Front porch project

Happy New Year friends! Today I am popping in with another quick sewing project. 

 
 
Despite my love for sewing and creating projects, I don't consider myself and expert seamstress. When Andy and I bought this chair and table set for the front porch years ago, I was NEVER a fan of the print. I mean, NEVER. But I put up with it for several years. Last week I decided to finally recover them. Since I wanted a quick project, I decided to skip including a zipper in the final project and slip stitch it close.

I am no expert in slip stitching, and to be honest, I kind of make it up as I go along. And that is exactly what I did for this project. I measured my cushions and trimmed out the pieces. I pinned some pieces together to figure out how I could create and box pillow to leave myself an opening in the back to slip stitch it close.

After turning it right side out, I had a moment of panic when I realized I had to squeeze the larger front end through the smaller back opening. But the cushion was forgiving as I almost folded it in half and pushed and pushed and squeezed it in. Whew!

 

So for less than $12, I recovered these cushions and I can happily enjoy my front porch.



 

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!

Leah's apron

Hello my friends!

 

This post is definitely long overdue. If you follow me on Instagram, you would have seen this project already. But I am sharing it here on the blog, finally. On the home front, Leah has been a huge helper to me in the kitchen, from baking to mixing spices, you name it. So she needed a new apron. The one she was previously wearing was a bit too small. So I purchased a pattern, Simplicity 2555. I gave her a few fabric selections that I saw at my local sewing studio and let her pick. She helped me cut out a lot of the pieces and probably sewed about half of the entire apron, including the pockets. This was her first time ever sitting at my machine and I am so proud of her.

 

 

 

 

 

I can't wait to share with you my next sewing project. It's complete and nicely wrapped for it's recipient. Since it is a Christmas present, I cannot share it until after the holidays. Have a great week!



 

 



Double layer twirl skirt

Every little girl loves to twirl around in a skirt. My little one is no different. Let's see, I think I purchased this pattern about 1 1/2 ago, cut it out, but never had the chance to make it. Well, I finally made the time. I made her fun skirt using McCalls M6066. Of course, I am kicking myself since I only bought size 3-6 and she turns 6 in August. But, since she is on the shorter side, I went ahead and made the size 6 so that she could wear it this summer and next, so not all is lost.

 

 

The fabrics I used I managed to pick up at my local sewing studio using 40% off coupons. Call me stingy, but when a pattern calls for a ton of fabric and I am using designer fabric, I will patiently wait for my emailed coupons.

 

The fabrics I used were Madrona Road- Wild Carrot in Straw and Mod Prints- Lil Plain Jane in Gray. I made my own bias tape per the instructions. Don't judge me too harshly.*wink* The pattern is fairly simple. Since I had never made a skirt with a drop waistband, I had to call on my sister for help. Thanks Eva!

 

So here is my little girl. When you ask an almost 6 year old to pose, you can get some pretty interesting shots. Ha! And I know she desperately needs a hair cut. That is happening today. Yay!

 

 

Here are some details.

Here is my little ham. If you look closely, you can see the ran falling off of our neighbor's roof. Yes, it had started to rain, but it didn't stop me from snapping some pics of her.

 

 

 

Winding up to twirl...

 

 

 

 

 

 

And one final shot.

 



 

That's all for me. Thanks for stopping by!

 



DeNami summer card and a skirt

Hi friends! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend. My sister and her gang came over to my neck of the woods for some shopping on Saturday, so we met up with them for some lunch and hang time. The cousins always have a blast when they are together.

Today I have a card to share over at the DeNami Design blog, Here is a little peek. I have been having some fun with my Silhouette, so you will want to head over and check it out.

 

 

 

 I also wanted to share a quick little project I made last week. A couple of weeks ago, I picked up some fabric on sale from Hobby Lobby. It's not super pricey to begin with and it was 30% off. I think my total cost was less than $4. So I made my daughter a lazy day skirt, no pattern required. I had hoped to snap some photos of the process, but just didn't get to do it. Maybe the next time I make her another one. My sister has made this skirt in less than 1 1/2 hours which included trimming her fabric. I told her that I think the longest time spent on this skirt is trimming your fabric straight and trying to get the best measurement for the elastic waitband for the little waist it will go around. It is really that simple. I made it below the knee length so she can wear it for 2 seasons.

