Companion Dot & Floral Ruffle Dress

I just finished the companion dress to the Floral & Dot Ruffle Dress I made earlier this week for Baby R. This one is for her big sister, Little H. Their mom picked out the fabric. I just love the colors. And I've always loved flowers and polka dots together. I'm giving both dresses to her tomorrow when we meet up at gymnastics class.

Here are some more shots of this dress.

Here are the two dresses side by side. The girls are going to look so sweet in them. I love that they coordinate, but because they are inverse, they're not too matchy-matchy.

And, I apologize for the crappy photos. It's after midnight and I'm giving them away first thing in the morning, so I didn't have an opportunity to take any photos with natural lighting.

Floral & Dot Ruffle Dress

After finishing the romper I made for Little O, I had some time to make another ruffle dress for a friend's daughter. What a breeze compared to the romper! I'm actually planning to make her two dresses (one for each of her little girls), but I only had time to make one today. This one is for Baby R and the second one is for Little H (one of Little O's closest friends). The other one will be the inverse of this one, so the main dress will be dots, and the sleeves and ruffle will be floral. I can't wait to see the girls in them. They're going to look so cute!

Adelaide Vintage Romper

Today I finished one of the most challenging sewing projects I've ever attempted. And I have to say, I am quite proud of myself!

I found this pattern for a cute little girl's romper online. It was so cute, that I got over my fear of making clothes from a pattern. Yup. I've never done that before. The dresses I made before  (here and here) all came from an online tutorial (no pattern needed).

I learned so much making this little romper, and I'm excited to put my new skills to work on future projects.

First of all, I learned how to add piping. What a pain! But it's so cute it's worth it. I didn't think so at the time, but I do now.

I also learned a new technique for making bows. I see a couple of new hair bows in Little O's future.

Before this project, I had never made a collar before. Or straps, for that matter. I love the sweetheart neckline. I think it turned out pretty well.

I've always been intimidated by patterns that have shirring on the back. It looks so cute, and makes the clothes so stretchy and comfortable, but I was sure it was really complicated. I was so wrong! I just put elastic thread on my bobbin and regular thread in the needle, and voila! For some reason, I always thought you had to shirr by hand. I love that I did this with my machine, and it only took a few minutes.

I experimented with one final technique for this outfit: applying snaps with a snap press. Thank to a friend for loaning me hers. I practiced on a piece of scrap first, but it turned out to be really easy. I kind of want one of my very own now... Hmmm. Amazon wish list?

I think the most complicated part of the whole pattern was attaching the interfacing where the snaps go. It was so tiny.

Here it is! All done and ready to wear.

Too bad it's so late. I can't wait to see Little O in it. Of course she's going to wear it tomorrow. Pictures to come!

Another Ruffle Dress

I just finished sewing another ruffled dress for a friend's daughter. She picked out the fabric (and it just so happens to be the same as the second dress I made for Little O--the sleeve/ruffle fabric is just a little bit different).

This pattern is so easy. I found the tutorial here.

I'm having a little girls' night in tomorrow night, so she'll see it then. I can't wait to see her little girl in it!

A little breather...

I've taken a little break from blogging lately. Not really on purpose. Just because I've been so crazy busy!

I did finish the dress(es) I made for Little O. And I've got a few more in the works. But now that her Morning Out program is over for the summer, I'm just not sure when I'll find the time to sew!

I know, this isn't the best picture. Sorry. It's the only one I have! Turns out, a 2-year-old isn't the greatest model.

I'm still involved in a monthly whole-foods supper swap. All the meals have been AMAZING! And it is so nice to have one or two meals a week that require no thinking and very little effort. And since they are all made with whole foods, I can feel good about feeding them to my family. We got an upright deep freezer for the garage. So that's where we store our freezer meals. And we also went in on a half of a locally raised cow. So we keep all our meat out there too. And the massive quantities of chicken stock I've been making.

