Snowy Sunday

We got several inches of snow last night, and this is what my porch looked like on our way to church: Nice, no? Nothing says spring like two inches of snow on your doorstep. I had great plans of taking pictures of the girls outside in this skirt refashion, but it will have to wait for a warmer day. I hope we have another one before June.

New knitting bags

I can't remember where I saw a bag like this, but I fell in love with the idea immediately. A knitting bag with buttons! Brilliant! I used fusible interfacing on the lining to make it stand a little better. I must do something wrong when using the interfacing because it doesn't seem to want to stick very well. I gave up and stitched a diagonal line every two inches for the lining so it will stay together (so there, interfacing!).
I love having the ball contained in the bag and just pulling the yarn out little by little...It is just big enough for a small project, an instruction sheet and my little pouch of supplies. Great for travel or just keeping little fingers out. I loved mine so much I made one for my Grandma Kitch as well.
I thought about putting a tutorial together... anybody interested?

Summer stripes

I am so in love with these tops from Anthropologie. I bought one like it last fall and have seen them all over again this spring. When I realized they used elastic thread to create the gathered look, I was off to my machine to recreate one. I had an extra-small shirt in my closet just waiting for a refashion. I wish I had made it toddler-size before I had done the stitching around the neck. That made it kinda hard to set the sleeves, so they ended up with a lot of gathering. I left the original neck intact and just took the sides in, set the sleeves and hemmed with the serger leaving the edge exposed. The stitching around the neck is done with elastic thread in the bobbin and regular in the top, in a tiny 'stippling' pattern. I will be using this technique again for sure!

new hat

I have been working on this hat for a while and finally got it done! Just in time for it to snow tonight, the forecast is 4-6 inches.

I think my mom gave me the pattern, and I wish I would remember that hats knit on size four needles take forever! I love how it turned out though. Worth it in the end.

crazy?

Sometimes I think I need a sanity check. Seriously. I have been drooling over this pattern from Heidi and Finn for months, and when it finally warmed up I bought it. I had this fabric in my stash waiting for a perfect project to come along, and I love it for this! It is reversible, and has a brown and green daisy print on the inside that's really nice.

Here is where the sanity check comes in. Both of my kids seem to want to drag the naked dolls around town with us. In an effort not to waste the leftover fabric and clothe a doll, I decided to make a matching outfit for a naked groovy girls doll. I just eyeballed the pattern and measured the doll and went for it. It turned out cute, but was a total pain in the butt and took just as long and making the toddler top. I do love the look of casual rolled-up jeans, but this look is more out of necessity than fashion. She has grown into her sister's 3T jeans and I just haven't gotten around to hemming them yet.

So, pattern review: another one I love. Simple pattern pieces and great instructions with pictures, it's quick and fun for any level of sewing skills. And reversible? Hello! Perfect for a long day out when you know the chances of your kid spilling something is high. Just turn it around and you are ready to go. I left off the pocket because in this print it just looked really, really busy. I made the back a little more modest on this one but like it the way the original pattern has it as well. This pattern will be another staple for our summer wardrobe for sure!

silly sewing

I have a niece who is just adorable and petite. She is an early potty-trainer and is just too small for any panties from the store. So I bought this great pattern and made some cute little undies for her! I do have to admit I felt a little silly sewing them, but I am glad they fit my cute little niece.The fit is a really modest almost boy-cut, and I love it! After I made a couple of pairs, Bug came up and said VERY proudly "Mom, my butt is just getting bigger every day, I need some new panties!" So she is next on my list for panties.
***Update: I got the fabric at Fabric Fairy and I have been super impressed by their customer service and quality!

picture perfect

Sometimes it takes me looking at a picture to realize things like my kid hasn't brushed her hair for the day, or the huggies box we keep diapers in is really, really ugly (see last post). Mom had this funky diaper pin fabric that I thought would be kind of fun for diapers... and this is what I got! I bought several nice baskets to keep the diapers in, but one by one the girl's friends ruined every.single.one. of them. So, I gave up and went to a sturdier cardboard - wish it hadn't taken me this long to cover it, I love it!