Loads and loads of School Bus Tees plus modifications.

So I will just apologize in advance for this one being a picture heavy, few word post. But that's what happens when I use this as my journal and have a huge backlog. 

The Oliver + S School bus t-shirt is by far my most used pattern, I have made well over 100 at this point. I added it up once a couple years back and I was at like 80... I don't have the patience to go back and count again, ha! So you will just have to trust me.

I paired the tee with the Sew a Little Seam Movie Night Pajama bottoms you can get for free with a code from their facebook group. It does come with a shirt, but I like what I like.

These are also the SALS pj's, they come with a shorts cut line.

My cool friend Courtney is setting up a shop to sell applique patterns, so I volunteered (read: begged) to try a couple out.

I gave this one to my nephew for his birthday, but it was reaaaaally hard.  I need to make one for Sam!

 As the next few photos will show, I clearly have a thing for this very specific colorblock.

Another one for the nephew.

A very long time ago I wrote a post for the O+S blog on how to do a faux sleeve.

Also one on how to add a hood.

And how to use it to make a tank top.

I also used it to make a swim top.  It is such a versatile pattern, I am certain there will be many more made in the coming months.

International patterns.

 I have recently fallen for international patterns, more specifically German.  They have pretty unique designs, and with a little google translate and some basic sewing knowledge, they are very doable.  Most of them don't include seam allowance so that can be a turn off for some, but I don't mind.

This is the Yara and if I was smarter I'd write down the size I made because I really, really liked it.

The back is where it's at, it is so cool!

The Coemi Mini Jessi is pretty popular among the Facebook sewing crowd for good reason, it is so, so cute.  It is a slim fit, so I sized up on this one.  It has a cute cowl or hood and that front panel has pockets. He got a ton of wear from this one, and I made his bff cousin a matching one.

This was my first mini Jessi I made him, it was pretty tight on him so he didn't get much wear from it. This one had a hood.

The Lolletroll Henry(ette), often called just Henry, is also quite popular on FB.  It is one of my favorites so far!

I made one for my nephew's birthday (left) and another for Sam.

And when it was too close to the end of the cold season to justify making another hoodie I made it as a shirt.  I actually used the Oliver and S School Bus t-shirt as a base and the Henry for the colorblocking.  I have seen people make the Henry as a shirt and complain the neck opening was too wide.  I knew I liked the fit of the School Bus, so it was a no-brainer.

I was looking for something unique to since boy's tees can be so... the same and basic... that's not a bad thing, I just wanted a "fun" sew.  That's when I found the Elle Puls Bethioua kids.

I thought the back was pretty cool! I'm not crazy over the fit, it feels maybe a little feminine with the curve, idk? And maybe because it is short sleeve with the curve, I'm not sure exactly what is making me think that, because I like the long sleeve on boys. That is definitely just personal preference, the pattern was excellent.

George is all about the skirts! This is the Kid5 Cozy Skirt, it is a super straightforward and easy sew.  She pulls it out to wear quite often.

Triangles.

If you follow me on Instagram, you know I am a huge fan of Raspberry Creek Fabric. Diana is super sweet, and amazing to buy from.  Her fabrics are great prices and she ships suuuuper fast (and always refunds shipping overages!).  We were chatting recently and she asked if I would like to sew up some of her triangle strike offs from her in-house Club Fabrics.  I, of course, jumped at the chance.  Her club line is so, so good.  It is a great weight and washes up so nice.

So I decided to make Jack a color blocked School Bus T-shirt.  I cut the front of the shirt just under the arm pit and added seam allowance to the bottom of the shirt and cut section, sewed them together and then sewed the shirt like normal.  This is a size 8.

The olive, charcoal and white (below) solids are all also from Raspberry Creek.  Again, they are a great weight and I haven't had any pilling or fading even after washing a ton.  I mean, a ton.  I have been using the solids for months now and haven't had any problems.

For Sam, I used the Field Trip Raglan in a size 2T and added some HTV to the front.  As soon as I saw the triangles, I knew they just had to become a FTR.

Since I went the color blocking route on both these tees, I have enough left to make something else.  I am thinking maybe a pair of capri leggings for the twins...

Size test.

Do you ever get an idea that you just can't shake, and have to execute as soon as possible?  I do, too much.  Sam is growing out of his current t-shirts and doesn't currently have any shorts, so I decided to do a quick run through of these patterns before I cut a stack out. 

I haven't tried the Sunny Day Shorts before because honestly, I thought they were boring.   Yeah, maybe they are boring, but they are perfect for a beginner, fit just as I thought they would and were a great quick sew with lots of customization possibilities.  Plus, you can't beat a price tag of $0. 

I made these in a size 2t and kind of panicked that they would end up too big, but really, they are perfect.  I managed to get them from a weird sized scrap I held on to for a 'just in case' that I didn't ever think I would actually use, so it kind of is like they were free, ha! 

The t-shirt is my go-to Oliver and S School Bus T-shirt in a straight size 2t also.  Again, I thought I'd end up setting it aside for a while, but it fits just fine.  A little long, but that's how I want things to start- I can't keep up with growth spurts sometimes!

I added a heat transfer vinyl to the shirt I cut with my silhouette, so much faster than freezer paper, ha!

