busting out the ol' cheer uniform

the bean's cheer team began a mini-season a few months ago, taking all of the proper precautions and limiting the team sizes to the "small" category.  practices are held at their old gym, where they are temperature-checked prior to entry and masks required the entire time.  it's been a nice return to some sort of normalcy while getting some good physical activity for her on a regular basis plus getting to see friends again.

cheer competitions have adapted for this pandemic as well, with their first five or six competitions held virtually.  each team would record their routine and submit them, and then awards ceremonies were done several days later online.  and for their first competition recording, families were invited to watch and cheer their athletes on - while also being temperature-checked, masked and social distanced.

along with the silver sequinned chucks i wear to every competition, i had my friend becca make me some new good-luck charms:

they're using the same uniforms as last year, but changed up their hair and makeup styles to keep things interesting.  i was asked to help with sewing up sparkly scrunchies for everyone, using fabric that they pre-cut and applied lots of rhinestones for the bling factor.  after a couple of trial runs, we finally got the sizing down.

i had like 75 of these things to sew up so i got to spend lots of quality time with the ol' sewing machine, plus all the turning tools and fabric glue.

teddy seemed really interested in what i was working on.  i had to keep a close eye on him to make sure he didn't try to grab some and turn them into chew toys.

a couple of weeks later, they hit me up again to make more scrunchies in a different color.  

i gotta say...if i don't sew up another scrunchie for a long time i won't be too broken up about it.  heh.  but they do look pretty awesome in the bean's hair, yes?

masktravaganza

it's kinda been all masks, all the time over here.  after that initial batch that i made for the tieks donation, i heard from a couple of friends who were in need of masks for themselves or loved ones working in local hospitals.  and so after taking a day off of mask making, i pulled out my fabric and bias tape and busted out 25 more.

it was really cool to see this picture that one of them sent to show me the masks in action:

a couple of days after that, i realized that while i'd been sewing up a storm, we didn't have any for ourselves (aside from the one i made for the hub using an old shirt from the cigar lounge).  i decided to test out a different style pattern and used another one of his shirts for my trial run:

he tried it on and confirmed that it was, indeed, more comfortable and better fitting.  plus since these weren't to be used in a medical setting i realized that i could use up some of my cotton blend knit fabric, and make stretchy straps for the ties.  here's the first batch:

those went home to two more friends who work in hospitals, but for their personal, off-duty use.  since we're required to wear them anytime we head out to grocery stores and other essential outings, they'd hit me up and i was more than happy to help out.  the bean said hers was pretty comfortable:

of course, that led to a few other requests from a couple of other friends, and i figured that as long as i had material i could use, i'd bust out more.  and this time, i figured out the best way to get them all done assembly line-style.  using my serger instead of the sewing machine made the process go a lot faster, plus i didn't have to stop to cut threads in between pieces.  pretty soon i had a long chain that almost looked like a banner to use as decoration:

and cutting them apart was quick and easy.

i'd found a treasure trove of foldover elastic in the garage.  while it's wider than the 1/4" inch stuff i'd used before, it's really soft and comfortable, and i knew these masks weren't going to be worn for extended periods of time anyway.  and so i sat down to assemble them all and in no time i was done:

one other friend who's a nurse had asked me if she could send me one of her old scrub tops to cut up and make a couple of masks for her.  i said yes, of course, and pretty soon i had it laid out on the table to take apart.

of course, this ended up being my most favorite out of all the masks i've made...so far.

am i done?  i don't know.  i guess we'll see.

everybody wins

last week, i was scrolling through instagram when something caught my eye:

we all know how much i love my tieks ballet flats.  and this post led to a page on their website that basically put out a call to anyone willing to sew up fabric face masks to be donated to hospitals that are accepting them.  for every 25 masks, they'd send a $50 gift card and for 50, $100.

i thought this was a great idea, but i also remembered packing up all of my cotton woven/quilting fabrics and putting them in the donation pile when we were boxing up all of our stuff before the remodel.  and so i just kept on scrolling and forgot about it.

