Woodstock

I am proud to reveal my darling youngest son, Eldon, as WOODSTOCK! I think the costume is pretty darling. And Eldon actually likes it. Quite a bit. I'm proud of it.

The fabric is actually a nice, soft minky. I couldn't find a faux fur to save my life. So then i found a nice soft minky and while it was a bit expensive, it is darling darling! And it's super comfy (other than warm) which is desirable in most climates. And maybe in 2 weeks it will be here. But when i was taking the pictures it was a whopping 95 DEGREES. In October. Ay ya ya! Where do i live? {The desert}

The mohawk does fall down and flop a bit, but i couldn't get it to stay up more, and well, i kinda like the floppiness of it! They are too cute together! Jumping around holding hands! They make me smile and are the PERFECT Snoopy and Woodstock pair!

So there you go... Charlie Brown, Lucy, Snoopy, and Woodstock.

Look Mom! I can play hoops!

Drapey Shirt

I made a shirt. With knits. Again. I think i am a glutten for punishment. I am DARN set on figuring out this whole knits thing. I think i need to get seam stabilizers BUT that is beside the point.

I followed a Mccalls pattern and when i was done it was about 2 sizes TOO big. Yikes! It looked terrible. So i started pinning, and sewing and cutting and this is what i came up with.

Still not perfect. A little to big in the neckline which makes the sleeves fall off, but for what i started with? It's amazing! I am pretty happy with it, though i plan to draft a pattern from an existing shirt i own to see if i like it better. Then back to Halloween costumes..... i just had leaving something not perfect. *though i really am not a perfectionist* i just want to figure out this whole "sewing with knits" thing.

So here is my creation. It reminds me of a shirt i saw at Anthro not too long ago. Excuse the pictures, i wanted to take them quick because hubby had a football game and i knew we'd be out past sun down.

Twirly (Waves) Skirt Revisited

So I am officially re-naming the twirly skirt the WAVES skirt. teehee. Get it? WAVES and winks? Much more appropriate.

I finally decided after wearing it for a few hours today that it was too short. Tisk. So i set out to fix it without making it look too "i-made-a-skirt-too-short-and-need-to-fix-it." I'm really happy with it and i feel like i succeeded. I only added about 2" but man oh man what a difference it made!

I really like the lace detail. I i still love the waves. It seriously is one of my favorite skirts! And now i am modest (even when picking up the babies) :o)...

P.S. I had a major flop of a time with the Tee for Two pattern today. I will try again though. I just need a heavier weighted knit!

Pajama Pants

The other day i was reading Ashley at Make It Love It's post about baby leggings. While she said they are "boy or girl" I couldn't see past the pink and yellow to think of a boy. Until i was sitting with my son, putting on his pajamas, and i realized, these are the exact same pants! So i decided to make some of my own... and just a little differently...since i have a whole bunch of knit laying around that was meant for some other not done project :)

They are perfect for playing outside....

And of course wonderful for going to bed... (or just being boys in bed)....

I added a ribbed knit cuff instead of just sewing heming it. And honestly i didn't read the tutorial. She just inspired me when i realized that they were the same! That is how the boy's pajama's are and i liked it that way. Below is my tutorial for how i did mine. As you notice, I made them fairly large. I hate making things just right and two weeks later realizing they have outgrown them. AND with cloth diaper bums, they need LOTS of extra room! (my two year old still wears a diaper at night).

Soooooooo easy.... i am going to have to make another pair. OOO and i bought the pattern for Dapper Dillingers AND the Tee for Two. So excited! Coming soon... along with Halloween costumes... Oh so much to sew! :)

Delivery

This arrived on my doorstep today! About 11 yards of beautiful fabric.

Oh and a bamboo/rayon knit. Feels amazing!

So i am excited. Too bad my kids JUST woke up :)

Applique T-shirts

Our little Eldon has a lot of hand-me-down shirts from his brother. Well, actually, most of his clothes are hand-me-downs from his brother. And being such, a good few have quite a few stains. Not horrible ones (those mostly get thrown out) but ones that make it so it's not a "public approved" shirt.

So I decided to experiment. When Hayden was younger, as my first sewing project EVER my mom taught me how to applique a onesie with fabric and just a running embroidery stitch. I love love love doing it. So i decided to try to cover some of the stains with fabric and embroidery.