In other news, Little O broke her leg. On Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day! She fell off a piece of playground equipment (while trying to turn over onto her belly to slide down). She fell less than two feet. We wound up in the ER for several hours, and she wound up with a pink cast up to her mid-thigh. Good thing I got those dresses done because getting shorts over her cast is a bit of a chore. Although some days she insists that's what she wears.

She's in good spirits. And the cast will come off in just three more weeks. In the meantime, we're keeping busy with lots of sensory bins, sidewalk chalk, the library, and play dates with friends. And the Toddler Busy Bags from the exchange I hosted a few months ago are really coming in handy! She spent the first day snuggled up on the couch watching Sesame Street and reading books. But by the second day she was crawling around all over the place. And yesterday, she started walking on it again.

It hasn't really slowed her down much. We even took her camping last weekend with some friends.

The wagon came in really handy while camping! We found it used for $25 the day before we left for our trip. SCORE!

We kept her cast clean with a large men's sock pulled up over it. She actually really liked the look and wanted to wear one on the other leg too.

Anyway, hopefully I'll find some time to get back to crafting soon! I've been missing it. And my craft room has been lonely.

Ruffled Dress for Little O (Part 1)

I went to the Modern Quilt Guild meeting on Tuesday with my mom. We decided to try out the afternoon meeting instead of the evening one. After the meeting is time to open sew for a few hours before the evening meeting. I think next month, we'll attend the open sewing and then stay for the evening meeting instead. We seem to fit in better with the evening crowd for some reason.

Anyway, after the meeting, we realized we were the only two who were staying to sew. Oh well. I didn't want to go home. I can't sew there (except on Thursday mornings when Little O goes to school). And my mother-in-law was babysitting. Didn't want to waste that opportunity! So we stayed.

I showed you the inspiration and pattern for a dress I wanted to make Little O for the summer. It seemed really easy to put together And for the most part, it was. (We had a little measuring/cutting snafu because the cutting mat and ruler were smaller than the pieces I needed to cut.

I found the fabric in the pile of donations at the guild meeting. It cost $1 each. So, the materials for the dress cost me a total of $2. The pattern was free!

I got all the cutting done. And I attached all four pieces together (front, back, and two sleeves). I also managed to overcast the edges of the seams to prevent fraying. This step wasn't in the pattern, but my fabric was already starting to fray, and I knew it needed to be done before washing and wearing.

Here's what it looked like when I had to pack up to head home:

I still need to add the elastic to the neck and sleeves and sew the ruffle on the bottom. I can't wait to have Little O try it on!

Modern Quilt Guild Pin Cushion Exchange

Here is the pin cushion I received as part of the Modern Quilt Guild exchange project.

At first, it looked like I was going to get my mom's, and she was going to get mine. We attended the afternoon meeting today (instead of the evening one). Our guild has a meeting in the afternoon, followed by open sewing, and then an evening meeting after that. Usually we go to the evening meeting, but this time, we wanted a chance to sew (remember the dress pattern I shared yesterday?).

Well, it turns out, the leader of the afternoon meeting didn't tell those members about the exchange project, so we were the only ones who did one. (I'm a bit irritated at how this exchange thing is being handled, or not handled, but I'm hoping it will get better).

After open sewing (where I worked on the dress), we ran into two of the other leaders for the guild in the parking lot as we were on our way out. They invited us to stay for the first few minutes of the evening meeting so that we could participate in the exchange. And am I glad I did!

I just love the bright blues and green of the pin cushion I received. And it's filled with crushed walnuts, so it has a nice weight to it. Next time I make a pin cushion, I think I'll give that a try rather than use poly fill.

I think next month, we're going to attend the open sewing after the first meeting and stay for the evening meeting instead. The evening meeting members just seem more lively for some reason.

Modern Quilt Guild Today

I'm headed out to the local chapter of the Modern Quilt Guild today. My mother-in-law is going to babysit Little O so I can sew all afternoon!

