new wardrobe

It's getting warmer around here and that means it's time for light and airy spring time clothes. I have pinned a lot of really pretty kids clothes ideas lately, (see them here) and really wanted to make new clothes for lizzy since she is out growing a lot of her clothes. I sewed a super simple but really pretty floral top for Lizzy the other day. I got the fabric for a $1.50 a yard at Walmart. :) I have had some time to sew lately because the kids have been sick these past few days, and homeschooling is on hold while they cuddle on the couch watching movies. Lizzy got hit the hardest with a fever, bad sore throat and a cough. She slept on the couch for practically a week and finally perked up yesterday afternoon. So just us 3 girls went shopping for sandals, it was nice to spend "alone" time with Lizzy and have a little get away. It's so funny that going shopping with only two kids is a relaxing treat now that I have four. I feel a little frazzled at times but I really love having four kids. We already feel like Evangeline has always been with us. We forget that almost four weeks ago she was still inside me and we hadn't met her yet.

sewing again

Hello! I'm still here. I am recovering and we are all adjusting well over here. I have even found some time for sewing for Evangeline. I made her a kimono onesie with a pretty knit print I had left over from another project. I am editing the pattern a bit and planning on making a tutorial so be sure and check back soon. We all love out newest family member! She gets more beautiful every day.

last second preparations

With my appointment to turn the baby and a very probable induction coming this Thursday, I have been keeping busy trying to get things in order. Its isn't often that you know the real due date a week ahead of time so I am trying to take advantage of it. One of the things on my to do list was to get the baby's quilt made. This is the fastest quilt I have ever made so far. I finished it in two days! I would've liked the top stitching to be a little straighter but I am not a perfect quilter. But I believe when something is made for you by someone you love it is treasured even with all it's flaws. I love that all the patchwork fabric is from the thrift store, most of it vintage, because that makes it a little unique. The color scheme evolved by itself after I saw the fabrics in my craft room unintentionally stacked together. It was super fast to make because of the simple square patchwork pattern. I wanted it to be a soft blanket so I chose this super furry plush stuff for the backing. (I got it on sale at Jo-Anne's.) It is sure to be her favorite blanket since all of us think it is fantastically soft and cozy. Seriously we cant stop rubbing it!

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no sew applique shirt

A few weeks ago I made Lizzy an shirt with a girls face on it. I really love how it turned out! I did some sewing to make the eyes nose and mouth but no sewing at all to attach it to the shirt!

 It's ironed on!

 

Trent took the nice camera ( a Nikon D-80 if you're curious) with him today, to take photos for paintings, so the kid's digital camera will have to do for today.  I actually really like how the photos look with this camera. (I did have to warm them up a bit in Photoshop though.)

 I am for sure going to post about how I did it as soon as I get some quality time with the nice camera. 

fairy costume

Here is the finished fairy costume I made for Lizzy. I am so happy with how it came together and so is she!! Her request was that it was a "wow" costume. Last year she said everyone said wow to her brothers fully lit robot costume and never noticed the owl standing next to him, and I am sad to say she was right. Even a hand made adorable owl doesn't get the "wow" when there's an awesome robot with blinking lights.  So, as you can see, I went all out for her costume trying to make sure it was a "wow" costume.  I think the entire outfit as a whole comes together and creates the wow but if I had to choose the piece that adds the finishing touch it has to be the felt flower crown / head piece.  It has glitter all over each flower and adds a goddess feel to the entire costume. the dresses is just a simple chiffon rectangle with a hole in the top and sides for her head and arms. The head hole was cut extra big and has elastic in it to gather is together and give it a Grecian feel. It would still look like a bag if it weren't for the long ribbons that tie on the wings, they criss cross over her chest gathering the dress in and making it look more finished and pretty. She wears a leotard and tights under the dress for modestly since chiffon is sheer, but the costume is made to be able to wear a long sleeve top and leggings underneath to keep her warm. I made gloves so that on Halloween night she wouldn't freeze her little fairy fingers off. They're just dollar bin gloves from Joe-Annes. I cut out leaf shapes from felt and glittered them, then simply hot glued them onto the wrist to make a bracelet effect. the wings I made after seeing this how to video on you tube. I loved the idea of burning holes into the nylons to make the wings seem more fragile and petite. After I shaped the wigs and put on the base coat of pink and green paint, I had my Trent help me with the hole burning and painting the brown vein accents. Thanks honey! :) I then finished the look by glittering and gluing jewels all over the place.

When it was done she wore it to a fall festival trick or treat at the gardeners market and got tons of audible "wows", I think my job here is done!

