all buttoned up.

Sew U Home Stretch: Before and After

Before:

I'm sitting here with Sew U Home Stretch in my lap having just read it cover-to-cover and I'm so stoked to get started on something.  I don't have a serger and have sewn knits before with my conventional machine, but with mixed results.  Everything is fine until I try to finish the edges and then it usually goes to hell.  I've spent the week sourcing stuff (ribbing mostly and FOE from Sewzannes).  I've narrowed down my start pattern to the tank top (made from the tshirt pattern), then the tshirt, THEN the hoodie (made from the raglan pattern).

After:

Project 1:  TOO BIG!!  The tank top is too big in almost every way.  I tried to rescue it by sewing in the sides and the shoulders... mmm, it's wearable but only because I made it out of cream 100% cotton rib knit, so it's completely opaque/almost sweater-like.  This was my first attempt at attaching ribbing to neck/arms, and I'm confused as to why I waited so long as it is very easy and cool looking.  The inside seams are pretty sloppy.  The ribbing came from Rose City Textiles here in Portland and the whole project cost about 6 dollars.  I'm insecure about taking a picture of me wearing it, as I prefer to delude myself into thinking it looks fine so that I'll wear it out.

Project 2: Still Too BIG.  I started a size smaller (medium) and still ended up sewing up the sides until I got it right. I cut down the sleeves to cover a botched attempts at 1. making rolled hems with my conventional machine (edges stretched and frilled out) 2. attaching FOE at hem to cover rolled hem (Paul made one of those faces that indicated if "you can't say anything nice...")  3. finally overlocking the edges and top stitching it all down (much better).  The inside seams at the sleeves are again, very sloppy.  The jersey came fromSewzannes  and is very lightweight and sweet.  It's also cheap, so the project (minus the book) cost less than 7 bucks.  I've been wearing it all day and I'm happy even though we've decided that these are not my best colours.

Project 3:  Phew.  It fits at a Medium (I might make it a size larger if I were to use heavier knit/fleece).  The only problems I had were my own-dumb-sewing and even so, the whole thing came together in an afternoon.  The jersey is from ages ago and the ribbing is the same stuff from the tank top.  The whole thing with zipper cost about 12 dollars.  I've been wearing this one a lot and I still like it, but the difference between the two (one being a real pattern and one being a fake one) is pretty profound.  And my interior seams are quite nice.

So.  Honestly, I'm still having some problems with hemming but I think I need to be patient and troubleshoot more thoroughly.  The book is so good.  It's not just the 3 patterns, it's that the 18 variations on those patterns are very different from each other and of those, I would consider making a whole bunch of them (minus the flashdance top.  And maybe the peasant thing).  I know that there is some frustration with the sizing only going up to a Large (Amy listed the measurements here) but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the basic patterns would be fairly simple to make bigger-- especially if you own a sleeve/neck curve, which the book recommends you have anyway.  Simplicity manufactures the patterns for the book and also publishes Wendy's individual patterns which are printed up to size 22.  The only other issue I'm having is taking pictures when it's all said and done.  Do you see that dorky far away look?  I was trying to stare down some hoodlums walking by.  Hannah where are you???  We need to keep you on some sort of photographic retainer.   

blue and grey.

Thank you.  You already know... but Thank You.  There are two books (among many) I've read that I've loved so much I wish everyone could read them:  Inside Transracial Adoption by Gail Steinberg and Beth Hall, and In Their Own Voices: Transracial Adoptees Tell Their Own Stories, by Rita J. Simon and Rhonda M. Roorda.  There are also a few really great blogs-- if you are at all inclined I would encourage you to seek out blogs written for or by adult adoptees and by Birth/First Moms.  They can be really hard to read but it's a tough topic, right?  I'm learning a lot.

Okay.  Blues and greys.  The stockings are from Sock Dreams and that Liberty is from the Bolt Sale two weeks ago.  I know... Liberty.  Gah.  I've also got letterpress up the ying from the Egg Press Sample Sale last weekend with Mariko.  It is a very sweet company run by one of the friendliest people I've ever met.  We brought shirts and had them printed up for 5 bones a piece .  I don't know if it was a profitable venture, but I gotta say that it was a brilliant idea and people were jumping all over it.  I went back for a friend and brought my Target Cardigan in for two birds.

