Bloomer Skirt Pattern Update

Here are some pics of one of the samples for the first draft of the pattern. So far it is about half written, and all the photos are done. I got some great feedback and decided to make the pattern sizing 6 months through size 8 instead of size 6. I am excited about the interest in the larger size!


Have I explained the reason behind the name? Ahnalin was born in China in the year of the Monkey. She LOVES the monkey bars at the park. She judges the worthiness of any park based on the presence or absence of monkey bars. Monkey bars are the reason for the bloomers, as she loves to hang upside down. So, she came up with the name of the
"Monkey Girl Bloomer Skirt". It fits, don't you think?


Ahnalin insisted that there must be an upside down picture so you can see how the bloomers are attached. When we take the shots for the final pattern, we will take some pictures of her hanging from her beloved monkey bars.


I am running a little slower than I had hoped on getting the first draft finished. It will have to wait until next week to get done though. This afternoon, we are taking the girls over to my parents house in Nevada for a few days. Don has a gig in Monterey at the aquarium and they are putting us up in a hotel right on Cannery Row! That means that Mommy and Daddy are getting a little get-a-way!! WOOHOO!! This is very, very rare, and, my dears, I am going to walk on the beach with my Hot Rockin' Hubby!

We will be back in town late Friday night and then on Saturday night, July 4th, the Denny Russell Band will be playing at the Rockin' Rodeo in Sacramento. And then on Sunday, we will to up to Tahoe and walk around a bit before driving to my parent's house and picking up the girls again. So it will be a lot of driving, but it will also be a few days of real time with my hubby, grown up conversations, good music, ocean air and mountain air, hopefully some sleeping in, and maybe a Starbucks coffee.

When I get back, I will finish the pattern and contact people interested in testing. I will choose 1 person per size, so I can get feedback on all sizes.

Thank you all for the encouraging comments and great ideas! I am excited!!

Preview of coming attractions

I am busy working on the first draft of the Monkey Girl Bloomer Skirt. I am hoping to have it ready to go out to testers in a few days!

The bloomer skirt pattern will be available in sizes 6 months through 6 years, and I will need testers for a variety of sizes.

If you are interested in being a tester for this skirt, please leave a comment or email me.

Pretty Little Sun Sets

I finished these little criss-cross outfits on Saturday after my parents rescued me from my sewing machine frustration. I am borrowing my mother's machine for awhile, until mine gets well and gets over her snit.

These little outfits were made for my precious niece Cherish and her two little cousins. I am dying for a picture of them all together.

The tops are reversible and have the initial on each side.



The little bloomers have the initial embroidered in the back.

This little outfit is available in size 6 months through 4 years and is $55 dollars.
I have fabric for a few more sets in these same fabrics, as well as many others in other colorways.

If you are interested in custom orders, please leave a comment or email me at sivjegoose@sbcglobal.net

The First Time, Ever We Saw Her Face.....

June 27, 2005

After trying to adopt for many years, having programs close while we were in process, or matches fall through for different reasons, this was the day we finally saw the face of our precious Ahnalin.

She was "delivered" via a man in a brown uniform and a UPS truck.



Just 6 months and 17 days before, our dossier had been logged into the national adoption center in Beijing. After all of the disappointment, we were actually in that very blessed group of adoptive families who received a 6 month referral. Those days are long gone.

She was 10 months old at the time of referral, though her photos were of her at the age of 8 months. She looked very afraid in the photos, and not at all the confident happy child we know now. I wanted to get on the next plane to grab her and hold her and try to coax a smile out of those sweet lips.


Her referral paperwork stated that she was "not fond of quiet and likes busy". That was very, very accurate. It stated that her favorite food was watermelon....also very accurate. It also said she was a sound sleeper. That was very definitely NOT accurate.

And after all those years of praying to add a child to our family, a sister for our India, we were just beginning the hardest wait of all. Having seen that face, we now had to wait and wait, another 9 weeks, until we could board that plane and fly to her country, to finally hold our baby in our arms.



We are so blessed to have our precious little one. How has it been, that 4 years have flown by?

We love you so much!

