Now I'm Done

I finished Ezra's dress pants this morning, so I am done with clothes for a while.  I still need to sew Ezra's pajamas, but I will wait for a few days at least.  I really don't feel like sewing anymore right now.  I still don't know what I will do with my time, but I will think of something.

Dress pants and shirt all set for my handsome little man.

Almost Finished With Clothes

I was able to finish three more articles of clothing today.  I sewed Joey's other dress slacks.  They are very plain, but should match anything and will look nice with a sweater during the colder months ahead.  I also was able to sew Ezra's casual pants and his dress shirt.  I could not do the dress pants until I got some thread to match.  I thought I had just about any color I needed, so I didn't buy thread when I got the material.  Well, I must have just run out because I still have a bobbin with the color I need on it.  I got the thread tonight, and I will get the pants sewed tomorrow.

Joey's dress pants made from gray corduroy.

Ezra's dress shirt.

Ezra's casual corduroy pants.

This is Ezra's pants again, but they really are the color like above more than this. I took this picture to show them from the front view with the shirt that I bought to go with them.

The pants I am making to go with his dress shirt are from the same pattern as the casual pants, but I am not putting on the side pockets.  They are being made out of a dark olive green corduroy.

One More Thing Done Today

These are the leggings I made to go with Portia's skirt. I looked on line and could only find the pattern for leggings that calls for using old knee high socks.  I don't have any of those, and I wanted to use some ribbed stretch knit material that I had that matches the skirt very well.  I made up my own pattern and I hope they will fit tight enough.  The idea is right, but I'm not sure about the fit.  Hopefully, the cuffs will be tight enough to stay in place.  I may have to adjust them if they are not.  No big deal.  It is easy enough to do.

The leggings by themselves shows a closer color to the actual color of the leg part.

This shot shows how the leggings are the color of the dots and one flower and the cuffs are the color of the background color of the skirt itself.  I'm afraid they look a little like pajama bottoms, although they look wider here than they do in person, so maybe they will be okay.  We'll see when she can try them on.

Sweet Success for Sweet Little Girls

Another successful day at the machine.  I was able to finish the jumpers for Zoe, Dot, and Lucy, plus sew the hems in Joey's suit and attach the hook for his pants. Here are the jumpers.

These are the identical jumpers for Zoe and Dot. No, they are not twins, but they are very close to the same age, only nine days apart.  I sewed them simultaneously, step by step since I was using the same material and pattern.  It made it so much easier that way.  I did not make the tops. They are store bought.

This little jumper and top is for my little Goose, Lucy.  The top is the one that I had made for Lexi, but since it didn't match anything I made for her, and it did match Lucy's very well, I decided to give it to Lucy instead. I think it looks very nice with this jumper.

Now, it is back to the drawing board to see if I can figure out how to make some leggings to go with Portia's skirt.  I might go online to see if I can get some ideas.  After I make them, all I have left to make are the two pairs of pants and a dress shirt for Ezra and one more pair of pants for Joey.  All of those things have been cut out and are ready to sew.  Once these clothes are all finished, I will get back to Ezra's pajamas for his Christmas present.  I have them cut out, but they need to be sewn.

Another Round Completed

Well, I did get a little time to sew today, so I was able to complete three more garments, as well as cut out five more to be sewn.  I cut the sweat pants for Jackson and Ellis.  I figured they could use sweat pants more than dress pants since they do not attend church and need to dress up, but they do play a lot.  Therefore, sweat pants for the two of them.  I was also able to sew both pairs of sweat pants.  I did not make the shirts that are with the pants, but rather, I made the pants to match the shirts that I bought.  I also cut out two pairs of pants for Ezra. Both are corduroy, but one is a little dressier than the other pair.  I bought a mock turtle neck for Ezra that will probably go better with the more casual pair and I cut out a white dress shirt to go with the other pair for church.  I will sew those later.  I also sewed Portia's skirt.  It is the same as the one I made for Lexi, but I did not make the vest for her.  Instead, I am going to make some leggings to match the dots in the material of her skirt.  I also bought her shirt that is shown with the skirt.

I'm showing the side view of the pants for Ellis and Jackson so that you can see the stripe and pocket that are along the sides of the pants.

I'm not sure if this shirt really goes with the skirt.  It is about the same color as the purple flower on the skirt, but the skirt material is a dark brown.  Also, the I love U does not really match.  I don't think it will really matter, because Ellen is not into the matching thing as much as Cheryl is.  I will be making the leggings the same color as the dots and the blue flower, so at least they will match the skirt. I wasn't sure what I would use to make something for Portia when I bought the shirt, but I really liked the shirt and wanted it for Portia.  This material is the closest thing I had to match it.  It is also the material that I am using to make jumpers for Dot and Zoe.

Joey was here for a few minutes today and I was able to get him to try on his suit so that I could mark the hems of the pants and the sleeves of the jacket.  I was able to capture a picture of this sharp looking little man.

What a handsome guy all dressed for church!

I will be sewing away again for the next few days.  I hope Joey and Lexi will let me get some of it done.  I am finished with my knitting projects for now, so I only have machine sewing to do. They have gotten better about letting me do it, so we will see.

Clothes Projects Going Well

It is past midnight and I am entering this blog to show what I have been able to accomplish today.  I was able to sew Joey's complete suit.  All I have left to do is the hook on his pants and the hems on the pants and on the sleeves of the jacket.  I do not want to do those until I try them on him to get the right length. I also have the jumper, skirt, vest, white top, and pink top that I made for Lexi earlier this week.  I could not show them before because Cheryl had taken them home.  I asked her to bring them back so I can document their completion in my blog.

