Tag Archives: oliver + s

film petit: moonrise kingdom

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it’s film petit time again, and i’m so excited to be a part of it this month! when kristin asked me what movie i’d like to use as inspiration, i knew i couldn’t go wrong with moonrise kingdom, even before i saw it. i mean, all you have to know is that it’s a wes anderson movie and see this:

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and you know it’s gonna be good, right? and of course, it lived up to it’s potential for pure awesomeness, and if you haven’t had a chance to see it, do it. now.

so the story is about a couple of misfit teenagers in love who decide to run away together. since the movie is filled with nutty characters (really my favorite kind), it’s really hard to pick a favorite, so i went with my favorite actor of all time. bill murray. a chance to dress my 5-year old daughter up like bill murray wearing madras pants, you say? sold. anyways, he plays walt bishop, the father of the protagonist, suzy. he’s quiet, a bit kooky. he has funny lines. for example. take a look at this short promo video he did for the movie. it’s hilarious.

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“well the good ones are made out of separate pieces. yeah. this is a nice one, this is an old one. it’s made out of separate pieces of, uh, loud material, and sewed together in squares. you can do this at home.”

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20121218-DSC_1321“here i am in a cardigan sweater. sittin’ here in portland oregon. livin’ la vida loca.”20121218-DSC_1292

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credits:

cardigan sweater: hey june’s greenpoint cardigan in an awesome wool rib knit from mill end. lovvve those gold buttons. (they’re gold plated, you know. be impressed.)

button-down shirt: oliver + s sketchbook shirt done with michael miller’s cotton couture in soft white.

madras pants: oliver + s sketchbook shorts lengthened and tapered to a pair of awesome looking pants. i did not sew the little squares myself. fabric from bolt.

but!

i didn’t stop there. the first time i saw the movie, i was struck by wes anderson’s fantastic overuse of plaid. this image of the inside of sam’s khaki scout camp tent in particular caught my attention:

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(“jiminy cricket. he flew the coop!”)

seriously, look at all of that plaid awesomeness! (and don’t think i didn’t have very serious plans to crochet a rug. i started one. and then i came to my senses and started sewing.)

tents play a big part of the movie. wes anderson even set up camp in a plaid pup tent.

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and of course, there’s tons more plaid love…

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i took all of this inspiration and sewed a tent dress for c.

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credits:

tent dress: oliver + s school photo dress. i am lucky enough to have the pendleton woolen mill store in town, and used some of their beautiful wool. i fully lined the dress in another cotton couture, choosing a color to mimic the look of the tent. for this, i eliminated all the awesome pieces liesl designed because i didn’t want to detract from (and mess up the look of) the plaid. i cut the yoke on the bias, added pockets, exaggerated the a-line cut quite a bit, and replaced the invisible zip with an outerwear zip to mimic the look of a tent. i’m so happy with this dress. and this pattern rocks. i want to go sew another (without mods) right. now.

and if you haven’t already seen what is going on over at a little gray and skirt as top…

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as expected, kristin and jessica nailed the looks they picked. kristin drew inspiration sam and suzy’s wedding clothes… check out that khaki scout uniform. amazing. and jessica sewed an adorable suzy dress for her little shirley temple look alike.

it was so. much. fun. to be able to be a part of this series with kristin and jessica. these ladies are incredibly talented, creative, and goofy. thanks to both of them for letting me part of this awesome series! i really enjoyed delving into a movie in a way i don’t normally, and getting the chance to sew clothes outside of my normal style. doing this definitely got my creative juices flowing. can’t wait to see what film petit is up to next month!

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citronille marie no. 2 & o+s picnic class shorts

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holy cuteness, batman.

to be honest, these shorts weren’t my favorite of liesl’s patterns. in fact, i’ve been sitting on this pattern for a year having only sewn the top and no plans to sew the shorts. but then i started to see some throwback versions and i changed my tune. i am in love. this pattern is perfection.

the class picnic shorts were sewn up in some sort of thick fabric i found in the denim/twill section at mill end. it’s (not obnoxiously) hot pink. the contrast fabric is kona snow, but i doubled it up with a lightweight white denim i had in my stash so the white wouldn’t be transparent.

my featherweight rocked these shorts out in no time. it shall henceforth be called zippy. the thing sews something serious. (i haven’t broken out the zigzagger attachment yet, but finished the inside seams  by turning them in ~1/4″ and sewing with a straight stitch, thanks lucinda! there is also a great series of tutorials on finishing seams with a straight stitch machine over on the oliver + s blog.) i had a bit of a hard time controlling the speed of the machine, as i have the original foot pedal. a slight twinge of my toe makes the machine go from barely moving to super fast, faster than my computerized pfaff goes. (yes, my toe. this should actually be called a toe pedal because you have a little button to press down and the toe’s the thing. anyways.) so there were a few wonky stitches (including the faux fly) on this one. i ordered a new modernized foot pedal from april, the queen of all things featherweight (and where my machine came from, fully restored).

whassup? you talkin’ to me?

