The Sheet That Wasn't...

So Project Runway's week 3 challenge is the white sheet challenge.

I LOVE this challenge (in theory):  I mean it is right up my ally, upcycling, total creative freedom, not something girly that is hard to adapt for a boy... this should be a breeze, RIGHT?!?!?  But here's the thing - it is a white sheet.  The opportunities are endless, how to pick what to do???

Well for Operation: Project $0, I said I was making suits (WHAT WAS I THINKING????)  But I figured, this was as good a time as any to at least do a sports coat if not a full suit.  I of course didn't want it to be WHITE.  So then came my foray into dying... ummm, poly cotton doesn't dye well, according to my sister- Rit sucks, and I have three children and very little time for experimentation.  After a long complicated process I finally got it to work!!! (don't worry I'll post a separate tut on the magic of forcing a poly cotton blend to take dye!)

Luckily I had a white sheet in my stash - my sister got cheap white sheets for my bridal shower to do the 'create your own gown for the bride' game.  Most people use toilet paper, or trash bags, but my sister is AWESOME and she got sheets ;o)

I've never made a sports coat - I was going to buy Melly's blank slate pattern (go buy it!), but then my friend gave me a little suit that fit A and B to a T.  So I, in my infinite(ly stupid) wisdom, decided to pattern the coat -by some miracle it fit beautifully, but I had no instructions... instructions are good, instructions are helpful, instructions can save you from ripping out seams umpteen million times.

But let's step away form my idiot-ness and simply enjoy the adorable end result.  It isn't perfect, I can see all the flaws (the uneven dye, the piping -gahhhhh don't get me started on the PIPING), but then I look at that happy boy - who hates modeling for me - and I'm satisfied!

 JUMP!  (see, see - I told you my kids wear shoes!)

 (this button was in my stash button jar)

 Look B, I can put things in my pockets!!!

 'My turn mama - I'll take some pictures!' ummmmm... I think this photo session is over ;op

Here are some 'making of' pics:

Making a white sheet -not white...

  

 These are the secret to dyeing Poly-cotton blend, you need BOTH to get the rich color

 detail of the center back of the coat - not every line matched perfectly, but most of them did!

 Pieces for the lining

 Lining of the coat - I really love the grey&orange combo, but was terrified when I was starting out.

 Pocket Details

Hope you enjoyed my white sheet ;o)

*Hopefully by some miracle I will finish Baby girl's skirt today and be able to enter it as well - it was a joint effort with my mom and I really want it to be in the running too!

linked: http://www.sewcando.com/2012/09/craftastic-monday-link-party.html, http://thecreativeitchboutique.blogspot.com/2012/10/sew-cute-tuesday-100212.html, http://onelittlemomm.blogspot.com/2012/10/wkww-what-kids-wore-wednesday.html?utm_source=bp_recent&utm-medium=gadget&utm_campaign=bp_recent, http://www.thetraintocrazy.com/2012/10/ma.html, http://www.hideousdreadfulstinky.com/2012/10/eat-make-grow-thursday-10.html, http://www.sewcountrychick.com/2012/10/sew-tell-saturday-105-2012.html, http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com/2012/10/mop-it-up-mondays-37-cutting-edge.html, http://www.sumossweetstuff.com/2012/10/market-yourself-monday.html, http://www.linesacross.com/2012/10/the-cure-for-common-monday-58-and.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:%20LinesAcrossMyFace%20(lines%20across%20my%20face), http://www.alderberryhill.com/make-the-scene-monday-43/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:%20AlderberryHill%20(Alderberry%20Hill), http://sarahdawndesigns.blogspot.com/2012/10/pintastic-monday-12.html#.UHMePE3R58E, http://sewchatty.blogspot.com/2012/10/made-with-love-link-up.html

Things I don't know...

Oceans could be filled with the things I DON'T know... most of the time I am ok with that.  I can't spell, I am horrible at math, please don't expect me to remember your name if we've only met once... the list goes on and on.

But there are some things I expect myself to know.  And this week even those things have been shattered.

One:  I expect to know how to take care of my kids.  I don't expect to be a perfect mom, but I do expect myself to know how to keep my kids safe and relatively happy.  Returning from vacation has thrown all that into a tailspin.  As I watch my children struggle to return to our regularly scheduled programming, I find myself at a loss for how to help them adjust, how to sooth their frustrations, and how to meet their needs.  This week I just DON'T know what to do.  My mom assures me they will be right as rain within a week.  But I am feeling like I need a vacation from my vacation - GAAHHHHH!

