I Would Have Posted Sooner But...

Last weekend I glommed my way into a sewing blogger meetup in NYC even though I've been absent from the virtual bee for nearly a year (and only heard about it the night before from Gingermakes). As always, it was inspiring to hang with so many ladies who share my passion for fabric, sewing and DIY fashion. Plus I came away with a bag of fabric to last me few the next projects in my queue.

Being there, I realized how much I've been missing out by not posting in my blog — or reading and commenting on others. Of course, at the time I stopped blogging, I felt like I was missing out on real world interaction with likeminded sewers (which I have since remedied by taking up teaching!), so I guess I am beset by the modern ill of always feeling like the thing I am not doing is the thing I should be doing. (As I type this, I'm looking longingly out the window at a sunny day — even though I know it's minus one million degrees out!).

I gave up blogging here for a while because of fear and frustration over the fact that some of my content was used in an inappropriate way, as well as search terms that have no business bringing people to Beau Baby were the No. 1 entry point to this blog. I tried deleting posts and even certain individual words throughout my blog to cope with all that, and it still doesn't seem to have helped. To move ahead I will have to work on self-censorship (not just language, but also avoiding writing about or posting pics of my kid), which is not a totally impossible task.

Though I haven't been blogging, I have been sewing a lot— including this striped jersey Scout tee I made Sunday night. Like the pleather patch pocket (say that three times fast!)?

This is another of my fave recent makes — a chambray men's style collared shirt with snaps (can I get a what-what for no buttonholes?): 

Instagram filters were made for no-makeup days, n'est-ce-pas?

I made the pattern for the above button-up a few years back in advanced patternmaking class at FIT. I must have aced that assignment because this shirt is perfection. I wore it on International Women's Day, a la Rosie the Riveter.

I bought a bunch of yards of that chambray at Mood, so I made this tunic version of Victory Patterns' Anouk with the remainder:

I've used that pattern once before to make the dress version, which I much prefer to this. The yoke details are so cute, but the non-belted tunic length looks maternity — and I'm not wild about being asked when I am due. Also, I should have sized up apparently, because though the sleeveless version fit perfectly, when I attempted to add sleeves, I felt like the hulk — as in, I could rip the whole thing open if I got angry enough ("Who used my fabric scissors to CUT PAPER!?!? RAWR!" ...riiiiiiiip. Sigh.).

Oh, and to complete the sentence I started in this post's title: I would have posted sooner but...
-I couldn't figure out the captcha
-I was trying to figure out if those "first kiss" videos were faked
-I got cable and can't tear myself away from the Will&Grace marathon
-I was busy searching satellite photos for that missing plane

Your turn:

Look What Came Home With Me This Weekend!

Yesterday I traveled down to the Garment District in Midtown Manhattan to buy a few remaining supplies for my Mommy Poppins Bag. I picked up fusible interfacing at the Fashion Institute of Technology bookstore and a magnetic closure at SIL Thread (plus muslin for Kenneth King's "Jeanius" Craftsy class, which I am finally going to get serious about soon I swear).

But I completely forgot to buy lining. I did, however, bring home something much, much better.