I'm going to attempt to make Little O a cute sundress for this summer. Maybe I can will warm weather our way with cute couture?

Here's the one I want to make.

Create Kids Couture

I'll let you know how it turns out!

Prairie Point Pin Cushion

We haven't made swap projects for the Modern Quilt Guild for the last few months (here is the potholder I made for the last one, and here is the one I received in exchange), much to my dismay. I really like doing them because it forces me out of my comfort zone, and I always learn something new. This month, the guild finally assigned another swap project: Prairie Point Pin Cushions. I've never made a prairie point before, so it's definitely something new.

I used a collection of fabric swatches I won as the door prize of one of our guild meetings. I love how it feels like Spring.

I cut nine strips 1-inch by 4-inches. I also cut seven 2-inch squares (to make the prairie points). And finally, I cut one 4-inch by 5-inch rectangle for the back.

I folded each square in half and pressed. Then I folded the corners in to make a triangle and pressed it again to hold it in place.

I sewed two of the strips together and pressed toward the darker fabric. Then, I laid the prairie point where I wanted it to go and pinned it in place, placed the next strip on top (right sides together), and sewed. I opened it up and pressed the seam so the prairie point pointed the right way. I repeated this, alternating the prairie points (middle, left, and right), making sure to keep at least 1/4 inch away from the edge.

When I finished sewing all the strips and prairie points together, I pressed it one more time. Then I placed the back on (right sides together) and sewed all the way around, leaving a two-inch gap for stuffing. I turned it right side out, stuffed it with poly fill, and hand-stitched the opening closed.

I'll be swapping this pin cushion for a new one tomorrow night at our Modern Quilt Guild meeting. I'll share it with you later this week.

Here's the back!

The pattern for this pin cushion came from Quilter's World in the February 2013 edition if you'd like to make one for yourself.

Easter

We had a really nice, low-key Easter here. The day before... not so much.

On Saturday we went to our town's Easter egg hunt. We've never been before. It was a madhouse. Never again. A friend described it as Hunger Games Preschool Training Camp. Picture 200 under 2-year-olds running amok trying to gather as many plastic eggs as possible. And the candy inside: Jolly Ranchers. Yes. My 2-year-old just loves to choke on those. Little O found about 4 or 5 eggs, but some of the younger toddlers didn't get any. I'm pretty sure that 4-foot-tall kid isn't 2. Oh well. Live and learn.

 At least she looked cute, right? It was pretty chilly and windy, so she had to wear long sleeves and tights under her Easter dress. This is one of two dresses she had for Easter. Her Nana and Yaya each bought her one.

You really can't tell from our pictures how crowded it was. This is after the hunt was over, and everyone was leaving the field.

Saturday night we dyed eggs with Little O. She enjoyed placing the eggs gently dropping the eggs into the dye and watching it splash all over herself and the kitchen counter. She did not enjoy waiting 5 minutes to see the eggs when they were finished.

On Sunday Nana and Yaya came over for Easter brunch. We had fresh fruit, mimosas, and Monte Cristo Waffle-wiches. Yum-O.

After brunch we went outside for our own Easter egg hunt. Here's where things got a bit dicey for a moment. At this point Little O has had two egg hunts this year: one at school and the one we went to on Saturday. Both used plastic eggs filled with candy. We used our dyed eggs. They also contain something inside. A hard-boiled egg! Little O was a little disappointed when she discovered our eggs didn't open and there wasn't candy inside. Because she's two, things could have gone downhill quickly from here. But luckily, they didn't. She decided that collecting the eggs in her little basket was a lot of fun. And she enjoyed wandering around the yard finding where the Easter Bunny hid them all.

The week leading up to Easter, we read a bunch of books from the library about the Easter Bunny and egg hunts. And the teachers at school did some Easter crafts. I also created an Easter sensory bin, which Little O loved.

I wanted to make some really cute felt Easter bunnies. I started them, but they will remain unfinished until next year.

