School Sewing

I am spending a lot of time sewing school clothes this week. Maddie will start kindergarten & Sarah (who turned eleven this week) will be in 6th grade. I can't believe either of them are that big! Most of the clothes I'm making are for Maddie because Sarah doesn't like most of the styles I make anymore. I'll have to stick to making her church clothes I guess. She likes more casual things instead of pantaloons & sundresses. Luckily Maddie is totally into pantaloons & dresses. I had to rush to finish one earlier this week because she was determined to wear it to VBS whether it was hemmed or not. Today I'm working on Maddie's first day of school outfit. It is Dick & Jane fabric from a quilt shop. It's kind of busy, so I'm anxious to see how it turns out.

Sarah had her birthday party Saturday at Family Farm. They played on the zipline & wallered in the creek. I'm not sure if that is a real word, but that is exactly what they did. They had a blast. She got Rock Band from Uncle Russ & they have really enjoyed playing it. She is addicted to the drums, which is what she wants to play at school this year. This will be her first year to be in band at school.

I'll post pictures of the new clothes soon. Have a good weekend.

We just got back from church camp. I spent all week with 15 girls ages 9-12. Plus my 5 year old got to go since I was chaperoning. We had a great time, but I am worn out! I'll post some pictures of Fuschia Force (our team name) when I get caught up on my laundry. For now here is something I meant to post before we left. This is an appliqued T-shirt for my nephew's birthday. These are pretty much standard now for our birthday gifts. I use different fabrics to fit each child's likes. They are fun.

These are a few pictures we took last night

of the sky behind our house. It was just breathtaking. I have been making peasant tops out of fabric I bought from this fabulous quilting store. It is nicer, more expensive fabric than I normally use, but the outfits are turning out beautiful. I'll try to post some of them later. This week I have to get to work making 14 little girls aprons for Sarah's birthday party. I like to make something nice & affordable instead of sending the kids home with cheap junky stuff their mom will throw away when they aren't looking. I know you've done it too!

Fabulous Fourth!

We had a huge cookout to celebrate the 4th of July. About 50 people came. We grilled hot dogs and hamburgers, and had some great side dishes. Everyone brought something, it's nice to taste other people's favorites. We had black bean/barley salsa, baked beans, spicy spinach dip -yum! And of course there were way too many desserts! Sharon's banana pudding was the best. I made the girls coordinating outfits for the party. They also wore them to church on Sunday. Another sewing mama brought her little one in the cutest little vintage print romper. It had little old-timey kids eating burgers & having a cookout on it.

We had a pretty big fireworks display after dark. Everyone realy enjoyed it. We could also see the fireworks from the Lake display from here too. I had no idea they could be seen frmo this far away. We hadn't finished the house yet this time last year, so that was a nice surprize. I hope all of you had a great weekend also.

Here are some things I have made the girls lately. Both of these dresses are made using McCall's M 5370. I made Sarah's a little longer by lengthening each tier. Maddie's I made shorter by only using two tiers. I wanted her pantaloons to show! They are both made with $2/yard fabric from Walmart. I added a few pintucks on Sarah's bodice & I love it. I want to use pintucks more often. They add so much to something simple.

This is a few T-shirts I have embellished with yo-yos and an applique. I absolutely LOVE applique. I got the idea the flower with the yo-yo center from a poster on craftster.

As you can see, I don't update very often. I have been busy this past month sewing & going on vacation. I did a couch & ottoman slipcover for a friend, then I have been sewing up outfits for the girls like crazy! I will try to post some later, after I get pictures taken. We just got back from Disney World. We had the best time. The girls got lots of compliments on their appliqued birthday T-shirts, so that was nice. Now that summer is here I will try to post more often. Have a great day!

This is a dress I made for my 4 year old Sunday night. She loves it so much. And it was the easiest dress I have ever made. It is New look 6613, View E. We added red piping to the halter & lady bug ribbon above the hem. I have a blue gingham one cut out for my older daughter. She is worried about coverage of the halter, so I hope it works as a dress for her too. I really like this new pattern. I saw it recommended on craftster.org & had to give it a try. You can tell by the pictures how pretty she feels!

I am in love with a new tutorial. I used a tutorial I found on craftster & made my daughters patchwork skirts. They turned out adorable & they just love them. They each have 158-4 inch x 4 inch squares. They have 44 ft of fabric end to end. It was worth it though!

Recon Dress from old shirt

This is a summer dress I made for my daughter using an old men's button-sown dress shirt. I used the cuffs to make the yoke on front & back . I used the front of the shirt to make a button-up back to the dress & re-used the pocket of the shirt also. She loves it because it is comfortable. I have made two this way. A friend came over last week & brought her hubby's old pink striped polo & made one with me. It turned out so cute!

I am in the process of trying to make several summer outfits for my girls. My 10 year old desperately needs some church dresses. I got two cut out last week & hope to get them sewn this week. I'll post them when done! Thanks for visiting!

The Sneaky Chef

I bought a new cookbook last week. It is called The Sneaky Chef. It gives you new ideas for "sneaking" veggies into your children's meals. My girls eat some veggies well, but then others they don't. So far I have made brainy brownies (using spinach, blueberries, wheat germ & rolled oats), chicken tenders (breaded with whole wheat bread crumbs, wheat germ, and sweet potato & carrot puree), and macaroni & cheese (also using the sweet potato & carrot puree). They have all been great. The chicken tenders were really crisp & I like the mac n cheese because it was lower in fat than my usual recipe. I still want the girls to eat plain veggies, but this will give us some variety.

I have been carrying the same purse since I made it in September. It is a tan tote made from a pattern I tweaked. It was originally a huge tote bag. I shrank it down & made it purse size, & added some great pockets inside, several different sizes, & a few slim ones for pens. I am a huge purse/tote fanatic. So for me to carry the same one this long is unheard of. The problem is that I designed the tan one so well that I can't find one to replace it. I keep looking, but when I look at the inside I can't imagine giving up the little compartments made into mine. So I found some $1/yard material & made myself a new "springtime" purse. It seems a little bright for now, but once summer gets here it will be great. I call it my $4 purse . That includes the outside print & the lining. I already had the pellon at home. It was actually a $3 purse before I bought the wooden button to go on it. And I even have enough of the print material to make my daughter a skort.