Ruffles and a Chopped T-shirt

I actually starting cleaning off my sewing table. I'll spare you the pics. It was like shopping. I rediscovered some of my fabric stash. I also found the mermaid T-shirt that I Gocco'd over a year ago. Shortly after I embroidered the face and seashells, Sophia got to it. She cut holes in one of the sleeves and the shoulders (opposite sides of course). It was totally my fault for leaving it out (with the scissors), but I was so upset, I didn't touch it until the other night.

Looking at the shirt again, I thought about this dress from Dana. I just discovered her blog last week via these cute ruffled skirts. I know Sophia would love a girlie skirt, but all those ruffles! Putting them on would drive me crazy.

After a long debate, I decided to make 2 separate pieces. I chopped up the t-shirt, turned it into a tank top. Cut off the sleeves & neckline ribbing. I also took in the sides and shorted the hem. I wanted to lettuce edge the hem with teal thread, but I couldn't get it to work the way I wanted. So I just serged everything.

T-shirt before the hacking.

T-shirt after.

The skirt is a simple A-line skirt with an elastic waistband. I just drafted a quick pattern. Normally I wouldn't draft a pattern. I'd just draw it on the fabric and cut it out. But since an A-line skirt has many uses, so the pattern will come in handy for other skirts. Thankfully, I had the perfect fabrics in my stash.

I stitched up the skirt, hemmed it, and finished the waistband except for inserting the elastic. Next, came all the ruffles. I hate doing ruffles, not because they're so feminine. They're just so repetitive and boring. Like hemming a really long curtain.

I wanted to the ruffles to make a wave pattern. Mermaid shirt, wavy ruffle, get it? So I pinned the ruffles on beforehand. If I were to put them straight on, I'd draw stitch lines and just add them on as I sewed.

It's not the lighting. The fabric is ombre. Darker at top than at bottom.

Originally I wanted to cover the entire skirt with ruffles, but after pinning 3 rows on, I thought it looked great. Too many more would've been overkill.

She like this outfit, though not her favorite color. Thank goodness she like mermaids. I was able to snap some pics of her at the playground before she got the outfit too dirty. One day I'll remember to take a close up of the embroidery while it's clean.


I'm really enjoying making clothes for Sophia. Partly because she's so small, the clothes come together fairly quickly, usually about an hour. Plus I don't want to invest too much time on making maternity clothes.

Now I need to make a sundress for my sister. She's feeling left out. (Hi Sis!) Check out the new zine she made!

Pink-tastic or Another Dress

I've really caught the sewing bug again! Ever since I saw this dress made by Astrid, I just HAD to make one for Sophia. She used a pattern from Ottobre, a European children's sewing magazine. I have yet to see one in person, but it gets lots of rave reviews. Maybe I'll try it out since it seems to have pretty cute patterns for boy.

So I used one of the fabrics I received from the swap. Since the dress is a pretty basic pattern, I drafted it myself. I just used one of Sophia's dresses to make sure the size and length were correct. From drafting to cutting to sewing, it took me about 1 hour to make. Now that I have the pattern it shouldn't take much time to make another one.

This morning, I also made matching scrunchies for her too. I haven't made a scrunchy since the 80s. LOL!

Sophia adored the dress! Thank goodness. She had already chosen this fabric when it arrived last week. When she spilled water on her dress this afternoon, I was instructed to wash and dry the dress immediately! I guess that means it's a winner.

I'll try to do a tutorial for drafting the pattern to this dress soon. The dress has a drawstring neckline (I want to find a fuchsia ribbon instead of the pink one I have now). The print is a stretch cotton, and the band is cut from an ugly fuchsia linen dress that I thrifted.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the dress. It's so cute on her and the length (that I guessed at) is perfect. Maybe I should make a grown-up version for me. Though I would definitely make a band or use a ribbon belt since it's a bit shapeless.

Hopefully I'll have some blueberry picking pics up soon!

New Fabric, New Ideas

As you can see, I've gotten the sewing bug again. Which means window shopping at online fabric stores and lurking at sewing forums.

