Favorite Friday

I guess I'll take a little break from kid's clothes to share a favorite Friday with you. My favorite today...

This book. I hesitate to call it a favorite because I technically haven't made anything out of it, but let me tell you the background story. I saw this book at Sam's Club for $15. I thought that was a great deal and thumbed through it a little but nothing caught my eye (I probably wasn't hungry at the time.) I saw it again at the library on Monday and thought great, now I really don't have to buy it! On Wednesday night I started "reading" it and marking recipes that I wanted to photocopy and try. Here's how the book looked when I got done.

I figure with the (ridiculous) cost of ink for my printer I might as well just go buy it! So, today we are off to Sam's to pick it up. Hopefully that's all we will pick up. Buying in bulk is a weakness I have!

Like I said, I haven't actually tried any of the recipes yet, but I would describe them as simple, with basic ingredients. They aren't mind-blowing intricate recipes, just simple stuff you would actually make. I think of it as more of a "what to make for supper inspiration" cookbook rather than a "measure out exact ingredients and follow exactly" cookbook. Does that make sense? One major plus is that there are gorgeous pictures of every single recipe. I love that!

On a separate note, here's another favorite of mine today.





Thanks again Sara!

Hope you have a weekend full of favorites!

More Kid Clothes...

I'm cranking things out like a mad woman over here! I just need to remember to stop and share them with you! This outfit started with the top from Children's Place. It was on sale for less than $5. I was probably crazy to buy white, but it was too cute. I couldn't resist.

The little capri pants are made from a wild purple flower fabric that has been in my stash for a very long time...I'm guessing 4 years. It is heavier than a standard cotton and has some stretch to it. I love the funky pants paired with the simple top.

To tie the outfit together I cut out 2 flowers from the fabric to applique, but then thought of a better idea. Since it is a white shirt it is inevitable that it will need to be bleached so I didn't want to permanently adorn it. I took the two flowers and cut white canvas for backing then free-motion quilted the two pieces together. I added a little safety pin to the backs and they were done! (And so much fun! I need to free-motion more!)

Next up - two more pairs of capris, a pair of shorts, some more lounge pants, maybe another skirt and then some dresses (which means I will have to actually break out a pattern! Yikes!!) And then I supposed I should actually make something for me!

Happy Thursday all!

Kid Stuff...

I've got kid clothes on the brain these days. More on that later... Did you all have a good Easter? I certainly hope so. We had a great time with my family. (Thanks again for coming guys!) Sydney loved playing with all her cousins. She especially loved the egg hunt - here's a running shot of her finding one.

Anyway, back to the clothes. I am feeling very inspired to sew Sydney clothes for summer. We have some major expenses coming this summer (new siding and windows for our house - ouch!!) and this seems like an easy way to save a couple bucks - and it's fun! Here's what I whipped up today.

Some easy flannel pajama pants. Since we still have snow I figured she will still get some use out of these! Sydney thinks the Chinese lanterns are pumpkins!

I also made this little summer skirt. I used part of the twirly skirt tutorial (in theory anyway) to make the drawstring/elastic waist.

I made both of these during nap time. I did have to wait for Sydney to wake up to finish hems, etc. Otherwise it took almost no time at all! I'm currently going through the summer clothes I have for Sydney (clearance from last year) so I can make some coordinating outfits. So look out - more kid's clothes to come!!

Favorite Friday

Well, I can tell you what's not my favorite...looking out the window this morning and seeing this:




Seriously, it's Easter! Here's a shot of our deck - which had absolutely no snow on it yesterday.



On a happy note, Sydney is feeling much better today, just in time for my family to come for the weekend. Should be lots of fun. I'm hoping I will finish up these little guys before Sunday...


Chocolate Wee bunny anyone? I used some soft fuzzy brown felted sweaters for the back of these. I also shrunk the pattern to 75% - because anything cute is only going to be cuter in miniature, right? :)

Happy Easter all! I wish the rest of you warm sunshine and a renewed spirit.

Easter Twirly Skirt

I decided to go the skirt route for Sydney for Easter. It will be cold here for Easter (maybe even snowing) so the summery Easter dresses you see in every store would just get covered up by a sweater anyway. So I figured I would make a skirt and just pair it with a sweater she already has. (Not with the shirt pictured, but with a nice cabled cream sweater with a little bit of sparkle mixed in. And hopefully the sunglasses won't be going to church with us, but who knows.) (And please ignore the disaster in the background!)

I had an uncooperative model the other day when I took these pictures. And she isn't feeling well today, so this is as good as it gets.

I used the twirly skirt tutorial from House on Hill Road, but with a couple modifications. I made the band on the bottom a little narrower than the instructions called for. It just seemed more proportionate for these short little legs. I also skipped the ribbon in the waste and just went with the elastic. This skirt is seriously well, twirly I guess. There is almost 80 inches of fabric gathered up to make this skirt! Wow! I love how it's put together though and will definitely use the pattern again, with maybe a little less fabric next time. The waist ends up being a little uncomfortable because of all the gathered fabric - 80 inches smooshed into 18 inches is just a little too much I guess!

The fabric was a bargain from Mill End Textiles - 40% off of $4/yd. I had the elastic and cream accent on hand, as well as the sweater she is going to pair it with. So, a cute Easter outfit for less than $3. Not too bad! :)

An Easter Doll

Did you catch Emily Martin on Martha Stewart's show last week? She shared a pattern for an adorable doll that I knew Sydney would love. So I gave it a shot!

This will be Sydney's gift for Easter. But this is no Easter Bunny gift - this is all from Mommy! (I'm a selfish gift-giver, I admit it!)

My favorite part is her polka dot tights. I made her a couple little things so Sydney can practice changing clothes. Just simple stuff - a red felt skirt with velcro closure, an apron with ric rac ties, a wool jumper with velcro straps, and of course a little green scarf.

The face was a little intimidating. Emily's pattern says to paint the face on with acrylic paint. But this seems scary! So I used Sharpies. I felt like I had a lot more control and it didn't bleed much. It's not perfect...I've been trying to figure out a little smile or something, but I don't want to screw it up at this point! Maybe just some rosy cheeks will be enough.

I also made a little doll quilt to go with her. While it is what I had pictured in my head, I don't really like it. But it works and I guess I can always make another one later. (Try to ignore the binding - it's not sewn down on the back yet!)

If you try out the doll pattern, be sure and watch the video as I think Emily gives some good hints that aren't included with the pattern.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hope you are having a fabulous green Monday! I had a really productive weekend, it's almost hard to believe! Did some thrifting on Saturday morning, then spent the rest of my free time sewing up a storm. So I hope to have a lot of things to show off this week!

I was tagged by Sara from Luna Feliz to share 7 random things about me. Since I did something similar last week I thought I would share 7 projects that I hope to make next. Call it a little preview for 2008 - because it will probably take me that long to get to them all! Anyway here goes!

1. Fabric crown
2. A rice bag using Wisecraft's tutorial.
3. Soft turtle for Sydney (plus a couple extras to have on hand)
4. Placemats
5. Summer clothes for Sydney
6. Jewelry rack for my bathroom
7. Rug for my kitchen

Sad thing...that was just off the top of my head. If I checked my "list" I could go on for days!