Last years costumes

I just realized that I never posted pictures of the costumes I made for the kids last year. It was probably because I finally finished them on Halloween day. There was a robot with real lights, a pretty little owl and baby robin hood. I cant wait to get working on this years costumes. If only they would make up their minds. :)

What costumes are you making this year?

Another quilt top finished! { and a pattern of sorts }

Remember the bunting slash pendant quilt from these other posts? Well I finished piecing it! I am so happy with how it turned out!!

I chose a primary color theme and decided to do a mix of traditional and modern fabrics. I love that it is simple and each fabric is showcased by the white surrounding it.

Let me tell you a little about it in case you want to make one too.

• Each triangle measures 5x8x8 in.
  
• There are 96 colored triangles and 102 white muslin triangles.
• Sew the 8 inch sides of the triangles together alternating between colored and white.
  
•  Make 6 sections (or strips) of 17 white triangles and 16 colored ones. 
• Each triangle section/strip begins and ends with a white triangle.
  
• The 5 strips of muslin between the triangle sections are 9 in. x 70in.
• The top and bottom strips of white muslin are 4.5 in. x 70in.

I'll be sure to share the finished product all bound and quilted! :)

I honestly can't believe I made a quilt by myself!! I always said that of all the crafts, quilting was the one I would never be able to do. But I figured it out pretty good I think. It really turned out better than I thought, I figured all the tips would get sewn into the seams but somehow they didn't!

I also remember saying once that quilting was a stupid craft because you take perfectly good pieces of fabric and cut them up just so you can put them back together again. Well, people change and I take it all back! Quilting ROCKS!!!!!! :) And I hope to keep making more and more!

On a  completely different note,  we found a baby robin that fell out of its nest today. 

 I heard it crying while I was outside taking photos of the quilt. It's so adorable an tiny! We fed it half a worm and them put it back in the nest. It seems the parents had no problem with us handling it and are taking care of it again. :)

Road trip preparations

We have a road trip to plan and I am so glad we are feeling better. Thank you all for the well wishes and kind words sent our way. You are all so sweet! :) 

Last year I brought my sewing bag and did some hand sewing in the car. It was such a good distraction to have during an 8 hour trip. I was surprised that I didn't even get car sick. 

I will for sure bring something to work on this time. Maybe I 'll cross stitch a pillow or crochet something.

Bringing some roses from the garden helped the car smell great! (I know it's totally random to bring flowers but I didn't want them to bloom and die while we were gone so I brought them along! )

 

Every July 4th my family gets together for a reunion of sorts. We usually have a themed party to make things that much more fun! (Click here, here and here, to see the different themes from past reunions.)This years theme is Pirates. Awesome right?  I am so excited! Take a look at my pirate pin board to see some great inspirations and ideas.

I made a list of what I need to get ready before we go.

•  Cross stitch stuff

              -Floss
              -Needles
              -Fabric
              -Embroidery hoop

• Crochet stuff

              -Hooks
              -Yarn
              -Scissors

• Pirate stuff

              -Jolly roger flag
              -Pirate dummy (As requested by my mom, I'm excited to find out what he's for.)
              -Pirate dress ups
              -Pirate photo booth back drop

Trent is at Art on the Lawn all day today, I miss him. the goal is that he will return with less paintings and more money! :) Lizzy went with him to sell her paintings too. I hope she has a good experience! Ever since she made 10 bucks selling deflated balloons in front of the house a few weeks ago she has been obsessed with money making ideas. I hope this one goes just as well for her.
Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend!

quilt top

I finished my very first quilt top! My amazing quilting sister helped me a lot! Thanks Annie Carie! It's a little lap quilt made from long pre-cut fabric she bought for me as a birthday gift. I can't remember the name of the fabric line but I know it is sold at Jo-Ann's. :)

I really love the color scheme. I actually just bought similar colored ginghams and dots at the thrift store. Maybe another quilt? :) 
Were having a rough time over here with my husband busy getting ready for an art competition and baby boy being sick. He finally kept solid food down right before bed. Curse that church nursery class! He has only been in nursery for three weeks and he got hit with those nasty germs pretty hard! :( We'll pull through. I'm confident the worst is over.

Hope you all have a happy week full of happiness and health.

striped baby tunic

I am a little late for Dana's boy clothes week, but I still wanted to share the little striped tunic I made for my youngest. I made up the pattern as I went but it 's basically this ,and this combined.
 I used and old orange t-shirt and a blue (super faded) baby blanket I had saved for making kids clothes.