I was lucky enough to do a trade with a fellow sewer. I had a pattern she wanted, and she had some bright but fun fabrics to swap. She was super generous. Just look at that gorgeous fabric! I'm thinking a dress or 2 for Sophia and maybe some skirts for me.

Now all I have to do is re-thread my serger (one of the threads broke at 3am the other night and I refused to re-thread it). Then I'll serge off all the raw edges and wash my fabrics! These are mostly cotton so I'm going to wash and dry them to pre-shrink them. Also it removes any treatments the factory adds to the fabric, so they'll soften up.

Did I mention that I have order from Fabric.com coming in tomorrow too? I ordered that before the swap happened. Some of that fabric will be a new baby carrier!

Have a great 4th of July weekend! We're headed out for blueberry picking tomorrow.

Stay Sane and Not Too Messy With Kid Crafts

This summer Sophia & I are staying busy by going to the park, meeting up at friends' homes, watching videos (while I hopefully nap), and CRAFTING!

I've been trying to keep Sophia busy all day. If she naps or falls asleep in the car, she won't go to sleep until 11pm. That usually means no time for me and hub to veg out together on the couch. For a while I felt bad because I hadn't been doing a lot of crafts with her. Monday, I vowed to start again!

We made cute little egg carton ants. First we painted. While the paint dried we snuck in a bit of lunch. I found some glue on jewels from Target's $1 section, so of course all the pink ones ended up on Sophia's bugs. After the jewels and eyes dried, we added pipe cleaner legs and antennae.

I know a lot of parents shy away from crafting because of the potential mess, but I'll share with you the ways I contain the mess.

How to keep kids crafts from becoming too messy:

1. To keep things from being too messy, I usually let her do things one step at a time. I only pull out the supplies necessary for that step. With kids' short attention spans, if the supplies for the next step are in sight, they want to get ahead of themselves.
2. Cover your work surface. Sometimes I use newspaper. Usually I use a large plastic tray (the blue thing in the pictures) It has a lip so it should catch major spills. I just wash the tray after we're done.
3. Use an egg carton to hold paint. Cut the egg carton in half. I just pour a little bit of paint into each well. If you're worried about colors mixing together, you can use every other well. Sophia eventually mixes up all the colors anyway so I don't bother. I give her between 4-6 colors at a time. Egg cartons are great short term storage for paints. Just close the lid, and the paint might be good tomorrow (depends on your paint).
4. Let the kids craft naked. Or without a shirt. I don't have a smock for Sophia. Sometimes I strip her naked and let her paint the walls of the tub. After you're done, the kids get a bath! It's a two-fer!
5. Let your child help clean up! It's Sophia's job to wash out her paint brushes while she washes her hand. Of course this would depend on your child. If she splashes a litte, no big deal. We play "Let's clean the sink" afterwards.
6. Don't be afraid to get messy!

As you can see, our craft project today was air dry clay. We use the Crayola brand, but I'm sure there's a recipe out there you can make your own. I love the quality of Crayola products and they don't smell funny. (They didn't pay me to say any of this). The clay is a bit hard right out of the bucket, but just knead it and mash it for a few minutes to soften it up (you the adult-might be a bit tough for little kids)

I love air dry clay! The first time we used it, we just used it like playdough. I explained to her that it would get hard if we let it sit out a couple of days. After it dries, we paint it. It's 2 projects in one! I always ask her at the beginning what she wants to make. Sometimes she makes it; sometimes it's some completely different. Other times she just plays with the clay. I'm ok with that. I don't want to limit her creativity.

Today, I also gave her a small cup of water and a brush with the clay. She loves using the water to mold the clay. As you can see, she also loves rubbing the wet clay on her arms. Today she made a worm and some lollipops (with craft sticks). I'm sure the huge balls will take several days to dry, but we have a busy weekend of blueberry picking and 4th of July festivities. We can paint it next week.

What are your kid crafting tips?

