Easter

I have a new respect for anyone who can get a decent picture of several young children in a group. It was quite the ordeal just to get everyone in the same place at one time.

I bought a beautiful silk dress for Helen from thredUP, but it turned out to be far too big. So it will be her Easter dress next year! 

Here's a breakdown of Helen's outfit: 

Dress: Carter's (thrifted) 

Cardigan: hand-me-down

Shoes: Robeez (thrifted) similar here and here

Headband: Target (similar here).

How was your Easter?

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Puddle Jumpers

The other day the kids took advantage of the massive puddles that were created by the fast-melting snow. It was quite the job trying to keep Helen happy with the smaller puddles and away from the deep ones.

Is the snow gone where you live? Or do you live in a climate that never see's snow?

Knitting Project: GOYA Writsters

Last fall I finally finished these fingerless mitts that I started knitting for my sister's birthday the year before. I really like how they turned out.

Here are the details:

Pattern: GOYA wristers

Yarn: Knitpicks Palette in "Edamame"

Needles: US size 0
Ravelry Project Page

I would say that this pattern was intermediate. It's not particularly hard if you know how to knit in the round and pick up stitches for the thumb, but the yarn and needles are quite small and it takes a while to knit.

Here's hoping that the warm weather is here to stay and Katelyn won't have to use these until the fall!

How to Easily Resize a Shirt or Jacket | Tutorial

Jacket and jeans: thredUP | Nursing top

In case you guys didn't know, I'm in love with thredUP. It's basically an online thrift store. I love scoring designer pieces for a fraction of the retail price.

One of the problems with buying anything online is the risk of getting the right fit. I'm sure this jacket was meant to fit a little looser, but I prefer a more snug fit since I'm on the shorter side (5'2") and I don't want to be swallowed by my clothing.

It's super easy to take in a knit jacket or shirt. Let me show you how!

Start by putting your shirt on inside out. Grab the excess fabric with your hands and place pins all along the sides of the shirt.

Carefully take off your shirt and lay it out on the floor or (if you're super cool) your work table.
Measure how much you need to take in at different points on the shirt and write it down (for example, at 3 inches from the armpit, how much do you need to take it in? How about at 5 inches, etc.?). I find it helpful to draw a diagram.

Remove the pins, make sure the shirt is laying flat and even, and replace the pins at the measurements that you wrote down. You can also draw a line along the pins to help you sew evenly.

Sew along the pins, removing as you go. Try on the shirt to make sure you like the fit. 

Don't worry if you make a mistake - your seam ripper is your friend! Simply pick out the stitches around the mistake, rearrange the fabric so it lays flat, and sew up the hole, making sure to sew back and forth a couple times and the beginning and end to makes sure it doesn't come undone.

If you're really particular you can iron your seam open, but I'm too lazy for that. I pull out my iron maybe once or twice a year.

If everything is good to go, sew another line close to the one you already sewed, this time on the outer edge. If you have a serger you don't need to do this, but I like to sew another line to keep the edges from fraying.

Cut the excess fabric close to the sewing line.

And there you have it: a nicely fitting jacket.

I also used this method to resize a nursing shirt.

Here's the before and after. Helen decided to photobomb my before picture.


And that's all!

Make sure to send me pictures if you use my method to resize your shirt.
And leave me a comment if you have any questions.

xoxo
Erica

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Messy Eater

Helen has really started to enjoy her food over that past few weeks. She loves to feed herself, and that makes for a very messy little girl. Especially when she eats blueberries, like in this photo.

This is my entry for the I Hear Faces Black and White photo contest.

You can see all of the entries HERE.

Fresh Cut

Top: Milk Nursingwear in Coral

I love my new cut, you guys! 

My hair feels so much lighter and softer. And I can still pull it into a ponytail. I asked the hair stylist give me "soft" layers. Overall I was quite pleased with my first experience at a hair salon.

Though I'm sure I was pretty awkward. I told the lady right away that this was the first time that I had had my hair professionally cut and she said, "You'll be just fine, dear." She thought I was 19 or 20.

She offered to curl my hair for three more dollars, and I decided to go for it rather than pull out all of my stuff at home (we were going to my family's later that day and I didn't know if I would have time to curl it myself).

Anyway, here's a before and after shot of the back. My hair was pretty scraggly, wasn't it? I don't think it had been trimmed for over a year. 

How do you have your hair cut at the moment? Do you like it?

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