My very first projects

After all the glorious praise I heaped on my Janome just days ago, she decided to repay me by going all wacky-stitch on me! Yes. I have huge projects to finish and wanted to spend today, all day, sewing. However, she is on the blink. She is going to the sewing machine spa on Monday and will stay until she is healthy, well and in her right mind again. Thankfully, my wonderful parents are coming over the hill for Ahnalin's ballet recital tomorrow and graciously responded to my tearful plea to borrow mom's machine. Well, not really tearful, but definitely frantic!

But in our recent foray into the deep, dark cave commonly referred to as "The Storage Unit", I found a tub with my very first sewing projects and thought I would share them.

Both my mother and my grandmother sewed. My mother even took mens tailoring classes and upholstery classes. In the 70s she took classes with Ann Person of Stretch and Sew fame. She even sewed leather pants! She made all my dad's suits when I was a little girl.
I never saw the things my grandmother sewed, but she had an old Singer treadle machine in her home where I loved to sew. Sadly, when we had the estate sale, I let the machine go. It was offered to me, but I was in a state of grief and did not keep it. So we sold it. What was I thinking? I still kick myself over that one.

But between my mother and grandmother, I was sewing at a very early age. The very, very first things I sewed on where kleenex tissues. I sewed a lot of kleenex tissues! You would be surprised what you can learn sewing on them.

One Christmas when I was about 6 or 7 I requested a Barbie doll that was about 20 inches tall. I wanted her so that I could use her as a manniquin. Yes, I was already in love with manniquins and dress forms then. Have I mentioned that I currently have 5?

But back to Barbie..... She arrived in a slinky white satin and silver lame' number which has long since disapperared, along with Barbie herself. But I kept the first dress I made her. This was the very first item I sewed on real fabric. Even then, I was a bit crazy. I did not use a pattern and designed the dress myself.

I attempted darts, though they are uneven, and I successfully put in a zipper.



The dress is far from perfect, but it is still around 34 years later. I also made a matching dress for a Joan Walsh Englund doll, who is also missing.


I continued sewing doll clothes, pillows, little bags, and lots of accessories for my doll house over the years, hanging out with my mom and grandmother. My mother often made us matching dresses for Christmas and other occasions. I will have to find some of those photos at some point.

Fast forward to my Freshman year of high school. I took sewing in Home Ec and loved my teacher. Just like my first doll dresses, I chose a rather difficult project for my first garment. I figured that if I picked the most challenging pattern I could, and mastered it, then everything after than would seem easy.
This was in 1980 and "Gunne Sax" dresses were all in fashion. I wanted one of these dresses sooooooo badly! My mom took me to Payless and we dug through the 99 cent fabric table and came up with this soft grey calico fabric. Then we went to a hippie fabric store we loved called "Andreas" and poured over the laces and buttons and hauled off a bounty of frills. That may seem incongruous but I am sure they were growing "organics" out back! I miss that place though. They had great trims, buttons and fabrics for dirt cheap prices. It was heaven....in a hippie fabric store kind of way!

When I got to school, my teacher thought I was a bit over-the-top, but she helped me each step of the way. I labored over this dress, while the other girls were sewing their a-line skirts and book bags. I got an A!




The dress form is far more busty than I was when I wore this dress!
Did I mention that I used 4 different laces, plus ribbon, loop tape, piping and a ton of teeny buttons?

Check out those "leg-o-mutton" sleeves. And notice how high the bustline is in this dress. Yes......oh gravity.....sigh....

The dress is almost too tiny for the mannequin but, again, check out the zipper. What was I, crazy?

Detail at the wrist

Hem detail

As you can see, I had not yet gotten to my current level of neurosis regarding the inside of a garment. Soon after this dress, I came to the conclusion that the inside of a garment needed to look as good as the outside. But I had much to learn at this point. Still do, in fact.
I wore this dress for many, many years. This teacher ended up getting me jobs in two different sewing stores and was a great encouragement to me.

Um.....and just in case you wondered......this dress does not fit anymore! HAHA!!!!

So......I realize that not everyone is a crazy as I am. Really.

But tell me about your first sewing projects. Remember, I can sew, but I am a terrible driver and rotten at organization, so do not feel like I am judging you by my own standards.

So, share with me your first sewing projects....and if you blog about it, share the link.....pretty please.

