Tuesday, April 9, 2013

These kids won't be wearing their birthday suits....

I ended up working 40 hours last week.  So as you can probably imagine, my head was spinning by Thursday afternoon.  I have so much to do at work and there were unfinished projects at home and making it all fit in isn't always easy.  Work/life balance is a constant push/pull, as is what needs to get done at home versus what I want to do at home.

The girls' ability to choose an outfit that doesn't look like it belongs to Punky Brewster is sometimes a function of what's clean and available in their closets and I can tell you right now that they don't have a Gymboree store in there.  Thursday afternoon, I was thinking about the jumper and skirts I was sewing and what shirts the girls had to wear that still fit and would possibly match.  Not much.  And when was I going to be able to go shopping.

I constantly complain about the distance from the train station to my office but once I'm there, it's the perfect location for shopping.  (If I actually had time to go shopping.)  I'm only one short block from Downtown Crossing.  Thursday afternoon, I slipped unseen out of work around 2:00 and five minutes later, arrived at H&M. Meh, I didn't like the sizing of the shirts (although they had a ton of cute summer clothes) so I moved across the street to The Children's Place.  The quickest way for me to see if the girls like something is to take a picture and post it to FB so that Grammy, who is not an iPhone user, can show it to them.

This shirt was a no go even though I thought it was hysterical.  Oh, how I laughed.

photo-2

Allie and Emily liked this one.

photo-3

I grabbed four pink shirts in size 5/6 and hit the register.  If I had realized that the long-sleeve ones were on sale for $2.50, I would have stocked up. They also had some super cute summer maxi dresses but the size 5/6 I picked up was about a foot too long for the girls.

Okay, now onto the sewing.  I started with Allie's jumper first.  She had picked out cupcake fabric at the store a few weeks ago but it wasn't very kid-like and after a closer look, I found it to be more Valentine's Day than birthday.  I wanted to do something bright and spring-like and she quickly agreed.  She's usually very easy to please.  She also tells me that I sew the best clothes in the whole world.

april8a

(Made from a fat quarter bundle.)

april8b

Emily's skirt was next. 

aprilc

I usually save Anna's sewing projects for last because she likes to see what sissies are wearing and then she picks/designs something different.  I had sort of grumbled when she'd insisted upon fabric with a black background but I pick my battles and this wasn't one to be had.  As we were designing her skirt and discussing what shirt to wear, she told me that she had picked this particular fabric because there were so many colors and it would be easy to match.  The world is different through the eyes of a five year old.

april8d

Emily's BFF had her birthday party on Saturday and Emily asked me to sew an Ariel skirt as part of her present.  Sure, no problemo.  What's one more skirt?

april8f

Her BFF loves it and now Emily wants one so that they can wear them to school on the same day.    

15 comments:

Ali said...

I have to side with Allie (and not because we have the same name :) ) because you DO make the best clothes in the world! Do you have any tips for someone who has never sewn (clothes) before?

Sarah said...

Thanks, Ali! If you've never sewn clothes before, start with simple projects and take it slow. You'll see improvements with each project.

Sarah said...

Your skirts are super cute, do you make your own patterns?

Ashlee said...

So cute! Can't wait to see pictures of the girls wearing them. I love that you sewed one for Emily's bff and she wants to match her!

Michelle said...

Sarah, these are fantastic. Do you use a pattern or have you just made your own by now?

mary said...

Wow, i realize you do not have extra time, but if you did someday, you should sell some of those dresses and skirts. One-of-a-kind clothes are hard to come by.

Christi said...

I agree that you sew the best clothes! I would have shied away from a black background too but I think Anna is onto something. Almost everything will go with that skirt!

Kate said...

The Ariel skirt is adorable! I wish I could figure out my sewing machine because I would love to be able to make skirts like this!!

Sarah said...

Thanks, everyone! I have my own pattern now. I change it up but for these skirts, I used a basic pattern. Here's a link to how to make your own pattern - http://thegreatumbrellaheist.blogspot.com/2013/01/how-to-create-your-own-twirl-skirt.html
The jumper is a simply sweet dress that I converted to a knot style.

I would love to have a shop but I so don't have time now. I keep it in mind for the future though - you never know.

Bree at Clarity Defined said...

Gorgeous (as always)! I can't wait to see the girls modeling their birthday outfits. You are SO talented.

Melissa said...

They turned out adorable!

Anonymous said...

This is random but why did you buy 4 princess shirts when you have 3 birthday girls?

Sarah said...

Anon - 4 pink, not princess. Anna wanted a plain pink one, plus they need bigger size shirts.

Wendy said...

Happy birthday Anna, Allie and Emmy!!

Mindy said...

Goodness, Emily's BFF's mom must feel rather underaccomplished with you around! Have triplets, work full time, and sew handmade clothes for your kids AND other people's? Did you encounter some kind of radioactive, super-power-inducing substance sometime in the last six years? I have no kids yet and I find just dressing myself to be a challenge sometimes. ;)