Blue Sleeveless Blouse

Made this shirt tonight to wear with the floral corduroy skirt I made yesterday -- it is a size 7 in blue broadcloth that has a neat texture. Almost like a denim, but thin. Simplicity 4669 View B -- Super easy and fast -- I want to try the skirt in this pattern...it flares out at the bottom, very big girl looking. If I had this shirt in my size I think I'd wear it. One button in the back.

More Nightgowns

Fell in love with the cross-over front nightgowns pattern a couple weeks ago Click here. So I made a couple more! The girls wanted them longer, so...longer they got.

The most tedious part of this for me was making the double fold bias tape, but you could buy it too...but where's the fun in that? the plaid one has a soft flannel feel, and the Dora one was by special request. Dora was a little big as she is 4 and the nightgown is a size 6, but she will wear it next winter too!

Spring Fun Outfit Update

Here is the completed project I posted a while back in its incomplete form. Click here for original post of dresses so you can see what is under the little jacket

The girls LOVE these dresses and little jackets...So does their mom. Pattern is Simplicity 3513

Corduroy Floral 30 minute Skirt

Super easy and fast pattern, front & back are exactly the same, just sew the side seams, create an elastic casing for the top, and hem it...you're done. Simplicity 9854 View B. My daughter generally wears a size 6X so that is what I made, but as you can tell, it looks too big, but she is fairly thin. I bet she will beg to wear it anyway with her brown boots that she bought with her own money she wanted them so bad...I have a couple of yards of this left so I am going to try something else so maybe it will have a better fit.

Floral and stripe "pocket bag"

This is a gift for my hubbie's grandma who has a birthday in February. She will look "cool" toting this new bag this spring. The pattern is adapted from Simplicity 9949 View B. I opted not to do the zipper as the pattern is written, so I lined it instead. This is so fun because you get 6 exterior pockets the way the handle attaches. Great spots for cell phones, keys, suckers, you know, the stuff you have to have right now. I added a piece of plastic to make the bottom a little sturdier, but next time I will probably add some interfacing so the rest of the bag has a little more "meat." Took less than 2 hours start to finish...either I am getting faster, or this was easy!

Allyson's Doll Dress

Made this dress for my daughter's friend' birthday party Saturday. Standard doll dress pattern I used last week, but I lined the bodice a little differently and added these three fun yo yo's to the front waistband. Pattern is Simplicity 4364.

Ready to Smock Infant Sacque

This sacque is adapted from Simplicity 9967 (which I don't believe they sell anymore). Adapted because I had to lengthen the sleeves and make it a sacque instead of a dress. Both easy changes.

Front & Back views (I made two). These are so elegant looking...very polished with the cording around the collar and on the top edge of the pleated area. I look forward to seeing what she smocks on them.

Dad's Pool Table Cover

For Christmas I gave my dad a card with fabric samples stapled in it for him to choose the one he liked for a new pool table cover. He picked this one (it was my favorite too!) and here is the result.

I had to piece it together with the full width of the fabric along the middle and about a foot wide strip piece on both sides (left and right in the picture)but when I laid it out I had to feel the darned thing with my hands to find the seam. Cool how the fabric totally hid it for me...I used a dinner plate from the kitchen cabinet to cut the curved edge. I'll post pictures of it on the pool table after I deliver it...he is going to LOVE it. His old one was 1970's gold...velvet...yum. Merry Christmas Dad!

Simplicity 3513 Jacket

This is a pink Pique Jacket I made for my girls (size 7 shown, other daughter's is size 5) to go with their new spring floral dresses. The jacket and dress are from the same pattern envelope Simplicity 3513.

I actually made this just like the pattern said to for view D but now I am wondering what to do for the closure - I think it begs for one big hot pink button and button hole right about where I have the safety pin. The pattern calls for buttons to just be sewn to the front and just hide snaps underneath, but I think that would be cheezy - anybody with me on the button?

Molly & Samantha matching Dresses

The American Girls got in on the matching trend at this house -- I made these last night to match the girls dresses I made yesterday. This is a quick pattern Simplicity 4364 View C with a lined bodice and velcro in the back -- I plan to make them matching hot pink jackets from this pattern just like the girls...

I am having way too much fun with this.

Simplicity 3513 - spring fun!

This is the new dress I made for my girls - I just bought 20 new patterns and am trying to make as many of them as possible this weekend while it is too cold to do anything else!

Super cool pattern -- no zipper, inserting sleeves, or buttons, but still not in the Easy category because of the lined rounded yoke - it has pockets too! Never before have I made them a dress with pockets in the side seams and it was suprisingly easy.

This pattern has a cute little 3/4 sleeve jacket with it and I plan to make them jackets with a coordinating stripe or solid hot pink pique (I haven't decided which yet) I guess I'm off to make the big sister version!

Here are the fabric choices - the more I look at them, I think I'll make the solid pink jacket and then some other striped dresses so they can wear the jackets with either dress in the spring when the weather is iffy...suggestions?

Olivia's Apron

Cami called me tonight and requested a baby's apron -- this is what I came up with -- I believe the baby is turning one? maybe 2? so it is quite small, and I think completely adorable! Total project time -- less than 30 minutes. Total cuteness factor - priceless!

Two Baby Longalls

One of my friends already had a baby girl and another should have a baby boy this week so I killed two birds with one stone by cutting and "assembly lining" these two quick outfits for gifts for them. Another friend is going in with me and she is going to make some of those cloth baby shoes that are so adorable. They are both completely lined and have snaps along the inseam for ease in diaper changing. I don't have any idea what this pattern is, my friend Tracy copied it for me and said I had to try it out...well, I did, and I like it!

