Baby Shower DIYs and...a little sewing

My next garment for the Endless Combinations contest is a dress from Simplicity 8890. I finished it but isn't my favorite thing. Will review as soon as the sun resurfaces and I can take pics.

Also, I was all set to cut out S8389 for my black shorts and I have the 6-14 size range. FOR PANTS! Eek! I am an 18 on bottom so yeah...no. I'm going to sew an oldie but goodie; Simplicity 1887.

I am thinking of finishing up with a tee, possibly McCalls 6839. An old pattern that I made back in 2015 but I loved the shape and am pretty much considering recreating it (using a b & w stripe again).

oh. my. goodness. Speaking of patterns...

Have you seen that IG Design Group is rebranding the Big4 as "Something Delightful"?

Not cool. At all. What on earth does this name mean? What does it have to do with sewing patterns?!? What does it have to do with the iconic names Butterick, McCall's, Vogue? Ugh.

ANYWAY...I will call the shower a success! Now, because things just have a way of happening...

I woke up that morning, early. I ran to Target to buy some pants (a rayon/linen blend) because it was going to be a SCORCHER; there was a heat advisory in place. I love a dress during the summer but as a member of the Thick Thigh Club, when it's really hot? I don't want any skin-on-skin action happening. Then, I went to Trader Joe's to buy flowers, came home and arranged them quickly, as my husband loaded up the car. 

indirectly related facts:

I am super independent. It's woven into my DNA. My husband is a caregiver. It's just a part of him.

Yes, this is huge spot of give and take for us.

Park that.

While arranging the flowers I was feeling "off". I couldn't put my finger on it but something was off. At one point, I said to him, "I don't know what made me think I could pull this off..." And carried on. I decided I was sad(?) that it was going to be HOT AS HELL and that would 1) affect the guest list and 2) result in a bunch of wasted food (because people really do not eat as much when it's hot).

We arrived at the park shelter (which is amazing and I will reserve it again for something else in the future!) and right away, I see tables with tablecloths on them. Deciding that someone had decided to hang out there on this warm summer day, I marched right up there and (nicely, I swear!) informed them that we had a reservation. But THEY had a reservation. WHAT?

After searching my email I realized, I RESERVED THE SHELTER FOR THE WRONG DAY!

I was gutted. And my brain felt fuzzy. And by then, my brother and sil had arrived (they were going to help with set up while my husband, Mike ran around picking up the food and ice). I started crying and he started freaking out. LOL! No one sees me cry. Like ever. Childbirth? no. Proposal? no. Wedding? no. But get me frustrated enough and the tears will flow.

I had to call my daughter and tell her. Apparently, she cried too! And Mike sprung into action!

The shower was scheduled to start at noon. At 11:15 we arrived at the new site. By 12:03, when the first guests arrived, everything was in place except for the baby pics of the mom and dad. His mom was one of the first to arrive so she took over hanging pics while I ran home to shower. By 12:30 I was back and my brother was back with the food.

You know what? It all worked out! Holding it at the Ice Arena (at the private school where Mike works), meant a place to cool off in the extremely hot weather (the interior of the arena is 50 degrees F!) and a better place to house the food (the vestibule was much closer to room temperature). He got to do what he does. I got to lean on ~everyone~ around me because we were all necessary in making it happen.

Never too old to learn new tricks? :-p

I bought a huge roll of the burlap pennant and used the Cricut to pretty them up. There was one each that said "baby", "eat", and "gifts". I made menu cards for the food and the cupcakes. I made an instruction card for the pin game and measure mommy's belly game, and finally, a little hanging sign welcoming baby Bert. (that's their name regardless of gender!).

We'd visited a local guy for the lovely wood rounds and scored a case of Mason jars cheap. Using burlap ribbon + satin ribbon + twinkle lights, and plenty of flowers, we created the centerpieces. I spent under $50 on flowers (I love TJ!) and collected vases and other glassware from my own stash at home :)

This trio of what is technically tealight holders on the wood round was my favorite!

Lastly, my daughter wanted a skirt with a 2-tiered flounce but not with a maternity panel. Sigh. (tbf I never wore maternity clothes with either pregnancy. YOUTH!) The ad she saw, the woman had just pulled the skirt over her belly so I said FINE. I used the still popular McCall's 6654 knit skirt pattern, in her normal size 12,  at the shortest length, and added a 4" tier and a 6" tier.

I measured the hem and cut out a rectangle. I slashed every inch and spread the shorter layer about 5/8" at each cut and the longer one at 7/8".  After taping it down I traced off the shape, keeping the center on the fold, and added seam allowance to the top. Because my daughter is as fickle with handmades as RTW items, I do enough but don't put too much energy into projects. I cut the flounces with my rotary cutter and left the ponte unhemmed.

I pinned them together and before I knew it, I'd sewn them each to the front and back of the skirt. DOH! I wanted to sew them in the round! So I had to do some unpicking (not fun in ponte with perfectly matched thread!!) but it was fine in the end :)

3 days before the shower, she asked me to make this top for her and I found a bodice in Burda 11/2015 that was a perfect match. She wanted tulle sleeves but there was no time to acquire fabric AND sew the top so I hit the stash. I had this mesh that was a perfect pairing with the ivory ponte. This bodice is meant to be a dress so I lengthened and straightened out the side seam. It was also meant to be lined. The sleeve attaches to the bodice from just above the notch in front to about the same in back. The rest of the sleeve is just hemmed. I did not take into account new finishing without the lining (and the mesh!) and it was Friday afternoon and I just didn't see finishing it if I had to undo a bunch of topstitching (and in places that had already been trimmed back). So, we hit up Forever 21 because of course, her 7 month belly can still fit into a medium top at the juniors store! Oh, to be young! :)

I probably won't be finishing this but the bodice is NICE

 andI plan to make myself a dress from this pattern!

We had a blast, the food was good, the games were fun and they got a ridiculous amount of gifts including ALL of the big things (car seat, stroller, breast pump, crib (they actually got 2 cribs and have to return one!). And an actual ton of Target gift cards which will come in handy. Baby Bert is set!

my top is M6519

I keep telling them that if we know nothing else, we know Bert is going to have a super curly mane :-D Don't let them fool you in their pink shirts; gender is unknown and I'm betting it's a boy!