Let's Go Fishing Hat

I don't have a lot of time for posting today, because I'm watching a dear friends baby girl for the day and I can hear my own kiddos waking up in their rooms. But I quickly wanted to share this picture with you.

Last night I finished my very first handmade hat! This is the Let's Go Fishing Hat from the book Sewing For Boys by Patterns by Figgy. I love looking at the the projects from that book, but this is the first I've actually sewn. Now that Stryder is HUGE and growing out of all of his clothes, I pulled the book out and set it right on my sewing table.

It's time for some more sewing for boys around here. I'll share more about the hat later. Hope you all have a wonderful day! Thanks for stopping by. :)

Cotton Summer Shorts

Oh man, I hope you're not sick of seeing shorts on here. It's got to get boring after awhile. But for some reason, I'm not bored! I've come to the conclusion that...

Shorts are the new skirt!

Shorts are the new skirt for little girls anyway. Abby's so active that, although she loves skirts, shorts are a better fit for summer play attire. And this way she doesn't have to wear dresses every single day just to satisfy mommy's need to see her handmade creations walking around on a live mannequin.

Anyway. Say it with me: Shorts are the new skirt!

Abby's to the point now where she won't wear anything but her new pairs of cotton shorts. I call that a wild success for this sewing mamma! This pair is made from quilting cotton and as a result they are SO soft and comfy.

(Don't you love her hair in this picture? It's her pre-brush morning hair. I use a lot of spray-in detangler to tame that nest.)

The print I used for these shorts is part of Denise Schmidt's awesome line Picnic and Fairground, sold at Joann's Fabric and Craft stores. If you haven't sewn with this fabric, I'm telling you, it's beautiful and  of designer quality. I'm so glad Denise decided to start producing fabric for chain stores as well as independent shops. I love, love, love her designer stuff for independents, but it is such a relief to be able to walk into my local Joann's and know that if all else fails I can walk out of there with some Denise Schmidt.

If you want to look for this or some of her other lines at Joanne's, look in the specialty quilting cotton section for the label DS Quilts Collection. I did a quick search on the Joann's website and found all of these. Beautiful! Adorable! Drool-worthy! And just down the street!

Aaaand, more pictures of Abby...

You may have spotted these shorts in some of our other beach pictures from the weekend.

But wait, there's more! Here is another pair I made using a print from Sandi Henderson's line Meadowsweet 2. I love the colors in this line; so sweet and feminine but also bold and modern.

Can I pause for a moment and tell you something about my little Abby-girl? She has been potty-training for the past week and she is doing so well! No accidents and it is the sweetest thing to see her grow up before my very eyes. We've had a lot of fun bonding as the minority in this family of boys. I love my little sweetness so much.

But don't worry, I haven't forgotten about my boys (although they haven't shown up here on the blog in a while. Oops).  I'm working on another pair of shorts like these for Hudson, and boy-oh-boy does Stryder need some new clothes. That boy is growing like crazy! He's seven months old and he barely fits into size 12mo. He's going to keep me busy sewing, I can already tell. But you know what? That doesn't bother me one bit. :)

Thanks for reading, friends! Tata for now!

Just Because

Just because I love photographing and editing her little face. I'm still not good at this, but she makes up for it.

P.S. Please forgive the obvious fact that I spelled my own name wrong in the watermark. Gahh! And I can't figure out how to remove it in Photobucket. Let's all just forget it and move on...

Flirty Little Flip Skirt (Skirt Week 2012)

Here is my third skirt for Skirt Week 2012! I like to call it the Flirty Little Flip Skirt because it flips out a little near the bottom hem and it makes me feel pretty. It's a date skirt, for sure.

I'm working on some instructions for this skirt right now because I've already received a lot of compliments and comments from friends like, "Tell me how to make that skirt!"

Sadly, or maybe gladly?, this skirt is already starting to feel a little loose on me. It's good to know that the running is paying off -- I ran a 7-miler on Saturday -- but it also means that I might be making another one of these, in a smaller size, in the near future. I guess that gives me all the more reason to hammer down those instructions, huh?

