Birthday Dress

No birthdays here, but the loveliest pattern from Oliver+s tempted me oh so much that I had to report on my f.o. They're finally making patterns in the conceivable size-range of my "little" girl. After much measuring, I opted for the size 7 with a size 8 length. Unfortunately, it fit her for 7 minutes, during which we took this shot. If you look closely, you can actually see her grow out of it!

Oh well, it was great fun to make. There is little else to swell the heart of this mama than to go fabric shopping with my daughter. And we both loved these prints. The oliver + s pattern was well done (did you see the fun tab on the front?!), but I just don't think I can get my girl into them, so I can't even say I'll try it again. Isn't it funny how when you have cute babies, toddlers, and pre-schoolers around you don't have the time to sew, but when they get older and you can string together a few more minutes, the cute patterns are too small? 

Bring on the grandkids!

Sew Much Fun!

My daughter asked for a sewing machine for her birthday (be still my heart!), so a sewing machine she got:

Naturally, there has been a sewing explosion around here. I made this nightshirt for her out of fleece and then we made one together for her doll, Jewel:

And when a friend of hers had an American Girl birthday party, we made two identical jumpers; one for her friend's doll and one for Jewel. The applique heart was made with Chenille By the Inch - very fun to make it puff up and get fuzzy. I even found a fun heart stitch on my Bernina to add to the hem.

Both Jewel and my daughter enjoyed the party.

And last in the pageant, is the Lazy Day Skirt ( a freebie from Oliver + S - why can't they make bigger kids patterns?!), the first garment my daughter created entirely on her machine:

A quick, simple skirt, perfect for when the weather warms up this summer.

Making clothes is "sew" much fun!

Homemade Gifts

I really would like to make an extra effort this year to make more gifts throughout the year, not just at Christmas time. Well, not really an effort as these projects are things I like to do and I want to make things I have to do and things I want to do coincide more. Make sense?

My first opportunity came with an unexpected birthday invitation for my daughter. Her friend is turning 7 and here's what we put together for her party today:



A crafty, drawing tote! This little girl is not very frilly, but she likes art, so I thought that a pencil roll would fit the bill.



To personalize the tote, I sketched a letter "j" and fused it on with Wonder Under and a bit of zig zag stitching.



For the roll, I used a yard piece of crazy, tie-dye fabric (a favorite of the recipient), quilted the fabric with flat, cotton batting and crazy-colored thread, and turned up the edge for a self-made pocket. I left the batting out of the pocket area to make it less bulky and we tucked in a set a colored pencils.



Erin added a custom label on the sketch pad and a fun picture of the birthday girl (or is it Abraham Lincoln?) and we're ready to go!