 



Well, that it is for me today. I do have some fabric for the next skirt that I will be making for Leah. It does require a bit more work, but I do hope to start working on that soon. I also have 2 layouts from Joshua's baby album to share with you, too. Oh, and any time this week, my little girl will lose her first tooth. I guess it gets a bit more wiggly if you eat an ice pop which is pretty much ice. Please stop growing up so fast!!!

Long awaited

Yay! I have finally had to chance to photograph and blog my fabric creation that I had teased you with long ago. I actually finished it during the start of the Olympics, but with daily swimming lessons and Florida thunderstorms, I finally have the weekend and sunshine on my side.

These are the fabics that I used. The main bodice is from Heather Bailey's Freshcut collection, Groovy in Olive. The contrast fabric is from Sandi Henderson's Secret Garden collection, Vintage Ironwork in Leaf. These fabrics are sooooo yummy!!!!!

The pattern that I used is McCalls M6313. I used it to create two other tops for my daughter, one which was picked up for my first publication for Simply Handmade, Sewing. It will soon be in print for the Sept/Oct issue. Can you tell that I am on pins and needles with excitment. Since I had to send it away, I just had to create another one for my daughter to wear.

Here is a picture from the pattern.

This pattern actually calls for 3 different fabrics, but since I was only able to find 2 coordinating fabrics, it still works well. I encourage any of you who may be contemplating sewing to try this pattern out. It is rather simple since there is a lot of matching of raw edges. It does require 7 casings for elastic in the back bodice and making 2 buttonholes, but that is where the "difficulty" ends. It is a shame that I did not photograph the steps that I took in making this to encourage you to try it, but maybe I will remember for my next sewing project. Here are some photos of my precious, almost 5 year old wearing her new, fun top. I can't believe she starts Kindergarten in 2 days!

Here are some of the details:

The front bodice

The back bodice, including 7 rows of casing

The hem

I also thought I would share a few other photos from our "session". Some of these were taken in the morning and others in the evening. We know how cooperative kids can be.

This is what she did most of the time. If you look closely you can see the asphalt pebble diamond between her fingers.

And any photo session with my daughter would not be complete without a fake laugh.

Thanks for looking! Stay tuned to the blog. Tomorrow is the DeNami blog hop. Can't wait for you to join in the fun!

Happy Easter

He is risen! Easter blessings to everyone!

Today, I am finally sharing with you the Easter outfits I created for my son and daughter. I have given you a few sneak peeks, but now it is time for the reveal.

For those of you with young children, I know you can sympathize with me trying to photograph your kiddos together. Yesterday I managed to capture a few, but none blog worthy. So instead, I have some photos to share of them separately.

For my son, Joshua, I used the same Simplicty 2905 pattern used here.

For my daughter, Leah, I made McCalls M6271.

 If you look closely, you can see her sparkle shoes. They are so fun! This last photo was taken last weekend. It's the only one I could capture the back of the dress. All of the fabrics I purchased at Joanns. Since her dress calls for almost 3 yards of fabric, I am thankful I managed to use 3 different 40% off coupons.

Over the moon

I have a quick little update to share with all of you. I received news this week from Simply Handmade that a top I made for my daughter was accepted for publication for their September/October 2012 Sewing issue. It was a complete surprise and I am so thrilled.

The sad news is that I had to ship my garment to them and it will not return until after publication. I have my fingers crossed that it will still fit her when it returns. Only time will tell. Until then, I guess I have to make her another one in a different print ;)

Thanks for celebrating with me!

A few rompers

After I got home from work today, I quickly went to my son's room to pull out the clothes that I had mentioned from this post. Since he has outgrown them, I couldn't photograph him wearing them. So, you will have to excuse my poor photography since I don't really know how to photograph clothing.

The first pattern is Simplicity 2905. I made pattern E, but I did not add an applique.

 

The second pattern is Simplicity 4243. I made pattern C. I love the pintuck neckline and the adorable side pockets.

Thanks for taking the time to look. I have my fingers crossed that I will find the time to make him a romper for Easter. I also have a pattern for my daughter for a fun bubble dress that I hope to make for her for Easter as well.