Have a great weekend!
Sivje

Blueberry Picking

Yesterday, Ahnalin and I went blueberry picking with our friends from MOPS. The day was clear, warm and lovely. Crazy as I am, I had briefly considered making Ahnalin a special outfit just for the day, however common sense returned before I got too far in that process. Um....blueberries stain...really stain. So, Ahnalin dressed herself in last summer's clothes and away we went.

The farm was just about 15 minutes away, in Penn Valley, and reminded me of the berry fields in Oregon where I grew up.


Ahnalin is swinging on the railing while waiting for the other moms and kids to come.


The bushes were loaded with berries. Yes....we did eat a few while picking...just a few, I promise!

Ahnalin is picking here with my friend Ruth and her darling boy Joshua. Oh man is he cute!


Ahnalin had worn braids the day before and so her hair was really wavy. She refused to let me put a bow or ponytail in because she loved how wavy it was.

We picked until we got tired and I had gotten too much sun. So we decided to head home to share our bounty.

After all was said and done, we had picked just shy of 4 pounds. We ate several handfulls in the van on the way home. Once home, we got to work making blueberry muffins. Delish!

Ahnalin declared this her "most favrotist play date EVER!" and decided that next time we went there, because of course there will be a next time, we will take Daddy and India too.

About that machine.....

This month is Sewing Machine Month at Sew, Mama, Sew and I wanted to jump on the band wagon and answer the questions just like some of my favorite bloggers.

So..here goes!


What brand and model do you have?
My main machine is a Janome Memory Craft 9700, though I also have a wonderful, and much loved, though retired Bernina 910, and two sergers.

How long have you had it?
I received it two years ago for my 40th birthday from my husband, after I could not revive the Bernina yet again.

How much does that machine cost (approximately)?
I can't quite remember but I believe it was around $2000.00 However, I will add that I won the Bernina back in 1985 for winning the Oregon division of the "Make It Yourself With Wool" competition. Yes, I am bragging.

What types of things do you sew (i.e. quilting, clothing, handbags, home dec projects, etc.?
I mostly sew clothing, though sometimes home dec and bags to.

How much do you sew? How much wear and tear does the machine get?
I sew almost every day. I am pretty careful with my machines, but when you sew a lot, stuff happens. I have never dropped the Janome, but each of my other machines have been dropped, and moved several times. Not to mention that I have sewn my fingers a few times, breaking needles in the process. That can't be good for the machine......or my fingers for that matter.

Do you like/love/hate your machine? Are you ambivalent? Passionate? Does she have a name?
I love my machine! She does not have a name though she is most definitely a "she". I have not named any of my machines, which is kind of weird because I do talk to them while I am working. So I supposed I should name something that I converse with, dontcha think?
I had really wanted another Bernina, because my old 910 was so faithful. She was almost an extension of my body as we knew each other so well from so many years of sewing together. But there was no way I could justify spending $8500.00 on anything that could not drive on the freeway or save a life. My dad had researched sewing machines when my mom was looking to replace her old Elna. He found the reviews on Janome and was sold. I used my mom's Janome when I went to visit and fell in love with the ease of the buttonholes! Yep, I became unfaithful to my Bernina over a buttonhole! But then when I saw how simple the machine switches into embroidery mode, I was completely infatuated. It has been true love ever since.

What features does your machine have that work well for you?
Well, as I stated above, I love the buttonhole feature. It is so easy and works so well. And again, the embroidery function is really great. The machine has a color computer screen for it's functions, and all you have to do is switch modes on the screen. Easy Peasy!

Is there anything that drives you nuts about your machine?
Sometimes, after I have been sewing for several hours, the screen will freeze up and I have to turn it off to unlock it. It works great, and unlocks right away. But that is usually late at night when I have been sewing too long anyway, and need to go to bed. So.....I tell her (the machine) that she is being bossy, and I go to bed.

