For Eden

I should really be ashamed that it has taken me this long to make a dress for this sweet baby. I intended to do one for her when she was born (I think I actually meant for that yellow baby dress to be hers, but she's long since outgrown one that size) and then I got to meet her in person at her uncle's wedding and I was going to get it done then. And then I thought, well, I'll just do one for her 1st birthday and I somehow missed that and decided I'd just get it done and send it for Easter, well that came and went too.

But, I've finally finished it! This is actually an inherited UFO...a friend of mine did the smocking on the dress and bonnet, but never got as far as cutting out the dress. I cut out the dress a couple of years ago and never quite got around to finishing it. I have another smocked piece in the same fabric with coordinating smocking that's big enough for Kenna, if I ever get around to constructing it.

Now, I only need to find Ashley's address (if you are reading, email it to me!) and it'll be on it's way. I'm pretty sure it will fit...Riley was cooperative enough to put it on so I could gauge the hem. I didn't go as far as photographing him in it, but he sure looks adorable in a pink bonnet. ;-)

Trisha sundress

This dress is so much fun. I love it. I had a few frustrations making it, namely that I couldn't get the length of the elastic right in the back. After the third time, I thought I had it and went ahead and constructed the dress only to try the dress on Kenna and realize that it was really still too big. I didn't have the heart to rip out the whole thing in order to fix it, so it will just have to be a little big.

It should be just under her shoulder blades in the back, it's sitting at waist level instead. The construction is rather unique, after sewing the skirt onto the finished bodice, you sew the skirt lining in so that the seam will be enclosed. The wrong side of the lining is facing the wrong side of the skirt so the inside looks very nice.

I think I'm going to make this one again in a hot pink pin dot fabric. I'll cut it longer (cut the bodice a 6 and the length an 8) and I'll make sure that back elastic is like I want it before sewing the skirt on. I'm probably not going to do piping on the next one either, just for a different look

I started not to do the flower, especially after I "lost" the first covered button I made. But I'm so glad I did. It was really very easy and it turned out so cute!

Kenna loves the dress. She twirled and leaped and kept telling me how everyone is going to say how pretty she looks. ;-)

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Trisha Smith skort

I managed to finish one thing in my sewing class last week, this skort which we started on Thursday night. I kept working on it between working on the other outfits and managed to finish it on Saturday. But it was actually a little too big and the elastic in the waist was rolling, so I fixed that yesterday.

The flower is chenille by the inch, which is really cool to work with, if a bit challenging. It goes on as basically a stack of bias strips held together with a seam down the middle. After you stitch it down, you wet it and brush it to make it "bloom."

This was my favorite project (though the sundress was a close second). The best thing I learned was that I share Elizabeth Travis Johnson's birthday and the funniest was how to remember how to position snaps on rompers (just like boys, balls in front, hole's in back...I know, it's terrible! But I laughed anyway and I'll *never* forget!)

I monogrammed a set of towels for a graduation gift. I'm thinking that's going to be my standard gift for graduates this year.

I've got 3 things that need hemming (Jonah's gown, a pink baby dress for Miss Eden, and a sundress from Trisha's class for Kenna) but Riley decided a 45 minute nap was long enough and interrupted that process. I've also got a pants outfit started for Kenna from the Trisha class that needs alot more work and a skort from the first night that I haven't even manage to cut out (I have to finish drafting the hemline first!)

Not to leave my boys out, here are they are playing outside. Riley has leaves in his hair.

Easter sewing

I had dreamed of sewing matching outfits for all three kids, but that just didn't happen. I decided a week ago that I'd only sew Kenna a dress since I was short on time, that didn't happen either. Thankfully, there's Williams Brothers store in Philadelphia (which my family has always just called Williamsville). They have dresses like I would make at a pretty reasonable price (there's no better place to buy shoes, by the way). I found this one and brought it home to monogram.

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Had a scary moment when I had to rip out some stitches that went awry, but they came out okay and didn't "scar" the collar.

The last of my smocked Easter eggs. Well, I may do one more, but I'm a little tired of them. ;-)

A couple of swimsuit coverups I embroidered in lime green. It's hard to see though, guess you can have too much light.

I'm also nearly finished with a baby gown and dress and bonnet. They just need to be hemmed and the gown needs a little embellishment. I'm having trouble with the hem on the slightly A-line gown, so I pulled out what I have done and am going to try again. Hopefully will have them done early next week.

Happy Easter everyone!

Yellow baby dress

I've been working on my PhD! (project half done)

I've completed one of my many UFOs (unfinished objects), a little yellow baby dress that I probably began nearly two years ago.

I'm not sure why I cut fitted sleeves for the dress, but I wanted get it finished as quickly as possible, so I used what I had cut. Who knows what I had originally intended.

Close up of tucks and embroidery.

We are going to gift this to friends that had a baby girl in January. I wasn't sure it would fit, so I tried it on Riley. The fit was actually okay, and I could even almost close it at the neck. So I'm sure it will fit a 3-4 month old just fine.