feel a little more dressy.

The shawl collar that folds into a button placket took me a few tries to get right.  

I cut the fabric on the bias and did the two-tone effect with a center-back seam.  

I hope the asymmetry of the split collar using two colors feels cool and modern, not like Two-Face or a jester or something.

My goal was to bring a fun twist into the shawl collar.

Either way, hope it works for the new baby boys!

Man Quilt

Last year I made my mother-in-law a quilt using the shirts of my father-in-law who passed away suddenly 2 years ago this May.

I had a bag of what was left of his shirts, and just couldn't throw them away, so I thought I'd make a smaller quilt for my husband.

It was his birthday recently and I barely finished in time.

here's the "tag" I made for one corner

My husband had a great dad.

He operated a wholesale fossil and mineral business on their property that required hard physical labor every day.

Most of the time he wore light collared western shirts for working in the desert, but they also had button chest pockets to hold his phone. 

This was the last picture I took of him, holding Ellie and her cousin (they were born on the same day).

This yellow shirt he's wearing was used a lot in this quilt.

He was a great grandpa to our kids, and one of the things that was tragic at his death for our little family is the fact none of our kids will have memories of him.

They were just too little.

It's an emotional thing to use clothing from someone you love to make a quilt.  

But it's a beautiful thing I've found too.

As you sew, each shirt reminds me of different times my father in law wore them, which led to thinking of my husband, and how he's a lot like his dad.

Both are noble men who love their families.

I think Rhett learned to value having a wife and kids from his dad.

Early when I first met him and we were just friends I remember Rhett complaining how jealous he was of other friends who were married and having kids already.

For a 22 year old guy this was an unusual complaint--not having a wife or kids yet...and I remember thinking "this guy's a keeper", little did I know at that time I'd get to be the lucky girl to marry him the next year.

But unfortunately I wasn't quite as ready to start popping out babies like he hoped, so he still had to wait four years before that dream came true.

And Rhett's proved to be a great husband and dad.

This was taken right after Isabella was born...who says male brain's can't multi-task--Angry Birds with RJ, horsey ride for Ellie,  while soothing the newborn baby too!

Igloo making with RJ

 

He tells great bed-time stories. 

I'm lucky to have Rhett for a husband and our kids are blessed with a great dad.
Happy Birthday!

This is the 10th year I've been around to celebrate his birthday with him.

I actually made him a quilt the first time, we were engaged and he was turning 23.
Time has flown!

But back to the quilt:

1. Cut the left over shirt remnants into 3" wide strips.

2. Chain sewed them all together in one huge strip.

3. Began at one end of the huge balled up strip and cut segments 50" wide.
It went quick, just put down 2 pieces of masking tape on my kitchen floor 50" apart to quickly measure and cut the huge strip into many segments.

4. Sewed all the shorter segments together, just grabbing and sewing randomly.

5. Machine quilted using this method:

Quilting was just straight lines across the middle of every other row.

6. Bound with handmade gray bias tape.

Rhett's favorite color is black, so the backing had to be black, which makes the quilt seem more masculine.

It was kind of fun just to see which shirt scraps ended where and the overall effect it gives to the quilt.

So husband's birthday down and on to RJ's!
He's turning five and that blows my mind!