Things that make me drop off the face of the earth for 6 months: pregnancy, morning sickness, flu, stomach flu, broken ribs, buying a house in another state... It's been a busy time for me! Several months were pretty miserable, so I hunkered down and didn't do much sewing or pattern design. But I've managed some projects, so I'm going to share those.

First though, updates. I recently closed my handmade pages, so not all site links will work properly. I'm honestly not sure when I will be opening that side of my shop again. I'm moving later this month and then having my fourth baby in September, so I'm taking an indefinite break from selling handmade. However! I do have two sewing patterns very close to completion, and finishing up my teaching job has freed up time. I should be putting out two testing calls in my ToriskaPDF Facebook group in the next couple of weeks, and then publishing them before the baby is born.

Let me try to divide my projects into smaller groups. First, clothes for kids:

First a Tulip Tunic from Heidi and Finn patterns for my daughter. Then a Jackalope Tee for my son from Momma Quail patterns. Both of those were cut out and sitting on my table for months, so I was happy to finish them. The green sweatshirt with turtle buttons was also cut out. My son wanted to have a shirt with 100 turtles for his 100s day project, so he glued on the buttons and I stitched them and then finished the shirt. It's the Omni Tempore pattern from Sofilantjes Patterns. The pink t-shirts are just craft store t-shirts with iron on letters. They were for a talent show act my daughter participated in, and surprisingly, the letters are still in place months later! It was a simple project but a big deal for me with how I felt at the time! Finally, two beautiful dresses for my nieces to wear at their family's temple sealing, which is a religious ceremony. Those were from the Tea Party Dress from Tadah Patterns. I finished them late at night while I had the flu, so those are practically miracles!

Next, some gifts and projects for other people:

First, a super cute little pony for my daughter's good friend who love My Little Ponies. That was from the Huggable Unicorn pattern from Huggable Patterns. Then the free Itty Bitty Dress pattern from Made by Rae for a baby shower gift. Next was a teacher gift that my son requested for his 1st grade teacher, a stuffed giraffe. That pattern is from DIY Fluffies. I've made their patterns before and I always modify them so that I can sew more with the machine and less hand sewing than the pattern suggests. Then another teacher gift that my daughter requested for her 3rd grade teacher who recently returned from maternity leave. It's the Bubblegum Dress from Candy Castle Patterns. Finally, another scripture case for my nephew who just turned 8 and was baptized. I've made one for my daughter and his older brother. Each time I change the pattern a bit, and now I feel like it's very close to publishing! That will be one of my new patterns this summer.

Next, some embroidery machine projects:

First, some fleece blankets that I helped my mother-in-law with. She cut them out and I serged the edges and embroidered them. She was the director of a Woodbadge course for Scouts and gave them as gifts. Then I embroidered a bookmark for my daughter's preschool teacher. Here's the pattern from Emblibrary. After that I embroidered several different turtle t-shirts for my turtle-loving son. Some of those designs are from Emblibrary but some are from Urban Threads. Finally, my daughter and I worked together to complete an in-the-hoop stuffed critter Espeon, which is a Pokemon character. It was tiny and required way too much hand-sewing, but made her very happy! It was from this pattern from Etsy.

Finally, I'll end with a few maternity projects I've done. The pictures are all kind of bleh, but I do like keeping a record of my makes, even with poor photos!

First, a Hey June Lane Raglan. I used the built in FBA (full bust adjustment) and followed instructions on her blog for altering it for maternity. I also added some pretty lace from my collection. Next is the Redwood Joggers from Sew Like My Mom. I really was afraid of them being too small, so I went up a size and then an extra size for the waistband. I also made the waistband extra tall. My muslin was fairly loose, and I ended up making the legs quite a bit slimmer (my legs are always a smaller size than hips but I forgot to take that into account). I'm very happy with the results, even though I didn't quite get the crotch curve adjustments perfect. They are comfy and I wear them every night! I also wear the shorts muslin I made around the house, but I don't have good pictures. Finally, I made myself some knit white capris from a self-drafted pattern I did last summer. I adjusted the shape of the waistband a little and left off elastic so it wouldn't dig into my stomach. Unfortunately they don't stay up for long before slipping down, so I need to add some elastic.

I've got a lot of packing to do, but I'm hoping to finish my two sewing patterns and hopefully sew myself a couple of maternity shirts and another pair of knit capris before my move.

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