Lepidoptera dress

I know, I know, a lot of posting from me in the past week.  Can you stand another?  This is the butterfly dress I made from the Cotton+Steel lawn that I got the bolt end from fabric.com.

 The fabric was on crazy good sale (almost half price!) and I ended up getting more than three yards for the price of two.  I'm not exactly sure what drew me to this fabric, but I do like the colors very much, and it goes well with my teal-mint-lemon-orange-rust color palette this year.

 Not much to say about this one, because I pretty much followed the same script as my Woodland Birds dress: shorter sleeves, narrower skirt sweep, waist casing and tie, 1" hem.  I think I skipped the bias at the neckline on this too (as well as the Woodland version. 

Lawn and pre-made bias don't seem to play very well together over time).  I just made a baby hem around the neckline and sleeves by rolling it under a couple times and pinning.  Pesky, but a nice finish.

I dig it with my pale yellow amber necklace and coordinating earrings.  I'm finding this year I'm wearing my regular jewelry with my summer clothes, instead of my summery kitchy jewelry, and I'm liking it better, because it feels more like the winter parts of me that I miss in the summer.

I thrifted a short-waisted pointelle cotton sweater in a bright aqua-teal color that goes really well with this dress too.  I wore the combo for traveling and the pullover sweater was perfect--I'm not feeling any of my cardigans so much right now.  What is wrong with me?  (Answer: everything.  And nothing).

So, that's it for new makes for now.  I did make a linen Rose skirt for the fall that I'm saving to wear then, so will show that in a few months.

Refashions for Ponchik

I mentioned in my Emerald top round-up post yesterday that I had toiled the pattern last summer.  In general, I don't keep excess fabric around for such endeavors (although I have an old sheet that got holes in that I use for the purpose), but I did have a short yard of Rifle and Co. Birch rayon that I had bought at some point for refashioning my earlier Dottie Angel frock of the same, but ended up not doing before the dress left my closet for greener pastures.  I used the yard for the toile, but because the selvedges on Rifle and Co. are extremely wide and white (why??), I couldn't quite make the Emerald work as a wearable piece.  I had a similar problem with my Menagerie remnant and had to piece a bit of the side seam.

My main complaint about toiles is that you end up with fabric that is basically unusable for anything else, and it feels very wasteful to me.  The Emerald toile was just such a piece--I couldn't use it for anything else for me, and it seemed like a waste of decent fabric, albeit fabric I wasn't particularly keen to have in my closet again.

I decided to see if I could cut it down for Ponchik and add a skirt in a contrast fabric.  In my quest to find the perfect orange for my Poppy Rose skirt, I ended up with a skirt length of orange rayon-linen blend mystery fabric that wasn't quite the right orange for me.  

Fortunately, it went very well with the Rifle and Co. Birch fabric, so I cut a 12" length, seamed the sides, gathered it up, and popped it on the bottom of the (cut-down) top and Bob's your uncle.  (Well, not quite, but close enough).  I added a little self-cased belt too.  The nice thing about the contrast skirt is that I can cut it off and add a new one, or add another tier of fabric if it gets too short.  The top part is roomy enough she may get another season out of it if I do that.  She is in love with the dress and wears it constantly.

The other cut-down I did was to my Octopus dress.  I had made my octopus-loving girl a birthday dress a few years ago, and myself a matching one at the same time, but only wore mine a couple of times that year.  

It was really a bit too kitchy for me, so I've had it in the bin to cut down for her ever since.  She wore the original dress at least two summers (maybe even three) before we couldn't squeeze her into it any longer.  She's been longing for another octopus dress since.

I decided to cut it down from the top rather than cutting out a new pattern from the bottom, so I unpicked all the bias and kangaroo pocket, and pinched out the excess at the shoulders first, and then the side seams, which I think gave me more usable fabric to work with at the end then the usual way I cut down things for the girls.  I'll likely do this method again.

I think I ended up bringing the shoulder seam down 2", and in 2" all along the side seams, plus a bunch at the hem (14", maybe?)  I made a casing and waist-tie to mimic my own dresses this summer, and made the whole thing roomy and a bit overlong so she can get extra wear out of it.  I also made a matching mask at her request, out of the pocket piece.  She found it a bit hot compared to her normal jersey mask, however, so she might save it to the fall. 

Not a bad use of time and fabric!  I had made a small mountain of fabric leftovers to try and make stuff like this (and work through my fabric stash), but I realized a) the girls have enough clothes for now, and b) I mostly have enough stuff for now.  The only thing I may try to do is eke out another Emerald from the leftover Purple Violet Squish dress fabric.

A Tetrad of Emeralds

Oh summer clothes.  So hard to be comfortable and not wilted-feeling.  I'm mostly into separates, and I have a few thrifted t-shirts that are fine, but almost all need to be tucked in to look good (wahh!)  Sometimes it is just too hot and humid for that mess.

So, I got a bit brave this spring and decided to experiment with a new-to-me silhouette: the boxy cropped top.  (No, not like that. More like this).  Last year, Rae made a few Emerald tops and I loved them so much that I saved my pattern just for that purpose, as the dress had been an epic fail for my figure.  I made a hasty toile to get the fit right, since the sizing chart was really off for me, and then didn't actually make a wearable top last year. 

Until now!  I revisited my toile and made the changes on my flat pattern and made sure it all worked, and also chopped off a bunch of length to get it to Ashton crop top length.  (For the record, I cut all these tops on the straight grain, eliminated the center seam, and took several inches out of the center front and back for a closer fit.  The hem is straight across, about 10" below the undearm, and I cut a 2"-ish facing for all the blouses.  The sleeve facings are brilliant, in my opinion, and the best part of the pattern). 

