New style of mask

 I know an awful lot of  people aren't wearing masks anymore, but we still are.  I found a new mask pattern that I really like.  It is by far the most comfortable mask to wear that I've tried so far, especially for a long period of time.   After wearing it for a couple of hours, I immediately went looking for the pattern.

The pattern that I found which seems identical even down to the sizing is from this youtube.  The actually printed pattern is here from a dropbox.  I have traced all four sizes and made the small, medium, and x-large so far.  

The small fits my three year old perfectly.  I would say it is meant for children 2-8 ish.  You can actually cut out 3 small masks from a fat quarter if you are very conservative with the fabric.  For all other sizes, you will only get 2 masks from a fat quarter.

Here is the grandbaby wearing hers.  This size mask also barely fits the bear cub, who is 12, but she is much more comfortable in the medium.

The medium size is probably meant for ages 9 to small adult.  It fits my (almost)14 year old fine, but my 10 year old feels it is too confining.  She will be more comfortable in a large, which is probably sized for most women.

The X-large is very comfortable for me and my husband.  I considered making an extra pattern for XXL, but I am not going to unless I find someone that needs a bigger size than this XL.  This was my first attempt, which came out fine and my husband has claimed, but I am using a different technique to insert the elastic for the ears.  I am now putting the elastic immediately after turning the mask inside out.

I will be making a bunch of these because they fit so well, maintain their shape, and are so comfortable.  I bought the nose wire and elastics on Amazon.  The Minnie fat quarter is one the grandbaby chose at Walmart (it was supposed to be for a hair bow).  The other fabrics were from fabric.com.  

Simplicity 6895 version 4 and more of 6

Here is version 4 made for Darth Monkey when she was this size, but now worn by the grandbaby, who is very tall for 3 1/2.  This was the bear cub's favorite version of this dress, but for once it didn't seem to phase her that I put it on the grandbaby.  So I guess the bear cub likes her new version.

 

I couldn't get the bear cub to pose for me.  She was too interested in A Bug's Life.  

These girls love each other so much.

Next up are two more versions, but I don't know how long that will take for me to get to.  I can't just sit and sew as much as I used to and I wear out much sooner.  I am enjoying blogging my sewing again though and I do wish I had a sewing record of what I have done while I wasn't blogging.

Simplicity 5695 version 6

 Here is my Nerdlet in a size 8 version of Simplicity 5695.  I think I've made 5 others, but they are in size 5.  I practically had to tear the smaller dresses out of the bear cubs hands because they are her favorite.  

The reason that my nerdlet looks so uncomfortable is because she feels the dress is too revealing.  My nerdlet is a natural Victorian when it comes to fashion.  She actually gets upset when I let her sisters wear keyholes.  

I have two more of this dress already cut out and I hope to get them done in the current week.

This is the first one that I made and on this one I followed the pattern. This one is a size 5.  Like Kate I felt that the pattern results in too short a dress so I altered the pattern after this one, adding an additional tier.

Here is what I think is the 5th one.  On this one I added lots of trim and fancy stitches.  It was made for Darth Monkey because yellow is and always has been her favorite color.

I didn't work to hard to find pictures of the others that I made, but if they turn up, I will post them.  Also, at least one is in the wash, so I'll get the grandbaby to model that one.

Umpteenth version of McCalls 6875

 I have made so many versions of McCalls 6875 in sizes 3, 4, and 5. My girls lived in versions of this dress when they were smaller.  They loved it and so did I.  I even made the doll version once.

My bear cub still wear a lot of dresses as does the grandbaby who is living with me.  There are a number of size 5 dresses that recently have been passed from the bear cub to the grandbaby.  My 12-year-old daughter was still wearing size 5 dresses but as tunics and she was/is not happy that I have passed them on to the very tall 3 year old.  So it was time to make new dresses for her.  

The nerdlet is very happy with this dress also and it also fits her.  In fact, I was afraid that the nerdlet was going to be upset about the bear cub having it because she seemed to be getting attached to it as I sewed it and tried it on at every stage of its development.  The nerdlet rarely wears dresses anymore, so it made me pretty happy that she liked this one.  The grandbaby is also really eager for this dress to fit her and tried to get me to put it on her instead of Chloe this morning.  I know this super bright orange batik isn't for everyone, but I'm glad that my girls like it.

I will be making more of this dress in this size and in the smaller size for the grandbaby, but first I have peasant style dresses that I have already cut out for the bear cub.

Pot Roast in Crock Pot

I needed to make a pot roast that would be good for my husband, Q, while he is currently dieting and wants no added sugar or carbs.  This is what I came up with for the package of chuck roast I bought from Costco.  It is so delicious.  I will say that the wine smell turned off my kids from wanting to try it, but they still liked it.

 5 lb (ish) chuck roast 

1 cup red wine

1 1/2 cup water

3 Tbsp Better than Broth Vegetable base

2 small onions chopped

2 pounds of chopped carrots or baby carrots

Fresh green beans

1 small can tomato paste

2-3 Tbsp Worcestshire sauce

1 Tbsp (ish) Balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons various spices (I went Italian)

1 tsp or so of pepper

Barely brown the chuck roast (I had two pieces in one package from Costco) on all sides in olive oil and cook onions briefly to pick up.  Place onions and carrots on bottom of crock pot.  Place chuck roast on top of the onions and carrots. Place as many green beans as fit in crock pot.  Mix next 7 ingredients and pour on top.  Cook on high for 4 hours.  Turn to low and stir so the green beans are immersed in the liquid and cook another 2-3 hours.

Ottobre 1-2021-30

 The nerdlet attends a school with a uniform policy.  The policy reads, "Khaki Beige cotton or polyester twill slacks/ walking shorts, skirt or jumper, skorts, capri, and pedal pusher pants."  My nerdlet unfortunately is much thinner than even the adjustable waistband allows for.  She is now 13 and she has been wearing size 7/8 purchased uniform pants.  Even with it drawn to the last button on the elastic, it is loose around the waist.  This also means that there are a number of inches showing her ankles.  This wouldn't matter if they just looked like pedal pushers as listed above, but they look more like Steve Urkel pants.  Hence the need for me to make them.

I used Ottobre-2021-30 size 140 with no alterations.  They are meant to be leggings, but they are actually looser than most of the pants I see on the other students.  

I considered adding a side seam and pockets, but this particular child would use them and not empty them and I would have interesting loads of wash, so I opted for the less interesting-making pants.  I've actually made four other pairs for my bear cub and one of my nieces.  I didn't take pictures, but I probably will, at least for my bear cub, the next time they are worn.

The fabric is khaki techno knit from Cali Fabrics (I think).

She is happy with them.

Panda Pillowcases

It's been a while since I posted something I have sewed.  I actually feel the lack, especially when I'm looking for what pattern I used for a particular project or what size of something I made for my girls.  I don't know if I will keep it up but I figured I would at least post these pillowcases.

I made these two panda pillowcases for my panda loving niece.  Her birthday is this month and I don't think I've made anything for her yet.  I used my French seamed pillowcase method that I always use.  You can find it here.  I've made so many of these pillowcases and they last forever.  

This main fabric and the flange fabric is from fabric.com and it is surprisingly soft.  The trim fabric is from a local quilting shop and has gold flecks.  I used a 5 inch trim, which is bigger than I normally use, but I wanted the busyness of the two fabrics separated more.  

I almost always really like these pillowcases.  For something so simple to sew, it gives a lot of satisfaction.