Two:  I expect to know how to sew.  I have been trained, I have taken classes, and I have the wealth of knowledge that is the internet at my disposal.  WHY then can I not for the life of me put piping around a sports coat collar????  I can't get the corners to work, I just can't figure it out, I can't find a tutorial, and for the life of me I DON'T know what to do.  This is very very sad.  As I look on line I am noticing a trend - no one puts piping on a sports coat, or if they do - they don't put it all the way around the collar.  Maybe they are on to something.  I really, really don't want to take the entire thing apart.

So, I will leave my sad little jacket and wait until the guru of gurus (aka - my mom) comes tomorrow, and maybe she can figure it out.

There is one thing I do know though - getting frustrated doesn't help (I've had my fair share of that this week). So for the rest of the week, I will BE A DUCK - I'll let the little things roll off my back, I'll do only what I can and let go of the rest.  I will hug my kids, I'll potentially chalk my sports coat up to a learning failure, and I will find at least one thing to truly smile at - laugh at - and love.

Coffee Cup Swap

I had the awesome opportunity to participate in a coffee cup swap put on by Dalayna of http://www.dalaynadillon.blogspot.com and Britt of  http://yellowumbrelladesign.blogspot.com.

Not only was I introduced to many new bloggers, I was able to purchase and receive a mug for/from Jenny of www.cassandrazcorner.blogspot.com   - you should check out her blog, she is the awesome mama of two boys, she travels with work, takes care of her kids, and still finds time to work out... MY INSPIRATION!

She sent me the sweetest mug.  Large - becasue everyone needs an extra dose of caffine in the morning.  Green - she didn't even know that green is my favorite color (next to red that is, I just can't choose, don't make me choose).  And covered with artistic flowers, in her note she commented that they made her think of my creative femininity; and I just loved that!

So thank you for my mug!!!  (PS - I haven't actually gotten to drink out of it because my husband has stolen it as his new favorite mug - umm hunny, I want my mug back !)

I also left for vacation without taking a picture of said mug - blerg, blog fail.  I'll get a picture added to the post once I get home!

I can't wait to participate in more swaps in the future to get to know more and more of the blogging world!

And since I have no mug picture, I will leave you with a pic of baby girl, hubs and I on vacation:

hahaha - I just love her startled expression (mama never/rarely takes pictures with flash)

Beckett 3000: Project Run&Play week 2

(This is also my update for Operation: Project $0 since this whole outfit is for the boys' fall wardrobe and upcycled)

The week two theme for Project Run and Play is 'Fashion Icon'.  Now this theme would have been a breeze for me if I was sewing for baby girl.  I have fashionistas from every decade from the past century that I would love to design looks inspired by.  But, after sewing for baby girl last week - I am back to all BOY!!!  And sadly, I know NOTHING about current male fashion icons. (hangs head in shame).
So onto friendly Google I went, and searched for 'Male Fashion Icon' - I know, shocking search right ;op  I found a few things that struck my interest, but I really wanted to push myself outside my box. And then I found it - the PERFECT fashion icon to inspire an outfit for a little boy: ANDRE 3000.  (don't know much about him?  Click his name to learn more)

I was struck by three things in picking him as my inspiration - first he loves mixing casual and dress wear with pattern and COLOR!  Second, he always has a fun accessory - hats, bow ties, suspenders, cool shoes... there is always something that just makes the outfit 'more'.  And third, is virtually every casual picture of him, he has this HUGE smile on his face.  There is just something endearing about that.  So, my fashion icon he became.

I started with a design...

 altered it slightly... messed up a few times... and ended up with this:

I changed the 2 to a B, well, because he is B.  I scrapped the suspenders because I was having dyeing issues and didn't want them to look bad because of a bad dye job.  So the bow tie was added instead.  This is my first attempt at applique - I had some issues, so it isn't perfect, but I am happy with the result overall.  And yes, my boys own shoes - shoes that even would have complimented this outfit, but when you have a happy model you don't waste the moment by trying to wrangle them into shoes!!!

For this outfit I made the pants, sweatshirt, bow tie, and hat (just not the white shirt)
Pants:  Blue and grey wool, bought at an auction by my mom in a mixed box for $1
Sweatshirt: Upcycled from Men's sweater
Bow Tie & B applique: Upcycled yellow T (was my peanut M&M costume when I was pregnant w/ the boys)
Hat: Same wool as pants for outer, lined with upcycled plaid button up shirt


My poor photo session did not go quite as planned ;o(  I was taking the warm up shots and getting my little guy all happy - then I sat him in this cute red chair to start the 'real' shoot, and he immediately got stung by a BEE - GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, poor baby boy.  He didn't know what to do and just kept shaking his hand saying 'hot, hot, hot...'  Oh B, that is how mama would describe it too.

