Buzzmills

Sewing for Easter with Blue and Bunnies...

Last year, preceding Easter, our family was preparing to move from Maryland to New Jersey.  I had purchased fabrics and made plans for Easter wear.  But then, I had to pack all of my fabric away, and there was no time.  We were all a little bit disappointed, but life was bigger at that moment then worrying about making clothes. 

This past Christmas I scrambled to finish Christmas Eve outfits for the kids and was reminded of the fact that I had't had time to make Easter clothes...And, again...this year for Easter I found myself scrambling! 

It seems, that as the kids get older, and they have more activities, and we as a family, have more needs that take us outdoors, I am often finding it harder to find time to make during the holidays.  

But, seeing these blue bunnies (from Soft Cactus, you can find them in a different color way here) in my fabric closet (you can see them right smack dab in the middle there!) over and over again, I couldn't bear to let it languish through one more Easter!

I've not sewn a button down shirt since I sewed Henry and I matching shirts four years ago, it's been a while.  I've seen so many fantastic shirts being made with the new Oliver + S  buttoned up button down shirt pattern that I was excited to give it a try!  

I love, love, love the way it turned out! 

I've not quite gotten the hang of sleeve plackets fully yet and I still dread button holes (I seem to always make them too small!).  But this shirt! 

It's really just perfect (as far I'm concerned anyway!)

It paired perfectly with his new twill pants (head on over to Imagine Gnats to see all of the details on those!) for Easter...

I mean who couldn't love a well put together, smart looking boy in blue...let alone one in blue bunnies!

As it turns out...blue bunnies paired with jeans are also perfection.  

They also turn from sweet...to rockin' cool!

Especially when he figures out how to flip his long hair! (Growing it so it looks like Harry Potter's, of course!)

Bonus points too...that he really really loves it!  Which is great!  Because, while the shirt wasn't hard to make necessarily, it was time consuming.  So, a leap for joy over it...

That's the best compliment!

So, while I might've had a different plan for Violet's Easter dress (it's coming later...) and I might've been holed up in my sewing room for entire week before Easter...I managed to pull of some sweet Easter ensembles!  A twill skirt paired with a Nina blouse.  And a button down shirt with blue twill trousers. 

Perfectly Springy and Eastery!

So yay, I didn't fail on the Easter finery this year!  And my Metamorphic dress, also in blue, made for a nice Eastery dress for myself.

Oh, and don't forget to head on over to Imagine Gnats for more pictures and details on these lovely twill pieces!

Have a great day!

 

An Olympic Sized 10th Birthday...

Over the weekend we had our first party in our new house!  

An Olympic themed 10th birthday!

Every year, the kids get to pick their birthday themes...and this year, with all of the Winter Olympics excitement in our house, it seemed only natural to have an Olympic themed party!

Seeing that this was the big 1-0, I really wanted Violet to have a hand in all of the planning and such...We planned the food, the favors, the games and crafts together.  And, she helped to make some of the goodie bag items and treats as well.  It was fun to have her help and I think it made the party all the more special to her!

She and I made Olympic themed bracelets and tucked those into the goodie bags...

Along with some candies, hockey stick pencils, and flags...

The decorations were mostly international flags, along with a few balloons and white tigers...

For the food we kept it pretty simple with Korean chicken barbecue (a nod to the host country), Olympic colored fruits, and chips and veggie "torches"...

Violet and I made sugar cookies and with royal icing, and then drew one Olympic rings with edible markers for a treat...

And for the birthday cake...a marble cake decorated to look like the Pyeongchang Olympic mascot, Soohorang...

I'm not a master cake maker by any means!  But he turned out kind of cute, and really all that mattered was that Violet liked him which she did!

We played games, like "snow boarding"

Olympic ring toss,

"Speed Skating"

and archery...

We crafted our own Olympic torches...

And, at the end...there was a medal ceremony...

in which everyone was awarded their very own Olympic medal.  Violet and I made the medals using polymer clay, and paint...we were pretty thrilled with the way they turned out!

And while everyone else got "Happy Birthday" crowns to wear...the birthday girl donned a handmade crown of laurels for the occasion...

I think the birthday girl was pretty happy about how everything turned out!  I know that everyone had a great time with lots of laughs and giggles (including mom and dad!) and it was so fun getting to know some new friends and know that this transition that we've made is moving along pretty well! 

