The Last Minute Post...

So a while back on the 18th of October, I made these two dresses for Maya. One sports the kanji of her middle name (Ai = love), and the other is made from a formerly boxy school spirit shirt, and some awesome owl fabric from JoAnn's. (Which is very fitting since the school's mascot is "Oakie" the Owl.)

Around that same time I was lucky enough to be chosen by the fates/karma/good luck to be the new mama of Serena (by Apple Treehouse). Maya immediately wanted to make a new outfit for her. I let her pick through the LBB scrap pile and she came up with this number:

Too Cute!

Then I started working on my swap dress.

Unfortunately, I had a few issues. The shirt

that was JUST perfect was a little too small to

work with a sz 5 Sienna, so I pieced the main design together with some coordinating fabric to widen it for the dress. Then after I had the rest of the dress cut (more of the coordinating, and some of this absolutely lovely plaid that I can't wait to a

dd to more dresses), I realized that I had never really worked with a hood let alone combined patterns before... Sooooo with that knowledge in mind, I put the swap dress on hold until I could practice adding a hood to the Sienna dress pattern. Sooo with the help of the fabulous directions directions Ashley provides and the combining patterns tutorial I made a hooded I heart NY dress. I unfortunately appear to have never actually posted a photo of this (will look on my other computer tomorrow). It was a really cute dress - worst case I'll see if I can get my cousin to send me a pic of it...

Anyway, I got a little side tracked and went

ahead with another asymmetrical dress with Stephanie Corfee's Astrid Garden fabric off of Spoonflower. I

LOVE this dress. This is probably my favourite out of everything I've sewn since I started following LBB and using the LBB patterns! Maya loved this dress too. She asked me to make Serena one as well...

Using the basic LBB doll dress pattern, I lengthened the sleeve, and surprisingly it worked to make a long sleeve for the doll. I didn't actually have Serena on hand to test out the dress pattern until after I had already sewn the dress. Maya and I were only too happy to find that it

worked!

Next it was back to the dress swap dress. I figured I had lallygagged enough! So now that I had the hood down, I cut my sleeve and hood fabric (and hood trimming), and started piecing the dress together. I love the way this dress came out! I can't wait to see photos posted of the swap dress being worn by its proud new owner! (And Maya rightfully points out that I've given away all the hoodie dresses I've made this month, so she says the next one I make is hers).

By now I was in sewing crunch time because I also needed to get Maya's Halloween costume out the door. I had never worked with a more regular sleeve pattern before (I'd mostly just sewn the raglan style used in the Sienna as opposed to the more regular sleeve used in the hoodie pattern), however when I looked at pictures of Maya's chosen character, they were pretty clear as to the style of sleeve... again, luckily for me I was working off of the LBB hoodie pattern and I had plenty of great photos and clear instructions to follow. And the hoodie pattern combined with the Sienna method of lengthening became Daphne from Scooby Doo!

Last Hurrah

Kids pooped out trick or treating after 45 minutes or so, so I got a few more stitches in this evening. A new Thanksgiving twirl with turkey applique, long sleeves into last month's Hello Kitty hoodie dress (was also going to sew some into the Chicago Bears dress, but I can't find them!!), and a pillowcase for a birthday party DD just got invited to.

Phew! How did everyone else do? My stash looks as bad as ever, but it was a fun month!

Swap Dress

Not quite done, but here it is. I made a cutting mistake on the white shirt and had to make it an applique. Then I accidentally used the 'no-sew' heat bond, which is thick and stiff, darn-it. Then, when it put the dress in the wash, it started to peel! I ironed it again and will wash it one more time to see what happens. Otherwise I'll zig-zag it down. The back panel of the dress is the same Caribean scene on the bloomers. I tried to flare the skirt by adding some side triangles.

I'm also including a bonus twirl...

More pillows!

I'll need to replace the Halloween pillows soon! One for me, one for Mom.

Gobble Gobble!

Hats for twins

I made these hats for a friend's twins....I don't have twins but I like the idea of coordinated but not totally matching.

I Heart Comfy Clothes

I have a severe addiction to cute sweatshirts. Who doesn't want to be comfy and still look decent :) I have had the green J Crew sweatshirt for many years and I wear it all the time. (I also have it in blue and black) The pink french terry I used has a metallic silver stripe and is Juicy Couture fabric....ooh la la so fancy. Now I have to make a few more because a bunch of my friends want them now.

Girl Pirate!

The colors are cooler than in the picture, some magenta around Elizabeth. The kids are seeing some not-often-seen cousins tomorrow, so this should be fun for Raegan!

Happy Birthday!

It's my friend Deborah's birthday today. I have no idea when I'll see her next, but her present is ready. Another buttercup bag by Rae. So fun!

It's Jessie!

