anchors aweigh!

The littles got new clothes!  

It might be living so close to the wharf, or Monterey's rich maritime history, or perhaps just my deep longing to get out on the (not icy cold) water again, but I have been slightly obsessed with all things nautical.  Anchors, whales, sailboats and knots- it's all been finding its way to my design boards (also known as yellow post-its stuck to my computer screen).  

So inspired, I made a skirt for the girl with some long hoarded fabric, and some mock sailor pants for the little man.  I'm thrilled with these two projects!  

With a buffer between them they seem almost sweet together.

Before I knew if kid #2 would be a boy or girl, I bought (on impulse) a bunch of fabric to use for a quilt.  It was all nautical themed, with submarines and squid and mermaids.  I had the idea that it was gender neutral, so I could use the quilt for either a baby boy or a baby girl.  This particular piece was my favorite- but when I went to use it, I second guessed its neutrality.  The mermaids were nekkid- and the little girls swimming alongside were wearing some rather cheeky swim bottoms.  I didn't want to send the wrong message.  So I stashed it away.  And took it out every now and then, to fondle.  And ogle.  And mourn the sweet mermaid quilt that would never be.

Sigh.  Anyway.  Now that MacKenzie will be entering kindergarten (what?!?!), I wanted to begin sewing her clothing in earnest.  The mermaid fabric kept calling to me, and I finally had the perfect design pop into my head late one evening.  Just right for the small half-yard piece.  

look at the ties on the bottoms!  and the little fish!  and the pigtails!

The main fabric is an organic cotton, with a lot of fiber variation and a bit of sheerness.  To counter this I added a demi-slip to the skirt to hide any hello kitty undies from view. 

This is perhaps the first thing I've sewn that looks as good on the inside as it does on the outside.  EVERY seam is a french seam, with pressing down in between steps.  This is counter to everything I've ever done in sewing.  It looks lovely.  

I love this skirt, and I'm thankful that the girl is in the stage where she's growing up more than out now. I think it'll stay wearable for a long time.

Couldn't wear a mermaid skirt without a fishtail braid...

Asher's little sailor pants were made from an old seersucker robe of Mr's that I had been eyeing for years now.  I love seersucker.  He loves it too.  But the robe was ratty- literally falling apart in places, and he is rather eager to please me, so he consented to forfeiting it to my whims.  The back pockets on the pants are the front pockets of the robe.  I just added the buttons.

There is a very deep, fold down cuff to accommodate growth,
and adjustable elastic in the waist.  

This cute pirate boat at the museum down the street
made for the perfect prop, don't you think?  

Little man is kinda OCD about throwing away litter.
Something about him doing this task in this outfit kills me.

Deep pockets for rock and bug storage.  What more could a little boy ask for?

The only thing I bought for these pants were these anchor buttons.
I couldn't help myself.

 Funny story about the pants.  I had gotten them almost entirely assembled, with just the waistband left, when I realized I had thrown the rest of the robe fabric away, thinking I was done.  It had been almost two full days gone when I realized this- and yes, I did dig it out from the food scraps, coffee grounds, and dirty diapers.  There is no project in this house, after all, with out some mess.