First, thanks for the great shout out on the Sew Retro blog! She said such nice things about my book. I admit, when I discovered this blog (after the book was already named), I was a little nervous. But I’m glad that she saw that my Sew Retro wasn’t meant in any way to compete or steal thunder from her awesome blog (which I absolutely love, by the way!).
Okay, it’s the start of week four with the baby, and things are settling into a sort-of routine. I’ve been able to work for a few hours each morning and afternoon, which is just enough to keep up with the half-dozen or so story assignments I have. My body is getting used to functioning on less sleep, too, though I’m hoping that Georgia follows in the footsteps of her brother, Max, and sleeps through the night around six weeks.
All of this working my schedule around my kids’ schedule has got me thinking about how crafty women have been doing this for years, and how finding the balance between family and work has replayed itself again and again in each generation. Today, we have fabulously successful bloggers, fabric and pattern designers, and Etsy sellers, who also devote equal time to taking care of their families. It makes me think about the Women’s Domestic Institute, a correspondence school in Scranton, Pennsylvania that began sometime in the 19-teens, and was led for many years by Mary Brooks Picken (I have a bio sketch of her in the book).
Mary Brooks Picken
Through the Institute, women received sewing lessons through the mail and learned the basics of making hats, garments, and accessories. Picken (1886 – 1981) was really a visionary: she saw that ready-made garment sales were picking up steam and that fewer women were sewing. She really helped to re-brand sewing: instead of sewing being old-fashioned, she showed that it was a viable way for a woman to run a lucrative and fulfilling home-based business. Picken promoted the work-at-home seamstress lifestyle as a way for women who took care of the home and kids to make their own money. An Institute brochure from 1923 says: “Through the Women’s Institute, the way is open for any women to fit herself right in her own home, without interrupting her daily duties, to become financially successful and independent as a dressmaker.” Picken helped women see that sewing could be empowering, not just from an artistic perspective, but also financially (and many women did report making good money putting their seamstress skills to work). Picken is an inspiration all around: she was incredibly prolific, writing 96 books about all manner of domestic arts, but mostly about sewing.
It’s really not much different than what this generation of mommy-preneurs is doing, as we find the balance between family and career. It’s challenging and frustrating and rewarding, but I take comfort in knowing that scores of women before me have figured it out!
Actually, she probably did, because my mother pretty much tells it like it is. But I probably wasn’t listening because I’m a bit of a Pollyanna.
But here’s what I’ve figured out in the 19 days since my dear daughter’s birth: having two kids (spaced two years apart) is really, really, REALLY hard. The two-year-old is reaching a new level of mischief and naughtiness and the baby is, well, a newborn, which means she is an unending ball of need. Oh, there are moments where I look at the two of them, so sweet, and wonder how I am so lucky, like this rare moment of bliss! .
But those moments are few and far between on a day like today, when getting anything done seems impossible and all three of us have spent half the morning crying! My husband is a stay-at-home-dad, which is an awesome situation (we realize how lucky we are). But nonetheless, it’s challenging, especially since I’m trying to transition back to work (but realize I can’t very well leave him to tend to Max, plus a screaming infant).
So, I’m taking a few minutes to turn to patchwork. I want to make a tiny patchworked iPod holder (I’ll put up the tutorial when I’m finished), but it’s hard to get inspired to sit at the sewing machine today, even amidst all of this lovely pink and black fabric.
I guess it’s just one day at a time, right? Right? Sigh.
In the two years since I had my last baby, I've forgotten a lot. Like how utterly exhausting those cute little blobs are! I had this idea that I would just have all kinds of time to catch up on everything after she was born.
Um, no.
You'd think I'd know better! But it is easy to forget how much time and attention they need. I'm such a routine-craving person that I am desperately trying to get Georgia on a schedule, but I know it's pretty much futile at this point (she's only 12 days old, after all). So free time seems elusive these days!
However, I did manage to make this cute bib! We've gotten some super cute girl clothes, but are still loaded down with lots and lots of boy-themed bibs. I don't mind--I'll put a bib with a football on her since it's just going to get spit up on in two seconds. But I wanted a few girly bibs for company and outings. I embroidered this "sweet peach" bib in between (very frequent) nursings. I repurposed an old pink maternity top that I never wanted to see again.