We had breakfast outside this morning!  It was very grey and warm, which should be normal this time of year and would not normally precipitate outside time at 8 am.  But this year has been very cold and wet (and it's coming back this week) so we were acting like it was a balmy day at the beach.  That is, if the beach held a day full of promise like digging holes or sealing the fence or over-seeding the grass. 

 

a word about the A word

We had Augie's final court date this morning.  We appeared by phone from Oregon to Florida, which was strange and funny but no less real than being there in person.  So.  That's done.  Though any parent will tell you, the making/getting/having is usually the easy part.  I think it's no more true than in adoption-- especially trans-racial adoption, where you know, it becomes so much more than family business the moment we leave the house.  The process doesn't end with a court date.

Adoption was always our first choice.  We didn't always know what it was going to look like, but we knew it was a good fit for our family.  We read books and talked to people who were raising their families this way.  I spent loads of time wading through forums online.  I had a baby.  Hah.  Then it was sort of "now or never", and so we applied and seven months later on a Friday we got a call that a baby was waiting for us, and could we come as soon as possible?  We met him on that Sunday.  On the plane back from Florida I sat next to a woman who had raised her own family and was completely flummoxed by our situation.  I had this scrawny, little bear in my lap and she started in with the questions-- fertility, race, economics, and the dreaded but well-meaning idea of luck.  I knew that they were coming and I gotta say, it was kind of awesome they all came out a well educated, wealthy, white Texan within minutes of leaving our hotel with our sweet boy.  I laughed a lot, did a little bit of sweating, and tried to be as generous as I possibly could.  It was good practice. She said that she had never met anyone like us. Now she has.

 

The thing that is most important for me to communicate when people push right now (whether their intentions are good or suspect)-- right in this time while he's still little and doesn't have a clue-- is that adoption is not for everyone but it was for us and it is for so many people.  We are not so out of-the-ordinary and desperate times or circumstances didn't force our hand.  We did not make this decision out of pity or guilt or after watching a particularly touching television special. He was a healthy baby who's mom made a really brave choice.  Yes, the fees can be quite high.  No, not all of our family is supportive.  We do not want to be like Brad or Angelina (okay, maybe a little) or Madonna.  There are lots of people in the same boat and even if it is their Plan B or C or whatever, it can be the best plan they ever make.   

In the end, this day made him ours on paper.  Honestly though, he's ours but he's not ours-- his family in Florida is a very present part of our lives and we hope to share him in whatever capacity we're able.  I wouldn't want it any other way.  Can someone be loved by too many people?  I hope not.  We would need an entirely new plan. 

last two film photos by hannah.

after party

The pet rock thing went pretty well.  I covered up all the furniture and I think that was key. For the less abstract among us, I also bought some little birdhouses on sticks for painting.  And for the more physical among us, there was also crazy jumping on the bed and throwing things at Paul.  There are a few kids and a lot of adults missing from this picture, but I'm guessing they were in the kitchen carbo-loading.  I do what I can.

So.  The book.  I am not a person who ever considered baking my own bread/rolls/what-have-you and my venture into yeasted doughs pretty much begins and ends on New Year's Day every year.  I grew up around homemade bread and it was the rule and not the exception to make most things from scratch (until Costco showed up, anyway).  But not me.  Enter Chicken and her ringing endorsement and here I sit with great surprise at how much I've loved and used this book in the last few weeks.  I've tried and had great success with four doughs (the basic, challah, olive oil, and chocolate) to make boules, loaves, turban shaped raisin challah, pizza, calzones, sticky buns, and fougasse stuffed with feta and roasted red peppers. Sam's party food looked like a freaking edible press release. 

Now, there are some errors in the book which are sort of big (check this page and go ahead and mark your book right away).  Also, if you get hung up on the "Five Minutes" part, there's a small chance you'll be disappointed.  While it's true-- actual hands on time is really short, the forethought involved for someone like me expands those minutes exponentially.  What you should know, is that these recipes are really, very easy and if you follow the directions you will turn out some brilliant results.  While the boules are smaller than what you might buy in the grocery store, if you leave it to cool all the way, it slices up nice and thin.  The sweet breads all swelled nicely and made 8" rounds.  In all this, we are actually eating less bread than usual, but we're eating it more mindfully which is a pretty happy thing.
 

