I spotted this book over on the Something’s Hiding in Here Blog. This is sooo Japanese.

From the Check and Stripes book

When my sister and I visited my brother last summer in Tokyo we definitely noticed we were overly colorful…everyone there in western style clothes was so muted. Navy, cream, lots of linen. The most fascinating thing was that a lot of the teenagers dressed in the traditional yukata when they went out to party. I have a few my grandmother bought when they lived over there…eventually I need to pull them out and do somehting with them.

I bought several Japanese sewing books while there. They are all incredible. The bookstores had huge selections. All of them are about the same size, and range from traditional to western. All for under $15 dollars US!

My favorite thing was that so many of the upscale department stored had sections that specialized in trims: lace and vintage buttons.

This is a total substitute today. I had planned on sewing all day, but Little-Sis was up all night with a stomach bug, which means I was up all night too. I have learned not to cut up things while sleepy.

I was looking at college pennants online to get some ideas about font for something I am planning on making the girls.  Over at Antique Athelete I spotted this:

Now I really want one!

We’ve had a busy week…spring break and all. We’ve been learning about quilting this week, so a lot of sewing. We checked out a ton of kids books on quilts from the library, and spent an afternoon looking at all of my old family quilts. Here’s the rundown.

Monday: The husband’s family stopped by for several hours. We had scones and tea.

Tuesday: The husband took the day off to work on the new room we’re adding on. More on that in a latter post.

Wednesday: The girls and I went out to the park, and library and fabric store. I’ll be honest, the park and library were totally a bribe for good behavior at the fabric store.

Thursday: we went to the Valentine Museum here in town with my parents. They have a lot of textiles and we were hoping to see some quilts, but not much in that vein was out. Then over to St John’s church…it’s where Patrick Henry gave his “Liberty or death” speech. That part was sort of a hoot. There were at least 7 guys dressed in colonial garb. They were doing a reenactment of the speech for a reporter from the Pilot & Ledger Star. We skipped the speech, but the girls still liked all the “old fashioned” people.

Uneeda Bisquit sign from near the church. This makes me laugh.	The church
The girls looking at Edgar Allen Poe’s mother’s grave.	The Binary Owl at the 17th street market. The binary addition doesn’t actually add up, but I am probably one of a very few that would care.

We then went by the 17th street market downtown and had afternoon tea and a snack at the Cafe Gutenberg. Little sis loves creme-brulee, and theirs is amazing. Friday:I got to spend the whole day sewing. Little sis turns five this week, so here’s her new dress:

It is from a pattern I made a while back. We’ve adjusted it so it has the exact right amount of twirl.

And as a funny postscript today she asked if we could take creme-brulee into school instead of cupcakes. Hard to say no, but I do not think they’s appreciate the blowtorch.

For all the dress encouragement. Amanda over at Bulldog Knits is so right about the Dress a Day blog. Amazing stuff.

( Shirt for big-sis. Ottobre Summer 2006 Tunic Top-from yesterday’s sewing-marathon)

I do need to tackle some sewing for me. It is so fun to sew for the girls, and they are so appreciative I need some of their attitude. Big-sis always talks about the things I make for her being full of “momma magic”. I need to wave that wand my way. Funny how it always seems easier to do for someone else, I am so much less judgemental…

My Nemesis for years has been button up shirts. I tried years ago, and in all fairness the pattern I picked was a bit baggy…I need some shape. I have a pattern in hand now…better shaping. McCalls 5138. My plan is to try it in some leftover calico, and tweek from there.

Of course my biggest concern is needing to carry around a fan to blow my hair like the model…

I am not even looking at my last post date. The girls and I are on spring break, so it is a perfect time to get back in the swing of things around here.

Tonsils are out. Little sis has now been 4.5 weeks without a fever. She hasn’t gone that long since August. I have had both influenza A and B, and yes I did get a flu shot. Big sis is actually mad at me over that one. I talked her into the shot last fall with a lot of mumbo-jumbo about not getting as sick this year. Well that worked out.

So there is quite a backlog of non-illness related stuff to post on. My current obsession? Ginham Embroidery-also called Chicken Scratch. Apparently it was often used on Aprons.

This is from Posie Gets Cozy. It’s a detail from a smocked skirt she made…is it not amazing??

We are pretty much sewing obsessed around here. I am starting the girl’s spring wardrobe. Lots of orders for skirts this season, so I am perfecting the tiered skirt I made for big-sis’ first day of kindergarten last year:

Not the best photo ever, but big-sis has worn this skirt almost every week for over a year and a half. It is very well loved. Maybe even enough that she’ll forgive me for the flu shot…

I am cleaning out some fabric. As I mentioned a while back I inherited a huge mess of fabric from a childhood neighbor of the husband. She’s in her early 90’s and just recently has settled into an assisted living facility. She was a lifelong sewer and I can not even begin to describe the bounty.

The problem is there is a bit too much bounty, so I’ll be slowly putting batches of it up for sale over the next few weeks. Here’s a sample. It is a double-knit argyle pattern with metallic sparkles. It is amazing, but I now literally now own reams of double knit fabric. Too good not to share.

There are a few other things for sale.

We had a great Thanksgiving. I even survived the in-laws. No small matter, that.

I also had tons of time for crafting. Here’s a sneak peak:

I’ll be posting on a few of these separatly later this week. Today I am home from work today. Big-sis has a nasty stomach bug. Go wash your hands…seriously.

And if you are interested in playing along with the Handmade Holiday Craft-Along, jump right in. Let us know what you’re making for the holidays!

The girls are still at the point where they like goofy hair accessories. This is the Santa Barrette cover made of felt.

Here are some plain red ones with light blue snowflakes.

Materials

• Felt in various colors
• Embroidery Floss
• Needle
• Clip style Barrettes

Directions

• Print out the pattern below and cut out all pieces. The top and back are flesh colored, the hat red and the beard white (duh)
• The bottom rim of Santa’s Hat was done in French Knots
• Add the face-eyes French Knots, Mouth in an outline stitch
• Use a Blanket Stitch to attach the beard to the face
• Put the back and top pieces together, wrong sides facing. Put the hat on top. Work around the back piece using the Blanket Stitch, making sure to catch the hat as you go.
• Slip the barrette in, and your set to go.

Need some help with the stitches?

That snappy gal over at Primrose Designs has an excellent stitch school with directions. Very clear directions and great pictures.

Enjoy!

OK…this how to is too snappy. I have been wrestling with this since I made the girl’s pants patterns this spring.

From Burda-Style This tutorial walks you step by step how to make your own pattern PDF’s. Love this!!

There you are. Sale of the century. The perfect fabric is 40% off plus you have a coupon. But how many yards do you need?

Enter, the pocket sewing guide. This PDF has two pages to record your family’s measurements and four pages to record yardage information from your favorite patterns. I keep it handy when I’m heading to the fabric store, and I know exactly what I need.

Plus, you can tape in small snippets of fabric you need to match.

Pocket Sewing Guide

Print it out and follow the handy folding guide over here at www.pocketmod.com.

Enjoy!