A Birthday Outfit!

My oldest's birthday was this weekend and that requires a special outfit, don't you think?

A few weeks ago I'd picked up some cute Sweetwater Sunkissed prints off Above All Fabric's Value Wall and I knew right away that I would pair them as an Oliver + S Hopscotch skirt and 2+2 blouse. I think it turned out so cute!

Central Park Sudoku Quilt

It's finished! :) Kate Spain's Central Park line is one of my all time favorites, so when I received the Central Park Sudoku kit as an especially thoughtful gift, I simply couldn't resist diving right in!  I chose Moda Bella Basics Stone for the sashing and borders and the purple daisy print for the binding.

I sent the quilt down to my mom's friend for long arm quilting and she did an amazing job! The feathers have little hearts snuck in and the design in the sashing and borders is separate from the 9-patches. I picked the quilt up on our recent visit and then hand-sewed the binding on as my husband drove us back home.

I just had to do a pieced back on this quilt again, and I absolutely love it! The big floral is my favorite from the Central Park line and I put the tiny 2 1/2" sample squares from the whole line to use too!

Pieced backs make me so happy! :)

Puppy Pips Family Reunion Sew-Along Dress

For the Oliver + S Family Reunion Dress Sew-Along, I used the adorable grey Sherbet Pips Puppy Dog Tails print by Aneela Hoey and with every stitch I took, I really do love this fabric more and more! I'm so happy I have some good sized scraps of it left!

I'm pleased to say the dress is a hit with my little Miss M too! :)

The red topstitching is one of my favorite things about this dress!

I'm so happy I decided to switch to red buttons instead of the brown buttons I'd originally chosen! It's hard to see in earlier photos, but the tiny buttons on the front tab are little hearts. :)

Last but not least, the 2 Family Reunion dresses together in action! :)

I've finished posting sew-along steps on Above All Fabric's blog, but there's still time left to finish up your dress and be eligible for the prize! Plus, you don't want to miss all the great inspiration in the  Family Reunion Sew-Along Flickr group!

Family Reunion Blouse - gathered neckline modification

Are you joining in the Oliver + S Family Reunion Dress Sew-Along?

Inspired by a purchased shirt with a similar neck facing, I wanted to try out a gathered neckline with the Family Reunion blouse pattern. I pulled a pretty, but random no-name print my stash to use as my test fabric.

I used the same Family Reunion pattern pieces, but omitted the button tab/center ruffle.

I didn't bother marking the pintucks, and only sewn from the notch about an 1 1/4" in. I included the pintucks solely as a quick way of making the body of the blouse fit the neck facing without having to fight the gathers.

Rather than pressing the pintucks towards the sleeves, I pressed them open, thinking this would better distribute the gathers.

Attach and turn the neck facing just as in the instructions.

Just below the bottom of the pintucks, but within the area that falls inside the area to be covered by the neck facing, sew a basting stitch. (You may want to stitch 2 lines of basting, with the 2nd below the neck facing, but I found the single basting stitch worked well.) Pin the neck facing in place, evenly spacing the gathers in the pintuck area. Edgestitch to attache the neck facing and remove the basting stitches from the inside of the garment.

This particular shirt should have been made a size 5 rather than a 6 for my girlie, but I think it still turned out pretty cute! :)

If you haven't joined the Family Reunion Dress Sew-Along, it's not too late! Pick up your supplies and start as soon as you can! :)

I'll be posting steps to help guide you along in following the already wonderful Oliver+S instructions every other day on Above All Fabric's blog! You can keep right up as I post the steps, or catch up later if you don't have all your supplies yet! As long as you submit a finished project image to the Family Reunion Sew-Along Flickr group

Two Popover Dresses!

Summer sewing is in full swing here! Last Sunday I whipped up these 2 adorable Oliver + S Popover Dresses!

One dress with a cute print and some leftover bias trim from the Windy Days quilt!

And another from a summery purple strawberry print and the same red dotty fabric I pulled out when I made my 1st Family Reunion Dress!

I had to add a bit more inside even, it's just so cute! :)

I can't believe it took me so long to try this pattern! It's super-quick and such a cute result!

My sewing spree isn't over, not even close! I have a few more fun projects in the works, plus I just bought fabric to sew my girls school uniforms for next year, so I have lots of sewing to do! But, 1st things 1st, it's time for the Family Reunion Dress Sew-Along! I'm so excited! Are you joining in?

I'll be posting steps to help guide you along in following the already wonderful Oliver+S instructions every other day on Above All Fabric's blog! You can keep right up as I post the steps, or catch up later if you don't have all your supplies yet! As long as you submit a finished project image to the Family Reunion Sew-Along Flickr group by July 15th you'll have a chance to win a $20 gift certificate to Above All Fabric! 

