Modeled photos!

I get SO excited to see my nieces and nephews in things I make them!! I love seeing pictures of them period, so with them in something I made is just the crème de la crème. I made matching outfits last Summer for my niece Sarah and her best friend. Here is a picture of them together in them!

How sweet are these two? My sister's friend is an amazing photographer and she took these pictures of the bffs for posterity!

And here are photos of Sarah in the butterfly dress I made a while ago! Sarah had a butterfly show-and-tell day at school and was excited to wear it.

It was a windy day. She's the cutest thing!

Pokemon and Barbie

It has been a while since I've shared any sewing so here are some pajamas I made for nephew and niece.

Pokemon jammies for Sam! I actually made these a couple months ago, or at least finished them then. This applique was a bear with all the little pieces, but I love the results!


Modeled picture!

Sam... I love you. Is it weird that I cannot see a picture of my nieces and nephews and not want to be right there in the same room playing with them?

And here are some Barbie jammies I made for Sarah:

She asked for some at Christmas and I did start back then - good thing I made them big enough to fit in the fall still! I sent them to her last month. The Barbie head and name on the shirt are from a pillowcase I got on ebay for a dollar. Sweet!!

It is funny. I have sewn some clothes for Sarah, and when I started to do that, I worried that the boys would feel left out, but I think it is hilarious that no, they were fine... Sarah actually felt left out and wanted more pajamas! haha! I think it is partly the personalization that goes into them with their favorite characters, etc. Their parents don't love characters on their regular clothes (neither do I) so it makes jammies extra special. I am getting a wee bit tired of pajamas, but it makes me SOOOOOO happy when they love them, that I will probably make them for as long as they want them. At least a couple a year. I think/hope. I do have fun figuring out what to do for the appliques, and getting creative there, even though sewing them can be super tedious. I just want to work on other sewing skills. I am working on some construction jammies for Andrew and will share soon!

Some sewing!

It felt so good to get some sewing done before Christmas!!

Ooga Booga jammies for these three



Pictures courtesy of Tiff. She is such a good photographer!

Matching skirt and birdy top sets for Sarah and Elise


close-up of embroidered applique

Presents

Miss Sarah had a birthday a couple weeks ago. This is what I sent her:

A shirt I hotfixed with a rhinestone "5"

A set of jammies with a funny thing she said stenciled on them

and little treat bags for her and Sam

Here she is in her "5" shirt with flowers from her daddy for her flower party.

I just love this picture of her getting her toenails painted! I miss her and wish I could have been there to celebrate her birthday with her in person!

Got kid's art?

Well you have to go and submit it here! This guy is brilliant. He even says so himself. (Which makes me giggle.) And meanwhile, you gotta go check out what this word genius says about my niece Sarah's art. Remember to dance with the triangles today!

Worth so much more than money

This right here is what keeps me going.I mean, tell me that doesn't warm your heart. For me, there's no better gift. It is like the pure love of a child captured and put into an envelope and sent through the mail. This was Sarah's "thank you" for the clothes I made her. It is a labor of love, I tell ya. There's nothing like my niece, nephews and Jake to remind me that life is worthwhile and full of joy and beauty.

Oh my gosh I love the people she draws. From the banana/triangle people above to these guys with their awesome hair. I. love. them. (Don't mind the bleed-through from the other side of the paper - it just means there's another picture to enjoy.)

I think this one looks like a treasure map. See the xs to mark the treasure spot? And the little fish in the pond in the middle? And the maze that adorable little person had to walk through to find it? See those letters at the top? She does some good letters for only 4 years old! OK, end of love fest, but these made me so happy. Thanks Sarah!

2 New Outfits for My Little Sarah Girl

The skirt is Onion pattern 20021. The top is from Target, and the pin is made by me. My first hot fix bling efforts ever. I have been informed that Sarah now likes anything she thinks is "pretty". I hope she thinks her new outfit is pretty! (This is the same girl who refused to dress up like a princess at a princess party - which I'm sure was the dream of most of the girls there!)