I used a very thin, soft, woven fabric for this skirt. It was too thin for a skirt, so I just added a second layer. The fabric has a nice amount of stretch which helps it to fit over my hips, since I used fold-over elastic to finish the waist.

This is my new favorite way to finish a skirt waist. No zipper! 

I'll give you one guess where I bought the fabric. Yes: the LA fabric district! At Michael Levine's loft! Seriously, I should be paid to advertise for them. But don't worry. I'm not. :)

The bottom is embellished with some crocheted lace from my grandmother's stash. She gave it to me when she moved and I'm going to have a life crisis once I've used it all up. It's a magnificent stash, so that won't be a for a long time. (Thank you, Grandma Jessie!)

And thank you, for reading! I'll be back tomorrow with some more shorts pictures. (Yes, I am still making Abby MORE summer shorts).

P.S. The shirt I'm wearing in these pictures is the Alabama Chanin top I was working on in this post. It's not technically finished (I still need to add two more rows of ruffles and beading), but I wear it anyway. Does anyone else do that? 

All That I Have Sown {Family Beach Day Edition}

Happy Memorial Day, friends! I know my list is a bit late, but Brian had a few days off in a row and when that happens we like to play hard. I've been away from the computer for about four days (!!!) and it felt weird, but good. I have some catching up to do...

I'm changing it up a bit this week. Instead of a list, I have a day.
...

We are at the beach, our quintessential family day destination. The kids are playing with sand, making "beach" soup in a bucket containing sea weed, sea water, shells, sand and wood. The baby has already eaten a mouthful of sand, so that's over with. Brian and I are having a conversation that has lasted five minutes already, a record these days for sure.

I breath deep and smell the sea: that sweet combination of salt and weed and life below the surface. It's another world under those crashing waters and I'm reminded of The Little Mermaid and her song, "Part of Your World," and then the waves and the spray come leaping up upon on the rocks.

I watch Hudson play in the water, long limbs tanned golden flashing in the sun. When did my baby grow into this lithe boy? Abby runs up in her floppy hat and yells at the seagulls; they are attacking our bags. I sweep her up on my back and we run, arms waving, yelling at the top of our lungs, "Go away, you birds! Go away!"

We are laughing so hard I bend to place her on the sand and I am young again. I am that little blonde girl who loved the sand and the sea and grew up with the smell of it on her clothes and in her heart. I look into Abby's bright blue eyes as they flash with the light of the sun and the blue of the sea and I see it blossom within her: that love of the ocean which has already begun to grow within my older boy.

He is steering his pirate ship now, shouting out over the water but his words are whipped away by the wind. And Brian is digging another hole (he pretends to do this for the kids, but I know better), and Stryder is wide-eyed at the world and my cell phone is in the recesses of my bag and we are disconnected from the world.

Together. Here.

Later, we trek back up the slope to the van with dry feet and sand in our hair but most of all, laughter in our eyes. I steal a kiss from Abby and breath deep the smell of the sea on her hair and we drive to dinner where we eat burritos and quesadillas and beans.

On the drive home, we all fall asleep except for Brian (of course) who is behind the wheel taking care of us like he always does. Home is waiting, and the day-to-day, but for just a little while longer I am a little girl again, and Hudson is a pirate, and Abby is a bird-chaser, and Stryder is a sand connoisseur, and Brian is digging for gold. And we are just we, nothing more.

Yellow Tulip Skirt {Skirt Week 2012}

For a long time now I've only been wearing two skirts: one black and one brown. They've grown and shrunk with me through two pregnancies and although they have been faithful friends, it's time to say goodbye. I've already replaced one with the Black Maxi, which is an important staple for every woman's wardrobe in my opinion. I also have another brown in the works, but in the meantime, how about some color?

How about yellow? 

Have I told you I love yellow? I picked up this jersey knit in the LA fabric district awhile back in Michael Levine's loft because I loved the color. It's kind of a mustard, kind of a gold-ish yellow. I don't know what to call it, but it's beautiful. The fabric a cotton-lycra blend, which makes it a little bit slinky.

