Birthday Flowers

Just wanted to show off this gorgeous bouquet of flowers that my hubby gave to me... he may not have been home to pick them out personally but I think that Vernal Floral did a fantastic job of making them up.  Ahh that man knows just what I like!  ;)

Yellow Dress is done!!

I finished the yellow under-dress for the turquoise jumper/dress that I made yesterday.  So here's a few pics I took tonight.  I'm happy with the way it turned out.  Now I need to go catch some needed sleep.

2 hour baby jumper/dress

Yep, I've been sewing again.  I love it, I just can't get enough of it, it's like I'm trying to make up for the year or so where I didn't sew a stitch until I made baby K's blessing dress, then didn't sew again until June last year.  Anyhow, now that I have this little shop, I want to make cute baby clothes to sell, but first I've been trying the patterns out on baby K.  So, here's the latest item, a reversible baby jumper which some might call a dress [but my Mom always called these "jumpers" so I do too].

Now I sewed the whole thing together in under 2 hours, but I cut it out on another day.  However it's an easy pattern to cut out, so anyhow here it is.  I used this pattern,

but I lengthened and widened the pattern after I traced it off (then figured out how to make the pattern big enough for a child up to 5 years). 

Then I used the two turquoise printed fabrics to make the jumper, but the bright yellow is going to be the under-dress for this dress, which can be worn as a dress on it's own.  The cute orange gingham is going to be made into a little blouse for my darling baby K to go with some pants I plan to make her from a gray w/ orange stripe sweatpants-type knit I've got (sitting on my dryer waiting for it's turn to be washed).  But that's another day's project.

And now for the jumper/dress.  It is sooo cute, and I couldn't believe how easy it actually was to make.  I have some gorgeous fine-whale corduroy I bought (at Walmart `cuz there's no where else to buy non-quilting cotton fabric around here other than the quilt shops), 3 different pieces, so this is great practice before I start working with them.  Now without further ado....

Just so you know the pics of the jumper was taken last night at like 1:30 am so after dark so the colors don't show up as good.  And now... on to change a couple diapers and to sew my lovely yellow under-dress for baby K.  Maybe if I get to it, I'll get the orange blouse cut out.  I'll be using Leila and Ben's pattern for 12-5T (but the pic on this one is so much cuter) to make the yellow under-dress as well as the orange gingham blouse.  I really like this pattern (and no I don't get anything for saying so).  Oh, the dress I made for my 300 fans on Facebook Giveaway is from this pattern, I used lots of shirring with I love!!  Here's another look at that dress.  Just look at the grin that popped out when I pulled out the camera, wasn't she such a cute model for this dress?

I just love peasant-style dresses & tops.  Maybe I'll even make some for myself someday.  And now off to sew some more...

Another fun one

You may have noticed that lots of my posts lately include links to fun stuff I want to try sewing.  Anyhow here's another one, well two actually.  Links to sewing your own business card holders, the first one is super easy, makes me want to go buy some thin clear vinyl to make one for me (and maybe a couple as gifts, she don't want us selling her ideas), here's the link to that one, did I mention it's easy?  ;)  Like 3 steps.

Okay now the other business card holder pattern is here, when it's folded up, it looks like a cute little fabric wallet.

 

Now you might wonder why I'm posting these, well I'm kinda tired of packing my cards around in my pocket where they get crumpled (because I hate packing a purse around, but I think I can handle one of these little card holder thingies).
I've had this idea running through my mind about how to make one, so I had to google patterns this morning (either that or doze off on keyboard).  These 2 aren't really what I want but I think I will make one of each for sewing practice (especially the one with vinyl), then try to make up my idea.  It's kinda a cross between these too, but different yet.  I love sewing so these will just be fun.

=) Gayle

Tuesday Jan 3rd... record posting day for me!

I think I posted 4 times in a row that day?!  Hmm... but I was just excited because I'd found so many fun things I just wanted to share with everyone (not that very many are interested in my blog, I know it's pretty boring lately).

