Gray Shorts/Green Tee (KCWC)

I can't believe the Kids Clothes Week Challenge is already over. Wow, one week goes by fast! Here's another outfit I fell in love with this week. I finished these pants on Friday night, and I am so proud of myself for sewing Hudson a REAL pair of shorts.

Hudson loves them, too.

The pattern came from the Japanese sewing book below, called Happy Homemade vol. 2.  I've wanted to make these pants for over a year, but didn't have the guts until this week. They are just so cute with the front slash pockets and the faux fly.

To my surprise, they came together really easily. I spent exactly 3 hours and 15 minutes from cutting the fabric to admiring the finished product.

The pattern used was letter "l":

The fabric is a linen from Tex Carmel in the LA fabric district. It's a wonderful weight for shorts and I love the gray. You can tell he's already been wearing them from all the wrinkles in the picture below.

But that's the great thing about linen; it looks great wrinkled!

The pockets are contrasted with another linen from Tex Carmel. I thought it was a straight black/gray/white weave until I started sewing and saw the tint of green. Even better.

After I forgot to sew down the top of the back pockets (hey, it was late), I decided to pretend it was on purpose and add some hand-stitched details. I especially like how the stitches look on the side of the leg.

And since every pair of shorts needs a shirt... I put this together on Sunday night. I don't have a picture of him in it yet, so these will have to do. Pattern is... you guessed it: the Flashback Skinny Tee.

I actually hemmed the arms and bottom of this shirt. I usually just leave them raw, but I decided it was time to grow up and actually bother with hemming, ha. :)

I have the feeling this outfit will get a lot of wear this summer. I'm so glad KCWC pushed me to try something new! And I'm kind of sad it's over...

But I'm not finished blogging about KCWC, yet! I have one more outfit to show you, probably tomorrow or the next day. Whenever I can get some pictures taken.

I'll give you a hint. It involves ruffles.

Thanks for reading, friends! I'll "talk" to ya tomorrow!

Pink Tee and Skirt {KCWC}

I can't believe it's Friday already! Where did the time go?! I've had so much fun sewing for my kids during KCWC, I don't want it to end. Besides, I didn't get near enough things sewn. Sigh. But that's mostly because I spent a lot of my time hand stitching this pink top for Abby. Yes, you heard me right. I hand-stitched a top for my two-year old. I must be crazy.

I did it mostly for the practice, and because I had a vision in my head... and because as I've mentioned before, I'm addicted to sewing by hand.

(Oh, alright. I also did it because I could stitch in front of the t.v. while watching Prison Break. You caught me.*wink*)


The time spent stitching was worth it because, dang, look at that cute girl!

I don't have a lot of time tonight (the hubby is waiting for me downstairs so we can watch you-know-what) so here are the quick specs on this outfit.

The shirt was made from a stretch cotton jersey I bought in the LA fabric district last year. I think it was $2.00 a pound and since this fabric is really light the fabric for this top probably cost me pennies.

The pattern is MadebyRae's Flashback Skinny Tee (I've talked about it here before, and yes, it is my favorite shirt pattern for the kids.) I highly recommend it.

I hand-stitched the arm and neck bindings using Alabama Chanin's cretan stitch (also a name you hear a lot here at Caila-Made). And I added the ruffle at the bottom for fun using a cross stitch, also by hand. (By the way, I serged the shoulder and neck seams before hand-stitching the details.)

The skirt is something I came up with this morning, and friends: it only took me 20 minutes to throw it together! I cut out two rectangles, angled them a bit by making the top four inches narrower than the bottom, serged it up, added a casing for the elastic, added the hem and then threw on the lace for good measure.

Most satisfying sewing project ever. Minimum input of time, maximum output of cuteness.

The fabric is a denim-ish bottom weight from Michael Levin's loft in the fabric district. It's very light weight and perfect for summer.

The lace is, of course, from my grandmother's stash.

And there she is looking all darling in her new outfit. I just hope her brother doesn't pull on that collar. I care a little more about it because I actually placed each stitch with my own fingers!

Thanks for reading, friends! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend sewing or reading or relaxing or whatever it is you like to do. Happy Friday!

