Very Girly

I couldn't resist this linen and Liberty combination from Fashion Affair (my favorite fabric store here in UT). It was the fabric that inspired me to make this outfit. I drafted the blouse pattern myself - it is a rounded high yoke with a few gathers at center front and buttons up the back. The skirt is from this book. I will have to post a picture of Maryanna actually wearing it once I sew the buttons on. Right now there are just pins up the back and she is afraid of pins after getting poked a few times during all our fittings, I will say she has been a great sport.

Something extra for Clara

Clara is not exactly in need of any clothes this Spring/Summer. I just felt bad about not finishing the Easter dresses and wanted at least one matching sister set. The pattern for both the dress and shirt are from this book. She is a bit petite so the size 80cm fit her perfectly. The dress originally was designed for smocking but I opted for some quick pleats instead (I don't know if I'll ever do smocking again after all the work on the unfinished Easter dresses).

Bloomers and Blouse

These are two of the projects I cut out while on bedrest. The bloomers barely fit on the linen scraps from the previous outfits and the blouse is a light dotted swiss. Both the fabrics and flower shell buttons were purchased locally at Fashion Affair. I couldn't find the link to the bloomers pattern but the blouse pattern can be found in this book. It fit perfectly except the neck was a little tight - I ended up adding 1" for extra breathing and playing room. Otherwise I'd probably have to brib her to wear it.

Fun Summer Pants

Yuka's mom sent me the fabric and pattern book for these pants. They are a bit on the narrow side for Maryanna so next time I would add at least 1/2 inch for extra ease. I was able to use some of my Spanish lace for embellishment between each tier and for the back pockets and resisting the urge to make the perfect top to pair with them - an old HM t-shirt will have to do.

Knit play dress

The pattern for this dress came from this book-style P. The fabric was purchased last year when I joined the joy of sewing yahoo group. It is a co-op for buying discounted fabric from apparel manufactuers. This particular fabric is knit and the accent fabric is scraps from another old old navy T. I would not recommend using knit for this dress, I was just trying to use up what I had. Also I will note that it was rather wide and I ended up cutting down the shoulders, taking in the side seams, and shrinking the sleeves quite a bit. And once again opted for the quick use of the snap press instead of buttons.

Baby gear make over

Here are two projects I just got done for the newbaby. The first is a baby swing I got off craig's list - only 10$ but so nasty! I feel a lot better about it now after scrubbing down the frame with bleach and a toothbrush. I took apart the old cover and almost threw up in the process - it was not in good condition! I feel a lot more comfortable with the new cover I made. It almost looks like a new swing (except for the lost tray toys).

The second is a new cover for my Graco infant carseat. I orginally purchased the carseat in 2005 and chose the black and silver because it was the only non-gender style I could find. The problem with the cover was the fabric made the babies sweat really bad. So I carefully took it apart and drafted a pattern. I picked up this silver Micheal Miller print so it would match the canopy and save me some work. I was just quick to finish it because that would not be good if I went into labor with a car seat and two unfinished covers. The carseat is a Graco sung ride. I now have a pattern so if anyone wants a copy let me know. I saw some cute ones on etsy.com for up to 120$.

It was a BYU friend who inspired me on this project. You can check out all her cool projects here. Also check out her new business This is me journal..

Farwell My Faithful Pencil

By James

At the beginning of our homeschool year Mommy gave me a .5mm Zebra mechanical pencil - made in Japan. It was my first mechanical pencil. With this pencil I could write my chinese characters very acurately and do my math very quickly. I went really fast through my Saxon 6/5 mathbook. I even wore down the eraser. For Christmas I got a frying pan eraser and used it to erase mistakes, the pencil still worked. On March 21 I was about to do my math but my pencil had no lead. I tried to refill but it didn't work. I brought it to Mommy and we discovered it was jammed with little pieces of lead. We took it apart and tried to fix it but the metal got bent in the process. Then I felt very sad. As sad as if my best friend wasn't friends with me anymore. I felt sad all day, even in the night it was hard to sleep. I felt sad the next day. Mommy had the same pencil in her pattern drafting box and she gave it to me. I took this picture of my first pencil so I will never forget it. Now I hope my new pencil lasts longer.