How is it the End of May?

Sure, I know I've been busy, but gee whiz already, surely Father Time could slow down a little bit?

Well after KCW wrapped up, I finished this pair of shorts for Caitlyn.

I used up some stashed denim of unknown vintage and a fat quarter in red, so it's definitely stashbusting even if I'm not on theme for May. I used the pants portion of McCall's 6389, changing the waistband, shortening them up and adding the cuff detail. No pockets, though, which I might regret if Caitlyn keeps collecting rocks when she wears these. Guess who gets to carry the rocks home?

I love this red fabric. I think it came in a fat quarter bundle I received for Christmas about, oh, something like 10 years ago (thanks, Mom!). It's always made me think of bandanas, even though it doesn't really look like one. This was a perfect use for it.

I used the same red for the inner waistband. The pattern wants you to just fold over the top of the shorts to make your waistband casing, but the idea of doing that with denim seemed unpleasant. It'd make for a thick, stiff, hard to gather, probably uncomfortable-to-wear waistband. I trimmed off the top of the pattern 5/8in shy of the fold line, added the red fabric for the casing, and did a lot of topstitching. I'm pretty pleased with the result, if I may say so.

Caitlyn likes them, too, despite the lack of pockets. She's seriously into tree climbing these days, preferring to terrorize all the adults she knows by climbing as high as possible and then staying there. As an added bonus, she likes to teach other kids how to climb her favorite tree, so yes, that's my kid who's teaching your kid how to give you a heart attack. Pants and shorts are the preferred tree-climber's wardrobe. I'm going to need to get more familiar with pants-making, I think.

On a unrelated note, I did manage to finish my blocks for Sew.Quilt.Give. this month. Barely.

We did farfalle blocks from Film in the Fridge's tutorial. I'm seriously behind on working on March's quilt for the bee and am feeling somewhat envious of the just-sew-the-received-blocks-together assembly that's going to go with this quilt. Notes for next time I'm queen bee: Keep it Simple!

Not Here Now

So, I've not been here lately. ::hangs head::

I've been doing a lot of work for Stash's website and online presence lately. If quilty things are your cup o' tea, stop by and check it out.

I'm also taking an online class right now... more on that later, probably.

The rest of it is just regular, ordinary life stuff (laundry! meals! mowing! bookkeeping!). It seems that lots of bloggers lately have been writing about how their lives are not as perfect as their blogs make it appear ("Look! My sewing corner is a mess, too!"). Kudos to those who can make the ordinary compellingly readable.

Me, I'll be back when there's something to share that won't bore you fine readers to sleep.

Little Red Dress

I thought I'd kept my KCW list to something reasonable. A dress, a pair of shorts and some iron-on transfers on some t-shirts. Not a long list, especially when you compare it to other lists from other years. I totally should have finished last week.

Perhaps I should stop mentally signing myself up for things that have a fixed timeframe. I'm starting to think I'm just tempting fate when I announce that I'm going to do something within a set time line. Work gets busy with crises; I throw my neck out of alignment; the sun comes out and suddenly the back lawn is a foot tall.

I suppose I could have started my KCW projects early, but that would have felt like cheating.

So here I am, almost a week late, with my Kids Clothing Week finish:

This is view C of McCall's 6389, with no changes or adjustments. First princess seams! (Hers and mine.) The fabric is a red cotton (acquired from someone's stash cast-offs) with large, gold-etched tropical flowers. I have no idea how long I've had it, but it's been filling up my bin of red/pink fabric for a while now. This project definitely counts as stashbusting!

I'm particularly fond of the rolled sleeves. Caitlyn kept trying to roll them down this morning and learning that buttons on your elbow are awkward. The collar seemed temperamental when I put it in but maybe that's just because it's smaller than the collars on Ian's shirts.

And it passes the Active Kid Test! Although I may suggest she not climb trees in it...

Here's my other KCW finish:

Calling these shirts "sewing" definitely feels like cheating. I bought some blank t-shirts from JoAnn (4 for $10), picked out some iron-on transfers and - ta-da! - shirts! Brainless, really. We'll have to see how they hold up to washing and wearing. If they are durable in any reasonable way, there may be more of this in the future. Then again, given the number of transfers that are emblazoned with "I'm the Princess, that's why!" themes, maybe not. Caitlyn loves the bright and shiny, but I refuse to stamp my kid with "I'm a girl and therefore I am all about shopping and getting presents!"

But that's another rant, that shall be ranted on another day.