My little Georgia peach
I had never embroidered on knit before, and it's a little trickier than I thought. I used some interfacing as a stabilizer, but I probably didn't use the right kind (I just grabbed whatever I had in my stash). My stitches certainly aren't perfect. And my top-stitching is crooked too. But it was nice to just steal away to my sewing room for a few minutes while she was napping to get it finished! As I wrote about a few weeks ago, I have a whole catalog of projects I want to make, but all in good time.
Speaking of projects, I'm loving this gorgeous blanket my friend, Andrea, knitted for Georgia. As I said, we're overrun with blue, green, yellow and boy-themed stuff, so it's nice to have something girly, but still with a sort of mod feel.
Georgia Claire arrived on September 9 at 4:48 a.m.! My water broke around 2:00 in the afternoon, and we headed to the hospital a few hours later. After a slow start to labor, things finally got moving later that night. The big surprise? Georgia was 10.5 pounds! I had no idea she was that big (I guess my doc didn't either). Delivery went fine though. We're all resting at home now.
Now that I’m in the final days of the baby countdown (I’m due Friday!), I’m dreaming of all the things I want to make after the baby comes. Of course, I’ve got a ton of things I want to make for the baby, but have been holding off just in case it’s not a girl (a foot was hiding some stuff in the ultrasound, so the tech was only 90% sure it was a girl). And selfishly, I can’t wait to have my body back so that I can make things for myself.
So, what’s on my list?
First is a little slip dress, front-tie sweater, and bonnet from this Advance pattern from the 1940s. I like the pleated dress too, but I’m not crazy about the neckline (looks uncomfy for baby) and I don’t know that I want to go to the trouble to modify it.
I’m thinking of using this sweet pink striped shirting I got at Mood last time I was in NYC for the dress and bonnet, and maybe doing another dress from the great yellow flowered feedsack I picked up on eBay.
Feedsacks go super cheap on eBay!
I also can’t wait to make this circa 1970s Simplicity romper for next summer.
I picked up this adorable pink and green retro-looking floral at Purl Patchwork earlier this year in NYC after I found out it was probably a girl, and have been waiting for inspiration.
As for mama sewing, I’m drafting a pattern for simple shirt I can wear to nurse, made from knit with a crossed bodice and empire waist. I don’t know if it will work or not, but I have a yard or so of this pretty knit that I got for a steal, so I thought I’d give it a try. I’m only in the muslin stage, but I’ll share once I’m further along (and able to actually measure myself accurately). Ideally, I’ll be able to use this piece of vintage-looking ribbon that’s been in my stash forever to accent the front, but we’ll see.
Next, I can’t wait to try making this vintage Simplicity sheath dress! I’ll probably modify the neckline because I like a slightly lower one, but I love the overall silhouette!
I've also had this lovely blouse pattern for a while—I picked it up after Amy Karol blogged about it. I’m a total sucker for ruffles lately. I’m leaning toward option D, or maybe E without the bow.
I actually bought the fabric at Purl earlier this year (this awesome Anna Maria Horner print). I think it will drape lovely on those ruffles. Speaking of Anna Maria, I just ordered her Roudabout Dress pattern too, so add that to the list!
Continuing with my ruffle fascination, I saw this super cute cardigan in Banana Republic’s ad in the September InStyle issue. I feel certain I could make a version of this—it’s a super simple silhouette with rows of raw edge ruffles, gathered in the middle. I’m still sorting that one out in my head. A soft knit for the cardigan and then a cotton woven for the ruffles? I definitely want frayed-edge ruffles.
And lastly, I’m dropping hints all over the place to my husband to buy Kay Whitt’s new book, Sew Serendipity, for my birthday next week. I have oogled this book like crazy. She’s got tons of beautiful dresses, skirts, and tunics. And yes, ruffles!
Of course, I know I’ll be sleep-deprived for a while, and sewing may not be #1 on my list at first. But I also know that I can’t stay away, not when I’ve got all these patterns and fabrics shouting my name!
The school supplies are neatly stacked as we anxiously await our first day of pre-school! Without a doubt, Max is most excited by his new backpack. I wrote about it a few weeks ago when I was first planning it, and I have to say, I love, love, love how it turned out! As I mentioned in the previous post, I used this toddler backpack pattern from Indietutes (free, but she accepts donations via PayPal, if you’re so inclined). I definitely recommend this pattern, because it has a super simple shape, without snaps or zippers or anything complicated for a 2-year-old to negotiate. It’s on the small side, and I can see that we might have trouble fitting in larger pieces of artwork, but still, I wanted something that Max could easily carry on his back and not feel weighed down by—so from that respect, it really is the perfect size for a toddler.
