my UFO epiphany

Tuesday 21 July 2009
Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences with the sleeping patterns of your babies, it makes me feel better that it's not just Anna that seems to be possessed by the devil as soon as it comes to nap time. I truly don't understand it: newborns sleep lots, teenagers probably too much, adults want to sleep more so why do small children hate to sleep so much? Anyway after a week on her new routine she's having three long (1.5 hours) naps a day which is an absolute joy because I can finally eat, shower and even take photos for my blog now! She is still waking up several times at night though, and her new party trick is that only I can settle her, and if her dad goes in to calm her down she becomes hysterical. He claims to be upset about that, but secretly I think he's happy to get out of night time duty..... But I think if I can get her daytime napping under control in a week, eventually night time sleeping should be sorted out too eventually (maybe another 18 years???).

Well I've still been cleaning out my sewing studio, hence no photos to share yet. During the cleaning frenzy I decided to procrastinate in a useful way by photographing all my UFOs (unfinished objects for you lucky ones not to have any) and put them all in one box so I could go to them easily to finish them off in a timely manner (yeah right!). However when I needed a second large box to fit them all in I realised that I have way too many, which represents way too much time and money wasted. I read the very funny joke about finishing things off over at Jean's blog, and then saw this very wise buddhist quote over at lsaspacey's blog (she's looking for the source of the quote too, so head over there if you can help her):

"A Buddhist friend told me that if you're feeling stressed, get rid of the stuff you don't need and finish the things you've started."

So what is my UFO ephiphany? I finally realised that not every project is worth finishing and that I should clear those out so I can focus on what is worth doing, you know stop sweating the small stuff and just get on with life. So out went a whole bag of UFOs (some to the rag bag in the garage, others to my scrap fabric bag) of clothes that I know I will never wear or wear so little even if I finished them nicely that I don't need them.

That said though, I still have many to finish off so I did what any good anal retentive type does: make a list! I photographed each UFO, listed what pattern was used and what is left to do, printed it out and stuck it above my sewing machines so it's there taunting me. And I'm very happy to say that I have already finished one of the UFOs, one that I cut out the fabric and lining at least five years ago but never sewed up at all.

The story behind this top is that it is part of a three piece suit, made from a black wool. The pants I made and wore a few times but they didn't fit too well and I have no idea where they are now; the jacket I stuffed up and it needs unpicking and is also a resident in the UFO pile. So without the rest of the set I never bothered making the top. But it's a very simple sleeveless shell top, with princess seams that does up at the back, which would wear well with anything so I finally decided to finish it even without it's matching garmets. In warmer months or under a jacket I would wear this on its own, but it's pretty chilly around these parts at the moment so I've worn it vest style instead with my new stay at home mum uniform of jeans and flat shoes:


Remember when I was pregnant and obsessing about what shoes I would wear since I was addicted to my heels? Well now I pretty much always wear flats because I have no occasion to wear heels anymore, I mean I would look pretty silly rocking up to my mothers group in high heels!

I used a now OOP Michael Kors for Vogue 1826 pattern. I've made this top before in a lovely white waffle weave cotton that I wear frequently under suits, so I knew this would fit well and look good. It's simply two layers sewn together and turned inside out, with a zipper down the centre back although I put in buttons instead. It seems I have monkey arms because I have no problems doing them up at all! Please ignore the tag of my t-shirt sticking up there at the back of my neck.


Because it is plain black, I decided to jazz it up by adding some embellishment to the front, especially since I don't often wear jewellry. I have seen this done elsewhere on RTW clothing, so I can't take the credit for it. All I did was sew on some little rectangles of black and white striped fabric in a tiered arrangement on the front. Of course it looked better in my imagination than in reality, but hey for my current sleep challenged state it turned out good enough to leave it as it is, and actually wear in public. Because I just sewed the little 'flaps' straight on to the right side of the fabric, I sewed a strip of ribbon over the top to neaten it up a little:






So the good news is that one UFO is crossed off the list, the bad news is that I have another one of this top cut out and not sewed as well! So I may do that one next since this took only a few hours to finish off....
Happy sewing everyone, may you finish all of your projects and not be plagued by UFOs!

24 comments:

  1. Love it! You did a really nice job on the shell/vest and you have also snapped back to pre-natal form in impressive style!

