LTTSA: Bear Carrier Link Up

As soon as I finished this girly little carrier, I realized how sexist I am. For some reason I just assumed this one wouldn't be for Hendrix so I stuck pink flowery straps on it. But then I finished it and realized he would probably love toting around his "Doggie" in it. He's had this brown stuffed dog since he was born and he carries it around everywhere. So many times, I'll see him doing something that would be so much easier to do if he just put the damn thing down, but he refuses. It's always tucked under his arm. But for some reason I am living in the 50's and only pictured a toy like this being enjoyed by a girl. I'm pretty sure Nick toted both our babies around in carriers just as much as I did, if not more. Just call me a chauvinist.

You may notice that said Doggie is conspicuously absent from these pictures, and replaced by this lackluster bear that was apparently attacked by rainbows. This post is coming to you from our vacation to sunny Florida. (Yay!) Being the genius parents that we are, we realized about 3 hours into the 17 hour car ride down here that we had somehow left Doggie at home.

I had a bit of an inner freak out. This was obviously going to be a very long trip to make with two little kids and we really didn't need any circumstances adding to the potential hellishness. We were counting on the kids sleeping most of the trip, since we were driving thru the night. Hendrix always hugs his Doggie when he sleeps, he needs his Doggie to sleep.

I began searching on my phone to see if we would be driving by any Ikeas, since that's where thousands of these identical doggies reside in big white bins. Sure, a new doggie would not have snot-dreadlocked fur and a completely limp neck, so it probably wouldn't have satisfied anyway. And it turns out, the Atlanta Ikea is not open at 3 AM. Weird.

Anyway, it was not an issue on the car ride at all. He slept fine and never mentioned it once. Not one whimper of the doggie. The next day we had settled at Grammy's house and I was reading him a book before his nap. He abruptly interrupted with, "Hey! Where's my Doggie?" I replied softly that we had left him at home and then winced, waiting for the storm of grieving that was sure to follow. He lackadaisically replied, "Oh." I finished the book. He went to sleep. We have been here 4 days and he has not mentioned it since.

What is the moral of this story? I'm not really sure. Probably that I want him to hang on to this vestige of childhood more than he does. I'm mostly the kind of mom that wants to help my kids grow up and learn independence. I'm not at all sentimental about these kinds of things, like moving the newborn out of our room, or even the end of nursing. That part of me knows that this is the perfect opportunity to go home, hide Doggie before he remembers their lifelong love affair, and break the habit for good.

But I'm pretty sure I'd much rather see Doggie tucked under my boy's arm for a little bit longer... Or in a girly pink carrier.





Alright patient friends, time to link up your projects from Little Things to Sew. They may or may not have a sappy story attached, definitely not required. Remember, you have until one week from now, and everyone who made something will be entered to win a free digital pattern from Oliver & S. Can't wait to see your stuff!


P.S. If you are reading this on Tuesday, I'm at Disney World! Yahoo!!!

LTTSA: Just a Little Buttonholin'

January is flying by! Have you started on your projects yet? If you are doing the bear carrier like me, at least it's a fairly quick sew. And if you are like me, you tend to let finishing touches like buttons and buttonholes linger on these little projects far longer than they need to. Why? I don't know.

Since you are all such good seamsters, you probably know your way around a buttonhole. But maybe there are a few of you out there who have been avoiding them. I thought I'd show you how very easy they are, just so you know :)

I did not pre-mark my pieces as called for. I'm a bit of a hoodlum that way. But it's very ok in this case because it's the nature of the project that the button and hole don't have to be in exactly the right places, not like a shirt placket or something. Anyway, I've never really found a marking tool I was crazy about until I bought this chalk retractable pencil. Totally worth it. So the first step is to mark your line at the appropriate angle, about as long as your button.

Now find your buttonhole foot. This shouldn't be too hard- it's the one that's REALLY long. There is an adjustable bit in the back where you clamp your button in place. This will tell your machine exactly how long to make the hole to fit that button. Magic! Or simple mechanics, whichever.

So place your fabric under with the front of the line you drew under the needle. There should be little red lines on the foot or something similar so you can make sure things are centered. Then you lower the buttonhole lever, as I'm doing on the left there, and make sure it rests behind the latch on the foot. 

At this point, you should probably (definitely) make sure you have chosen the correct buttonhole stitch. You want the one with bar tacks at both ends. Consult your manual.

Now is the fun part- just gun it. The machine does the whole thing, reinforces it, and just stops when it's done. 

Repeat on the other side and you have two beautiful buttonholes. Except, you still have to give them the hole part.

Put a pin thru the top bar tack and use your seam ripper to make the hole from bottom to top. (Point sharp object away from yourself.)



Of course, every machine does things slightly differently, but most computerized ones will probably be similar to this. So read up in your manual. Mine also has a foot just for sewing on the buttons, which is fun since you know I like to avoid even the tiniest amount of handwork. But you really don't need a foot, you can also try dropping the feed dogs and setting a zig zag stitch on zero length and 3.5-ish width. (Width will vary with the button of course.)


So we still have a week to finish up, actually two weeks to join the link party at the end of the month since I always give a little grace time. And don't forget about this month's fantastic prize from Liesl Gibson. Have you thought about what digital pattern you would pick?? I would definitely go for the jumprope dress if I could win!

LTTSA: Bear Carrier Part 1- Fabric & Really Fun News!

Ok, I think I've finally recovered from the holidays and am back in the groove of my normal making. And I'm so excited to get back to our Oliver & S Little Things to Sew- Along!

This month we are working on the Bear Carrier. I figure a lot of little ones out there have new dolls and stuffed friends that might need a way to be close to their hearts. 

But of course, you can make any project from the book and link up at the end of the month. Have you tried the cozy winter hood yet? I would highly recommend that one too. Or maybe you could whip up some of those cute scarves like Tara did. Anything goes, as long as it's Little Things to Sew!

Today I cut out the pieces for my carrier. For the main part, I'm using nice gray denim I cut from a pair of my husband's old jeans. The lining, straps, and pocket are all fabrics from my stash. I gotta say, I'm LOVING the pink/ aqua/ charcoal combo. And I love that this project is a mix of old and new materials. 

The lovely mother of pearl buttons are from my vintage collection my mom gave me. I just love it when I have all the perfect elements right on hand. Next week we'll talk button holes! (Although you should know, I'm no expert. I've only done a few so I'm getting some practice too.)

Now for the exciting news about this month's sew-along prize. It's coming to you straight from Liesl G! Could there be anything better for our little group of Gibson groupies?? I decided to email her this week, and she graciously offered up a free digital download Oliver & S children's pattern to this month's winner. That means you get to choose from a few adorable out-of-print patterns. Check out all 4 that are available here. Thank you so much Liesl!

If you are new to the sew-along, we'd love to have you join this month. Read up on important info by clicking the sew-along tab at the top of the page, and be sure to leave a comment here if you plan to make something. All the fun is hearing from and helping each other- so don't be shy!