Kids Are Fun

All illnesses and hearing issues aside, kids can be really fun. Last night I sat at the kitchen table diligently working away on a bodice pattern I'm trying to make. It was close to midnight and the house was quiet. All of a sudden, Lambchop #1 launched into a hummed rendition of the theme song from Hannah Montana, her favorite show. Funny thing about it was that she was sleeping. She didn't just hum a bar or two, either. She did the whole song. Did a pretty good-sounding job, too. Very cute.

Now, about that pattern I'm making... I finally got the time to sit down with a book I bought towards the end of my last pregnancy. It's called How To Make Sewing Patterns by Donald H. McCunn. I have to say, I really like this book. It helps you learn how to custom make your own sewing patterns from scratch. Lots of books of this kind tell you how to modify commercial sewing patterns, but when you're cheap like I am, that's not what you're looking for. When looking for a book on this topic, I saw other, much more expensive books, so I was afraid this reasonably inexpensive one would not be enough to really do the trick. I was wrong. It isn't exactly easy to make your own sewing pattern (So far, I'm still working on the basic bodice pattern), but his instructions and diagrams are very clear. There is a decent amount of math involved, but it's very simple math and clearly explained.

My main difficulty is the measuring. There are many measurements to take, and I'll admit I don't have much experience in measuring anything beyond the more commonly measured body parts. I am really excited about nearing the end of this basic bodice pattern, though, because once I get it done, I could conquer the world. Well, I could at least make almost any shirt pattern I wanted, and that's really something, right? Then, I can move onto skirts and pants. Really, maybe I could conquer the world... oooh, and wearing really nicely fitting clothes while doing it. I know it would help me when designing a sweater for myself. It would certainly be a lot easier to measure the pattern pieces or lay the sweater-in-progress down against the pattern to see if I'm moving in the right direction. As an added bonus, the book even has a section explaining how to make a little cardboard model of your own body based on the basic patterns you've developed with all the measuring and fitting. So, then I wouldn't have to shell out tons of money for one of those dress forms. This definitely pleases the cheapskate in me, and it would certainly be a time-saver not to have to try clothes on for a fitting and wrestle them into submission to repin and adjust things.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, my current main goal with all this pattern making business is to make myself a cute little short-sleeved kimono shirt somewhat like this one. I have a bedsheet just waiting to be chopped up for this purpose.

Well, I was able to squeeze in a few minutes of blogging time while everyone was still sleeping and the house was still quiet, but now Lambchop #2 (our early riser) is up-and-at-'em, so I'd better get breakfast prepared (no time to edit, even, because he's bugging the baby). *SIGH* A woman's work is never done. Why can't I just work on my pattern instead of cleaning the house and doing the grocery shopping today?

And, in case you're wondering what that picture has to do with this post. The answer is nothing. I just didn't want to do a long pictureless post, and baby pictures are always welcomed by Grandma, so I decided to throw that one in.