Renfrew # 6 and a bit of catching up.

I have been a little MIA lately, and I'm sorry for that. There's been a lot of secret sewing going on, some of which I can reveal soon, some later.

But now that I'm done with the secret sewing, I needed a quick selfish project, so naturally I grabbed my Renfrew pattern. I love how quickly and easily it sews up, and all on my serger, too.

This fabric has been in my stash a couple of years, and I've always planned to make a cowl neck Renfrew out of it. About time I got around to it. The fabric is so cool. It looks like a plain old polka dot, but in fact the dots are metallic silver paint, so they add some texture to the heathered jersey.

I made this one long sleeved, since the weather is getting chilly around here.

And of course, I needed the cowl! This is my favorite feature of the Renfrew pattern. The cowl is so nicely shaped and drapes well in any fabric weight.

Needless to say, It's great to have a nice, new top to wear! Next up is a coat for Myra, but before that, I'll have some of that secret sewing to reveal! Can't wait to show you!!
In other news, I wanted to make sure you had all heard about the new Sewcialist blog!

This will be a place to formalize and publicize all the zany ideas for SALs that we come up with on Twitter in the wee hours, and even the not so wee hours. We'll be posting about theme months, sew alongs and most importantly, we'll be showcasing all the amazing work that comes out of our sewalongs and themes. Go check it out! You might see yours truly there from time to time!

Monthly Roundup: October 2013

October was a pretty productive month for me, although a lot of what I made was quick and easy. It still always feels good to have a nice busy sewing month.

I sewed:
1) Ottobre 04/2011-20 jeggings for Myra
2) Ottobre 04/2004-38 capris for Emma
3) Ananda pony pants for Myra
4) Bimaa sweater hoodie for Myra
5) Kitschy Coo Lady Skater dress for me
6) Ottobre 01/2010-22 tee for Emma
7) Ottobre 01/2010-19 jacket for Emma
8) Ottobre 01/2010-13 pants for Emma
9) Ottobre 06/2008-19 turtleneck for Emma
10) Ottobre 04/2006-19 wrap sweater for Emma
11) Kitschy Coo Panelled Pinafore for Emma
12) Kitschy Coo Panelled Pinafore for Myra
13) Ottobre 01/2010-22 tee for Duncan
14) Ananda Pants for Duncan

That's a total of 14 garments. A couple of those are yet to be blogged, as patterns are still not released. I'll tell you about them when I can. I've sewn up 23.5 yards this month (including muslins), and added 42 yards of fabric to the stash. There was a very generous fabric gift in there, but I've also been stress shopping. Gotta stop that. My total for the year is 317 yards in and 289 yards out.

November will have some more super secret sewing, so the blog may be a little quiet, but there will still be lots to talk about. Have you heard about this?

I'm pretty stoked about this one. I'm contemplating how to reframe the grunge trend to fit my current age and life. I wore grunge the first time around with a vengeance, so I definitely am going to have to interpret a little so that it doesn't look like I just fell off the fashion train in High School. I'm imagining a distressed denim skirt with tights, logo tee and a more tailored flannel shirt. Maybe Mary Janes instead of Docs? Can grunge be grown up? I guess we're about to find out...

I've also got a blazer that is in the muslin stage and another big project that is still a secret. I'm pretty excited about both of those, too. So much to do, so little time...

Ottobre + Ananda = One Smooth Criminal

This year is probably the last year that Duncan won't have an opinion about his Halloween costume, so I kind of struggled with what to make for him.

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that Duncan is something of an escape artist. We talked about several variations on that theme, but finally settled on classic jailbird stripes.

It's also a plus that this is basically a sweatsuit with stripes. Super comfy and cozy for trick or treating or just hanging around the cell block.

The shirt is from the 01/2010 issue of Ottobre. I made the size 98 because I already had it traced and his 92s are all too small. It looks like the sleeves are a little long, but I kinda like the ragamuffin look it gives.

The pants are my new favorite comfy kids pant, the Ananda. They are so comfy and go together so quickly. And since they don't have side seams, I only had to match the stripes on the inseam and crotch. Bonus!

I made the waistband (and the cuffs and neckband of the shirt) from a white rib knit. I wish it had slightly better recovery, as the pants got a little saggy with wear, but I think that was also because I hemmed them a little too long so he was stepping on them.