Due to said slinkiness I decided this skirt needed a double-layer. Sometimes a girl wants just a little bit of privacy while bending down to pick up her baby. Or when she may or may not be trying to lose those extra curves afforded her by a recent pregnancy.

I constructed the pattern for this dress using one of Alabama Chanin's skirts from the Studio and Design book. My skirt patterns are all cut into pieces, so I sort of layed them out on the fabric and drew around them until the shape and size looked right.

Like I said above, I wanted this skirt to have a double layer for more coverage, but my piece of fabric wasn't big enough for a full second layer in the front. That's how the idea for a slanted overlay came to me. It's all I had room for!

I think it makes the skirt look a bit like a yellow tulip, which is how I came up with the name. And I love the way that element gives the skirt a little extra interest. Truth be told, it makes me feel pretty. Every mamma can do with some of that, no?

I added a contrasting band at the top because I didn't have enough yellow left over. I think it's a fun little surprise. (And this photo is smaller than the others because I'm not quite comfortable having a large picture of my boo-tay out on the internet. Ya feel me?)

You can check out more skirt awesomeness over at Crafterhours. They are hosting some amazing tutorials! And don't miss the Skirt Week flickr pools. There are some beautiful skirts in there.

Hope you're all having a great week! I'd love to know what you're sewing? Is anyone else out there participating in Skirt Week? Shoot me your links! Tata for now. ;)

Say hello to the Frog Prince {Another Vintage Inspired Baby Dress}

I had a lot of fun the other night sewing up another Vintage-Inspired Baby Dress. The tutorial for this dress has had A LOT of visitors this month and I can only imagine that the search term "vintage baby dress pattern free" has been bringing in so many visitors because of Vintage May which is going on right now, as we speak, at Skirt as Top and Craftiness Is Not Optional.

I know I'm a little late to the party here (it's the 22nd of May) but I've been oohing and ahhing over the many amazing vintage-inspired posts Kristin has been hosting. Have you seen them? I particularly love this dress by Probably Actually, and I will probably, no, actually be buying that fabric and those Oliver and S patterns as soon as I'm done here.

All this talk of vintage kid patterns sent me back to my vintage-inspired baby dress. I have a soft spot in my heart for this dress because, as you know if you've read the tutorial, I wore these dresses as a baby. And since we're headed into summer it's the perfect time to pull the pattern out and make a few more lovelies. Don't be surprised if you see a few more of these on the blog in the near future.

Here are a few more shots. I added a delicious blue baby pompom fringe to the top and vintage lace to the bottom (Vintage May!).

The fabric is from my most favorite, favorite fabric line in the world, Heather Ross' Far Far Away I. It's out of print now and has been for a long time (boo), but I've been holding on to this piece for a couple of years. I love this little frog and I think the colors are perfect for a vintage-inspired dress. Don't you agree?

If you'd like to make one of these yourself, hop on over to the tutorial! Thanks for reading, friends!

Checkered Linen Summer Shorts {Pattern 3}

The main thing I've had to remember while making these shorts is that every mistake brings me one more step to perfect. And I'm almost there, friends! Just one more try and these babies will be just right.

But in the meantime, let me show you try #3. They may not be perfect, but they are still adorable.

I used the same linen fabric used for the Linen Ruffle Skirt I made during KCWC 2012. I just can't get away from it, it's so perfect!

These shorts have a cuffed hem like the others (here and here) but I added real slash pockets to the front and a bias-cut waist band. I almost died when I cut out strips for the waist band because this fabric is so darn cute cut on the bias.

I like the way the waistband contrasts with the body of these shorts.

(By the way, I have to roll the top of these shorts down to fit her, just like I do with her last pair. Trying to fix this problem with the fit.)

What treat is Abby having today? Oh, yummy, a cookie.

Abby picked out this top today all by herself. I think she loved the pink flower on the front. And I know she loved the pink flower on her headband. The girl can't get enough of this stuff, and I am SO glad. I love having a little girl in our house.

I'm happy to say these shorts have been getting a lot of use. It's always nice to know the time spent sewing was worth it!

Thanks for reading, friends! Hopefully this shorts pattern will be perfected by tomorrow. Talk to ya then!

