Baby Girl's Quilt

Every pretty baby girl needs a quilt. 

Baby Greta's quilt is based on this pattern... with just a few modifications (namely being about 6x bigger) I made the blocks as instructed, then sashed it with 3 1/2" strips all around. My very favorite part is the aqua binding...

Crib sheets are the simplest thing ever to make. Here are some very easy to follow instructions - and it makes the quilt seem extra special to have matching sheets! What I {L-O-V-E} about homemade sheets is that you can choose a fabric that is high quality and very very soft. Sometimes store bought crib sheets are like sandpaper... and what baby wants that?

(10 weeks!)

Greta loves her quilt!

<3 AmberLou

sharing at a few of these parties... :)

The Knights Who Say "Ee!"

Today is my kids' first Halloween ever. Really.


No, I'm not one of those people who hates Halloween, but every year from October 25th until November 5th, our family has gone camping, and so we've never bothered with Halloween. 


Kindergarten changes everything!


My son came home from Kindergarten in early October, and said "Hey Mom, there is this day, it's called Halloween, and you're supposed to dress up and people give you candy!" 


My response: "It must be a brand new holiday!"


So Eli told me he wanted to dress up as a knight. (Halloween is a foreign concept, dress up is not)


His tabard is 1 yard of muslin, cut in half and sewn into a long strip, with a hole cut for his head (edged in bias tape) and his personal "coat of arms" appliqued on the front. For his coat of arms, he wanted a dragon, a lion head, and a letter "E". After I made the uppercase "E", I was informed that it should have a lowercase "e" also. That is so Kindergarten!

He also has a belt and a "sword holder", sewn from red flannel, interfacing, and a couple of "D" rings. I bought a sword for $2.97 at Wal-Mart. The crowning glory of his Halloween costume is his shield. I drew a template for the shape, my husband cut two pieces of thin oak veneer and glued them together. I painted the coat of arms on the front and we stapled nylon webbing straps on the back. 
Easy peasy. 

He is in love. 

(some action shots...)


Iris was going to be a dragon, so Eli would have someone to fight, but when she saw his costume (the sword especially...) she wanted to be a knight as well. 


So she's the purple knight. 

Same concept, except that she is shorter, so I got away with using only a half yard of muslin for her tabard. Her coat of arms is a kitty, an iris, and an "Ii". She also wasn't interested in a shield, so we skipped that bit.


Baby Greta ended up being the ferocious cuddly dragon. I had a size 0-3 month fleece sweatsuit from Old Navy. I used a bit of red fleece and green felt to make the tail, ears and spikes, and some shimmery green scaly fabric from JoAnn for the belly. Red socks complete her scary adorable dragon costume! 

So having your first Halloween at age 5 is slightly hilarious. We went to a Trunk or Treat, and Eli went to the first car in the line, said "Trick or Treat!" as instructed, and got 3 pieces of candy. He was thrilled, and went to get back in the car. His eyes almost popped out when I told him that he could go get candy from EVERY car.  
We'll see what happens when we go Trick or Treating in our neighborhood tonight!


{HAPPY HALLOWEEN!}


<3 AmberLou

2 Fat Quarters and an Old Shirt

I made these shorts in the same manner as the ones shown in a tutorial Here. They are an upcycled t-shirt! So easy when you use the t-shirt hem for the hem of the shorts, makes for a quick project.

Then I made a basic pillowcase dress or in this case a shorter version for a shirt like this One. I always make a few adjustments each time I make one, this time being no different, I wanted to share what I did.

Instead of the typical binding with bias tape (bought or homemade)to go around the armholes, I used the remaining hem of the t-shirt after making the shorts, it was the perfect length for this approx. size 3-4 shirt.

After sewing the front and backs together, I pressed open the seams and pinned the shirt hem along the arm hole, right sides together. Then stitched it up.

Then I pressed it and top stitched so the seam would lay flat and not rub little Misses underarm...
Then I folded over the top to make the casings on the front and back...

I have misplaced the ribbon I intended for the ties and am quite happy I did so. I really like the 1/4" drawstring I used instead. I knotted the drawstring over the shoulder rather than a bow and it worked great - no retying bows all day.

I think she is pretty happy to be wearing her new outfit...
or maybe the smiles are for the geese and ducks along the Snake River we went to feed.

This outfit is 3 fat quarters and an old t-shirt. I used a 3rd fat quarter as the binding, ties and hem. This was actually a dress 2 years ago and is now worn as a shirt with capri's made from an old t-shirt.

