Tiger Sundress

I recently finished a crossover back sundress for Zerah. I went to Auburn University so Zerah has to have some Auburn inspired clothes! This little dress has tiger faces all over to be like Aubie! It is a 12 month pattern, and she is a small almost 9 month, so it is a little big right now. It should be about perfect when football season starts.
One of my favorite design elements of this dress is the crossover back. Isn't it cute? I added ruffles all along the edge using my ruffler foot which is such an awesome tool. If you don't have one and want to make ruffles, I highly encourage you to pick one up. It makes it so easy!

I topstitched around the bodice and skirt as well.


I have played with the idea of opening an etsy shop and selling dresses. I am going to open one up soon, as soon as I can build up some inventory. It wouldn't be much of a shop if it only had one dress.:)


I will be offering these dresses for sale in my shop when it opens, or you can contact me to set up a custom order beforehand. I can currently make these in Size 1 or 2 in this fabric. If you would prefer a different fabric, let me know and we can set something up.

Have a great Tuesday everyone!

Accuquilt Giveaway!

Amy's blog is one of my favorite's, and today she is giving away an accuquilt go cutter!


Go check it out!

Claire Dress with Amy Butler's Love Fabric

I finished the Claire dress from Portabellopixie this morning. I traced out the pattern Thursday night, cut the fabric Friday morning, and sewed it all together this morning while Zerah slept for 3 1/2 hours! I found this dress very easy to put together. The pattern is very clear with tons of color pictures illustrating each step. This version is the Petal Knot Apron Dress. I do want to try some of the other versions as well. I am extremely happy I picked up this pattern because it was so easy and I love the way it turned out. The only change I made was using one fabric for the skirt instead of two prints.


This version is made from Amy Butler's Love line. I love this fabric and wish I had ordered more. I do have a little bit left, but not as much as I would like! It is a 12 month size.

One really neat thing about this pattern is she allows for you to sell versions of this pattern without having to pay extra. I wonder if I could sell some, if I made a few extra? I need to do something to produce some extra money so I can buy more fabric. :)

Blue and White Gingham Dress and the beginning of summer...

Since I had some trouble with the Iva Leigh Pattern before, I decided I would go ahead and make another one so I would remember how to do it. It is made from teeny tiny check blue and white gingham, which has a name but I don't remember what it is called. 1/8th check? This one is a 12 month size which she should be able to wear at the end of summer and into fall. It will look cute with a little white cardigan for when it is cooler.


Instead of the sleeveless version, I made the one with puffed sleeves. This dress has a lot of firsts for me. This is the first time I have made puffed sleeves, piping between the yoke and skirt, and the first collar ever. I even put piping around it. I am very happy I was able to figure this part out! It isn't perfect, but I like the way it turned out. I love all of the buttons down the back, too.



I really enjoyed making this dress, and I actually did a lot of hand stitching with this one. I usually rush through that part and try to do it by machine, but I slowed down and actually tacked the binding on the armbands on by hand and tacked the yoke exterior to the lining yoke. It was nice to sit and think about why I was making this dress and why I enjoy making dresses for my daughter. She won't want to wear handmade dresses forever so I am going to make them for as long as I can. Plus, it is a way to show her my love in a different way. It is neat to see her in something that I made for her.

I love the classic look of this dress. My first thought when it was finished was that this is something that Scout Finch would wear. I can see Aunt Alexandra making her wear something like this to church, and Scout complaining that it itches. This one shouldn't itch because it is lined with cotton-no tulle here!




Summer is here and I am looking forward to going for long walks everyday! I would like to do a three mile walk every afternoon, and I am really lucky to live in an area with lots of parks.


These pictures are from the walk Zerah and I went on yesterday. We saw geese and little goslings. One of Zerah's favorite books is Gossie by Olivea Dunrea. I think I almost have it memorized from all the times I have read it to her, "This is Gossie. Gossie is a gosling. A small yellow gosling who likes to wear bright red boots-everyday." We love these books.


On our walk we pass a marsh area and a lake...


...and a farm where we see sheep...



... and cows and chickens, too.

I also love all the flowers that are popping up everywhere. These are some of my favorites.

I am looking forward to playing with Zerah, long walks exploring the neighborhood, and having extra time to sew! Happy summer to all of you!

Iva Leigh Swing Dress

I had a hard time with this little dress. I started working on it during Kid's Clothes Week, but there weren't very many pictures in the pattern, so I had a hard time. I put the call out for help, and my Aunt Carolyn called me on Skype to walk through part of it. I put in about 20 minutes sewing every morning this past week, and I managed to finish it this weekend!

The pattern is the Iva Leigh dress by Bonnie Blue, and I made a six months dress. It seems to fit Zerah pretty good right now. She should be able to wear it throughout the summer. I bought the fabric from Joanne's; it is a swiss dot-white with little pink polka dots. It is fully lined with white Kona cotton. I also hand stitched the binding around the armholes, which was a first for me. I am generally in favor of machine sewing it on because I just want to finish quickly, but I took the time to tack it down by hand which really does look nicer.

I have started another one, and I am going to take pictures of the process so I remember how to put it together the next time I make it. I did iron it, but it appears a little wrinkled!


The skirt is really full, and it would be a great twirly dress for a little girl who is a little older. I did get to use my ruffler on the bottom which was fun. I also like the little buttons all the way down the back of the dress.

