Friday, January 21, 2011

Cheaper than a ticket to NZ



Thank you for your terrific suggestions about pulling out of the January Blahs. While the trip to the New Zealand beaches for a real visit with my blogfriends Miss Smith and Mary Nanna sounded really fabulous, the airfare is a bit out of my price range at the moment.

Dear Anonymous seems to know me so well... I have my guesses about who she is. I have taken bits of her advice: particularly, spending time with other people's children, like these sweet feet.
And an impromptu lunch date with four year-old, RaRa. And some knitting with lady friends. And remembering to take my Vitamin D.
So in lieu of a trip to New Zealand or even to a big city, and considerably cheaper, I had a therapeutic shopping excursion to Alewives Fabrics this week. I went knowing that I wanted to make myself pajama pants in flannel. And that maybe I might like to begin a quilt for my boy who will turn 13 this year (December, so plenty of time), in colors of orange and blues. You will recall that his room is orange.
Imagine my thrill when I discovered a precut pack of twenty fat quarters in just the colors I had envisioned, for a Turning Twenty Quilt. That's an amazing retail experience, even more than the usual to be had at Alewives. So, I splurged for it and the border, backing, and binding fabrics and will begin working on it this winter, when I need the color therapy too.
I also discovered a bag I had to make, the Winslow Market Tote (free pattern here). And if you're wondering, the answer to the question "Do you really need another bag?" is *always* Y.E.S. It's lined with linen and is a nice hefty size for all of the stuff that usually travels with me.
And now it is really snowing like crazy outside and I have been home all day sewing intermittently with breaks for shoveling. Perfect.
Here's what I can tell you about Pajamas for Everyone in Heather Ross's Weekend Sewing. For size medium adult, you need more fabric than she says, and don't even try to use a fabric that has a directional print. This called for 2 yards and there was just no way to make that work with the direction she wanted you to lay your fabric down in. So I turned and folded my fabric another way and it worked.
pajamas for everyone with small bums

One more thing to know, and this may be TMI blogfriends, is that I do not have a very large bottom. I would call it medium flattish. But the way the PJs fit me is just a bit more snug around that area than I would like. I'll definitely still wear them, but next time I will also adjust the pattern. Maybe I just like a loose PJ. Anyway. Aren't these the happiest looking pants you've ever seen?
I don't think I ever showed you this bit of sweetness that I purchased at our school craft fair at the Mosey Handmade table. It is the perfect size to protect the little bits of technology items that we carry around these days.

4 comments:

  1. The pajamas for everyone were my secret sewing surprise Christmas present for, well, everyone in our little family. I agree with you about the bum-room, and I need to remake Ari's because they just don't fit - but the kiddos sure look cute!
    Best of all, now that I've done that project, I'm officially allowed to buy more fabric - which means I finally get to go to Alewives!

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  2. So many lovely things in this post. I will be making that market tote. Thanks for the link! So true, you can never have too many bags. :) Also, I can confirm what you say about sizing re: Heather Ross' pj pants--I've made those, and they're a little too snug back there for me, too. I will adjust that pattern a little bit next time, because I adore pj pants. In fact, I feel like doing that today!

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  3. Great looking bag, thanks for the link. You've certainly got lots of creative projects to keep you going. I lived in Eastern Europe for 3 years, so I remember what coldness and darkness do to you over winter.. the climate I live in now doesn't get that cold or dark - we just get sick of the grey and the rain - but you can get out and about no problem. I had forgotten what it was like to be confined because of the weather.

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  4. That stack of fabrics looks like my dream quilt, right there. That will be fun to sew and watch it all come together. These are all good projects to keep in my mind for when we're in the July blahs and all you Northern Hemispheries are cooking in the middle of summer.

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