Little Sister Nightgown

I hope you get a laugh out of this one -- This is the little sister nightgown to the one I made last night. McCalls 5744 view C. I got up with my hubbie this morning so I had some time before the kids got up (they're both sick!) so I started on the little sister version of yesterdays wrap front nightgown. I didn't have enough fabric so I did the sleeves in the purple, which I actually kinda like the more I look at it.

Here's the laugh -- look more closely = I had the fabric upside down - wouldn't matter much except that it has words on it...I hope you all get a good laugh at my expense - nothing like a big blunder to put you back in your place!

Who cares right? It's a nightgown!

Wrap Front Nightgown

Went to the Hancock Pattern sale and picked up a new pattern I'm excited about -- I have been wanting to try a "wrap front" style and didn't have a pattern and when I saw this nightgown pattern I had to have it. The whole thing from cracking open the pattern, cutting it out, picking fabrics, and finishing the whole project took only 2 hours...so it is quick. This is McCalls 5744 and I WILL be using it again. not just for nightgowns, for shirts too...I am very pleased with this - even though we are not big Hannah Montanna fans, she will love this color and the butterflies...can't wait to give it to her in the morning.

I only had one blunder. Only a fellow sewing addict will have any idea what I am talking about -- I was supposed to use double fold bias tape and instead made single fold bias tape and didn't feel like going back to fix the problem so I applied it to the inside of the fabric, folded it to the outside and sewed it down (it's the dark purple) - basically the same thing you do the sleeveless tops but backwards...next time I'll try to use the right stuff and maybe it will end up a little more "perfect" looking.

Beach Dresses (as promised)

Here are the "Beach Dresses II" by Ginger Snaps Designs - It is on their main page just scroll down. The beach dresses shown here and the float dresses shown in my earlier post are the exact same pattern just with or without a collar. The first one (blue float dress) took me several hours to construct but these took about two uninterupted hours to get finished each. These are size 2...I always add a couple of inches to the hem so they probably look long. I had to alter the pattern to make it have a self lined bodice. These have that back where you slash the center of the back of the skirt (no seam there) and create a placket with a bias strip -- I used to be scared of this process, but I finally figured out how to hold it all and it worked perfectly. Anyway, a fun pattern to try. I look forward to doing more of these. The white one is made with a thin "swiss dot" fabric that I can just picture a little curly haired girl wearing on the beach, and the pink is made with that fabulious pique fabric that Debra sent me...I hope she likes these! You can see what she does with them at her website Palmetto Kids

Float Dresses

I made these "Float Dresses" today for Debra as spring samples for her site

They are size 3 (and my daughter is a size 5, so it is small on her, but I wanted to see how it hangs) and Debra does her own buttons and hems so I send them to her not quite finished. I have two more to make with out the collar (Called a beach dress).

I think they turned out really pretty. The pattern is a collared adaptation of Beach Dresses II by Ginger Snaps Designs called the Float Dress. (on the main page, scroll down) Fairly easy to make after I figured out how to line the bodice instead of using those bias strips...

I want to make some of this stuff too!

http://homemadebyjill.blogspot.com/2008/05/things-i-want-to-make.html

Making a newborn hat out of an old Tshirt

http://www.soulemama.com/mamatomamanewborncap.pdf

Take an old (possible stained, likely stained at my house!) Tshirt, any size, and make a newborn hat out of it...recycle!

Tracy's Bishop Construction Tutorial

I sewed a little and instructed a lot, and Tracy did all the real work for this tutorial -- pictures & instructions...please enjoy looking at my unmanicured fingernails and shoeless feet...

http://tracyscraze.blogspot.com/2009/01/bishop-tutorial.html

New Year's Resolution

I NEVER make new year's resolutions, but I think this one is important enough to do -- and if I write it here maybe I'll be so ashamed of myself that I will have to do it to redeem myself as a responsible adult...My husband and I need a will...there, I said it...it is something we have been talking around doing for about 8 years and I am putting it right here for everyone to see so now I have to do it...remind me and send me suggestions for lawyers (to you locals) and make me do this...whew, it feels good just getting it out there.

If you are a fellow blogger, get your new year's resolution in black and white, I'll be your nag and make you do yours too.

Pink Floral A Line Shirt & Polka Dot Pants

Aren't my girls going to look so "boutique" in these outfits? About a month ago I let my 4 year old pick any fabric she wanted and this is the outfits she came up with for her older sister and herself. They were supposed to be for Christmas, but it is only a week late right? I let the girls sew their own buttons on the shoulders, too...they said it was the most fun ever!

I used a capri pattern that I liked and just lengthened the pants a little and the top is an a line dress that I just cut to 8 inches below the waistline marked on the pattern pieces -- and as always now, I lined the top instead of dealing with any "facing" and am totally happy with the results...

One day I may make a hot pink pique smocked mary de style top that would also go with these pants and smock something fun on it, but not today, I need to go study for the teacher exam next weekend...

Horse Shirt & Pants

I will admit that I didn't make this horse shirt. It is a Tshirt that is machine appliqued with an adorable horse on it. My friend Debra at palmettokids.net made it for me, and I just made the pants to go with it. They are brown corduroy with dark brown horses embroidered all over. My total project time was less than a half hour. My 7 year old is thrilled, she LOVES horses and can't wait for the first day back to school to wear it! I have some brown tiny check gingham ruffle that Debra also gave me so that when she hits a growth spurt, I can add it to the bottom of these pants and she will get to wear them two winters...love that!

New Year's Day Dinner

I was well into adulthood before I knew that everyone in the USA doesn't have Hoppin' John and Collard Greens on New Year's Day...we did and it was YUMMY! Now that I look at a picture of them, they sure look yucky, but I swear my older daughter (only 7 year old) asked for seconds of both!