romping.

i'll admit it, i don't understand the popularity of rompers on grown people. however, on small people, they're irresistibly adorable.

i've been itching to sew one for margot for awhile, and finally got around to it on sunday afternoon, while there were far more productive things i should have been doing, like laundry, which i'm currently still neglecting while writing this post...

i'll call this a semi-self-drafted pattern. for the bottom, i used the box pleat shorts pattern that i've sewn once before. i thought the gathered and cuffed legs would look super cute on a romper (and i do believe i was correct).

i removed the faux fly from the pattern and the waistband, since i didn't need either of these for the romper. i added pockets, and used some bright yellow piping to line them, for a fun pop of color that i think plays down the old-lady-ness of the floral, making it more toddler appropriate.

the floral seems old-lady-like because it was, in fact, from a thrifted old lady dress. it's a super light weight woven cotton, perfect for summer. and it only cost me one dollar! after drafting the pattern for the top from one of margot's tank tops, i was pretty excited to realize that i could use the neckline and button band from the original dress. hooray for upcycling and time saving.

any time that i may have saved sewing the top, i definitely lost in bringing the top piece and the shorts together. i drafted the pattern while margot was napping, so the trial fit was hilarious. i had about two too many inches in length on the top, so the shorts were super low riding. after much ripping, cutting and re-sewing, that issue was resolved. now she's no longer at risk of tripping over her romper shorts.

the back also took two takes. at first, the straps were too far apart, so margot kept having an off the shoulder number. i'm pretty proud that i actually went back and fixed it, because i was pretty close to just calling it good enough after all of the rework woes i had already gone through. i bit the bullet, ripped it up yet again, and while i was at it i also took an inch or two out of the elastic so that the overall fit is much better. learning.

after all of that, i'm really pleased with this one. sewing it was satisfyingly challenging, and the finished product is super cute, even if it's not the most practical thing to wear. i was pretty proud of jon the other day, successfully changing her diaper while she was wearing it. and he didn't even complain once. such a winner.

margot likes that it has pockets. she also likes that the pockets contained fruit loops during this photo shoot. sometimes, parenting = bribing.

i expect this to be in the regular rotation this summer. margot cuteness + romper cuteness = overload. gah.

go and check out lots of other summer creations at the sew and show link party over at the straight grain blog.

cardboard magnets.

and now for something that isn't related to sewing.

super awesome cardboard magnet faces! for all of your refrigerator friend needs. (i'm totally crushing on that old man face...)

these were made using laser cut corrugated cardboard scraps from a fab lab project i did (waste not). you could certainly cut cardboard circles out with scissors, like a normal person, but why do that when you have access to a laser? just look at that laser cut edge. you know you're jealous.

i drew the faces with a felt tip pen. luckily i had about a bajillion (yep, that's a number) cardboard circles, because i messed up quite a few trying to free handing it. a word of encouragement if you want to make your own--it's just cardboard, if you mess up, move on--at least that's what i kept telling myself as i repeatedly chucked rejects into the recycling.

i eventually succeeded in making eight acceptably adorable faces and added peel and stick magnet strips to the back (which ended up being peel and glue and stick magnets, as they seemed to have lost their stickiness after the five or so odd years they were in my stash. who knew...).

margot seems to like them. this is the one she pointed at when i asked her which one looked like daddy (she picked the bear).

so, you should totally make some. even if you don't have a kiddo. that penguin totally looks up to the job of holding up your grocery list.

and since this post was lacking in margot-ness, here you go. the cuteness is overwhelming.

i've also made a facebook page for this blog, so you should go like it.

who wears short shorts.

operation 'sew margot all of the shorts' is in full swing. i think i'm up to six pairs now, even though only two have been blogged about... (bad blogger). these are by far my favorite yet.

itty bitty tribal track shorts. who can resist?

i had just enough fabric left from the yard i bought for this dress to eek out a pair of shorty-shorts. i did not, however, have enough left to properly pattern match. luckily, adorable toddler bum is more distracting than terrible sewing.

once again, i used dana's fantastic kid's shorts pattern, which i'm super glad i bought. it's definitely getting a lot of use around here. for this pair, i used the pattern for the racer shorts, but instead of sewing on bias tape, i used piping.

somehow, these shorts ended up a bit smaller than the last pair. i think the piping seam allowance was a bit larger than the seam allowance called for (measuring would have helped here probably). they still fit, but they're definitely not as roomy as the last pair. for the next ones in the queue, i went up a size, so hopefully that'll fix that.

i was also super excited that i had the perfect day-glo yellow colored piping in my stash. hooray jo ann close-out sale and hooray sad hoarding habits!

these shorts will be in the regular rotation this summer. they're not exactly the easiest to coordinate, but since when does that matter?

also, if you want more inspiration, check out the sew and show link party over at the straight grain blog. many beautiful things to be seen there.

sundays are for donuts.

i've had this pin on my to do list for forever. a lazy sunday afternoon seemed the perfect time to make it happen.

i think all donuts should be pink and purple.

i am a bit sad that i failed at making the super awesome fuchsia colored glazed as in the original. next time maybe.