Little Girl Dress

In my free time, ha ha, I sewed this darling dress for one of my darling girls. It was for her baptism and she carried the fabric around with her for a week to show everyone. 

This girly girl was baptized at an older age than my first one and I had such guilt about it. For several reasons, it never was the right time for her to be baptized. Looking back, I see the special story of each of my daughters baptisms that the Lord was writing just for them. 

See, I have written your names on the palms of my hands...

Isaiah 49:16

Baby Boy Blanket

I made this for a friend earlier this fall. He was actually born the night of my mother in laws funeral. It was nice to see life on that day. 

I really liked the multi stripey chevron fabric. I was even more pleased with the look of the wicker weave fabric with the multi stripey chevron. 

It was a nice masculine baby look. Yes, thats a term. 

happy stacker

For my third baby girl, yes, while I was away I had a baby, and a darling baby I might add, I created this happy stacker. I know that last sentence was a doozy of grammar. 

While I love how this turned out, it required my full attention. I am glad I sewed it before she was born and when I felt good in the 2nd trimester. 

Now, I did enjoy it once I figured it out. I was so proud of me! Basically, I created fabric pillow donuts. And 5 of them. They were cute. 

I have no idea when baby girl #3 while even notice this, but baby girl #2 enjoys it. But it makes for pretty decor in her nursery and I had a fantastic time picking out the fabrics. 

I am not sure I will willingly make one again. Ok, I would but when I know have time to devote to it and have the patience. Say 15 years?

Baby Girl Blanket

I am on a baby blanket roll these days. Lots of babies! 

Haha. My toes made it in the pic too. 

I loved the way this one turned out and the colors were so happy. This little girl has been born and I know she looks just darling wrapped up all snug in this blanket. 

baby blanket for boy or girl

I sewed this baby for a baby due in August. Mom and Dad are not finding out what they are having ( how exciting!) and it makes it a challenge for moi. I like this challenge though. 

I thought that the bikes were so cute and adds a touch of whimsy. 

Happy baby!

Before and After: Dining Room Chairs

This is the old dining room chair, complete with pumpkin pie or was it sweet potato pie stain from Thanksgiving. Either way, it was time for a change. 

And here is the after. I love this fabric. Thank you to my friends at Chrysalis. It looks great in my dining room and looks fantastic with my curtains.  I love mixing and matching patterns. The watery blues and greens hide dirt and like I said, look good in my house. Now, to actually finish all the other chairs:)

quilting in progress

Slowly coming together... still not sure what I am making...

a project in waiting: white quilts

I was watching tv the other night/day ( who can remember anymore?) and I like to feel like I am getting something accomplished while watching. I don't know why. Although, a good old fashioned couch potato session can be super nice, with a side of my strawberry crumble dessert. 

Anyways, I cut these bricks out of fabrics I have from other projects. Maybe a table runner? Maybe a baby blanket? I can't decide.

 On the note of playing with fabric and laying them out in different patterns, one should really read The Gentle Art of Domesticity. Helps give words to what I do and want to do everyday at home. And just realized I have written about it before but called it by the wrong name. Whatevs. Still a fantastic book. The author talks about laying out fabrics, candy, cupcakes, etc in fun patterns. Patteries. Thats we call them around here.

Back to my fabric at the top...

I like the idea of them bordered in white. White- yikes! It just seems like its yelling out for mustard, coffee and little orange fingers. 

Yeah, but you can bleach them, put them back on a little wet and in no time flat.

I don't buy it. 

( FYI, I have been looking at a lot of sofas lately with my mom. White sofa and 5 grandchildren? Makes me have sweaty palms just thinking about it.)

But I might just go for it. Not the sofa. The white on a quilt. 

Aren't these nice?

Who knew I would ever like white? It sets off the other colors nicely. I will keep you updated. Got to wait until another Castle comes on.

No, really. 

an "anthropologie" outfit

I loved this idea for a sweet valentine's present. I am thinking about doing one for Easter as well or just maybe because.

