The Mainah Tee

I was recently introduced to the term Wahlheimat, a German word, like so many German words, that crams a lot of meaning into a few letters. In this case,  Wahlheimat means home of choice, which is a perfect way to describe my relationship with Maine.

All told, I've now lived in the state for about seven years total, but even when I've lived here for another 50 years, I'll still be considered "From Away," the title of Mainer forever out of my reach.

Fortunately, my From Away status doesn't taint Little Miss Cleaver's true-blue Mainah credentials (though if you talk to people Down East, living in the Greater Portland Area may).

So it only seemed fitting to make her a blue Maine tee, featuring our state mammal (the moose) and our most quintessential, but unofficial state phrase - ayuh, which dialect blog names America's oddest yes. 

It's made out of more of the sun-protective jersey from Rockywoods and of the tees I've made to date, this one is by far the best sewn.

I pulled out the (rather slim) manual for the Pfaff Select 3.0 and got more into the weeds on its stretch-stitch capabilities. By using a combination of the straight stretch stitch, the "closed overlock," and a double needle, I got what is a professional-looking and sturdy final product.

I don't know how prevalent these stitches are on non-Pfaff machines, but if there's any interest, I'd be happy to pull together a tutorial.  Let me know!

Love You S'more

As much as I love sewing tiny dresses, my very active little girl needed some more items in the way of summer basics suitable for playing in the dirt and sitting on sidewalk chalk and generally being a toddler.  So I made my first of what shall certainly be many Flashback Skinny Tees. It's a great basic - I've already got a second one cut out and at least two more variations planned in my brain.

For this first go-around, I sewed it exactly to the pattern specifications (except for the short sleeves) in the 18-24 month size for my tall almost-15 month old.  For the next go around I'll to drop the front neck a bit to make it a bit easier to pull it over LMC's head, but other than that, I've no complaints. The shirt is made in a 100% cotton sun-protective fabric from Rockywoods, which feels like a very substantive interlock. It was a breeze to work with, but it's definitively a thick knit. This is a sturdy and not a breezy tee. I  imagine, that the fit will look a bit different in a regular jersey. That said, I'm hoping I have enough of this white leftover to make myself a tee from it, because fair-skinned mamas need sun-protection too.

While I'd make a plain white tee for myself, I thought LMC's needed to be a little more fun, so after surveying my collection of camp-themed Dear Charlotte stencils leftover from Ms. Maggie's baby shower, I came up with the s'more idea. I could have been a little straighter with the lettering, but all in all it turned out nicely. It's only been washed once thus far, so we'll see how it holds up over the long run, but I imagine it'll be fine for the length of time kid clothes last before they're outgrown.

A Shower for Maggie (+ Pie!)

Last week was National Pie Day, so this past Sunday my knitting group gathered for our annual Pie Day celebration, but far more importantly, we invited a few more folks over and held a baby shower for Ms. Maggie.

Maggie's expecting twins in the early spring, so we took the opportunity to shower her with pie, love, and handmade baby things!

As is now my typical baby gift, I made two sets of envelope tees from Growing Up Sew Liberated,  tag blankies from Simple Sewing for Baby and Made by Rae's Basic Newborn Pants. All versions of things that we used/use often with Little Miss Cleaver and all of which, I seem to have forgotten to photograph, except for that glimpse of green corduroy above.

We ate pie, played match the baby photo to the party guest (harder than you'd think), opened gifts, ate more pie, and stenciled bibs and onesies.

Can I talk a minute about stenciling clothes? Why have I never done this before?! So fun.

I found a perfect Handmade Charlotte Woodland stencil collection and we used Tulip Soft Fabric Paint at Michaels. I'll have to get a report back on how they hold up to washing, but having the stencils took the pressure off of a) coming up with ideas and b) having the skills to pull it off, that free-hand drawing would require. I kinda want to stencil everything now.

As per usual, the food was delicious and the versatility of pie continues to impress. There was veggie quiche, apple/cheddar/leek tart, mixed berry pie, cranberry custard, chocolate caramel, chocolate pecan caramel, as well as an array of other lovely snacks and  hors d'oeuvres.

Pie Day may be one of my favorite days of the year (especially in the midst of a cold January), but it's even more fun when you get to celebrate a dear friend. Now to wait a few months for the little guys' arrival!