All about sewing

There are other things happening in my life right now but I only intend to post about one thing: sewing.  I completed a second little girl shirt and was so excited to see my niece wear it that it was not well photographed. 

I used the same pattern as the last one but without the sleeve ruffle.  And, instead of gathers, I used three pleats in the front.  I just made them up as I went to I'm quite pleased with how they came out.  Omitting the sleeve ruffle seemed like a small change but it resulted in the top being put together in a very different way.  Despite that I did better on this project.  The lessons learned on the last shirt were put to use here.  I chose the largest size and it was larger than expected.  My niece is 5, nearly 6, and it was loose on her.  The neck was a bit low as well but that may be the result of a body too small.  It was pretty cute but not perfect.  I'm ready to move on to projects for me.  I have a pattern and fabric that I intend to use for shorts.

I spent some time at my grandparents this week and came away with a box of sewing stuff that used to belong to my grandmother.

There were some lovely ribbons, lots of zippers and some useful elastic but those weren't nearly as interesting as the other things I found. 

Because once you become a parent you don't get a name anymore; just a title.

My sister tells me that these are still a thing.  Seemed crazy to me.

There were so many zippers that looked like this.  I get the feeling that my grandmother took all the zippers out of her old clothes before she threw them away.  Not just zippers, either.  I found quite a few old, detached cuffs, elastic and lace trims.  It took a surprisingly long time to go through the box.  And I feel bad that I'm not saving all these things that Grandma saved.  But how many old zippers could I possibly use?  Want them?

I got something new in the mail today.  Mom told me it was an early birthday present but really, it's my unbirthday next week.  So I'll keep my fingers crossed for 6 months from now.  She brought the serger back to me last week and now I have all the parts I need to run it.  So exciting!  Let's see if I can figure it out.

These are very special needles, Mom tells me.  If I never lose this pack it should last me a very long time.