Another Ice Cream Dress

So after one Oliver + S Ice Cream Dress, I was hooked! I just had to make another! For this one, I picked some of my very favorite prints from Sandi Henderson's Meadowsweet line.

I ordered this beautiful splashy rose last year for a summer dress but never got around to it, so I knew it was time to take the plunge and cut into it. It's paired with 2 other Meadowsweet prints, including the leaf Henna Garden print that I should have bought a bolt of, I love it so much. (It coordinates beautifully with Kate Spain's Central Park too!)

Little squirrel joining in on this photo….

My girlies love their Ice Cream dresses! :)

A very purple Ice Cream Dress

We've all been sick around here but this weekend I couldn't stand it a minute longer, and just needed a happy, springy project to distract me from the fever and coughing. I've been meaning to make the Oliver + S Ice Cream Dress for about a year now, but decided it was perfect project. I used 2 fabrics from Dena Designs' McKenzie line that I picked up as a prize from Project Quilting!

Love those pockets!

I goofed and left the button loop too long. :( It will work ok though. I may look for a prettier button to replace this one though.

The recipient sure loves her dress though! And that's what's most important!

This pattern was so quick to sew and makes a great summer dress! I have fabrics picked out for another already. :)

3rd Annual Bloggers' Quilt Festival: My Windy Days Quilt!

It's that time again! Time for another Blogger's Quilt Festival!

I almost didn't get a post done in time this year, but happily I've snuck in right on the last day with my latest finished quilt, which I've been talking a lot about these last couple days! This is my Windy Days pattern made with the MoMo Just Wing It! line, and it just debuted on the Moda Bake Shop blog earlier this week! :)

This is an extra-special quilt to me because it's my first "published" quilt pattern! My oldest daughter really loves it too and took it to school today for her "read-in," though she warned me she was going to keep the back side up because she likes it better. :) (I love the back too, so I can't be upset!)

I'm also thrilled with this little quilt because sweet Melanie of Above All Fabric is selling Windy Days kits to recreate it! (Another big first for me!)

You can see more close ups of the finished quilt over on my tutorial, but I thought it would be fun to share one of my quilt photoshoot out-takes. This is what happens when you have little helpers! :) 

And I also managed an adorable little scrunched-nose photo!

Thanks for visiting! :)

Introducing my Windy Days Quilt pattern!

I'm so pleased to have a new "recipe" up at Moda Bake Shop today, my Windy Days Quilt!

If you've been a long-time reader of mine, you may recognize this design! It originated as a scrappy quilt for my little boy (and I sliced a bit of my fingertip off during construction)!

I wanted to share instructions here on how to use yardage for the solid pieces rather than the charms packs in case you want to use a color not available in precuts.

If you wish to use yardage for your "solid" rather than 2 charm packs, you will need 1 1/2 yards of fabric. You could certainly use a subtle print too!

The quilt needs a total of 45  4 1/2" background squares and 36 additional 5" squares that will be pieced with the prints.

To cut these out of the 1 1/2" yards of fabric, cut as follows:

• 5 strips, selvage-to-selvage, 4 1/2" wide 
• Cut strips into 4 1/2" squares (9 squares per strip) 

• 4 strips, selvage-to-selvage, 5" wide 
• Cut strips into 5" squares (8 squares per strip, you'll have a few leftover)

Lovely Melanie of Above All Fabric has created kits with a few different fabric options for Windy Days!  I didn't have enough fabric left over to add a border to my quilt, but I do love how it looked when I set the fabric out! So, the quilt kit includes fabric to add a border for your quilt!

Here are the other options in addition to Just Wing It (so far): Hullabaloo and Happier! 

I sure hope you enjoy this pattern as much as I do! :)

http://www.modabakeshop.com/2011/05/windy-days-quilt.html

Introducing the Family Reunion Dress Sew-Along!

I wanted to show a few more photos of very latest project, the Oliver + S Family Reunion Dress and introduce the Family Reunion Dress Sew-Along on Above All Fabric's blog in June! (Grab this button and add it to your blog!) 

For my sample dress, I chose the cute pink floral from Riley Blake's Sugar & Spice line!  

I added a teeny bit of bias trim created from red w/ white polka dots fabric fabric from my stash around the button tab. This photo is a bit blurry, but I just love the pintuck details!

I love all the buttons down the back too!

So…start thinking! I will have a post up soon at Above All Fabric's blog with fabric inspiration to help you shop for supplies your Family Reunion Dress! :)

I'm planning to make another right along with everyone else, so I have to pick some more fabric too!