New School Duds: Pairing Zonen Jacob with Figgy's Ayashe

SERIOUSLY.

I get TOO happy when I see this outfit on Camden!!  I don't know if you recall, but I made Camden a Figgy's Ayashe blouse back in December of last year, and I maybe mentioned that I'd also made two others....to pair with Zonen Jacob pants (their FB page).

Well, yay - I finally did!  Better late than never???  All is well in the end, as this is the perfect back-to-school outfit.  You can see in the December post that the first blouse will also pair with these pants perfectly.  I was pretty intentional at the time - rare for me, I think.

I'm pretty excited - this pairing, to me, is great - simple and cozy!  I love Ayashe blouses on Camden, and shame on me for having not made Camden a pair of Jacob pants since this pair a year and a half ago.

The pants turned out delightfully, but I subconsciously chose laziness when sewing them.  I didn't include a fly, because, for some reason, I assumed I hadn't on the last pair, and it turns out I HAD.  Ah, well - saved me some time, aha!  I did use a cute contrasting fabric as a pocket liner on the front pockets, though the pattern does not call for a pocket liner on the front OR the back.  I didn't line the back pockets, but I did make sure to fold down the top edge twice, though the pattern doesn't call for that either; it just makes me feel better deep down inside.

I have nothing riveting to say about either pattern, as I've blogged about them both before, but LOOK how CUTE the outfit is - well, either, really!  The pink flowered blouse is a gauze, and the other is a super lightweight fabric - possibly a lawn, but I can't recall.

She needed me to photograph this map she drew from Calvin and Hobbes

I also made sure to sneak Camden's green socks into the photos, too!  And speaking of hand-knit socks, I have a pair on the needles for Camden - and a pair for myself.  I suppose I should search for a yarn to use for Tiberius, but in the meantime, I'm working on the re-knit of the Antler sweater for Tiberius...and a Christmas in July for Camden (first version blogged here).  (I'll soon blog about about a Tallulah I just finished for Camden, too!)  So, I have a lot of plans, but I'd also love to cast on a new shawl soon, and I'm thinking I'll have a hard time, as I'll want to choose yarn first - THEN shawl pattern, which can be tricky for me.

And...basically a DAY in the life - probably our last warm ocean visit for the year!

That face, aha!

And this doesn't do the regional air quality justice...it was BAD...and still isn't great

Up Today? Not ONE, but TWO Ayashe sets!!!

Few things please me more than having completed an outfit/project of some sort - and then it's awesomeness on toast with honey if I can complete TWO of the same thing!  Just that much more enjoyment for that many more months :)

I actually finished two of these tops and the green skirt a month and a half or so ago, but I finally got around to whipping up the other skirt just yesterday.  My poor child did a lot of self-entertaining, which made it so much easier.

And what did I complete, you ask?  Why, the Ayashe shirt and skirt by Figgy's.  This is my third go-round with this pattern (four total shirts, LOL), and I hate to admit I went the same route with the shirt each time, but take it or leave it.  I like the collar, like the long sleeves, like it all!  So long ago, this is what I made my little girl:

You can see in the above pictures that the top is a bit short on my little girl, so, this time, I made sure to super-size up ;)  Again, much of it is just her belly, as she isn't tall AT ALL.  Bonus - three of the shirts, total, that I made were using left-overs of fabric I had used for my own dresses!  (Consider that BRAGGING, as I normally suck at that sort of thing.)  Two of them were lawns, the red maybe was a lawn but probably a voile.  Sadly, the above items are too small for her now and are in hiding in a bag or box.

On to bigger and better things - literally....The new version is the size 4/5 skirt (I think!), lengthened a tiny bit, and the shirts are size 4/5, lengthened to 6/7, for extended wear, so, as you can see below, Camden rocks that size pretty well.  A bit big, yes, but not sloppy, per se.  If I hadn't done the elastic waist, the tops would look baggier.

You can see that this version is her Christmas edition Ayashe - because I'm uber-prepared!  One holiday outfit down, two more to go.

In the non-Christmas edition, I did one of my favorite things, which is obviously so simple (for realz - nobody can pin creativity and going-out-on-a-limb kind of stuff on me!), but which adds a nice touch.  I love using a fun ribbon for a hem facing - adds a little pop if her skirt is acting all crazy, etc.  One place for lovely ribbon, by the way, is The Ribbon Retreat.  They're always running sales, etc, so, get on their mailing list!

Naturally, as for the patterns themselves, I love them - Shelly is super great and helpful if you ever have any questions.  One major bonus is I love the pattern paper - not thin tissue!  The neat thing about the patterns is that #1 - They still come in PAPER, and #2 - I find, honestly, that the Figgy's designs are just a bit different from everything else I see out there.  I'm always anxious for the next release (and it has been a LONGLONG time, as the pattern designer was working on her other creative job, which is teaching children and adults to sew, which is super awesome!), which is just around the corner, I hope!  Pattern releases are like Christmas for me, so, I'm itching to see what's in store!