Finished project! Vintage Simplicity 8360

Oh hey! I was just scratching the back of my head

This is my husband's favourite actor headshot pose. The classic scratch-the-back-of-your-head pose. I think it's popular because it sets your chin at a nice angle, making the jaw line look more defined. Think I'm crazy? Here are a few examples:

Shia LeBouef is itchy

So is Jason Segal

Justin Timberlake may be running his hand through his hair...but he's probably worried about his dandruff

As you can see, I finally got my husband out for a photo shoot in his new wool knit hooded sweatshirt, sewn from the vintage Simplicity 8360 pattern I bought on Etsy from Paulassewnice (she has another copy of the same pattern available RIGHT NOW for just $4.25 US).

Hello there, little man!

An awfully photogenic man, my husband Ryan makes for a good model — especially when he accepts direction gracefully. It was a wonderful day in NYC today. Winter? What winter? 

This look says "I question your authority."

I made this hoodie to replace a gray zip-up hooded sweater my husband wore well for a couple years before losing it in Fresno, California, during a fringe theatre festival. I haven't seen a suitable replacement since, so I thought I'd try making him one. Again, here he is in the original:

After a reader found me the perfect raglan-sleeved hoodie pattern (Simplicity 8360), I bought a gray wool knit at Mood in New York City. I tried and failed to find something suitable somewhere cheaper. When I finally checked Mood, I found a perfect match for $20/yard. I needed two yards for this hoodie. Pretty pricey, but it was for his Christmas gift, after all. And the poor guy works so hard and never gets to have anything nice. Look how happy he is now (I believe this look is called "Hey! There's the bus!"

I made a couple changes to the pattern to update it for a man who likes a little more length (the 1970s pattern is a little cropped; it also has very blousey sleeves, which I took in). Instead of a drawstring on the bottom hem, I added a two-inch band. And instead of putting elastic at the ends of the sleeves, I again added bands. It's a more modern (and less feminine, I think) sweatshirt than the one in the vintage pattern. See how tough he looks in it?

Lucy also wanted to give the head scratch pose a try:

So what's your favorite pose? 

I consider it success we made it out of 2011 alive

There was a point in 2011 when I somewhat seriously considered squatting. That's how desperate I felt this year.

Not squatting in an abandoned building, mind you. We have a three-year-old, after all, and I need a daily shower and coffee within moments of waking up in order to feel human. I just wondered what would happen if we stopped paying rent...how long would it take to get thrown out, and could we save enough cash in that time to make a new life somewhere other than New York? Because life in this city become pretty unbearable after I was attacked by a crackhead, just as my husband suffered a major loss of work, on the day an earthquake shook the city, in the calm before a hurricane hit. I don't remember the earthquake (nor do I recall the attack), and the hurricane proved to be no worse than any other sudden summer storm. But an intense feeling that the other shoe was about to drop remains just the same. My husband has it too; neither of us can get an email without the other one demanding what bit of bad news it could possibly be. It's a terrible way to exist.


(I also considered lottery tickets and corruption as possible ways out. But good sense and a lack of opportunity won out).

So with all this in mind you would think I'd be ready to say good riddance to 2011. But I can't run arms outstretched into the future without worrying that it could be even worse. (After I was mugged, people said to me, "Well, now you've been mugged...so you don't have to worry about THAT happening again." But life doesn't work that way. You don't get a punchcard with all the bad things that could possibly happen to you on it. If it did, there would never have been a second episode of "I Hate My Teenage Daughter").

I found out this week that the guy who punched me in the mouth is refusing a plea deal so I will have to testify in court in February. What that means is I will have to see him (most likely), and be cross-examined by his defense attorney. My brain has so far done me the huge favour of not remembering the attack (thanks, brain!). But when I saw the police detective who helped me again at the Grand Jury, I was overcome with the feeling that I knew him — that maybe we dated in highschool, and he was really sweet to me...or maybe I've seen him on TV? It's so hard to explain. But when I saw him, I thought: "I KNOW him. He was nice to me. I was grateful." I can't remember what he said, or how our interaction went, but I am certain of the feeling of relief I felt in his presence. So I am worried when I see the crackhead who punched my face in I will remember the terror I felt — though not necessarily any specifics. And then I will never be able to leave my apartment again. I really would like to be able to leave my apartment in 2012.