While this doesn't follow the Pixar format, this is our little Jessie the Cowgirl. I started with a ladies skirt and a remnant bin piece of palomino faux-suede. Hat/belt/blouse all from Goodwill. My mom and I just winged-it for the vest, so it is a little wonky, but she's happy!

Bringing home a baby bumble bee

I finally decided to make August a bumble bee for Halloween. I figured cheap and easy and I had everything I needed for the main part of the costume in my stash!! I used this gigantic maternity dress that I pretty much lived in while pregnant, an XL yellow t shirt with another unfortunate embroidery, and a yard of yellow tulle that I had.
I used the LBB Sienna pattern and added ruffles of tulle and black knit to the bottom. I worked on it last night and when I tried it on Augie this morning I wasn't in love. So I'm about to add more of the yellow t-shirt ruffles to the bodice and sleeves. The yellow tulle isn't really showing up yellow but I only had a yard and I didn't want to go buy anymore ;)

I've Been Slacking -

Not so much with my sewing, but definitely with my posts! Hopefully I'll get around to playing catch up... this weekend (right after I sew Maya's costume, visit the Washington Capitals street festival, trick or treating at the zoo, and run a 10 mile race)...

Tonight's endeavor: practicing attaching a hood to the sienna dress so I can complete my swap dress! The swap dress is all ready to be sewed together except for the hood... Wish me luck with the practice dress!

Felted Sweater Coat

I have been super busy working on custom orders that I really haven't been sewing much for my kids/ myself. But last night I took a break and made this sweater coat for August using some old wool sweaters that I had felted ages ago and then forgot about.

Before of the main sweater. I really can't stand wool turtlenecks, they make me claustrophobic.

The after:
I did a blanket stitch around the open edge. And imagine that there are buttons on the tabs because I went and bought buttons today and when I tried to get them off the card I broke them.

Cool or dumb...

There are a handful of teenage boys who work at the after-care program at my kids' school. They are pretty awesome kids. I'm thinking ahead to holiday gifts that won't break the bank. I'm making lavender sachets for the girls, but what boy wants that? What if I filled them with activated charcoal for their shoes or gym bags. Dumb?

Skirts!

These are for a friend's granddaughters. One's dad is in a band, so she gets the Jem shirt I found this summer and the back says "It's okay, I'm with the band." The second girl's parents got married in Las Vegas. The M&M's are driving a pink Cadillac under the Vegas sign and the pink tie-dye reads "Who loves ya baby!"

This third is for a friend's daughter who just turned 2. Her older brother (age 4) is a drummer and loves the Beatles. She just got a brand new baby brother, too.

Slow week

Spent the night cutting pieces for my swap dress. I think I'm using 5+ sources, but it is only a 2T, so it isn't going to be a lot of points. But I'm using pattern parts from the Sienna, Hoodie, AND the halter. It has taken a different turn from what I envisioned, but I still think it will be great!

Also made a purse (Buttercup Bag from Rae) for my friend's birthday. Need to get that package in the mail.

Men's XL Tee to something for me

I made this today for myself but I may end up sending it to my sister-in-law. I think she would love it. I'll just have to make another one for me!

The shirt before:

Scooby for Girls

My cousin's daughter is a Scooby fan. Though I hear not a skirt fan. Her grandma says we'll just sell it as something to put on over leggings. That should help the waistband issue too. I tried putting a little elastic in this one.

Circles everywhere

They are just too easy. After I posted the orange one I decided to do another. This was a giant red shirt my mom sent that had an unfortunate applique on the front (Sorry mom). I stamped the flower/ snowflake things on the back side of the shirt and salvaged some of the shirt :)

Circle time

My mom got August the cutest Halloween shirt so I wanted to have a skirt ready to go for her to wear it with when the shirt arrives. I'm pretty sure she could wear this skirt with other fall colored shirts through Thanksgiving.

Finished for the party

So here is everything for Sophie's party. I did a ruffle on the smock from a black t-shirt left over from the Halloween scarf. The Eiffel tower was a 90% clearance item from Hobby Lobby that was banged up, so I spray painted with white primer, then used metallic acrylics. It should look cute in her bedroom. The scarf came together, backed with a denim shirt. My son says it isn't cozy enough, but it will do for the owls. Would anyone like the last piece?

Another baby set

My sis's boys are measuring 5 and 6 ounces at 16 weeks, so I figured I'd better start making clothes that were 3-6 months instead of true NB ones lol. Finally found my wunder under too. It makes a world of difference with appliques. The pants are based on Dana's (MADE) knee patch pants.

My Little Pumpkin

I'm not usually one for Holiday themed clothes because I feel like you have a very short window of wear but when you make it yourself at least you aren't spending a bunch of money. I was kind of experimenting with this skirt and I really like the way it turned out.

