Last Kids Clothes Week I disappointed myself. I ran out of steam and didn't accomplish much.  I've spent months battling health issues (long story very short: my thyroid hates me) and at times the fatigue was overwhelming. It was so frustrating to have ideas and no energy to carry them out. I'm getting better, but I'm also trying to be easy on myself. 
Solution for this time: lower my expectations! My goal for this KCW was to "do something" every day. Not worry about the time, but just make a little progress every day. I finished two projects, and I am happy with the results!

The first project was a dress for my niece. It's Kate's Dress, from Lily Bird Studio. It's a nice pattern with easy to follow directions. The fabric is a chambray fabric (I think) that I found at Goodwill. It is a beautiful light orchid color and it is very soft. I got 2 pieces totaling over 4 yards, and I really want to make myself something out of the rest!

My new skill for this project was making my own piping. It was so easy and I LOVE the look! The piping matches the lining and the covered buttons. It's details like these that make me really love making things myself.

I am working on taking the time to finish my seams and make the inside of my garments look nice too. I serged the seam allowances and pressed carefully. Not too bad if I say so myself.

The second project was an outfit for M. She has grown at least 3 inches since last summer! I don't think the shorts I made her last year are going to fit much longer, and they are a bit too short to wear to school. 

I used the MADE Kid shorts pattern and added width and length to the size 9/10. She likes the way they fit. The fabric is a sheet from Target that I got on clearance. I have a project in mind for myself for this fabric too. The bias is self made from another sheet.

The shirt is the Oliver + S Field Trip Raglan. I really love this pattern! It's an awesome unisex pattern that is great for any age. I have made the 6mo size for baby gifts, all the way up to this size for my big girl. It's easy and the fit is great. The pink fabric is from a Target sheet (I made her another shirt from the same fabric here) and the striped fabric is recycled from a shirt I was getting rid of due to some small holes. The great thing about using an old shirt is I used the hem for the sleeve hems! I hate sewing knit hems.

All in all I think this KCW went very well. I was able to keep up my momentum with small bursts of daily sewing, and it's amazing how those little bits add up!

Dress Details:
Pattern- Kate's Dress from Lily Bird Studios
Fabric- chambray from Goodwill and floral cotton from deep stash (from JoAnn's I think?)
Wearability- not sure yet- it's a gift
Repeatability- I would make this again if I need a sweet dress for a gift.

M's Outfit Details:
Patterns- MADE Kid's Shorts, Oliver + S Field Trip Raglan
Fabric- all fabric is from sheets!
Wearability- VERY high! She didn't take these off after photos.
Repeatability- also very high- I will for sure be making many more of each of these for both M and my boy B

Wow! Today marks the one year anniversary of this blog! Time sure flies when you're having fun! Blogging hasn't been quite what I pictured it to be,  but I am really enjoying it. Here are some lists (I love a good bulleted list!) to document my thoughts at this time:

Some ways my thinking has changed:

• Writing a blog post is time consuming!-- I had read quite often on other blogs about how time consuming it is to write a post and I guess I just thought I wouldn't write very detailed posts so it wouldn't take so long. Little did I know that every time I sit down to write a post my mind goes into deep thinking mode and I consider each word carefully. Not to mention that I started blogging on my phone, and I don't have the fastest texting thumbs!
  
• I have to fight the urge to "feed the blog"-- I really didn't think that I would worry about what to post much. I make stuff, and I'd share the stuff. Now I seem to spend time thinking about whether each make is blog-worthy. I started the blog to document and share my projects, so I've been working to let it go and just post everything.
  

Some blog highlights:

• Being featured on the Coletterie blog!!!
• Testing patterns: Belinda, Presidio, Parisian.

Some stats about my first year of blog posts:

• 30 posts total. (I didn't think there were that many! Not too bad for my first year!)
• 11 kid's clothing posts
• 14 posts featuring clothing I sewed for myself
• 3 posts that show yarn/knit/crochet projects
• 2 tutorials

Some goals for my second year of blogging:

• Post more! My goal is to average one post a week- that's 52 posts for year 2!
• Work on my photography. Most of the posts for year 1 were don't on my phone, with iPhone photos. With the arrival of our new computer I have switched to the DSLR, and I want to use it to it's full potential!
• Post more of my knitting. For some reason it doesn't make it to the blog as much as my sewing does.
• Participate in more sew-alongs. I love them!

Finally, thanks so much to everyone who has read this blog... it's nice to know you're out there! I am fortunate to have many crafty friends in real life, but this great online crafty community helps me to know that we're not the only crazy ones out there!
Now... on to year two!