Secret Valentine Exchange 2018...and a Simple Double Potholder tutorial...

Being a part of last year's Secret Valentine's Exchange was so much fun that I couldn't wait to sign up for Sanae and Ute's annual Secret Valentine's Exchange again this year!

This year my gift was headed all the way to Marion in Germany!  The hints I was given were that she likes red and blue and flowers...and through her Instagram feed I surmised that she also likes to bake bread!

For her gifts...

I made, first, a rainbow clutch (without the paper piecing) from Anna Graham's book "Handmade Style"

Surprisingly I don't actually have that many blues and reds in my stash...

but I found a few that complimented (I think) each other pretty well...

Second, a linen bread bag...

I used some beautiful linen grid from Purl Soho to make a simple drawstring bag

Which I thought might be perfect for tucking her beautiful loaves of fresh baked bread!

Lastly, a handmade linen and cotton double mitted potholder...

Perfect for wrapping around large pots...

or for grabbing breads out of the oven or really whatever you need...

I think she liked the gifts!  Oh, and inside I tucked a little bag of Hershey kisses!

I, in fact was quite pleased with the way the potholder turned out and hope to make myself one sometime soon.  And, in case you might want to make one yourself (or perhaps so that I don't forget how I made it myself, ha ha ha!) I've put together a super quick and simple tutorial...

Make: a Double Mitted Potholder

Supplies: Pattern (download piece 1 and piece 2) , terry cloth, insulated batting, piping, coordinating fabrics for pocket and holder, typical sewing supplies/notions.

Begin:

First...

Next...

Once you've got both the main part of your potholder basted together and the piping sewn onto your pocket, you now need to baste both pockets onto the main part of the potholder...

Lastly, add a piece of twill tape or ribbon with along the center of one of the long sides, and sew bias tape along the entire outer edge of the potholder...

(Looking for help and suggestions with adding bias tape?  This is a great resource!)

It's really such a super simple, but also super useful little project!  

What a treat it was to be a part of a handmade gift exchange!  I've really enjoyed it these past two years and look forward to participating again next year for sure!

Ps.  If you haven't seen what I received...head on over to Instagram to check it out!  It's amazing!

2017, A Year in Review...

Every year I think...eh, maybe I won't put together a year in review post...and then...I do.

The cons...it takes a long time to go through an entire year of making.  It takes a long time to sort through the blog posts and photos.  It takes a long time to put it all together.

The pros...it's all laid out there before you in one neat little package of a blog post.  You are reminded of all the things you actually did create over the course of 365 days.  And, while throughout the year you drew inspiration from so many others, your year in review inspires YOU!  

But, more than all of that...it's a year in review...a review of my makes from the past year, yes, but also of moments in time.  So much of what I make, whether it be sewn or otherwise, becomes a memory.  Makes are memories, makes are birthdays, holidays, vacations, special moments...Handmade is so much a part of our family life that these "year in review" posts remind me of all of that!

And, that, that, I think, is why I make the time each year to walk down memory lane...

January

DIY neck gaiters, nutcracker pajamas and dolls, dopp kit, winter woolies/long johns, King and Queen, faux fur vest and plaid skirt, cat hat DIY, sock monkey, tiny pocket tee and susanne cardi, clear plastic drawstring bag tutorital, birthday doll, poolside tote and teacher gifts

February

birthday nightgown, rowan tee and wild and free loungers, phinney ridge cardi, esme top, laure dress and fishtail kimono, marlene and miss marlene tops.

March

Corduroy dog, french terry hudsons, Secret Valentine Exchange, Toaster Sweater, Elsa tote, Zadie dress, Farrow Dress, kitty pillow, Valentine hearts pins and holiday shirts

April

Coffee and Thread blog tour, polymer clay bud vases, polymer clay egg cups, bunny pillows

and then...speaking of walking down memory lane...

the blog got left behind...It's funny how I didn't really think of it much from April through September.  There were a few (thousand) other things on my mind and more important...

We moved from Maryland to New Jersey, as with any move it was a crazy, emotional, whirlwind time.  And my fabric and sewing machines were tucked away in boxes for months...

And then in September I jumped right back in!