(Please tell me I'm not the only one whose pictures look mostly like this)

Some Ups and Downs -

So I decided I love the way this dress turned out on her! Its nice and drape-y and doesn't seem to get hung up on her leggings. (I also really liked the fact that she couldn't wait to try on the dress this morning!).

The rest of the week was pretty busy. I only managed to cut out the next dress on Thursday, and I played around a little bit with some of my scraps. I think I want to do some kind of patchwork twirl skirt, I just haven't decided which scraps I want to use or how oddly shaped I want to let them be... Actually, on second thought, I think I might just let Maya choose all the scraps and see what she does!

So last night when I returned home, my first priority was getting out the dress I had out on Thursday. I went with the flutter sleeves and a crazy lycra knit... The "A" piece from the sienna pattern is a little bit shorter than the Giants dress so it ended up being a little more tunic-like than the other. Either way, I still like the way it turned out!

Unfortunately, my other project for last night didn't come out as well as I liked. Back when I purchased the Juicy terry cherries fabric, Maya had requested a pillow. I decided to do a little ruffle and I think that was my undoing... More of an execution error on my part than anything else. It looks ok from far away, but on closer inspection its pretty clear that there are sections that aren't quite right. I think this will have to be scrapped into something else, and I'll make another attempt at it tonight or tomorrow.

Owl Scarf

Up at 4a.m., bit of insomnia. Pulled some stash pieces to put this scarf together with the salvaged owls. 2 1/2 hours later I'm still not done, I'm tired, and the kids will be up soon. Then I'll need to switch gears to the 2nd grader's dino diorama. Hopefully more success later!

October 8 Sew and Tell

So does anyone have sewing successes to show? Looks like  a few of us have had some oopsies this week, and you know what? That happens to everybody! Just try again! Can't wait to see what you're working on, much ♥

I think I failed, too!!

Another Frankenstein job for my niece, trying to take a short cut by using a big girls' top, adding sleeves and a skirt. I think the sleeves are too skinny. I'll be SO SAD if I can't use the pink owl fabric! I stopped at one sleeve, I'll see if my daughter can skill squeeze in in the morning. (I'm canning the hooker-mouse fabric for now. Maybe Valentine's Day!)

Do project fails count?

In my head this was so cute. One of those cardigans with a drapey front. But it didn't turn out like in my head. Oh and things with no closures on a 1 year old probably aren't the best idea. August had it off before I even turned around. I had plans for embellishing it but I'm not going to waste the time. it doesn't help that it has zero hanger appeal.

No School....

Ugh no school from Thursday to Monday......we'll see how much sewing can actually be accomplished. I have taken to sewing with August in my lap. Surprisingly she doesn't try to put her fingers near the machine.

October 7 Sew and Tell

Hello Everyone! We are past the mid week bump and charging quickly toward the weekend...as long as I make it through tomorrow with ballet and soccer and small group and school, and oh yeah errands and all the other stuff I have to do. Is anyone feeling overwhelmed yet? Take it easy. As much as this is a game, it is supposed to be fun. Thank you to everyone who has joined in with pics and comments. I have loved seeing everyone's creativity so far :) Can't wait to see what you make next! much ♥

October 6 Sew and Tell

My little Sis just found out that she is having twin boys! So I whipped up this NB set for her. I may redo the embroidery since I'm not really happy with it, but I think they turned out cute.

More pants

I made another pair of PJ pants this afternoon. These are wider leg than the other ones and I'm not sure if I like them as much. I think I'm going to have to add length to the bottom of both pairs.

In action:

My kids are goofy. Sorry!

Fast and Dirty Pants Tutorial

I am not a good tutorial writer but hopefully the pics will help you make sense of what I'm talking about. T-shirt pants are super easy to whip out and take almost no time at all. You really don't even need a pattern.
Fold your shirt in half. Mark a line right under the neck. For the crotch (I hate that word) you can almost just follow the seam of the sleeve straight down and then curve it to under the arm.

If you aren't so confident with your crotch drawing skills just use a pair of pj pants that fit and trace the shape with a disappearing pen. The outside edge of your pants will be on the fold. If you want a wider leg pant use the whole width of the shirt. If you want them to fit like the pair you are tracing mark the width when you draw the crotch.

After you cut this is what you should have. Note: Don't forget seam allowances. And if you want to add an elastic waist (I don't have any elastic) add an inch or two at the top to make a casing.

Open up your 2 pieces and put them wrong sides together. Now you are going to sew both of the curved edges of the crotch.


Now take the 2 seams you just sewed and match them up in the middle. Also match from hem to hem along the inside seam. Like this:

Sew your pants along the in seam from hem to hem.

Flip them inside out and attach a waistband. Sorry I didn't take pics of that but it's the same as doing a twirl skirt waist.


Done! An easy way to use the big shirts in your stash.