Perry the Platypus! (And Candace Flynn)

Dooby dooby doo-bah! Dooby dooby doo-bah! Dooby dooby doo-bah! Cyrus!

He's an optomistic first grade boy of distraction!
He's got a noise making talent that never goes awa-eeay-eeay!
He's got more than gaming skill,
He's a runner and he doesn't stay still,
And his mother cheers whenever hear him say
(I'm going outside!)
He's Cyrus! Cyrus the Big Kid!
Cyrus! Agent C!

"Mo-om! Cyrus is standing on the swing again!"

We love Phineas and Ferb around here. There are at least 3 P&F tees floating around the house, so obviously I needed to make more things inspired by the show. Cyrus and I decided that his look would be inspired by Perry. Seriously, who doesn't love a secret agent platypus? I made a Peek-a-boo grand slam in Perry's teal and yellowish colors (I promise I'll use a different shirt pattern one of these days!). This time I mixed it up a little, though! As a secret agent, Perry wears a fedora, so I upcycled an old shirt of mine and added a brown hood as a nod to his hat. In my stash, I found this heavier interlock in nearly the same teal color as the top. To complete the Perry outfit, I made Coastal Craze Baggies, also by Peek-a-boo.

 

To go with Perry, I made Ellie a LilyGiggle Tybee Tank Dress in red and white to echo Candace's red and white outfit. I almost used pink, since that's Ellie's color, but I had this red baby rib sitting around in my stash with nothing planned for it, so I decided that would be perfect for the top of the dress. The band and skirt are a heavy-ish cotton lycra also from my stash. I made a 3, which fits really well, except I think I need to lengthen the skirt next time. I did not take into account the bubble butt my little girl has, so it barely covers her behind without a lot of constant mom tugging. So white shorts to the rescue!

Cyrus was super excited about his Perry inspired look, and has spent the last 2 days wearing the same outfit and sneaking around like a secret agent. Ellie loves her dress, but is more indifferent about dressing like Candace. I guess that part is for me!

Me Made May - Midway!

It's halfway (or thereabouts, with the odd number issue) through Me Made May! I've been doing daily pictures over on Instagram, but I thought I'd check in here for those of you who aren't over there. So far, I have worn at least one item of handmade clothing each day, and a couple of days I've even worn an entire me made outfit! I was pretty proud of those. I've also been wearing me handmade gym clothes, especially considering that I think I may have more me made gym things than store bought ones, excluding sports bras (all of which are terrible, and maybe I should start making those too). So, here is two weeks' worth of the bad selfies that I have been subjecting my Instagram followers to this month, plus a couple of bonus gym shots.

Top row and bottom row: striped Sis Boom Meghan Peasant (which I definitely just showed you), green Mouse House Creations Julia Cardigan, green floral Stitch Upon A Time Spoxxy Top, and white self drafted Eowyn inspired skirt.

Purple and gray Shwin Designs Day Tripper Top, brown self drafted skirt with large floral pockets, floral See Kate Sew Zippy Top with front hack and without actually having a zipper, and a paisley skirt from a tutorial that I can no longer find.

Blue Sis Boom Devon Peasant, yellow floral no pattern maxi skirt,a floral batik self drafted wrap skirt, and another Flirt Skirt (there are actually little blue birds in the print on that one, but that photo is so bad you can't tell).

Black and red stripe floral Greenstyle Lacy Slope Hoodie, brown self drafted Eowyn inspired tank (with a reappearance of the wrap skirt), fox print Patterns for Pirates Free Spirit Tank dress (that I made this morning!) with shorts length Greenstyle Lucy Leggings, and bonus gym Spoxxys.

Whew! That is a whole lot of bad quality photos of myself. And my messy house - keeping it real here. I mentioned on IG, and I'll say it again - I really need a better full length mirror, in a better location than the two I have. Fortunately, I don't typically take this many photos which require it. I will admit that some days it has been a struggle to find something handmade I want to wear. I don't always want to wear a skirt, and I don't have many warm weather tops to choose from. I also don't seem to own shorts, which is a problem in and of itself. So it's definitely shown me that I still have many holes in my handmade (and store bought) wardrobe that need filling soon. If you want to follow my daily photo spam, you can follow the link at the top of the sidebar over to Instagram and check it out there. If not, I'll let you know how it went at the end of the month!

Tiddly Wink Toppers

There are plenty of slouchy beanie patterns out there, but I had the good fortune to test one last week! The Tiddly Wink Topper by Stitchwerx Designs releases today, and this awesome pattern makes me seriously wish I didn't have to wait several months for cool weather to come back! I spent the early spring looking for a good slouchy beanie pattern or tutorial for my son, but predictably now that I've found one I actually got around to making, the 80 degree weather has rolled in and signs of summer are in the air. This pattern covers sizes 18m through adult large (there is also a separate pattern for premie-12m), so you can make hats for the whole family. I tested the squared version of this hat for my son, and the slouchy beanie version for my husband. The directions are super easy to follow, and these go together wickedly fast.