I sewed this pant suit for my daughter last week. i love it! I made it up based on some awesome kids clothes I have seen around the web. I took the photos before I ironed it so forgive the crease in the waistband. Eventually I will post a little more on what the pattern pieces looked like so you can try and make one too if you want. :)

Tutorial: Picnic basket liner with pockets

 

Hello, Delia asked me to participate in Color My Summer this month and I am super excited to share my tutorial with you!  

I am going to show you how to make this cute picnic basket liner. :) I'd had this idea for a long time and I'm happy to finally have it come to fruition! For more on why I chose yellow, check out my intro over on Delia's blog.

One of my favorite parts about this picnic basket liner is that it has huge pockets!  Seriously, the largest pocket is big enough to hold an entire loaf of bread! :) The smallest pocket is just the right size for silverware, and I made sure the rest of the pockets were big enough to fit our cups.

Here is a list of everything I fit in the basket for our little picnic.

• 2 plates, but it could easily fit four. (in center of basket)
• Bag of spinach (on op of plates)
• Salad dressing
• Silverware
• Bread loaf
• Peanut butter
• Jelly
• Bag of baby carrots
• 2 glass cups 

Now that's a heck of a lot of stuff! I am so excited that I'm already planning our next picnic!

 Lets get started.

Here is what I used:

• 1 bushel basket.
• 1 piece of 60in x 17in piece of yellow gingham for the liner.
• 1 piece of 60in x 10in piece of vintage floral for the pockets.
• 14in x 14in  piece of yellow gingham for the bottom. (this will eventually be cut into a circle)
• Bias tape. (Made from left over fabric from another project. I used Dana's tutorial.)
• Yellow thread.

Step 1: Okay, the first thing you want to do is sew a zigzag stitch on all the raw edges of your fabric.

I didn't do this at first and I had fraying and threads everywhere, so I did it at the end, which ended up being a little difficult; so I recommend doing it before you start anything else. 

(Also don't forget to zigzag around the bottom piece after you cut it into a circle.)

Step 2: Hem the top of the entire 60"x10" pocket piece and sew it at the bottom to the gingham liner piece. (see illustration below) (Remember don't sew at the top of the pocket piece or you won't be able to use the pockets. )

  Step 3: Sew the dividing lines for the pockets. I made my pockets different sizes, but you can make them any way you want. (To make sure I was sewing straight I flipped it over and followed lines in the gingham fabric.)

Step 4:  Fold fabric in half with right sides together, and sew the raw edges together to make a tube shape. (see illustration below)




Step 5: Cut 2 rounded notches on opposite sides of the top of the liner, to accommodate the handles on the basket. (see illustration below) These should measure about 5in deep and 4in wide.

Step 6: Sew bias tape around the top straight edges.

Next, sew bias tape around the handle cut outs leaving long strands for ties (see below). I cut two 40in lengths of bias tape and made sure the ties were equal length on both sides of the cut-out. 

(If you are new to bias tape see Dana's post on how to sew it on.)

 Step 7: Cut the 14x14in piece of fabric into a circle by folding it into fourths and cutting off the corners. I drew a dotted line, (see illustration below) staying 7 inches from the center corner, and cut along the line. Super easy :) (Remember to zigzag the edges of the circle before you move on.)

Step 8: Gather bottom of tube piece in preparation to sew it to the circle...here's how: Without back-stitching, straight stitch along the bottom of the entire tube piece, leaving enough thread at the end to grab onto.

Next, pin the circle to the tube on four opposite sides (see illustration below). The idea is to equally distribute the extra fabric on the tube piece between the pins.

The next thing is to simply pull on one of the threads, and you will see it magically gather like a ruffle. Only pull until it's about the same size as the circle piece. (see illustration below)


Finally, finish pinning the gathered piece onto the circle piece, and straight-stitch them together like normal.
It's finished!  Put it in the basket and look at your glorious creation!

 There you go! Now go pack up all your deliciousness, pick the best sunny spot, and have a picnic! You don't even have to go very far to have an adventure; we had our picnic in the front yard!

We had a blast! It was such a nice day too! In fact we all got a little too much sun, so don't forget to pack the sun block! There's plenty of room for it in the basket thats for sure! :)

Thanks everyone for stopping by, (and thanks for inviting me, Delia)! This was so fun! :) Summer is the best, and I can't wait till it's here for real!! It is raining and cold right this very moment, and I just got freaked out by some seriously loud thunder!
Have a great rest of the week everyone, and have an awesome picnicking weekend ! :)

(The sticky tape and old photo frames I used are free downloads from fuzzimo.com)