September

Klein dress, Bess top, Sway dress, Feliz Dress, Anniversary ties, Panda Rowan tee and Noa pants

October

Chambray Geranium, baby gifts, Apple Rushbrook dress, Halloween pajamas, Batty raglans

November

Plaid skirt, witch, cat treat bucket, cat costume, family halloween costumes

December

Urban Jungle doll, Yasmeen Maxi, Advent Calendar

And then, ALL those things that never did (and never will...) make it to the blog...

Because, let's face it Instagram is amazing and fun...and loads easier than blogging all of the time!  Ha, ha, ha!  Anywho...if you missed any of those fun creative things above, be sure to find me on Instagram, because, you know there's a whole other world of creativity over there!

And...one more thing...this year Rachael, Imagine Gnats, asked me to be a part of the already amazing team of contributors at the Imagine Gnats blog, which I could not be happier about!  It's an amazing group of talented woman and she's got such a beautiful shop...what could be better?

While many are looking ahead and putting together their #makenine collages or other "sewing in 2018" plans...here I am, taking a look back.

I've not really ever been one to make plans ahead of time.  Not in life, not in sewing.  I'm a procrastinator and a "let's see how things go" kind of gal (and I'm TOTALLY NOT at the same time!)

So, instead, I'll look back and move forward at the same time.  See what projects inspire me, see what memories there are to be made...and enjoy looking back on those that have already been made!

Happy 2018!

 

Christmasy Pajamas and Tiny Reindeer...

For years now I've been sewing the kids a pair of Christmasy pajamas to gift them on Christmas morning (1, 2, 3, 4).  It's become a tradition, in fact, for most holidays and birthdays it's tradition.  Our family thrives on tradition...so I just keep doing it!

This year, there was an added bonus...tiny reindeer too!

 

The pjs...

I found a Joann fabrics (sadly, not nearby, I got spoiled by having one ten minutes away at our old house!) a couple of months back, because sometimes you just need a Joann to stock up on things like elastic, thread and needles, right?!  And, while I tried to have my fabric blinders on, sometimes it's just hard!

Actually, I walked past this Christmas lights fabric a couple of times, and then I finally picked it up.  It's so soft and cozy and has a really nice stretch...perfect for Christmas pjs!  I couldn't resist!

I used a go to Flashback Skinny tee and wild and free joggers combo for Henry's pajamas...and for Violet, a new favorite, the Waterfall raglan! 

I didn't have enough of the lights for the entirety of either of the pajamas, so I pulled some red and green from my stash and made them hodgepodgey, they sort of remind me of Hanna Andersson style pajamas.

The kids love them!  I always wonder, "Do I really need to squeeze in the time to make them pajamas?"  And, always, always...they love them and dole out great big giant hugs and thank yous! 

So, I suppose the answer is, "YES!"

And then, to top off the handmade mama goodness with tiny reindeer?!  

Let's just say mama mades were a hit this year!

These tiny reindeer, oh they were planned for weeks before Christmas, but only started and completed days before...as Christmas making often goes!  You might've seen this post where I just barely got their finishing touches done before the big day! 

The pattern is from Wee Wonderfuls and is from her "Make a-long Animals" pattern set.  I love Hillary's dolls and her patterns.  I've made several from her Wee Wonderfuls book, a Dinosaur, a Kitty, a boy doll, a girl doll, an inside out doll, and Annie!  

When I saw her posting about her woodland animals on Instagram I knew I had to make the kids deer for Christmas!

I mean how cute are they?!  Though, they could be cuter.  If they had their sweet embroidered faces and tiny clothes...But, alas, my time crunch allowed only for wool felt faces and tiny scarves.  But, I did make the reindeer antler addition (the pattern is for no antler deer) which I think is pretty special and makes them super duper cute!

The deer are made with felted wool from Purl Soho (I've always got some of this in my stash from my handmade stuffed animals from years back...) and they are so soft and squishy and adorable!  I promised the kids that I would make them some clothes, but neither seem to mind that they've only got scarves.  I do love the way they turned out, though, I wish that I hadn't left them to last minute, because I know that they could've been much cuter.

I really enjoy the mixture of handmade among the rest of the gifts on Christmas morning.  Often times it stresses me a bit to get them done in time, but it is always heartwarming to see how well they are received!