text: the Burkeshires: October 2010
  one of D's schoolmates turned 3 this past week, and her favorite color is purple...
  I decided to take the opportunity to draft some of the patterns I've been working on...
  I was reasonably pleased with them, and she lit up like a candle, she was so happy with them!
  I love the rose I added to this dress (which is the Aviatrix Dress... with really big sleeves)
  and here's the Peacock dress (and a doll, with a coordinating dress)
  here's the back view of both....
  The Bean says it's a Rock in a Dress.
  I'm gonna make some prettier ones (more complex designs) for D's Beach School teachers for Xmas presents. The Bean and I gathered a few rocks from the beach school beach this morning, and I'm gonna do a red one for the Red Bird teacher, and a yellow one for the Yellow Bird teacher.
  Posted by Ramona Burke at 6:49 PM No comments:
  Eek! Time is runnin out! No time for patterns or precision, just grab some old wrapping paper and draw! One kangaroo costume for a 2year-old coming up!
  Posted by Ramona Burke at 9:29 PM No comments:
  Posted by Ramona Burke at 8:29 PM No comments:
  My kitties must have missed me, I have one on each side right now, as I sit and sew on the sofa... They're purring up a storm, it's like sitting with a massagy-vibraty blanket on top of me. Quite nice. I'm listening to the rain, watching the sun rise, and sewing up a CANDY CORN BARRETTE! Katherine, from One Inch World, was kind enough to send me extra supplies so I could make more, which I already did! Hers is the pretty one centered on the card, mine is the less-pretty one below. THANK YOU, KATHERINE!
  Posted by Ramona Burke at 7:03 AM 1 comment:
  And I managed to peek into the Stitch House Dorchester (in Dorchester, MA)... The bean insisted on this gorgeous variegated pink wool, and I didn't put up much of a fight. D wanted some knit toys, so I got patterns for him.
  Posted by Ramona Burke at 4:29 AM No comments:
  Duplicate stitching a pair of "colonial blue" pants for the bean. We're gonna try to do a little junior-Yalies photoshoot this weekend.
  Made-by-Rae's little bubble romper, and an awesome little quick sketch of the Bean drawn by my awesome grandma. Isn't it sooooo cute!
  Posted by Ramona Burke at 2:08 PM 1 comment:
  This one is defninitely a coat, not a dress!
  I was able to make the other two in about an hour or so each.
  this one took much longer, 4-5 hours. ick.
  I'm not a fan of laminated cotton, after all. Even if it is "Lindy Leaf" by Heather Bailey.
  but it came out SO well!
  I lined the hood with red Minkee scraps that I had...
  and the inside is "Picnic Bouquet," in Moss, also by Heather Bailey
  I *heart* this fabric line, and have used it for a shirt for D, a shirt for C, (which I still haven't put snaps on. even though I "gave" it to him on his birthday... MUST DO ASAP! and then will photograph!), and I have small cuts of several other fabrics in the line to make the Bean a dress... at some point...
  luckily, she LOVES wearing this coat, and insisted on wearing it all day yesterday, even though we were mostly inside, and she was sweating.
  (updated to add a picture of the lining... and a cat.)
  Posted by Ramona Burke at 8:38 PM No comments:
  Underpants are definitely a necessity right now, but they have to be teeny tiny to stay up on this teeny tiny frame.
  I bought some awesome pretty floral knits at Momen+, and tested my pattern with some scrap solids and a red ribbing scrap. The bean LOVES them, and insists on wearing them before I can take nice pictures. I'm thinking I might need to pull and all nighter tonight to finish my dress, make hostess gifts for our trip, make the Bean's birthday dress (her party is the day after we get back), make an extra surprise for the groom, and make as many of these as I can from the fabric I have. Good times.
  Posted by Ramona Burke at 12:35 PM No comments:
  One kitty on the dress I'm working on, one kitty sleeping right behind my sewing machine.
  Their kitty rules clearly state that hans aren't allowed to wake or move them when they're comfy.
  Posted by Ramona Burke at 9:13 AM No comments:
  ummmm. other than the weight of the fabric, is there a difference?
  I put lots of ease in The Bean's clothes, so that they'll fit for a long time, and so that she can run/wiggle as much as she wants....
  I drafted this pattern to make her a simple raincoat, but I don't want to cut into the really expensive laminated cotton I bought for this purpose until I know if the pattern works, so I tested it with this simple (and cheap, as it was on sale) cotton corduroy. The Bean chose the fabric, insisting that we "need dat, mama, neeeeeeed dat fowers!"
  I had JUST enough to make the coat/dress and matching hat....
  D helped me put in the snaps (the bean did NOT help, as she sat there and mixed up all the previously sorted snap parts while my attention was on the press. boo!)
  she really likes the strawberries inside the hat!
  Posted by Ramona Burke at 12:19 PM 1 comment:
  isn't it GORGEOUS!?!?!?!?
  I found it in this book, which I got at the library, while looking for girls fashion.
  I LOVE LOVE LOVE this dress! love the embroidery, love the sash, love the zipper front, love ALL of it.
  but it's vintage, and in a book, so, clearly, I can't have it.
  ...unless I MAKE it!
  of course, if I'm going to make it, I'm going to make it perfect for ME, and that means, given my 2 young children, that it can NOT be white. So I found some red stretch poplin at Joanns (thanks for the 40% off coupon, LA Times!), and grabbed a variety of vintage patterns to draft from (and enlisted My Awesome Grandmother to help fit me!), and set to work!
  I have been stitching/pattern-drafting away, all week.
  I have 1 side totally done, and the other side about 1/2 way done... and I have all the patterns made and tested, although not cut out of the real fabric yet...
  I'm having soooooo much fun with just stem stitch and satin stitch!
  I realized, however, that while I can finish the two bodice embroideries in time to wear the dress next weekend, I definitely do NOT have time to do the skirt embroidery.... at least not by hand.
  Luckily, however, (or, rather, thanks to my AWESOME husband), I have an embroidery machine and the software to design my own stuff.... so here's the design I digitized tonight for the skirt: