Sewing during Recovery....

I had ear surgery on January 28th.  I had a benign cyst removed called a Cholesteatoma.  I had no idea that I had a growing cyst in ear...the only problem I had was hearing loss.   It was with the coaxing from my husband that the cyst was finally diagnosed.   A year ago, he insisted that I get a hearing test done.  Guess he was tired of me saying, "Pardon me??" every other sentence.  So I finally succumbed to the idea of getting a hearing aid and made the appointment at Costco to get my hearing tested.   It was the Costco dude that determined that something was wrong in my middle ear and that I needed a more thorough check up with a specialist.  

As the months went on and appointments made, I finally got to see the ENT specialist in North Vancouver, B.C. Canada.    An amazing doctor and surgeon....one of the best!!  The surgery was about 4 hours long.  He removed the invasive cyst and a did a bunch of reconstruction of my inner ear.  I am sporting a couple of titanium implants (to replace damaged bones), my ear canal is rebuilt from cartilage taken from my outer ear.   My inner ear is plugged full of organic plant matter which will be removed on March 12.  I joked that I was going to smell like a rotten brussel sprout field...thankfully that's not the case so far!!  LOL

So with recovery, comes reduced activity.  I'm not allowed to do anything strenuous -- no exercise, no running, no heavy lifting.  I am a very active person by nature...so this "laying low" is challenging!!  

But thankfully, I can sew!!  So that's what I've been doing!  I've been having a blast and the sewing bug has kicked in full gear!  

Here is a tunic top for my daughter.  I wanted something fresh and Springy!  

Pattern:  Ottobre Spring 2013

Size 146

Fabric:  Miller Miller "Mod Blooms" by Patty Young

Nex are some denim jeggings.  So sad as these are just too tight!  I should have read the pattern more closely -- fabric should be the super stretch denim, which these are not.  In hindsight I should have gone up a couple of sizes.
Pattern:  Ottobre Fall 2011
Size: 152
Fabric:  Stretch denim

Thankfully I had just enough denim to make a second pair.  I went up a couple of sizes and the fit is spot on!!  Yeah!

With these jeggings I decided to add some fancy stitching to the back pockets.  I just marked and freestyled and stitched using the triple stitch on my machine.  Love how they turned out!

Size: 152 in the waist tapered out to a 164 in the hips

Close-up of back pockets. 

The front with the faux pocket stitching. 

Here is a shot of my daughter just before going to school this morning.  

I also made a top for me!  I've been wanting to make this Jalie top for quite awhile.  After reading a bunch of pattern reviews I knew that I would have to do a broad shoulder adjustment and a bicep adjustment.   So glad I did...the fit is perfect! 

Pattern:  Jalie 2805

Size: U (8)

Broad shoulder adjustment and bicep adjustment

Fabric:  Cotton jersey knit

As always, thank you for reading! 

Until next time, Happy Sewing!!

I'm back with an update and also oodles of pajamas to share....

First, I owe you (whoever reads this blog), an apology.  I'm been completely MIA since the Summer. I have no excuses really....just busy with this thing called life.   Summer is always a busy time on the farm and especially busy at the end when I am busy canning and preserving food for the winter.  I always feel somewhat like a squirrel....gathering and storing food for my family for the months ahead.  LOL   

 Roma tomatoes. To be used for spaghetti sauce, casseroles, chili.

I usually grow surreal amounts of zucchini in my garden.  This puts the big whales to perfect use!

Zucchini relish in the pints and zucchini salsa in the quarts. I think we only have a couple salsa jars left.  We eat a lot of salsa!!

I laid out  the peaches for a day to let them ripen and then canned them with syrup.  My kids love canned peaches.

Beautiful!!

These are pears from our tree.  So good!

 

Canned with syrup.  Yummy!

The Fall also brings the corn harvest.  We make corn silage for our dairy cattle.

Of course, on the farm we always have new birth...new kittens...

New calves....

My youngest daughter doing her chores.  Look at all those baby calves!!  So cute!!

Here are bigger heifers...enjoying their dinner.

Halloween 2014!

