Spring Sewing

 

I am playing with my serger today. I bought some interlock knit at Joann's a couple of weeks ago. Why is it so difficult to find knit fabrics - in stores in Oregon? I'm not up to ordering it on-line as I am still an old-school fabric buyer. I have to touch it, feel it, think about it.

Anyhow, I bought a yard of this knit at Joann's to make something for my great-niece Phea.  It shrank quite a bit in the pre-washing phase but that was okay - I didn't know what I was making for  Phea - yet.

I found Simplicity 7800 in my stash. I apparently made a size 4 for my daughter way back when but I have no memory of what I made or what it looked like. This time I am making size 3 for my size 2 niece. This pattern is for leggings in two lengths and a baby doll top with or w/o sleeves. I  have just over 3/4 yard after shrinkage but at least it is 60 inches wide. I managed to cut out the short leggings and the top without sleeves.

I love sewing for Phea. The seams are short and it doesn't take a lot of yardage. The leggings were quite easy to sew up. I am waiting for a measurement before I do the elastic waistband. Basically there are four seams: inner leg, crotch seam, hem and waistband seam.
I move on to the top and it comes together very nicely. 

When I bought the serger last fall, the instructor showed us how to gather fabric - like for a ruffle. Or, you could use the gathering foot and it would gather the skirt to the bodice - as shown on my pattern. Well - it worked well on my sample piece but the reality? There are seams and a placket on the bodice that don't want to feed through the gathering foot. This made for a terrible uneven gathering.
In all probability, the dress is too long for my size 2 niece, so I simply cut off the 'mistake' and tried a different way to gather the skirt to the top. This knit stretches a lot so I actually am waiting for it to come out of the washer/dryer before I take photos in hopes that whereas I stretched out the top to meet the gathered skirt, it will magically retract into looking better.
(If not, we'll cut it off again and attach this gathered skirt the old-fashioned way with my regular sewing machine and a basting stitch).
Did I mention the seams are short?

not quite dry- pardon the wrinkles.

Missy Sophea can wear this as a set or mix and match. I think I made these more to play with my serger and figure out the possibilities. I think if I tried the gathering foot again, I would attach the skirt to the bodice before I sewed the side seams.

I found another food I tolerate quite well and I am surprised to be eating it. It's Seaweed.
My local store is amazing in the array of allergy-free foods they keep getting in. I spotted two brands of seaweed a couple of months ago and so far, no reactions. Of course, this comes from Korea, so we'll see if a little radiation gets through in the next few months?
( here's hoping this is a humorous comment . . .)

 

 I have been using the seaweed sheets to pick up my eggs on Sunday mornings. Eggs show up on both my food allergy panels but I have never reacted to eggs. I've challenged them numerous times over the last four years.
I remember going to an ethiopian restaurant where they didn't use utensils but instead used a thin bread to pick up the food.  I like to have eggs on Sundays to break up my protein cycle and seaweed is high in Vitamin A which adds up nutritionally to a good start to my week.

 The seaweed sheets are quite delicate, very thin and very flavorful. They are inexpensive (for allergy-free food) and very tasty.

And finally, I leave you with some of my tulips.