Tag: making do

Caitlyn, homeschooling, Seasons

Costume Evolution

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Used to be, I wouldn’t ask Caitlyn what she wanted to be for Halloween, I just put bunny ears on her. In more recent years, we’d have conversations, usually in late summer, about costume options (although I’m fairly certain she didn’t request the fairy princess costume, I just wanted to make it), settling on a tiger or a pioneer girl. Last year’s FireCat was a collaboration. This year, it was all Caitlyn. She started planning back in early September. Her dragon costume went through a lot of mental permutations before taking shape, with big black wings (from her dress up …

sewing

Practical Hexies

 

I will not fall into the hexy/English paper piecing craze. Nope. Takes too long, all that handwork. Well, except for maybe once in while. For useful things. Like hiding the split seam on my jeans. Really, these hexies (on both sides, for balance) have nothing to do with adding stealth quilting references to my clothes. (By the way, the giveaway for the latest version of the Charming Travelers is open until Wednesday, Oct. 10. Leave me a comment on this post if you want to play!) Save

sewing

Useful, but possibly Ugly

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Sometimes, when people find out I sew, they gift me with the remnants of their abandoned fabric stash, or perhaps one they have inherited. This can be a fun way to get new-to-me fabric – for free! Sometimes, I get some wonderful stuff this way, like the most of the fabric I used for the candy bags for Christmas last year. Other times, I get fabric that, shall we say, doesn’t thrill me quite as much: I’ve carried these fabrics around for more than a decade. I’m pretty sure I’ve never liked them. Especially that yellow apple print. Shudder. But …

Caitlyn, sewing

Adding inches

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It seems Caitlyn’s pants are always too short. Sometimes this condition coincides with wear and tear, and then we call the pants “grubby” and she wears them for things that involve dirt and mud (p-patch work parties, walking in the woods, puddle stomping, etc). And sometimes the pants are in perfectly serviceable shape. They are just too short. I don’t know why it’s never occurred to me before to just make the pants longer.  I’ve had this blue floral fabric in the stash for ages.  I’ve also got a red and white print that makes me think of red bandanas …