Top of the Tops {I'm In!}

Guess what?! Do you remember the gray and white striped top I raved about and entered into Made By Rae's Spring Top Sewalong? Well, it was selected by the judges as one of the Top Tops this week! Allow me to geek out for a moment...

Eeeek!!!

Can you see it there in the picture above? It's "E" in the second row.

Maybe it's totally juvenile of me to be this excited ("They picked me! They picked me!") but I really respect Rae and the ladies she chose to judge the Spring Top Sewalong. You may not know this, but Rae (along with Dana from MADE) kind of taught me to sew. She's the first sewing blogger I started to follow.

Voting is going on right now, through noon tomorrow (EST). I encourage you to head over and vote for your favorite top. If your favorite top happens to be mine, well then, I guess that worked out nicely. :) But if not, seriously, please just vote for your very favorite. All of these ladies are extremely talented and their tops are beautiful. It's a pleasure to be in there with them.

Thanks for reading, friends! 

Red & White Striped Tee {KCWC}

Well, folks, I'm happy to report that I've found a new place to devote my photo-editing love: Photobucket! They recently (I think?) added a great new photo editor, powered by Pixlr. After my pout about Picnik closing I had a lot of Facebook friends share their favorite photo editing websites with me (thanks, guys!) and Pixlr was mentioned a few times. Looks like they were right, because I loved my morning on Photobucket. Hooray!

And now for some Kids Clothes Week Challenge lovin'! I've been busy, busy, busy, friends. Here's my first completed project: Hudson's red and white striped tee*. I think this probably fulfills his request for, "a cool shirt," don't you?

(*Full disclosure: I started this shirt a couple of months ago and posted some pics to Instagram, but there were some problems with the sleeves and collar, so I fixed those this week.)

I pick up this striped knit at the FIDM scholarship store in LA last year and I wish, I wish, I wish I had picked up more. I'd love a summer dress made with this knit.

The pattern is Made by Rae's Flashback Skinny Tee with short sleeves and a white rib knit for the collar. Hudson loves it! He was showing off a little bit on his bike last night while wearing it:

Doesn't he look big on that bike? I can't believe he's turning five soon. Before long it will be time to get him a new bike--one without training wheels!

That's a handsome boy in a handsome shirt. Just sayin'.

And there you have it, folks: a new, "cool," shirt for Hudson. I'm working on something for Abby right now and I can't wait to show it to you. Maybe later today I'll have some pictures up. If not, tomorrow!

I'll leave you with these pics of my other two. They're not wearing anything Caila-Made, but they sure are cute!

Thanks for reading, friends! Have a wonderful Wednesday. 

The wrench in my plans

Happy Monday, everybody! My younger two kids are napping, Hudson is making an apple pie with Grandma (how am I going to say no to eating that, I'd like to know?) and so I have a few quiet moments to sit down and blog.

I'm dealing with some frustration right now over a SMALL issue that has nonetheless thrown my photo editing/blogging schedule all out of whack. I know there are much worse things going on in the world and this is a chance for me to choose perspective, but I still feel the need to let you know that I'm adrift in a big ole' sea with no floatation devise BECAUSE PICNIK IS OFFICIALLY GONE AND I DON'T LIKE ANY OF THE OTHER PHOTO EDITING WEBSITES I'VE TRIED. 

Grrrrrrr.

I'm glad I got that off my chest. And yes, I know there are about a dozen (or more) "good" photo editing websites out there and my beloved Picnik interface can still be found at Google+ but, um, seriously, I just spent an hour playing around with about five of them and all I have to show for it is a headache. 

So my dear friends, blog posts might be a little slower going than usual (or the photos will just be worse). I'm not a photographer by any means, and it was helpful to have a simple yet useful website for editing blog photos. And apparently I don't deal well with change when it comes to my favorite websites. (Duh, I just about throw a fit every time Facebook changes its interface, which is about once a month).

Okay, enough of that. In the meantime, I have a great skirt-to-dress tutorial for you which will be up as soon as I find somewhere to edit them.

Moving on.

In other news, this is happening today:

I love the way she loves to draw.

And lastly, in case you were wondering, YES! I have some KCWC pieces in the works. Just no pictures for you yet (see above).

Catch ya tomorrow!

