Color Week

Well, my birthday girl started school.  Kindergarten is a great year because as far as academics go I'm not concerned at all.  This means I can focus on the more important stuff like what in the heck my kindergartner is going to wear to school!  I'm kidding that clothing is more important, but when the cirriculum standard for the first couple months of the year calls for playing at school, I think I get to say clothing is a very critical part of this school year.

When Grace's teacher sent home a letter at the end of the first week of school saying that the second week of school was going to be Color Week I decided that I have sewn enough things for Grace that she could not only wear the colors she needed to wear each day, but she could wear a color coordinated handmade article of clothing each day.

The week started off with orange.  I loved the little mini orange cardigan I made to go with The Little Mini Skirt.  Unfortunately Grace didn't like the way the mini skirt felt at her waist, and she was concerned it was too tight to sit on the Magic Carpet.  Sew, luckily Annee made Grace a skirt like 3 years ago that still fits that matches the orange cardigan.

Tuesday was yellow.  (Or as Grace calls it "lellow.")  Grace strutted her stuff to school in her Oliver & S Popover Sundress.  There were only a couple of tears shed over having to wear this.  Apparently I gave away the "lellow lellow" dress from Target that Grace wanted to wear.  Admittedly I did give it away because it was too short.  It's so sad when we grow out of our favorite things.

Wednesday was green day, and Grace got to wear her Little Bo Peep Skirt.  It's a tad short, and Grace needed to be able to participate in P.E., so I bought a pair of leggings and hemmed them to capri length.  I would have bought the cropped length leggings, but the Old Navy near me was sold out.  I'm sew glad I know how to sew!

Thursday's color was brown.  I washed the capri brown leggings Wednesday night, and Grace wore them with her Owl Tank Dress on Thursday.  

Please excuse the messy background.  I live in a house not a museum, and I know I could have stepped outside to take this picture, but it's cold here in the mornings.

Friday was a big day.  It was blue.  Now ever since I saw Annee's Library Skirt, I just knew I needed to make one.  

In fact, when Henry was a couple of weeks old, and I was feeling a little frazzled, I would wander into my sewing space and just start looking at fabrics.  I started way back in July cutting off selvedge edges that I thought would add to a Library Skirt of my own one day.

My mom was in town the first week of school, and she makes a great task master.  She called me when she saw Annee's post about the Library Skirt many months ago and said she wanted one herself.  While she was here last week, she made sure that Grace got her very own Library Skirt.  

Grace loves it.  Probably not as much as I do, but she does love it.  I also made it big enough for her to wear through the 5th grade.  Okay, that's a slight exaggeration, but still it's a tad on the long side.

I did a couple of things differently from the original tutorial.  Instead of sewing each book together as she says too, I just ironed the long sides into the center like so:

Then I pinned them down to the linen skirt like crazy.  I've washed the Library Skirt already, and so far I can't tell that my shortcut has any consequences other than it saved me a ton of time.

I also lined my Library Skirt by cutting a piece of muslin the exact same size as the skirt, placed it under the Library Skirt top, and serged them both together.  I'm sure this might make some seamstresses cringe, but it saved me time and spared me from Grace complaining that her skirt was itchy.

If I was still a school teacher I might just make one of these skirts for myself.  It's just such a clever idea!

That wraps up Color Week.  Grace seems to think it carries into this week. If so, I'll have a black outfit for you.  I didn't get a note home, so I'm not really sure Grace has her facts straight, but even if color week doesn't continue on this week, I have a cute outfit to share.  This post is long enough or I'd add the black outfit to it.  For now I'll spare you.  But, get excited, MOM will be updated  more than once this week!