There were some good things about 2011, to be sure:

• I was chosen as a "Featured member" on Burdastyle.com
• My husband appeared on One Life to Live
• I won a bunch of awesome stuff
• I went to Mexico for the first time, with some of my closest friends, and had the best time ever
• Pie continued to be awesome in 2011. And I'm feeling good about its enduring greatness for 2012.
• I made some cute dresses, like this one, this one, and my favourite, which was chosen by Burdastyle.com as a top project for the year
• I won a Halloween costume contest after pestering the shit out of my friends and readers
• I won tickets to Saturday Night Live
• We moved into a bigger apartment in a quieter neighborhood, though every time we hear a car horn honk, my three-year-old daughter sighs audibly and says, "I thought this was a quiet neighbourhood." (Oy, such a kvetcher!)
• We now live across the street from the BEST bagel shop ever. There's not even a toaster (because you would be an idiot if you were to toast a Bagel Corner bagel, I guess)
• My husband got into advertising school for copywriting, and I'm so excited for him to make a career change. It will be a challenging year, but we just have to hang in there and work harder. There's no other option. Not when you have this to wake up to:

Happy New Year. Hang in there, everybody.

Signing up for Minoru Sew-along

Readers, I didn't get what I wanted for Christmas, so today I did what anybody else would do: returned what I got and bought the thing I did — this pattern for the Minoru Jacket by Tasia of Sewaholic:

It's so sporty and cute, right? Tasia lives in Vancouver, which is just a ferry ride from where I was born and raised. This pattern calls for lighter weight fabrics, so it will obviously have to wait to be worn until spring. Which means I'm in no real rush to sew it — though Tasia is hosting a Minoru sew-along starting Jan. 16. I don't know if I'll even have my pattern (not to mention fabric) by then. But I love sew-alongs, and one of my resolutions for the New Year is to participate in more of them.

In other news, Burdastyle.com included my Peacock-print Bombshell Dress in its slideshow of Member Projects of 2011!

If only a gal like me had more places to wear a dress like this. Thanks for the love, Burdastyle!

A few cute things I've been working on

I'm still hanging my head in shame over that pink velvet dress debacle. It really made me question whether I am, in fact, halfway decent at this — in the way that running into a lame ex-boyfriend makes you wonder whether you ever have any idea what you are doing ever.

To help myself move on, I've been sewing some small projects this week — and nothing for myself. All three of these projects are for my daughter for Christmas, and all were made from fabrics I had in my stash.

My daughter is three, and she seems to understand that she can ask for something for Christmas. But her wishes are vague and weird, and left up to a certain degree of interpretation. Her main request has been for a "teacher bag" and a "teacher toy." What those two things are...we may never know. She wont' tell us. Most likely she doesn't know. (If you have any suggestions, please leave them below!)

So following roughly this great tutorial at Say Yes To Hoboken for a Notebook Lined Tee, I used some scraps of a cream-coloured denim (some weird muslin? I got it from a neighbour who was getting rid of fabric) and fabric paints to create this "teacher bag":

I'm fully expecting her to toss it aside Christmas morning and say, "THAT'S not a teacher bag!" Harumph.

Moving on, I also made her this shirt (from the last bits of blue jersey I have previously used to sew leggings and underpants, as well as the pink polka-dotted fabric I used to make tents for Lucy's camping birthday party, and a lovely bird-printed cotton I used for doll carriers). I used the Elise pattern by Violette Field Threads, which I won in a giveaway. The pattern was great, and it turned out very cute, I do believe.

Keep your fingers crossed for me that my kid actually wears it. After using cotton bias tape to finish the neckhole I realized I'd never be able to get this shirt over my kid's head, so I cut a slit in the back, bound off the opening, and added a button and elastic closure. I should have known better and used jersey as the bias strip to finish the neckhole, but the pattern instructions didn't specify and clearly I have poor judgement. Also, the pattern didn't have grain lines. Weird, non?

I also made a few flowered headbands for Lucy and her friends as little gifts. I think I'll give her this one early so she can wear it in her preschool holiday show tomorrow:

So tell me, what do you do to make yourself feel better after failing?

Violette Field Threads Giveaway Winner!

 

The winner is Sparkledonkey! (Yes, it was random, though flattery will get you everywhere, Sparkledonkey!)

 

Email me sbeaubien (at) gmail (dot) com so I can send you your prize: three sewing patterns from Violette Field Threads. Thanks everyone for entering!