until my co-leader buddy texted me to see if i'd seen the post.  she had already been working on making masks to donate, and she ended up lighting a fire under my ass to head into the garage to see if there was anything at all i could scrounge up.  after all, i hadn't really done any sewing in weeks and i did miss it...plus, i had nothing but time while on lockdown anyway.

after just a few minutes of digging around, i was super stoked to find that there were still a few pieces of suitable fabric that hadn't made the donation pile.  my elastic supply was pretty low and i already knew that because of the surge in mask making there was a shortage of it, but i figured i could still eke out at least 50 masks from what i'd found.

and not just any masks, but with the fun prints i'd found i hoped i'd bring a smile to the recipients' faces.

i busted out my quilting square and got to work on precutting all of the fabric out - two layers of woven fabric plus one of flannel for the inner layer.  it took a little while, but i eventually had enough cut out for all 50 masks:

this piece in particular was going to make one epic face cover:

to streamline the process, i went ahead and layered all of the pieces in the correct order, sandwiching the pieces of elastic inside and using clips to hold them all in place.  i only had enough clips for half of them, but it was a good start.

my serger came in really handy for the first part, and i was done sewing up all of the edges for all the masks in less than an hour.

of course, that was the easiest part.  next i had to trim all the stray threads, flip them all right side out, press them flat, iron in the pleats and topstitch them down.  while i only have a small corner of our room to work in, it was just enough to be able to set up my machines.

and with the ironing board buried deep in the garage, i had to improvise with my little bench, tossing one of our many throw blankets on top.

while the pile of masks looked a little daunting, i took my time and pushed through them one by one, and by that evening i'd managed to get through them all.

i played a fun game of "thread chicken," watching the spool twirl round and round as i sewed.  and look - i won!  just as i stitched up the final mask, i looked up and found this:

so here are some of my favorites out of the pile - these are the "friends"-themed ones, and the one with joey's face was just as comical as i'd imagined.

and hopefully there are some "big hero 6" fans out there who'll recognize the characters on this fabric:

per the instructions on the tieks website, i laid them all out and took a picture.

and then i found a box i'd just received that happened to fit them all perfectly inside, even with a plastic bag that would help keep the masks safe from any damage that might come to the box during shipping.

i was feeling a little weird about this whole thing - i'd love to say that it was a completely selfless act to help people during this whole crisis.  but it benefited me in a lot of ways - aside from earning that tieks gift card, i was able to use up a bunch of supplies that have just been sitting around taking up space.  not to mention, i got my sewing mojo back AND had a lot of fun while working on the whole project.

i guess we'll just call it a win-win situation.

even more sewing fun

i've been having a ball sewing through some of my cooler weather fabrics over the last couple of weeks.  i still don't have a picture of the old lady in the fabulous stretch corduroy bell bottoms she asked for, but i did make her this super soft chenille sweater that she's already worn a couple of times:

i tried to recreate a dress that the bean wore recently in a different color for family pictures.  as far as the actual style, i pretty much nailed it...too bad the fabric i picked up at joann's didn't drape quite right.  and this is the only picture i got of her trying it on:

and then i decided to try a short-sleeved version of a top i'd already made for myself in a different color.  this pattern is turning out to be one of my favorites. and don't mind the mess in the background.  the hub'll probably kill me for it, but honestly...anyone who sews or crafts knows, the only time your workspace is actually clean is - well, huh.  never?

and lest you think my projects are always a success, let me tell you - i bust out the seam ripper on a pretty regular basis.  sometimes i'm on a roll, sewing away happily and get a little too cocky...and end up sewing a neckband on backwards.  d-oh!

i'd been hoarding that fabric for a year, waiting for the right pattern to use it on, and i was so mad when i realized what i'd done.  and sweater knit is so hard to seam rip.  gah!  and so instead of ripping it out and reattaching it, i just folded the band over, sewed it down and it was totally fine.  i'd show you if i'd actually taken a picture but i didn't, so there.