The shirt I saw at Old Navy and knew my girls would like the butterfly. I sewed the skirt from fabric I bought that day, some Amy Butler something or other. But I thought it made the shirt so much cuter and had an Anthropologie feel to it because they were not matchy matchy. 

Ahh. And what a beauitful day it was! And a reminder of a sweet and simple valentine's day. 

hearts are always in season

I made 2 little dresses for valentine's day, although for little girls, hearts are always in season. Love that about them. And the carefree love of lavender. 

I had 2 plain pink dresses from Old Navy and jazzed them up a bit. I appliqued a heart on the top and added ruffles to the bottom. Girly girls loved them!

valentine's day

I know this is after the fact but one of the reasons I have this blog is to remind myself of things I have made and created to celebrate special days around my house. And we had a special valentine's day here. We had our cousins and another family over to decorate cupcakes. It was easy and delightful. 

My daughter and I pieced together this heart garland. I simply cut hearts from felt and she handed them to me as I sewed them together. It stood out so well against the white, and was a nice pop of happy pink and red.

Have I talked about this runner? I can't remember. The top was finished for the soiree but I still haven't finished the back. That's the boring part so therefore, I haven't sewn it yet. I already have plans for my next runner. It was nice because cupcakes and icing didn't get on it from the kids but it provides some pizazz. Plus, I can still sew something for the table. I could have used boring old brown paper but that is certainly not as fun for me.

I must admit, I made the cupcakes from a box. Gasp. I can't believe I was okay with it but they were good. Plus, one of my nephews is gluten free and I found the box to be easier. I will say, and I was shocked, the gluten free chocolate cupcake was better then the red velvet normal ones. 

Hope your valentines was stress free and enjoyable!

valentine's day quilted runner

I have been working on this puppy for Valentine's Day. It is a bit of a wonky styled runner. Say that 3 times! Wonky Styled Runner, Wonky Styled Runner, Wonky Styled Runner!

I like!

DIY ottoman of non perfection

I have been working on these puppies for awhile. In my head I have been. They were 2 ottomans I got from Target and they weren't anything special. Actually, they didn't match. With an on sale fabric, Viola! ( Yes, I know its voila.) Sewed a bit, stapled a bit and now my babies' babies have a home. These house our baby dolls. 

I see now how they aren't perfect, but I am not perfect, either. We go well together!

A Dream to Wear

I love this apron. I feel a tad bad saying that because I made it, but why not? The color combo is superb and its a dream to wear. I really think it makes me get work done faster and I am more happy to do it. Perhaps?

Here is the up close of the pocket. Generous size for holding random crayons around the house or your phone, or actual things used for cooking or baking. 

The top will actually cinch to fit you. Who would have thought, but its quite difficult to wear an apron and take a decent picture of yourself. So, this one below is the same fit as the one above. 

The apron is $45. I will be putting it on my facebook site as well. Comment or message me if interested. 

Say What? Birthday: Charlotte Mason Birthday Party

Fall is birthday time around here. I also thought summer was too but apparently when your family grows, there is more birthdays. Duh. 

For my sisters birthday party, we had a Charlotte Mason themed birthday party. Weird but hold on. My sister is an educator and loves the Charlotte Mason approach to schooling. You can read all about it here. Its kind of addicting to read about it, well, that has been my experience. 

Our cake was covered in coconut with a few blueberries and honeydew on top for a delightful surprise. My cake plate is a white hobnail vintage one. Love it.  

I am sad the above photo is blurry but what are you going to do? I cut up old books ( they weren't any good be assured of that ) and sewed a banner together. It was over my mirror on my buffet as well as the table. I then cut out letters in card stock and taped to the banner to spell Happy Birthday. 

My table was covered in a Heather Bailey fabric called Nicey Jane. I collected books from around my house and stacked up on the table. Childrens literature is key to the Charlotte Mason and living books as well. Confused about it? Read about it above. I also put bugs in jars and that was our dinner entertainment:) I found a frog and a pregnant wolf spider but was worried they might get out. 