Thanks for being here, friends! Hopefully I'll have something "real" up for you tomorrow. :)

All That I Have Sown {Week 14}

For these I am thankful...

• Alone time with my girly. It's so great getting to know her by herself.
• Her words, "Help me guys;" "I'm so tired, Mommy;" or "I like Candy, Mommy. I like Candy!"
• Pretty hair things
• Hudson and daddy and the Planetarium
• The universe, the galaxy, the stars
• Always learning in this home
• Loving my thirties
• Confident in myself and who God made me to be
• Learning to be that best self
• Changing what needs to be changed (it's hard sometimes, but totally worth it)
• Walking in love
• Brian
• The way he fathers
• Simple meals
• Beautiful evenings (they kind of counteract the sweltering hot days)
• The lake
• The ducks
• The pool
• Baby boy ready to eat baby food
• Little arms reaching
• Raising up on little knees
• Soon to crawl (already, Lord?)
• This is life, this never ending progression
• The pain that is love
• Looking ahead to good things
• Creating
• New clothes
• Pin-pricked fingers
• Hand-stitching
• Fabric
• Browsing the shelves with Abby. "This one pretty, mommy. This one!"
• Dreaming up new projects
• Kids Clothes Week Challenge almost here
• Crib skirts in the works
• Making something beautiful
• Babies
• Cheeks to kiss
• Little hands to hold
• The words, "I love you, Mommy," or, "I love you, babe."
• A weekend together
• Good news
• Life.

Prepping for the Kids Clothes Week Challenge

Wow, friends. What an awesome week! I made a shirt that I adore and want to wear every single day; posted my first video to YouTube (How to Shop the LA fabric district); and we had some excellent guest posts here at CailaMade from Katie and Kari. Thank you ladies!!

And I'm REALLY excited about next week because next week blogger/sewing diva Elsie Marley is hosting the Kids Cloths Week Challenge. And because I obviously love and thrive on challenges, I've joined this year.

The challenge is to sew for your kids at least one hour every day for seven days. To be honest, that is NOT going to be a problem for me. I LOVE sewing for my kids. Now I just need to define my list and make sure I have all the supplies.

Ooh, I can hardly sleep thinking of it!

I asked Hudson and Abby what they wanted me to make them during KCWC and these are their requests:

Hudson

1. A cool shirt
2. Pajama pants with bandaids all over them (Whaaat??? I'm thinking a stencil and fabric paint?)
3. A hat

Abby

1. "Make a pretty dress me, mommy?"

And that's all Abby asked for. I think she needs a pair of pants and some skirts, but apparently I also need to throw a pretty dress in there. No problem, honey! Hudson's also stretching me a bit with those bandaid pajama pants. I think it's done something to my kids that their dad is an ICU nurse. They are a bit obsessed with bandaids.  

And that hat Hudson wants might be tricky. I'll keep you posted!

In the meantime, here are a few pictures of my labor of love (for myself) from yesterday. I hope to be wearing this little number to church on Sunday. Should make a change from the other TWO outfits I have for church that I rotate and hope no one will notice. I still need to add the binding to the arms and neckline, cut the cotton skirt and attach it to the top.  The top is from Alabama Chanin's fitted top pattern (of course.) Now that I've discovered her, how will I ever stop sewing AC clothes for myself???

Have I mentioned yet that I LOVE HAND SEWING? Gosh, who knew it could be so soothing? I take my projects everywhere with me now. Hudson's gymnastics, bible study, out to the hot tub while Brian and the kids take a warm dip. I forgot to take it to the park yesterday and then didn't know what to do with myself while the kids played. Sheesh, I'm addicted.

I'll post pics when the dress is done. Hopefully it will be as beautiful as I imagine it will be in my head!

Thanks for reading such an eclectic post, friends. Have a wonderful weekend!

Be REAListic: You Are Beautiful!

Friends, I have such a treat for you today! My longtime friend and fellow writer, Kari Patterson, is here today to share a truly BEAUTIFUL post (pun intended). If you've been reading here for a while, you probably know that Kari and I have a friendship that stretches back awhile. "It's not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer (E.B. White)." Kari is both.