I hope you all had a great Easter weekend with your families. I'd love to hear how your egg hunts and Easter crafts turned out. Anyone else have unfinished Easter projects that will just have to wait until next year?

Small Zipper Wristlet

I had to make a zipper pouch for the January swap for the Modern Quilt Guild, and I decided I would make two. I made this pretty little zipper wristlet for a friend of mine for Christmas. I just love the colors and the metallic in the fabric. I found the tutorial for this pouch on Pinterest, and you can see it here.

I bought the fabric in bundles at Hobby Lobby. I don't usually buy fabric this way, but I wanted 12 different fabrics that coordinated, and I had a coupon. When I saw these prints, I knew my friend would like them too. The jelly roll came with 10 prints. I had the black with white polka dot in the center and I bought a 1/4 yard of the black and white paisley (top right corner). I also bought another bundle of larger pieces of coordinating fabric for the lining and pockets inside.

I will definitely make this pattern again. They make such cute gifts (I'm thinking teacher gifts at the end of this school year). But next time I won't trim the quilted portion until I finish the lining, and I will trim them together to make sure they are exactly the same size. My quilted side turned out quite a bit smaller than the lining because the fabric pulled up during quilting. Also, I will shorten the strap about a 1/2 inch. I accidentally sewed the end of the strap into the seam on the opposite side BOTH times I made this pouch.

I really liked the instructions she provided for sewing a zipper. This was my first attempt at a zipper, and following her instructions worked like a charm! I'm not scared of them any more!

I added the charm to this one because my friend really likes peacocks, and I thought it gave it a little something extra.

This post is featured!

Modern Quilt Guild Potholder Exchange

Last night I attended the monthly meeting for our local chapter of the Modern Quilt Guild. For this month's exchange we made potholders using fabric from our stash, a little batting, and thermoline (a heat-resistant product).

For the trade, we each drew a card from a pile, and when a matching card was drawn from another deck, you got to go pick your favorite potholder from the pile.

Here's the one I made (just in case you missed it). It was first to go! (Yes, I'm a little proud--it was my first exchange after all).

Here's the one I received.

I love the colors she chose. She said this project was good practice for her and free-motion quilting. I wish that I had felt more confident with my new machine, because it would have been good practice for me too!

Bird Checkbook Cover

This month's service project for our local Modern Quilt Guild was to make checkbook covers. We will be donating them to a local women's shelter.

We were supposed to use up a leftover or lonely 8-inch block that we already had on hand. I actually don't have any, so I used up some fabric that I got for free. I really like the bird print. It is kind of retro.

First, I made an 8-inch block. The first one I attempted to make wound up in the trash. It was just too complicated. I like the simplicity of this design. I also had 9 1/2-inch iron-on batting and 10-inch backing. I ironed the batting onto the backing (with right side facing out) and layered the 8-inch block on top. Then I basted all the way around.

I chose to quilt using straight lines rather than random loops and swirls because I have a new machine, and I need to practice to feel confident. Plus, I didn't want the quilting to make the checkbook cover too stiff. I quilted diagonally across the block from corner to corner and I also quilted around the bird block in the center.

Once I finished quilting, I cut the checkbook cover down to the right size (7 1/4 by 6 3/4). The directions said I didn't have to center my block, but that would have REALLY bothered me! So I centered mine.

After I cut it down, I placed the pockets on the inside and basted all the way around. To make the pockets, I just cut two rectangles (6 1/4 by 6 3/4) and pressed them in half with wrong sides together.

Then I sewed the binding on to the inside of the checkbook cover, using my new knowledge of beveling the corners! (I learned how to do this while making a quilted potholder a few weeks ago).

The directions said to sew the binding onto the front of the checkbook cover using a decorative stitch on my machine. And I think it would have looked pretty, but I chose to hand stitch it for the same reason I chose straight-line quilting--I just wasn't confident with my machine yet.