Modkid Nina, View A
Hey, everybody. May's Make-Merry Madness is finally winding down. So, as I was saying...
The birthday outfit
seen earlier for Thing 2 was sewn from
this pattern by Modkid. The fabric is
AMH Garden Party fabric I scored on super sale at fabric.com ($3.50 a yard!) and also some polka dot fabric whose name and designer escape me. The bias binding was some 100% cotton Michael Miller pindot I bought on clearance eons ago that just happened to blend. (I
still can't write or say 'blend' without hearing Marisa Tomei's voice in my head.)
the outfit in action
The pattern was super simple to sew, with clear instructions. After eyeballing the top pattern pieces I decided that it was scaled too big for my six year old, so I used the 5T size. Even so the armholes were enormous, so that I had to tie the shoulders almost flush together to keep it from looking too big on her. Mental note: I'll definitely reduce the depth of the armholes next time.
I cut the size 6 out for the skirt and it was fine. As simple as it gets, but the contrast band at the bottom really ramps up the cute factor. I really like how the whole outfit turned out. Birthday Girl loved it and promptly put it on when she woke the morning of her party. She felt very special, so that made the late night worth it. (What? Of course I sewed it the night before. As if.)
I'd like to eventually make the other views also, either in long or short sleeve. I plan to make Thing 1 the same pattern for
her birthday party in August, in a different colorway of the Garden Party fabric.

Birthday Kid also got her very own soundtrack to mark the day. I put together a mix tape for her of upbeat songs she loves (as well as some that were new to her) and burned the CD, which has been on constant play since then. Good news is I dig it too, so I don't feel like jabbing a fork in my ears after the 10th loop. I had a
lot of fun putting that together for her and watching her face as each song came on. I think I smell the start of a tradition.

I also finally made two party buntings for my kitchen and mantel. I usually print them in paper, custom designed to the name, age and color scheme of choice. That is becoming too time-consuming and ridiculously complex. Also wasteful. These simple felt ones are cheerful and multi-occasion-appropriate, and made entirely from my embarrassingly large felt stash.
No hemming or turning required. I just cut some felt triangles and straight stitched them to the back side of a ribbon. I didn't pin or assemble them beforehand, I just had a length of ribbon and a stack of triangles ready at the sewing machine. I fed one triangle in, then counted the stitches in between each subsequent triangle to make them evenly spaced. If I thought about it I'd probably fold over the ribbon in half toward the back and sew it again. So I won't think about it.
Thing 2 surrounded by loving grandparents, from l to r, my mom Jackie, and parents-in-law Paula and Harold.
Also making this birthday special was the presence of my (elusive) lovely and delightful mother, Jackie, who has not been able to come and stay with me for longer than a weekend since Thing 2 was born six years ago! She was here with us for two blessed, fun-filled weeks, including Mother's Day. All of which was made possible by my sweet husband, who drove both ways to Alabama in one day to bring her here, defying gale force winds, rain and also a murderous construction barrel run amok. So my sweet girl had almost all her grandparents present for the party as well.
I kept getting on facebook and taunting my sisters that I finally had Mom all to myself and may not bring her back. Nyah. Spoken like a true fifth child.

So presents were opened (Legos have now been discovered), cake consumed, and her height was marked on our school room wall. Happy sixth birthday to my little stinker monkey. Oy. Remind me to do a better job on cutting her bangs in future.