Doggy Heart top

Remember the tiered skirt?  I thought it would be cute to have a matching top:

I couldn't find a top pattern I liked anywhere  (OK, I didn't look farther than my stash of patterns)  so I drafted my own.  I really like how the puffy sleeves turned out.

Missy T loves it!

UFOs—the needlepoint edition

I have a number of UFOs (UnFinished Objects) hidden in cabinets and crates. Shoved into closets and under beds. Some hide in plain sight (where I’ve gotten so accustomed to seeing them they have blended into my décor to the point I rarely acknowledge them for what they are).

I don’t know why I’ve stalled on these projects. After (in some cases) spending hours on them, for various reasons I’ve put them away only to find them again when I least expect it.

Case in point: my needle work.

I’ve done a lot of needlepoint over the years; it was my creative outlet of choice up to about 8 years ago when sewing became my go to craft. Some stalled projects I look at with fondness and wonder if I’ll ever finish them.

Windswept Santa Tree skirt:

Out of the three Santas I’ve only done that much of one…the other two are still a dream away...a dream which I began 7 years ago.

Then there are the labs…

Can’t remember when I started them, but I recently pulled the project out again. I thought I could take it with me to all the places I schlep the kids to…give me something to do while I wait. Hasn’t happened yet.

LOOK! Poker dogs! One I actually finished. Sort of. I never did do the outline/detail work on it. When my son saw it he claimed it as his. Guess I ought to get it done and framed.

These three pieces lived together behind a cabinet door until recently. The sad thing is I know there are more behind different doors, on different shelves waiting to see the light of day….

I’ll start with these three: attempt to finish, frame and check them out of the UFO universe they have been living in.

Easter Egg dresses and skirt

Yes, I'm one of those moms.  I like to see my girls in matching outfits.

I also like to see fabric which has been in my stash the last 7 years used up!

Another Daisy Kingdom print...the girls had no shirts which went with their dresses and skirts, so I made those too.

Sometimes it's nice to have a fabric store in your sewing room...but as nice as it can be, I'm still on my quest to destash!

Easter Egg printed fabric--GONE!  And for a change, just in time for the holiday!

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

Clothesline Bunny Dress

ahhh....the things I find in my stash have me once again saying: "glad I have more little girls to sew for!"

This is Daisy Kingdoms Clothesline bunny jumper panel--just cut and sew!  Bought 7 years ago to make for my oldest girl--didn't happen!  Somehow I ended up with 6 panels!  I guess I thought to make dresses for all the other little girls I knew at the time. Oh well, MissyD and MissyT are certainly enjoying the dresses now!

Fabric Easter Eggs

Inspired by Retro Mama and Sew Happiness I decided to make some fabric Easter eggs.

When I was younger I remember making similar stuffed shapes (I did balls, cubes, cones...) for a school project, so making these brought back some memories! 

My kids recognized them as eggs right away!  The largest was dubbed the dinosaur egg, the middle sized came from crocodiles (according to the 5 yr old) and the smallest are just plain ol' boring hen eggs.

We don't lack imagination in this house!

The eggs even got their own photo op outside today:

They now sit as pictured on my coffee table...that won't last long!  I'm sure the kids will be playing with them again as soon as they get home!

Vintage Linen

I recently decided to organize all my table linens—you know, tablecloths and what not. Since I’m the only granddaughter on both sides of my parents vast European family, and the only one interested in the crocheted, lace, needlepoint and other hand crafted items previous generations prized—I’ve had so much passed down to me that even I don’t know what I have anymore!

With my mom visiting I thought it would be nice to finally attach stories to the various pieces in my collection…then we came across this:

It’s a rough woven linen (obviously hand woven), and very nicely embroidered…the question is by who? My mom seems to think this may have come from one of my great aunts, since my grandmother on that side wasn’t much for needlework…for me, I can’t see it hanging in my house, or gracing my table but I can see it as an apron.

After some debate I decided to try to find some matching fabric and turn it into an apron, but I’ve been having a hard time matching up the texture…and I’m a bit apprehensive about sewing it into an apron. I feel like I’ve been entrusted with a piece of history and I should save it in its original format.

At the same time, I feel like I should use everything I have and enjoy it. After all, women all those generations ago made these things to use, not to store away and forget about.

I’d love to know what you think about this. To turn it into an apron or not? To save or to use?

Kimono Girls

A while back I had an idea to make little Kimono girl dolls (yes, it was for a party!) but the project never got off the ground.

I digitized three girls to stitch at a time:

After my embroidery machine got done, I did a sloppy stuffing job to see what they would look like and to figure out what I would have to change….

For some reason I only have one doll out of three…I think my girls “borrowed” the others.

After re-visiting this project I think I’m going to change a few things with the embroidery file and reattempt to make a stuffed doll out of this design…
What do you think?

kitty cat, kitty cat....

This little kitty is enjoying the sun...

She was embroidered on a store bought dress, has seen 3 girls wear her and was always a favorite of mine.

Alas, the youngest has outgrown the dress...so little kitty cat will have to find a new home.  Hope she'll be a favorite for another little girl.



Cozy fleecy pants….

Yes, spring is here and we should be thinking about lighter clothing, less layering and sunshine (I dream about the sunshine thing ALL the time out here in the Pacific North West)

Unfortunately, I’ve been running a fever/chills combo for the past 6 days and now I have an annoying hacky cough.

Will cold season ever end?

So I reached for my comfy cozy Chix Rule pants and remember that I didn’t share with you some of the other fleece pants I made earlier this year!

Disney bottoms: Mickey, Donald and the gang having a snowball fight & building snowmen—finally out of my stash after eight years!

I forgot about the bit of fairy fleece I had left over from a gift I made years ago…now it’s been put to good use as well!

I'll admit, my son got shafted in the fleecy pant department this year--but he's being a good sport about it and willing to wait until I'm feeling better...if you have an 8 year old boy, you can imagine the design ideas mine has come up with...and keeps coming up with...I need to get better before they become impossible to sew!

Me? I never procrastinate…..

Who me?  Procrastinate?  Put projects off to the side to finish at a later date? Nah…never!

I mean, would I be the kind of mother that starts a dress for her first (and for 6 years her only) daughter, places it away and forgets about it?  Would I be the kind of person to do such a thing?

Yup.  I hang my head in shame to admit that there was more than one project started for my oldest daughter that never got completed…this particular one only took five and a half years to complete.

Good thing I have two more girls to enjoy it…

Of course I do still have to hem and finish the sleeves…next time I’m at my machine that will be priority #1.

WARNING: Guinea Pig t-shirt...

My son was recently at a birthday party for a boy who loves guinea pigs!  He asked me to make his friend a t-shirt...and I was stumped!  I thought to digitize a guinea pig to embroider, but with everyone in my household being sick I just couldn't find the time!

Then my son pointed out the sticker on the back of the invited envelope...wish I had kept it to share with you all!  With a few adjustments we digitized the wording and ran a test embroidery which became a cute hanging pillow:

I like the way it turned out!  I like the t-shirt even more!

I was there when the birthday boy opened it and it looked like he was really happy!

Now my son wants one...he also wants a guinea pig...

I think he'll get the t-shirt...definitely not the pet!