Let that sink in. A pregnant wolf spider. 

My mirror over my buffet strewn with the book pages banner and pink pom poms and ribbon. I did like this decor. The pale pink was really great against the black with the old book pages and print mixed in.  

So, Happy Birthday Sister! 

Baby Blanket for Generations of Women

I recently finished a pretty blanket for a darling little baby girl. 

I wanted to use purple. I am working on changing the world one woman at a time and reinventing the royal, regal color of purple. Small doses is key. Check out my pinterest board on all things purple, plum, aubergine, lavendar, lilac and everything in between. 

I came upon doing it in purple because the mama of Baby Girl is a fan of purple. Or rather she is embracing the purple once again from her childhood. I added a dash of the chevroney green for grandmother of Baby Girl. The baby's grandmother is a fan of bright, limey green ( ok, this is not exact ) but I liked the idea of tying the generations of women together. Their stories and lives are woven together, just like a quilt and the fibers that make up its being. 

This is the quilt almost wrapped. What a fun surprise that awaits Baby Girl!

Go on and get cozy this weekend!

Happy Wedding Pillow

I recently attended a wedding shower for a sweet friend. Well, actually 2 friends. I am friends with the mother and daughter. I sent her this when she went off on her adventure.

I decided to make her a pillow for her gift. 

On one side, I used a neutral textured fabric. 

On the other, I used a velvet aqua that is a gift that keeps on giving. I have used this fabric for 3 projects now. Love it! 

I created a flange out of a tribal looking fabric that had the same colors in it. This is crazy to some, but it was a challenge for me to use a neutral! I was really pleased with how it came out and the bride loved it. 

rainy day ice cream social

During the rainy season aka this whole summer, we were bored. We had ice cream leftover from the night before and we had some spare toppings in the pantry. Therefore, we created an ice cream social. It was a delightful pick me up for a long afternoon. We started with the fabric and then built a turquoisey/blue and orange theme. It was happy and a bright break from the gray outside.

Pony Party

We had a happy pony party for my daughters birthday. We surprised her with a real live pony who came to visit Saturday morning and we took a few rides near the pond across the street from our house. It was an event! It was a super special memorable soiree. 

The cake. I used flowers from our yard along with plastic ponies I bought online. The icing was a pale pink and the turquoise cake plate was a birthday present I hadn't used yet. I am thinking of when I can use it next.

Isn't the cake pretty? I also created a lei for my daughter. The flower necklace was made from 2 different colored carnations. I strung the carnations together with a needle and thread. She had been asking for one and it went along with our fresh flower theme. 

The inside of the cake was a surprise. And surprise! It was rainbow. It really was a beautiful cake. 

 My daughter and I worked on the decor together. We painted styrofoam cups and then I strung them together with thread. I hung them from the doorways, mantle and large mirror over the buffet where the cake lived. 

just now saw the plastic bin in the fireplace- we had a leak, might have been nice to move it.

I used 2 extra cups for small flower arrangements for the table. The fabric on the table was glorious and super happy. I got it from Hawthorne Threads. Love those people- quick and great selection. 

I dyed coffee filters and let them dry. I then sewed them together to create the runner seen below and on my kitchen island. Surprisingly, it went pretty quick. 

We were able to squeeze in our rides in between the rain. It certainly kept the heat away and the bugs. This was the view from our front porch although you can't see the horse in this shot. He was there though!

Here was the spread plus a dirty counter in the background. Whatevs.

We had fruit, donuts, egg casserole, bacon, cereal and breads. It was fun to have a breakfast party. We had just our family so the pressure was off to have it all ready when they arrived and have a clean house:)

For drinks, I had different types of juices in little sippers. And of course, pink chevron straws. 

 Happy Pony Party! We all had a really nice time and it was a special party. My precious little girl loved it and my husband commented on a job well done and he is usually happy with a Pepperidge Farm cake. So hooray!