This makes my final finish for Jacquie's Spring to Finish Challenge. Here was my original list:
Barcelona Skirt for me-finished!
Sewconnected 2 blocks for Rita-finished!
Two Oliver + S 2+2 Tunics-finished
2 Swing Tops for Zerah-finished
2 Dresses for Zerah-finished one
Gingham Pants-finished
Spring Quilted Tablerunner-top pieced
9 Patch Quilt Top-squares finished

I added my postage stamp quilt, and it now has a pieced back and it is basted. I am still ripping out stitches. I can only deal with about an hour of this at a time. I have a total of eight finishes!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. The weather is beautiful here in the 70's, and we just got back from a 3 mile walk to the park where we had a picnic with cold fried chicken, pasta salad, and grapes. It was so nice to just be outside.

Postage Stamp Quilt Progress

Remember my postage stamp quilt? I started it two years ago this month. That is so long ago! I decided it was time to finally finish it in time for Jacquie's Spring to Finish challenge. So I pieced together the back last week, basted it last weekend, and started to stipple it.

I started stippling and sewed away for a long time. When my bobbin ran out, I flipped it over and found this mess on the back.

I thought I would cry, but I didn't. Instead, I have pulled out my seam ripper and started ripping it out.

...and ripping some more....

So, I am still in the ripping stage, and this will not be finished before the Spring to Finish Challenge ends. I will persevere, and it will be finished soon. I love it, and I don't know why it has taken me so long to finish.

Blogger's Quilt Festival-Spring 2010

This is one of my favorite quilts. It is the first quilt from a virtual quilting bee that I have finished. I have more in stages that need to be done! I can't believe how many blocks I have made and sent out for these Craftster swaps. Anyway, I love it. It was made during one of the Craftster Lap Quilt Swaps. It was first posted about here. I finished it last summer.

It is 82 x 96 inches, and it is the biggest quilt I have made so far. It fits my full size bed perfectly!
Members who sent me blocks for this quilt include:

athenamat
j_q_adams quiltdad
flashleyashley
ritapizza mochistudio
1boy1girl1kitty2
MissDisney
glittergirl94
klum78
sewhelpme
jenicat
whoopdedoo_5
southernflower
critterpants

I tried to tag each block that was made for me on flickr here, but it was hard to peruse through some of the galleries. I also tagged the participants in the list with their flickr page if I knew it and their blog. The bee was in the summer of 2008, and it is easy to forget! If you know of flickr pages or blogs for these people, leave me a comment so I can add their information. That is why it is important to make notes.:)

The back is pieced with leftover strips from the front in a strip and quilted with a 3" diagonal grid pattern. It was so much fun participating in this swap, and it led the way to many more swaps.

If you have a quilt to share, go over to Amy's Blogger's Quilt Festival Spring 2010. Even if you don't have a quilt to share right now, you should go check it out! There are so many beautiful quilts showcased and you are bound to find inspiration.

Wordless Wednesday

Kid's Clothes Week: Sundresses and Pants

For the last half of Kid's Clothes Week, I worked on two sundresses and a pair of pants. The sundress crosses in the back and is made of one piece of fabric. I love the way the back looks with the crossing of the straps.

I used Maggie's Classics Sundress 345 for the dress with purple seersucker gingham. I used my ruffler foot for the ruffle along the bottom and the back. It is a size 1.


For the pants, I used the Britches and Bloomers pattern by Jackie Clark. I made the size 6-12 months. These should have taken my about an hour, but they took several hours. My ruffler foot kept missing the back layer of fabric, and then I sewed it on the wrong way on the leg three times.

I do like the little back pockets, though. Next time, I know it will go together quicker. Plus, I have my patterns traced out already.

I made one more sundress out of some paisley fabric that I had in my stash. I decided to not do a ruffle on this one because the fabric is so busy already. I love this little pattern. It goes together so quickly. I think I could cut one out and sew it up in about an hour, so for a quick little dress, it is perfect.

I enjoyed Kid's Clothes Week. It really challenged me to find time to sew in the morning during the week. I am going to try and keep that momentum going by working on my postage stamp quilt for the spring Blogger's Quilt Festival. It starts next week, so get your quilt's ready!

Kid's Week Challenge: Day 2-3

I have been diligently trying to fit in time to sew in the early morning, and I managed to get this pattern traced, cut out, and started to sew. I then ran into a roadblock. I need pictures to help me figure patterns out, and this one is seriously lacking in the picture department. I am trying to make the sleeveless dress in the top right corner of the front of the pattern.

I started sewing the exterior to the lining as I thought the pattern read, but I am ending up with some serious bulk on the back where the buttons should go. So, I think I am going to put this one aside for a few days and call in for help. I may post some pictures here to see if any of you know how to do this!

Some of my cousins were in town last night, and I showed them the dress. My cousin (who is actually my second cousin once removed?) reminded me that her sister is a Bernina Master Teacher and knows how to sew everything. I am going to shoot her an email with tons of pictures to see if she can help me figure this out. Maybe we can try skype? She lives 2,000 miles away, so I can't just go over to her house-unfortunately. I hate having to stop in the middle of a project, but I don't want to mess it up.

I will be moving on to something else, and hopefully that will go smoother. I do get to pull out my pleater foot which I am very excited about. :)