Kickin' Off Skirt Week 2012!

First off, I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! My hubby started the first of his night shifts last night (he's an ICU RN) and I survived! I've been dreading this for months since he's been the one taking care of Abby, our two-year old, in the night while I give the baby his night feeding. Abby has not slept well at night since the day she was born, and yes I've tried everything, and yes I was committed to making it work, but no, none of it ever worked. My boys? They sleep like logs. Everything works on them. Just not with my little Abby girl.

The good news is that little miss Abby has started sleeping through most nights, so maybe this night-shift thing won't be the end of my life after all. Hoorah!

Well, on to something more sewing related. Since you know how much I love sewing challenges, you should not be surprised to hear how excited I am about the kickoff of Skirt Week 2012! This challenge is hosted by the awesome ladies of Crafterhours and gives me the perfect excuse I needed to keep working on my handmade wardrobe.

I've already made four skirts (wow, four!) but only have pictures of what I'm calling the Black Maxi so far. Here she is.

She and I are good friends. I wear her almost every day, but don't tell my friends that because they all saw me wearing her to church today and that might be embarrassing. Oops, they are reading this.

Moving on. The Black Maxi is made from a 100% organic cotton interlock knit from Fabric.com. It's a good weight for a skirt.

I paired the skirt with a repurposed orangey-red shirt that has become my new love. I saw this shirt last week while searching for skirt tutorials on Pinterest and fell in love with it right away.

Source

I rescued a castoff shirt from my mom's giveaway pile, removed the cowl neck which was too hot for summer, refinished the neckline and added the lace using the directions in this tutorial. It's awesome. The cowl neck left a rather large neckline, which I don't love since it kept showing my bra straps to the world, but otherwise this shirt is a winner.

Here's one more of the Black Maxi. I love the way it flares out when I spin.

I created the pattern for this skirt using the long skirt pattern from the Alabama Chanin Studio and Design Book that I've already raved about here, here and here. I eliminated the center seam and changed a few things, but mostly this is Alabama Chanin's pattern. I love the way the bottom flares out and the back is longer than the front.

Thanks for reading friends! Have a great Monday!

All That I Have Sown {Week 16}

For those of you who are new to CailaMade, on the weekends I usually try to post a list of all the things I'm thankful for in the past week. I call this "All that I have SOWN," because whereas during the week you are usually seeing what I have SEWN, these posts are about the life my family and I are sowing and growing together. Last week you read about the contents of our clothes. This post is about the content of our lives.

Last summer, when I turned 30, I decided to stop wasting my time by wishing things in my life were different. My husband was in Nursing School at the time, studying to be an RN, but he was also working full time. Oh, and on top of that we had two kids and a third on the way and I was pregnant and hot and tired and wondering, when will life get better? This is not the way I wanted life to feel. This is hard!

But something changed and I realized that nothing in my life is without value unless I let it be without value. The hard times, those are lessons learned. They help you enjoy the good times. And the good times, those are divine gifts. I will not waste my life by complaining. Gratitude takes discontent and turns it on its head. Gratitude turns the backside of the tapestry over to reveal a beautiful picture on the front. Gratitude turns life into something sacred.

I only have one life and I am going to enjoy every single second of it until I take my last breath. So there.

Here is my list for last week.

Blue pool water
Taste of salt water in my mouth
Enveloped in cool
Water splashing
Kids laughing
Husband lounging
Jumping in with Hudson
Glee on his face
Family together
Mother's Day
My mum
My Teri-mom
My sister (ok, she's my sister in law but those are just words. She's my SISTER.)
My brother's laugh
Hudson playing with Uncle Kyle
Abby jumping in her crib, yelling "Yay, Kyle! Yay, Kyle!" when Uncle Kyle arrive
Family pictures
Brian's three shifts in a row over
Enjoying the weekend with him home
Teri-mom's graduation
Lunch at the California Pizza Kitchen
BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad!
Cupcakes!
Running five miles (about to go run out the door and do six!)
Home
New camera!
Husband so excited about the camera!
I am so excited about the camera!
Baby clapping
Baby crawling
Baby playing
Sophie the giraffe in Stryder's hands
A fun day with family ahead
Fabric
New skirts
Never bored
This list
You, for reading

Summer Shorts #2

Here we are friends: Abby's summer shorts, take two! So far I've made three pairs of shorts for Abby (now you've seen two) and these are my favorite. They are made from a seersucker with just a little bit of some lycra or something to add stretch. Soooo comfy. She already lives in these.