The jacket looks a little wide here, but it isn't really that wide.  It is just the angle I had to use to get the shot. The suit is made with wide ribbed corduroy and looks very sharp.

I did not make the black top.  I was able to find this black onsie that went well with both outfits. This is the skirt and vest. Cheryl wanted a onsie so that it would not keep coming untucked.

Oops! The hem got a little askew here, but it is really okay on the jumper.

This top is really a deeper pink, and did not really match the jumper above that I was hoping for. She will need to use it with some other thing since it doesn't really match anything that I made for her. She has some black pants that would look nice with this shirt.

I really started feeling guilty because I was making things for Joey and Lexi and not for the other grand children.  I decided that was not really fair, so I am now making some things for the other kids, too.  I have almost everything cut out and I will begin sewing them very soon.  I do not have to babysit tomorrow, but I don't know how much I will get done since Tony also has the day off.  I don't know if he has plans to do something. I really want to get the things done for the Maine kiddos because they will be visiting later this week and I want to send the things back with them.  I also need to finish the Pennsylvania gang's because we will be going to see them the day after Thanksgiving.  I will get those things done first, and then I will get the things made for Marty's kids.  I see them more often since they live right next to us.

What's That You Say...3 In 1 Day?

Yes, I am blogging for the third time today.  I finished sewing Lexi's other jumper and one of her tops.  I finished the hems, the button, and the hand stitching on her other jumper and her skirt and vest.  I didn't get a chance to take a picture of them before Cheryl took them home, so I will need to get them at a later time, maybe on the model herself. Here is what I have for now.

The other top will be the same as this one, but it will be pink.

Tomorrow, I will start to sew Joey's suit.  I will need to cut out his other pants before I can sew them.  I still haven't decided about whether or not I will do shirts. Knowing me, I probably will.

Second Post For The Day

As I anticipated, I was able to finish the sweater today, so I am posting it before I head downstairs to work on the sewing machine while Lexi is napping.  I am very happy with the final results of the sweater.  I had to make so many adjustments with this sweater to get the correct size.  I was using a different sized needles and yarn.  I also needed to create a hood pattern since the pattern I was using for the sweater called for a collar. All of these adjustments meant that I needed to judge how many stitches to use to get a sweater the size I needed for Tony.  I have made this sweater before for a much smaller man and for a woman which can be viewed in older posts.  Each time, I used a different pattern for the hood.  I couldn't remember which one I used, but I decided to use the style I made with Ezra's sweater that I just made.  I like the way it looks, but I really had to make adjustments in number of stitches and rows to convert this pattern from a nine month to a man.  I couldn't have estimated better.  It came out perfect.  Hurrah!

This shot shows the hood, pockets, and front, but does not show the color as well. It is black.

This shot of the front shows the color that it really is. It is so hard to find a good place to take the pictures.

This is a shot of the back and shows the hood.

Now, it is back to the sewing machine.  Lexi let me try her skirt, vest, and jumper on her this morning.  She really liked the jumper and skirt, but the vest made her mad.  She tried to rip it off because she could not get it to close.  It is supposed to be smaller and just use one button which I have not yet put on.  She couldn't understand that.  She really blew a gasket when I tried to take the skirt off her.  I only wanted to see how long I needed for the hems of the skirt and jumper.  I will finish those, put on the button and sew the side seams of the vest, and try to get her other jumper and two tops finished.  I know I will not get all that done this afternoon, but I hope to get some of it done.  Jon just came to take Joey, so with Lexi sleeping and Joey away, I should be able to get some of it done at least.

Another Busy Day

I have been working on Tony's sweater for his Christmas present.  I am all finished with everything but the hood.  I should be able to finish it today or in just a day or so, depending on how much time I get to work on it. 

In the meantime, I have been given a couple more projects to keep me busy.  Yesterday, Joey came to my house carrying a full sized bed quilt.  It is really soft and he insisted on bringing it with him instead of one of his smaller ones.  He always needs a blankee to cuddle with when he is in the car or when he is ready to sleep.  Anyway, his mom asked if I could possibly make him a smaller one with the same kind of material that the big one was because he says it is so warm and cuddly.  Also, they have misplaced his Red Sox fleece blankee that I made for him a couple of years ago.  Cheryl put it away for the summer, and now she cannot find it.  Joey has been asking for it since he saw his cousin with a Red Sox blanket the other day.  I knew I had some material like the big blanket in my stash.  I took Joey with me to find it.  He was excited because it was red like his old blanket.  He also found another fleece material that he liked.  It is a wintery print with penguins in scarves and hats, snowflakes, etc. all over it.  He wanted that, too.  I thought I could just make one of the fringe tied blankets with the two materials.  I proceeded to cut the fringes and start to tie.  After I had finished tying one side, I realized that the really soft material is not appropriate for a fringe tied blanket.  It was shedding all over the place.  I had to untie it and find another red fleece material to use as a backing.  I got that finished last night.  Here is the result, along with a shot of the old fleece Red Sox blankee that has been misplaced.

Cheryl also requested another project for me to sew.  She said the kids need some new church clothes and that maybe I could make them instead of buying any.  I got the material and started to make them.  I cut them out night before last and started the sewing machine work last night.  I finished a skirt and vest and a jumper for Lexi last night.  I still need to make another jumper and two tops for her which are mix, match outfits.  I also have a corduroy suit cut out for Joey and I will also make a pair of corduroy pants for him.  I may or may not make some shirts for him.  I will see if I have the material in my stock downstairs. I have an easy pattern that looks good that I used to make his Woody costume.