[Mama_Knowles]

That is wonderful to hear about the pattern Tamara, I need to look into those myself. Jacob has grown into a small men’s size himself now. He is as tall as me and needs bigger size patterns now. I want to get some of the Thread Theory patterns and try out this fall for him and my husband both.

I always adore everything you sew your daughter’s Nicole! I wish I was one of them.

[Anonymous]

I wish I was one of them, too. 🙂

Yesterday, I made another pair of Sunny Days with lots of added pockets for Oliver. I also used the pattern to cut down some ridiculously baggy store bought basketball shorts for him. Now they’ll be perfect for running.

Today, I’ve been doing a whole lot of printing, taping, and tracing. Getting ready to make one more pair of Sunny Days with side ties at the hem. Also, just finished taping a HUGE pdf pattern for a rain poncho. It think it’s going to be worth it. 🙂

[Lightning McStitch]

Oh, there are some patterns that should not be PDFs. Rain ponchos is now added to my list alongside men’s dressing gowns!

[Tamara]

@sahmcolarado would you like to swap weather? I hear it is very wet over your way and here, when it should be wet (and I should be the one making rain ponchos) it is dry as anything (we have our fingers crossed for a big rain expected Wednesday). The rain poncho pdf sounds painful to put together. But I do hope it works out.

I also have to say that I love the little pockets you did for your son’s sunny day shorts.

@roundtheworldgirl so glad you got the time to sew – therapy for the soul at such a challenging time. I hope you can manage it regularly as a form of respite.

I have decided I need to pleat something! If the week is taking me away from the machine then I will need a needle and thread instead. So out comes the pleater and a lovely little smocking plate I have had my eye on to creat a little winter bishop dress for miss Chloe.

[Anonymous]

It wouldn’t have been so bad, @lightningmcstitch, if the lining wasn’t separate pieces. Also, if she had done her pdf like Liesl does. As it was, there were 54 pages meant to be put together as one HUGE sheet! At least I could cut pieces apart as I went along, so I never really had that huge sheet.

Yes, @justsewit, we’ve had an AMAZING amount of rain this spring. Everytime we think it’s over, we get another gray day. In our area, we average 300 sunny days and only 14.5 inches of rain per year. This year, we’ve had 8 inches of rain and 22 cloudy days in May alone, and it has continued into June. It has been nice, actually. Much cooler than usual.

Thank you for the compliment on the shorts. They are being well used. 🙂

[Tamara]

Goodness, your conditions sound very similar to our area @sahmcolarado with our average rain about the same as yours (maybe a tad more). We usually have our “winter break” in May but 11mm isn’t a winter break at all! Now I know where all the rain has been falling.

And as it happens, on my second no sew day, the coastal town where I shop (Geraldton) is forecast to be a horrid 27degrees c! But I am in denial and will rug up until I have to conceed defeat! And I will do this while shopping at spotlight for winter fabrics!

On the list will be fabric for the parachute pants, something to make a winter cape for the eldest and maybe something elese just because.

Then tomorrow I can get back to my life in front of the sewing machine.

[with love Heidi]

I am going to put some veggies in the oven and stick together the Swing set pattern I chose as one of my two patterns For winning the parachute Polo contest.

[Tamara]

Oh yes! Congrats Heidi on your win!

I bought some fabric to make the parachute pants and top for the baby today, along with something to make the playtime dress/ tunic with. I went looking for wool fabric to make the bistro dress for Imogen out of (it says lightweight wool right?) but of course I had no such luck!

I had a late start and of course that meant getting home late so unfortunately I came home to find no dinner cooked for me! So the sewing has to wait – again! Sigh!

[Nicole]

Awww, thank you Sandi and Sharon.
I ~finished~ Zara’s (15) skort, hurrah!
So excited about this as I stupidly drafted the pattern to her tiny waist (size 6) instead of her hips (size 10)!

With some careful unpicking and removing some darts I j u s t got enough ease to make it work.

If I had had enough of the lovely grey linen I think I would have just made another in a bigger size and finished this one and put it away for Liddy (11).

Next up, a Zara designed top from some nubbly linen.

[dubhels2003]

Congratulations Heidi, what a bonus getting more patterns!

It sounds like everyone has their sew-jo at the moment, I love reading what people are up to.

I did manage to measure myself, accept what babies have done to my body which isn’t the end of the world, pull myself together and trace the everyday skirt pattern and cut it out of blue linen.

