When we were young - Week 7: you & mie

July 24, 2013

So we are over halfway my When we were young series already. I have loved all the posts so far. Seeing the old photos, the gorgeous re-creations, and also hearing the stories so kindly shared by my guest bloggers. Today in the series is another great post from the talented Cherie from you & mie. Like many other great blogs I follow, I found Cherie's blog via pinterest when I first saw this dress (Oliver + S Jump rope dress) she made for her super cute daughter, Yuki.

Here are some more of Cherie's lovely creations...

Cherie has posted tutorials for the suspender shorts and spotted purple top (above) on her blog. She has lots of other great tutorials on her blog too (there are some more recent tutorials that are not listed on her tutorial page - just have a look at her recent posts). Cherie is due to have a baby in September, so I expect we will see some gorgeous baby sewing soon too!

Now here is a little interview with Cherie about when she was young...

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Where were you born/where did you spend your childhood?
I was born in Anchorage, Alaska, but only lived there until I was 3 years old. I spent the rest of my childhood in the Bay Area, in a suburb of San Francisco, California.

Who did you grow up with?
I grew up with my parents and 3 siblings. I have two older brothers and one younger sister.

Did you have a childhood ambition?
I wanted to be an Olympic gymnast.

What did you like doing when you were little?
I loved dancing, doing gymnastics, drawing, reading, and torturing my little sister.

Do you see any similarities between yourself and your child/children?
My daughter (almost 3) certainly shares my love of dancing and gymnastics, as well as singing and performing. I have a feeling she'll be equally as good at bossing her future sibling around too.

Do you live far from where you grew up?
Nope, about a 35 minute drive.

Where do you live now and who with?
I live in San Francisco with my amazing partner and our almost 3 year old daughter, Yuki. And we have another one on the way (due in September)!

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Hello! I'm Cherie from you & mie and I'm so thrilled to be part of this awesome series. When Suz emailed me about the idea, I loved it from the start - I thought it was brilliant! I knew it'd be fun to go through old photos and find a fun outfit to recreate. I didn't realize, however, how difficult it would be to find a good picture of me wearing a cute outfit! There are tons of pictures of me as a kid, but in most of them you either can't see what I'm wearing or you wish you couldn't see it, because it's hideous! Oh, to be a child of the eighties!

I feel like I should mention, since every other guest so far has apparently had prolific seamstresses for mothers, that my mother did sew too, but not nearly as much. Though she did sew some of our clothes, including lots of Halloween costumes and 2 of my high school formal dresses, and she did inspire me to sew as well, she didn't make most of our clothes, and she didn't make the dress I decided to recreate for my daughter.

I chose a dress that neither I, nor my mom, remember very well, but she thinks it was a hand-me-down originally purchased in Japan.

I just thought it was adorable and perfect for the summer. Yuki is starting to show an interest in pink and dresses, and since I've never made her a pink dress before, I figure I'd try it out and see if she wears it!

The most unique characteristics about this pinafore are the notched collar on the bodice, the lace detailed pocket and the open back with the crossed straps. I drafted the pattern myself and since I couldn't see how the actual bodice was shaped or constructed, I had to do a bit of guess work, but overall, the whole thing came together rather simply.

Being the late night and last minute seamstress that I am, I used another dress of Yuki's to estimate size and didn't put the dress on her until the photo shoot. I'm relieved it fit as well as it did, but the bodice is actually a tad bit too wide. Oh well, that just means she'll be able to wear it longer, right!?

I actually took pictures of the process while I was making this pinafore, so I might post a tutorial some time over on my blog next week if I get around to putting one together. Would you be interested?

I'll leave you with one more picture of my goofball daughter. Thank you so much for letting me take part in this awesome series, Suz! It's been a blast! And please, come by and say hi over at you & mie some time!

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How cute is the dress?? Thank you so much Cherie...I think a tutorial is definitely in order!