To make adjustments to my previous pattern I just added an inch to the top of the back center seam, look about 1/4 inch off the front center seam and added width to the legs. I still like the look of the other shorts, but these fit better and seem more comfortable.

The only thing is, I still have to fold down the waist. On my third attempt I took the rise back down a little bit to try and fix this problem.

The fabric came from, wait for it... the LA Fabric District! Michael Levine's loft for $2 a pound!

Let's see, what did Caila bribe Abby with this time? Oh, look at that. A Redvine! I've heard those are really good for her teeth. Not.

At least we brushed them after. :)

Oh, and do you appreciate the loved-until-they-look-like-they're-falling-apart boots she's wearing? She picked those out herself. "Ma boots!"  She wouldn't take no for an answer even though it was HOT when we took these pictures. She's got a sense of style, this girl.

Thanks for reading! Hopefully I'll have the final shorts pictures for you tomorrow, and maybe even a pattern available for free download. Wouldn't that be awesome? :) Have a great day, friends!

Tied Summer Dress in red

Any time I don't know what to make but want to make something, I make this dress. I call it the Tied Summer Dress/Top (this version is the top) and it's from a pattern I drafted myself. I talked about it here, and oh yeah, promised you a tutorial and pattern "soon." Oops. That hasn't happened yet.  But I promise you, I'm thinking about doing it. Soon!

*Smile.*

I think I came up with this pattern "out of my own head" as my son would say, but it's so hard to tell with the creative blogosphere. Maybe something somewhere gave me the idea? I've been making this dress for almost two years now, and all I know is that one morning I woke up with a picture in my head and started drafting. And that was before Pinterest! (I know, can you imagine such a world?).

(UPDATED: I recently saw a couple of similar baby sundresses by Made by Rae (here and here). These were posted two years ago, around the same time I started sewing this dress. I was following Rae's blog then, so I think it's safe to assume I was inspired by her. It's important to give credit where credit is due!)

You're probably tired of hearing this, but the last time I was in the LA Fabric district, I picked up these two prints. The moment I saw this red I knew it was meant for Abby, and the blue dots were just, well, perfect. Of course, my moment of inspiration occurred just as Michael Levin's was about to close its doors and the poor lady who was helping me (and who was about to topple over from the tower of fabric she was carrying for me) kindly reminded me that it was time to cut the fabric now.


This is the story of my life. I can't leave the fabric store until someone makes me leave the fabric store. Usually, my kids take care of this.

OK, back to this dress/top. I always pick small dots for the yolk and ties of this dress. I think they balance the bold prints I like to feature on the body.

The lace at the bottom is another vintage piece from my grandmother's stash. I know I talk about that stash a lot. I should show you pictures sometime!

Here's a closeup of the shoulder ties. My sister-in-law took these pics of Abby wearing the dress with her Cannon Rebel (t1i, I think?). A good camera makes such a difference!

Look at that tan skin. I guess all those hours of swimming and swimming and swimming have paid off!

Here she is wearing the first pair of little shorts I made her. I actually made them to go with this top. And she's wearing some strawberries around her mouth, too, which match the dress and just make her that much more adorbs.

Here's a closer shot of her strawberry cheeks. And her perfect little face.

This dress/top was perfect for our family pictures on Mother's Day. I just love the way it matches her sunny personality. Let's just say she's not a shy girl.

This just might be my favorite picture of the kids. Ever. (Thank you, sister!!)

Thanks so much for reading, friends. Hope you're having a fantabulous week! We are half way to the weekend already, whoohoo!

Oh, I almost forgot: yesterday I said I was going to post pictures of Abby's 2nd pair of summer shorts. I was just too excited about this dress and had to show it to you right away. Tomorrow, shorts!