The Blog Lives On

Weekly Rewind

Trying to get a picture of everyone is impossible!

Wow, I can't believe it has been a whole month since last updating this blog and that we've already been back in the south for two weeks. The two months in California were so busy with activity that I was completely distracted from sewing and blogging. Being away from Mississippi also helped in distracting me from the passing of time and I suddenly find ourselves starting the sixth month of deployment. I am acutely aware that we are speeding towards the finish line, with about twelve weeks to go.

The return home also brought the joy of having a ten day visit from Joe this week while he is in town for meetings. We are all so happy to see him, and it is fun to see the kids spending time with him. Audrey seems so much more aware of his presence now, walking around the house asking for "Daddy." It is bittersweet, knowing we will have to say goodbye once again and realizing this time she may actually be able to articulate her longing.  

Saying goodbye to Grandpa.

Over the past month the kids have continued to grow and change so much. Both kids had a doctor's visit upon our return and we discovered Grayden had grown over 1.25" since May and Audrey had grown an inch. Audrey's walking ability has dramatically improved over the summer and she races to keep up with her brother. Her vocabulary also continues to grow and she is making an effort to put words together into small sentences. We all miss being near friends and family but are glad to be back to our own space and working to reestablish a routine. 

Audrey's class.

Grayden outside his school.

The kids both started preschool last week at a wonderful school just down the street from our house. Audrey is in a morning toddler program three days per week and Grayden is signed up for five days a week in the morning. There is an option for him to stay until 3pm and so far he has asked to stay three of the six days he has attended. With Joe here this week I'm sure he won't want to stay all day but I'm hoping he'll go late at least three days a weeks once we get into a routine. He has given up napping at home and it is a battle to even get him to rest quietly in his room after he comes home. The extra time at school - eating lunch, nap time and some afternoon play - seems worth it so that both Audrey and I can get some rest! I'm looking forward to a few hours by myself for exercise and sewing.

The Project

• Fabric: Military issue woodland camouflage utility blouse, (Joe's Lt. uniform); 1/2 yard waterproof material, bought dirt cheap at Hancock for $.50 a while back

• Pattern: adapted from lunch box pattern by Virginia Lindsay of Gingercake Patterns; $8
• Notions: 8" of Velcro, 15" of webbing; $1
• Total time: 2 hours to play around with the layout to maximize the use of the shirt; 2 to 3 hours to sew. 
• Total cost: $9.50

Ever since I made the apron out of a military shirt back in May I have been mulling over the idea of developing a similar up-cycled product to sell on a small scale. I wanted to come up with a kid related item since families with deployed members are always looking for ways to stay connected during the separation. There is a whole array of products out there including Flat Daddies and Daddy Dolls. The idea of a lunch bag resonated with me since it is an item children can bring to school to feel connected to their deployed parent without being intrusive or distracting to other students. After a bit of research it appears that there isn't anyone making such an item so I thought I'd give it a try.

Through Etsy I found a lunch bag pattern that seemed adaptable to my plan. The designer even allows her customers to sell the items they make from her patterns! After downloading the file I took some time to figure out the best use of the blouse before cutting it.

The blouse has four pockets on the front and I thought it would be best to utilize the two pockets with the embroidery and name tapes on them for the front flap and the back panel. The fact that the family name is on the bag is an added bonus since schools require such items to be labeled. To accommodate the size of the pockets, plus the name tapes, I had to lengthen the height of the bag by a couple of  as well as make the front flap come all the way down the front of the bag. I took the buttons off the pockets and replaced them with Velcro so they can be used for small snacks, silverware or even a juice box.

For the inside panel I cut the piece from the back of the blouse since I wanted a seamless section to accommodate a slot for a 4"x6" photo, adding another element to connect the child and parent. To finish the edges of the clear vinyl photo pocket I used camouflage ribbon I bought at the LA garment district. Sewing this I used a trick my mom showed me to place paper under the plastic so it does not stick to the sewing machine.

The inside lining is a fabric that is best described as rubberized rain coat material, in khaki green. I bought it several months ago with the thought that I'd make a wet bag to put swimsuits into when we left the pool. I never got around to that! The bag is insulated with Insul-Bright batting to keep hot or cold inside. Sewing through the multiple layers was a challenge but I used the even-feed foot and a heavy duty needle and my machine handled it pretty well. The biggest challenge I had was the handle since the webbing I used began to fray after I had installed it. I had to remove it, melt the end and then reinstall it. Grayden was of course fascinated by the open flame from the cigarette lighter so in the future I think I'll have to do that when he isn't around!

I really would like to start making these bags as custom orders on a small scale. I plan to launch an Etsy website under the name Lunch Date Bag so I can take orders once I have some additional samples and better photos. The prototype is very "tactical" utilizing the basic camouflage colors for the accents. I bought supplies at the garment district to be able to play with the design so kids can pick a custom look; different colors for the handles, inside lining and trims. For girls I have some colorful laminated prints for the inside and want to find some masculine prints for boys' bags. For my local friends I plan on making a few more sample bags if you want to get in on an early deal. Let me know if you are interested!