The Dynamic Duo Get New Suits

Every little superhero needs a new suit eventually, so one of the things on my to do list was make a set.  Our preschool has a "Superhero Day" each spring, and last year when Little Man had his, I made a Green Lantern outfit.  I couldn't leave baby boy out of the fun, so he got a Flash outfit.  They loved their outfits and they are still in regular rotation as their alter ego pjs to this day.

Green Lantern and The Flash  - 2014

Earlier in the spring, Baby Boy started thinking about Superhero Day and wanted a new outfit to wear.  Batman and Robin were chosen, which I thought quite apt for our little dynamic duo.  Of course thinking that last year's superhero day was at the end of May and this year's would likely be the same I procrastinated heartily... and then I got the calendar for April and oh dear me.  Superhero Day was on the 16th.  By the time I gathered fabric (Hello, Walmart men's t-shirts!) and made a plan (and procrastinated some more) I left myself with about four days to come up with the new outfits.  WHY do I do that?  WHY?  All's well that end's well, but I was pushing it just a bit I felt.

I used a mash up of a couple different patterns to make this year's superhero outfits. Batman encorporated : See Kate Sew's Surfer Slacks, Kwik Sew 2092 (out of print but apparently still available through places such as Ebay) as well as my self designed freezer stencil appliqué.  Robin's used : Kwik Sew 2092 and vintage Simplicity 6427 (my go to pj pattern for Little Man - I'm so excited that Baby Boy is about ready to grow into it!) and of course a self drafted appliqué.  The utility belts were also self drafted with bellows style pockets.  Masks were adapted from the felt mask templates I used for Little Man's party favours last summer. I never did get capes made, but luckily enough their little capes I made a couple years ago still fit and were happily traded around to suit their outfits.

Despite the rush I really did have fun making them and every minute spent at my sewing machine over those few days was time well spent to see those happy little faces!

I also made them some much needed pj's a few weeks ago and had worried that I'd left it a little late in the season to make winter sets for them, but alas, Mother Nature keeps teasing us with spring and then slamming us once again with winter (Case in point :  Saturday was a glorious +22C.  Today it is below freezing, the ground is covered in snow and I played a rousing game of "let's try to keep the truck on the highway" this morning as I navigated the ridiculously icy roads)  So - once again a mash up of patterns - this time Fishstick Design's Pajama Party, Charlie Tee and once again the old tried and true Kwik Sew 2092.  It's about time I sewed these up.  When I bought the fabric it was to match their little Waldorf style gnome babies I made them... about two years ago.

 Last but not least I made them some super fun pillow cases on Sunday when I needed a wee break from my current test project.  Using a really simple and rather ingenious method that I found online they took me about half an hour to whip up (well - as long as we don't count the time it took me ripping out my inside out french seams - some days...) and the boys love them!  Baby Boy had picked out the Transformers fabric on a previous trip to the fabric store - I think I mentioned in my fabric post how the fabric was CRAZY expensive even at half off, so I only got a smidge of it (luckily the lady cutting it was on the generous side of cutting so I ended up with just enough) - and then both boys picked out the solid and contrast to go with it.  I think I'll definitely make them a few more (less expensive) pillow cases in the future!

So, as you can see, I've been slowly working through the list I made - although not necessarily in order.  Since we've had some inclement weather over the last few days my sewing room, which is also currently a playroom is a bit of a disaster with the boys spending more time down there instead of outside, so I think my next mission today is to clean that up a bit and then get back to working through the next few items on the list starting with my stitch ripper and I having a hot date while I do some fitting type mods to the test project.  (Note to self - fit first, do the finishing last)

Miette

I have so many things to tell you about that I've been working on lately crafty wise that I don't know where to begin.

I've been mentioning it long enough and yesterday I finally managed to get a few pics of my newest cardigan, so I think that's where I'll start for tonight.  It's Miette from designer Andi Satterlund.  A sweet cardigan with a retro vibe and pretty feminine eyelet detail along the edges.

I fell in love with the look of Miette ages ago and knew I wanted one to wear with my summer dresses. Of course procrastination and a need to order yarn being what they are, it ended up finished sort of late in the season. It was also a billion degrees out when I finished it, so no need for a cardi at all. I am glad I got it done though and it'll be ready for the minute spring hits next year.

I chose to modify it from the 3/4 length sleeves to short sleeves to make it even more summery. (Also I'm lazy and sleeves are my knitting nemesis.  I HATE knitting sleeves.) It really only took about a month to knit and would have taken much less time except I sort of put it aside when my knitting mojo went out the window with the sweltering heat of summer.  (Interestingly enough I suddenly started going on it again when summer all but vanished for a few weeks in the middle. Ha ha!) Also, knitting something white while sitting on the deck seemed a bad idea.  Things have a habit of getting a bit dirty outside and I didn't want some sort of ghastly mishap occurring to my pristine white cardigan.

The buttons were another time killer for me.  I decided I absolutely needed vintage buttons for my Miette.  I justified it by the fact that I could get them just as cheaply off of Etsy as I could brand new buttons from the fabric store.  Especially if I went to the tiny shop in the local town instead of the big chain store in the city.  So I ordered a set. Actually, in manner of full disclosure I should admit to ordering two sets.  BUT! They were a great bargain. I promise you that. Really. They were.

The first set was a set of eight 1920's glass buttons.  They were very pretty. I thought they would be perfect, however, what I failed to do is mathematics.  Or proper mathematics anyways.  They turned out to be far too small.  Oooops! Have no fear though. I'm thinking they'd be perfect on a cute button down the front shirt at some point. I'll use them. It's not like they'll go bad! And did I mention they are 1920's GLASS BUTTONS?????

So, I had to get a different set. Which, ahem, I'd actually ordered long before my too small buttons arrived, only because after ordering the glass ones I found some 1960-ish plastic buttons from a closed out haberdashery in Paris for a song. 19 buttons for under $8.00  (and that included shipping!!). I'm lucky if I can get four nice buttons for under $8.00. My Parisian buttons arrived quickly - even before the ones from the states, but at that point I didn't know that my glass ones would be too small so I waited it out thinking that way I could compare and decide. It cost me a couple extra weeks in finishing time, but that's alright. As I said, I'll be all set for next spring!

I think it will be a really great addition to my spring and summer wardrobe in the cotton blend Berroco Weekend yarn I used!

Well that's project number one! I'll tell you about another tomorrow.  But for now I have (BF)G's lunch to make and coffee to set for tomorrow morning and I am eager to get back to working on my newest sweater, Hetty (which is also by Andi Satterlund - I LOVE her designs!)