pink polka dots

Another dress! I’m addicted. I think this will be my last one for the season. Kate’s closet is now ready for Summer! I used Simplicity pattern 4246 and I like how the skirt is so full. Can you tell I love polka dots?

*please forgive the blurry pictures. It was too rainy to go outside and this girl is too busy to hold still!

Sew Vintage

They don’t make things today the way they used to. The sewing machine I learned to sew on was about 80 years old and belonged to my Great-Grandmother Ansley (kate’s middle namesake) and after 80 years still worked great. When I bought my own sewing machine a few years ago my mother-in-law gave me great advice. Either invest in a fancy (and expensive) Bernina or find an older machine with all metal parts. Not ready to invest a thousand dollars I found my trusty ole Singer on eBay for $150 dollars. It was made in the 1950’s and still sews great. I really love it.
I started thinking about how great old sewing things are because I got the best package in the mail today! For $6 on eBay I found 100 wooden spools of thread and a ton of sewing notions (ric rac, bias tape, blanket binding, sequins, lace, elastic, etc). I was so excited I had to take pictures of my great find. If I went to Joanne’s today and bought all of this thread and notions I think it would cost at least $75. And I got it for $6!! It was fun to go through it all and think of the little old lady it used to belong to. I wonder what type of things she used to sew, probably fancy dresses and petticoats. Now it’s my turn… where to start!?

Baby Legs

When I spotted these homemade baby leggings I immediately thought of my little niece, Leah. Leah is wearing braces on her legs for the next few months and has to wear mostly onesies and socks. I thought these would be perfect for her. I used this tutorial and it was so simple. I did it while we watched American Idol (addicting…) and after seeing how easy it was I want to make some for Kate as well. I tried these on Kate to see how they would look and of course they were much too small. Hopefully they will fit Leah who is just 5 months old! I also like the idea of easy diaper changes. That is one thing I dislike about tights—taking them on and off!

Fancy Tee

The internet is wonderful—there are so many great ideas. I’m all about stealing different ideas and using tutorials. It’s one of the reasons I’ve gotten so into sewing lately—there are so many great projects out there. Well, after lots of copying I’m happy to say this is finally a project I thought up myself! Well, sort of. I love the clothing at Mini Boden. It’s a little different and great quality. We have a few things from there that I found on sale and they have been worn over and over again and we still love them. One of their signature items is the appliqué tees. They are cute and funky and I’ve wanted to order one for Kate for a while. But $25 is a lot to pay for a tee shirt even for myself, let alone Kate who will spill who knows what on it. So I thought, “Hey, I can do this myself” and I did. It was really simple. I found this tee on clearance at Old Navy for $2 and used scrap fabric I had at home. A little heat-n-bond lite, some tracing and zig zag stitching and Kate’s got a new shirt! I can’t wait to do another one. I’m thinking the ice cream cone is next. This would be great for spiffing up onsies or little boy tees too. And in full disclosure, I did use this tutorial for instructions on the appliqué.

Crayon Roll

I’ve seen these crayon rolls on a few different blogs and finally got around to making one myself. It was really simple and quick. It rolls up nice and neat and seems perfect for throwing in the diaper bag for trips or church. Kate still doesn’t quite understand how to “color” but today she liked pulling each crayon out of its slot and trying to put it back in. It’s also a great way to use up scrap fabric. I used this tutorial.

Bean Bags

Kate’s been into throwing things lately so I thought I’d sew her a few bean bags to throw around. I used 6 inch squares of fabric and lentils for the filling. I had good intentions to make lentil soup a few weeks ago and never did. At least it served another purpose! Kate had fun throwing these into the pot this morning and feeling the texture of the beans. I love fast, simple and free toys!

Lady in Red

Another dress… they are addicting! I used Simplicity pattern 7189 and it was pretty simple. I had a few moments of frustration where the pattern was not making any sense (Who writes these patterns anyway?) but got it all figured out in the end. The pattern says to add ric-rac at the hem and collar… I’m thinking about it, but kind of like it simple. Especially because the polka dots are so bold. We’ll see. I sized down on this one and she’s still got room to grow, but at least she’s not swimming in it. The weather is finally getting warmer here, so hopefully she can wear it soon!
This girl is on the move. It was hard to take a picture of her, she’s so fast!

Sewing for Summer

Jo-Ann’s was having a sale on patterns for 99 cents (and I love a sale) so I picked a few up to make Kate a couple of Summer dresses. The pattern for this dress was a Simplicity 5695 and was very simple. I tweaked a few details of the pattern—I added lining and used my fancy ruffle attachment instead of doing gathering stitches for the bottom. My seamstress mother-in-law bought me the ruffle attachment for my sewing machine as a Christmas gift and I love it! It took a little getting used to and looks very intimidating, but it’s actually very simple and saves a lot of time. I’m really happy with how the dress turned out although Kate does have to grow into it a bit! I made a size 1 but the sizing measurements on the pattern must be a little off. I’m not sure if this is the case for all simplicity patterns or not, but I’ll try sizing down next time.

I finally got Kate to smile today! She’s getting better, or maybe she’s just happy to be holding the Tylenol bottle. Tylenol has been her friend these past few days!