I know making the food my family eats is far from revolutionary, but I will admit that enjoying the making experience sort of is.  That makes all the difference here and the reason that I love this book/idea so much.  Next up, I'm tackling the whole grain thing.  And Amy has been loving on the oatmeal dough so that's near the top of the list.  Also, I should get some exercise lest my middle starts to resemble a brioche or a couronne or worse, a pain d'epi.

It's getting hot in here...

The oven has been on all morning.  I'm about half-way done.  All the sweet breads/pizzas/savories are coming out of this book, which I'm going to write about again because it has sort of changed my life.

Anyway.  We scrapped the Paint-your-own-pot thing because they are calling for a cold sleety mess outside tomorrow.  I planted up a bunch of things today and all the families will get to take one home.  Sam decided on a Pet Rock deal, so he's been scrubbing up rocks this week and I've been trying to hold myself back from the miniature aisle at Michael's.  It's a good thing I rarely go there, because I would be in awash in bitty sunglasses and teeny cowboy hats.
 

So Mr. 4 traded in his soothers (pacifiers he uses for bedtime) last night and it went okay but less good today.  He is such a sweet kid, but man-o-man does he have a little temper.  He does have a new skate board to show for it and my mom and he put together his new Playmobil Camper this morning, so he's not hurting on the gift front.  I am so happy to see 3 go.  He is becoming such a good brother and he really is quite smart.  And he sings to us. Hannah took that polaroid of him and it's just about perfect.  She's our Official Family Photographer now, so it's a good thing we like having her around (we miss you.  Sob.).

Back to baking!  I had to go to the store for a few things for the berry buckle and the cheese puff things and the thin pizzas...

Good Good.

THAT was a good weekend.  Phew.  It was so nice to hang out with sweet people, eat good food, spend time with and (maybe more importantly) without my boys.  We even fit in a trip to Seattle for lunch.  Please come again, Hannah.  You can bring your peeps next time!  Maybe we'll have the basement finished and it will be like summer camp with all the kids.
 

Hannah let me tag along to see everyone and I've got to say that there's no sweeter deal than happy meet-ups over food or shopping or both at the same time.

There is also no sweeter deal than having friends who know that a 4 year-old meltdown will pass quickly and that babies (however cute) occasionally need to cry or spit up for no good reason. 

Thanks for running the show while she was gone, David.  We tried to take good care of her.

The Red Mill

We went to Bob's Red Mill the other day.  It's pretty nice.  I wish it wasn't such a trek out there.  They have a sign up by the dining room that says something like "Your kind words are more than enough-- tipping is unnecessary", and while I find that suspect the rest of our time there seemed genuine and heartfelt. 

 

Plus, Bob himself was there having a snack upstairs in the mezzanine.  Sam made sure everyone knew about it, too-- "Mom.  Look!!!  It's OLD RED BOB eating wunch up derr".  That's what you get for putting your face on our bag of flour.

They have a very sweet test/class kitchen there as well.

Other places:

**Bolt is having their semi-annual sale this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  All fabric is marked down from 10-50%.  They have a good number of Japanese imports these days as well as a whole freaking bin of Liberty that makes me a little ill (in a good way) every time I see it.

**Tracy and Samantha are back to posting on Two Green Chickens.  Also, check out Tracy's new Modern Shed progress.  I have big plans for our next house (hah!)  which include one of these.

**Portland representing: I like Carrie Brownstein's blog, Monitor Mix so much.  Ketzel Levine's Gardening Blog is really good, too.  She actually lives down the street from us and I wonder if she ever walks by our yard and thinks, "Oh those poor people, making such silly decisions". 

We are due a beautiful weekend over here-- hopefully I'll be able to get outside and right some of those silly choices.

   
 

T-Shirt Skirt.

I don't wear flip flops  (or thongs as I grew up saying).  Among other things I hate the scuffing sound they make.  So I'm going to have to come up other footwear solutions for this beachy little business.  This shirt also came from the last chance pile and was big enough to make a child's skirt out of the sleeves.  I cut the back of the pattern out of the front of the shirt and the front of the pattern out of the back of the shirt.  Got it?  The XXL Men's Tall shirt was in near perfect condition and even though there was barely enough fabric to cover my own behind, there would be plenty of fabric to cut out clothes for an older child (if you are so inclined).  It needs a pocket, I think.