I haven’t been in the sewing room for weeks, and I really need to, it makes me feel happier. I MUST sew together the muslin of my sister’s colette laurel and crack on with the skirt. I also have a wedding coming up and I’m making two cushion covers as a present. One will be cathedral windows in a beige cotton and tana lawn, and the other one I haven’t decided on yet. So. Much. To. Do.

[KAREN]

Hello Everyone!

I am new to this forum (signed up today) but not new to sewing or to some of you. I have followed FrancesSuzanne, Nicole, and Cindy via their lovely blogs for the past couple of years. I have enjoyed the O+S blog and Pinterest board and fallen in love with the designs that I have seen posted there and on other blogs. I purchased my first O+S design a couple of summers ago, a pdf Roller Skate Dress, when FrancesSuzanne chose that pattern for their flip series. I made a dress and tote for a charity and blogged about it here: http://butterfliesandfaeries.blogspot.com/2013/07/flip-this-pattern-os-roller-skate-dress.html. It was the first really contemporary dress I had sewn and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. It was a real departure for me because I enjoy embroidery, smocking, lace, poofy sleeves and skirts, etc. In the past two years, I have evolved and have embraced more contemporary styles but still want to add in an heirloom touch here and there. Recently, I began to sew the O+S patterns in earnest and have fallen in love. (It took me long enough, right?!)

I started with the Ice Cream Dress for a friend’s little girl who is a little modern miss and she looked absolutely adorable in it (although she looks great in everything I make her). I love this pattern and have made it three times since March! That is a lot for me for one pattern as I teach kindergarten full time for 10 months of the year and I like to sew a variety of things. I have a blog that I have neglected since February but I plan to rectify that this week and I will begin posting the things I made this past spring including these little Ice Creams.

I have just completed the Butterfly Skirt out of a large floral and have the fully lined batiste blouse nearly finished. I just have the hand work to do. I am frustrated with my chained button loop and have to rework that (third time!). Next up is a Swingset skirt and blouse.

Thank you for letting me ramble on. I promise I won’t be so wordy next time!

[dubhels2003]

Hello Karen, your butterfly skirt in particular sounds gorgeous. I’ve been eyeing up a couple of things sewn with large floral prints, have you posted a pic in the Flickr group? I’m going to go hunt for it when I manage to stop feeding the baby and get down to the lap too!

[EllenMCM]

Nicole, how is the moto jacket to sew? And, do you happen to know if it’s easy to alter? I’ve been giving that a lot of consideration as a possible wardrobe piece. In my fabulous homemade wardrobe that so far exists only in my head.

I’m extremely frustrated with my attempts to fit the Sewaholic Granville – I’ve got the boobs right, I think, but not the shoulders or the sleeve. So I’m planning a break from difficult women’s fitted button-down shirts. Next up is a Badminton Skort with a ton of flowers on it, and a LTTS backpack for my nephew who is turning three. I’ve never done zippers before! Look at my newfound total optimism about absolutely everything that doesn’t involve fitting!

[Nicole]

@EllenMCM it was a really good sew.
I used the Lisette blog sew-a-long method and bagged the lining. I had started with the paper pattern but got stuck on the zipper insertion. The paper pattern is incorrect.
Once I went to the blog I zoomed along.
It was 6 hours sewing time and I altered the waist for Zara (15). I think it would be good to alter as it has several seams throughout the body. We skipped the shoulder pads, I think she needed them, she disagreed.

I hand basted my zipper to get it just right.

I have not been able to photograph past a WIP because she is constantly wearing it.
Love the Badminton, I have not made the dress but I am #planning# Hailspot nighties for the little girls for our hot Christmas.

Karen! It is lovely to ‘see’ you, I am so glad you have joined.

[Tamara]

Looks terrifc Nicole and I am so glad she is living in it as that means it was worth the trouble of sewing it for her (not that it would be trouble at all).

I have a parachute polo cut out of city weekend interlock that I want to sew this weekend. I have already made a pair of parachute pants and they are so cute and very worthy of two hours at the machine. I need to make more as winter has finally decided to grace us with her presence – 14 degrees forecast for Tuesday.

So it is time to really get cracking with more pyjamas, parachute tops and bottoms and the afterschool pants pattern is waiting patiently to be used also in the mix.
Lots of fluffy warm snuggly things for baby!

Oh and welcome KAREN! You wil certainly have lots of fun sewing and mixing heirloom with Oliver and s.

• This reply was modified 8 years ago by Tamara.