basics

In my last post, I captured a highlight of last week: rollerskates! Good ol' 4-wheelers! (I learned they are referred to as "quads" in the sporting goods world.) Oh boy, are we having fun with these!So, what I wanted to tell you more about was Hana's new sweater. I purchased the yarn online at The Knitting Garden. Buying yarn from Elizabeth is always a pleasure, and the yarn is the softest that I've ever knit (that's saying a lot!). The style is simple; sometimes with all that is going on with her other clothes "stylistically" (ahem), a simple something on top is nice (necessary!) She has worn it everyday that's been cool since it's been finished! She reports that it is soft enough to wear with short sleeves; she's happy that the cuffs don't need turning; the buttons are easy; "I love my new sweater, Mama!" And for that sweet comment, she's probably going to get a variation of the cover sweater come autumn...

I'll tell you about the skirt too. It's a Lazy Day Skirt from wonderful Oliver+S. This pattern is a freebie from the blog (over in the sidebar). I've made this skirt a bunch of times, always with easy success. I've taught to friends with happy results every time. The main fabric I used this time is from CottonBlue at Etsy. CottonBlue is full of beautiful Japanese fabric & zakka (= useful goodies). Each of the little matroyshka dolls is a bit different from the other; one holding flowers, one with a bird, one with a flower in her hair, one with a bundle of hearts. I really like prints with a bit of a story to tell, sometimes if the mood is right Hana will spin a little tale from what she sees in a special piece of cloth. The pattern teaches a clever hem technique which calls for ribbon. If I don't have a ribbon that I like with the fabric, I fall back on this huge roll of chambray double-fold tape I made thinking that I was making double-fold bias tape (much grumbling upon that discovery). The tape has turned out to be very useful, so it wasn't a complete loss. For Hana, I can still get a below-the-knee length skirt from a half-yard of fabric and a half-hour of sewing time! Truely a happy bargain.

Have you heard about Kids Clothes Week Challenge? Meg of Elsie Marley is sponsoring a challenge/sew-along for the second week in May. The challenge is to commit at least one hour each day to sewing some kids clothes! Awesome, right? I want to play!!! Wanna'?!