oversized turquoise and bows

I love this dress.  So does my daughter.  Unfortunately, I can't measure.  The bodice was way too wide and she was unable to wear it for Easter.

The turquoise fabric itself is a little thicker weight than the typical cottons I usually use when I sew.  I don't remember what it's called, but I wish I could find more fabric in this weight.  It was a job to work with!  The straps and midriff contrast panel are a solid pink cotton.  The hairbows were made from a matching turquoise ribbon and some wavy edged bright pink ribbon...love Hobby Lobby's ribbons.

This dress has a zipper on the back.  I don't feel quite as comfortable with how it turned out.  The pink actually matched up pretty well but it took a lot of re-working.  The fabric below the pink doesn't really seem to lay as smoothly as it should either.  I still have a lot to learn about zipper insertion!

still love it...a few months later

This was Abby's Valentine's Day dress.  I picked out the fabric first just because I loved the buttons and wanted to make her a swirly corduroy dress.  She loved the hearts and named it her Valentine's dress.

Her cousins each got a matching style dress (made in different fabrics) for Christmas.  Unfortunately, no pictures of those.

I am still never sure how my zippers are going to turn out.  I was pretty happy with this one, but definitely wish I could get some consistency in my workmanship.

full

This is blog post #500 according to the count on blogger. and I am full.

-I am full of more ideas to hopefully make it another 500!
-I am full of projects I want (and need) to work on.  There are never enough hours in the day!
-I am full (and getting fuller) of baby boy in my belly!
-I am full of chores I have to do and just don't want to.  There are so many more fun things to do.
-I am full (in the garage) of stuff to get rid of at our first garage sale.
-I am full of love for my family and thankfulness for our relative health and happiness.
-I am full of lists.  I am totally one of those people who loves crossing things off her list!
-I am full of music-humming, singing, and listening to sounds all around me all day long.



This is one project I (finally) finished for my mother...her fall purse.  I wonder what she will fill it up with?
What are you full of?

spinning and twirling

My little girly girl loves to spin and twirl and dance.  When I saw this Daisy Kingdom pattern, I knew I had to give it a try with her.

The fabrics are by Heidi Grace.  Floral and pink and perfect for spring.  The two skirt pieces are basically squares with holes cut out of the middle, so they make for some great points that really flare out when she twirls.

Because of my growing ability to understand and adapt a commercial pattern, I was able to make sure it fit in the bodice before I sewed the skirt on. It wasn't just a matter of getting the elastic right, but changing the way the triangles overlapped in front. The halter tie didn't seem to bug her either, so I declare this dress a success.

knit upcycle + serger love

Like I said - my new serger has been getting a workout.  Here are a few Lil Blue Boo Sienna Dresses that I've cranked out recently.


The blue and green striped fabric is an old tshirt, the dots are left over from another project I did a couple of years ago for her.  Because of how I cut the sleeves, I didn't even have to hem them.  Woohoo!


The dragonfly fabric was a tank that never quite fit right in the armholes for me, and the pink floral fabric is Patty Young's design. I did a lettuce edging on my serger to finish off the short sleeves.


The calla lily fabric was also an old tank of mine - bought before I got married! It has held up relatively well, but was getting a little small for me. The green and white fabrics are just plain tees I had sitting around waiting for a new life.

The blue and white solids are just random knit scraps - the upcycled tee here was used in the skirt

I've also been using some of the knit scraps to make little shorts for under her dresses.  I LOVE my serger and being able to give my old t-shirts new life in my daughter's wardrobe!

warhol dress - the bigger size

I've been excitedly going through my knits and cranking out some new outfits.  The neckline on Dana's Warhol dress is a little too low for my liking, so unfortunately she'll be wearing it most of the summer with a tee underneath.  That is my fault though - I did not gather it enough before I added the yolk.  But this print is lots of fun, and it's a very light knit so she'll be wearing it a lot this summer!

rainbow room

Now that we have a four year old in our house - it was time to put some of the finishing touches on her big girl room.  It's been painted for over a month now, but we just recently had the vinyl rainbow installed and added some finishing touches today.

Here's her bed - with a rainbow from the floor to the clouds.  To the left of the rainbow is the quote "Follow every rainbow until you find your dream".  (name the musical!)
The canopy above her bed is IKEA - I just added the rainbow ribbons hanging down from the clouds.

After that first picture was added, we installed her name.  It is between the canopy above her bed and the window to the right.

On the other side of the room (between the door and the closet) is her dress-up area.  The rainbow polka dot tubs hold a bunch of brushes, hair ribbons, elastics, and her "earrings" (stickers).  Then of course, her bows and purse are hanging there as well.

The dressing table has a rainbow on it, as does the other side of the chair. Perfect for checking herself out when she's done primping.  She is such a girly-girl and loves it all!

In the other corner, above her dollhouse area are a couple little white shelves.  She chose the unicorn, which just cracks up my 80s loving self.  The shelf above has a new frame (decorated by Aunt E) and waiting for me to get around to printing a picture.  The shelf above has her class picture from preschool.
The one corner left is the one with her dresser and bookshelf in it.  We're waiting for the last detail, some rainbow bookends and then her room will be totally complete.  Now if I can only get her to clean it up!
I am also working on a rainbow quilt for her bed instead of a simple blue comforter.  That may take a little longer though... but believe me I will be sharing it here someday!!!!