Hats Off to Twilltape

Tomorrow is my last day in the office and I had been waiting for my blue tuque baby labels to arrive in order to finish up the three baby gifts for my co-workers.  How disappointed was I when they hadn't come in by the weekend?? It meant leaving each project just a tad unfinished and pushing it to the very last minute.  Which of course, is exactly when twilltape came through for me.  I ordered my labels precisely two weeks ago and they arrived today, just in the nick of time.  I'm considering going with woven labels for any future business product but for now I just needed something with a quick (or maybe not-so-quick?) turnaround time and I like the fact that you can print any logo or font you want.  I'll keep looking at what's out there though.

Here's one of the hats I finished up tonight using the same newsboy  pattern as the one I created for Adam last year.  This one turned out better.  I think it might have to do with using the beautiful plaid wool which was left over from my cape project.

Splash of colour for the lining (or course)

And here is the other project from tonight - a cute and colourful summer bucket hat with yellow Velcro straps.

I'd love to write more but my brain is fried.  I'm still recovering from the 11 hours at work yesterday and the scrambling to finish up sewing projects tonight.  Time to catch some well-deserved rest, I'd say.

BTW Thanks Kelly for introducing me to twilltape.  You and I need to get together soon and do some serious sewing.  The Lola dress is at the top of my list and you can be sure it will involve a tonne of piping :)

Fabric for the Boy

Last week I made a trip down to the workroom to pick up a few new fabric pieces.  I have a handful more baby projects in mind but most are for boys and my collection of fabric scraps at home are better suited for girls.

I came across a Robert Kaufman cotton that I think is beautiful yet masculine.  I'll be using it to make a tie for Mike but I'm sure there will be extra fabric leftover for some of my baby projects.

This one caught my attention because of the "ROCKETS!" headline right beside "Moon Shoes $1.98".  Had to do it.

Stars stars stars.  I like this one too...and actually it's the same colour palette as the Rockets fabric so perhaps I can do some mix-and-matching there.

Finally a colourful assortment of gears.  Hmm.  Rockets...moon..stars...gears.  Perhaps subconsciously I'm compensating for leaving my day job??  Three more days to go!

Peakaboo Paisley Dress

In the four short months that I have been back at work several people in the office have had babies.  I count seven?  I've been wanting to make a few gifts for the cuties but never found the time (sad excuse, I know).

In fact, could it be that the only thing I've made since going back to work was my cape?  Yes.  How disappointing.  At least I'm cheered up that spring is arriving (and no, I don't agree that it's already here despite what the calendar says).  Very soon it'll be warm enough outside that I can sport my cape on a regular basis :)

I really enjoy making baby gifts, partly because it's a great excuse to use the most colourful and whimsical of fabrics and partly because they usually don't take that long to make!

Here is my latest project, a pretty-in-pink little dress I finished just this weekend.  Aren't long weekends wonderful?

Snap buttons and a lace collar

I had an urge to use up the rest of my Peakaboo Partridge and Pink Paisley fabrics and I just didn't think they were well suited for little boys.  Well, at least not the Pink Paisley.  I've already used the Partridge for one of Adam's summer hats.  Just my luck - earlier this month along came baby Noelle!  I hope you don't mind a bit of pink and a bit of frills because you're getting some of each.

Pink elastic lace trim for the sleeves and white piping for detailing

Although I like the look of buttons and buttonholes I decided instead to use hook-and-loop tape for the back enclosure. I'm somewhat paranoid about making baby gifts with buttons that could become a choking hazard.  I did choose to use white snap buttons as detailing in the front but those are solidly fixed in place with pliers so I'm not worried about them coming off.  Actually if it weren't for the fact that the two halves of the snap buttons haven't been snapping together very well lately I would have used them on the back!

Yellow lining peeking through from the inside

Of course I added piping (love, love, love) and then I lined the whole dress with a yellow polyester just to give it a bit more weight and so it would feel nice a slippery against a baby's soft skin.

Now I'm just waiting for some new BlueTuque labels that I recently ordered for fun.  No, BlueTuque isn't going to be the name of my new business but I thought at least for some of the random gifts I make here and there it would be nice to have a little label that's my own.  Photos of the labels to come; stay tuned.

Happiness is Underrated

Happiness is underrated.  And no, I'm not talking about the album by Johnny Headband.  

Last week I handed in my resignation at a company that I've been with for (gasp) a whole decade.  At my age that's about a third of my entire life.  This was my first job out of university and the place where I spent years working on space robots, literally.  This job is where I first put engineering principles to practice; it's what got me into the flight control room in Houston.  While working here I built my closest friendships, purchased my first home, became a bride and then a mother.

Over the past few years however I've become increasingly distracted by my other interests; there are other activities I'd more readily throw myself into given the time and energy.  I have always managed to successfully talk myself out of seriously pursuing those other interests with reasoning, logic, the guilt that naturally comes with being a daughter to first-generation immigrant parents who turned their hard life into a good life through hard work and nothing else.  

Ever since I started getting into a "routine" during my maternity leave, and certainly since I've returned back to work,  I've taken a new perspective on life (pardon the cliché).  Happiness is underrated.  

There are many reasons why it makes sense to stay in the job I'm in. It's a well-respected profession; it pays well; it offers flexibility; I know the ropes.  But I'll argue there are even better reasons to try something new, and not just something new but something I know I'll love.  I will absolutely love spending more time with my family and not just watching Adam grow up with his cousin but participating in that experience.  In parallel I will absolutely love working with my hands, creating beautiful things, obsessing about the details about how to create those beautiful things.  I will absolutely learn invaluable lessons from working towards starting my own business, however direct or indirect that route is.  

And I am exceedingly grateful that I have the opportunity to take on this exciting endeavor because I know full well that not everyone can afford to quit their job.  I don't know for how long I'll be away from engineering.  Let's just say it's an indefinite break.   

Thank you to everyone who is cheering me on.  Your support has made all the difference.