A Blur of Sketchbook Shirts and Treasure Pocket Pants

A cheerful soul!

I'd forgotten about the days of yore....the days when I had to try and photograph a crazy person.

WHEW.

Photographing Tiberius is a LOT of work, if I actually want something I can use - when it comes to blog posts and getting non-blurry details on things I've made.

So, I tried and tried again, but there's only SO MUCH I can do, folks.

I have several one-yard cuts of fabric meant for the Sketchbook shirt by Oliver and S.  I've clearly taken QUITE a while to get around to sewing Tiberius a fun outfit, other than THIS version of the same combo and then his pajamas (which, along with Camden's, I apparently never blogged about).

I managed, then, to sew up TWO shirts and one pair of pants in ONE day!!!  Well, that's a semi-lie:  I did sew part of the black shirt during a two-hour hang-out session with my mother-in-law.  We sewed at Modern Domestic for a bit on a lovely afternoon, and it was AWESOME.  Y'all know I love MD with all my heart!  THEN????  How'd I manage to do the rest of that sewing??  I had a sewing VACATION!  YES, I did!  Tiberius stayed with his grandparents for a few nights, and Camden was at at a sleepover, and I was able to sew from 11:30 in the morning until 10:30 at night.  Granted, I should have quit the day much earlier than I did, but I knew it'd be a while before I made myself sit back down and complete the job, and I wanted a whole outfit for my little guy.  Plus, it broke my back a bit to sew those buttons on that late at night, as I have a habit of sewing shirt buttons while sitting on the floor, all hunched up, aha.

Anyway.

No, f'real.  Best sewing day EVER.  I ate Vegan Snickers Pie and salad all day.  And by THAT, I mean that I ate ONE salad and had a few helpings of the pie ;)  Go make it!  It is awesome!

The shirts went together pretty fast, as it is a simple enough pattern.  I was a fool and cut the black math shirt fabric out upside down.  Fool.  Ah, well.  And I knew he'd get excited about a pirate shirt, as he is kind of into pirates right now.  I lengthened the black shirt a wee bit, and I think I went even longer on the pirate shirt, just because sewing a small hem in areas like the button placket is tricky, so, I wanted to make it more of a 5/8 inch hem.

As for the lovely Treasure Pocket Pants, from the book Sewing for Boys, I used a lovely turquoise corduroy.  It was tricky to pair the corduroy with a panel that also matched shirts/wasn't too bright/busy.  I managed to grab two small cuts of some Cotton and Steel Basics while I was at Fabric Depot, and I ended up using both of them, as the gray wasn't enough to cover all areas (I was cutting against the grain).  That worked out well, and sewing the pants WAS a last-minute decision, as I honestly hadn't thought I'd get around to starting them.  I probably started after 6 that night.  I also had a hard time finding pattern pieces and went with a size that I hoped would fit him well, if I just lengthened them a bit.  It all worked out, and they match both pants okay enough - works for me, anyway!

As usual, the pattern was easy enough.  It is always important to remember that one of the side panel pieces has to be printed off the internet, as the original piece isn't sized correctly.  And I do cut my own hem facing, as I believe the one from the book isn't sized correctly, either....or something like that.  No biggie.

Now...getting him to wear what I've made isn't as easy as it was with Camden.  First, he has some Hannah Andersson pajamas that he loves to wear all the live-long day, and he is just more particular.  I had let him pick out the fabric for the black shirt, and I knew he'd like the pirates, but he still goes nuts and doesn't necessarily want to wear those things, so, it can be a bit of a battle.  But he sure is super cute in his new clothes!

And fall days in the life of....

Always fun with friends!

With Aaron Reynolds, author of Creepy Carrots!!

With author Ben Hatke!!!  (He writes the Zita the Spacegirl books!)

With author Lucy Bellwood of Baggywrinkles fame!

Two for One - Sewing AND Knitting. A Dapper Little Guy

I'm CRAZY excited about this lovely combo!  LIKE.  You don't even KNOW.

Seriously, the cuteness explodes...and no bias here at ALL, of course.  As always, in such a situation with my little guy, I wish I could have some crazy awesome photos, but hey - it took me one MILLION shots to get the few half-normal ones I'm using in this post ;)

The saddest baby - EVER.  He wants me to pick him up, of course.