No One Ever Asks to Be Raped

Several years ago, when I lived in Syracuse, NY, I volunteered for the Rape Crisis Center. I don't remember why I decided to do it, but I guess I was compelled. After a couple weekends of training, we were put on the calendar. As a volunteer, my job was to be on call after hours, so the (under)paid counselors could get a break. If any calls came in on the hot line, it was my job to talk and listen to her. Talk them out of suicide if I saw the signs. All the while making sure my phone number didn't show up on their caller ID.

The other half of my job was a bit more difficult. When a rape victim came into the hospital after hours, a volunteer advocate would sit with her (and her family if they were there) throughout the entire process. From waiting in the ER, to having a rape kit administered, to talking to doctors & nurses, as well as being released from the hospital. This process could take anywhere from a couple hours to all night.

Most nights I was on call were pretty uneventful. If I was "lucky" I got one or two calls. Maybe I would get a call to visit the hospital. It was never convenient for me when calls came in. The nights I had no plans, I wouldn't receive any calls. The nights I wanted to go out with my friends, I'd get called to the hospital. I couldn't talk about any of the calls or cases with my friends--it wasn't one of those volunteer work you did for the attention. Usually I would have no idea what happened to the callers after I spoke with them. You couldn't get emotionally attached.

Of course, if the victim did not want me there, I did not stay. Almost always, I stayed. There was no "type" of rape victim. I held hands with teenagers; women in their 30s, 50s, older; mentally disabled; and, the hardest for me, a 12 year old.

I haven't thought this volunteer job in years. Reading Anita Shreve's Testimony brought it all back. It's my first time reading one of Shreve's books, and I'm only halfway through this one. A sex scandal at an elite private boarding school is told from the points of view by all those affected.

It's a sad story. A fourteen year old girl is taped engaging in sexual acts with 3 other students, 2 of the boys are over eighteen. In most states, that's statutory rape. What really bugged me was that several characters (men and women) in novel, blamed the young girl. A vixen, one of the boys' father called her. She wanted it, another character thought.

Which brings me back to the 12 year old victim that I met at the hospital late one night. I didn't know it then, but she would be my 1st of 2 cases that night. Receiving 2 cases in one night was very unusual. Her father and mother were their with her. I don't remember her name or even her face, but several things about that night stuck with me.

The preteen was having a relationship with an older man for several months. The guy was significantly older, in his early twenties I think. She would lie to her parents and meet up with him in the woods, where I assumed they would have sex. When her parents discovered the relationship, they immediately took her to the hospital. After I introduced myself and explained why I was there, I waited with them in the ER.

Both her father and mother were furious with her. How could you let this happen? Why didn't you tell us? She couldn't understand why they were so upset. Her father wanted to call the cops--that's why they were at the hospital. They wanted her to get a rape kit done. I tried to explain to him, that unless his daughter recently had sex, a rape kit would do no good. I remember the mother crying a lot, maybe wondering where she went wrong as a parent.

I don't remember if she thought she was in love with this man. It doesn't really matter.

Now that brings me to the question, can a 12 year old girl really ask to be sexually taken advantage of? Does the answer change if the girl is 15? How about 18? To me it doesn't but to others it might.

What are we teaching our girls and boys about sexually and respect? Now that I'll be raising a son, that thought has been on my mind. Maybe if we teach our kids the real names for their body parts, that would be a great start. How about actually teaching our kids some sex ed that isn't abstinence? Or self-pleasuring? (All at appropriate ages of course).

If we take the mystery & taboo out of sex, then our children can talk to us about it. There are many other factors involved, like the media's representation of women, but educating our girls and our boys is a good step.

Some of my mom friends think I'm a bit. . .let's say. . .too open for teaching Sophia the words vagina & penis. She just asked me about her clitoris. Of course I told her. I plan on being just as open with my baby boy. If I start early and teach both of them to respect their bodies and others' bodies, hopefully I'll get some good messages in before they become bombarded by the media.

