Cute for FALL!

As we are about to officially start fall here in the northern hemisphere, it's time for some fall fashions for the five year old!

McCall's 6429 done in Fabric Finders owls and polka dots - I love the owl print!

Farbenmix Neele double layer skirt in Michael Miller prints - need to make a top to match this - probably a tee with applique.

Some sweet Riley Blake prints done in McCall's 6388...

...more Fabric Finders - this time a rainbow plaid - for Oliver & S's Jump Rope dress.

I currently have some Halloween themed stitching in the works as I prepare an old favorite, the Studio Tantrum/Farbenmix Feliz dress for a Halloween version complete with applique work. There are a few pieces for me in the queue as well. In fact, I just finished up a McCall's Fashion Star pattern and eliminated the need for a zipper by making it out of a really striking ITY jersey.

Doesn't the dress go well with a kitty? We still have a white and a black one...

Goodbye, Molly

This weekend, we had to say goodbye to a beloved family member. Our oldest cat, Molly, passed away after being treated for a thyroid condition and high blood pressure for over a year and a half. She was a darling kitty, and luckily she seemed to be pretty good up until the last few days, so we knew it was almost her time.

Molly put up with a lot of silliness...

She had mischief in her, as most kitties do. She would meow at me while sewing or cutting fabric. She often came up beside me and got in the way (not that I minded too much).  Every now and then she unthreaded my serger!

She loves to lay on clothes and fabric.

She loved to cuddle - this was taken on Friday night before she passed away Saturday morning. Right before this I had started on a dress for Gracie, but I didn't end up getting it done before Molly took a turn for the worse so I took a break from my sewing to spend time with my fur baby. I'm glad I did. Now that she is at the Rainbow Bridge, I am getting back to work on some sewing projects, but I'm a little sad there isn't a pretty tabby to muss up my fabric layout, although Skippy and Winston will probably do their part to get my attention when the scissors come out!

Goodbye, sweet girl

:-(

June 3, 1998 (when I got her at about 10 weeks old) - September 15, 2012

The robing of the children

With four kids, two of whom are hitting the early stages of puberty, this project was a necessity.

Robes: Simplicity 1946

The pattern includes a child's 4/5 (which Gracie is wearing) - a child large (which the big two are wearing) and adult sizes as well.

Benjamin chose this animal print because it had giraffes. I also appliqued a giraffe, but my front appliques all turned out a little low. Oh well...

Gracie's robe was my favorite fabric - and it went cute with the Tinkerbell she requested.

Matthew got fancy and requested the M logo from Monsters Inc. Which does work out nicely since it matches his initial. Plus, he had me put Sully on the back. 

Jamie requested Stitch and we found this awesome nerd Stitch!

Now that I have vacuumed up the mess, it's on to some school outfits for Gracie.

Cuddly fun!

I have two of my four children starting to hit adolescence and the need for bathrobes has become apparent. To that end, I cut out out four bathrobes (gotta make 'em each one) and I had some leftover fabric. I didn't want this fuzzy mess sitting around, so I made these:

The giraffe was super easy - two pattern pieces. (S2613). The cat was a little more complicated (M6485), but the monkey was a monster (Burda 7904). It had about 20 pattern pieces and none of them were shaped in a way that made their joining intuitive.

Awesome.

But it turned out cute and she likes it, so it's a win...

off to make some bathrobes!