Making in May Roundup

My calendar tells me that somehow May is over and June has begun. When I was a kid, my parents used to talk about how the time just went by so fast; I thought they were crazy, because as a kid it just seemed to drag. Guess they weren’t so crazy after all–or at least not about that. 😜

My goal was to sew up at least 4 new shirts. I failed, but here is what I did manage to accomplish.

• Made up burp rags and bibs for my future niece (she’s still “cooking”, thank goodness, although my sister says she is welcome to come anytime–a feeling every pregnant woman can relate to!) I wish I had gotten pictures of the finished versions, but I forgot. I did get pics of the fabrics I used though, so hopefully that’s an acceptable substitute!
  

  I didn’t use the crescent moon fabric, just the others.

• A “test” version of Lekala 4562, which has been worn basically as soon as it has come out of the wash every time. The question isn’t “if” I’ll be making another, it’s “how soon?”
• Another kind of tester version of Lekala 4420, which I don’t like near as much as the first version, and much less than the blue muumuu. I took out the neck pleats and turned them into a bust dart, but I’m not sure it worked quite right. And I really wish I would have narrowed up the shoulders, because it’s got a weird dropped sleeve sleeveless vibe going on. Totally my fault though, because I was planning to put the sleeves from 4562 on it until the absolute last second. However, the pocket I put on it is perfect, and will be replacing the useless flap on the next version of 4562, because pockets are cuter and can be useful for small “treasures” Scotch picks up on our walks.
  

  It’s also slightly tighter than I’d like, not constrictive, just not quite as loose and flowy as it should be.

• I managed to get 7(!) pairs of undies stitched up only to stall out when it came time to apply the elastic because I didn’t have enough matching elastics for the job. I’m hoping to finish them soon. It will be nice to not have hol(e)y underwear again, LOL!

In related news, I’ve got a pretty good sized order of stretchy denim and navy twill winging it’s way to me for making up some Jalie Elenore’s and some Burda shorts. I thought at first I’d maybe just try to find some shorts at a thrift store, but all the cute ones I found weren’t in my size and I got tired of digging. Kudos for those of you who have the patience to thrift shop–if the sizes aren’t grouped together, I wear out quickly.

Non-clothes Sewing

Today I dusted off my cutting table, cleared the cobwebs off my sewing machine, and checked my rotary cutter for rust. I made a small but (in my world at least) necessary item. A car trash bag. And it’s rather cute if I don’t say so myself. 😉 Originally there was supposed to be two of them, but it turns out I only had purchased enough fabric for 1.5 trash bags. This sort of thing happens to me a lot, not sure why…. 😳

So anyway, since it’s not worth another trip to Big J’s and another $15, I’ll just stick with one, thankyouverymuch. 😉 But, I think I read somewhere that if there’s no pictures it didn’t happen, so here’s the pictures!!

Isn’t that fabric cool?

So that you can see my one modification

Already in the car!

So I used this pattern here, which I thought was well-written and easy. I only made one modification, and that was to use a single strap with two black snaps instead of using two long ties and tying them into a bow. I figured I’m probably not coordinated enough to get all that tucked away neatly (at least not more than once or twice), and this way I never have to move the strap, I just unsnap the bag to dump it. Plus, you know, any excuse to smack something with a hammer. 😉

Now the trick will be making sure that everyone uses it, especially the youngster!!