Spring Update

Saturday, I did another craft fair, my 3'd actually. I had a good time and am glad I did it, but it was so slow! I haven't done enough of these to know what's good for me or not, but I made less than 1/3 of what I did at the two last fall, so I'm thinking that's bad. =(

One thing that made me happy though was having this new crafty apron to wear! It was perfect for my change and my little craft fair odds and ends.

(Forgive the blurry picture. I didn't get any photos at the craft fair, and I took this one using the mirror in my bedroom.)

Apron pattern is from the One-Yard Wonders book. I love this book!

I did get a chance to chat with some of the other vendors and that was a blast! Everyone was very encouraging and nice despite the slow day. I met another "fabric nerd"...hehe. Check out the beautiful outfits she makes HERE in her etsy shop.

Spring is finally here and I am so happy!

Elliot helped me plant my little garden a couple days ago. When we were digging the dirt up, I mentioned that we were preparing the bed for the seeds...A few minutes later when we were planting them, he piped up that the the seeds needed to go to sleep! He's very excited for them to "wake up" and start growing!

I don't think I've ever shown this little dress here, but it's been one of my favorite outfits that I've made for Marie. Last fall it was a dress, then in the winter she wore with with jeans as a tunic, and now it's a mini-dress! I just love these Amy Butler prints.

(can you tell she was so mad about having to let Elliot have a turn on the baby swing?)

It's getting a bit short on her for a dress, but I don't care...those baby legs are just so cute!!

The pattern is the Easy Empire Waist Dress from Amy Butler's Little Stitches book. Haha...it looks like a simple pattern, but it was so not easy!! If I remember correctly, I finally ditched the confusing instructions and just sewed it together...and I think the final product was worth it!

I need to get a photo, but you'll never guess what I'm sewing now...

Dancewear!

Yes, I'm helping a friend of a friend out and sewing these little alligator print, lycra fabric shrugs for a high school dance performance. I think the main reason I agreed to do this is that I now have a chance to use my new coverstitch machine! So, n0 new Easter dress for me, (I am so glad I sewed Marie's dress weeks ago!) I'm working on dancewear!

Oh yes, I didn't want to forget this, Randi, at i have to say... is having a fabric giveaway. I heart fabric...especially $50 worth of free fabric! She is also having a 20% off sale in her esty shop. Check it all out HERE.

Have a great week everyone!

Jessica

Pink Shoes and Love

Easter is just one week away, and I half decided not to make Emily an Easter dress this year. After all, she has a handful of just-her-size smocked and heirloom sewn dresses that I made for Ellen about 10 years ago when I was in the smocking phase.

I don't hang onto everything that I sew, but I have kept the hand-smocked dresses I made in years past. Emily does not need another nice dress, but the funny thing is, when I pulled these dresses out of the closet I felt inspired to dig out my pleater and start another smocked dress. Common sense won out (who has the time to smock? Not me!), and I decided not to make another fancy dress. Besides, the dress I made last year still fits, albeit a bit shorter, but it still fits.

Instead, I'm going to sew a simple peasant-style dress. Samantha at The Handmade Dress once had a giveaway on her blog and I won the "Miss Madeline" pattern. I'm excited to start it, and I have the perfect fabric to use. Perfect, because it matches the to-die-for hot pink shoes that Emily fell in love with at the shoe store. Reminder to self: never take an almost-5-year-old fashion diva into the shoe store unless you plan on buying her sparkly, glittery, or hot pink shoes.

I'm off to sew!

Easter 2009

Birthday Suprise for Me!

My heart just about stopped beating when I opened this package from my sister-in-law on Monday night. 

Yes, it's what the box says it is.  A coverstitch serger!

I am still in shock actually...I had NO idea I would be owning one of these anytime soon.  I am so excited.  Think of all the possibilities!!!

Just had to share my excitement!

Jessica

Nursing Covers now available...

At the Green Bambino, Oklahoma City's new cloth diaper and eco-baby product store.  Be sure and check them out, if you are in the area!

I am so excited to be making nursing covers for the Green Bambino!

These covers feature an adjustable neck strap and boning in the front that allows the fabric to stand out some so the mom can see her baby, but still be completely covered up.  

I also put a flannel pocket in one corner to hold little things like pacifiers and nursing pads.  Also so handy to wipe baby's milky mouth after nursing!

Blessings,

Jessica 

Birthday Gift

Last week when I wrote about a flopped top I was making for my niece's first birthday, several of you asked to see the fabric. Mom even had a few good suggestions for fixing it, but after I let it sit for a couple days I decided to remake it into something completely different.

I cut ruffles off of the top, took the hems out (yes, I do a lot of ripping out too!) and fashioned the ruffles into a simple tiered skirt with an elastic waist. I was really happy that I didn't end up wasting too much of the fabric after all.

Then I bought a plain white 12mo shirt at Walmart and appliqued a simple flower on it. Viola...it's an outfit!

The hat was from the original pattern I was using. It came out huge...seriously, it fits my 3 year old. Oh well...it will fit her someday!


