Strawberry Pillows, Day 5

On the top of my list of things that I don't like about sewing is hand sewing.  For one, it involves dealing with sharps, and, as you may know, I try to avoid interacting with pins and needles as much as possible.  For two, it doesn't move as fast as, say, a sewing machine.  Or a racing turtle.  Or an ambitious snail.  And for three, I always feel like I'm doing it wrong.

So instead of sewing up my strawberry, I worked on the strawberry top.  I cut the two template pieces out, and I was fine with the stem top, but I was confused by the stem bottom.  It said to "Cut 2 and tape together along dotted line."  Did they mean to cut 2 of the templates and then tape them together before cutting the shape from the fabric?  And if so, would I cut one or two pieces from the fabric?  Or, did they mean to use the template to cut two pieces of fabric and then tape the two pieces of fabric together (for some strange reason)?

Strawberry Pillows, Day 4

Ah, to frolic in a garden of strawberries as big as my house!  Can you imagine how delicious that would be?  Berry delicious!

Week 14: Strawberry Pillows

Strawberry Pillows from The Purl Bee
Photo courtesy of The Purl Bee

The other day I was shopping at the local chain grocery store and was lamenting over the selection of out-of-season tomatoes.  I tell ya, there's nothing like the smell of homegrown tomatoes freshly plucked from the garden.  But we're not at peak tomato season yet, so I've had to console myself by browsing through the local farmers' markets.  We're lucky here in Northern California to have so many farmers' markets to choose from.  On some days, we actually have more than one to choose from!

Week 10: Ruffle Top Romper

My on-time record hasn't been great these last few weeks.  In fact, I've not yet completed The Crinkle Quilt, and it's possible that it won't be finished until mid-week.  I wanted to make a dress for Darcy to wear on Easter, and had picked out Simplicity 2668, but after reading the directions, I realized that I wouldn't be able to finish The Crinkle Quilt and the dress by this Saturday.

Ruffle Top Romper and Dress from Make It & Love It
Image and design © Make It & Love It

Reversible Bucket Hat Sew and Tell

The Reversible Bucket Hat from Oliver + S is the first hat project I've ever done.  The pattern and the steps were easy to follow, and the illustrations were very helpful.  This is a free pattern on the website, but it is also included in their book Little Things to Sew.  I've been looking at a few other patterns on the website, and if the directions are as clear as this pattern was, I'll be really looking forward to making those outfits.

Reversible Bucket Hat, Day 6

No sooner had I written about the warm, spring weather in the Bay Area do the March winds come sweeping in.  It turned out to be fortuitous, though, because as I watched tree parts tumble down the street, I frowned thinking how Darcy wouldn't be able to wear her hat in this kind of weather.  But then I realized, "Oh, yes she CAN!"  I decided to add straps to the bucket hat so it won't blow away during blustery days.

Reversible Bucket Hat, Day 5

It was hard to choose which two fabrics to go with for the bucket hat, especially since the Cheep Talk collection had a lot of great designs.  I finally went with a light/dark orange combination, because it made me think of the warm sunshine.

Baby Darcy is only 9-months old, but according to the pattern, her head is the size of a 3 to 5-year old!  I get the feeling that I'm going to be making all of her hats because she's apparently the Bruce Bochy of the baby kingdom (for those of you non-Giants fans, the World Champions' manager has one of the largest hat sizes in the Major League)!  Fortunately (or not), her body is proportionate to her head, so no, her head does not look like an orange on a toothpick.

Week 7: Reversible Bucket Hat

Spring has come early to the Bay Area.  The weather's been warm, and I've been taking Darcy out for walks in her stroller.  She enjoys being out in the sunshine, but on certain pathways, the sunshine hits her face a little too much for her liking.  I've given her sunglasses to wear, but she thinks they are for chewing and not wearing.  Since she does alright with headwear, I'm going to make her a hat.

Reversible Bucket Hat from Oliver + S
Image and design © Oliver + S