A Little Preview of The Charlie Tee & Hoodie in Adult Sizes
Who is that handsome guy? Why that’s my sweet hubby modeling the Adult Charlie Tee that I’m working hard on finishing up for my eager testers. He really likes the fit of this tee, and I think it looks great on him. This is the first time that I’ve asked him to model anything for me, and he behaved so much better than his offspring who are my regular models. It was so nice to not have to chase a model around the backyard with the camera!
I love that this pattern allows you to do everything from a basic tee like this one to an outerwear hoodie like the one below with all sorts of options in between. This pattern will include all the options that are included with the smaller versions of the same pattern: the basic tee, the colorblocked tees, the ringer tee and the hoodie.
This is the medium hoodie on Samantha. It’s a tiny bit big on her, but I think it’ll work well for layering when it starts to cool off here.
Here’s the back with the hood down.
And, from the side with the hood up. Note the look of pain on her face coupled with the object flying through the air in the bottom left of the photo. That object would be the rubberband that her dad shot at her in the middle of our little photo session. He was much better behaved when he was the model!
This pattern is scheduled to be tested and ready to sell by the end of this month along with the Inside or Out Pocket Pants.
September Fresh Comfort Quilting Bee Blocks
Joseph here is a little late. He was supposed to be done and on his way back home last week. His tardiness, however, was completely out of his control.
Liz of Handmade by Liz Taylor hand embroidered the center pieces of the blocks for her turn at The Fresh Comfort Quilting Bee.
Joseph was mine to piece into a log cabin block. Liz is making a Christmas quilt from all the blocks that she receives. She asked us to each complete one traditional log cabin block with the embroidery that she sent along and one additional log cabin block with fabrics in red, white and a tiny bit of green.
I love how my main block turned out. This second block, though, is a little loud. I hope it blends in well with the rest of the quilt.
This is going to be an amazing quilt. I’ve been trying to plan out a way to copy this idea for a quilt for our house for this Christmas. I haven’t yet figured out how to squeeze more than 24 hours out of a day, though, so I suppose I’ll have to put it on my list for next year.
The Inside or Out Pocket Pants
These have been in the works for some time. I keep leaving them, finding something that I need to change and setting them aside for later. I’ve finally fallen in love with them, and now they’re just about ready for testing.
You can see the main pockets on the two pairs above. You can choose to sew the pockets on the outside for a more casual look or the inside for a more formal look. Those first two pairs are sewn from lightweight sweatshirt fleece.
This pair is constructed of cotton woven bottomweight fabrics. They’re a lot of fun with their print pockets and the cargo pocket on the leg. These have a back pocket which you’ll see in the modeling shots, too.
Here’s Charlie modeling the woven ones. He’s not an incredibly cooperative model, but I think you can get a pretty good idea of how they look. The waistband is flat in the front and gathered around the elastic in the back.
Here’s Jamie modeling the 4T. He’s wearing a pair made of french terry with the main pockets on the inside and two back pockets.
I’m loving the fabric versatility with this pattern, and, of course, the many pocket choices. If all goes well, it should be available for sale by the end October!
Upcycled Big Brother Fan Shirts
Our two oldest boys, Allen and Sean, both play football, and we love to go out to their games as a family to watch and cheer them on! We usually just buy one or two team shirts for the grown-ups because with a big family, t-shirt costs add up really quickly. This year, though, everyone had Desperado team shirts to wear to Allen’s games except for Jamie and Charlie. Being the sewist that I am, I knew just what to do.
I started with Daddy’s well-loved but still useable three-year-old shirt and the Charlie Tee pattern.
Original Shirt Front:
Back:
I ended up with two little brother Desperados shirts . . .
Jamie’s top:
Charlie’s top:
. . . and two very happy little brothers!
Charlie (yes, he is standing on his own already!):
Jamie’s back (the front is at the top of this post):
So easy . . . and really cheap!
Guest Stocking at The Apple Orchard
I’m guesting at The Apple Orchard tomorrow! I have five outfits that stock tomorrow night at 8:00 p. m. eastern. Here’s a little peek:
Tags! And a Few Updates
Look what came in the mail yesterday! I’ve been waiting as patiently as possible for these to arrive from Fancyweaver in Hong Kong. They did such a beautiful job with them. I’ll have some of these listed in my store later today in case you want to grab some to sew onto the things that you’ve sewn from Fishsticks Designs clothing. I’ll also be including one tag with every pattern ordered as a “Thank you” between now and Christmas. And, I just might be sewing one of them onto everything in my house that doesn’t run away when I approach it with a straight pin . . .