I used the shirt hem for the bottom of the skirt and the drawstring is attached to heavy elastic (as to avoid any being de-skirted in the park this summer by little hands) in the waist band.  Oh, and I used the skirt pattern from the Sew U book for the three main pieces.   

A Book Review and Two Blocks.

I got The Quilter's Catalog in the mail last week am very happy to add it to my shelf.  Sewing and making quilts can be a pretty solitary endeavor, but only if you want it that way.  Meg Cox has compiled a book for quilters and wannabes (yours truly) that is as much reference as it is community building.  She included all the standard stuff (history, frequently asked questions, supply lists) and added websites, telephone numbers, quilter bios, festival rundowns, myth debunking, longarm trivia, what sort of shoes you may want to consider for quilt market, and rounded it all out with a batch of patterns from popular quilt designers.  It's kind of crazy how much information is included in here (um, fabric dyeing?  Designer interviews?) and by crazy I mean Awesome.  This book offers the connection between Me, Mom in Portland, to thousands of people all over doing what I love to do.  Plus, it makes me itchy to print photos on fabric.  Man, I love reference books.

I can't do real-time sewing circles these days, but I'm really happy to be included in this group-- and even happier that I'm managing to keep up with everyone.  The above block is for March and is for Kathy, who asked us to do free form strip piecing something along the lines of the amazing Gee's Bend quilts (there's that whole community thing again).

April's block is going to Amanda Jean who sent us all red and white pieces.  I couldn't get Daria's contribution to this collaboration out of my head and would've been happy to steal Blair's right out and send it in in lieu of my own March block.  But that would be cheating. 

Thank you for all the encouraging words about my sewing/bedroom.  I know I'm a lucky duck to have any amount of dedicated space and you're so right-- it's what you do with what you've got that matters.  I need to apply that to far more areas of my life.  But not tonight because it is late.      

The Magic Factory

I want to say a word about where I sew and how it gets done, blah blah.  I love seeing people's creative spaces-- it is inspiring and curious and sometimes crazy-making.  Honestly, along with my excitement that people get to dedicate whole rooms to their craft I often get a little jealous.  But that's life, right?  And loads of people I know make things in their basement/shed/dorm room and I feel like that drive to make regardless of your space restrictions is really amazing and encouraging for those of us struggling to carve out space and time to sew or what-have-you.

This is technically the spare bedroom but we moved in here to sleep this last summer (because it's cooler) and then never moved back.  Plus, it's a lot easier to keep our actual bedroom ready for guests.  Our house is not so big.  700 square feet on top (3 bedrooms and a bath), 700 square feet on the main (living room and kitchen/den), and about 500 square feet of very scary unlivable storage/laundry basement (which includes its very own prison style potty smack dab in the middle.  I know.  Gross.). 

What you're seeing is this: 

• 1 desk filled with notions and patterns where the sewing machine lives
• 1 Bookshelf filled with fabric, mags, and books
• 1 metal rolling shelf stacked with other junk and a tv 
• A corner of our bed
• The corner of the co-sleeper where baby boy sleeps

And Right Outside the Viewfinder:

• A dresser full of clothes
• My cutting mats jammed in behind the same dresser
• The ironing board leaning up in the corner
• The dirty laundry basket

And that's it.  Really.  There are bits of things like my mat cutter and other arty stuff/books stuck under beds and in other bookshelves around the house.  I cut projects out on the floor and at the end of the day I try really hard to clean most of it up or at the very least, pile it all on the desk.  Occasionally, I tack a large piece of flannel on the opposite wall to use for quilt piecing.

I would love to repaint this room and I need of new lighting.  I see shelves over there in the corner above the tv and a new chair.  And what I wouldn't do for a cutting table.  That door behind the shelf?  It leads to a weird slanted floor storage space that we haven't made work for us yet.  There are ready-to-use picture frames underneath the desk by my presser foot and all my linen pieces are rolled and jammed in that little space between the shelf and the desk.  I know that this would drive a lot of people nuts to have so much organized chaos in their lives-- let alone two feet from where they sleep.  I've tried to do it differently, but given our space and my kids and our lives, I can't make it work any other way.  I'm really thankful for this space and it keeps me motivated to get through and finish projects so I can get them the heck out of here.

I'm not proud of it though, but I'm not sure that matters...?  Do with what you've got if you are at all compelled to DO.  At the very least this a nice little Before shot in hopes of some day having a killer After one.