Because "udtd" is the closest phonetic spelling for "outfit", Milo-style.

I've had this fun turtle fabric for the longest time and I've had this idea for an adventure-style outfit for probably just as long. Thankfully, I found a pattern in my drawer recently that required almost no modification for my idea. Yay for simple & straightforward!


It's an old 1990 oop pattern my mom had. Way cute, and the only thing that needed changing was adding a collar. Oh, and adding 2.5" in length. And no snaps around the crotch.

Sorry for the terrible blurriness.


I added a little personalization. "Milo...Junior Adventurer!" ...And I just realized that the pockets are lopsided. Nice.


A little sleeve cuff with tab thingy.


I wasn't sure what to do about the lack of collar on the pattern until about half-way through. I had cut the buttonhole strip according to the pattern, forgetting that I had added some length to it. So I used the mess-up for the stand-up collar by chopping off the ends at an angle. Sweet. What I didn't do is add facing on the inside of the collar so that the stitching wouldn't show. Oh well.


...And "Junior Adventurer" is crooked too. :)

For a sweet 3 year-old boy's birthday bash. What could be better than a toque and apron?

The hat is big enough to be worn for a few years at least. It comes over Milo's ears but because the band is stiff, it doesn't flop all over the place and slip down over his head. Which would be funny because the toque-top would easily cover his head. But then you might not get it off, because nothing comes off as easily as it goes on.

The hat is personalized as well as the apron.

And finished off the back of both items in cheesecloth

The newest member of our family. A 50-lb Australian Shepherd mix from the Idaho Humane Society (aka the pound). He was captured as a stray and is still recovering from some injuries (see middle of his belly in the picture below).

(Angelina and Kenmore)

He was one of the few dogs that weren't barking or jumping around in their kennels; he barely gave me a glance up as I walked by. And since no barking was one of my must-haves, Milo and I took Kenmore out to the "backyard". We practiced Sitting, Staying, and Coming - to see how trainable he was. Nearly immediate obedience, so he had either learned them in a previous life or he's just really willing to please...maybe a combination. He's a little afraid of the cats (if only Marmaduke would realize that and come out from under the bed). Indifferent to other dogs, even charging pit bulls (gotta love Idaho). Is GREAT with Milo - no food aggression when Milo tried to help him eat his biscuit :) Has no problem being petted everywhere and letting me check his teeth and feet.

He's a little...well, a lot younger than my previous dog rescues. The Rottweiler was 14 when I adopted her and the German Shepherd was 10; Kenmore is 3. And I am looking forward to many more happy years with him.

We are beginning training today and tomorrow we are going to check out local agility runs that are apparently set up around Boise in various parks.

Having a dog makes you appreciate how soft and squishy cats are :)

We almost didn't make it due to some earth-shattering crabbiness. But it's amazing how quickly a frown turns upside-down when you say three little words..."No horses today."









Milo stayed on for about 2 minutes, which is about what I thought he'd do. And we'll keep on doing it.

For the past week or two...well, since I finished Kiley's 3rd skirt, I have lost touch. I cut out so many patterns, then sat down to sew only to find that my brain went blank, I just stopped.

Last night, I thought maybe I needed a change of pace - you know, do something entirely different than the three patterns I've worn to death.

Hence, Simplicity 7017 (1990 out of print, which counts as retro I think).

I was a little worried about pleats on a boy's outfit, but the seersucker was manly enough to compensate. I think.


Oh my. They look so long. They do need to be cuffed a little, but I could always put elastic in them like the pattern calls for.


With the stripes, you can barely see the pleats. And my grandmother's yellow buttons finish off my therapy.

I think they're cute.

* * * *
Keeping busy while Mama's cutting.

Finished piecing together the quilt...finally. And I am beyond thrilled that every single corner lines up perfectly. 6ft x 6ft.

The chalkboard was a 22"x36" poster frame from Walmart. The letters I had gotten when Milo was first born for his nursery in our very first home - repainted. The 5 small pictures were IKEA frames with photocopies of The Cat in the Hat Dictionary in French...see below.

...because I don't know what else to call it.

Bet you thought that was the finished product, huh?

Think again!

Ok. It doesn't look that great laying flat because, well, it doesn't lay flat. But it would look really good on a pillow or something where it's pulled tight.

But not a pillow in my house. If only because it's a pain in the behind to do. (Although it would look really good on a headboard).

I completely forgot that I didn't post the shirt I finished for the plane ride back home! It turns out that I finished it at 2:57pm and we had to leave the house at 3. Nice. So I had a new shirt afterall. And it turned out mah-velous.

For some reason, I did it in a very small flowered pattern so you can't really see the details. But they're there :)

The bib is entirely pleated from one side to the other. I put a little crocheted lace along the edge of the button strip thingy, but it curled up in the wash and I didn't have the patience to iron it out.

The sleeves are slightly poofy/gathered but not too much and the band is simple - no button or such like the original Target blouse.

The neckline is nearly perfect - it's too loose by about 1". Not bad at all. From the brown copy I did, I took it in about 1", but I cut the bib back where it meets the blouse at the shoulder/sleeve area. Wrong. I mean, it worked for that little bit, but for this last inch...The middle of the bib (where the buttons go) needs to curve outward slightly, towards my shoulders, instead of being a straight line. And that will take care of that.

I'd say this pattern is a keeper.

Whilst piecing together my quilt pieces, I discovered a new stitch.


The standard seam allowance in quilting is 1/4". Well, there is an automatic 1/4" stitch...well, I guess it wouldn't be automatic if you didn't line it up right, but line the fabric up at the edge of the 'A' foot, use the stitch and you're all set.

But I HATE lining fabric up at the edge of the foot. It just doesn't work for me - it bugs me that I can't see exactly where under the foot the fabric is. And I checked - if you can see the edge of the fabric by the foot, then you're over your allowance.

So I use my 'B' foot, use a left-aligned needle position and line the fabric up with the right red line. And it works perfectly.



So now all my strips have been sewn together. 12.5" x 43" long. Now I just have to cut them into 12" blocks. I guess I could do 12.5" blocks which would cut back on some cutting, but some edges aren't even...and twelve and a half just doesn't seem right for a block.


All in all, I will have 36 blocks (6 up & 6 down), so the quilt will be about 6' x 6'. That's a nice throw.