Today I'm just kinda blah... then I go cough cough cough, hard as can be then I feel like crap again.  I couldn't relax and get to sleep until almost 5 am this morning, I woke up at like 7:43 am so I got a bit of sleep, but I think this might be one of those days when I lay on the floor & let the kids play on or around me. 
Part of my not sleeping is because hubby is gone to Kansas for 3 months, though he might get to come home for a week or so each month; and other part is because I get settled & comfortable then I start coughing like crazy until my lungs burn, my throat feels on fire & my heart is racing crazily.  I feel like it's the same cold baby K has but then again it seems related to this breathing issue I have & still need to get tested for (to see do I have asthma or is it COPD), guess I should try harder to find out, but it's hard to go out in public when you feel so crappy and people look at you weird when you cough hard like that.

Today though I hope to have a nap then get some sewing done.  I really miss sewing & plan to get a bunch done while hubby is away; plan to crochet up a bunch of my flower hair clips, say 3 or 4 of each solid color of yarn I have to be ahead a bit in case I start making a bunch of sales this winter and I can be ahead.  Have been thinking of all kinds of other things to make to add to my Etsy shop inventory, and I plan to give some sneak peeks of what these are in coming days & weeks on here.

For now though, time to go take care 3rd son T as he's still not potty trained (though he'll grumpily go sit on it if I tell him to, just won't do it on his own & hides away when he goes in his diaper); have decided not to push it much right now though, just too exhausted to care much.  Seriously if this stubborn kid of mine wants to have a sore bum, so be it!

=) Gayle

Christmas 2011

Perhaps I should have put this post first before every other one I've written today, but my mind runs in circles sometimes.

So we had a great Christmas, sadly I neglected to think about taking any pics until AFTER everything was cleaned up!  *smacks forehead*  What was I thinking??  Oh yeah, nothing apparently!

We had a great Christmas though my kids thought they'd die.  I told my boys ('cuz really Katelynn didn't really care) they could ONLY get into their stockings on Christmas morning but NOTHING else until after Church. LOL, thank goodness we had the early block, yup 9 am church, but the last one for a year, yay!  I knew we'd not get to church otherwise, and I really wanted to go because it was only for an hour and I was pretty sure it was going to be mostly music.  ;) 

So stockings only, then breakfast, Church, then home to change clothes b4 opening presents... which we did quite well, all the while smelling that delicious ham cooking!!  Yum!

Hope you all had a fabulous Christmas & a fun-filled New Year's Eve/Day!

=) Gayle

Something else fun I just found

Have you ever wanted to learn how to do SMOCKING? Yeah? Me too.   Well, I've just been reading along on Sew Homegrown, and up pops a tutorial by the blog author's Mom on SMOCKING! Yay!  Here's a link you can use to check it out!  I'm going to go finish reading about it, then I'm going back over to Crochet Spot to finish reading about the Magic Adjustable Circle because I got distracted.  ;)

 

I love the way little girls' dresses look so cute with smocking on them, guess it's time for me to get sewing again!!

Oh yeah, here's the rest of the story to go with the link for smocking above!

=) Gayle

Hmm....

Just viewed my "public" blog.  Guess I really need to update the photo of my family, since Taw (baby in pic) is almost 4, and of course my little Katelynn is no where to be seen there.  Now she's going to be 13 months old this Friday!  Wow, how times just flies along!

Another crochet link

Have I mentioned the CrochetSpot before?  No?  Well It's a great place to go visit if you like to crochet as much as I do, there's always new patterns she's made up (well there's more than just one "she" I guess).  But today, I like the article on how you can use the "magic circle" in more than just starting out your piece.  I haven't read the whole article, but will.  So you want to see it?  Alright, go here to check it out!  I'm on my way there right now too.  ;)  Plus on the main page, there's a new pattern for a sweater I want to go drool over... because I'm just not brave enough to make sweaters yet.

=) Gayle