Pattern Giveaway!

It is Giveaway Day! If you haven't heard about it, then check out Sew Mama Sew for all the other giveaways you can enter yourself in!

Today I am going to be giving away two great patterns by two different Australian designers. The first is a lovely quilt pattern by Janelle Wind called Candy Girl. The second is the darling Black Sheep, White Sheep pattern by Melly and Me. One lucky winner will get both!

To Enter:
1. Please check out my etsy shop!
2. Leave a comment telling me what your favorite pattern is that I carry and/or what other patterns you would like me to carry. Do you want to see more patterns for softies and toys? Aprons? Kids clothes? Women clothes? Also, please make sure your email is easy for me to find. Some people don't have it linked or posted.
3. I will be closing the giveaway on Sunday May 31st by 12 PM EST. I will ship internationally, so all are welcome to enter! CLOSED!

Have fun! Hope everyone wins a little something!

Warm weather is here

and sewing seems to be taking the backstage. The family at Sleeping Bear Dunes.

Felicity having fun in the sand. She kept throwing the sand and laughing like crazy.

Juliana's last day of school. You can see the little bolero jacket I made to go over her dress from the Birthday Dress pattern.

Felicity taking a short break from running.

Tomorrow is Giveaway Day at Sew Mama Sew! Come back tomorrow for my little part in the giveaway!

Make It Perfect Patterns

Love the ruffles!

Just a shop update. I got some of the Make It Perfect patterns from Australian designer Toni Coward and the Frilly Dilly bag pattern (see above) from Australian designer Janelle Wind. They look so awesome! I am a pattern addict, and it is so much fun carrying all these fun patterns so I don't have to buy them myself. I touch and feel them and feel satisfied that others get to make beautiful things....okay, and sometimes I make them myself too. ;0p

Perfect summer overalls!

These look so summery and cool.

This jacket is reversible! I didn't get too many of these ones, but I am thinking I should have gotten more it is just so darn cute.

For the teachers...

Well, it is the last week of school for Juliana. Where did the time go? To be honest, I am rather sad about it. She is in a Montessori school, and she loves every minute of it. It has been so amazing to see her transform from a toddler to a little girl over these past few months. Now what am I going to do all summer with her? Any good summer activities that you have planned for your littles?

However, since it is the last week of school I have been making some little gifts of appreciation for all the teachers.

This is the April Bag pattern by Oh Fransson! for Sew Mama Sew. It was a simple pattern and easy to put together. The only thing I did differently was shorten the side "slits" a little bit because I thought they were a little to long for this version (I made the small one.) I feel like it is missing something. Maybe it needs a fabric flower?

I also made the ever so popular (and for good reason) Buttercup bag by Made by Rae. Great pattern. Cute bag! Small amount of fabric. I have been hording my Good Folks fat quarters for the past couple of months, but it was time to let go and break into them. This pattern was perfect for the design of this fabric too. The teacher this is for often wears a sweater the exact color of the orange in this fabric.

I have one more bag to make, and I also have a short and cute little tutorial that I hope to have up this week. Happy sewing!

Birthday Party Dress

Things have been busy. I have been slowly working on this dress for Juliana. I was inspired by this version of the Oliver + S birthday party dress. Juliana and Felicity are both going to be flower girls in a couple of weddings this summer. I loved the simplicity of the dress match the silk dupioni. I wanted to make the dress up in a cheaper material first though to do a run through before messing up the lovely (expensive!) silk.

The pattern itself isn't difficult. I just wasn't inspired when making it though. I was just dragging my feet over this for some reason. I hate having to trace out patterns. I think that is one of the reasons why I don't like making clothing sometimes. I like to keep patterns in tact, especially the kid ones so I can use the different sizes. I find it such a pain tracing them though. Anyone have any good tips on streamlining this process?


The dress is so cute though! I love it. I like it with the little tie over the button tab. I think it adds that touch of girly. I made a little bolero jacket to go over it as well that I didn't get a picture of.

One of these buttonholes caused me a big headache. It kept getting stuck in one spot. I finally got it done after an hour or so of ripping it out. Pooh.

Juliana saw a picture of a flower girl on the cover of one of the patterns I was considering. People keep telling her she is going to be a flower girl, but I don't think she got it until she saw the picture. It was instantaneous love. She says she wants stars in her hair and a bucket with flowers. This was her version of a flower girl that she came up with all on her own. (She couldn't find a white bucket...only orange.)

Top TEN!

My green Spring Ruffle Top made it to the final ten! Yay! I am so excited! Please head over to Made by Rae to vote for my top! Thanks! xoxo

Ducks in a row

Getting all my ducks in a row before a short jaunt to Chicago.

Just a quick shot of my Neptune Quilt. I am LOVING making this. The fabric is so cool. I can't wait for Hushabye to come out.

Stitch

Erica's sent me a birthday coupon, so last weekend I went browsing. I have bought so much fabric lately that I couldn't justify getting more. Then I caught sight of the new issue of Stitch. I loved the last issue, and this one is just as much fun! Look what pattern made it to their Summer Picks- the Mail Sack! Check my shop if you are interested.

I love this zigzag apron! I love the a-line shape of the apron as well.

I have to admit- I think a serger is coming my way this Mother's Day. I am so excited. I can't wait for all the new possibilities this will open up in my sewing endeavors. I think this knit dress would be a great project to try out! I love the simplicity of it.

I have also stocked the shop with some new vintage linens. Lots of pretty prints!

Small Messenger and learning to quilt!

I made this mini messenger for a friend's mom. I was so pleased with how it turned out. I used Heart of Mary's basic layout for this bag. Although, I didn't add the zipper top but put in a zipper pocket in the lining instead. I also based this strap off the messenger bag from my new Japanese book. I love how it is adjustable and can be made to go over your should or across your body.

I made the main part out of linen, and it has more wrinkles than I care for. The accents are a floral (from a fat quarter I received from Sew Mama Sew's fat quarter swap) and a green and white polka dot (Love polka dots.) The curves at the bottom are the hardest part. The linen kept shifting on me.

My brick path quilt is coming along nicely. Glad I chose such an easy pattern.
I also decided to join Crazy Mom's quilt-a-long. You are supposed to make one nine patch a day. These are my first four. I think I am going to try to do two a day to account for vacations and busy days. I am so excited to be using my small little scraps for these. It is so much fun to use fabrics that you remember from other projects. The blocks on the right are from the first bag I designed myself. The blocks on the left are from my first commissioned bag. (Thanks, Erin!)