Because Dave loves me...
...he didn't put up much of a fight when I told him that I'd heard at playgroup a local sewing store was closing the branch near us and were having a big sale on machines and that maybe since I have a slight interest in learning how to sew perhaps we could go and peruse what they have to offer with the possible intent of maybe just maybe coming home with one. Maybe. So we went. And I came home with a new sewing machine. And I was giddy with excitement. Then I was hugely disappointed when on Jan 30th (a Sunday) I unpacked it and discovered the foot pedal didn't work. Then I was even more hugely disappointed when I called the store and discovered they were closed on New Year's Eve and that I'd have to wait two whole days to talk to somebody about returning it. Then they gave me a whole new machine and it worked and I was happy. The first thing I made was my version of the shirt I linked to on the left sidebar over there. I don't think they sell the shirt anymore, that's how long it's been, but if you don't remember or never bothered to look, it was a shooting star. Here's how mine came out:
Henry also got some sewing love from my friend Karen. She made a fleece pullover for her kid Thomas that was absolutely amazing and I couldn't stop gushing over it. A few weeks later she surprised Henry with his very own featuring none other than the much beloved Lightning McQueen. I think both Dave and I briefly pondered whether we could fit into it ourselves, but alas, we are not toddler-sized. Henry loves it and wears it all. the. time.
And finally, I decided that since I don't know how to sew and haven't read a pattern since I made jams (remember those?) in sixth grade that I'd start off with something simple, so I settled on making an apron. After much hair-pulling and machine-wrangling I actually finished it on Monday night. It came out great, but you'll have to take my word for it because I forgot to take a picture of it. When I finished cutting out the pattern, I realized I had enough fabric leftover to make a pair of lounge pants for Henry. That's what I did after lunch this afternoon while Henry rocked out to Sesame Street in the living room in between exhausted fits over V8, naps, and the unfairness of life in general (we're still pretty sleep-deprived over here). Here's the finished product:
Not a great angle, but you get the idea. I stole the general pattern and fit from a pair of Atomic Mama pajama bottoms that I got Henry before the woman who made them retired, and I also used this page as a reference for how to go about things. I made them long so he can wear them for a while. Of course there's the very real possibility they'll fall apart before "a while" even has a chance to get started, but we won't think about that.