Drawstring Dress

I never got around to posting it...  But I was able to finish my dress before the conference we attended back in November!

I combined New Look 6936 and vintage (well, 80s) McCall's 7572 to make the bodice that I wanted.  It worked quite well, though if I make this pattern again I will make the neck hole bigger.  I guess I have a big head.  :P

I mostly followed the New Look instructions, but it called for elastic rather than the drawstring that I really wanted.  It was simple to make a fabric "string" and run it through the casing instead - quick, easy, and I like it much better than elastic.

This may be one of my favorite machine sewing projects I've ever done.  The fabric is a silky knit that hangs well, and it was very easy to make.  It's not often that something turns out exactly how I wanted, but this one is exactly what I envisioned.  Definitely a project I'd enjoy doing again!

Happy 2014, Ya'll!

Can you believe it's already New Years?  This has been a wonderful year, and I'm looking forward to some upcoming things in 2014, as well.

I have not made blogging a priority this year, and am very sorry for that.  I'm very thankful for the opportunities my blog has given me and the people I've gotten to know in the blogging world.  And I'd like to keep up with those friends better.

So I am resolved to do better this year.

As part of that, I'd like to open up my topic slightly.  I still want to focus on my crafting/sewing adventures, but won't be as strict.  There are other things I love that ya'll might enjoy hearing about.  If you have any thoughts/suggestions for my blog, feel free to share!

Looking forward to posting much more frequently this year.  :)  And Happy New Year!!!

Lily's Berry Hat

A friend of mine had a baby last month, a sweet little girl.  And doesn't every little girl need a berry hat to keep them warm and snuggly through the winter snow?

I used the Berry Baby Hat pattern from Ravelry.com.  It was simple, fast, and super cute!

Happy New Year!

Tractors and Gingerbread Men

The other day I posted this ballerina I made for a little friend of mine.  Today I'm showing off the ornaments I made for her brothers.

I had originally planned to make a train ornament for the older boy.  Then I asked him if he likes trains or trucks better.

And he said trucks.

As I was rethinking my plans, I noticed he played with tractors almost the whole time I was there.  A tractor it was!

It's unbelievably difficult to find a cute pattern for a felt tractor.  In fact, I couldn't find one at all.  But I did find a few inspirations that gave me a place to start for drawing my own pattern.  I'm pretty pleased with the end result.

For the five-month-old I wanted to make a baby's 1st Christmas ornament, but I couldn't find very many baby boy ornament ideas that were cute.  I decided to go with an old favorite and make a Christmas stocking with a gingerbread man on it.  Not particularly baby-ish but very, very cute.

Have a very Merry Christmas full of blessings as you celebrate the birth of our Lord!

You Can Never Have Too Much Pink

I babysit a precious little girl who loves ballerinas, so when I discovered this cute ballerina on Pinterest one day I decided I wanted to make her one as a Christmas ornament.

You may notice that the blog is not in English...  It took me a few minutes to find the pattern, but I did find it here.  (And then discovered the "translate" button, haha)

Here's my ballerina:

The bead flower in her hair and her tulle tutu make her somewhat 3D, which I really like.  And instead of having a solid background there is actually a back of her body.  She turned out so well, I almost wanted to keep her and make another one for my little friend.  Almost.  ;)

I hope she'll love her as much as I do!  Next the ornaments for her little brothers...

Too Early

I love Christmas!  Every fall I have a hard time waiting until after Thanksgiving to turn on the Christmas tunes and get out the decorations.  But I do wait.  Because I must.

But I have a confession to make.

I bought Celtic Thunder's new album Christmas Voices.  And listened to it.  All the way through.  Just one time and then dutifully put it on the shelf until after Thanksgiving.  I may or may not have hummed a few festive tunes afterwards...

Not only did I commit this unthinkable crime, I also indulged in some Christmas crafting!  My excuse is that a friend is visiting from across the country and I wanted to introduce her to wool felt...

I had a pattern for Santa and the tree, but I made the mushroom based on a picture I found on Etsy.  When I finished I was told it looked like Toad from Mario Brothers.  Not really what I was going for...

My friend had never made anything with wool felt, but now she's addicted.  ;)  I love how her ornaments turned out!

And this little one did a wonderful job learning to sew buttons.  It took some patience to sit still and concentrate on the tiny holes, but she did a terrific job with her ornament!

I'm looking forward to Christmas time...  But now it's time to go back to fall and Thanksgiving thoughts!

Dress Beginnings

While trying on some dresses as Old Navy I found one I really liked, but would have preferred it to be a little longer on me.  So I decided to make my own!

New Look 6936 was almost exactly what I wanted, but the sleeves weren't quite right and I wanted the waist to be closer to my actual waist instead of empire.  My mom had a vintage 70s pattern in her sewing stash that had a perfect sleeve shape, but I didn't particularly care for the neckline options.  So I decided to be brave and try to combine the two patterns to get the look I want.

After an evening of drafting, I think the two combined rather well!  I'm hoping it goes together quickly and without mishap so I can wear it to a conference next weekend.  :)

Now if this little guy would just move off my fabric so I can sew...  Who am I kidding?  I'll let him sit there as long as he wants.  :)