A Whale of a Shirt

Another holiday and Eric got another shirt. Fathers Day was two weeks ago and while I managed to make this shirt and give it to him on time I am just now managing to write about it. I bought this fabric a couple of months ago because it is just summery and adorable. It makes a great Hawaiian style shirt without being too over the top.

I also like that it is a family of whales swimming around, sort of added to the Father's Day aspect of it all. If you really look you will see that there is a Daddy size whale, a Mama size whale and a sweet little baby whale. A trio, just like us!

If you are a long time reader you know that I have made this shirt (good old Simplicity 5581) many times in many different fabrics, but I have to say so far this one is my favorite. Something about it is just sweet and fun.

The really funny thing is that I made it the week I had sworn off making things for other people. But I guess I just can not control my urge to make gifts for people. Plus he is hard to shop for and nothing store bought really felt right.

Hope you are enjoying your summer. As of tomorrow we have exactly one month left. School starts August 1! I know northerners think that is insane. And I do too but it is what it is.

Peace Out - C

We Are Happy Campers!

View from the paddle boat on the lake at Vogel State Park!

It is funny, in some ways I hate camping. But in many other ways I love it. Ok the bad stuff first, you sleep in a bag on the ground. You have to walk to the bathroom (this time it was pretty far) and being outside at night makes me a little nervous.

Wow, that is a surprisingly short list of the draw backs to camping. The things I love about it include, being off the grid and spending time with my peeps. Apparently my peeps agree because M summed up camping by saying "the whole point of camping is to spend time with your family!' Love that gal.

We have a really old tent that is smelly and saggy. But it did the job even through heavy down pours of rain. We did tons of fun things including swimming in the lake, playing in the sand, watching a live country music show (Cornbread Ted and the Butter Beans), cooking on the campfire, staying up super late to try and see the stars, paddle boating, miniature golf alright I will stop there but it was fun.

Hard to take a picture of yourself.

Next time we will do a few things differently but all in all it was a great trip. I personally was a little sad to be back to the world of electronics and chores, but I was happy to see my bed and take a shower in my shower.

Yes that is Eric in the background in a canoe.

Vogel State Park in North GA is pretty much in the middle of nowhere but it is breath taking-ly beautiful. I hope you are doing something fun and challenging this summer! I promise my next post will be about sewing.

Peace Out - C

Crafting and Selling is contageous

Many people say that your parents influence you in both good and bad ways. Well right now I am feeling like a good influence on my daughter. Well except of course that she has picked up "are you nuts?" and "well...crap" from me. Back to the good part, she has become an entrepreneur who is working on starting her own business with me as her business adviser.

Here are some samples of her work.

She has gotten VERY into making beaded jewelry.

I personally know nothing about beading so she has had to learn most of it by trial and error.

She took all the necklace photos but since we needed small hands for this shot I did take this one.

She has applied to sell her wares ay HomeGrown Decatur (where I sell my stuff). But she has to go through the entire application process. I did type what she said, but used her words. And she will have to get through the interview on her own.

Her target market is kids so all her items will be under $10.00. And I honestly think she does do a pretty nice job considering. But maybe I am bias. There is also a rumor of a kids art show in the Fall and she is excited about the possibility of being a vendor there.

She has a little "studio table" all set up in my studio and she sits there working for hours.

So, how are you filling all this summer time? Hope you love it, whatever it is.

Peace Out - C 

New Shirt for Myself!

I have had a life long obsession with peasant tops and dresses. While I was living in NYC I met Katalin of Kate & Rose because she shares this love with me. She is a fellow maker and has a pattern out for her version of the peasant shirt, it is called the Roza blouse and dress. Her lovely pattern is available in her etsy shop at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/KateNRose

Roza Bouse and Dress pattern options

Downloaded patterns can be a little intimidating. If they are not done well they are a nightmare. However this pattern is done very well and I was able to tape it together smoothly and in no time at all I had my pattern ready to cut out.

There are a few choices to make when deciding how to use any pattern. This one can be a blouse or a dress. I knew I wanted to do the blouse. Then I had to choose the hemline, center front treatment and the sleeve. I went with the straight hemline, the front piece the length of the shirt and the short sleeve.

The whole point of making your own clothes is that you want to make them custom to your body and your style. I made the body of the blouse longer (don't forget to lengthen the center piece as well if you do this). I added 2 full inches, I like my shirts closer to tunic length.

It sewed up like a dream. The pieces fit together perfectly and the directions were easy to follow. Well where I followed them they were. The only problem I had was that the shoulders were HUGE on me when I was finished. So ... I should have known this would be an issue. It is an issue on any pattern I have ever used. I was just being lazy. But as it usually is, it was pretty easy to resolve.

I basically added a pleat at the shoulder. It was a full three inches too long here. The next time I make this pattern I will plan for this adjustment and do things a little different than I did on this one.

The fabric I used is double gauze, which is two thin layers of fabric that is tacked together. Which means that the small check and the large check are the two different sides of the same fabric.

See how nicely the edge of the neckline comes together and lays nice and flat. Not all patterns work this well. To see other versions of this pattern go to: http://www.kate-and-rose.com/

It is tough to take a picture of yourself. This is the only one I got that was even sort of in focus. So I fancied it up a little to distract from it being out of focus. But the shirt fits nicely and is super comfy. I have plans to make at least a couple more. They will be perfect for summer! Thanks