Pretty things to wear

When I found out that I was finally having a little girl after two boys, I was so excited.  I couldn't wait to sew adorable little dresses with frills and bows and ribbons.  Luckily for me, I gave birth to a daughter who's the perfect mix of girly-girl and tomboy.  You can often find her playing in the dirt and climbing on the jungle gym while wearing a sparkly holiday dress.  (Thank goodness for eBay and cheap dresses!  I'd probably have a heart attack if I saw her covered in mud while wearing a $50 dress.)  15 months ago, I got a new sewing machine and the fun began!

This was my first project after a very long absence from sewing.  I love how it turned out and that model of mine is pretty darn cute, too, isn't she?

Same pattern, different version of the dress.  This one was a "bubble" dress that had elastic at the bottom.  I later added a bow on a pin at the waistband because it seemed like it was missing something there.

A terrible cell phone photo of a pillowcase dress I made with a vintage pillowcase my MIL unearthed as she was cleaning out her late sister's house.  You can't really see the detail along the bottom, which is a shame because it's really beautiful.

Norah's (slightly wrinkled) Easter dress.  There are flower pins that should be along the waistband but someone took them off and lost them because they "really bugged" her.  There was also a matching purse, but that's since gone missing.  The girl child can be a bit high maintenance when she wants to be!

This year, I decided to make myself something to wear.  This was my Easter outfit.  The color on the photo is off, because the pink embroidery of the blouse fabric matched the pants perfectly.  The blouse turned out great but my first attempt at pants was not as successful.  I didn't do a very good job of reinforcing the seams before I trimmed them, and ended up with several blown-out seams before we even left for church!  Lesson learned, for sure.

I have a tendency to buy multiples of something I really like, and when I'm sewing, the same thing goes.  I loved this top so much I made it in 2 more fabrics.  It's been a go-to favorite all summer!

I hate that so much of the detail of this dress is lost in photos.  It was one of the most intricate garments I've ever made, and I was really proud of how it turned out.  It has a mandarin collar and pockets.  POCKETS!  Everything is better with pockets.  And I absolutely adore this fabric.  It was a dream to work with.

This lovely lady is my mom, wearing the blouse I made her for Mother's Day.  She loved it and looked so darn adorable in it.  This one was definitely challenging.  The pattern instructions were awful and I had to do a LOT of improvising.

Okay, this isn't something to wear, but it IS something I made.  I gave this to my mom as a little surprise.  It's a sunglasses case and a tissue cover.  This was my first experiment using the walking foot and quilting guide on my new sewing machine.  It was so much fun!

I have a drawer full of patterns (I can't get enough of those $.99 pattern sales!) and another drawer full of fabric, which I intend to use when the kids (finally) go back to school.  My next project is a corduroy jumper for the Divine Miss N.  Can't wait to start it!

Inspiration!

Ahhh, Joann Fabrics, you temptress, I cannot resist you and your holiday weekend sales and bonus coupons. And when you put the red tag clearance items on sale for half-off the lowest price, I want to give you big wet sloppy kisses! While I would love (and I mean LOVE) to be a fabric snob and only use super high-quality, fancy fabrics, my checkbook tells me that for now, I can only afford to buy fabrics at places like Joann.

Yesterday, I picked up about $125 worth of fabric for $15. There's just something about seeing that big pile of fabric in my quilting tote that gets me all hot and bothered. I have so many ideas and patterns bookmarked that it would take hundreds of yards of fabric to make everything. At least I can start something now!

I've been dying to make Norah a corduroy jumper for a while now. I found a cute pattern but corduroy is really expensive, and if I can't make something for less than I could just buy it pre-made, then I won't do it. This fabric was $2.50/yard. 2-1/2 yards cost me $6.11. Score!

I love this flannel! It's soft and cozy, and not too babyish. I've been hoping to make a rag quilt, and found a great tute on Jera's blog, which I absolutely adore. It's going to be simple, with just the two fabrics, which I will alternate to give it some interest. Don't know who the lucky recipient will be, but I think whoever it is will like it!

I want to add more fabric to this grouping. I'm really intrigued at the thought of using just black and white to create something. Don't you think these fabrics look gorgeous together?

I got three yards of this fabulous sheer material for a whopping $3. I think it was about $15/yard originally. It has gold metallic threads shot through it. *love* No clue what it's going to be, but I have some great blouse patterns and I think it would make a really pretty top.

This grouping is probably my favorite. I love the greens and browns and blues together! I've been scouring the internet for patterns and have narrowed my next big project down to two contenders: morning star or snowball. All that's left to do now is start cutting!

I have a lot more fabric stashed away, but these are the ones that are demanding my attention at the moment. (Does anyone else lie awake at night and think about their crafting? Sometimes I find that my brain goes a million miles an hour designing and redesigning over and over.)

Finally, I wanted to show a little love to two online fabric sites that I la-la-la-LOVE: Connecting Threads and Hawthorne Threads. Great prices, great customer service, fabulous fabric choices. You'll see quite a bit of their products in my quilts!