Spring Top Week!

Spring Top Week is on its way! Rae is now accepting tops to be submitted to the Flickr pool! There are already some really great entries! Not only that, but Rae also asked me to be a judge. So flattering. So start sewing!

Are you looking for just the right top pattern? Check out my Etsy shop! I have a couple of patterns that would make great tops for spring both in my sale section and women's clothing section. In honor of Spring Top Week, I will be offering 15% off ALL (except those already on sale) WOMEN'S clothing patterns- including shirts, dresses, and skirts. Just enter "SpringTopWeek" in the comments when you purchase, and I will refund you the 15% through Paypal. This offer is good through Wednesday, April 7th.

I just love this tunic by Sew Liberated! Plus, it looks easy to boot!


Or have you seen Anna Maria Horner's new pattern? This pattern also comes with an option for a top and some slips!

I also like the simplicity of this Make It Perfect pattern. Perfect for hot summer days.

Potty Training

That is what we are attempting today. However, it is four p.m. and no success getting it on the potty yet. My girls seems to have an uncanny ability to hold it and let go the moment your back is turned.

So, I have had some blog and link reading time available as we wait by the potty for something to happen.

• Spring Top Week is coming up! I entered last year and was lucky enough to be a finalist with this shirt.
• I decided not to enter this year. Hmmm...something about being 8 months pregnant leaves me with little inspiration to make a shirt at this point. However, if you are pregnant too and want to enter, this tutorial for a maternity shirt is really cute!
• Or I used this tutorial to fix a tent like maternity t-shirt, and it is definitely much more wearable now. Just remember to really stretch the elastic as you sew it on. Quick fix that took five minutes! My kind of sewing.
• Here is a tutorial for a car seat canopy. I am working on a patchwork one.
• My little kitty pillow that I made for the girls' room was featured on One Pretty Thing today!
  
• This little girl skirt tutorial and mama skirt tutorial look really cute and easy!

Find any cute tutorials lately that you are making or on your to do list? Please do share!

Blanket and Blocks

Last week I finished up this light blanket for the baby. Since he is going to be mostly a summer baby, light was definitely needed. Summers are hot here. I used some Little Folks for the front and some Folksy flannel for the back and bound it in some blue Kona cotton. I was totally inspired to make this after seeing Anna Maria Horner's versions. The Little Folks voile is really just as lovely as everyone says it is, and the flannel is oh so soft.

I also joined my first quilting bee last month! I am so excited about this. I have no idea what I am going to do once my turn comes, but my month isn't until December so I have time. It is the Fussy Cut Bee, and everyone is supposed to make blocks that are in some way fussy cut. This was my first block for Greta! It is colorful log cabin, and the only requirement was that one of the flowers be fussy cut for the center. It was fun and easy to make. In the second one I added some more reds from my overflowing scrap basket.

This is one of my week three pinwheel blocks. I love the cherry fabric for this one. This block was definitely the most difficult so far, but I think they both turned out well.

So productive!

I have had such a productive sewing week! It has been "sew" much fun...haha. Okay, so my house is a little messier and dinner has been a little lack luster, but it was nice to get some things finished up.

The cutest thing I made this week though was this little dress for Juliana. It is the Molly Peasant Dress that I got from youcanmakethis.com. My girls' are obsessed with dresses and always want to wear them. However, they also play outside so much. I was looking for something simple for their outdoor "lifestyle". ;0)

I let Juliana pick out the fabric, and she chose this sweet little strawberry fabric by Lecien, and I paired it with this fun ric rac fabric. The pattern is well put together, and I love all the different sleeve options. I think this would a great pattern for a beginner- it only took me two hours start to finish. Juliana loves it. She calls it her Strawberry Shortcake dress.

I then invited Felicity into the picture, and she was excited to join in the picture fun with big sister. She is wearing an old top I made for Juliana a couple of years ago. It is a pattern by Sew Baby called the "Easy Pieces Jumper".

Lets be honest here folks. Two year old moods can change on a dime. She happily took a picture with sister, but once I suggested one of just her I got this...

(Imagine a dramatic sigh.)

Try again?

No go.

New Kitchen Curtains!

I finished our kitchen curtains or valances or what have you! Yay! I bought this fabric back in October when we moved in this house, and finally...project complete. I got this fabric from Fabric.com for some ridiculous cheap price like $2.50 a yard. It is really nice and heavy, and I really like all the different colors in the stripes. I originally wanted to make all our curtains. Psshh. It wasn't going to happen. I made these and a valance for the girls' room. Good enough. So I went on a curtain rampage both buying and sewing last week, and now five months later all our rooms have curtains. They really do make such a big difference for a room!

It is also incredibly difficult I found to take good pictures of curtains. I used Simplicity 4497 for these. They really are just simple long valances folded up every 18" inches or so to give the folded look. Very easy.

Also in the shop I have the three new Anna Maria Horner patterns! The ziz zag dress really is so pretty!

Pinwheel Blocks!

So, I couldn't resist this quilt-a-long. I really did make these first ones last week! I was going to use only Anna Maria Horner fat quarters for this, but I started going through my scraps, and...and well, I just love putting scraps to good use. I am hoping for a more rainbow effect. I decided to go with Kona cotton ash for the solid. I was really nervous as I started cutting and thought I made a mistake. I love white. I know white works. I really like the look so far though. My seam allowance in that first block was off. So disappointing. I will make another (just not right now). :0) I was sewing at midnight though. That is an excuse, right...right?

These are the second week blocks. I love those birds!