A treat for Martina

     Martina has been wanting to learn how to sew.  This, coupled with my fondness for vintage pieces, led to this purchase from a yard sale:

     It's a Singer 257, and it is heavy- I think I pulled a muscle putting it in the car!  The operating manual and accessories which usually come with a machine (screw driver, feet, extra needles, cleaning tool, etc) were not available.  The machine only came with the carrying case and foot peddle, so I was able to talk them down from $50 to $35 .  I gave it a good cleaning inside and out, oiled it and played around with the tension.  She's ready to go. 
     The machine matches Martina's room (which, I must admit,  did have somewhat of an influence when I made the decision to buy it).  Now to find space for it.

Sewing mishap, lesson learned

     I usually remove the pins as I sew before the needle sews over the pin.  Then I heard in my quilting class that it isn't necessary, as the pin almost always gives way to the needle.  Almost always.

     Lesson learned.  Remove the pins.  Luckily, I just bought a pack of needles a couple of weeks ago because the needles hasn't been changed since I've had the machine.
     With new needle in place, I can continue on with a tote bag with these fabrics:

     It's destined to be a gift for one of Martina's friends.  We'll fill with either art supplies, or some fun little tchotchkes from a Japanese store.

Handmade Holiday

  
 Last year, I decided to personally make all the Christmas gifts we were giving out.  Because we had a new baby in the house, I kept it simple and baked cookies for everyone.  I wanted to do another handmade holiday this year, but oh, how quickly Christmas snuck up on me!  I had all these wonderful intentions but didn't realize that a one year old toddling around the house would take up so much of my time.
     I managed to get out some of the gifts, sending homemade shortbread cookies (found here) to my family with a cousin traveling home to the New Orleans area for the holidays.  I also sent with him a couple of VERY late birthday presents (we're talking March and August birthdays).
     As soon as I finish the other presents which are works in progress, I should start next year's gifts if I want to have a hope of finishing them in time!
  

     Here's our Christmas tree.  We had a small tree last year and liked it a lot.  We decided to have another small tree this year so we could keep it out of reach from baby's grabby hands.  
    
   

     


     
 

Snowy Surprise and a Sweet Retreat

     Ken and I decided to take the children on a mini-vacation, so we booked the most charming cabin in Nevada City, CA.  Hoping to enjoy the glorious colors of the fall foliage, we were dismayed when we encountered heavy rain on the drive up from the Bay Area.  We settled into the cabin, and were delighted when, a couple of hours later, little momma announced that it was snowing outside.
     Last night, the snowfall was heavier, and this is what we found outside our door:

Squeals of excitement ensued.  Since the light snowfall the day before, the kids were itching to go sledding down the hill behind the cabin.
     We absolutely adore our lodgings.  We booked this charming cottage.  The owners are wonderful and so helpful.  How sweet is this:

     Snow this heavy and this early is uncommon, and they seem to have anticipated almost every need.  They offered to lend us snow clothes for the children so they could go sledding and play in the snow.  They also offered to bring Ken into town to pick up provisions since we're basically cabin bound.  We will definitely book another vacation here, perhaps in the spring or summer.
    

Pants for the menfolk

     Brrr.... it's so cold in our house.  Because our house is so shaded by trees, we do not get direct sunlight on the ground floor.  It's always a few degrees cooler inside than it is out, which is great in summer.  In late fall and winter, not so much.
     Last night, the little guy got a new pair of lounge pants.  I could have gone out and bought some, but I was looking for an inexpensive footed pair to keep his feet toasty in our ice box of a house.  In the interest of economy, I made a pair, using Simplicity 2291.  I made View B, minus the pockets (I don't think he'll be squirreling anything away at this age).
     Kieran was so cute in his pants.  The only problem is he went sliding all over the floor.  I need to find something to put on the soles to give him some traction. 

    I also made some pajama pants for the big guy and the hubby.  Truth be told, I started their pants 2 years ago and only just finished them.  Everything was sewn except the elastic waistband.  I'm not sure why I was so intimidated by the thought of sewing up the elastic- it's actually quite easy.  I didn't have willing models, so here is Tonio's bottom half wearing New Look 6131, View B, with a closeup of the fabric.

And here are Ken's pants (Butterick B5153, View C), with a closeup of the fabric:

 

     

        I think a few more pair of pants in flannel are in order for all of us to keep off the winter chill.

     I finally dusted off the ol' sewing machine last week.  Little momma needed a small bag to carry essentials on a field trip to the Tech Museum, and she couldn't find the one she wanted to bring (her backpack was too big).  So I stayed up late the night before her field trip to make one for her.
     The pattern came from a wonderful little book called Sew What! Bags by Lexie Barnes.  I modified the size to fit a small child and left off the outer pocket.  Luckily, I had some really pretty pink and black fabric in my stash that wasn't earmarked for any project in particular.  Here's little momma modeling it:

 

     Feeling inspired to take on a more challenging project, I attempted another bag from the same book.  This time I chose a messenger bag and opted to use printed canvas, as well as line the inside for durability.  After spending the weekend sewing seams, then ripping them out and sewing them back together, I finally finished this evening.  Ta-daa!

Schoolbag

View under the flap- pockets!

Inner pencil pocket

     I made the following mods:

• scaled down to fit a young girl
• lined the strap with quilt batting for comfort
• left off the back pocket panel
• added a pencil pocket inside the bag     

 

A Happy Halloween

     Wow, it's been over a month since I've posted anything.  We've been up to much, but the most exciting to our household was Halloween, probably because it's the most recent outing we've had.  This was the first time that the whole family dressed in costume.

Scurvy pirate

Vampire baby

 

Zombie flamenco dancer
 

Vampire Daddy and bohemian Momma

     The big guy's costume was made from a thermal shirt (which we tattered ourselves with scissors), black sweats and boot covers I made from brown vinyl.  Little momma's costume was straight off a hanger from a tourist shop in Spain, and the little guy's cape was designed and sewn by yours truly.
     I'm not sure if I pulled the bohemian look off.  What you can't see are my knee high boots and bangle bracelets.  It seems if you wear something a bohemian might actually wear rather than an exaggerated version of it purchased in a store, people aren't sure if you're dressed in costume or in everyday clothes.