Finally

It’s been busy.  

My husband and I just returned from taking our baby on a trip to Missouri to see family. We spent four days in a house with six other people, bringing the household total to nine people, ranging in age from six months to forty-six years. We arrived in time for an ice storm and were essentially snowed in until our departure.  It was our first trip with the baby, and while it went well, it was intense.  I still can't believe that I was one of those people at the airport that I always pitied in the past (a person with a baby and a stroller and car seat and unbelievable amounts of shit in my luggage and carry-ons).

In spite of snow days and trips, I finally made something practical for the baby, with extra bits I already had, instead of buying new stuff:

I borrowed the pattern from some other bibs given to us as gifts, and used my serger to keep it fast and simple.  The material came from a hand-me-down baby blanket that we did not need.  They are not beautiful, but they are something that I made with resources I already had, which felt good.  As the baby starts to eat real food, I am coming to realize that I will need many, many, many bibs.  And a sense of humor.

Also, we’re moving.  Stay tuned.

Maternity 101

I started wearing maternity clothes this week.  I felt bad about it because it seems so early.  Nonetheless, suddenly none of my pants fit.  It was nearly overnight, and for a person like me who views a closet as something to be curated and tended to, like a garden, it was cause for minor mourning.  For some reason, I thought it would be a more gradual and less dramatic transition.  But no.

Let me say this.  I understand that many people in my life have already been through this at least once, or even multiple times.  I am late to the party.  For some, this experience was years ago, and for others it much more recent.  I have come to realize how isolating an experience this is, although I also recognize that to be part of nature's plan.  You aren't supposed to be focused on child-free aspects of your life when all of your body's energy is working to prepare you mentally and physically to produce and care for offspring.  Biology requires that I learn how to put the needs of another before my own interests and curiosities.  Since this is not easy, nature wants me to start practicing now,  months prior to birth.  I have never questioned the fact that my pregnant and new-parent friends kind of disappear, but before this, I had also never examined the minutiae which creates this dynamic, nor how it feels to be the one disappearing.

New Skirt and New Life

Many people close to me have heard me go on and on about my love for the work of Alabama Chanin, a company which not only creates beautiful couture garments using earth and people-friendly methodology, but also open sources their methods so that people who enjoy the making process, or want to get the look without the price tag, can still wear their uniquely Southern and feminine styles.

I recently completed my third Alabama Chanin garment, and I have been very happy with it so far.  It is longer than I expected, and also a little bit roomier than I expected.  This turns out to be a fabulous for me, since I also recently learned that I am pregnant.  The comfy, stretchy waistband is turning out to be exactly what I need, since slowly, one pair at a time, my pants no longer comfortably fasten.  More on that later, but in the meantime, here's the skirt:

(Belated) Birthday Stitching

For some time, I have admired Sublime Stitching, a crafty and modern sewing company, founded by a cool woman from Austin, Texas.  Finally, finally, I bought one of her patterns and enjoyed testing it out.  

My brother-in-law was recently married, which means that I have a new sister.  I bought this kit with her in mind, but missed the mark for using it as a shower gift last summer.  I was recently horrified by the fact that I almost missed her birthday, too.  She never misses my birthday.  So, if you want to see what I made for her, read on.  If you are her, watch for a little package, and decide for yourself if you would like to be surprised or not.  Do not keep reading if you prefer to be surprised.

Festival of Quilts

Last week there was an enormous quilt festival practically in my backyard.  Normally, this is the kind of thing that I would think sounded nice and then I would be too lazy to do anything about.  I don't know how to make quilts, but I admire them enormously, and I imagined that the quilts at an event like this would be artful and inspiring.  They were.

Coming Soon: Third Coast Stitch Lab

Wedding Dress Recycle, v.2

Summer Uniform, Version 2: Formal

Wedding Dress Recycle, v.1

I've been designing a dress that will re-use the fabric from my wedding dress.  One possible outcome looks like this:

Summer Uniform: Pt. II

Summer Uniform

Stitching Time

There is little to report, but a nice calm before the next life hurricane is cause for celebration, not consternation.

Make Clothes, Not Scraps: Illustrations

Scrappy Purse Pouch

Make Clothes, Not Scraps

Since I have been learning to sew, I have accumulated many scraps born from testing fits of patterns, from making mistakes, and from making garments.  I can't bring myself to throw them away.  It feels so weird, and counter-productive, to take pieces of brand-new fabric and throw them in the trash.  As a result, I have a pretty large drawer of scrappy bits.

I recently read a figure that 30% of all textiles get tossed as scraps in garment production.  Given that we currently produce three times the amount of textiles that we did thirty years ago, doesn't that mean that we are currently "scrapping" almost the full amount of textiles produced thirty years ago.  I'm sure that we can do better.

New Dress, Plain and Simple

Recycled Fabric: A Webinar

Those Who Can't...Need to Take Their Own Advice

After the Mardi Gras dress marathon, I lost my sewing mojo.  I felt pleased about having made a dress, and wearing it.  However, when I saw photos of the dress in action, I was disappointed.  All was fine when I was standing still, but any photo that captured motion showed gaps between the fabric of the dress and my body, reflecting deficiencies in my still-beginner sewing and design skills.

Limits & Boundaries

I've discovered over the course of recent years that I'm more creative when hemmed in by boundaries and limits.  If I can't have more, I have to make what I have feel like more.  Sadly, I wasn't as good at this when I was a broke first-year teacher, but I'm making up for lost time now.

Initials Nightie: Rough Draft

When I was in middle school, I discovered some blue cotton scrubs in my parents' closet and I adopted them as my pyjamas.  They were soft and comfy and over the years they continued to be what I reached for when I look for sleepwear with high functionality.  Sadly, they have now been worn and washed so many thousands of times that even though I still reach for them (over twenty years later), I've noticed that they have become transparent.