Pillowcase Dresses

 

Mylinh and I decided to make pillowcase dresses for the two 2 year olds in our lives

(BabyGirl and "I").

 

My machine was still in the shop at the time but My graciously offered to let me use hers!

 

It was a bit strange to use a "newfangled" machine but it did the job nicely. My even gave me a tutorial on bias tape making...and she has a short cut way of doing it to save a bunch of time (having to sew all of those bias strips together--ugh!).

 

We used a pattern called "The Betsy Dress". Just google "Pillowcase Dress" and you'll find a number of patterns. You could even just use a nice pillowcase, and save some sewing time.  You can also just use pre-made/bought bias tape.

 

I chose DARLING and I and I mean cute cute cute elephant fabric. Sigh. With a teal/grey floral fabric to compliment it.

 

Alas, however, I'd forgotten about a genetic predisposition of elephant phobia (I's mama was afraid of a pink elephant birthday cake once upon a time!).

 

It took several weeks for I to act willingly wear the dress.

 

 

Totally cute, if I do say so myself!

 

Though I will say, her expression is rather revealing. Clearly, she tolerates elephants but does not love them. LOL

 

Check out her reaction to her new Elmo doll (crocheted with love by her Auntie Way Way):

 

 

Yep, that's Elmo love right there. The elephants, well, not so much.

 

What is an auntie to do???

 

Actually I went out and bought some Elmo fabric, determined to make a garment that she will like!

 

LOL

 

I've made several other pillowcase dresses since. They are really quite quick to whip up.

 

 

Here I stuck with the elephant theme, but went for store bought bias tape.

 

 

 

And here'a a cutie waiting to be sent out. The best thing about these dresses is that they can be worn over a shirt and leggings for cold weather. They can even be turned into shirts. They are very giving and flexible. "I" won't out grow hers for quite a while. Maybe she'll learn to like elephants a little more between now and then!

 

Until next time, happy crafting!

Phat Cat Summer

I was as lazy as Busy Bee this summer when it came to posting on this blog!

 

 

The heat hasn't helped...Busy is a big boy and this heat and humidity has really been getting to him.

 

Poor lovie ;0)

 

My mom asks me if I've thought about shaving him for the hot weather but I just can't do it. He's a vain cat and very handsome. He might develop a complex if I change his appearance that much.

 

Suzy isn't fond of how hot it's been getting, either,  but generally takes life in stride.

 

 

There's always room for squeezing in a cat nap in a tight corner. ;0)

 

Silly Susa!

 

I got my sewing machine back and conquered my first dress (with the help of my talented friend, Mylinh) and had some adventures with burlap and lace. I'm also working on more blankets/quilts for Christmas presents. I'm celebrating "National Sewing Month" in style and starting my first sewing class this Saturday. I can't wait to show you what I've been up to and keep you posted on my new class projects!

The Cat's Meow

I've always loved cats. My first word was, according to my mom, "meow" and it was said in reference to a cat that I'd just seen. My first cat was a beautiful, though skittish and aloof, Calico named Oreo. Over the years, she by and far became "my" cat and I'm sure she's up in cat heaven, furious with jealousy that I've adopted Phat Cat and the Princess. She was quite possessive, lol.

I was 8 before my dad gave in and allowed us to get anything bigger than a goldfish or hamster (though he was quite fond of the finch, "Jay Jay" that we adoped from our neighbors when they moved). I loved all things cats as I begged and pleaded and waited for my dad to give in...and my extended family fed my love for cats any chance they got. (My dad never stood a chance!)

In circa 1980, my Grandma W. made my cousin and I matching cat blankets for Christmas. There are a number of embrodiered panels. I still have mine. :0)

Recently my sewing machine jammed up pretty good. It's a hand-me-down that I inherited from my aunt when she passed, and it actually belonged first to my Grandma W. She has upgraded her machine a few times since 1980 and mom found an even older machine of my Grandma's in storage and I gave it a try since the repair price was going to take a bite out of my budget. The tension was off which led to funky seams and I eventually had to give in and decide to repair the one I've been learning on. But the cool part was that the older sewing machine was the one that my grandma used to make the cat quilts. I loved sewing on it, knowing how much time and love she has poured into her crafting over the years.

Eventually my plan is to get the older one repaired along with my mom's old Singer so that E and G can have machines to fulfill their dreams of learning to sew modest clothing for themselves. :0) But in the meantime, I'm counting down the days until I can get back to my sewing projects and doing some knitting. More on my knitting projects to come!

Baby, It's...well...not cold...not yet!

In the middle of a beautiful SoCal summer and what am I doing? Making blankets! In my defense, I'm making Christmas gifts...pretty darn early. It might  be a record! The idea started with a piece of floral fleece that I saw in the remnent bin at Joann's Fabrics.

I kept ignoring it but after a few trips, I finally couldn't resist it. I saw that it was over a yard in size, making it perfect for a no-sew tied ends blanket for my toddler-aged niece, I. I hadn't made one before, but I found a great tutorial online at CustomScrapbookMaker.

She gave several good tips. One was to cut out a square shape from all four corners of the blanket before cutting the fringes. I also picked up the idea to tie every other set of ties, flip the blanket over and do the rest.

I picked a contrasting pattern for the backside that was on sale. Oh, and the BEST part of deal? Joann's remnants are automatically 50% off...BUT if the orignal price goes on sale, the remnant ends up being half of the SALE price. I made this blanket for just around $10!

I've picked up several pieces of fleece in the remnant bin and matched them with solid fleece pieces which have been on sale for 40% for the past several weeks. Each blanket (some 1.5 yards) will end up costing between $10-$14 each. Not bad for a baby shower or birthday gift idea.

I plan to make rag quilts for G & A and have got some terrific prints to work with...but for baby G's blanket, I've cheated just a bit.

Joann's sells this amazing fabric that is already quilted for you...out of darling prints and minky fabric. I found this jungle piece...in the remnant bin, of course! I picked up the minky with a 40% coupon. Since Arizona mountain winters get cold, I layed a thin piece of batting between the minky and the front fabric. Boy, is that quilt going to be warm! I sewed it with the right sides facing in, left a small gap and turned it right side out. Then sewed another seam all the way around. The only particularly fancy method I used in making the quilt was to round the corners (using a salad plate as a template). And viola! Two Christmas gifts already done and it's only July! Woohoo :0)

Pink with Happiness

A dear friend of mine from high school is getting married this summer!

I hadn't seen her for ages but if I know one thing about her it's that she adores the color pink! (She also loves hearts.)

The lovely ladies at her church hosted a bridal shower for her and rather than going the traditional registery route, I decided to make an apron and some other kitchen goodies.

The bride love it! In fact, she wore it for the rest of the shower. :0)

I also attempted potholders using a product called Insul-Brite inside to help the potholder retain the heat of the pan without transfering it to the hand of the bride.

Let me tell you, it was a LOT of layers to sew with some batting put in for good measure and a pocket in front for a better grip! I tried my hand at quilting for the first time and I actually was pleased with those results.



The biggest challenge was sewing through all of those layers and having the sewing lines come out nice and straight on BOTH sides. In short, the backside of it looked awful the first time I tried it. It was actually even harder on the second potholder for some reason. In fact, originally the bride was going to end up with three potholders but she got two because by the third I was done picking out all of the seams over and over!  s

It was also my first use of bias tape. Both the potholders and the bias tape tutorials I used came from Prudent Baby.

For fun I also embellished some plain white utility dishtowels in a similar manner as I did the embellished burb clothes. Just cut, folded edges and sewed. Whenever I do this again, I'll add lace or ribbon to pretty it up. :0)