Do you have a great story to share about your machine (i.e., Found it under the Christmas tree? Dropped it on the kitchen floor? Sewed your fingernail to your zipper?, Got it from your Great Grandma?, etc.!)? We want to hear it!
Well I already told how I got my Bernina winning a sewing competition when I was 18. But another great story is when I got some very thick, triple pleated curtains with black out lining stuck in the Bernina on Christmas Eve several years ago. I had a client who wanted them that day, and since I was leaving to go out of town after the Christmas Eve services, I wanted to get paid, so I agreed. Well, since the curtains were too thick for the machine to tack the pleats, I decided to hand sew the pleats. But my needle would not go through. So, me being the uber-smart girl I am on some occasions, decided to pull the needle out with my teeth! DON"T DO THIS AT HOME!!!! Uh..yeah, the needle broke off in my mouth and I swallowed it. Not good! I ended up in the hospital where the doctors tried to track it leaving my system, so that it would not puncture something internally causing me to bleed to death. That had truly not occurred to me when I put the needle in my mouth. Really. And I had to sing at the late Christmas Eve service and then we were to leave for California afterwards. So...after several hours and way too many X-rays and ultrasounds, I checked myself out of the hospital, after having signed a gazillion forms in the presence of the hospital attorney, swearing I would not sue them if the needle punctured something. UGH! I am fine all these years later, and curtains did get to the client on time.

Would you recommend the machine to others? Why?
Yes! I would definitely recommend either of my machines to others and have many times. The janome is a well priced, sturdy machine that does way more than I need it to do. Also presser feet are very economical and so is service.

What factors do you think are important to consider when looking for a new machine?
While some things vary, I think you really need to know what you are looking for and then do your research. I wanted a good stitch and a GREAT buttonhole. I wanted to be able to open the box and be sewing right away, and I was. I did not take the lessons at the dealer and have not had any problems understanding this machine. I think it is important to read reviews on machines and make an informed decision. You do not necessarily have to go for the BIG names to get a quality machine, though it is really tempting. I also think it is good to buy locally, because it is important to have good service available to you.

Do you have a dream machine?
You know, someday if I had a bucket full of money and no place it had to go, I may go for that new Bernina. But I kind of doubt it. I am really happy with my Janome.

Always Daddy's Girl

I am a bit late posting this, but did not want Father's Day to go by without writing from my heart.

I am a very blessed woman and I am so very grateful.

In my life, I have been blessed with men who love me and have loved me, men who taught me about real love.

And today, three of those men were seated together at the dining room table. Definitely blessed.

This morning, at church, my wonderful husband sang a song he wrote about his Greek grandfather. My husband is a gifted songwriter and wordsmith and he honored his grandfather and by extension, his own parents, so much this morning. My husband is a man of honor. He loves me. He loves our daughters. He shows me he loves me everyday. He shows me that he would choose me all over again, and in that way, and many others, is a beautiful vision of God's love for me. His love is teaching our daughters that love is not something that is cheap and trifling. But love is deep and hard working and inspired, even when life is not perfect. He is teaching our daughters that they are precious and beautiful and smart and made in God's image. He is also teaching them that they are flawed and human and need to work hard for the things that matter. He is teaching them that there is more to this life, than this life.

Don is the kind of Daddy that gets down on the floor and wrestles with his girls. He will ruff-house with them, but pity the boy who does the same! No one had better touch Daddy's Girls!



Don is a great daddy!

Don, Happy Father's day. I love you.

I am also very blessed to have a loving Daddy.
My daddy has been a pastor and missionary nearly my whole life. He taught me the importance of reading and studying to be the best. He taught me to spend time with Jesus. He taught me to ski, having been a professional ski instructor for many years. He introduced me to enjoy good music at a very early age. He taught me to appreciate quality, and therefore I work hard to produce quality. He taught me that God can redeem all situations and truly is the source of all blessing and good in my life. He taught me how a woman should be treated, in that he always treats my mother well. He has great taste in clothing and is very generous with his gifts. And he taught me that if God is leading me to something, I had better listen!






Daddy, Happy Father's day. I love you.


I am blessed to have a father-in-law who loves me and blesses me. He not only raised an incredible son who became my husband, but he models wisdom and humor every day. He treats his wife, Don's mom, with honor and love every day. He is patient and always ready to teach my girls anything from math and science to astronomy and even golf. He is as fascinated with the frogs and lily pads as I am! He has sacrificed a semi-quiet retirement for a house full of noisy "us". We have amazing and interesting conversations often. He is a life long learner and models a love of learning to my girls. He does kind and considerate things, often quietly. He even made my shelves last week!



Dad, Happy Father's day. I love you.

All three of these men have shown me real love, sacrificial love, pure love, godly love.

I love you all. Thank you for blessing my life. You are a blessing to many.

Giveaway winners!

Happy Friday, and yeah, I am a day late and a dollar short.