i spent a good chunk of yesterday working on something i don't have much experience with - baby clothes.  my favorite barre instructor is expecting a little boy in january, and so i decided to put together a little present for her.  i'm pretty sure i giggled the whole time i worked on these pieces, because they're so cute and tiny.  i did everything in a 3-month size, and let me tell you...trying to sew cuffs on teeny-tiny sleeves and hemming itty-bitty pants is not the easiest.  still, i'm pretty stoked over how they all turned out.

the cutest little cardigan (which i almost sewed pockets on until i stopped and thought about how incredibly unnecessary pockets are for a 3-month-old):

here's the tiniest raglan top i'll probably ever make:

little pants to match:

and a little beanie with (slightly misshapen) mouse ears, because why not:

this little outfit is probably my favorite thing i've sewn up in a long time.

looking at the weather forecast for the next ten days, i think i'm going to get going on more sweater knit tops and cardigans.  i've got a lot of super soft, snuggly material that's begging to be sewn up into staples i'll likely wear often over the next couple of months.  i'd better get started!

wrapping up 5th grade

it's so hard to believe, but the school year is winding down to an end again and it seems like it absolutely flew by.  i mean...didn't we JUST have christmas??

for their end of the year bash, the 5th graders go to boomers, a local amusement park where they get the run of the place for a few hours.  there's all sorts of stuff - mini golf, go karts, carnival-style rides, a rock wall...you get the picture.  the teachers had already approached me a few months ago asking if i could do shirts for everyone to wear that day, something simple with lots of room for the kids to sign each other's backs.  i had them poll the students to come up with a slogan or something for me to put on the shirts, and this is what they came up with:

i told the bean privately that it was a little lame and cheesy and then she informed me that it was her suggestion that won the most votes.  muahahahahahahaha. 

along with the last couple of weeks of school comes the annual uniform donation/exchange.  you turn in whatever uniform pieces you want and then you can "shop" from the items turned in for next year.  anything not claimed gets donated to charity, and then your kid gets free dress for the rest of the school year.  it's always the kids' favorite time of year.

while the bean loves free dress, she doesn't really care much about what she wears.  yet.  and she still loves wearing pieces i make for her.  so i busted out a couple of new things for her to wear, and the first day she wore this dress i made using the leftover fabric from the top i made my mom for mother's day.

and this fabric i've been hoarding for a few years.  she said her friends had fun identifying all of the disney doggies from the design.

the annual choir and band spring concert was last week too, and while she's terrible about practicing on that trombone she held her own during the performance.

also last week, she got the haircut she'd been asking for.  i was a little hesitant because her hair has changed so much with the onset of pre-puberty - her hair used to be so straight and easy, but over the last year or so it's become really wavy and curly.  it's beautiful, but i don't know how to manage curly hair!  and she loves to brush it, which makes it really big and poofy.  i have to break her of that habit so that she doesn't end up with a bush on her head. 

and i can't take her to the kids' salons anymore because they always do a really shitty job of cutting.  or, i should say, they just do a basic snip and go.  so i took her to one of the local big girl salons, where she was super excited to sit back and have her hair washed before the cut:

here's the before:

and the point of no return:

before the drying and styling:

and the end result.

man, she looks so different with her hair straightened like that.  and older!  yikes. 

of course, after she washed it and then slept on it, it went back to big and poofy.  i told her that if she wanted to maintain that perfect 'do she was going to have to learn how to dry and straighten it - knowing the entire time that there's no way she'll want to do that.  at least, not yet. 

and now it's the last week of school.  they've been having a blast signing yearbooks, cleaning out lockers, soaking in the last few days of being together.  with the transition to junior high, a handful of her longtime buddies are going in different directions and it's going to be interesting to see what the class looks like once the new school year starts.

ch-ch-ch-changes.  they're a-comin'.