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  2. Child comment.... my son, who is now 6, manipulated me from the age of 4 months..... and it continues. I think it is in the genes. You are doing great and keep it up!

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  3. I like your vest, especially the added embellishment. I have very few pairs of "real" heels left and the ones I do own I rarely have occasion to wear. I tossed all my panthose and business suits too. Woohoo! Welcome to the world of comfort, where "washable" reigns. :)

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  4. I really like this look. Perfect for Sydney winter.

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  5. O.K. being a "mom" it's just a mom thing to do.... to give advice... whether you choose to take it or not it of course.... your choice! My though is that if Anna is takiing 3 naps during the day... maybe that is why she isn't sleeping quite as well at night. Just for comparison... all 4 of my kids by the age of 6-8 months or so were taking 2 naps and were sleeping mostly thru the nights... of course there are always reasons for them to wake up... i.e. teething, colds... dreams etc... but anyway enough said.
    Your such a good mom... and you know... sometimes it used to make me feel pretty good when I was the only one that could calm our sweet little ones... but that's just me!
    Hang in there... as you said... bye the time she's 18... she will be calming you! LoL... Good job on the UFO's!!!

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  6. Oops... I forgot! I think that your shoes are cute!!! And hey... if you have the gams for high heels and like wear em!!! Nothing wrong with that... besides... all the other mom's at "the group" will be envious!!! LoL...

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  7. What a cute vest...and I love the buttons up the back! I love the fact that you chucked an entire bag...it was messing with your sewing juju so good riddance.

    Glad you've gotten Anna to sleep a little more...showering and eating are both good things! ;)

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  8. I really like this top and your emebllishment looks fantastic. I might even steal this idea for something myself. Now about your UFOs. In my opinion, if something is cut out but not sewn, it is not a UFO. It's only a UFO if you started sewing and didn't finish. At least that's what I tell myself. I think your stay at home outfit is pretty cute!

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  9. I love the rectangles on the black top. It really jazzed it up.

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  10. The top is lovely, especially the neck detail. Very glam for mothers group! It looks great layered over the long sleeved top.

    With the sleep, you are so not alone. I wish I'd known about the people in Ashfield. Alistair didn't sleep through til he was 12 months old (not even once!) and is still very patchy with both day and night sleeping. In the end I decided that while I couldn't really do anything about the sleeping I could make a concious decision to not let it stress me out, and apart from the occasional really fractious day that has worked pretty well. I hope you and Anna can find something that works for you :)

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  11. That top is just so cute. Well done on getting it out of the UFO pile and onto the bod :)

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  12. Love the embellishment at the neckline. Isn't nice to have that UFO all done?

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  13. Super cute top - well worth finishing! I love the neck detail.

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  14. Love the buddist advice - might give it a go

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  15. Great UFO! Love your embellishment.

    My two teens, now that it's summer and they're out of school, stay up until 2 a.m. or so and then sleep until noon. You, sadly, have many years of frustration with your children's sleep ahead of you.

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  16. I love, love, love the neck detail!

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  17. What a wonderful top and such a great way to add detail. I also might borrow this idea.

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  18. That is so much smarter than my stay at home Mum wardrobe! Very smart, without being overdressed for playgroup. Now I feel the need to smarten my act up.

    I'm glad Anna's at least napping nicely during the day. You always need some "me" time when you have children. Now you need to teach her to say "Daddy" so when she calls out at night, it's for him! (Mine refuse to settle at night for my husband, so good luck with that)

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  19. I love that embellishment idea.

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  20. good embellishment idea. it's going on the long list of ideas to pull out the bag when refashioning... looks like your home is really come/has come together. chic!

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  21. Urghh the wakeful 4month old and onwards! Some babies need extra assurance whilst others could do with less attention and they sleep better. You'll figure out your own way with your second bub!!!
    Anyway, the top is really great. I can't wait to stop making preggy tops and make some nice ones again for Spring. I think the embellishment has made it look really nice. I'm going to chop up a man's jumper and turn it into a cardi or vest now! You've inspired me.

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  22. Kristy you look a yummy mummy in that outfit. Good on you.

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  23. I love this top - so simple and so chic!

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  24. I love that neck embellishment! What a great idea! I think I'll steal it ;-)

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