Thank you all for your kind and encouraging words to me about my last post. I am so grateful for you all. Thank you! I am having fun organizing my little sewing nook and hope to get it done soon. I will post finished pics when there are finished pics to show, ok? In the meantime, I am enjoying looking at the bright "coloriciousness" of my fabric shelves. They are lovely, are they not?

And thank you all for entering my little giveaway!




Yeah, I know there are those randomizer things you can use for giveaways, but I am barely computer literate. So.....we did things the old fashioned way, and Ahnalin drew the names out of this lovely blue transferware bowl. And Ahnalin is pretty random anyway, right?



So, Ann Marie is the winner of the Side Winder! Yay Ann Marie!! Woohoo!!! Ann Marie is a wonderful seamstress and mama.



And Jen of Fly Away Home Clothing won the Denny Russell Band CD.
And here is a little plug for Jen! She is having a giveaway on her blog as well. In addition to this, she is having a raffle for 5 outfits as a fundraiser on her blog. We are fellow "China mamas" and Jen is waiting for her second little one from China right now.

So Ann Marie and Jen, email me your addresses and I will get your goodies in the mail to you.

Thank you all for the encouragement. It means so much to me!


Oh, and another plug for the Denny Russell Band.....
If you are anywhere near Nevada City tonight, come on over to Tailgators Sports Bar at around 9 PM until midnight to dance to the awesomeness that is the DRB!!!


Love to you all!

And if you are interested in testing the Monkey Girl Bloomer Skirt, I am getting close to that request.


Sivje

Giveaway! (and other stuff)

I will get to the give-a-way in a few minutes, but let me work through a bit here first. Hang tight because you will really like this give-a-way!! I promise!!

After ignoring our storage unit for almost 7 years, YES! 7 YEARS! Don and I spent the day going through it all, donating old furniture and clothes, looking at old pictures, reading old receipts, smiling at old greeting cards, and breaking down old boxes. Yeah, it was all OLD! Some of it was old as in vintage. Some was old as in valuable. Lots of it was old as in sentimental. But there was a whole lot of it that caused us to wonder not only why we had kept it all these years, but furthermore, why we had moved it across the country and back again, why we had paid storage fees to keep it. I mean, it is all just stuff. STUFF!

But it is our stuff.

After all these years, we felt that God was leading us to give away a lot of the things we had been holding on to. This was not just a physical thing. It was very much an emotional and spiritual exercise. I cried. You see, we so badly want to have a home of our own again. And for me, a woman, a mama, a wife, a "nester", these things represented my own "nest".

Hebrews 12:1 says this:
¹ We are surrounded by a great cloud of people whose lives tell us what faith means. So let us run the race that is before us and never give up. We should remove from our lives anything that would get in the way and the sin that so easily holds us back.
So, was I sinning by holding on to all that stuff? Maybe. Maybe not. But it was doing no good in that storage unit. Will we have our own home again someday? I sure hope so. Oh Please GOD!!! But until that time, we need to keep working toward the goal. And the goal for this time in my life is becoming clearer. And for that I am grateful. Things are not getting any easier for us, and we are still very much having to lean on our faith. But I do believe that there were things in that storage unit that I was holding onto that were holding me back from fully depending on God. They were mine and I did not want to give them up. NO WAY!

Did I give everything up? Not yet. Will I? I don't know. Am I supposed to? I don't yet know that either.

Do you want to know what it was that was so hard for me to relinquish? It was a sofa, chair and ottoman, upholstered in navy and white ticking stripe by Lee Industries in 1989. They were old, dirty, torn, and not in good shape. But these items of furniture were the first real items Don and I bought as a couple. I had been working as an interior designer in an upscale store in the Bay Area, and these pieces represented our first real home as a couple. As Don and I, and later India, moved from place to place in the ministry, these pieces represented our "nest". What I should have realized and embraced, was that as long as we were together, we were "home". But still, I loved those pieces.

So, God spoke to me one night, in my tears of wondering if we would ever come out of this struggle. He told me to relinquish those old, torn, broken pieces of furniture. That was a few months ago. It took until today for me to do it. I do not yet feel relief that I did it. Don was very supportive. We were able to move our things into a much smaller storage unit today. When we finally do move into our own place again, we will know what is in every box and tub in that unit.