They're wearing Spiderman and Iron Man here, but the black and yellow was Cy's idea - he wanted Batman colors. (If I did it again, I'd throw a bat symbol applique on there.) The fit is great - Cyrus is wearing the 8y-adult small. I love that the square beanie ends up with little points that look like ears - perfect for something inspired by Batman! I should have nabbed a picture of this hat on me - it's not my best style, but I wear the same size hat at as my 7 year old. I'll let that sit there for a moment.

Patrick is wearing the adult large. My husband has a huge noggin, and it's hard to find hats to fit him. He measured at the top of the range for this one at 24.5 inches; the fit is great, and it's even still a little bit slouchy.

Speaking of those pointy "ears"...

This hat is put together so that all seams are enclosed, so it's reversible! Since "What Does the Fox Say?" is still frequently heard around my house, I used this fox jersey for the lining. But it ends up with the foxes out as much as the black. I guess they love their foxes! And the silly dance moves to go with them.

Want to make your own? This pattern releases today and is on sale until Sunday May 10! So go pick up your copy here! If you're looking for the preemie - 12m size, it's also on sale, and there is also a bundle of both sizes available.

Workout Wear

As I mentioned in a previous post or two, I have joined a gym! I'm even working with a personal trainer. Take that, health and fitness! So I'm sore a lot, but I also realized that as of the day I joined, I owned zero workout clothing items. Honestly. I know I'm in a minority here as a stay at home mom, but I hadn't owned a pair of yoga pants in about 3 years. I was honestly too lazy to replace them, and had been doing what occasional workouts I did at home in pajamas. Yup. Workout pajamas. Not really appropriate for public exposure. Admittedly, I bought a pair of yoga pants and a top, because I didn't make this realization in time for my first visit to meet with a trainer, but I have now made myself workout gear! When I should have been sewing all sorts of other things that have actual deadlines. I'm good like that. Huzzah procrastination!

First, I made a Spoxxy top by Stitch Upon a Time. These are awesome. Depending on the material and how I want it to fit, I can wear more than one size. I measure into an XL thanks to my bust endowment, but that didn't work out quite right, so this one is a large. I used this Bamboo Jersey, which is gloriously soft and smooth, and a really nice medium weight. It would also make fabulous leggings. The best thing about the Spoxxy is that while it's a great athletic top, it also doesn't look out of place as casual day wear. I wore this one with the skirt from this post the other day.

To go with the new tops, I made my first pair of Brassie Joggers by Greenstyle Creations. I've made several of her patterns, and so far have really liked them all. I made the low waist option in capri length, and then shortened them a little more so that the cuff sits at the top of my calf with only a little fabric bunching. They fit really nicely, and stay put through the ups and downs of my workout routine, which is great. I used a knit from my stash, and it's probably a bit on the lightweight side for pants, but they'll be nice for summer. I did all of the topstitching in lavender, just because.

Less often now that it's getting warmer (except for this last week!), but initially I'm sometimes chilly when I get to the gym, until I get going and warmed up. I tried wearing a sweatshirt, but a hood always seemed to get caught under the foam roller. Not so much fun, being choked by your hoodie. Clearly I needed another plan, so I grabbed this rayon stretch french terry. It seems to be sold out already. This fabric is super soft, though now that I've worn it several times it seems to be somewhat prone to pilling. I made a Women's Raglan from Patterns for Pirates, and used the funnel neck from the Add On Pack to make a gym friendly layer. I added button holes, using more purple thread, but have yet to actually put a drawstring in it. Oops. Now I need to make at least one more because I keep wearing it when I'm not at the gym! I'm not usually a fan of cowl necks or turtle necks, but the funnel is right in between, and I'm loving it. When I start planning fall sewing, a few of these will be on my list for sure.

Me Made May '15

This year, I once again signed up for Me Made May, but did not put my pledge here on the blog. So, for the first of May, here it is:
'I, Kate of The Fairy Dust Bin, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '15. I endeavour to wear at least one handmade item each day for the duration of May 2015'

That's right, this month I will be trying to wear a handmade item every day. This could absolutely prove to be a challenge, as my handmade wardrobe isn't exactly huge, but the goal was to push myself a little further. I usually wear something I've made a few times every week, and most of my gym clothes are self made at this point. (More about that in another post.) My drawers have a handful of skirts, tops, and a couple of hoodies and cardigans that I've made, so hopefully in pairing them with store bought items I won't have to do too much frantic sewing for myself!

I don't have plans to necessarily take a photo every day, but on any days that I do take them you'll find them over on Instagram. But since I'm blogging today anyway, here are some bad selfies of today's top.

Necklace courtesy of my 3 year old stylist.

Yup, even a bad mirror selfie!

This is a SisBoom Meghan that I made and never blogged last spring as part of Project Sewn. I used a striped shirting from JoAnn's, and cut against the grain to make the stripes horizontal. I believe the challenge was something about being inspired by places, and my sewing was inspired by Venetian Gondolieri. Hence the horizontal stripes. Today I paired it with my store bought skinny jeans. Truthfully, I'm not super happy with how this has worn and washed. The threads of the stripes are pulling, and it looks incredibly worn. But as long as you don't look too closely, it's good enough to wear for hanging around the house and yard with the kids. One day, I will make another Meghan in a knit, but first I have to sew down my list!