Kids

It's A Tiger Kind Of A Day

Rachel — Thu, 29 May 2008 21:16:08 GMT

Happy Tiger Day!

Hint: Face Paints are an AMAZING summer activity! Not a lot of effort on your part and the play goes on and on.....

Love, Rachel

Peter Leo Comes To Visit

Rachel — Fri, 16 May 2008 17:32:42 GMT

My sister Megan is here visiting me with her new son, Peter Leo, who is now 5 months old. We are having a blast together (notice the lack of posts?) and it's really cool to be working on our Fall Mamma Made Line together in the same room. Megan always has a plethora of amazing ideas and it's been really fun to shoot them off of each other. Here is little Peter.

It's really sweet to watch Eleanor and Peter play. They really love each other and Peter doesn't get upset when she beats him up.

Have fun with your sister today!!! We're going shopping!

Love, Rachel

Breathing A Sigh Of Relief...Or Am I?

Rachel — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 03:47:55 GMT

Whew! The Summer Line for Mamma Made is done and it's live and I am about to breathe a deep sigh of relief. But why aren't I? Things are great, the weather is beautiful here in San Diego, school is almost over and summer is ahead of us...I think I'm just tired. Too tired to even sigh. Tired and yet my mind is still buzzing with a million different things that won't let me let down and just BE! Let me be!

Do you ever go to bed completely wiped out and yet you lay there for an hour or two just thinking about stuff? Random stuff that really doesn't matter at all? Well, I feel like I'm living that thought process but throughout my days. What can I do? Hmmm. Hot tea!

Yes, this is a stolen flickr image. There are some really funny ones when you type in "hot tea." If this were me, I would have tea leaves. Yes, I'm a bit of a tea snob if you will.

Well, super cool news today! My daughter Ellie took her first steps today! Yay!

Here she is lurching around with a magnet in her mouth. That child cannot keep things out of her mouth!

After a graceful fall, here she is quite proud of herself.

I'm ready to regroup and write some new technical posts. If anyone has some suggestions on what they might like to learn in regards to sewing/construction or anything in that general department, give a shout out.

From my scattered brain to yours....

Love, Rachel

Do Babies Eat Artichokes?

Rachel — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 02:17:21 GMT

I have living proof that they do.

Somehow she figured out how to scrape her teeth along the leaf to get all the meat.

Crazy. These California kids...what can I tell you?

Love, Rachel

Sunny Sunday

Rachel — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:26:43 GMT

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny Sunday here in California. This dress is one of my favorite designs from a collaboration with the amazing artist Eleanor Grosch from PushMePullYouDesign. I found this size 18 month sample in my closet and I decided that my Eleanor could wear it. Here she is in "Bella Bird" on a sunny Sunday afternoon looking beautiful just because.

Love, Rachel

Ella Rose

Rachel — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 04:37:28 GMT

Here is my newest little model, Ella Rose. She will be featured in the upcoming Summer 2008 Line. Keep your eyes peeled! Her big sister is quite a looker too.

Photo by: Melissa Lee Photography

Love, Rachel

I Want To Sew Some Clothes For My Child!

Rachel — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 05:13:51 GMT

If you have ever had or now have this thought but don't know where to start keep reading! I will save you a LOT of grief if you choose to listen to my words of wisdom.

You have a new child and he (or she) is getting to the point where you have a couple of minutes to breathe, he actually looks like a human being now, and you want to bestow your love on him (well, maybe more to show off how cute he is) and sew a little outfit. What do you sew? What should you make? The possibilities are endless! (Oh, and did I mention that you are a beginner?)

YOU HAVE A BABY GIRL:

(Photos courtesy of Flickr)

Dress: You will be tempted to sew a dress. They are sweet and relatively simple to construct in the grand scheme of things. I know I'm going to rock the boat a bit by saying this, but don't sew a dress! They look cute and all, but if your daughter is an infant, you have to hold her all the time and the dress gets all bunchy and unsightly and then you have diaper butt....I know, it's a thing I have. If she can sit up and crawl, it's even worse. She can and will "trip" on the skirt of the dress and it frustrates her to no end. Finally, let's talk about cozy. It seems to me that babies are most comfortable in stretch-knit fabrics (the bottom dress is made in a stretch-knit). You could attempt to sew stretch-knit, but it is a bit tricky to get the feel of working with it and from keeping your neckline and armscye from being completely stretched out permanently. Your other option is a woven cotton (like the top picture) and it just seems a bit stiff to me for such a little baby. My advice is....sew the dress when your daughter can walk! It will last a bit longer and will function in a much more practical fashion.

Bubble Suit: "What about a bubble suit?" you may ask. This will not cause the baby to trip when she crawls and is much more practical. It is-- I concede that fact. But I need to let you novice seamstresses know, that an infant needs to have snap tape along the crotch for easy changing. If you choose not to put this in because it is a bit tricky to set the tape in, you will be sorry. Who wants to take a jumper on and off a baby every time you need to change them? Not me. So, the snap tape must stay. I have been sewing for over 15 years and in many professional establishments and I think that snap tape is a bit tricky. I can do it of course, but you need to be very patient in order to make it look like it's supposed to be there. Here is a custom garment that I just completed for a baby girl sized 9 months. You would be surprised to find out that a little outfit like this one is much more time consuming than a dress.

A dress you can make sleeveless, but this has the yolk, set-in sleeves, buttons down the center back, elastic casings, and of course the snap tape.