. . .

the citronille marie is done in a reproduction feedsack print (i think), so it’s just plain old quilting cotton. seriously love this pattern, though. i could sew 5 or 6 more but then you might get bored. ;)

yep. we take pics first thing in the morning. yep, we need to mow the grass. again. all it does is rain, rain, rain. off to put on some warmer clothes.

happy tuesday!

for the birthday girl

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happy tuesday! i hope everyone had a fantastic memorial day weekend. i wish i could say i spent it sewing, but in reality i’ve been super busy for the last week or so. i was in chicago for a few days for work, and even though i got to stay at a super fancy hotel (ritz-carlton, baby!), i was so busy with work that i barely got to spend any time in my luxurious suite. it was amazing though, how easy it was to fly when traveling sans child! as i’m sure all you moms out there know, this is a luxury in and of itself. ;) i got to read up on photography a bit on one of my flights… now that i’m blogging, i hope to improve my photography skills. and maybe even brave my husband’s super intimidating dslr. soon!

the past couple of days have been spent back here in cool and rainy portand with extended family. my niece is turning 2 this week, and i was miraculously able to make her a couple of quick things since i got home-

i started with the super-quick lazy days skirt from oliver + s (awesome free pattern) using a japanese print i’ve had in my stash for a couple of years. (i love this print for a 2-year old!) the plan was to get her a white tee-shirt and applique a red “2″ on it… but i didn’t plan ahead. (i’m always doing things at the last minute. that’s just how i roll). rather than drive over to target this morning and get a shirt (and wash/dry it and then applique it) it really seemed easier just to sew something else up. you know, cause this makes perfect sense. i also really wanted to use this dog print i had in my stash (from fabric depot but i bought it a year or more ago).

so, i made another jumper “d” from the japanese pattern book a sunny spot, like the one i made here. i seriously love the one i made for c (who likes to walk around with her hands in the awesome side pockets). it is a perfect year-round jumper (especially if you live in a mild climate like portland or japan), and can be worn over a tee or tank and leggings in the summer or over long sleeves and jeans in the winter. it’s also nice, as the style leaves a lot of room for growth.

unfortunately, the birthday girl missed her nap in order to make her party today, so i wasn’t going to even ask for her to model it for me. so, no action shots today! ;)

see those pockets? stuffed full of rocks. she could barely keep her skirt up.

i succumbed and ordered a couple more citronille patterns! once again, they arrived super speedy style. i hope to get another one sewn up soon, maybe even this week. see you then!

it’s a mama-made day!

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i love mama-made days, don’t you? seriously, though, it puts a huge smile on my face when c wears the clothes i make for her.

details… oliver + s picnic blouse in a denyse schmidt print. the hopscotch skirt, of course. and johnny mango seed leggings (this pattern fit her perfectly and is super easy to sew) in a cotton/lycra blend.

i’ve been perusing my (large collection of) japanese pattern books looking for the next project. how to decide what to make when there are so many patterns I want to sew, anyways?

hopscotch skirts… squared.

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between the end of winter and a growth spurt, my daughter c is in desperate need of new clothes for spring. and what more could a 4 year old little girl want than a couple of new skirts? (oh, I mean besides twirly skirts and dresses and tights. Of course.) i have spent the last few days sewing up two oliver + s hopscotch skirts.

the first one i made is in a medium-weight twill i picked up last week from the fabric depot. the weight of the fabric made it a bit more difficult to get nice creases in the pockets, but i think it came out good enough. on this skirt, i just sewed the two front panels closed at the buttons and then sewed on the buttons. i did add the regular buttonhole at the waist, but don’t think it’s necessary since there’s all that elastic in the back? c is small for her age… though she’s 4, her waist and hips both measure 21 inches, she’s 39 inches tall, and weighs 31 pounds. i sewed her a size 2T with a hem length of 3T, and the fit is spot on. you gotta love it when the pattern fits exactly the way it’s supposed to.

the second one went much faster. this one was started yesterday, and i just finished it up tonight. i’m partaking in the elsie marley kcwc so this counts for days #1-2. the skirt is made with a lightweight denim that i reversed. the “back” of the denim was much more interesting, and looks like chambray. this was from the stash… couldn’t tell you where it came from. no buttonholes on this one.

i also made an AMAZING discovery tonight- the fact that my sewing machine is quite adept at sewing on buttons. For whatever reason (okay, probably because it’s buttonhole program isn’t the greatest), i never bothered to try using my machine to sew on a button. but after hand-sewing on the buttons on the twill skirt, i thought I’d give it a go. it worked perfectly and was the simplest thing ever. i am in love. see? isn’t it pretty? all i did was pin the two front pieces together, and i sewed those panels closed with buttons. easy peasy. have you tried this on your machine yet? if not, do it.

this is a fantastic pattern, as all o + s patterns are. liesl gives fantastic instructions that have really helped improve my sewing skills. and the garments always come out the way you think they should.

i will have to add action shots another day, as the littles is in bed. she is SO excited to have some new mama-made clothes. she told me she is so lucky to have a mommy that can sew skirts for her. oh, my aching heart. the cuteness.