I am sewing, and I’ll have some things to show off soon. I’m working on one top secret little sewing project that’s due in to an editor (gasp!) in a few weeks, but I won’t be able to reveal what it is for a few months. I’ve got two new patterns that I’m hoping to have finished up by the end of October: The Charlie Tee in teen/adult sizes and The Inside or Out Pocket Pants. I’ll have previews of those up soon. I’m also sewing a few things to stock as a guest at The Apple Orchard for October. I won’t have as many things as I’d originally hoped, though, because things are a bit busier here than I expected when I first signed up. Along with those first three projects, I have a GFA project that I’m helping out with, and, in case you haven’t heard, my oldest daughter is getting married in December! It’s funny that as much as I love sewing and know that I need to get things done, I can’t stop myself from constant wedding planning. Oh, and in case that wasn’t enough, we’ll be traveling to Florida for three weeks in November to visit our ministry supporters and to spend Thanksgiving with my family.
Wow! I need to quit blogging and get moving!
Carnival Bloom Skirt & Pretty Binders
Believe it or not, I have been sewing a few things besides pillowcases. These binder covers are a bit of a preview of an idea that I have for Christmas presents. I sewed up the one above for storing my pattern ideas and sketches. I mentioned the idea of pretty fabric binder covers to Morgan, my oldest daughter, and she insisted that she needed a stack for her college classes. Facing those early morning Government classes has to be easier when your binder is this pretty, right?
Samantha’s been a little neglected in the sewing area lately, and she really needs a few outfits that she can wear to church. I played around with overlapping the tiers in this skirt since it’s sewn with knit fabrics that won’t fray. It has sort of an intentionally messy look to it that I really like.
This print fabric is from Michael Miller’s new cotton interlocks. I love that the more well-known fabric designers are introducing knit fabrics! I just noticed on the back of the new Stitch magazine that Moda is introducing interlocks, too. Now, my biggest request is for boyish fabrics. Oh, what I would give for MM’s Rocket Rascals or Treasure Island on cotton interlock . . .
Do you ever outgrow the desire for a skirt with a little twirl factor?
{this moment}
{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
Inspired by SouleMama
A Few 40th Birthday Pictures
I promised 40th birthday pictures, but yesterday was a crazy busy day with meetings, homeschool, orders and two football games (both boys’ teams won, by the way!). I had such a nice birthday which included wonderful family and friends, all of whom made me feel so loved and appreciated. The flowers on the left above came from one of my oldest son’s friends, Kirstin, who tracked us down at a local restaurant at dinner to give them to me, along with the sweetest handmade card. The ones on the right came from my momma who is far away in Florida. They remind me so much of her–it was like having a little bit of her here to celebrate with me.
On Saturday, a few days before my birthday, my friends, Maray and Michelle, took me out thrift shopping and then we had a lovely Mexican lunch. Here we are with our three boys who are just a few months apart:
On Sunday evening, the lifegroup that we’ve been a part of for many years came to our house for our regular Bible study, dinner and cake. Someone apparently thought it would be amusing to have everyone dress in black. (I think I got the last laugh, though, because most of them are older than me . . . and they always will be!)
On Wednesday, my actual birthday, I got my four youngest kids up early, and we went to IHOP for breakfast. We had chess club in the afternoon, but we went out for ice cream at Braums after. That evening, my whole family gathered together to celebrate with another Mexican dinner at one of our favorite local restaurants, Angelina’s.
I received some wonderful gifts including this pile of handmade pillowcases to donate to ConKerr Cancer! Aren’t they sweet? (And you thought I was done with pillowcases, didn’t you? I am now . . . for at least a little while!)
The whole day was full of phone calls and visits and wonderful memories. I have to share one of my favorite moments, though. A friend called and her 5-year-old and 3-year-old sang Happy Birthday to me. When they finished, her 5-year-old daughter asked to pray with me, “Dear God, please let Auntie Bonnie have fun today–Andrew, stop that!–God, please let Auntie Bonnie have fun today and let this year be a good one for her.” I love it–the memory is bringing a huge smile to my face even as I’m typing. Thank you, God, for filling the last 40 years with joy, sadness, foolishness, wisdom, blessing, mourning, friendship, solitude and so much love.
Thank you, my friends and family, for joining in my celebration. I’m so excited to see what the next 40 years bring!
Happy 40th Birthday to Me . . . to Me . . .
40 pillowcases, sewn up over 40 days, are all finished in time to celebrate my 40th birthday! Thanks so much for cheering me on and joining in to sew with me! (In case you missed my 40 Day Challenge, you can read about it here.)
I have a wonderful day planned today spent with friends and family. I’ll post some pictures of all the fun tonight or tomorrow morning!