Technically speaking, four designers are included in this post - give it up!  We shall start with the sewing, though.  I DID start the sweater first, I think...???  But I finished the pants and top first, as both were ready for Christmas, which I was happy about.

The Treasure Pocket Pants come from the Sewing for Boys book by Shelly Figueroa (of Figgy's Patterns fame) and Karen LePage (of One Girl Circus), and I confess that I have always loved this pattern, from the first moment I saw and made them.  The first time I ever made them was for Camden, years ago (like she's been on this earth for SOOOO long, aha!), and I actually took a wee class WITH Shelly, and she is awesome, of COURSE.

2012....Not the FIRST pair, I believe, but the 2nd pair (and a too-small O and S Class Picnic Shirt)

The pattern always goes together quickly, and there is one piece of errata, which has to do with a pocket piece, and I just have that printed out and have traced it, no biggie!  (Here is the link to that.) One other thing I do, though, is to NOT use the pattern piece for the hem lining on the leg.  I have found that I never get the right sizing when I use the piece, so, I just measure it out - which is how the waistband is done, too, anyway.  Anyway, rock and roll - love them so much!  Though now that I remember AGAIN, I have yet to close the waistband from where I slipped in the elastic, aha!  Oops.

On the street corner, waiting for dad....like we do

For the Sketchbook Shirt by Oliver and S, I used the same robot fabric (which I'd actually purchased a couple-few years ago for Camden but hadn't yet gotten a chance to use), and on the inside, I used a green voile for the back facing.  I realize the fabric is a bit heavy for things like narrow hems, but I couldn't help myself.  Also, don't get me STARTED about that top buttonhole.  A certain sewing machine almost got thrown through a window....so, per usual, the top buttonhole looks ugly, as I had to fudge it, manual style.  (Next time, I'll remember to do that buttonhole before I finish the collar, etc.)  I'm super happy about the shirt, though, and I adore seeing it on Tiberius.  This IS his first sewn outfit, after all ;)  The pattern itself was great, and I had no issues with it and love the final product....though I DID lengthen the shirt and sleeves.

Just some cheap Joann Fabrics buttons

I purchased the yarn for the Carabe Kid (by Justyna Lorkowska of Lete's Knits - group on Ravelry and FB page) many months ago from Marigoldjen (HER Ravelry group and FB page).  I love Jenny's yarn, and she nicely dyed this combo for me, at my request.  The yarn is quite lovely, though I do realize I should have asked for a more variegated yarn (MY project page), in terms of not so much of the navy in the striped sections.  That's totally on me, but ah, well.  Such is life, and it's still cute!  This was the first time I'd knit this pattern, and it is totally well-written, of course, and I knit the size 2.  I didn't really change anything up, length-wise, which is out of the norm for me, but I thought I'd go with it.  It might be a whole few rows longer than the inch-amount called for.  It is definitely big/wide in the shoulder area, but whatevs, I suppose.  He's just a little guy!  I DO hope it fits nicely through part of the fall of this year.  A couple neat things I did - the pattern doesn't call for it, but I did the tubular bind-off on the hem and sleeves...which looks nice and which I did (well, THAT or the sewn bind-off, aha!) on my Homegrown sweater.  And the pattern DOES call for an i-cord bind-off around the collar/button band, and it does take a bit of time, I suppose, but it looks great!  I'm not sure it was stretchy enough through the collar, as it doesn't seem to be wide enough up there, but Tiberius isn't complaining.

Seriously!!!  These buttons!!!

I then decided to show off how lovely the contrast yarn is by knitting a matching hat - the Baby's First Hat, which is always a go-to pattern for me when I can't be bothered to think of something else, aha!  It was published through the Blue Sky Alpacas site, and I've knit it several times - changing the stitch count where appropriate, based on yarn weight.  I love how the colorway just swirls right up, and it fits him perfectly!  And when he's not busy trying to steal and don his sister's Cabernet hat, he'll stick this one on his head.

Working his funny face...which comes out oddly on camera ;)

And hold UP!  I naturally squeezed him into his wee socks I'd knit a few months back - just to finish off the look in an un-matchy sort of way ;)

And there you have it!  This WHOLE deal was part of the make2along run by the Jennie of the Tiny Paper Foxes podcast and Ravelry group....which, if you have NOT checked out her (and officially now Devon's, also!) podcast, you NEED to.

