Kimono jacket

Dear Lord, thank you for giving us a girl.  They are so fun to dress. 

JoAnn's is having great sale this week, so I've been back several times as I keep thinking of new ideas.  (Expect to see Olivia in lots of corduroy this winter.)  I bought materials to make a little jacket for Olivia, obviously giving myself plenty of time before she'd need it. 

Originally I was going to use gray fleece for the outside, but I told myself Olivia will have her entire adult life to choose conservative colors if she wants.  (Probably what my mother told herself before she sewed me what would later be dubbed "curtain pants" at the bus stop.) 

I found a pattern (from this seller on Etsy) and decided to give it a whirl even though I had no experience with taping together a PDF pattern or following non-pattern-company instructions.  Turns out the pattern designer left out all the stuff that makes professional patterns confusing to me, so it wasn't hard at all.

Next time I'd probably place the button hole closer to the corner and may still move the button toward the right shoulder because it is supposed to be kimono-style, but otherwise I'm happy with the outcome and Olivia didn't want to take it off.  I love that the hood looks like a Kewpie doll.

Look at those knees!  So cute.

Also coming off my production line is a pair of pink fleece pants that I started last winter.  They were still laying on my sewing table the other day, so I gave them to Olivia to keep her entertained while I sewed.  (She likes to try to dress herself.) 

They still looked like they'd fit, so I sewed a ruffle on the bottom to hem them and finished the waist with elastic.She's wearing these over her shorts because I just wanted a quick pic. (Note to self: the early morning light makes for a grainy photo, next time contain your excitement and wait a couple of hours.)  Olivia and I both benefit from *ahem* tunic-length tops on account of our bellies.  No, I am not pregnant.

Speaking of big sales this week, last night we hit the mall for end-of-summer clearance.  We did the same thing last summer (note the last-season Gymboree stripes) and got some great deals, plus my mom gave me her Gymboree bucks so our stuff there was 50% off the lowest price.  It's really hard for me to guess what size O will be wearing next summer, though.  People are telling me that she won't grow as quickly now that she's a little older, but the line on the growth chart has the same trajectory for year 3 as it does year 2.  I guess we'll have to starve her so she'll wear her clothes a little longer.  Kidding.  I do wonder how she's grows so well while eating like a bird toddler.