Red Rover Skirt

So for Project Run and Play's week 3 challenge: the White Sheet, I was of course focusing on my boys.  But then I took a look at my twin sheet and realized that not only was there enough material for two sports coats (yep, I have enough grey for B's jacket and a section I dyed blue - just couldn't get it pulled together for the competition), but there was a section left over that would be just enough for a skirt for baby girl!!!

While I knew with the suit coats that I wanted to disguise the fact that this was ever ever ever a white sheet, I thought that for baby girl's skirt I could use the white to my advantage.

By using the top of the sheet, I scored a pre-finished 4 inch hem - love having some of the work done for me!!!  Then I started thinking about what I wanted to make.  The idea hit me out of the blue - a hand embroidered skirt with stick figure kids all holding hands and OBVIOUSLY playing Red Rover.  I know kids in lots of areas aren't allowed to play this great game anymore, but it was one of my favorites growing up.  I love red - so red embroidery seemed the perfect fit.  I used a skirt of baby girls that I love as a general guideline, but made this a bit longer and bigger so that it can fit her through the winter and hopefully into next spring (the back has elastic).

Without my mom, this would have remained only and idea.  For starters, I have NEVER done any hand embroidery work.  For another thing, I didn't have any way of transferring my design tot he cloth, and I knew I couldn't free hand it and have it come out right.  In steps super-mom.  She has a cool pen that stays until you
wet the fabric.  I handed over my design and fabric for her to draw on the design so that I could then sew on top of the lines.  We decided that to get the embroidery done in time we would each do a half of the skirt.  Next thing I know she shows up with the fabric all DONE!!!  Well so much for me learning hand embroidery ;o)

The shirt has two layers, the stitching is only on the top of the four inch hem - so it can't snag from underneath, and a little ribbon on the front.

Hopefully I'll get better pics on baby girl down the road, but I finished it last night and today is dark and rainy.  Oh well, I made the deadline (with a lot of help from the world's best mom).

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)