I don't normally talk about such serious topics on my blog, so thanks for sticking through the entire post. The night with the 12 year old girl was my last night that I volunteered for the Rape Crisis Center. As I was driving home from that hospital visit, I receive another call to return to the hospital. That case was tough too, in a different way. That case I don't remember as well, but talking to the 12 year old and her family will always stick with me. I just couldn't be a volunteer anymore after that, but I'm glad for the experience I received the year I volunteered there.

The One Where Sophia Cried

Ready for the ultrasound results?

Drumroll, please.

There is a floating baby penis inside my uterus. It's a boy!

Sophia totally cried when we told her. Maybe it was because she didn't want to leave her playdate or she was tired and cranky, or maybe she just really wanted a sister. Why? Because when she plays Cinderella, she needs a sister to play her ugly stepsister. Yep, you heard it right.

This poor sibling is going be subjected to lots of torture. As any younger sibling should be--ask my younger sister.

I loved the office where we got our ultrasound done. They didn't ask me to drink a gallon of water before I came. Nope, didn't even ask me to drink any water (but I did, only because I was thirsty). They didn't push on my stomach in a painful way.

And within 2 seconds of putting the ultrasound thingy on me, the tech saw a penis. How efficient is that? I still have to back because the baby refused to cooperate and turn around. So they want to see the baby's belly just to make sure everything's okay.

Has anyone every done the 4-D ultrasound thing? I keep seeing ads for it but the baby looks sort of freaky in the pictures. Like a little alien.

And no, I'm not put a picture of the baby's penis on my blog. Even though they did give me a print out.

Time to think of boy names.

I'm Not Really Super Mom

Last night I stayed up until 4am sewing matching Heather Ross Mendocino Sundress for Sophia and me. The first one I made totally hooked me. (See bad pic of me & Chef Egg) For some reason, with this pregnancy all I want to wear are dresses.

I know the moms in my playgroup think I'm Super Mom because I'm crafty, and I like to cook. I'm not doing all of this to because I have a type A personality. Which I do, but I've relaxed a lot. Ask my husband.

I craft because I have to. If I go too long without crafting, I get antsy and restless. Somehow with this pregnancy, the urge to craft has been stronger. Maybe I'm nesting already.

I'm totally in love with this faux smocked dress that Heather Ross featured on her blog. Even Amanda Soule Blake made one. The first one I cut apart an old dress. It was so comfortable, that I wore it 2 days in a row. (I did wear it with a strapless bra since my boobies aren't quite so perky or small).

I've been digging through my stash and remembered I had this cute rayon print I bought back in college. Thankfully I had the forethought to prewash 8 years ago. From cutting out the fabric to finish, it took me about 3 hours--with lots of pee breaks in between.

I didn't use a pattern. Basically, I took a rectangular piece of fabric and cut the sides to a slight A-line so it's not so wide at the top, but leaving room for my big belly. You can definitely download the free pattern from Heather Ross. I'm just too lazy to print it out. For Sophia's dress, I just used 2 rectangular pieces.

Heather Ross also recommends that you draw your stitching lines for the shirring on your top. I'm also a bit lazy in this department. The good thing about this design is that it's very forgiving. If you don't do it exactly right, it'll still look good and fit!

Here's a trick for the shirring. It's exactly 1/4" from your needle (in its normal position) to the right (or left) edge of your sewing foot. I just used my sewing foot as guideline. Just line up your previous shirring line next to the edge of your foot.

I wanted to add a ruffle to the bottom of Sophia's dress, but at 3:30am, it was too much work.

I've never thought I'd make matching dresses for my daughter and I, but it was fun wearing them out today. We got lots of compliments. People kept asking me where I bought our dresses. I guess it's a compliment from non-sewers since they don't look handmade. Sadly most ready to wear clothes aren't made as well as the clothes I make for me.

Thank goodness Sophia liked her dress. She did complain that it wasn't long enough. You know, not princess-y enough. Can't win I guess. But she enjoy dressing like her mama. That and making funny poses for pictures.

Now that I have 2 of these dresses, would it be too much to make a 3rd?

Tomorrow is my big ultrasound. If the baby cooperates, maybe we'll see if it has a penis or not.