I wasn't sure I would like it, but I actually do!  It is breezy and cool, comfortable, and while perhaps not the most singularly flattering thing I wear, it does work for summer.  I made four and have worn three of them several times already. 

The first was a minty one, in Mosaic linen from fabrics-store.com.  It is probably my favorite, to be honest.  It's just so fresh.  I roller-skated in it while visiting my parents last week and it was delightful. 

The second was a butterfly lawn one, out of leftover fabric from a dress I've yet to show.  I received the bolt end from fabric.com, so I had a lot of extra to play with (I made a matching mask too--somebody stop me!)  

 

It is perhaps a little bit too much into scrubs territory, but I like it okay.  It goes with several of my skirts.

The third and fourth were eked out of the selvedges of my teal skirt, as I had cut it carefully to preserve yardage for future use.  I ended up getting a skirt and these two blouses plus a mask out of two yards!

I had the idea of using up the remnant of Rifle and Co. rayon from my Menagerie dress, and had enough for a contrast panel only, so I sketched out a few iterations and Boo helped me pick this one.  There are literally fumes of that fabric left.  (Ditto the linen, for that matter).

The rayon facings were a bit fussy to do in rayon (especially when combined with linen), but it is okay.  I decided to let the sleeve facings peek out a bit for some additional contrast on the sleeve edges.

The other blouse is just plain, and I like it quite a bit.  It goes with several skirts as well.  It was ridiculously hot that day, and while I wouldn't say I was cool, I was a lot more comfortable than I usually am in that kind of heat.

Father's Day Part II

So what to say about my husband and the father of my children on this Father's Day?  (He doesn't read my blog, so this isn't really for him).  He's a fairly private person, so I will say less and let the pictures speak instead (we were a bit newer then...).

Brand new baby Piglet

Also with Piglet, the fantastical non-sleeping baby.  Don't be fooled by the seemingly closed eyes.

Baby Boo

With brand new baby Birdie

With Ponchik

 Happy Father's Day!

Father's Day Part I

Happy Father's Day to my dad!  How to talk about my dad?  I have a great dad who set a high bar for the other men in my life.  He is someone who came from less than ideal circumstances, but leaned heavily on the Lord, sought out Godly men to mentor and guide him in his early adult life, so that later, he would go on to mentor and guide others, as well as be an effective partner and parent.  

My dad with me, a couple hours old

 He was very present in my growing-up years, an otter who loved to play, had big ideas, and was always ready to get on the ground for a round of Wrestle-mania and the Evil Slime Pit, or to read books, play games, or build things. 

I was probably six or seven months here.

My outfit had ruffles all across the bum and he made up a whole song about it called "Ruffle Buns."

My dad is one of those people who spots stuff on the side of the road and brings it home and makes something amazing.  When my sisters and I were young, he made us an airplane that we could ride in out of found materials.  It was awesome.  He is able to fix almost anything, and did several remodels in our various houses by himself.   

 

Reading to me and my sister.

He taught me how to fish.  I think that was the biggest one I ever caught.

My dad has always worked to live, not the other way around, but he taught by his example a strong work ethic, and that no job was beneath him.  He did a lot of menial work to put himself through pharmacy school, and then worked night shifts to later put himself through seminary.  When times were tough when I was growing up, he always said he would do whatever it took to keep food on the table, even if it meant working at McDonald's.  He would have too.  He is quick to do housework to help my mom (or me, when he visits!) and has long been the chief cook and bottle washer on Sundays.    

I made him a fisherman's cake for his birthday sometime in high school.

He is a steady hand in times of trouble, steering the ship of our family with a graceful and peaceful spirit.  He is very slow to anger, patient and kind.  He always takes the high road in the face of conflict, and seeks to be a peacemaker, but he also taught us to stand on our principles even when they are unpopular in a crowd.  When he is wrong, he is quick to apologize and make it right.

Playing Wrestlemania in the Evil Slime Pit with Piglet

He delights in the beauty of creation and has spent many years cultivating a garden and working the clay of the yard to make it blossom with green things.  His sense of humor is unique, and all of us girls have endured many of his fanciful made-up nicknames and accompanying songs and terrible-in-the-best-way jokes over the years.  (Mine is Birdurls.  Don't ask).   

Walking with Boo.

With Birdie.

He is smooth on his feet and played ice hockey in college, and we all learned our mad roller-skating moves from him.  He is an introvert who loves to perform (the apple doesn't fall far from the tree...) and has acted in many church plays over the years (he did a particularly good turn as Mr. Potter in a stage production of It's a Wonderful Life), and assisted with building the sets for my mom who managed the stage.  

Makin' muffins with Birdie and Piglet

He is sweet and considerate of all the women in his life, but most especially my mom, whom he adores and strives to show it every day.  He volunteered to purchase feminine products when we were growing up, and was never embarrassed about the realities of being the lone male in a household of women (he grew up with a lot of sisters).    

He ran a little workshop with the boys one year to teach them some basics about how to use a screw driver and hammer and some other tools.

 

He has endured a tremendous amount of physical pain from various orthopedic issues and numerous surgeries, but he rarely complains, and you will almost never know that he is hurting all day, every day.  He loves a home-cooked meal (we rarely ate out growing up), but is never fussy about food; he is just happy to have it on his plate.    

With Ponchik.

My sisters and me and my dad, from a while back (2012?)

 He was thrilled to become a grandpa (or Papou, as my kids call him), and wanted to be the best and most fun Papou around.  (I think he succeeded).  He still plays legos and games, reads stories, and teaches the grandkids all sorts of handy skills, and I'm so grateful for all the time my kids get to have with him.    

Father's Day 2015

I'm so blessed to have him as my dad.  Happy Father's Day, Dad!