 I made my youngest daughter her Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz Halloween costume.  

PATTERN:  Butterick 4320

FABRIC:  Cotton Gingham

SIZE:  8/10

 Christmas 2014!  

 Christmas morning....oh how I love my family!  

Finally the pajama-athon!!

First up...a nightgown for my youngest daughter.   

PATTERN:  Simplicity 5941

FABRIC:  cotton woven that I had bought white to dye.  It had the white butterflies imprinted and the dye didn't dye over them.  I used dye from Dharma Trading .  I love their fabric dyes.

SIZE:  10

I love the old, vintage feel of this nightgown.  It makes me happy and best of all my daughter, Jenelle, loves it!!  

A pretty and feminine pajama set for me!!
PATTERN:  Women's Ottobre Winter 2011
FABRIC:  Ivory cotton eyelet
SIZE:  38
I love this set!  I'm so tired of wearing tattered tank tops to bed.  I am in desperate need of pajamas. This fits the bill perfectly.

Look how pretty the bodice is!  Love the picot elastic trim peeking out of the top of the bodice and the hem line.  

 The shorts are also from the Women's 2011 issue.  I added 3" to the hem length as I felt they were a tad too short for my liking.   Again...the picot trim elastic is a nice touch.

Another set of pj shorts.  Same as above, but with more added length to the hem.  Love these.

I added grommets instead of doing buttonholes for the tie.

Yet another pair of pj shorts.  These are for my oldest daughter.  These are sewn from the same Ottobre pattern, but with no modifications.  See how short these suckers are!  Too short in my opinion.  Basically covers her butt.  Eeeeekkkk.....

 Next up a pj set for my youngest son, Matthew.
PATTERN for SHIRT:  Ottobre 2008 Raglan
SIZE:  158
PATTERN for SHORTS:  Kwik Sew for Children Book.  Modified shorts.  I eliminated the side seam so the pattern piece is just one piece instead of two pieces.   SIZE: XL
FABRIC:  Cotton interlock

I used my Babylock Coverstitch machine in reverse to get the top coverstitch look.

Had a bit of the print left over so I made Matthew a pair of underwear.  

PATTERN:  Ottobre Winter 2004 long Johns - modified.  I eliminated the back (butt) piece so the pattern is only two pieces.  I also eliminated the top casing allowance and used exposed elastic instead.  

Thanks so much for reading!  Hope you enjoyed the picture overload!  

Until next time......happy sewing!

Kid's Clothes Week - my contribution.

So I decided to challenge myself and sign up for the July 2014 Kid's Clothing Week challenge.    As if life hasn't been busy enough -- LOL.  But I love to sew and thought it would be a good excuse to avoid all the other beckoning, mundane tasks on the endless to-do list!  Mama needs a little sewing therapy time too!  

Everything I sewed up is for my youngest Jenelle.  First thing I sewed up was the Oliver + S Seashore Sundress.   It's been on my to-do list well...since forever.   I used a stretch woven that been curing in my stash.  I sewed this up in a size 10 and used  bright pink solid for the facings and the side pocket.

 Here is a close-up of the pink fabric peeking out of the side pocket.  I adore the little pocket...so cute!

The next thing I made was the Citronille Apolline blouse. This is another pattern that I had sitting and hadn't sewn up.  Man, do I regret that!  I absolutely adore this blouse  -- it is perfect in every way!  The red shorts are the Kwik Sew 3498 yoga pants cut into shorts length.   Very comfy and easy to wear.

Here is a back view -- I didn't extend buttons all down the back like the pattern showed.  I used two green snaps that I had on the back yoke. I've had this fabric sitting in my stash for over 10 years.  I had bought it for my first daughter Kristy and haven't had the strength to sew it up. But I know Kristy would want me to use it and you know, it feels good to see it sewn up.  

  

Because I was so happy with the Citronille top I made another one!  Oh my...this top is probably my favorite!  I've been hoarding this blue dainty floral for years.  It's the perfect fabric for this vintage style of blouse.

This time I decided to follow the pattern precisely and have the buttons run fully down the back.  It really makes to the blouse feel even more old fashioned.

