A Summer Shirt For Jack

It's hard to sew for boys.  Cute girly stuff is easy to find and make, for the most part, but finding the same for boys is an entirely different story.  Which is why I was so excited to find the Kids Summer Shirt from Pox Couture on Etsy.  Woo-hoo!

I love his little tummy.

I love dressing my little man like, well, a little man.  Pint-sized button-down shirts are adorable!  (And since the pattern goes through size 6, I hope he's fan as well.  Because he's going to be getting a few more.)  I had just enough of this vintage print fabric from my Grandma to make the first one.  Thanks, Granny!

I'm really into this whole .pdf pattern business.  Printing and cutting the size I need from regular paper, as opposed to the flimsy pattern tissue paper is nice.  Also, the cats don't try to rip it to shreds for amusement. Bonus!

Love. This. Pattern.

I bought a pattern for The Brooke Dress by Brynnberlee Designs on Etsy the other day.  Something about the sweet, simple lines drew me in.  The little ruffled cap sleeves.  The pleats.  (The awesome instructions with pictures.)  Three dresses and I've had to make myself stop.

For now.  I mean, really it's been two dresses and a top.

I'll be making more of these for other little girlies I know.  I'm in loooove.

In case anyone ever wonders if Jack is neglected while I'm making Rory pose for her pictures... Um, yeah, he's good.

Big thanks to Jen for the retro kitchen plaid fabric!  Hey Jen, did you recognize the yellow/diamond bias tape on the previous post?  You're the best, Fabric Fairy!

***update***

Hi, Emily's-friend-Jen! You'll love this pattern.  Here is a full picture of Rory wearing one of her dresses, so that you can see the length on her.  I'd call it knee-length.

I'm Officially Biased.

I've been playing with some of my new birthday toys lately.

I made spritz cookies with my new fancy cookie press:

And I've been making yards and yards of awesome bias tape with my new bias tape machine.  I know!  Most people don't know/care what bias tape is, but I don't care.  I can now make it myself.  In my house.  With my own scraps.  It's so fun!  Bibs and other fused plastic things are going to get a lot more fun.

I love how this red and white striped fabric made bias tape.  Rory was a fan, too.

New-To-Me-Again Shirt

BEFORE

When I was pregnant with Rory, my good friend Kacy gave me a white gauzy hoodie.  I loved it.  She said it had never really fit her well and felt a little maternity.  It fit me (and the belly) nicely.  Fast forward four years and I still have the top.  Still love it.  Makes me think "maternity" because I wore it early in both of my pregnancies, but it isn't technically a maternity top and I can't get rid of it.  So I grabbed my trusty seam-ripper (we have a love-hate relationship) and my new scissors (thanks, Andrew!) and made a new version.

AFTER: It looks even better ironed, I promise!

I removed the hood, made a new neckline, then shortened and added elastic to the sleeves.  I took a piece of the hood drawstring and made a loop for the new button closure.

Happy Birthday, Landry!

A few weeks ago we went to sweet Landry's birthday party!  Her lovely parents collected gently used baby clothes for charity instead of gifts.  I thought it was a fantastic idea.  Rory was a little hesitant about not giving Landry a gift for her birthday, so we settled on making something small.  It doesn't count as cheating if the gift fits in an envelope, right?

Rory knows that "Baby Landry" shares her love of Nick Jr. hosts Moose and Zee.  We took the pattern for the no-sew Moose and Zee pillows from Nick Jr.'s website and scaled it down to make half-sized, sewn versions.  We hope she likes them.  Rory has been not-so-subtly reminding me that her Moose A. Moose that we made a while back is still missing a certain blue companion.

Happy Birthday, Anne!

Anne turned three...how can that be?  I made her a Black Apple Doll, this time with yellow corduroy hair.  I LOVE how the corduroy hair turned out.  Not sure why I hadn't thought of it before.  I've got several yards of this amazing yellow corduroy from Andrew's Grandma.  (I still want to make a yellow purse...)

 With each of these dolls I make, I try to sew their body/dress a little differently.  Anne's doll got a twisted pleat and lace combo and a little matching bow.

Happy third birthday, Miss Anne!

(Pretty Close To) Instant Gratification

This is why we usually have a clip in Rory's hair.
And yes, she decorated her brother with stickers.  Again.

I've had a remnant scrap of soft jersey fabric for several years now, intending to make Rory something out of it.  Last night I decided that I needed to make something quick and easy.  I needed a fix.  So I did the unimaginative thing and whipped up a simple skirt for the Beans.  It probably took five minutes.  (Side note: I still heart my serger!)

I grabbed an old pair of Andrew's boxers that were in my scrap pile (Dude, boxers have cool prints!) and made Jack a pair of shorts.  I love using existing hems.  I love projects that don't involve getting the iron out.  I love giving things a new life, like boxers, t-shirts, or old bedsheets.

I love that my kids genuinely like each other.

Let's go Mavericks!

The Mavs are in the NBA Finals!

I made the kids some Mavs shirts to help the team get a win tonight.  (Because that's obviously what was missing on Tuesday.)  I've been wanting to try Dana's 90-Min Shirt before and finally got around to it.  I think it holds pretty true to it's name.  I'll be making more!  I'm still in love with repurposing t-shirts.  A lot.

We'll make sure to have the popcorn ready and the shirts proudly displayed starting at 8pm tonight.  Watch out, Miami!