Let’s call a spade a spade, shall we? I haven’t posted in quite a while.
I’m going to blame it on my heightened, nay, egregious domesticity of late. Call it nesting, call it what you will. I am a homemaking ANIMAL.
The biggest news on this front is my return to sewing. My mom is a great seamstress, and always encouraged me to see the potential in a bolt of enticing fabric. She bought me my own sewing machine – a Sears classic from the stone ages that stitches unbelievably straight and has never, in the 25 years I’ve owned it, needed any repair – and I enrolled in 4-H for sewing classes in 6th grade. My next-door neighbor, Marie, was the instructor, so I spent a lot of time at her house, learning what the heck words like “selvage” and “basting” meant.
While I’ve dabbled since then in simple projects like elastic-waist shorts (junior high) and star-patterned quilted pillows (just after wedding), never have I come back to my sewing machine with so much verve. It’s this little girl I’m having. She has turned me into a monster. Girl’s clothes are SO easy to sew, and with all the free online patterns and gorgeous fabrics out there, it’s hard to resist the urge. When I came across a teal and blue paisley at the craft store the other day, I decided to dust off the machine and give it a whirl. It always blows my mind how well I remember how to thread my machine. Marie must have beat it into me hard as a kid, because I can do it with my eyes closed. Like Jason Bourne, only way less cool or dangerous.
Anyway, I’ve collected and used patterns for several dresses so far. Here are two of my favorites (photos taken with my phone, sorry):
“Snappy Toddler Dress” pattern available here: http://prudentbaby.com/2010/05/baby-kid/snappy-toddler-top-free-downloadable-pattern-2/
“Itty Bitty Baby Dress” pattern available here: http://www.made-by-rae.com/2008/04/free-itty-bitty-baby-dress-pattern/
I’m not the only busy little bee around here – Jake’s got his own projects afoot. Like this wall-to-wall bookcase he’s been working on for months:
As long as I can remember, I’ve wanted wall-to-wall bookcases when I grew up. I guess I’m finally a grown-up. Ew. And yay!
We’ve also been pretty crazy in the garden lately. The weather here on California’s Central Coast is breezy but warm, so the volunteer tomatoes, roses, and lettuces are going ape! I’ve already made up a batch of parsley pesto (recipe here), lemon-thyme simple syrup (here) and plenty of garden salads from the bounty. All this work does a number on my lower back, especially when the 30-pound Seabass wants to be held all the time, but it’s too much fun to pass up.
I am Jaime, wife to Jacob. We are the smitten, stupefied, sometimes scared silly parents of a precious boy nicknamed Seabass and a darling girl nicknamed Sweet Chuck.
Higher Highs, Lower Lows 
Oh my goodness, those are sooooo cute! Go Jaime. I can’t sew to save my life, so I am uber impressed.
Those dresses are so cute. Have fun with the nesting.
Those are darling, Jaime! You are going to have one well-dressed little lady! 😉
Good job! And you tackled piping! Marie would be so proud.
Jaime I am so glad to see that you have taken up sewing once again, I am so proud of you and those dresses are darling. I’ll your mom is really excited about having another girl in the family. Let us know when the baby is due. Do you have a name for her yet? You do know that little boy’s clothes are pretty simple to make also, like t-shirts and pull on shorts. Have fun and I am so glad to hear that the sewing machine is getting a workout. Take care. Marie
Marie!!!! How cool that you got to see this!
LOVE the little dresses! Girls clothes are unfortunately just sooo much cuter than boys clothes!