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!