A stack of shirts.

Four of my sister-in-laws are currently pregnant, the one furthest along just had a baby shower this weekend as it's her first.  So of course I had to make my soon to be nephew something fun.  But then I got an amazing idea for a shirt and wanted to make it immediately for Sam.  So in all my procrastinator's glory, I made one for him then started on the baby's gifts.

The baby shower invitations had a picture of three mountains and words about the adventure just beginning.  So I designed a file in Photoshop and used the Silhouette Cameo (my fancy new Christmas gift) to cut some heat transfer vinyl.  I absolutely love the way it turned out, and that's why it had to be Sam's immediately. I was pretty excited that it came out just the way I wanted it being it was my first time designing anything and have only tried out the machine a few times before.

I put it on an Oliver and S Field Trip Raglan, size 18 months with added cuffs and hem band, made in a stretchy french terry.

Will buffalo plaid still be trendy in a year and a half?  Maybe not, but oh well.  I nearly kept this one for Sam, ha!

This is the Oliver and S School Bus T-shirt in size 18 months, again, nearly kept for Sam.  I need to quit making stuff to give away in sizes my kids are currently wearing.

Again with some HTV.  This one is size 12 months.

Again size 12 months.  The mom and dad are big Dave Matthews fans, so I knew this one had to be made.

This one is size 6 months in a super stretchy, super soft knit.

This is also a size 6 month.  I actually squeezed it out of a scrap from a shirt I made for Jack and apparently never blogged.  Whoops.  I have been much better at keeping up on flickr and instagram than here, which is kinda bad since I don't always add sizing notes in other places.

I also decided I couldn't ever be a sweat shop worker, 7 shirts in three days was too much for me, ha!

Hipster Rudolph.

I am not usually one to make my kids themed holiday clothing, but I couldn't resist this one. I was scrolling through Facebook yesterday morning and came upon a post for a groopdealz Rudolph shirt.  Well, I clicked through to buy it and found out it wouldn't even ship until the 17th.  Not good.  So I quit being lazy and made my own. Theirs was a white short sleeved shirt, that's the benefit of making my own, I could use what I had on hand *and* make it weather appropriate.

I used the Oliver and S Field Trip Raglan in a size 18 month and added cuffs and a waistband because I wanted to be lazy and not have to hem anything... And the pants are a pair of 2T Mini Hudson Pants.  He is still a little too small for the pants, but I have been dying to make him a pair.  Both fabrics are a french terry, I love that stuff.

And this is what happens when I attempt to flat lay in the house... I let him off without a warning because he is pretty adorable.  He was hugging the clothing and trying to put it on.  Sooooo, yeah.

In the end, I am happy I made him a themed shirt this year, and he will just have to wear it nearly every day since I waited so long to make it, haha.

Halloween.

Confession, I still don't love sewing for Halloween.  I should, because my kids get so excited about it.  And the twins are still wearing their Elsa and Anna from last year, so I shouldn't mind putting a lot of effort in to something that will be well loved, but I just can't... 

This year the twins knew immediately what they wanted to be.  Georgia wanted to be a witch, then I suggested maybe Izzy should be a kitty (the witch's kitty).  It stuck and they never changed their minds.  I will be sad someday when they end up without coordinating costumes. 

For Georgia, we had borrowed a costume from Grandma but managed to misplace it, so I talked her in to using her recently made Fairy Tale dress with some cute tights.  

She wanted a green face 'cause that's what witches have' but with the stipulation that she 'was still a nice witch'.  

Elizabeth the kitty has an Oliver and S School Bus T-shirt in a size 4 with length added to the sleeves.  I used a RTW pair of leggings and a kitty kit from the Halloween aisle. 

They make an adorable pair, I think.

 Abby went easy on me and chose a Ninja Turtle, the mask from the kit was too small, so she used a scrap piece of knit to make the eye band.

The kids were on their way to a church activity and they requested no masks at the party, so Jack used one of his old costumes from a few years ago.  At the time we had to roll up his pants and safety pin them.  So glad I didn't cut them off like Ben suggested!

He really wanted to be a Lego man, so for our family party and his school parade that is what he went as.  He will do the skeleton for trick-or-treating as he can't see out of the head when it is dark outside, plus it would have been hard to go door to door in.

Dear Pinterest, thank you.  I saw this idea popping up early in October and decided to give it a go.  He is my only baby to love the pacifier for this long.  Iz took one until about 6 months, but none of the other kids did.  He depends on it, it's bad.  I try to keep it limited to nap/bed time, but sometimes if he is crazy bad in public I give in, it calms him immediately.

Anyways, I used the O+S  Field Trip Raglan, size 18 months, and the O+S Playtime leggings, size 18 months.  I found this rad french terry that has a bit of a sheen to it, I knew it would be perfect for looking like a wet suit.

I couldn't find a pair of black socks in or around his size, so while I was at the dollar store today picking up the black tape and yellow gloves for Jack I spied a pair of toddler sized mittens.  Perfect!  I just sewed the thumb hole shut and cut it off, it worked out great.

He didn't love when we strapped the 'tank' to him, which is why it is so low on him, but quickly stopped trying to take it off.

Happy Halloween!