I made the majority of the body out of denim, and then used a playful cotton polka dot print for the top flap, straps, and sides. Originally, I was going to line the whole thing, but once I fused all the interfacing to the pieces, I realized it was plenty sturdy as is. As for the pattern itself, the directions are very clear, and the pieces come together quickly and easily. I did modify the straps just slightly: she suggests folding the strap piece right sides together and turning, but I hate turning skinny strips of fabric, so I just pressed the edges up 1/4” and folded in half.
I knew that I wanted to do a fun appliqué, and as I wrote before, I got the idea for the caterpillar appliqué in the book 100 Appliqué Motifs. I simply traced some circular shapes I had on hand (the bottom of a paperweight and the bottom of a bowl) to make the body and head. I admit, my only worry is whether the caterpillar is boyish enough. It is so challenging to sew cute—but stylish—things for boys (I’m hardly the first mom to complain about this!). If you stray from the well-traveled path of basketballs and dinosaurs, it’s easy to start second-guessing yourself, especially when your husband gives you that look. (Anna Maria Horner has a great post about her husband teasing her about the fancy pants she makes for her one-year-old. But I’m sticking with my little lime and aqua caterpillar!
Three things are on my mind today. First, my baby slept in a big boy bed for the first time last night! All went well, except he somehow fell out (even with side rails) around 7:15 this morning, and then didn’t go back to sleep. Though he did lie there and talk to himself and play with his animals for almost an hour while I tried to go back to sleep in my room. I’m counting it as a success that he didn’t get out! He’s been super excited about the bed because I made him this Clifford-themed quilt, and gave it to him for his 2-year birthday a few weeks ago. Clifford is a big deal at our house, and Max was completely giddy last night when he finally realized that the Clifford quilt was going on his very own big boy bed!
I used both raw-edge applique and embroidery to make the Cliffords and Clifford-themed stuff.
I hope to do a tutorial about the quilt (I did both appliqué and embroidery). I’ll definitely offer some how-to in some fashion though, either actual templates or an explanation of how to make templates and transfer them.
Secondly, I’m working on Max’s backpack; he starts preschool in a month. How is it possible that my little boy is both sleeping in a regular bed and starting school?! We picked out the fabric for the backpack this weekend (he’s completely obsessed with saying “backpack” and every time he hears the word “school,” he shouts: “Backpack! Backpack!”).
I’m using a free pattern from Indietutes and doing a caterpillar appliqué from 100 Appliqué Motifs by Deborah “Ismoyo” Green (I can’t recommend this book enough for instant appliqué inspiration!). I'll post more on the backpack after I finish it.
And lastly, tonight at 7 p.m. is my book signing at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Cincinnati! I have the feeling you have when you’re throwing a party and you think, “what if no one comes?” At least I know my family will be there! I’ve been so impressed by everything the wonderful people at Joseph-Beth have done to promote Sew Retro and the event tonight. I’ll be back with a full report on how it went!
So I'm super excited that an essay of mine just went live on AOL's ParentDish! I wrote about how the quilt I made inspired my toddler Max to (finally) start talking. Because of a little copyright thing called exclusivity, I can't reproduce the essay here, but you can read it here at ParentDish!
I can give you the gist though! In a nutshell, it's like this: Max seemed behind (in my very un-objective view) on his language development, and I was obsessing over getting him to just flippin' talk already. Then, unrelated, I made a big patchwork quilt for my bed. And suddenly Max had something to talk about and bam, his language development kicked in. Okay, I say it better than that in the essay, I promise. I have to give props to my friend, Kristine, for suggesting that I write this essay. I posted about the quilt to my little writer's group, and she was like, um, duh, you're a writer and you need to write about this (of course, she said it much nicer than that).
I really do love this quilt. I made it fairly large, enough to cover our queen bed, plus have extra for overhang. I think the finished dimensions are something like 96 by 104. I just know it was a whole lot of fabric to deal with. But the assembly was easy: I just cut out bunches of 9" squares and patch-worked them all together. I would have loved to have sent it out for professional quilting, but the straight-stitch machine quilting will do. I backed it with a pretty seersucker.
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