I'm thrilled to share this treasure with you today as part of my REALisitic Beauty and Fitness Challenge. Thank you, Kari! 

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“Every experience of beauty points to eternity.”

-Hans Urs von Balthasar

We all want to be beautiful women. We might shun cosmetics and hate high-heels—and that's fine—but no matter what our dress or sense of style, we all want to be beautiful. We want to be pleasing to God and others. How?

By letting His reflection shine through.

All that is beautiful is simply a reflection of God. Here's the freeing part: You are beautiful. You were created beautiful because you were created in His image. Whether you're a pear or an apple or a bean-pole, whether you're eighteen or eighty-five, you are beautiful because God created women in His image, to reflect His beauty to a watching world. How do we reflect beauty? First and foremost by nurturing the “hidden woman of the heart, the gentle and quiet spirit” that Peter speaks of in 1 Peter 5.

Does that mean we can't talk? That we must be shy? No, it means we have a spirit at rest. When we live the sacred mundane we commune with God all day and we gain a heart that's at rest. We trust Him. We talk to Him. We're not anxious or stressed, no longer harried and haggard. Even during the sleepless nights with newborns and the emotional time of the month, we can still have a gentle and quiet spirit at rest, which works itself out on our face, our countenance, our speech. That restful spirit is a beautiful gift to all those we meet.

Consider these words by Stasi Eldredge:

“A woman in her glory, a woman of beauty, is a woman who is not striving to become beautiful or worthy or enough. She knows in her quiet center where God dwells that he finds her beautiful, has deemed her worthy, and in Him, she is enough … A woman of true beauty is a woman who in the depths of her soul is at rest, trusting God because she has come to know Him to be worthy of her trust. She exudes a sense of calm, a sense of rest, and invites those around her to rest as well … A woman of true beauty offers others the grace to be and the room to become.”

The world says that a 6-foot 100-pound 20-year-old model is the standard of beauty, therefore the rest of us are not beautiful. The Word says God created all of us in His image, therefore we already are beautiful. Our job, therefore, issimply to reflect His beauty and work diligently so that we do not mar or hide the beauty of God in us. We refuse to walk in shame and insecurity, instead bravely letting our defenses down and showing the world our beautiful imperfections. As we rest in Him, trust Him, smile, eat healthy, exercise, dress beautifully and modestly, and speak lovely words of life, we reflect His beauty in world. Where the world tells us we must stress and sweat and strive to make ourselves beautiful, God's Word says we already are beautiful because we're made in His image, so we can rest, trust, and joyfully work to simply reflect His image in our lives.

How are you reflecting His beauty today? Some questions to consider:

• Do I believe God has made me beautiful? What lies have I heard that have told me otherwise? How can I take those to God and believe the truth of who I am?
• If I'm married, have I honored my husband with my physical appearance? Have I taken care of my outward appearance so my family is blessed?
• Do I have any habits which diminish God's beauty in me?
• Do I smile often?
• Are my words and attitude beautiful and life-giving or ugly and destructive?
• Do I seek to bless others with my appearance or impress others with my appearance?
• What steps can I take today to reflect the beauty of God in my life?

{Thanks for reading, beautiful ladies...}

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Kari Patterson juggles the hats of pastor’s wifey, preschool mommy, speaker, teacher, writer, mentor, friend, daughter–occasionally dropping them all on her crumb-covered floor. (It’s ok, really.) She celebrates the Sacred Mundane over at KariPatterson.com

Guest Post: Running with Katie

I'm excited to welcome Katie Brown today as a part of my REAListic Beauty and Fitness Challenge. Katie is a busy mommy, wife, birth doula, runner, and is co-blogger at TheMommyMiles. You may remember me joining the GetFRESH Challenge for April, yes? Well, Katie and her co-blogging friend Jess are the brains behind that operation (and the reason my tush is so sore at this moment). She's here to share with us some exercise inspiration from her own life. Be sure to scroll down to the bottom for her Five Tips for Beginning Runners. Thanks for joining us, Katie!

THE EARLY YEARS


I was never a particularly "sporty" girl. I was tall and skinny and awkward (still am!), but I did always enjoy one sport or another. Even so, I was never the best and never truly excelled at anything in particular.