Wasn't it nice of him to mark the new hemline with mud? Considerate kid, I tell ya.

Even though this is "just" a costume, I did go to the trouble of matching the stripes across the seams. I didn't have quite enough fabric to match the stripes across the sleeves, but he moves so much, I don't think anyone would be able to tell either way.

The fabric I used is a soft sweatshirt fleece from Nature's Fabrics. You may have noticed that it isn't the traditional black and white stripe. I could pretend that I did that on purpose so that he could get more wear out of the ensemble, but the honest truth is that I just wasn't paying attention. I still think it gets the point across and he actually will at least be able to wear the sweatshirt after Halloween, so whatever.

Better move fast, Copper! He's outta here! And as you all know, #childproofingisfutile .

Emma's Winter SWAP: Outfit #2

The second part of Emma's SWAP also coordinates with the charcoal wool pants from yesterday. She needed more tops than bottoms, so that's what I've been focusing on.

But seriously, when I put this outfit together, I wanted it for myself! The purple wrap sweater is so cute! The pattern is from the 04/2006 issue of Ottobre, style # 19. I made it from a soft rayon/cotton rib knit that has a lovely sheen.

The pattern has some really cute details. The hem edge is finished with a lettuce edge flounce, which is topstitched down. All of the other edges are simple coverstitch hems. My coverstitch machine kept trying to eat this fabric, but I'm glad I fought the good fight. The end result is adorable. The pattern calls for twin needle stitching on the ties, but I decided to use a decorative stretch stitch on my regular sewing machine instead, since both sides will show. I really like the result.

Underneath the wrap sweater is a simple black turtleneck. I made it out of a buttery soft bamboo jersey from FabricMart. It's so silky and lovely.

The pattern (Ottobre 06/2008-19) has a pretty gathered detail at the neckline. This is the smallest size available, and I think the gathered effect is a little skimpy. It's probably more obvious in the larger sizes. It's still pretty though, and a basic black turtleneck is a wardrobe staple every woman needs.

I have one more outfit to add (which will also coordinate with the purple wrap sweater) but it is a super secret project at the moment. But you're gonna love it! I promise.

Emma's Winter SWAP: Outfit #1

Since I only have one little girl child, and her wardrobe is immense and mostly handmade, I've been in the habit of passing down Myra's clothes to her sweet little cousin. It makes me happy to think that the item that I crafted are of use to her. This winter, Myra has apparently been unusually hard on her clothes, so there wasn't much to send. I decided to take this week to make a few things just for Emma and to try my hand at my first kid SWAP (sewing with a plan).

And here is Emma's first outfit! I think it turned out really cute. Each piece was intended to be a useful individual wardrobe basic as well, so hopefully she can mix and match them a bit.

The first thing I made was the red tee. It is a simple long sleeve, cuffed tee. The pattern (and all of the patterns for this outfit) comes from the 01/2010 issue of Ottobre. This is style #22. It's a great wardrobe basic. Emma is an icy blonde, so I thought this saturated pinky-red would compliment her coloring.

Of course, I couldn't stop at "basic" and added a line of hot-fix crystals to the neckline. Every girl likes a little bling!

Since Emma lives in a colder climate, I also wanted to make her some layering pieces. I was thrilled that I had enough of this awesome cheetah corduroy to make this jacket! The pattern is # 19 from the aforementioned Ottobre. I lengthened the sleeves for warmth.

I also added some curved patch pockets. Kids need pockets.

The edges are finished with a topstitched facing. I like the clean lines this gives. I used covered snaps for the closure. I really agonized over the closures and went back and forth over several options. So, I did what any Sewcialist would do - I polled Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. The vote was unanimous in favor of the snaps! And I love them. Thanks, y'all!!

The final piece in the SWAP which works with both outfits, is a basic pair of pants. This is design #13, a simple elastic pant which I've made twice for Myra. I love the shape of it. I made this out of a wool poly suiting with a thick, sweatery feel. It's really the loveliest fabric and should keep Emma nice and cozy. You'll be seeing more of it, since both Myra and Logan requested pants from it when they saw Emma's!

Satshbusting bonus - except for the snaps on the cheetah jacket, every single thing for this ENTIRE SWAP came from my stash!!! Woo hoo!!