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Today we're linking up our "Weekend Experiments" to the following link up parties:

Mittens in August

It's not very often that you need mittens in August--which is why they don't carry them in stores around this time of year. However, we needed mittens for Sophia this past Saturday for our ascent up Mt. Washington: New Hampshire's tallest peak (and the tallest east of the Mississippi). At 6,288 feet you can imagine that the weather "up there" is very different than the weather "down here." The forecast predicted temperatures in the 30's with possible windchill bringing it down into the 20's. That is cold! We needed mittens for Sophia, and not those "don't-scratch-your-face" mitts, something real, something warm.

So I cut the sleeves off an old fleece and sewed up the cuff to create a thumbless mitten. I used the straps off and old tank top to create a leash for the mittens, then appliqued two hearts on with a blanket stitch. The results were pretty cute and very warm. They kept Sophia's little fingers from the biting wind.

I didn't take pictures at the start because the project was purely practical and I didn't expect the results to be very good. But these pictures will give you the idea of the process.

I cut the sleeve off a fleece jacket, then cut the cuff off:

The cuff looked something like this (didn't get the actual picture). I estimated how wide I needed the opening to be then began sewing about the pin mark. I stitched a wide arc (mitten shaped).

I cut the straps off this tank top to use as the leash:

Then cut heart shapes from the rest of the tank top:
I appliqued the hearts on to the mittens with lime green embroidery thread. I would recommend appliqueing the hearts before sewing the mittens (getting the needle in and out of those tiny mittens was not easy).

And here they are in use on the mountain (I had yet to applique the hearts on).

-Sarah

Parties we're linking to:

Weekend Experiments

This weekend I had a bit of free time thanks to a few long naps and the fact that my husband was home to help with diaper duty. I played around with the length of the key chains I made last week: making them longer so that instead of a "key fob" it is more of a "key wristlet." I also made, what I like to call "The Teacher Key Chain." Prior to having Sophia back in December I was a high school English teacher and always wore my classroom keys around my neck. My key lanyard was never as fun and stylish as this one though! I also duplicated a business card holder I made for myself a few weeks ago. Not only is this little wallet perfect for business cards, but it can be home to your ID, credit cards and a cash--I've even stashed my phone in it a couple times. It's the perfect size to throw in your back pocket if you're not carrying a purse or tuck it into the a pocket in your diaper bag.

I also started a few more pacifier lanyards and loved the way they made a luscious fabric bouquet.

Sweat Shop

My mother, Cindy, and I meet once a week to talk, craft and scheme. We met yesterday, and of all days this week it was the MOST humid (think: soggy, like the little cheerios that get forgotten in the palm of a baby's hand). There was no escaping that feeling of constant dampness. But, good things came from our effort (mostly Cindy's effort, she was the one doing the sewing while I tooled around in the blogosphere). Like this beautiful version of our "Charlotte" Dress in a retro-daisy print from Art Gallery Fabrics with orange ric-rac. So cute! Right? And of course it's in the smallest size we make (3mo-6mo) so it is tiny AND cute! Makes all the sweating worth it.

Incredibly cute ric-rac detail.

Love the orange buttons!

What do you think?

Strutting Our Stuff

We've joined Somewhat Simple's "Strut Your Stuff" Thursday link up party. We're strutting our Do-Over Dress and Leggings! Check us out!

To Cute to Lose

Every time I hear the OnStar commercial on the radio-- you know the one where the mom locks her keys in the car with her 6 month old--I think: "That's me!" The problem is, I don't drive a GM car, so the OnStar operator can't magically rescue me in the event that I do, in fact, lock my baby AND my keys in the car.

The commercial has made me paranoid. I've only locked my keys in my car twice: once when I was in high school (...to be expected) and the second time when I was leaving my final dress fitting before my wedding (...you can imagine the stress level increased my absent mindedness). Under normal circumstances I am highly organized and well aware of the whereabouts of pretty much everything (which is why my husband is always asking me where HIS things are). However, there's something about motherhood that has seriously increased the amount that I worry (I always wondered why my mom thought of the worst-case scenario: No you can't climb that tree. You might DIE!)

I find myself thinking in the same way almost on a constant basis. I always check and double check when I leave the house: Baby? Check. Diaper Bag? Check. Keys? Check. I make visual contact and touch everything. Then once I'm in the car I do it again: Baby? I can see her car seat in the back seat and I know she is in it. Do you? Yes I buckled her in. Diaper Bag? It's on the seat next to me. Keys? They're in the ignition, the car wouldn't be running if I didn't have them.

And so, you can imagine when I hear that OnStar commercial I get worried that I too will someday lock Sophia in the car. But, today I took steps to avoid such a scenario: I made my own key-lanyard. I didn't go as far as to put a clip on the end (like our pacifier lanyards) but it is bright and colorful and fun: and that alone should reduce the risk of misplacement: who wants to lose cute keys?

My keys before:

My keys post-makover:

Bright and fun. I love the way the look like petals of a flower.

Do Over: Re-cycled fashion

Last week, along with launching our clothing line I spent some of my crafty-time (ie Sophia's nap-time) re-fashioning a few old t-shirts. Recycling old t-shirts (or any old clothes for that matter) into new clothing can be really fun and gratifying (or in some occasions, really frustrating and hug let down--depending on the kind of sewing day you're having).

This week I had good sewing days--mostly because my machine cooperated and did what I wanted it to do. The result? A cute t-shirt dress made from shirt my husband rarely wore, and a pair of leggings to match. The leggings, in their former life, were sleeves, attached to a shirt I found at Goodwill for a dollar.

Sophia isn't quite big enough to model these yet (they are about a 12 month size), and she is also napping (ahhh).


To get the pattern for the t-shirt dress, I took apart a dress that was handed down to Sophia--I wasn't quite a fan of the mint green color, so I had no problem ripping out the seams.
I laid the pattern on my husbands old Gibson t-shirt, making sure to use the collar that was already conveniently there. When I cut the sleeves I positioned the pattern piece in a way that made use of the sleeve hem. I covered the raw edge with material from a old purple shirt.

To make the leggings, I cut the sleeves off the Goodwill t-shirt, ripped the seams down to what would be the crotch. Sewed those seams together to create the rise (the measure from inseam to the waist). I then sewed a pocket for an elastic, trimmed the "legs" and added purple trim.

And so, here's the new Recycled Rocker-Baby outfit.



-Sarah