I never considered running cross country in high school, I did not see myself as a runner and thought those people were crazy! But when I went off to college something switched in me. It was probably due to the lack of discipline and the "freshman 15" that was quickly accumulating but I started running. 

Once I married and moved to Vancouver with my husband, fitness became very important to me. I joined a gym, I worked out 4 days a week in addition to running once or twice a week. Honestly, I was in the best shape of my life. It was easy to find the time without kids and with a busy, student, husband. 

I remember so clearly the day I ran my first 10k. It's funny, because I don't remember "training" for the race, per se. I remember running with the knowledge that I had an upcoming race, but actually training was a foreign concept. I ran the race in the rain, by myself, and it felt so good to cross that finish line. 

I guess I was hooked!  A few months later I accomplished two more 10k races. All I can remember from that time is that I enjoyed it; I chose to run because I wanted to run. No one made me, no one expected it of me, and none of my friends were runners so I ran alone. Somehow during our 3 years in Canada, I became a runner. 

BABY BRINGS CHANGE


Later that year, my husband and I moved overseas to Scotland. We'd been married for four years and had spent the last year trying to get pregnant. For some reason things were not happening as they should and I had concerns that maybe I was exercising too much and my body was not taking to getting pregnant.

Exercise came in waves after that. I think my mind was distracted and confused by the fact that we were not conceiving. I ended up having a minor surgery in March 2009 and in July, I got pregnant!

We were thrilled to finally have a baby on the way after two and a half years of waiting. But as you mamas know, pregnancy is not the best time to get fit. I walked lot (because we had no car, I didn't have a choice!) but that was all.

The pregnancy went well and in March 2010 our beautiful baby girl was born. I was one happy mama! Eager to get back in shape, I set out for a run when she was only six weeks old. Bad idea.  Apparently I had not fully healed, if you know what I mean. That painful experience turned me off for awhile but I knew I would run again, even if it wasn't as soon as I was hoping!

When my daughter was three months old we moved back to the U.S. and I started walking hills and running again. I ran a 5k our first Thanksgiving after returning home and never looked back. 


FINDING THE TIME


Last year I ran my first half marathon and I am currently training for my 2nd. I am not the fastest or the best and I certainly struggle. But despite my struggles, I am proud to call myself a runner.

Remember a few paragraphs ago when I said it used to be easy to find the time to exercise? It's amazing how much easier it was to make time for exercise when I worked full time and had no kids than it is being a stay-at-home mama. Finding the time is challenging, but since my husband works from home I go running during nap time or early in the morning while he watches our daughter.

One day at a time, one mile at a time, is all I can do. When my daughter sees me put on my running shoes and knows exactly what I am doing and she gets excited to be pushed along in the stroller, I know I am making a lasting, healthy impression on her. If my own health wasn't worth it already, she sure is.


Thanks for reading.
--Katie

KATIE'S FIVE TIPS FOR BEGINNING RUNNERS

1. Set a goal (5k is a great place to start... but any goal will do!)
2. Make a plan (there are numerous training guides online, find one that suits you and your schedule)
3. Have support (both at home and a running buddy or two)
4. Forgive yourself for the times you're not able to stick to your plan, just skip it and keep going. 
5. Don't give up! (Starting over is much harder than continuing on)

Katie Brown is a runner, birth doula and co-blogger of www.themommymiles.blogspot.com. She is currently living in Bend, Oregon with her husband and raising a crazy yet very happy 2 year old. 

How to Shop the LA Fabric District: A Video!

Hi all! And welcome to those of you who are arriving at my blog through MadeByRae's Spring Top Photopool on Flickr. You love to sew; I love to sew. Looks like we're friends already! I hope you enjoy your time browsing around my blog.

Ok, everyone. I have something really exciting for you today. Are you ready for it? My first video! 

I get a lot of questions from friends and readers along these lines: Where do you shop for fabric? How do you shop the LA fabric district when it's so overwhelming?

So the last time I was in the LA Fabric District my brother and I threw this together on a whim to answer those questions.

The fabric district is something really best seen in person. It's bustling with people and punctuated by fabric on every street and corner. Since it's so large, I narrowed down my favorite block to 9th and Maple and focused there for the video. Believe me, you could probably find every single fabric ever imagined by the human mind in that block alone.