Since it is football season (and my husband is raving mad about BYU) I knew a football shirt was necessary, and then the blue shirt just called out to me for fish. I traced *and slightly modified* the images from the computer by placing a blank peace of paper against my screen. BEST WAY EVER to trace and image. If you need to make it larger, simply save the image and zoom in. Make sense? If you have any questions i can take pictures to help it make sense. After I just cut out my fabric, applied Heat-n-Bond to the back, and embroidered around them. I did figure out a trick though! *yay!* I always seem to get Heat-n-Bond onto my ironing board or my iron which is so not a good idea! Soooo... i have a solution!

I just love love love love love love the way they turned out! Now two NEVER worn shirts will become regulars in the rotation! I have a few more shirt i might just have to experiment with! Just a fun and EASY project!! Now it's your turn!

Quiet Book

Today has been quite a day. And not in a good way. We are having SERIOUS issues with our landlords for no reason. I mean it's just insane. I guess everyone in life doesn't like you. I don't get it. People can be so mean. 

So my sewing machines remained in their closet and didn't see the light of day. So sad. I really like my sewing machines. And today is "unbreakable date night." I'll have to sew some tomorrow. I sure hope your day was better than mine!

For now here are some pictures of my quiet book i made last year. It's definitely based off of Homemade by Jill's quiet book. I need to make some more "preschool" pages not to  mention my two year old LOVES the hand puppets so more of those are on the way too!

Cottage Skirt

I made another skirt. It almost was a complete disaster. I accidentally cut into my skirt while sergering (the woes of sergers) but i was able to fix and and you would never know. I think it look really good. Just a nice casual happy skirt. The fabric is my Riley Blake, I believe. I cannot remember the collection for sure. It was part of the mass amount of fabric my momma bought for me for my Christmas. I cannot tell you know that we are on a budget how nice having all that fabric is because otherwise, i would have *almost* nothing to sew. One more immediately planned skirt to go!

It's just a simple tier skirt with pintucks on top and an elastic waist back. It's a little big, but i am really making it for a maternity-ish/post-maternity/fat skirt. No, i am not pregnant. Trying, but not pregnant. I just can't stand to make all these clothes that won't fit me in *hopefully* a few months and will then only fit me again for a few months a year later!

The pictures aren't as crisp as normal because they are taken from an iPhone. We hiked 30 minutes up a super steep hill only to realize--the battery to the camera was in the wall. Darn it! Oh well, Nick had his camera and saved the day!

Ironing Board Cover

The other day I was cutting on my ironing board and I also cut my ironing board cover. I know i hated the other one and PLANNED to refinish it, but i was being lazy. Lazy no more. It was probably one of the easiest projects ever! If you have a serger it is a BREEZE! Really, you should try!

My nice beautiful tear

Little Boy Short

Yesterday was our baby's birthday! So i figured here is the tutorial for his birthday shorts... and the other two pairs i have made! To see the original go here. Happy Birthday Eldie!!! We Love You!

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I made another pair of super cute Hayden shorts!!I love these shorts. Really love them. They are so simple to make and if you left out the pockets, they would be about 3 steps! Really easy. The pockets are a bit confusing at first, but once you figure them out they are a breeze {and super cute}. I love the Twill material! Really quality! He's darling!

Are you ready to make some super cute shorts? I know there seems like a million steps, but i wanted to make it SO understandable! It's really easy! Promise! You will need:

• about 3/4 yard main fabric for 3T
• fat quarter lining fabric
• 1 1/4 inch elastic
• (and normal sewing supplies)

1. Trace shorts-front, back, pockets {Or print out mine}
2. Cut out pieces. Set aside. {I like to keep them with their label on top-especially the short front and back. It can be confusing}
3. Take pocket pieces {all 6} separate one lining with two tops.

4. Iron top pieces over about 3/8 inch.
5. Place piece on top of lining and pin.
6. Edge stitch as close to the edge as you can {without missing the fabric, of course}
7. Trim Edges of shorts so the wlining and main fabrics match
8. Fold shorts so the “wrong” sides and facing {the two pure lining sides}
9. Pin and sew ½ from the bottom side {we are doing a French seam}
10. Now turn “inside out” {turn the opposite way} so that the two main fabric pieces on each pocket are facing each other. Iron and pin the bottom.  Sew 3/8" from the bottom {encasing seam allowance}{honestly, you don’t need to pin . Look at the bottom once you have turned it inside out. You see the ½ of fabric that is darker and about 3 times as thick. That is what you need to encase. Sew along this}

11. Set pockets aside.
12. Grab the front main pieces. Sew up the center of these pieces. Repeat for back pieces.
13. Press the seam to one side and stitch about ¼ inch from the center seam down the short piece.
14. Grab your pockets. This will be the hardest part of the tutorial. Take the front piece of the pocket and place it on the front of the short.
15. Now take the piece that is NOT touching the short and pin it. Sew about 3 inches.
16. Clip the top and bottom of the stitching pocket.