Why do you think I make Megan design all the baby wear for 2T and under??? Because I'm SMART! Sigh. So what does this mean? Where does this leave us?

YOU HAVE A BABY BOY:

(Photo by Melissa Lee Photography)

Pretty much the same applies for a little boy. Look at my nephew here. He's smiling AND he's in cozy stretch cotton. He's just a baby. If you would like to venture down the road of stretch cottons, I think you should! Once you get the feel, they come together very quickly and it helps to have a serger to zip all those seams together. Otherwise, wait until your little boy is a bit older. You can make some really cool pants that just pull up and if you like the "old man look" you can find some pretty simple patterns for button-down shirts.

"Yeah yeah Rachel, you've done a lot of talking and not giving a lot of substantial advice. What on earth should I sew?"

This is what I'm going to tell you.

1. Sew some blankets - receiving blankets, cozy blanket, or a blanket to lay on the floor for play. Basically all you need is a yard of fabric, cut it into a 36" by 36" square, then bind it with a satin blanket ribbon. Done.

2. Sew a bonnet. (Simplicity 3840)

3. Sew a hat. (Simplicity 3555)

If that isn't your thing, purchase some stretch-knit plain onesies, one-piecers, or pants and tastefully embellish them. Find some really cool fabric and cut out a design, fuse it onto the onesie (or whatever) and set your machine to zig-zag and machine applique it. You will have something unique, you put some work into it, and yet it's still cozy and functional. Really important.

What could you do with your imagination with this and this?

In conclusion (now that I may have held your attention on this blog for the last time) wait to sew for your baby just a bit. It doesn't have to be super long. In fact, it's probable that by the time you really feel like sewing anything, you've already passed the super baby stage anyway. For girls, wait for dresses until they can walk. Then sew dresses like crazy! Try the machine applique technique with some cool fabrics you may find at fabric stores like Super Buzzy or my favorite, equilter.com.

If you HAVE waited and are still waiting to get some sort of return for your time on this long post try these tried and true simple, yet sweet children's patterns:

(Simplicity 3854) Toddler dress and bloomers.

(Simplicity 3511) Young girls dress and pant options.

(Simplicity 3512) Young girls slightly more stylized dress.

(Simplicity 5581) If you can ignore the awful fabric, you can see that the shirt has clean lines and the pants are cute cargo pants.

(Simplicity 5366) This was going to be a joke at first, but I actually think that with the right fabrics you could really make a KA boy's cowboy shirt.

(Simplicity 9958) Then you can make your husband and sons matching boxer shorts. Hee hee.

Alright, I've droned on long enough. My sister is going to give me hell for this one. Good night!

Love, Rachel

Promised Projects

Rachel — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 23:37:54 GMT

Do any of you have a list of "promised projects?" I do. It drives me crazy that I think I can do it all--all the time. I can't. Well, here is one of my promised projects. Thinking about the many "promised projects" I have inspires me to write about it.

Easter was yesterday (Hope you all had a wonderful Easter!) and my parents had a really cool Easter tradition that I want to continue in my own small family. We didn't get much candy, but we would get a small chocolate bunny and a small token gift. They would hide our baskets somewhere in the house and depending on how much time they had to put into the game, we would have a scavenger hunt or play "hot, cold" to find our baskets. It was always a lot of fun to hear the shrieks of success when a basket was found in the top of a closet or the dryer. My little Galloway family has had a hectic couple of weeks, mostly being consumed with sickness. (Crazy sickness this season!) Well, my plan for Easter was to finally finish the girls doll dresses that match the historical garments that I had already sewn for them: Dress Rosemary Dress Esther. This was to be their "token gift" inside their basket along with their small chocolate bunny. And...okay, I got them a couple peeps too. I was suckered.

I believe I promised this to them in January 2008 and have yet to make good on my word. But...Easter! Great opportunity to get things moving! Well, it didn't exactly happen. This is what they got in their basket:

Okay, I DO realize that these are clothes pins with a copied head and scraps of fabric glued on them. What's worse is that this is a double promised project now. The pressure is on. Well, after a wonderful and crazy weekend of constant family partying, today has been a delightful down day and during Ellie's nap I decided to make good on my double promise.

Happy girls instantly found their matching dresses as well as a renewed love for their dolls. They didn't even mind me snapping some quick pics.

Only now when I saw Esther put on her dress did I realize that I had grabbed the wrong solid fabric for her doll's dress. No matter. I didn't mention it and she never noticed.

Okay, now it's time for your confessions. How deep have you gone in the "promised projects?"

Love, Rachel

The Easter Table

Rachel — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 04:46:15 GMT

I was busy cleaning up the kitchen and I noticed a lot of scurrying around from my eldest two daughters in and out of the living room. When I was finally "allowed" to see what was going on, I saw that my girls had decorated one of my tables and made it into an "Easter Table."

The picture taped on the front of the table is drawn by Esther. It is an Easter egg scavenger hunt.

The top pages are Rosemary's contribution. She wrote a lovely Easter poem and made three Easter eggs out of fabric, paper, and lots of tape.

Since I would never assume to explain such a project of love correctly, I'm going to turn it over to Rosemary, age 7.

Video: Easter Table

I really don't think my daughter has inherited any of my dramatic qualities at all. Hmm.............

Love, Rachel

Girls Tea Party

Rachel — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 22:20:05 GMT

Sometimes you just have to have a tea party. (Notice Esther's side of the doll table is soaked while Rosemary's is very neat and clean!) Babies invited.

Love, Rachel