Jessica

Baby, It's Cold Outside

The coat is finally finished:
The snaps came in the mail a few days ago, I set them in place, and then today the snow came. Again. Snow in Oklahoma in March?! When we moved here from Colorado, we were told that it "never" snows in Oklahoma. Hello. It's snowing.

One nice thing about the snow---Emily will get to wear her coat this year, after all. The pictures were taken today, and brr, baby, it's cold outside!

Pattern Description:
Ottobre Design #15 from the 04/2007 issue. Reversible coat for two looks; narrow ruffles around the hood, down the front, and at the sleeve hems; pockets with elastic opening

Pattern Sizing:
European sizes 80-110; I made as size 110 for my almost-5-year-old daughter. I think the size 110 is a US size 6 or 6X.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes, very much so except that I used a thick and soft textured corduroy instead of smooth poplin for the outer.

Were the instructions easy to follow?
The instructions for sewing together the inner and outer layers of the sleeve hems were confusing. I read through the instructions, but then didn't follow them because of the changes I made to the pattern.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
My daughter needed a dressycoat for church and other outings, and this pattern fit that need. The ruffles make this coat something special---feminine and fun. There is nothing I did not like about the pattern.

Fabric Used:
I used a wide wale corduroy for the outside and a cotton woven for the inside.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
The pattern is meant to be reversible, but I did not want a reversible coat because I was worried that I wouldn't get the two separate hemlines to hang evenly.

I decided not to make the coat reversible, so I changed the pattern by cutting off 1 inch from the hemline of the inner layer and then "bagging" the jacket following the instructions at Threads. This worked very well, and I am very pleased with the result.

The funny thing is, Emily decided she wanted to wear the coat inside out. We tried it, and it actually looks fine, even with the 1 inch of corduroy showing at the hem. So yes, after all, the coat is indeed reversible. : )

I started this jacket a month ago when we had snow, but I didn't finish it until this week. I'm glad that Emily will get to wear it some this winter. Hopefully it will still fit her next year, too. :)

Stay warm,

Outside

Inside

Ellen's Owls

My 14 year old daughter likes owls. That may be an understatement. Ellen loves owls. So when she saw this owl fabric at Hobby Lobby, she decided she needed a new pillowcase. I agreed to buy the fabric if she promised to make the pillowcase---I wouldn't do it for her. We ended up buying enough owl fabric for 3 pillowcases, and true to her word, Ellen made all three. She plans on giving away two of the pillowcases to two good friends and keeping the third for herself.





I'm so proud of Ellen! This is the daughter who insists she doesn't like to sew. But I know better. :) She'll be a sew-er yet. (Sorry, I can't bring myself to type 'sewer' when I'm talking about sewing). Not only did Ellen make 3 pillowcases today, but she also sewed these 4 cute little owls out of felt. Did I tell you that Ellen likes owls?


We both should be in bed, but she's still at it in my sewing room. This makes me happy.

Goodnight,
Ruth

Today is Jessica's Birthday!

Yes, today is my beautiful daughter's birthday! We celebrated yesterday with a delicious dinner, cake, and presents. It was a good day. Happy birthday, Jessica!

I love you.
Mom

the two red heads

the socks I knit lickety-split to get them finished for her birthday

missing Heather

Daisy Chains

The Valentine hearts had to come down...and my windows were looking a bit bare. Felt daisy chains are just the the thing to celebrate Spring and cheer me up!

Thanks for coming over and helping me cut these out, Mom. I want to see a photo too when you get yours sewn!

Have a great weekend, friends!
Jessica




EDIT - The next day:

Yes, Jessica and I had a lovely day together, and I got to see my sweet grandchildren! Jessica and I had fun cutting out the daisies which we divided between us. You asked for a picture, Jess, so here's my finished garland.

Ruth

wahoo!

Yesterday I won a giveaway at Bunte Fabrics. The giveaway was for a yard of this fabric, "Birds on a Wire", designed by Yvonne herself. It should arrive just in time for my birthday, so it was a fun surprise. =)

So...any ideas for what I should make with it?

Thank you again, Yvonne!

Jessica

Old Shirt, New Shirt

Old Shirt

Emily's favorite shirt was ruined by one rambunctious puppy who jumped from behind, tearing a number of holes in the back of the shirt. It was okay with me. The shirt was getting much too small on Emily, but I could never convince her of the fact.

New Shirt

But it wasn't okay with Emily who didn't care about the holes and wore the shirt anyway. After I realized that one day she was wearing the holey shirt in public, I knew just what to do--give the cat a new home on a new shirt. So I did. : )

Pattern: Ottobre Creative Workshop 301, slim fit t-shirt Size 110

hugs,
Ruth

Happy Emmy

seamingly.com

Love our blog? Click below to give us a quick vote at Seamingly.com, a new site that lists popular sewing blogs. We were excited to be part of their list...there are a lot of great sewing blogs out there and I've enjoyed browsing some great new (to me) blogs that I found from Seamingly.com

Blessings,
Jessica

Sew Chic

Place your vote for Sew Chic
and find more How to Sew at
Seamingly.com.