I then sewed up a pair of shorts to go with the blouse.  I used the Oliver + S picnic shorts pattern.  Size 10. The have an elastic waist back which I used button-hole elastic.

 These sewed up flawlessly...I mean aren't these the cutest shorts ever!!  Love the style and look...and they go perfectly with the blouse.

Here is the whole outfit on my precious!  

Oh how I love this girl of mine!

So even though I wished I could have sewn up more I'm thrilled with Jenelle's new Summer pieces to add to her wardrobe!

Thanks for stopping by my little sewing corner and until next time......happy sewing!

My kindred spirit friend....Suzanne

This post is not really sewing related...though I end with a sew and show.

This post is a little more personal about me and my friend, Suzanne, who holds a very place in my heart.  

I met Suzanne about 12 years ago.  We didn't meet in person. We met on an online sewing forum.  Her user name was Blueberryfarm.  She had the words..."child of the King" under her username.  I felt an immediate connection to her....the farm part and the God part.   I would respond to her posts and she responded to mine.  We were friends from the get go and emailed privately...sharing our love for sewing with each other and chatting about our day-to-day lives too.

We would often talk about meeting in person...but the distance kept us from meeting since I was Canada and she in California.  Little did I realize that we would meet but under extreme tragedy and loss.

July 6th, 2004 my daughter was taken from this earth to forever be with the Lord.  She was killed in a farm related accident.  My whole world shattered in an instant.  The whole comprehension of loss isn't understood or even realized.  I have very vague memories of the weeks that followed.  But I do remember Suzanne.  She came.  She flew up for the funeral.  She sat with me.  She cried with me.  

In August we took our family on a road trip and drove to California and spent time with Suzanne and her sweet family.  She is such a comfort and joy to me and I am so blessed to have her in my life.  

Over the years, Suz and I fly back and forth to each others homes.  I love our visits.  I love our conversations and I love our crafting time.  

Suz and her daughter came up to my place a couple of weeks ago.  It was pure bliss to spend time together again.  

Suzanne on the left and me on the right

One of the things we did was paint a small little table with milk paint.  Suzanne is such an amazing crafter.  She recently started buying used furniture and painting them and re-selling the them.  All her pieces are amazing works of art!  So she shared her tips and expertise with me.  I'm thrilled with this little table.  It started out just a honey wood stain.  We used Miss Mustard Seed Lucketts Green.  I didn't antique it though...because it was covered in a thick clear lacquer and wouldn't antique well.

I have this little table sitting in my foyer and every time I look at it I think of my friend, Suzanne!

Another thing we did was sew our "sister" skirts.  Simple yoga waistband, A-line, self-drafted skirts.  It was so much fun sewing with Suzanne.

I made a bright orange funky print and Sewzanne a soft floral print.  Awww...this picture makes me all verklempt when I look at it!!  snifff....sniffff..

We had a wonderful visit...and can't wait to head her way next time.  Love you Suz....my kindred spirited friend.  

A big kid baby sleeper ....aka pajama onsie..

I guess I'm getting old and am totally out of the loop when it comes to current fashion trends.  I honestly had no idea that big kids were wearing big 'ol baby sleepers for pajamas.  Really??

My 12 year old daughter is in grade 7..the final grade in our elementary school.  One of the perks of being in grade 7 is going to camp.  She had asked me to sew her up a  pj onsie to take to camp. Apparently every single tween/teen on the entire planet wears big kid sleepes now....everyone, except her.  LOL

Anyhow, the camp date got pushed up and I was under strict deadline.  I had one afternoon to whip this sucker out.  Luckily Jalie came to the rescue and with all their patterns this was easy to sew and complete in a time crunch.  I even managed to line up my stripes pretty good.  Yeah!!

Pattern:  Jalie 3244   Pajama onsie
Fabric:  80/20 cotton/poly velour from my stash

                                           
                             
Our dog, Sam, has to check out the new sleeper too!

Ally had a great time at camp and her big baby sleeper worked out beautifully!  LOL  

Until next time....Happy Sewing!