party time. excellent.

as i lay in my cell phone-lit room last night pondering various metaphors to begin this post, i struck upon one that seems fairly obvious. but it fits, so here goes.
it’s like a storm. you see the big black thunderheads off in the distance, but first you’re optimistic—cocky even. pshaw. that’s gonna pass us right by. good westerly wind will blow it right on past.

but it doesn’t work that way—the clouds continue to build and drift menacingly closer and before you know it drops of rain are hitting your shoulders and you’re still thinking it’s okay. really. we’re going to be okay because this will be quick and you know what? in a way it’s almost good. we can use the rain.

it doesn’t much matter what kind of face you put on it though. in the end it’s going to happen just like you knew it would from the first sign of inclement weather. so when it’s like threat level magenta or something and panic mode hits and you’re running for shelter (and now i’m mixing metaphors but it’s okay because IT’S THAT BAD) the last thing you can think is we’ll all be alright in the end. we can make it through because we have plenty of canned food and a good clean up team.

here it comes people. and i hope you’re ready.

it’s like a tornado. no. it’s like wildfire combined with a tornado. not good enough.  make that a wildfire enhanced sharknado, because when you have five kids and the first one cries “my belly hurts” you kinda feel like the lady spying the thunderheads.

then that one starts hurling and you’re all hey. we can do this. you’re still not so sleep-deprived that you can’t joke with your significant other in the middle of the night. babe, if you’re gonna spew, spew in this. ::gigglesnort::
you’re awesome, you got this, changing sheets and doing laundry and running baths at 3 am is kind of exhilirating in a deep-in-the-trenches-of-parenthood-these-are-the-moments-that-make-up-our-lives sort of way.

but by the end of it you’re creeping cautiously from your shelter, blinking in the sunlight and whispering it’s alright. we have plenty of canned food and a good cleanup team.

we were hit hard two years ago, and i waxed poetically about it then. but last year we were spared and i should have known—the odds were certainly NOT in our favor for this year.

one down, four to go.
errr….i’m sorry. update. make that two down, three to go. wildfire sharknado, people.
i find myself pondering such brain benders as how old should a child be to have to dump and rinse their own puke bucket without you being a Bad Mommy? because i gotta tell ya, about 5 is my limit. ::heave, heave::

and not to be completely disgusting…okay, yes sorry i’m about keeping it real. so to be completely disgusting and because my husband and i came of age in the 90’s we think we’re terribly funny when we say, dude. she didn’t throw up. she blew chunks. because yeah, that’s exactly what elliot did. and once you know the difference you KNOW the difference.

and elliot—who shall henceforth be known as Patient Zero, lay there listening she looked up at me with ruddy cheeks and glassy eyes and said…

chunks.

yes, elliot. chunks.

mommy. chunk is not yummy. chunks is stinky.

you’re absolutely right elliot. now can someone pass me the can opener.

practically impractical: pattern anthology winter wonderland collection

so a couple of months ago i got an email, basically saying hey wanna be a part of the PATTERN ANTHOLOGY WINTER WONDERLAND COLLECTION BLOG TOUR? to which i promptly said YES. der. srsly. i’m no dummy.

and then they sent photos of the patterns and asked which we’d like to do and i was all that one, and that one, and that one and ALL OF THEM.

no, really. i wanted to make all of them. but i decided to be a good girl. a Practical Momma who would a)evaluate what my girls actually needed, and b) sew from my stash instead of buying more fabric. so it was a pair of Tree Climber Trousers for Elliot,who desperately needs more pants, refashioned from a pair of my stretch jeans with a busted zipper, and an Amaryllis dress for Gigi, who—shockingly—needs more dresses.

this was absolutely my intention. even as i drove to the fabric store…just to look, it was still my intention. but when $2/yard lovely drapey navy cottons, and the PERFECT wintery lining—also $2/yard!—just JUMP right out at you…well. what’s a girl to do?

what’s a girl to do? i’ll tell you what a girl’s to do: she starts with the practical. the necessary. the reasonable.

the upcycled Tree Climber Trousers, and the sturdy navy Amaryllis Dress.

cute, right? and then i packed up my sewing machine thankyouandgoodnight.

yeah, that was a good one. i mean, you’ve seen the winter wonderland collection, haven’t you?

behold: the golden mocha brown taffeta matching AMARYLLIS DRESSES and matching fuzzy JULIET CAPELETS.

reasonable and practical can go lay an egg.

let’s talk about these, shall we?

elliot and gigi both have an amaryllis dress, which—get this—is reversible! one side is done in the navy cotton, one side in this taffeta i had in the stash (actually an upholstery remnant my baby daddy brought home for me. he’s good like that. i put them through the washer and dryer before using. that’s my litmus test on whether it will work as kid’s clothes).
this pattern is from melissa of BLANK SLATE PATTERNS, and it’s AWESOME. seriously. it is based it off a vintage pattern, the fit is adorable, the design is adorable, really i can’t say enough about this dress. 

and i 150% wish i had better photos of just the dress—but it was so cold there was no cape removal, and so overcast that my inside shots are a blur. but trust me—these dresses are crazy cute.

