Seen Home Scene

Now that I'm back to work and my days aren't spent soaking up the time with Mabel and Fox, I just might get back to writing. *Might*. After Mabel I wondered how stay at home parents do it, and while I didn't figure out how to keep a clean house and keep up with 2 kids, I did enjoy the time I was able to spend at home with lazy mornings filled with snuggling and downing coffee and afternoons outside playing, exploring, and learning from our discoveries.

What are the pictures? A rock that caught Mabel's eye at the park; saving seeds from bolted cold crops; an eyed elater (aka click bug); anole eggs.

And then there were 4! We welcomed our little Fox into the world April 25 and have been happily tucked into our nest getting to know him and love him more and more by the second.

Now that I'm at 39+ weeks, I've had a few calls and questions about how I'm feeling.  I thought I better drop in here, though, and say I'm just fine. No signs of labor yet, aside from my constant pleading that "today be the day".

I've been speechless all week. Each day seemed to start with a different tragedy on the news. I take time, gather my thoughts, look forward to the next day and hear of more sadness. In some ways I'm glad Baby Fox is waiting his full term; he won't feel the immediate tension of the cruelties of the week. As one friend reminded me, "He's in a safe and beautiful place right now." Stay nestled and happy in there, little fella, and I'll try to be more patient with your arrival.

A few more clothes

This dress is another variation built off the Dear My Kids' pretty ruffled pinafore wrap dress. I took off the wrap front and added giant keyhole to back. The keyhole was meant to make the arms easier to get into, but I made it a little lower than I should have, so I added some pleats to close it up a bit. Now it's a perfect-for-summer dress.

I had a yard and a half of navy flocked dot cotton fabric and decided to try my hand at something else, so I bought Figgy's Ayashe blouse pattern. The pattern has a few different finishing options, like a bias tape neckline or a mandarin collar; I went with the bias tape neckline and elastic waist. The instructions of the pattern are quite detailed, but as a hobby seamstress, I don't always have the patience to get that "pro" finish. Let's just say I fudged a few steps with the serger. The way the sleeves were attached was a different process than the method I was taught, so I used the more familiar method to me. They turned out just fine and I'm pretty sure the results would be identical either way.

Next up? The Oliver + S Sailboat Top (with short sleeves), then maybe onto a few pairs of shorts/skorts.

Clothes for the kid

Hopefully I'll be pushing out a baby mid-Kids' Clothing Week Challenge, so I wanted to get a head start and use up some of the fabric stash I have on hand to clothe Mabel this summer. Plus, sewing has been a good excuse to sit on my rump and make things without the effort of renovating another room in the house.

A little bit of the sewing I did: The Pretty Ruffled Wrap Pinafore minus the ruffle. It was too snug on Mabel, so it will be a gift. I liked the fabric so much, I used it for the second version, too.

Pattern minus the wrap, shortened to shirt length and a gathered ruffle at the bottom. This one was a birthday gift for a friend of Mabel's. The crown was part of the gift as well, and just a little something I made up on my own.

I made a purple gingham shirt just like the middle one, and then this madras version. Shorter bodice, longer gathered torso, added pockets and fudged some fluttery sleeves. It's a far cry from the original pattern, but built from the same concept. I made one more tunic (without the wrap) in this Merlot swirl pattern (Jenaveve Collection by Valeri Wells for Free Spirit Fabrics).

Now I've turned my attention to shirts with sleeves to outfit M through the summer. Wish me luck figuring out how to read the Figgy's Ayashe pattern. The pattern itself is written really well, but I have a feeling there will be numerous user (that's me!) errors.