And I do believe that since God is the giver of all things, and He wants to give His children good gifts, that someday I will be able to buy a new set of furniture. And it will be exactly what I am meant to have, given to me by a Heavenly Father who loves me more than anyone can love me. Because He knows me the best.And just like my old, broken furniture, He wants me to give Him all the old, broken things in my life so that He can replace those things with what is best for me, whatever that may be.


Ok..........enough of that for now!!!

So I have a few fun pics to show.

First of all, here is another of my tester versions of Olabehe's Kirstin skirt. I used the pattern as a jumping off point and added a fun element. I channel ruched the overskirt with ribbon so that it could be pulled up to create a different look.

Ahnalin loves it! Dawn (the designer) loved it too but was concerned that people would wonder how I did it. Well, I do believe that I will work up a tutorial for this, so that once she releases the pattern, you can copy the look for yourself. So, hold tight and check back for the tutorial in the near future.



In addition to this, I have been working on my sewing area. My wonderful husband and my father-in-law worked together to build me shelves for some of my fabric and patterns.

Yes, even though we live with my inlaws, I am so blessed to have my own little spot. I am by no means done with the organization of my little area, but it is getting better by the minute. However, while working in the storage unit today, I discovered even more thread, patterns, fabric and notions that had been stashed away all these years. I do not have room for it all. So I have to start paring it down too. NO!!! But I must. So, I will go through that stuff, organize what I can, and give the rest away. That will come soon.

This does not even show my serger cones!
But I do believe that I will never have to buy thread again as long as I live........or at least for a few months.

I have not even brought over the 7 boxes of patterns I found. The crazy thing is that now, between designing my own patterns, and testing for other designers, I rarely use other patterns!

Here is the work in progress.....that is my sewing area that is starting to come together.
At least I can sew here now, instead of on the kitchen table! That means my mess is at least a little more contained to the joy of those around me! Under this table, there are stacks and stacks of fabric that are hidden by the fabric curtains. There is also a pie safe filled with fabric, and that does not include the fabric in the storage unit still! YIKES!

India and Ahnalin are enjoying the box of dress-ups I found in the storage unit. India has been begging us to find them for years. Sadly, they were in the very back of the unit!

India has grown out of most of them by now, but she loved dressing up her sister this afternoon.





Now........if you got through allllllll that.......
I will tell you about my first ever GIVE-A-WAY!!!! WOOHOO!!!!
I am giving away two things here.
First, I am offering a "Side Winder" portable bobbin winder. This is such a cool thing! I have two of them, and one is unopened. So, one of you awesome, amazing and super cool people will be the lucky recipient of this neato thing!


Second, you all know that my hot, rockin' hubby is an awesome guitar player, right? Well, he is the lead guitar player for the up and coming country group, the Denny Russell Band So, I am giving away one of their cds! They have recently been getting radio play both here in the US and in France and you will hear much more of them in the future. And you can say you heard it here first!



So, leave me a comment on this post if you want to be entered. And if you want an extra chance, become a "follower" of my blog. As a mom, I am always telling my girls to be leaders, not followers, but it is ok to be a follower here, ok? If you are already a follower, tell me that and you will get two chances.

I will draw the winners on Wednesday, June 17, which also happens to be my Daddy's birthday.

Thank you for reading this far. I so appreciate you all!

Sivje

Testing out the Olabelhe Kirsten skirt

This last week I have been privileged to be a tester for a brand new pattern designer. Her name is Dawn and her freshly minted company is "Olabelhe" . The designs are beautiful, feminine and everything that a little girl loves. Like myself, Dawn is a WAHM who loves her kids and loves to sew. I have been a fan of her pretty dresses for quite some time now, so I jumped at the chance to test her very first pattern. The "Kirstin" skirt is a really fun and very easy pattern. Ahnalin chose the fabric from my stash, as well as fabric for another skirt that is still in process. I chose to make this first skirt exactly as the pattern instructed. And what I found was that this design is a fabulous blank slate. So many fun design elements can be added. I will post the next skirt soon so you can see some fun changes. Dawn really wants mamas to have fun sewing this pattern and sees sewing, as I do, as a way to express individuality.

Now I know you will want to order this pattern NOW. But you will have to wait just a bit. It will be available for purchase very soon. I will update when it hits the market.

In the meantime, here is the picture of my first test of her pattern.