Recent Projects

I've been digging out my sewing machine for quite a few projects lately. I find that it's great therapy when you're having a tough day, and I love the productivity- making something out of almost nothing. Kid projects are easy and take the least resources (fabric and notions) so that's what I've been doing. Thought I would share some of my pieces here:


This first one is a dress I made for Kisa out of fabric scraps... I made a similar one in a floral fabric for her BFF Millie and a matching one for Millie's baby sister Sophie. I ended up having enough plain fabric left over to whip up another dress. Since it was a little on the simple side, I added three coordinating rosettes on the waistband. I think it turned out pretty cute... a little on the long side, but hopefully she will be able to wear this all spring and summer. The straps tie so they are adjustable which is neat for little kiddos.
(Here is a link to the pattern which, of course, was free: http://www.made-by-rae.com/2008/05/itty-bitty-dress-take-ii-only-not-as.html)



This one is one of my favorites... not because the fabric is super great, but because Kisa looks amazing in bright blue and the summery-ness of the outfit makes me feel happy inside, even though it will be months before she can wear it out of our house.
The rest of the outfits in this blog were made out of some of Matt's old dress shirts. He was throwing some stuff out the other day, and I just can't stand to see stuff leave my house if I can find something useful to do with it. So I snatched up four shirts and set to work. This particular one was a long sleeve, so I was able to sew the entire top out of the fabric just in the sleeves! Isn't that incredible? The bloomers took up most of the rest of the shirt.
This outfit cost me $1 to make, since I had to buy the elastic for the bloomers, but I used the buttons from Matt's old shirt and had white thread on hand. So it was super cheap! I should mention that if anyone wants to use this pattern, the bloomers are huuuuuuuuge... the pattern was for a 3 month old and these are pretty big on Kisa. She's got little(ish) hips, but still.
(Links to the patterns: Bloomers- http://madquilter.blogspot.com/2010/04/knotted-bow-bloomers.html and Toddler Top- http://www.prudentbaby.com/2010/05/snappy-toddler-top-free-downloadable.html)



This jumper is made out of another one of Matt's shirts, and trimmed with fabric from one of my old shirts. I love jumpers because they are so versatile (worn with leggings and a turtleneck in fall/winter or alone in the summer. You can adjust the buttons as they grow so it will hopefully last a while too!).
As you can see, I have some trouble adhering to the "rules", so I definitely took liberties with some of these patterns. Anyway, here is a link to the jumper pattern I used: http://www.ikatbag.com/2010/01/dress-for-winter-iv-gathered-jumper_15.html


Finally, this is an apron made from another one of Matt's old shirts. It was a pretty nice one, but it had an Axium logo, so it was out! Black isn't really a great color on little girls so I made it into an apron (so helpful for those messy toddler games) and tried to spunk it up a little with some pink accents. I'm not sure how I feel about this one, but hey, it was free and it will protect her other clothes from messes, so that's what matters. Right?!
Apron Pattern here: http://supamb.com/supafine/2007/08/24/sewing-how-to-make-a-kid-sized-chef-apron/

P.S. Isn't that picture hysterical? This kid is destined for a modeling career for sure!

That is it for now, although I have my eye on a couple other patterns I found online and at least one shirt left to recycle, so I'm sure I'll be posting more projects soon. :)

Social Explosion

I have been meaning to blog for a long time, but honestly, life with a toddler is busy busy busy and yet surprisingly unproductive. ;)

So I blogged recently about the church Matt and I (mostly just me but Matt on occasion) have been attending, Westport. I am too lazy to link to that blog, but you can search back through my archives if you want to reference it or if you missed it. That's just a little background on some of what I plan to talk about in this particular blog.

So... to start off with, I am young. I mean really really young, and I feel it. A lot. Though there are parts of my life where I am, as you would say, "ahead of the curve", the truth is I have only lived on this earth for 23 years and I am not nearly as wise or as self-aware as I feel like I should be.

I find this particularly important when I think about the changes that have been going on in our lives over the past few months and how I have been coping with them. As you all know, our church of several years closed, and Matt and I went on a city-wide "church hunt" to look for a new body for our family to join. It has been a great experience for me in more ways than one, but probably the most essential way has been what it has taught me about myself and the way I perceive myself.

I don't wish to say anything negative about Ethnos, and I'm sure some people will hear it that way regardless of the words I use. But the truth is that by the time Ethnos ended, I was exhausted and looking for some things I felt I had really missed out on (at least in the last several months or year): community with other moms, the ability to serve in the areas I was most passionate and talented, and bible study.

I don't mean to say those things didn't happen at Ethnos, because they definitely did and in fact, the way these things happened at Ethnos has probably formed a lot of my expectations of how church should be. But by the end, it wasn't enough for me. I wanted lots of moms to chat with and have playdates. I wanted lots of artists to create and bring to fruition huge projects. Most of all I have really wanted a personal mentor and a consistent bible study.

So during this time of transition for us, I have been throwing myself headlong into every opportunity that has come my way: relationships, ministries, activities, bible studies. I have found a mentor (she is an amazing lady who I will have to reserve a separate blog for) who I plan to meet with regularly, I have connected with more than one group of mothers and made several really great friendships, and in the near future I hope to help out with the A/V team at Westport. They also have a bible study that I will probably join.

The passion with which I have pursued all these different things reminds me of a kid who has been inside all winter and can finally go out to play in the sun. I am just excited about life and about all the different ways to spread my wings.

I am discovering, as a Christian, how much joy there is in the Gospel message, the community of believers, and the world that God has created for us. That probably sounds crazy, but too much of my adult life I have spent dealing only with the muck and the grime of life and surrounding myself with people who do the same. I don't want to be that person. I want to be a person who is marked by love, joy, and the peace of Christ in her life. I want to be someone who is a good and loyal friend, a faithful servant, and an encouragement in tough times.

As a leader, I also want to be someone who leads with joy and not with fear. I think this is key. I have always thought of myself as a leader and believe it to be one of my spiritual gifts (I have blogged about this before too). But I think my failures to lead well in the past have been tied up in my own negativity- by attempting to control others or by failing to keep my eyes on the goal.

Anyway, I know this blog is pretty much pure madness. I try to be coherent, but honestly, I don't have a ton of time inside my own head at this stage of life, so a lot of my processing happens on this blog. Hopefully you can follow my rabbit trails and see what I am trying to say.