At least I had the pre shots, since we left the next day for vacation and there was no chance to re-shoot.

So here is B, aka Bex 3000:

 Those eyes - Oh those EYES!!!

 

 Taking off - I think he feels comfortable in his outfit ;o)  And my poor Mom in the background trying to wrangle A and baby girl

 If you look to the far right, next to his hand, you can see a yellow blur - yep, that is the culprit!

HOTHOTHOTHOT - Poor baby B, stung by a bee ;o(

Here are a few making/detail shots:

Bright yellow bow tie - in the future I will make bowties with woven cotton rather than knit, but it made sense to use the same fabric as the 'B' to tie the look together.  I will be making many more of these, they are so easy!  (click HERE fort he tutorial I used from papernstitchblog.com)

I love love love this little hat - this is a great way to show how much of a difference your seam allowance makes.  This was a size 6-8 boys hat, my baby is 18 months (although he has a HUGE head).  I knew I didn't want the hat as full as the original (just too floppy for this look), so I cut off about an inch from the original point and re-shaped the sides.  The brim and cut width of the crown are exactly the same as the original.  Then instead of sewing a .25inch seam as directed, I sewed a .33inch seam allowance - this brought in the crown perfectly to my little man's head.  The hat actually looks a little better on A because his head is smaller, but I love it on B - and he didn't want to take it off!!!
(click HERE for the tutorial I used from clevergirl.org)

I lined these pants with leftover cotton from the center of a bed skirt (it is so soft, and the same lining I used for baby girls' Satin and Lace Romper).  No matter how soft the wool, I always find it itchy, and I wanted B to be comfy.

 (I found a font I liked in PS, altered it to be a bit more angular, printed it out and then placed it under the T shirt to trace the B onto the fabric)

I'm bad about reading all the directions before starting ;op  I should have ironed my applique paper to the fabric BEFORE cutting, therefore cutting them together - ummm yeah, I didn't - so then I had to cut it as best I could and iron it on - lesson learned ;o)

 

You can see that my applique stitching isn't perfect - 1st I didn't have a stabilizer and I was working with two knit fabrics, ooops.  2nd, my thread kept fraying and breaking, until I figured out that you have to go slow, SLOW - then it works fine.  Lesson #2 learned. 

Linked Up: http://sewchatty.blogspot.com/2012/09/made-with-love-link-up_23.html, http://my1929charmer.com/sundays-best-awards-and-49-par-tay/, http://www.iheartnaptime.net/sundae-scoop-link-party-47/, http://www.homemakeronadime.com/2012/09/market-your-biz-and-giveaways-67.html, http://www.heatherlyloves.com/2012/09/sunday-roundup-22.html, http://www.thegirlcreative.com/2012/09/just-something-i-whipped-up_23.html, http://www.thetraintocrazy.com/2012/09/ma.html, http://thededicatedhouse.blogspot.com/2012/09/make-it-pretty-monday-week-16.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:%20TheDedicatedHouse%20(The%20Dedicated%20House), http://www.skiptomylou.org/2012/09/24/made-by-you-monday-120/, http://www.creatingreallyawesomefreethings.com/11301/, http://etcetorize.blogspot.com/2012/09/make-it-great-monday_23.html, http://www.linesacross.com/2012/09/the-cure-for-common-monday-56.html, http://brassyapple.blogspot.ca/2012/09/blog-link-party-make-it-monday-49.html, http://www.raisingbean.com/search?updated-max=2012-09-22T07:30:00-04:00&max-results=3, http://sarahdawndesigns.blogspot.com/2012/09/pintastic-monday-link-party-10.html#.UGEIDo1mTYg, http://www.sugarbeecrafts.com/2012/09/take-look-tuesday_24.html, http://itsablogparty.com/show-me-how-9-24-12/, http://thecreativeitchboutique.blogspot.com/2012/09/sew-cute-tuesday-92512.html, http://adiamondinthestuff.blogspot.ca/2012/09/time-to-shine-party-no-87.html, http://carolynshomework.blogspot.ca/2012/09/the-inspiration-board-link-party-69.html, http://www.salttree.net/2012/09/open-call-tuesday-21.html, http://onelittlemomm.blogspot.com/2012/09/wkww-what-kids-wore-wednesday_25.html