Wednesday, January 22, 2014

On measuring twice, sewing pirate pants, and camp cooking


After my pleasant morning spent sewing for a baby, it occurred to me that I haven't sewn much lately for my own baby. Though hardly a baby anymore and growing like a weed of course, Pony Girl's closet is dwindling in the handmade department. So yesterday I dipped my toes back in the water and set about making her a pair of easy-peasy pants.  As she was away at school, I took a pair of pants from her dresser and set about making a pattern. I pulled out some fabric, that for the life of me I can't remember where it came from, nothing fancy, just a bit of stripey loosely woven cotton. Whipped them up in a jiffy I did. Wisely, I waited until my girl returned home from school to finish the waistband and hems. A quick try on and it was clear, a size too small. Well, someone will be getting a pair of piratey pants for a present.

The old adage, "Measure twice, cut once." is ringing in my ears. Of course even measuring once would have been helpful in this case. So, come this weekend I will need to wrangle that girl of mine and play a game of Statues. I do hope I can get a full set of measurements before she tires of the game.


As an...um... collector of patterns, I thought I should go through my stash of kid's sewing patterns and it was with a small bit of shock that I realized my girl is about to grow beyond the sizes I have collected. Looks like I better get cracking. I've added this pile to the "MAKE" list. I wonder how far I'll get before Pony Girl is taller than me.

On other creative fronts, we have been doing a bit of demolition in the kitchen. The old stove and oven had to go. Though they were full of retro charm, they did not function quite so well. This meant taking a sledge hammer to a hunk of cabinetry as well. Now, there is a gaping hole where it all once was. Now we wait for the professional to come and run a gas line, do a bit of electrical work and so on.  Being without a stove has been a challenge, there is only so much one can make with an electric tea kettle. So, by day three of no cook-top, I had had enough and broke out the trusty camp stove.


You know, I have always been a rather good camp cook. The funny thing is, this old camp stove cooks a treat better than the stove we tore out! So there you have it, and it's only Wednesday!


6 comments:

greenrabbitdesigns said...

Camping in the kitchen.......brilliant! :) No weather, no bugs!
V x

Gina said...

That sounds like my kind of camping too!

Flaming Nora said...

Indoor winter camping. Just the ticket!

mel @ loved handmade said...

a productive week already! Shame those pants are too small, I'm about to do the same for a little pair for olive, I made some years ago but can't find the pattern..wish me luck!

Frances said...

It is such fun to read blog post that cover lots of very different topics.

This was one of those champs of collecting topics.

Best wishes to you on the measuring of the moving statue, and on the installation of the new cooking device.

Meanwhile, your bringing forth the camp stove is a brilliant idea.

Cheers!

Sherri B. said...

Oh, I can't wait to see your new stove and a gas one at that. Even though you are getting 'brand new', I bet it kind of hurt to let the old retro go.
Ejoy your indoor camping. xo