Oliver + S: Birthday Party Dress

Hello and Happy New Year!

I wanted to share a few photos of a garment I completed this past week.  The pattern is the Birthday Party Dress by Oliver + S.  The body fabric is Laura Gunn's Poppy Bouquet in Gray and the accent is Kaffe Fassett's Shot Cotton in Terra Cotta.  The fabric, thread and the pattern were purchased at Spool Sewing and the buttons were purchased at their sister store, Loop.  

I'm very happy with the outcome (especially since I started this in September!).  I've shared more info and photos on my blog if you are interested.

Howl-o-ween Scarf

A festive scarf for the newest member of our little family- our beagle, Heidi.  I had no desire to dress my little one up in an uncomfortable costume for her first Halloween with us, but I did think she needed something to show the spirit of the holiday.

This scarf/bandana was a snap to make, and best of all, I was able to utilize my stash.  I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out but I do wish I had made it to fit over her collar.  She didn't seem to mind this new accessory, but I do think she wore it to humor me.  (According to my boyfriend, at one point when I wasn't looking she attempted to eat it.) 

I'm thinking a turkey-themed (fit over the collar) scarf is in store in a couple of weeks. :)

Busy busy bee

Wow, I've been busy. Here's a hat and a bag - both finished up last night and both (of course) gifts. I hope to make some for myself soon!!

Keeping the sewing machine warm

My sister's birthday is next month and she travels a lot, so I thought this would be the perfect gift. I love the fabric! They were so quick and easy that I made 4 more for family members' birthdays and Xmas. It's never too early to start Christmas presents... :)

The Pillowcase Dress

I made my daughter this 'pillow case' for her nursery school graduation today. Perfect summer-wear and nice and easy to whip up. I had the fabric ribbon tie over one shoulder instead of the more traditional bows on both.

I love this Heather Ross Mendocino mermaid fabric line and can't wait to make more with it.

I also made a little matching head scarf. Super easy with some left over bias tape from the armholes of the dress. Now if I could just tie the scarf on without tangling and pulling her hair!

A couple more pictures can be found on my blog.

New Bag!

Oh.... sorry, didn't mean to be gone for that long! Here's a little bag I put together this weekend for a dear friend's birthday present:

She actually gave me these cute little buttons, so I decided to return the favor and use one on her bag:

It's hard to tell from the first picture, but the lining fabric has cute little line drawings of birds & plants, etc.:

Something Sweet for the Easter Basket

This will be the second year in a row that I've made the kids something a little matchy for Easter. How many times in a row do you have to do something before it is considered a tradition?

For this year, something extra sweet. I love this chocolate chip cookie fabric. I've finished up O's pants and have about 48 hours to make E's dress. Definitely cutting it close...


While I had planned to start building up my kids' summer wardrobes over the next couple weeks, I was accepted this week to participate in the Art Star Craft Bazaar at Penn's Landing the last weekend in May. Looks like the next 6 weeks will be dedicated to stocking up on inventory. Hope to see some of you there!

Pillow Cover- WIP

I'm a little disappointed that I didn't check this week's theme a little sooner... I've had this sail boat idea kicking around for a while... oh well, maybe I'll just be a week behind for next time!





Anyway, I have some new ideas that I'd like to try this year, and one of them includes some new designs for pillows and wall art. Here is a pillow cover in progress:

Sorry for the poor photo quality. And I did learn why we use embroidery hoops! (I tried without one & it's a little bumpy). The backside will be an envelope closure in a fun print. I'm not sure how I feel about the design yet. I guess I'm still experimenting. Any suggestions/feedback?

The Kai Shirt for O

My first foray into collared button-down (or in this case, snap) shirts for O.

The pattern: The Kai Shirt from Heather Ross's Weekend Sewing
The fabric: From the Robots line for Free Spirit
The source of both: Cloth and Bobbon, Narberth

Lots and Lots of Cupcakes

This week I made cupcakes. Lots and lots of them. Carrot cake with cinnamon cream cheese frosting, lemon with a lemon glaze, and 'black bottom' ones with chocolate chip cream cheese filling and buttercream frosting.

The green? These great little pinwheel cupcake toppers as a nod to my husband's work in wind energy.

For those of you keeping track, I also finally finished the county fair nightgowns from my post last week. Now onto some new dresses for the shop...

County Fair Nightgowns

I had hoped to have these finished today but they are definitely still in process. The end result will look like this and will actually be matching nightgowns for two sisters I know.

I think the coolest thing about these nightgowns is that they are being bartered instead of bought.

The mom of these girls is a landscape architect and, in exchange for the pair of nightgowns, she's going to do some consulting for us and help us figure out what to do with our yard. Now if she could only help us keep the plants alive...

Baby Gnome Outfit

The hat and pants have been made for a little while, but I did finally finish the shirt... is that cheating? The model is Jackson Grey, the newest member of our clan. Bookings can be done through the Gigglepotamus Modelling Agency (just kidding!).

Mushrooms and gnomes are all the rage this season, and we have both! Pants are a sage green fleece with elastic waist and a brown pocket on each side with appliquéd mushrooms. The shirt features a matching mushroom appliqué, and the red gnome hat completes the ensemble. Perfect for a day of frolicking in the woods!