17. Flip around {creating a French seam} and sew about 3/8” in from the edge encasing the raw edges.
18. Now the next two steps are helper steps:
1. First, straighten up the front piece and pin your pockets in place This way they won’t move around when you are sewing the bottom pieces of your shorts.
2. Next, take your pockets and stitch a satin stitch at the top of the opening of the pocket and the bottom of the opening. This will keep the two pieces of the pocket together sturdily AND make it easier to sew with.
19. Now pin together the lower leg opening. Sew or Serge.

20. Next, match up the front and back sides of the shorts. Make sure to line up the back side of the pocket with the back. Sew down the two sides seams making sure to miss your pocket.
21. Check to make sure you didn’t accidently stitch the pocket. Serge Short.
22. Iron the seam allowance the opposite way of the pocket. Stitch ¼” from the seam.
23. Now to hem the short. Fold the fabric over 1/4" then again 1/2". Edge stitch along the INSIDE of the short. This guarantees you hit the inside and make a nice clean hem.
24. Now to the waistband. Fold the fabric over 1/2 inch. Then fold again 1 3/4". You might have to trim a little length of the top depending on how long your top piece was. You need you waistband to hit at the top of your pockets, so you sew them in as you sew the waistband.

25. Edge stitch along the inside of the waistband leaving approx 2" for the elastic.
26. Cut elastic to desired length (measure around child or pre-exisiting short). Stick a safety pin through the end of the elastic and thread through casing.
27. Overlap ends of elastic and zigzag together (zigzag has some give--making it better suited to elastic)
28. Sew casing shut.

29. No one wants their elastic to move around too much and if you look at most of your boy's professional shorts you will see a chainstitch running through the waistband. If you have a coverhem machine use that, but if not i will teach you how to make it LOOK like you did.
30. Grab your short. Change your stitch length to 5.0mm (the longest on my machine).
31. Using your foot as a guide, stitch 1/2 inch from the top of the short through the waistband. As you continue through the short, stretch the elastic and waistband fabric so there are no gathers. Go all the way around the short.
32. Repeat ever 1/2 inch until you have completed the waistband!
33. Cut your threads and TA-DA! You are done! Look at those awesome shorts you made! Put them on your babies and... as always... take WAY too many pictures!!



I really want to make a million more!!!

No mess bib

I made the jump... and cut into my Amy Butler Temple Doors laminated cotton. Such a beautiful fabric. Very different to work with, though. The bib was a pretty easy sew. I am going to make another one too... So many options!!

I really love it. And best of all? It worked!!! Even with a dinner of noodles, cabbage salad, and peas, he managed to only drop 4 peas and 2 noodles on the floor. That's a miracle! 

He doesn't mind it too much. He likes to put his foot up by the table so that is harder, but it seems pretty comfortable. He is just too darn darling! I can't believe he is turning ONE in THREE days!!!! I might pass out! I forbid it, actually. Anyways, take a look at the pictures below!

Tree Skirt

I've been sick. yuck! So sadly, no sewing has happened in my home. I am hoping i can muster the strength to throw together Hayden's shorts tonight and the tutorial for them too... but we will see. Nick actually stayed home from work because i felt so ill...

So instead, i will show you an old project. One of my favorites. I actually have all the fabric to make my own and i just have to find the time to!

This was my momma's Christmas present. She was always saying she needed a new tree skirt, and since they got a fancy new tree, i decided i HAD to make her one {my version of saying thank you}. So this is what i made. I L.O.V.E it. I found the tutorial at the Moda BakeShop. I also made the table runner for my MIL but i didn't actually get any pictures of it. Oops. I need to be better about that! My fabric is just fabric from Joann's that i liked. It turned out marvelously. I even free motion quilted it (which isn't NEARLY as scary as everyone makes it out to be!).

I will probably start mine after i finish up Halloween costumes (er... start too! :))

Thanks mom for taking these pictures for me!

And i found a picture of the skirt under the tree!
Merry Christmas in July!