what eric does while i sew

many of you probably wonder what eric must be up to while i sew.  i used to sew primarily in the bedroom at that little sewing table that we set up next to the bed.  however, recently i've been sewing on the coffee table/chest in the living room area of the apartment so that eric and i could explore our hobbies simultaneously in each other's company. 

here's the view from my sewing machine: 

 

to back this story up a bit, 2 weekends ago, while i was finishing up alice's bday top, eric decided to harvest not 1, or 2, or even 3, but FIVE of our collard plants.  they were taller than me, and with the stalks, they probably weighed as much as me.  look at how proud he is!

not convinced that there's a lot back there?  here's a side view, to give you a better perspective:

not a small feat to clip all those leaves off and to wash them.  bath time!

he then flash-boiled them all and vacuum-sealed them into packs for the freezer.  we'll have collards for the rest of the year!  woot! 

applause for eric!  this feat took hours.  oh, wonder how i was able to sew and photograph him at the same time?  he usually documents my sewing while he's in the midst of his activities too.  skillz, yo, we got skillz.  wondering what lil' fuzz is up to while we're busy? 

lil' bunny has got to rest.  zzzzz's.  here's a ridiculously cute picture of him lounging on the perch in his travel cage while we were up in westchester for alice's bday dinner last weekend.

alice's bday top

for alice's big bday (i won't tell which, a girl never tells another girl's age!), i used the zsalya top by kate and rose patterns and this abstract dot floral chiffon that i've been saving for the perfect project (for years!  i got it in my dc days) to make this cute little number.  the contrast fabric at the yoke and cuff are remnants from the black cotton dobby dot poufy bell-sleeve top that i made when i lived in philly.

i thought the actual dots juxtaposed with the dot chiffon would be a neat combination.  i love me a shot of irony.  although her bday was mid-july (we went to nova scotia to celebrate it!  pics to come next soon.  i have to fetch some from eric first), i finally got this top done last weekend.  here's the bday gal in her top and me in that pink jersey tank i made 2 summers ago.  note: my eyes are open, they're just ABOUT to close hehe.

i love this top on her.  alice is quite the gardener.  her yard is super coordinated in terms of what colors bloom when and where.  it is really stunning.  it was thus necessary that the top i make her be floral.  i didn't want it to be regular flowers though.  too expected.  artsy abstract bright dots seemed perfect for the occasion!  i shall dub this top and pattern the "alice top." 

so admittedly, the 3/4 length sleeves were more like 8/9 length on alice's arms (see above).  so, i brought the top back home and shortened up the sleeves a bit and reattached the cuff.  woot!  here's the front:

here's the back:

hope you had an amazing bday, alice!  here's to the the most fantastical year yet!

and the fuzzfeed: lil' fuzz recently has been sprawling out after his bunny crack pellets feeding session.  it's a rough life being such a cute lil' bunny. 

and a belated father's day gift

i know, just say it, i'm the worst child possible.  i can't seem to get my deadlines right for gifts.  it's hard though, i'm a working gal!  for dad's father's day gift this year, i made him shorts.  i had an easy enough time making eric's shorts and dad has been saying for years that he needs new shorts (a big fat lie, if you ask me, because i keep finding new pairs of shorts in his closet whenever i visit home).  i made them really similar to eric's shorts, to be honest.  navy interfaced pockets,

a navy waistband, and a navy zipper shield (zipper shields are supposed to be in the self fabric, but i'm a dope and wasn't paying attention when i cut everything out, so dad's shorts have a navy surprise every time he unzips, hehe).  those are eric's shorts on the right and the zipper shield is the panel directly under the button.

dad ended up finding them a tad too long (he likes his shorts well above his knees) so i ended up taking the bottom hem up by a little over an inch after this pic.  the waist was also a little loose so i moved the button further in.

after these adjustments, the fit was pretty spot on with his store-bought shorts, so *pat pat on my back* for me!

fuzzfeed:  after we realized lil' fuzz had been accidentally starving due to his crazy high metabolism, we started giving him twice as many pellets and being even more generous with the fresh vegetables we fed him.  he then got super lovey and snuggly

and loungey!

a very belated mother's day gift

make that giftssss!  yup, 2 this year, both completed early actually, but i didn't get a chance to see mom until way after mother's day.  for top #1, i used the cool contrasts pattern in the twinkle sews pattern book.  i've been meaning to make this pattern for a while now.

unfortunately the neckline of this top was huge.  look how it falls off my shoulders!  mom's shoulders are the slightest bit wider than mine, but still, this would never stay on for her.  (excuse my nerdtastic look.  i go all in when i start sewing and forget to brush my hair or eat or shower sometimes.  wait, i never brush my hair.  poor lil' fuzz gets a bit neglected too.)

i made each of the front panels narrower along the neckline.  i never got a final pic of the shirt after the neckline binding was sewn on and the bottom hem panel was attached, but use your imagination.  one day, i hope to snap a pic of mom in the top (although she finds the neckline too deep.  sigh.  mom is too modest.)

this project used remnants from that navy cowl neck top from this past spring (here's lil' fuzz napping on it),
and the navy and triangle vintage fabric from that parent-teacher conference dress of 4 years ago and faye's bday dress from last year.

shirt #2 is another checked peasant top, so mom and i can be twinsies again!  (remember the ghanaian fabric sleeveless tops that i made mom and me 2 years ago for our bdays?  well mine slowly started shrinking in the wash and got too tight across the back, so i switched with mom and methinks she never wears the shrinkydink one because she probably finds that it touches her too much, hehe.)

the fuzzfeed: a couple of weeks ago, meaning many weeks ago, eric and i built a latticework fence to keep lil' fuzz away from the new zucchini plant.  here he is trying to sneak in anyway, but he was foiled!