Lastly, some week-in-review photos:

Morning berries

Getting their water resist ON

A little guy!

Water resist results

Pacific Northwest Friends - and Two Hats!

My 4 year-old, Camden, is social, to say the least.  The girl loves her a good time, enjoys getting out with her friends, playing dress-up, lounging in a pool, all-around having some laughs and running around like a crazy person.

She has some great friends here in Bend.  We spend a bit of time with one friend in particular, Greta, because she and Camden attend Birding on Mondays and Story Time on Tuesdays - and they've been so lucky to take a couple of free classes at a local farm, which is great!  It also works out that I get on well with Greta's mom, as we have very similar lines of thinking on a few topics.

I believe this was Camden's FIRST birding trip!

A day at the farm

After said day at the farm, LOL

Another farm day

Paying soooo much attention to their birding instructor

Another local friend Camden loves is Elora!  She actually first met Elora when she was perhaps 1 and a half, as I met Elora's mom in an on-line group.  Camden loves to play dress-up with Elora, and they've been able to enjoy berry picking and go trick-or-treating.  And as with Greta's mom, I get along super well with Lisa and love to spend time with her - and she's been so nice since I've moved here to Bend!

Everyone needs a break, right???

Weeeeirdos!

Birthday party!

Dirt times!

A little river visit!

One of her sets of faraway friends includes Ben and George!  They are the boys of a mom I also met on-line way back when I was pregnant with Camden.  She and Ben are mere days apart in age, and our two families have managed to meet up a few times since her family's move from George to Seattle!

Hillside chats

LOL - cupcake time!

Smiles....of a sort!

Zoo times

Omsi!

Another faraway friend, also now in Seattle (transplanted from CA) is Stephen!  He, too, is the same age as Camden, and she has only had the chance to meet up with him once, though we hope to remedy that in a couple months!  Something I love about Camden is that she is easily able to pick up from where she left off with friends she rarely sees!

Hmmmm....LOL!!!

And hand-holding???

Camden also has friends from low places....the valley of Vancouver, LOL!  When I started working on my fitness back in the summer of 2012, I was going to the gym and taking classes, and somehow, the lovely Kim and I started chatting it up.  She has kids she was always checking into the gym daycare - twins the SAME age as Camden, yay! - so, it was clearly meant to be, as we were both stay-at-home-moms, and she is SUCH a great mom and fun to hang out with.  Camden got on well with Lizzie and Jack from the get-go.  Those two are hilarious, and the three of them together???  YIKES!  They get so loud and giggly, and they race about like nobody's business.  I was sad to discover, mere months after settling into a friendship, that we would be moving a few hours south, but we've managed to so far keep the friendship alive.  Camden, Lizzie and Jack still enjoy meeting up when we get up to Vancouver, and most recently, they made THEIR way down to Bend, which was awesome!  I sadly didn't have my camera on a couple of our outings, so, I missed photographic opportunities (and simply had fun, LOL).

Here in Bend, just a week ago!

Ahhh!  They look so YOUNG!  :O

One of their first story times together

Hot chocolate party!

They wear each other OUT

Adventure, LOL

Aww!

Other friends back in Vancouver include Piper, Bennett, Addy and Bella.  They are all older, and these four have always been great about taking care of Camden when she hangs out with them!  It always makes Camden happy when she has older kids with whom to giggle.

How'd they get up there??

Pumpkin patch time - 2012!

Oh, gosh - so long ago!

Lastly, this post DOES include some crafting ;)  Of my holiday knitting, I've so far managed to finish two hats - the Oaked pattern by Alicia Plummer (blog), which is just gorgeous!  I knew as soon as I saw this green Madelinetosh that Lizzie needed to have it (project page)!  I was behaving and pulling from yarn I'd used in my stash, and Jack's hat is an upsized version of the Otis baby hat, which includes fun cables and is knit out of Mosaic Moon's Maclir colorway on Gaia worsted.  Both hat patterns are wonderful/easy to understand.  I experienced some fiddly moments on the Oaked, but I got over it, and it worked out just fine!  I DO wish I'd gone down another needle size on the ribbing on Jack's, so, it'd fit slightly snugger, but whaddya gonna do?

All this to say... Camden has friends all over, and I'm sure I missed some in this post, but she truly enjoys the amigos in her life and values, I think, any time she is able to spend with them!

Stay tuned for the next post on family!