Mini Makes

I just finished knitting/finishing two adult sweaters and my next big sewing project is a button up Archer shirt for myself, but before I dive into what is going to be another involved project, I wanted to bang out a few quick mini-makes for some more instant gratification.  

Band Tee for LMC.

To say that we are fans of the band Darlingside in the Cleaver household would be a massive understatement. We love this band. Ever since Mr. Cleaver and I saw them on 207 back in 2012, we've been hooked and have seen them in as many local shows as possible. Our household also probably counts for 5% of the hits on their youtube videos. And thus, through frequent exposure, they have become Little Miss Cleaver's favorite band too. If we ask her what she wants to listen to, she will almost always say "Darlingside." Unfortunately, they don't make band shirts in size 4T. Fortunately, I know my way around an exacto knife, a stencil sponge, and a sewing machine. 

The image is from the cover of their album Pilot Machines, and I thought the balloons would be perfect for a kid. So I traced the image unto a file folder and cut it into two stencils, one for the balloons/ strings and one for the body. I cut up an old shirt of mine into a Made by Rae Skinny Tee, stenciled it on, sewed it up, and there you go! A mini Fangirl tee. We're seeing the band at a show in September and I'm hoping to get them to sign it for extra cool factor.  

While I'm at it, here's a video of my current favorite Darlingside song. LMC's favorite is this one or this one. 

Playsilks

LMC and I recently dyed some playsilks with Kool-Aid and managed not to accidentally dye anything else except our fingers- success!  The silks came from dharma trading company and I used this tutorial from Knitty to pick my Kool-Aid packets. I had made a blue and green one a while back that get heavy use as ballet skirts and super-capes, so it's nice to have the full rainbow to choose from now.

Hobby Horse

Lastly, a few weeks ago, we picked up a bunch of books at Goodwill to refresh our collection, which included a pop-up version of the Nutcracker. In one panel, one of the children had a Hobby Horse. I said something along the lines of "I could make that,"  resulting in daily requests from LMC  for Mommy to make her a horse.  Fortunately, I had a free pattern already pinned on Pinterest, and all the supplies I needed in my stash. Except for a dowel, which means that LMC can sweep and play at the same time!  Of course now, Little Miss Cleaver thinks that I have the magic ability to just make anything (which kinda cool), but I can't mention that I'm considering making anything for her, because she demands I sew it now (even if the fabric is still uncut). 

What have you been making?

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Little Miss Cleaver had a Farm

LMC's 2nd birthday is fast approaching on Sunday, but since she doesn't read this blog I can give you a sneak peak of one of the presents I made for her.

Do you make stuff from Pinterest? I know a lot of people that cook from it, but not a lot that actually do projects, per say. It's definitely been the inspiration behind a few things for me, like LMC's first Halloween Costume, and this past Christmas' Advent Calendar.

This gift is really a follow-on to that advent calendar - every since she got all the farm critters in the calendar, she's been playing with them constantly and I thought it would be nice to give them a little home (and if it means less searching for a missing tiny horse or chicken for me, well, that'd be nice too.).

The barn is based on the tutorial from here.

It's a tutorial and not a pattern, so there's a certain portion of the instructions that involve winging it, particularly in respect to cutting out pieces and seam allowances and even then I made a few changes.

• Pleated the roof portions
• I cut out and sewed the batting pieces together, rather than the wrap/and tape method - if I were to do it again, I'd just interline the fabric pieces with the batting and save myself a bunch of trouble.
• I didn't sew the fold lines. They folded fine on their own, I didn't want the thread lines showing and I'm not that worried about the plastic canvas sliding.
• I did all the applique (by machine) before I sewed the pieces together, and just marked the stitching lines on everything so I didn't put a door where it'd get half cut off.
• I'd also make the button loops tighter/smaller next time.

For materials I bought some deliciously soft red brushed flannel and the white twill tape for the doors/windows specifically for the project and everything else was leftovers from other garment projects (wool, linen, twill, and corduroy).

I'll note that this is a fairly time-consuming project. It probably took me 3 naptimes to complete. Though that was mostly the applique and getting the pieces cut and arranged, the actual structural assembly went fairly quickly.

My finished product isn't quite as sharp-looking as the tutorial mostly because I was a bit loosey-goosey with the seam allowances, but I think LMC will like it all the same - I certainly enjoyed playing with it to take these photos! And come-on, it's a tiny carry-along barn with a path and pond! It's pretty stinking adorable.