Gray Skies, Sewing, and Swag Bucks

This little coat for Emily was started several weeks ago when there was still snow on the ground. I finally finished it--when the snow is gone, and warm weather is hopefully right around the corner. But then, today, the skies are gray, the rain is falling, and the temperatures are low. Emily may get some use out of this coat yet!

The coat still needs snaps. I have brown snaps, but I'm waiting for the right color of pink snaps to arrive before choosing which snaps to use. The coat is a wide wale corduroy from fabric.com, and the color is a coral or salmon pink. The pattern is from Ottobre, of course; design #15 from the 04/07 issue, made in a size 110. The coat looks great on Emily! I just wish I had finished it 3 weeks ago. : )

taken from my front porch today

On another note, have you heard about Swag Bucks? In short, Swag Bucks is a search engine that earns you "bucks" just for searching. These bucks can be used for a number of prizes, but the $5 Amazon gift card is the only prize I've ever redeemed. In the 9 months that I've used Swag Bucks, I've received $80 worth of Amazon credit. Unfortunately, I spend the Amazon credit almost as fast as I get it! Points are earned from searching and also from referrals. So, yes, I would be happy if you use my referral link if you decide to sign up. : )

http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/CallMeRuth

(By the way, I still use google for searching if the swag buck search doesn't yield enough results.)

Okay, end of commercial break. Let's get back to sewing.

Ruth

Sewing Muse

A baby bloomer and onsie set for my soon-to-arrive niece! The bloomer pattern is from Heather Baily's Weekend Sewing book. I love making these bloomers!

I've gotten a bit of quality sewing time in this last week, and it was just so nice. I wish I could sew more, or I could sew faster, or my kids would sleep longer...or maybe I just need to enjoy the crafty moments I get here and there.

I don't have pictures yet, but I made JMarie's Easter dress this last week. I used a Tonya Whelan rose print that I'd gotten from Marie Madeline, and it is just so beautiful...a sleeveless dress in a lovely soft floral print, little pintucks across the bodice, a very full, puffy skirt with a sewn-in petticoat ruffle on the lining and a sash that ties in the back. I can now understand why Mom always loved sewing us girls beautiful fancy Easter dresses, every single year. And they always coordinated. It was a labor of love and pride in her workmanship, and now I understand. And I am going to make Marie beautiful Easter dresses too, every single year.

I always put a piece of twill tape or ribbon in the back of baby bloomers as a tag... on this one I wrote "baby" with a sharp-tip permanent marker.

One thing I realized this week as I enjoyed sewing Marie's dress is that sewing is one area that I can still be a perfectionist in, and in that perfectionism I can relax because it is just so satisfying to work with my hands and creativity and have something come out nicely. I feel like since I've had kids, my life has just gone a bit crazy and there are so many things I can not control. I'm a perfectionist so this is really hard. I simply can't do it all...I can't keep a clean house with 2 toddlers running around, I can't always be on top of cooking, bathrooms, laundry, reading, fun activities for the kids, etc...all the things that I want to do well. Sewing is something I can still be in control of, and it is just so nice. It's my thing in the midst of a crazy life full of things I can't control, and I need it.

Saying all that, what is kind of funny, is that I also realized this week that I sew best in a messy sewing room. A very messy sewing room. I can't seem to stay on top of that mess, and I'm realizing that I'm ok with it. So I just push away the piles and focus on what is at hand. I can somehow zone out all the threads and piles and just enjoy that happy space where I can work at the very end of my ironing board and the tiny bit of cleared off table around my machine.

Unfortunately I don't always live in that happy zone when I sew. I worked all afternoon on this little top for my soon to be 1-year old niece's birthday gift...and it totally flopped. The sizing is way off...it's really short and way too wide, even for Marie and the birthday girl is smaller then Marie. The whole project put me in a horrible mood and I was grumpy. Mostly because I used nice, designer fabric for something that nobody will be able to wear, and because now I have to make something else, or buy something.

On a happier note, I have another craft fair coming up in Norman in 2 weeks. I'm excited...I have a lot of product left from the two I did before Christmas, so I'm not going to be doing a whole lot more sewing for it, but I am going to be adding some nursing covers to my line of baby products. We'll see how they sell...hopefully well!!

The nursing cover I made and used with Marie. Very handy!

Hopefully soon I can address some sewing questions readers have e-mailed. I feel so horrible every time one of you takes the time to e-mail us and we don't get back to you right away. Please accept my apologies and know that it is not that I want to be rude or that we don't appreciate our readers, but I am a real person, with a real life filled with two very busy toddlers, and a very full inbox. Most of the time I can not get everything necessary done, much less the fun stuff, but I feel awful when I let reader e-mails build up.

I love e-mails though, so don't stop! Just know that I appreciate your understanding when I don't reply right away.

Hugs!
Jessica