A Winter jacket for Quinn

Quinn had a Gap corduroy coat last year that I loved.  It could be dressed down for jeans, while also looking great with church clothes.  Now that he has grown out of it, it was time to sew one up for this year.  I started with suiting fabric I had bought when Jerome was little.  I was pleased that I still liked it after 9 years, while fashion trends have changed quite a bit.  I added a lining of sweatshirt fabric for warmth.  I made a label out of the tiger in a Echino scrap fabric Alison had given me.  It pulled all the colors together and gave the jacket that little detail I was after.   

  

The mustard corduroy came from what was left of Asha's bubble skirt, and the sweatshirt fabric for the lining came from Scott's old Cougar sweatshirt.  

Pattern: Toddler Boy and Girl Clothes

Size: 90

Layered puff-sleeved T

We have been enjoying a Saturday with no obligations for the first time in a long, long time.  We tidied up the yard in preparation for the snow, made salsa with our last batch of tomatoes (Thanks for the idea and recipe, Kersten!), and played with the kids a lot.

I made this layered shirt while Quinn was taking his nap.     

  

Pattern: Milimili Girl's T-shir set, the dog appliqué is from a quilt book, White Design - Simple Quilt 

Size: 130

Fabric: Navy with white dots from Fabric Fairy, and white sleeves from Alison.  Check out Alison and Paul's new bike here.  It is the coolest bike I have ever seen.  

Smock dress

I finished another school outfit early this morning.  My sewing area is right next to our workout room, and it was too hard to resist putting elastic in the leggings to finish up this outfit after my workout. 

 

Smock dress

Pattern: style "g" of Mom and Girl Matching Clothes size 130 

I took out about 4 inches off the width because I didn't have enough fabric, and also added a waist band.  I think it is a better look for older girls.     

Fabric: Japanese lawn from Hobbyla Hobbyle

Leggings

Pattern: Everyday bottoms 
I added some ruffles at the bottom.  

Fabric: Cotton Lycra from a fabric store in Salt Lake City (Thank you for getting it, Alison!)

Kids after church.  

Baptism

Asha's baptism was very special.  I loved watching her beam with excitement to follow the example of Jesus Christ.  I looked around the room and felt so blessed when I saw faces of Asha's favorite people, including grand parents, ants, uncles, cousins, teachers, and friends.  I know that with the help of those wonderful people, and many more who couldn't be there, Asha will continue to have a joyful life.  

Alison sketched the dress and gave me trouble shooting sessions on the phone.  Scott's mom found the fabric.  Thank you.  

Here is a picture of the pleated skirt and leggings on her.  

Pleated denim skirt and leggings

With the dress out of the way (I was planning on making some flowers for it, but that may or may not happen.), I am back going down the list of fall/winter clothes I had planned to sew.  It is so much fun to work on items I can complete during one nap time of Quinn's.   

I am hoping the leggings will keep those legs warm and extend the wearable time into the early winter.  I used cotton interlock for them, and they are a bit snug.  I have a few more pairs cut out using cotton lycra, and that should work better with the extra stretch.     

 
Patterns: 

skirt - Everyday Girl Clothes, (Click here for all the clothes Alison made for her girls out of this book.) view 29, size 130 (The book only goes up to 120, so I scaled it up.)

leggings - Everyday Bottoms 

Fabric:

skirt - denim from NPS Store in Salt Lake City (Thanks, Alison!)

leggings - cotton interlock from Fabric Fairy

Nightgown

My mom made two beautiful nightgowns for me right around the time I was Asha's age.  I finished this nightgown for Asha today, and enjoyed watching her excitement as I reflected on my own. 

It is interesting how my prospective has changed over the years.  When I was in college and was taking all the childhood education classes, my judgmental eyes and immature prospective led me to make a list of what my mom was doing wrong.  I often got in trouble for giving parenting tips off that list.  I felt excited to raise my own children so I could try the new and better way of raising.  Once I had Jerome, I quickly gained respect for my mom's selfless act of going through the pain of bringing me into this world and caring for me.  I was humbled and determined to work as hard as she did.  Now that I have four, I am constantly in awe of what my mom has accomplished.  Raising five children in suburbia Tokyo while working as a nurse was no easy task, especially how she did it.  She never cut corners and always strived for excellence.  I would be happy if I could pass along to my children even half of what she has given me.  

Perhaps that is one of the reasons I sew.  I am trying to carry on the heritage.    

       

fabric: double gauze

pattern: vintage Simplicity pattern from etsy

size: 8