It's so great these little pillowcases dresses can 'grow' with our little girls. I love the Endless creativity and super cute girls!!
Happy sewing!
~jan

Play dresses

Twenty years ago my little Amanda began her stage of refusing to wear pants. She only would wear dresses from age 3 until 1st grade. At times it was difficult with our cold Idaho weather, but warm jeans and leggings under dresses became a fashion statement at our house. I often resorted to making simple 'play dresses' for Amanda and now that she is a mother of a 3 year old herself, we have resorted to the apparent tradition of Play Dresses.

I have made these dresses for Miss H for holidays in the past...
here is the Halloween dress of 2009...


here is the autumn dress of 2010...


and more recently Fourth of July 2011.

Knowing Miss H would want to wear it everyday, I thought I had better throw a couple more together. I chose the t-shirt and she chose the fabric for the skirts. See how she is in love with The Princess and the Frog lately? By notice...I mean how dirty it is because she wore it 2 days before the yellow/pink one was finished.



All I do is get a t-shirt and 1/2 yard matching woven cotton (for size 3 - more for older girls - measure length you want and multiply by 2). I sew the 2 short ends together and then fold wrong sides together and so the rough edges are together then making the fold the hem - yay no hemming! I gather the two rough edges and sew to the bottom of the t-shirt. So easy to make a high waist or a drop waist dress. They can be embellished with ribbon, rick rack, buttons or flowers. Endless creativity! Just make it quick so the little Miss can phttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifut it on! Apparently they are super comfy, because my girls wear them out!

Also, this is a great way to reuse shirts that have stains on the lower half, as I am doing next.
Happy stitching!
~jan

I am sharing at these linkys. Thank you!!

Sew-Along Finalists

Hey everybody, Mz. I's outfit is one of the finalists in the Cottage Home Sew-Along Design Contest...

Voting ends tomorrow night - please go vote for me? Pretty please?

Go here to vote...

Thanks! 

<3 AmberLou

4th of July Duds: Cottage Home Sew-Along Reveal

I love, love, love Mz. I's new outfit.

I was hesitant about making this pattern, since the XS size was 2T-3T, and my little girl comfortably fits into 18m, but it was really easy to modify the pattern. When cutting out the top, I measured one of Mz. I's shirts whose length I liked, and adjusted the length of the cut piece. The width I figured would be fine - the design is 
more blouse-y than fitted. 

I love it!

The shorts were basically the same - I measured an existing pair that she had and modified the pattern slightly. I shortened the waist 
and legs, and brought the seams in about 1/2" to accommodate 
her tiny legs.

Love, love {L-O-V-E} the shorts! 
(and the little bows!)

(and this little bow, you can only see when she 
shows off her belly button!)

When listing the fabric requirements for this pattern, Lindsay promised there would be enough leftover for whatever accessories we wanted to make.

Mz. I has a serious love affair with hats. 
So I made her a newsboy girl(?) cap. 

I. Just. Love it!


Did I mention that this pattern, while complicated looking, was really quite simple?


Thank you Lindsay, for hosting this great sew-along!

<3 AmberLou

Hey! I'm one of the five finalists! Please go vote for this outfit here! 

sharing at some of these great parties!

Cottage Home Sew-Along

Have you seen the little girl's sew-along that Lindsay at The Cottage Home is hosting this week?

We're making this. 

My friend Kim and I are doing this together... 

I've got my fabric

and of course, my muse, Mz. I

I'll post the finished outfit next week! 

{SO} excited to get started!

<3 AmberLou

More Dinosaurs...

I came across this pattern while looking for a fun 
homemade baby gift idea.

littleblackteapot.blogspot.com

So sweet! 

I made one of these little guys for a friend's baby shower. 


My son stole it and took this picture with his dinosaur toys.

My little girl stole it from him, and wouldn't give it up.

So I made her a pink one. 

My 5 year old wanted one. 

He wanted it to be really big, and he wanted to stuff it himself.

He did. For about two minutes, before he got bored and graciously allowed me to finish it.

Since then I've made a few more...

I am SET for a few upcoming birthday gifts!

My son informed me that this is a LONG-NECK, not a STEGOSAURUS, so it shouldn't have spikes. 

He's the dino expert. 

Then he told me I should make a stegosaurus.

So I did.

(I just tapered the pattern to a kind of point instead of making the neck swoop up)

I made this stegosaurus for another friend-with-baby, and made the spikes ribbon taggies. 

I just LOVE this pattern! 

Go print it! Her directions are super easy to follow, it takes just a scrap of fabric (stash-buster!) and the kids love this guy! If you've been wanting to try out some three dimensional projects, this is a great one to learn on!

<3 AmberLou

sharing at some of these parties...