Matchy Matchy + Sewing Machine Sadness + Delancey Progress

Z and her new doll on Christmas, with polka dots in abundance.

My Amazing Mom was having sewing machine issues recently, but took prompt action, got her machine serviced, and all is well. She's been making some ridiculously cute matching outfits and accessories, all drafted from scratch with paper patterns of her own design.

Z and her doll "Howie Bowie Wowie" out for a winter's stroll in matching duds

My favorite so far is this beautiful original design with matching headband—I believe this is an African wax print fabric my mom picked up at Sew-Fisticated Discount Fabrics in Boston.
 

Christmas outfit designed and sewn by my mom: the girl version

And the doll version...

And there's a lot more! Each of these has a girl-sized equivalent, though I don't have all the photos handy:

She's also been sewing matching outfits for Z and her 3-month baby cousin, R:

My own sewing mojo is not so strong at the moment, however...

Goofy and overly confident late-night sewing selfie, right before sewing machine disaster struck

 So right before I got my carpal tunnel last October, I was about to make a Cake Red Velvet knit dress (naturally) but first I wanted to finish my third Cake Hummingbird. I was tired, it was late on a work night, but I had my spelunking sewing headlamp on (one of my favorite non-sewing sewing tools) and I was in the sewing zone and...

And then this happened. Whatever "this" is:


And it's probably still sitting inside my sewing machine cabinet that way.

And then I got the carpal tunnel. And then after I recovered from that, a newfound food-allergy-free baking and cooking obsession.

I know nobody wants to read posts in which people apologize for not sewing or not blogging, but that's not really my point. My point is: why am I always so scared of my sewing machine? I'm sure it's probably 10 minutes of me tinkering to figure out the issue. Or if necessary, a trip to the shop. But somehow that tiny hurdle seems insurmountably annoying, so much more so than, say, making my own fruit leather from scratch.

Knitting is not so daunting, equipment-wise—in addition to those chartreuse Knotty gloves I mentioned before, I'm finally back to putting the finishing touches on my Delancey cardigan—just have to do the edges, button bands and shawl collar!

I am NOT going to think about weaving in all those ends. And I have made piece with my paltry three sweaters per year knitting average (counting baby sweaters). Can you spot which color of discontinued yarn I lost on a plane?

Tri-State Area Casting Call for The Sewing Bee (American Edition)

I'm sure you've seen this on other sewing blogs, but just in case... The Sewing Bee (American edition) has put out a casting call for the tri-state area, looking for applications ASAP--click on the the above flyer for details.

I loved the British version of the show—it was fast-paced and competitive, but still KIND (as opposed to cutthroat) and focused on home sewers, not aspiring fashion designers.

The American one is going to have a somewhat different format that actually makes it easier to participate—each episode will have a new set of competitors, so filming for each person chosen will only be for a few days.

Anyone else planning to apply?

P.S. In other not-sewing news, just a gentle reminder to check out my new recipe blog, Safe & Scrumptious From Scratch. It does have a food-allergy-free focus (no dairy, nuts, sesame, eggs, or mustard), but the recipes (like my no-nuts Nutella substitute or black bean, potato and pepper tacos) should be tasty enough for EVERYONE to enjoy.

My other (new) blog about food allergies: Safe & Scrumptious From Scratch!

For over a year, I've been burning to write and do more about my daughter's food allergies. My little girl is the center of my world, and I cannot count the number of hours I spend dealing with and thinking about food allergies. I did consider just including more cooking posts here at Polka Dot Overload, as many other fabulous sewing bloggers do... but food-allergy cooking is so specific, I felt like most of you would just rather hear mostly about yarn and fabric.

So I finally found a little time to muck around in WordPress and set up a dedicated home for all those ideas, recipes and thoughts... Safe & Scrumptious: Allergy-Free Life on a Budget (No Dairy, Eggs, Nuts, Sesame or Mustard). It's not much yet—just an about page and some simple recipes for sesame-free faux-hini sauce and allergen-free hot cocoa, but I have oodles of post and recipes in the queue.

I'd love if some of you readers dropped by to take a look ... and please do tell any friends you might have who deal with similar allergies or dietary restrictions. My recipes are all free of dairy, eggs, tree nuts, sesame and mustard. Most are also free of peanuts, fish, and shellfish. Some are free of soy. Many foods featured will be plant-based or vegan and lowfat. But please note that I do bake and cook a lot with wheat and gluten-containing products, so my new blog might not be of much interest to those with celiac or gluten intolerance.

Things may stay a little quiet around here for a bit, but I'm not abandoning ship and I definitely have some sewing and knitting projects in the works. Do come by and say hello at my new home!