Maya got a new dress....

... finally.

This is still part of her Birthday present. It was a big work in progress. I had it buried in one of my boxes far too long. As part of my cleaning up on Saturday I went through pretty much all my fabric boxes and pulled out all kinds of stuff that was abandoned and forgotten. So I came across the unfinished dress, looked at the smocking and knew I had to take everything out. So I was once again united with my BFF the seam ripper.

After some swearing I was finally able to smock the fabric. I really started to like the result. The dress is similar to this one I made a while back from the book Weekend sewing. This time around I sewed the top down first before smocking. That way it was a lot easier then the first time around.

I also used a different fabric for the straps and the bottom. I love it. And of course more importantly Maya loves it.

Happy Birthday Max...

.. so today our Golden Retriever Max is one year old. We got him Last November, almost 9 months ago. At first I was a little sceptical having "two" babies in the house. At the time Zoe wasn't even one yet and still on all fours. Max sheds and shed and sheds. So needless to say I was constantly cleaning and making sure the floor was clean and no doogie hair was in Zoe's eye sight. Well it has been a battle and I kinda gave it up. You can never clean enough with Max in the house. And one point I decided to get a little more relaxed. I simple had no choice. Otherwise I would probably be insane at this point. But besides the hair Max is really a great dog. He loves Maya and Zoe. Max is a wonderful family dog.

So this morning I finished his doggie bed/blanket. I think he likes it although he still prefers sleeping on the floor. So time will tell. After I finished his bed I baked him some peanut butter cupcakes and some blueberry ones for us. Hhhhmmmm. I think we all loved our cupcakes.



For Max's doggie bed I pretty much used all fabric from my scrap box and randomly sewed them together and then quilted. The backing is made from a brown sheet I found last night at Wal- Mart after I realized I didn't have enough fabric for the back.
So his bed is basically a big pillow cover. I attached snaps (with my snap press from my diaper making days) on the side so I can take of the cover and wash it when necessary. The inner is made out of two shower curtains sewn together so I can wipe it off if needed. We all really like it.
I hope Max gets acquainted with his new bed soon. If not I am pretty sure the girls would love it in their play room.

Wow it has been a while...

... since I last posted. We have been extremely busy around here. Summer is in its full swing. We had my mom and brother from Germany hence the lack of posting and sewing.

They left last week so of course after that I had to get back on my sewing machine.

My first project I wanted to make was a little (or big) blanket/ bed for our dog Max who turns one on Saturday.
So I just started piecing random strips together. I wanted to use some fabric from this big scrap box that was filling up my sewing room. I really liked the outcome and so did Maya.
And of course she wanted to have whatever I was making. I guess she wanted to have the first project dedicated to her after this rather long and not so typical break of sewing.

So we decided (or I guess more she decided) to finish her quilt that was hibernating on my shelf since hmm I don't even know when. All it was waiting for was to be quilted. I just couldn't decide on how to quilt it. I really wanted to try stippling so that was actually a learning curve. But I have to say I really enjoyed it. And I definitely have to make more quilts.


A little detail I added to the top part. Maya was jumping up and down after seeing this.

So I guess I only have a few days left till the big party. Hopefully I can finish Max's blanket/ bed on time.

Linen...

So a while ago I stocked up on all kinds of red fabric because I bought red Salt Water Sandals for Zoe. There is something about red shoes. I guess it reminded me of my own childhood.

The fabric is a Linen/ Cotton Blend. I have to say I really like the look of Linen. It is so breezy and airy. Perfect for hot humid summer days. It was a little more difficult to sew then the regular quilting cottons I usually opt for. The Blend was softer and smoother and I had to rip out a few seams because it kept sliding off of my machine and I ended up with a few crooked seams.

The pants are basic elastic waist pants. And the top is just a smocked top I made for her in the past. The whole outfit is a follow up on this.

Unlike the muslin/ PJ's version I made the top on this one a little longer and took the sides in a bit to give it a more form fitting look. Overall I like it.

I think Zoe likes it, too. What do you think??

Vintage sheets..

So a few weeks ago I went by one of our Goodwill stores and picked up 2 vintage bed sheets. After looking and contemplating what to do with them for several weeks I finally used them for pj's for Zoe. After my last project was finished, I was a little hooked on sewing more from my Ottobre magazine. I really wanted to sew some shorts for Zoe. So before cutting into the nice red linen I had bought for this project I wanted to make a "muslin" version from the traced pattern. So my vintage sheets came in handy for that. The pattern for the shorts is called "Hennina" in the latest Ottobre magazine. And I only tweaked the pattern a little bit by making the pants a little shorter and I didn't add the embellishment. So basically plain old shorts with an elastic waist.

I think the top and pants together make pretty comfy pj's for her. Pretty light. It seems to be the perfect combo for the hot and humid South Florida summer nights.

Ottobre 3/09

So a few weeks ago I received my first copy of the Finnish children's magazine Ottobre. After reading a few blog where Mama's raved about the magazine I figured I have to see myself what the hype was about. So of course as soon as it hit my doorstep I had to sit down and "read" the whole magazine. I was very impressed by all the different patterns (I think about 40 different ones). But then I looked at the pattern sheets and oh boy was I intimidated. All the patterns call for a seam allowance to add but the hem allowance was already included in the pattern. It made no sense to me. So I put it on the pile on my sewing table. It stayed there till a few days ago. I felt very brave that I could do this. So I picked out what seemed relatively simple to me, the "three way dress". There were only 5 pieces to cut out. Hey that sounded good to me. I traced a size 92. I figured Zoe will have plenty of room to grow into the dress. After tracing the pattern I added 3/8" seam allowance all around.

I have to say it came together fairly easily. I had some problems with the underarm seams. It just wasn't a smooth finish. So I just lined that area with some bias tape from the coordinating hem and sleeve fabric. By the way my fabric choices for this little dress where both by Alexander Henry found at my local Joann's.

I finished the little sleeves or frills with a rolled hem on my serger. And I have to say I was glad I decided to tackle my serger with the rolled hem and finally stopped being so afraid to do anything on it but to finish the seams. I really like the end result. Aside from the fact that the instructions are very minimal and definitely much less detailed then in a store bought pattern.

And more "Weekend sewing"

It seems like everything I sew these days involves "Weekend Sewing" of some kind. I guess I must really like it. This is my version of the Flower girl dress. I finished this way back when I first got the book. For some reason I never got around to posting about the dress. But here it goes.

The sizing is off somehow. But if I recall correctly I read that somewhere in Blog land.

After tracing the biggest size on pattern paper I realized it would be too small for Maya. So I just enlarged the bodice and I have to say the sizes are easily adjustable. The instructions where clearly written and it came together in 2 Nap sessions. I guess I just have to seize the opportunity whenever Zoe goes down for her nap. Sewing a few hours straight without interruptions is a rare around here.

Since making this for her Maya has worn it quite often. So I guess she must like it.