A Dress for Millie

Awhile back my friend Amy was talking about this great fabric that she bought to make a dress for her daughter and even knew what she wanted the dress to look like.  Now, Amy can quilt so, in my opinion, she can sew clothes.  I have been sewing clothing and accessories for a very long time and have only been quilting for a little over a year - in my opinion quilting is much harder.  Clothing can be fudged a bit and still work (at least kids clothing) but I have learned quilting has to be exact.  Anyway, Amy does not believe me that she can sew so I told her to mail me the fabric.  Here is the fabric, it is The Ghastlies by Alexander Henry

And here is the dress pattern

I absolutely love Carla Crim's patterns and I swear they are foolproof.  She uses simple measurements which means I don't have to get Eleanor to sit while I take 5 or so measurements.  Carla then instructs you how to adapt these measurements for a perfect custom dress.  If you have never sewn kids clothing before, these are the patterns to go with.  Carla also designs the patterns for Jennifer Paganelli's Sis Boom which are just as simple and wonderful.  

This was the first time I tried this pattern and I loved it.  I have a love hate relationship with buttonholes however this went smoothly.  Here are some pictures of the finished dress.

and since I don't feel you can have an outfit without a hairbow, Miss Millie will have a bow

I have so many plans for this dress for Eleanor for the fall and winter so I had Eleanor try the dress on to make sure it fit on a human and to see how it fit her, and since she loves to pose...

I cannot wait to make more of this, it is just too cute!

America Banner

I have always been a big fan of banners, however I have struggled to find one that truly fits the decor of my home.  My style is country/colonial/primitive and while I love the banners with fun papers and ribbons, and I have even done some, they don't fit in with my house overall.  I frequently, meaning daily, browse through back issues of Country Sampler Magazine.  This magazine has the best ideas for things you can make and some very affordable decor.  One of their old fall issues had a great Thanksgiving banner using burlap.  I decided I wanted to make one for the 4th, and suddenly realized I had less than a week.  Burlap was $1.99/yard at JoAnn last week and I had navy, red, and natural muslin on hand (excuse the bad photo)

I cut the burlap into 5.5x5 squares, folded over 1/2 inch, and sewed some natural colored grosgrain ribbon to it.  I then alternated navy and red squared that were 4.5x4.5, used my Silhouette to cut fabric letters out

I ironed the letters on to the red and navy after cutting the fabric.  While you are supposed to top stitch, I do not think the letters will wear off.  Here is the finished product

Here is a picture of the mantle from farther back. I am in the process of ordering a new picture for the mantle, I really don't like the three that are up there.  Well, I do like them but not in this room. 

I also recently found a huge quantity of boards in our garage, many of them are leftover from when the previous owner built the deck.  I have been busy sanding them down and painting them.  I printed off some letters using my Silhouette and vinyl, and created this sign for the living room

and here it is closer

I have some other great ideas, however they will have to wait for next year.  Have a great 4th!  We are off to the parade and then the fireworks tonight, hoping it stays cloudy but no rain!

I am linking this post up over at Sew Many Ways Sew Darn Crafty Party

Table Topper

About a month ago, we booked our first trip to Disney.  To prepare for that trip, I decided to go on a fabric diet.  I still have fabric leftover from a table topper I made last year, I have 10 table runners to make, and also I still have to do 11 blocks from a Block of the Month I joined last year.  So, in reality, while I am sure I will buy more fabric, I have more than enough to keep me busy. 
Last weekend Matt and Eleanor went out of town for the weekend and I stayed here.  Other than some commitments, I spent 4 days sewing nonstop.  It was simply blissful.  I pulled out my fabric to complete the table topper.  This pattern, found here is one of my favorites.  It is quick and easy, and always affordable because of the amount of fabric you need.  Here is the finished top 

I am very pleased with how it turned out.  I had one issue with the seams butting up on one row, however all the others were perfect.  Everything matched up except for this one spot, I cannot figure out why it is so off

I just got a new walking foot for my machine so I am very excited to quilt it, however I want to get a table runner finished and then quilt them both.