the dress is made to be one piece that goes over the head. the front goes around to the  back and snaps, and the back comes around the front and ties in a bow.

one side practical, one side party so you’re ready for anything. it’s like the mullet of dresses.

except, no.

moving on: the capelets. THE CAPELETS. i think even edna mode would change her mind if she saw these.

the JULIET CAPELET (ha! prize for best name to kate) is from SEE KATE SEW patterns. its a super quick sew with two hood options—rounded or pixie.

obviously i did one of each ;) i also cut elliot’s size 3 to the length of the size 5, and gigi’s size 5 got an extra inch of length. and e’s got a yarn poof on the hood, because OH MY WORD THE CUTE.

they’re made from this fuzzy fluffy stuff from joann’s, which you must cut with scissors in one hand and a vacuum in the other. particularly if you’re cutting on your dining room table like i was. fuzzy food is never fun.

it’s lined with this winter wonderland/ski resort themed lining fabric i got for $2/yard!!! woohoo! i know nothing about it, save that it looks vintage and i love it. and based on some of the other fabrics in the shop, there’s probably a better than good chance that it is real vintage. ha.

this lining fabric is what dictated the color scheme for the entire outfit. i love it that much.

so i put them in their matching twirly dresses and fluffy capes and they look like the most adorable little squishy elf pixie fuzzy wuzzy things i ate them both for breakfast the end.

okay, i didn’t eat them really. but when i got them all dressed there may have been teenage fangirl level squealing accompanied by excited clapping of hands. ::cough cough jeremy cough cough::

obviously not from gigi, who was clearly less than thrilled about being outside for photos. elliot, on the other hand, was pleased as punch and super cooperative. (note to self: bribery with donuts works wonders on e)

together this capelet and dress set make one ridiculously adorable outfit, no? but i have an entire second set of outfits to discuss…

and this time gigi was much more cooperative—due partly to being dressed a little warmer, and partly (mainly) due to the fact that we told her she looked like a little french girl. she practiced saying “bonjour. je m’appelle gigi” the entire way across the street.

so yes, this is the same AMARYLLIS DRESS as in the above photos, simply flipped around so the navy cotton side is showing. cool, right? it looks adorable as a little jumper for the cooler weather, and with a matching beret your little gal will be tres magnifique. vraiment. ;)

and for ms. e we have a lovely pair of TREE CLIMBER TROUSERS.

these bad boys are the brain child of andrea, who designs and curates GoTo PATTERNS, and also looks a scarily large amount like my own mother. so i can never be mean to her.

elliot is in desperate need of pants, and these fit the bill perfectly—and not just because they cost all of $0.the fit is great—and that’s even with my alterations to the pattern.

some were NBD. exhibit A: the lines of decorative stitching i added to the back pockets…

and the front pockets, which i also cut into a more curved shape than what the pattern has.

but i reused the waistband and button from my pants—never even took the button off, just lined it up and stitched it on. and i eliminated the reinforced knee pads, just cutting the front legs in one piece rather than the three of the pattern.

and i love them.  wanna hear something crazy? besides stretch pants and jammie pants, which don’t really count as sewing pants IMO, as best as i can recall this is the 2nd pair of pants i’ve ever made. harrison’s suit pants being the first.

crazy, i know.

now let’s talk about the nuts in the photos. together these two are quite the pair.

a new development: elliot is turning into gigi’s mini-me. whatever gigi does, elliots watches…

and copies…

oh man are we in for some serious trouble.

and there you have it, folks! there are even more patterns in the PATTERN ANTHOLOGY WINTER WONDERLAND COLLECTION, which you can buy complete here:

or you can buy just the BOY’S collection and GIRL’S collections separately!

enjoy!

disclaimer: none of the links in this post are affiliate links, i just put them there because i love you and the pattern designers. i wasn’t compensated in any way for this post, but i did receive copies of the patterns for review purposes. all opinions are my own, cause i have enough of my own and i don’t need anyone else’s. pffft.

the awesomest: S.A.C., new and improved

remember these?

yep. the old S.A.C., or Stuffed Animal Chairs are still in heavy use. so heavy, in fact, that some of my seams have busted open and stuffing is coming out. yeah. gotta get on that.

but i still love them as much now as i did when i made them. and i would love for you alllll to be able to make them. but unfortunately, i was never motivated to draft a pattern and put it online. booo.

but guess what? sherri of thread riding hood contacted me about drafting a pattern for the S.A.C. and making it available for free on her site. and i said yes.

DO YOU REALIZE WHAT THIS MEANS?

it means YOU get a S.A.C., and YOU get a S.A.C, and YOU GET A S.A.C.

EVERYONE GETS A STUFFED ANIMAL CHAIR!

well, everyone willing to sew one, that is.
okay, when i tell you she took this and RAN with it—i mean it. she’s got two different sized patterns available. and while she made some changes to my original way of doing it they’re all good—in fact, they probably make it a little easier for the average home sewist.

she’s got the pattern, cutting diagrams, and lots of good info and tips on how she made hers!

so if you’ve been wanting to make yourself a Stuffed Animal Chair, now’s your chance! oprah says so.