Going to make a new dress

I want to make the new Gertie dress with the hood. 

Sequin Fun

Halloween 2018- Voltron and a Fox

Max was very into Voltron when he was 2-3, which is funny because now he thinks it's too scary and won't watch it! 

Andrew took the lead on this one and constructed his costume from cardboard and tape. Here is a fitting.

Andrew spent at least a week cutting and building it, and then I helped paint it. I enjoy painting, so that was fun. We got really detailed with the black sharpies. 

It happened to be beautiful weather that year in Chicago so we had a very nice time trick or treating and Max looked cute in his costume. After awhile we took off his arm and leg shields, as they were making it hard for him to go up and down the steps to every door. Whoops, that was an unseen design flaw!

Claire wore Max's old fox costume which I had stored in the basement. I just went to link to the post, only to find I never posted it! I actually didn't have to alter it at all, and I left the feet on because they fit into her shoes. That actually worked well so it wouldn't ride up her legs in the stroller and make her cold. 

Only a year and a half ago, but they look so small ❤️

-Molly

Vintage Toy Box Refinish

I bought this toy box at an estate sale in 2014 when pregnant with Max. https://mollysews.blogspot.com/2014/10/estate-sale-loot-sewing-and-baby.html?m=1

It then sat on the back porch/in that basement for years waiting to be repainted. 

Claire turned two in September and now I have energy again and am feeling like a real person, or as much as you can when working with two little kids. 😂

I seem to only get stuff done during school breaks, and following that pattern this was painter over Thanksgiving break. 

As you can see, they were a bit rusty in places and scuffed up. I had some leftover glossy trim paint from when we painted the condo, so I used that. Two coats later and it looks great!

Now it holds dress-up clothes and looks a million times better! 

Only took me five years to get that off of my to-do list! 😂

A Parrot and his Egg- Halloween 2017

I was on maternity leave for Halloween and Claire is the easiest baby ever, so I was able to sew for a week straight and make Max an AMAZING bird costume! I asked him at least twenty times and he consistently said he wanted to be a bird- which is super impressive for a 2.5 yr old. Then, after I finished the costume and the day before Halloween, he said he wanted to be a dragon. LOL.

Claire was an egg. Makes them theme costumes and super easy!

 My inspiration from Pinterest or somewhere.

 In process:

 I layered the felt in rows like this and then sewed on continuous seam. This made it so the feathers moved as he walked.

 Practice run for a neighborhood trickortreat at shops event.

 I ordered yellow tights from Amazon, only to later realize that they were coming from China to get here just before Thanksgiving. Hahaha. Luckily, his friend Dia lent us her leggings and saved the day!

 If I were to make it again, I would either source red elastic online or cover the straps so that they don't contrast so much. However, every person we passed while Trick or Treating LOVED his costume and Max was so happy!

 I also bought him matching red gloves, since this is Chicago and it will be chilly or freezing. One year was an ice storm.

 My love!

I wonder what he will want to be next Halloween?!?

Christmas Sewing 2017

Well, I am on summer break and have a tiny bit o time to blog. I can't believe I haven't even written anything for 2018. Wow. It's almost like having two little kids and working full-time takes up most of my energy and time. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

I have sewn stuff though! 

For Xmas, I made Max and Claire matching stocking to match the ones I made for Andrew, T-Rex and myself a few years ago. I had managed to find another piece of that vintage fabric on Etsy, which was amazingly lucky.

 My previos ones are tacky, with gold trim and two rows of pompoms, so I made Max and Claire's much simpler.

 Max had fun eating the candy out of all the stockings.

I also made these little hats with leftover fabric. I had also made Claire two Xmas themed knock-off Zipadee Zip sleep suit for Cliare, but apparently didn't take a single picture of her in it in the .005 seconds before she outgrew it!

 I tried to take some cute pictures, but Claire was still too floppy and they all were terrible!

My best make of the year: Baby Claire!!

Max and I had a fun summer together doing toddler yoga, taking a music class and swimming at the pool almost every day. It was our special time before he became a big brother!

Baby Claire was born in September and she is such a sweet, easy baby! We all love her so much and Max is being an excellent big brother giving her so many hugs and kisses, bringing her toys and helpfully yelling "baby's crying".

I had gestational diabetes this pregnancy, which I cheerfully do not recommend! I was able to have a VBAC and avoid a c-section, which made life and recovery so much easier.

They are almost exactly 2.5 years apart

I have one more week before I go back to work, so I might write a flurry of posts. I really want to sew more again, I miss my beloved hobby. I need to carve out the time to make it happen!