Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Hopscotching in my sleep.

Yes, I am pretty sure I could make the Oliver + S hopscotch top in my sleep. In fact, last night I did... in a dream, of course, I don't sleepwalk:) I realized the second the twins' hopscotch dresses come out of the dryer they go straight on the girls. I LOVE the look of them, and they are just so comfy! And side story, one night we were at Ben's parent's house and he was holding one of the girls and he said "Uh, did you make this?" I gave him a look and said yes. He said he was just sure it was store bought. I took it as a compliment, though I think I do better work than sweat shops. So there. He took a sewing class in high school (Easy "A", or so he says... I think he took it to pick up girls, ha!) and his teacher told him you never want to say "Look what I made!" while she answers you with a big smile and an amused "Yes you did!". Okay, so tone doesn't really carry over to the internet, but I hope you get the point... it makes me laugh everytime I think of it.

Anywho, back to the hopscotch pattern. I made 7. Yes, 7. In two days. Luckily it is a reeeally quick pattern, especially when you assembly line them like I do:) I timed myself and each one takes around 30 minutes. Not too bad! And I think they are such a great staple. But don't worry, I didn't make them all in the same size!



L-R, size 12m, size 18m, (behind) size 7, size 18m- those are all tops, size 12m, size 12m, size 18m all dresses.
I have a problem, none of my kids need clothes!! But I *need* to sew... for my sanity... :) So though the twins are in 6m, I made 12m for them. Abby only needs a 6, but I was lazy and I didn't want to trace of that size since I had just traced off 12m and 18m. here are Abby's previous hopscotch tops... She has worn the blue one once, and the other one two or three times....Grr. But I plan on weeding out all of her RTW clothing so she wont have a choice pretty soon. And to be honest, I didn't remember I made the blue one or I wouldn't have made her another one!! (Do I ramble a lot? I feel like I do.) And I am also going to gift a few to my one and only niece. I have a few other items on my list for her too, easy to spoil since she is the only one! (For another few months:) Plus she measures in to the 18m range for O+S so I can use leftovers from my other projects. You don't mind she will dress like my kids, do you Kim? If so, she doesn't have to wear them. But like I said, I need to sew, ha!

I ran out of purple thread, so the sleeves and hem are just serged and need to be finished. This yardage was meant to be a shirt for me, but it shrunk too much. That's okay, I don't really need horizontal stripes on my body.

This one was made from the remnants of my first hopscotch.




I bought this one for Abby online when I got a robot and car print for Jack. I could add one more yard and not have the shipping go up. Two yards and it would have increased. So I had to order one more yard, right? I was being frugal:) (I just realized it is kind of hard to see the print, but it is rainbows, there is a closeup later in the post)

So I cut out Abby's and thought I would make a dress in either 18m to give to my niece, but then I got looking at the amount I had left and thought I maybe could squeak out a 12m and 18m shirt. It became a game. I had to fussy cut a few of the pieces, and almost lost the game when I cut the bodice of the 18m both going the same direction instead of opposite. But I found a spot that had just enough left to get it. Success. Silly, but it made my night. I don't normally like to match my girls, but Abby will love it.




This one was a beast, it is veeery lightweight. I nearly threw it out the window. Or in the garbage. I had cut out all the other tops/dresses Sunday afternoon and that night I layed awake in bed imagining how cute this yardage would look as a long sleeve (with grey skinny leggings either ruched on the side or buttons near the hem) for a baby gift. We have lots of friends and family having babies soon and a few would be in the 6m range come fall. So I decided to make it in 12m first for my girls to see if I could stand working with it again. I am not sure I will.

I finally busted out my twin needle. Don't know why I didn't do it sooner! I think it made a big difference in my hems.
Did you make it through all that? Give yourself a high five! Oh, and thanks for reading:)

11 comments:

  1. High Five!:)

    You're a machine! I love the way the blue binding looks against the rainbows. All the tops/dresses look wonderful.

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    1. Ha, thanks! I prefer the blue, but since the big girl is getting blue, the little girl got white, and my niece will get the other blue. Not that my girls will likely ever wear them at the same time, but that is just my weird quirk!

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  2. They all look great! This is my fbvorite knit pattern out there.
    I think that anyhting that is sewn at home is better than anything store bought. They just don't take the time and care that us ladies do.

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    1. Thank you! That is what I think, all my garments are made with love:)

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  3. I find I'm at the point where I only buy a few select Gymboree items (used, from eBay) and sew everything else. I've really become a clothing snob! Your shirts are adorable...the girls will look great all together!

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    1. Clothing snob, I like that! :) Thank you, I love seeing my kids in something I have made!

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  4. I love this pattern - have a huge pile planned for winter. I also make sure I fill up my order - heaven forbid I don't get the best value for my postage costs!

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    1. I am dying to make a long sleeve one! But it was already warming up when I got this pattern, so it will have to wait another 8-9 months. boo! Can't wait to see yours!

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  5. It's fantastic! I love this pattern too. I made the long sleeved one for sleepwear for my daughter and she loves them but sadly I have to size up further than a 12 as she's so tall. Nice to see the difference in the sizes though. You don't get to see that often.

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    1. I never thought of it as sleepwear, that is a great idea! I thought the size difference was kind of fun:)

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  6. Clever you! That is amazing!
    PS...you've had lots of visitors from my neck of the woods today!

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