I know. It's a dream come true! 

Take a look at the video and let me know what you think. Special thanks to Kyle Cowgill for the filming, editing and overall awesomeness that he put into this video.

One last thing: be sure to scroll down for a list of my Quick Tips for shopping the LA Fabric District. Thanks for reading and watching! 

Caila's Quick Tips for Shopping the LA Fabric District

1. Take Cash. Most vendors take cards these days, but you're likely to get a better price if you offer cash. If you're out for a big shopping trip and are worried about the safety of carrying that much money in your pocket, you can find a number of ATMs in the area. You can find one at the California Market Center.
2. Be Confident. The best thing you can do when shopping for fabric on the street is be self assured. If you want to know how much something costs, just go in there and ask! If the price isn't right, suggest another price and if the shop owner won't barter you can always look around at the other vendors before purchasing.
3. Be prepared to stay awhile. It's just not possible to shop the LA Fabric District for only one or two hours. I'm usually there for the whole day and even then I wish I had more time! Pack a lunch or dinner if you don't want to spend precious fabric money on food. :)
4. Take a List. It's hard to remember the specific items you need when you're confronted by the sheer number of fabrics and notions available. I always take a list and check it frequently, but I'm always surprised by something special.

Handmade Wardrobe: The Striped Tunic

Happy Monday everyone, and thanks for stopping by Caila-Made! I'm thrilled to say that I have FINALLY entered Made-by-Rae's Spring Top Sewalong competition, after years and years of watching from the sidelines.

I think I've mentioned before (maybe?) that my wardrobe is in an extremely sad state after baby no. 3. You know the drill: I've been wearing the same stretchy things for six months now and although I'm slowly making my way down the size-ladder I still don't fit into those cute clothes in the box labeled "small."

Now that we're saving for a house I've become a complete miser with money when it comes to spending it on myself. Who wants to buy a bunch of clothes that (hopefully) won't fit six months from now? Not me. So that leaves me with hardly any clothes to wear, but a HUGE stash of fabric in my sewing bins.

Enter Caila's new handmade wardrobe.

Wait! Can I call it a "wardrobe" if so far there's only one new item? Oh well, you get the point. This top, The Striped Tunic, is the first of my new spring wardrobe. All handmade, partially hand-stitched. Man, I'm going to love this spring.

All the binding was hand-stitched according to Natalie Chanin's instructions in her book Alabama Studio Sewing + Design. The book is A-MAZ-ING, the patterns are beautiful, and I've already learned a lot of useful techniques.

Until yesterday I absolutely despised stitching by hand, but Natalie has converted me 100%. I had so much fun hand-stitching these seams!

In the above photo you can see a picture of the Cretan stitch I used on the neckline and arms. Below you can see the straight stitch used for the side seams.

(Note: This is my first Alabama Chanin Tunic, so I serged the side and shoulder seams with my machine before hand-stitching the details on the outside. When I make the next shirt/tunic/dress I'll use higher quality fabric and stitch the whole thing by hand, per Natalie's instructions).

The top came together in about an hour and the hand stitching took me about three and a half to four hours all together. I know that sounds like a long time, but it was FUN and I got to be with my family the whole time. (Ok, and yes, I caught up on all my favorite shows once everyone else in my family was in bed and I was still sewing).

The pattern is very flattering for many body types. For my next garment, I'll probably add at least 1/2 an inch to the side seams for a little extra room in the top. The pattern's not quite accommodating enough for ladies on the busty side (hey, I just had a baby). *wink*

Here are a few photos of my process:

I have a bunch of the patterns I traced from the book hanging in my closet. This is the pattern for the Fitted Tunic.

Here you can see the trace lines on my fabric. I used a disappearing fabric pen. Finding the correct angle for the stripes was an exciting challenge.

Front and back pieces. After I assembled the tunic I realized that the stripes for the front and back probably should have been angled in opposite directions. Oh well, it still looks great.

The front assembled. (I'm working on a skirt from the fushia/purple in the background).

So there you have it: The Striped Alabama Chanin Tunic. Hopefully I'll have more to share with you soon. Thanks so much for stopping by and reading!