Knit play shorts - Ottobre pattern 3/07 #10. Top from Target. These were fun projects!! I loved both patterns - pretty easy but satisfyingly cute!

p.s Suz, Kara, and Jana - your rice bags are next!

Sarah's new outfit

I heard that a cute little girl needed some Summer clothes. So, naturally, I got busy.

The flower has frayed edges.

I hope my little niece Sarah likes her outfit.

Farbenmix Olivia Dress -Warning: Bad pictures but cute dress

I am so excited about this dress!! It is from a pattern by a German company called Farbenmix and is called the Olivia dress. I have found that for the most part, European patterns have way better sizing than U.S. patterns. Not only are they much more consistent (you find your size, that stays the same from pattern to pattern, as long as you stay the same), they are just drafted for better fit in general!

This especially applies when compared to the "big 4" U.S. pattern companies: Simplicity, McCall's, Butterick and Vogue. Their sizing is all over the place and your size in one pattern doesn't transfer to other patterns.

It varies and if you really want to ensure a good fit, this would mean making a test version of almost every garment you made. (Yeah right! I'm lucky to get something made once.) Whereas with Ottobre (a European pattern magazine), once you find your size, it will stay the same for all the patterns you sew. Less work is always a plus in my book. On the other hand, the U.S. company Kwik Sew is a great company with good drafting and some independent companies are also great.

The right side looks like it is all funky here but really, both sides are the same! I love the cut of the dress and how it flares out.

My sister's camera is dying so these aren't the best pictures, (neither is mine - I need a better way to take pictures than on the floor!) but at least we get to see cute Sarah in her dress.

Sarah the model. I *LOVE* this picture! I love that girl! She hugged the phone last time I called them. I almost hopped on a plane!

Finished Sewing!

I have finished sewing a bunch of things!! I've had some things hanging around that I have been wanting to finish. I work a little here and a little there when I have energy, so things can take me forever but I am so happy these are all done! I am going to post the pictures over the next few days.

This outfit is for my niece Sarah. Here's the top - my dad said he hated it and it was the ugliest thing he'd ever seen. Don't hold back Dad. So I guess I'm curious what you think. Is it ugly/cute/in-between. Or wait, maybe I don't want to know. Be a little gentler than my dad, please. And Mom, you don't have to answer.

I don't know if the ties at the neckline will bug her, but hey, I thought it was cute. And that's what's important right? Well that, and that the receiver of the gift likes it too. And I learn more with every project so that's good too.

This skirt - I kind of morphed another pattern from a skort pattern to a skirt because I didn't have a basic skirt pattern on hand - I hope it fits and works.

Sewing Satisfaction

It is so fun to sew, and especially when it is really appreciated!!! I went to work on some jammies at least a month ago for Sam and Sarah. Then as time passed, I decided I could at least get them done for Sarah's birthday. Well, I did it! And not only did I get them done, but I added a special ingredient -- glow in the dark paint! That made these extra fun and I'm not sure the next jammies I do will ever be quite as exciting! I am just so glad they loved them.

Sam had glow in the dark jammies before and when I asked Sarah what kind of pajamas she wanted, she said glow in the dark! And Diego is her favorite character ever so I was super happy when I found this Diego and Dora fabric and it wasn't ugly like the other Diego fabric I'd found. When I asked Sam if he would rather Pooh and Friends jammies or dinosaurs, he said... "dinosaurs, as long as there's a T Rex on them." So here they are. The T Rexes are all outlined in glow in the dark paint on the pants and on the shirt applique, and the word Diego is outlined on Sarah's pants and shirt. I also did all the dinosaur eyes with the paint, and the star's eyes on Sarah's pants. These were really fun to do and I got so excited about them! The very best part of all is talking to these two on the phone and hearing Sarah say when it is dark, she can just look at the light on them and not be scared! And Sam said I was "the best tagmaker in the world" (I put flag tags in the pants because Sam loves flags and Sarah wants to be just like Sam!) and Sarah said I was "the best Nannies in the world." (All the kids call me "Nannies".) I think those are two of the best compliments I've ever gotten!

Two Silly Billies