March 7, 2012
I can make skirts. And I love to make dresses. But I’ve been frustrated with the fact that I can’t make shirts. There’s a real lack of cotton shirt patterns and tutorials for kids out there so I had to get over my fear and bite the bullet. I pulled out one of Sofie’s dresses, made up a pattern, and came away with this beauty.
I couldn’t believe how easily it all actually came together! There was no fidgeting, no re-measuring, no nothing.
In fact, it’s probably nothing short of a miracle that this little shirt ever got made to begin with. I made the pattern weeks ago. I cut it out several days later but set it aside. Then the pattern pieces and cut fabric actually made it into my stuff to bring to Mom and Dad’s while we’re waiting to move into our house.
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March 1, 2012
I’ve been sewing up a storm these last few weeks! I’ve got an embarrassing number of unfinished projects I’ve been trying to get finished. This dress for Sofie is one I’ve had mostly done since well before Christmas and I’ve been meaning to finish up for her to wear this “winter.” I got it done just in time for this lovely humid, 70-degree weather! It’s corduroy. Complete Mom fail, but it’s not stopping her from wearing it!
I also made this Minnie Mouse dress for a friend’s daughter. She’s a month older than Chloe and also a total Minnie buff! I had a different dress in mind for Chloe’s birthday dress, but now I’m thinking this needs to be it. She’s just too precious!
I was so glad when she told me to use a normal applique font and not the Disney style one! This is my rusty, trusty old Pharmacy font.
And lastly I’ve been in the bib-making business again! I still really love everything about these bibs. And their absorbency has stood the test of time! I’ve gotten them out of my stash and started using them on drooly Ella and they’re still wonderful. These 2 I made and sent to a friend. Two totally different looks, both equally to die for!
It feels so good to be sewing consistently again. With all the craziness of life lately, it feels good to get back to something that feels normal. I feel like I’m getting a new burst of drive and ambition and I’m so excited to see what creative things it will yield!
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February 25, 2012
Today is the 25th! Did you forget? I didn’t! I know I haven’t blogged much this month, I’ve got posts all ready to go to fill you in on what we’ve been doing these past few weeks!
But since it’s Christmas project time, I whipped together this precious dress for Sofie. I always want her to have several sweet Christmas outfits and I just never have time (or inspiration) to make her any. But this dress? I’m dying over. And I can’t believe I have to wait until the Christmas season for her to wear it!
Sofie’s over the moon for her new dress. I’m going to make her several more in this style because it’s so easy to make, they fit her like a dream, and it’s completely customizable for anything!!
I had to make this one a little big to be sure it would still fit her in 9 months, but since my little peanut is a consistent slow-grower, I have no doubts she’ll rock it all season!
I found this fabric randomly at JoAnn’s a few days before Christmas last year. I bought the rest of the bolt, about a yard, and didn’t realize it was super hard to find until AFTER I cut into it! I’m glad I love the dress because I couldn’t buy more fabric if I wanted to! This is “Merry Main Street” by Alexander Henry.
I LOVE this retro Christmas scene. I also really love that it’s Christmas without dripping in red and green and screaming “I’M A CHRISTMAS DRESS!” because she’ll have plenty of those as well! I added these awesome green buttons to the back because they matched perfectly and make the dress pop from behind.
The only down side is that I don’t have a tutorial made up for this yet. I made the pattern myself and first did a shirt for her. And I loved the shirt so much I decided it needed to become this dress as well. I’ll get it up soon and will not only show you how I made the pattern pieces, but I’ll share my 4T ones as well. I hope you guys didn’t forget about this month’s projects and have some to share in the linky party I have set up at the bottom!
Please add my Handmade Christmas 2012 button to your blog to spread the word about participation!
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February 13, 2012
WHEW. That’s about all I can come up with to describe the last few weeks.
I shared in December that we found out the house we’ve been renting for 2 years was foreclosed and we were going to have to move. We made a deal with the bank to move out in 30 days and we were shopping for a house. Well, we found a house! We close on it this week and are sooo excited. The only problem is we don’t take possession of it for several weeks! The owners are elderly and asked for some time to get their things together and move out and we agreed. So we decided to pack everything and put it in storage and we are now living with my parents for the next 6-8 weeks! The last 10 days have been a complete whirlwind of packing, moving, cleaning, loading, and getting out of the house. And in the middle of it all, The Hubs’ Grandpa died.
Today is the first day in a very long time that I haven’t had a list a mile long of things to do! We are going to be making Valentine’s for Sofie to take to school tomorrow so I’ll post about that later. I’ve also got my very first sponsor lined up with a giveaway, so stay tuned for that, too! The dust is finally settling and I’ve got some really fun projects lined up to work on while we’re crashing at Grammy and Granddad’s house! And there’s only 12 days until the next Christmas projects are up! Have you been working on yours?
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January 25, 2012
Well, here we are! Our first Christmas projects for 2012! How does it feel to get a jump start on the holiday season already? In all honesty, I’d planned on doing a fairly large project this month, but time got away with me with all our home buying and moving plans, so I fell back to an idea I’ve been wanting to share for quite awhile.
For Christmas 2010 I appliqued towels for my Mom, sister, and Aunt. I just put their last initials for a little personalization, but I was wild about the way they turned out! And best of all, they’re actually used on a regular basis!
I’ve been itching to make some for holidays. It’s an inexpensive and fun way to celebrate, and they make really great gifts! I think they’d even be great as a wedding gift, especially if the couple has registered for towels so you can get some you know they like and will match their home. Personalized with their initials or even “his” and “hers” would be darling!
These are a quick and easy project for sure! I simply chose some designs and appliqued the way I always do!
**For tips and information see my Applique and Applique Curves Tutorials.
To get the design in the right place, lay the towel down face down, with the inside of the towel up.
Fold in one third,
then the other third,
then fold in half. You’ll be left with a small area to work with, but is perfect for how it will hang. You can use the sides for reference points and begin ironing on your applique!
When finished, your design will be perfectly placed and ready for use!
I have more towels I haven’t had a chance to adorn yet, but I’ll get to them very soon! I did manage to sneak a generic one in for myself! If you don’t want to do holiday images as a gift, consider doing them this way instead.
Ready to share your creations? I can’t wait to see them! If you do not have a blog, please feel free to email me your photos. Some of you have done this already and I’m loving it! Keep ‘em coming!
Please add my Handmade Christmas 2012 button to your blog to spread the word about participation!
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