Life With The Stanfords

Amazingly enough...sewing.

Just a little sewing - not much. But enough to make me a little happy and make me feel a little creative. My sister-in-law, Nichole, and I are both having babies. Her little girl is due two weeks after my little boy. We had a baby shower for her a couple of weeks ago.

I know there are differing opinions on this, but there's nothing quite like little girl clothes. Baby boy clothes just don't fill my cuteness requirements like baby girl clothes do. So I was thrilled to be able to make something "girly" for her little baby. Voila'!:

I really wish the picture color was better. I hope the bloomers are not too big. I found a really great tutorial on making a "professional" looking burp rag here.

Here's a close-up of the bird applique':

It was so darling. My sister had just given me some vintage buttons she found at a garage sale -- just in time for me to use as a bird's eye. 

Here's the thing about applique' -- it's SO easy and instant gratification. You do NOT need to know how to sew to do it either (although it is nice if you can sew around the edges of your applique' for stability).

1. Find a template, stencil, pattern that you like and print it out on cardstock. Then cut it out.
2. Next, find a piece of fabric that you adore and apply some Heat 'N' Bond (available at most fabric stores) to the back of it.
3. Trace your cardstock pattern onto the "bonded" fabric and cut it out.
4. Peel off the backing and iron your pattern to your piece of clothing. Beautiful!

I saw the best idea for a baby shower the other day. Supply enough onesies for all of your guests. Provide lots of the above-mentioned supplies and let them make a onesie wardrobe for the new baby. How fun is that? 

I made the following creation for my little boy using one of my husband's old shirts:

I wish I could claim this adorable idea as my own. I've seen lots of these on Etsy. I used the tutorial and pattern I found here.

That was so much fun. OK, go applique' something. Fill your cuteness quotient! 

In your Easter bonnet...

Easter Sunday was lovely. We went to church and then spent the day at my sister Candice's house. I was so pleased that I had time to make the little girls' Easter dresses this year. I started on Tuesday and finished in plenty of time for the weekend.

I made coordinating ties for the boys, too. Making ties is a very simple process and can really make a boys' outfit. Owen was deeply disturbed that he would be wearing a flowered tie this year. It took some great marketing on my part to change his mind, but once I did, he was convinced that he was very handsome (and he was right).

Claire and I bravely fought the battle to find a modest dress this year. I will post more about this later, but we ended up with (of all things) a strapless dress. It's very cute, but must be worn with a sweater at all times. It's still not quite as long as I would like, but it's passing. She looked very pretty and far too grown-up to suit me.

So, here they are -- my lovelies...

Here's a close-up of the boys' ties. The pattern is McCall's 4290. The fabric is from Amy Butler's Love Collection. The fabric is pricey at about $10/yard, but when you need less than a yard - not too bad.

 

I found the girls' hats at Dollar Tree and then spruced them up with some leftover fabric, ribbon and flowers I had. I call them Eliza Doolittle hats:

 

See the resemblance?

Evelyn's picture above was taken after she unraveled about two inches off the brim of her hat. Neat, huh? Ah well, only a buck.

Some details on their dresses:  The fabric is also from Amy Butler's Love Collection, and I've been wanting to buy it for months now. It's beautiful. The only place in my town that sells it (as far as I know) is Amelia's Quilt Shop in Drusilla Shopping Center. You may also buy it online at Quilt Home. I used McCall's pattern 4029 (out of print) for Evelyn's dress and Butterick pattern 3860 for Blythe's dress. I borrowed the flower from McCall's 5967 for the fronts of the dresses.

I absolutely loved sewing again. It's been a long time. I've got some ideas for other things I want to make, one of which is a fresh take on the pillowcase dress. We'll see how that goes.

I hope your Easter was wonderful and that you were once again filled with awe and wonder at God's design, love, and plan of salvation for us. May His praise be continually on our lips!  

Candy cane dresses...or how I lost my mind.

I have to tell you the story of the candy cane dresses. You have to listen, because you're my friend and you're sympathetic.

I got this pattern to make Christmas dresses for Blythe and Evelyn out of the candy cane fabric I bought back in October:

 
The pattern is super easy -- in theory. Let me enumerate why the dresses were NOT easy to make.

1. Both the neck and arm bands had to be slipstitched to the dress. To the non-sewer, that means handsewn to the dress. I am awful at hand sewing. I can barely sew on a button.
2. After completing both dresses, I discovered that the neck on both was about 1 1/2 inches too big. I decided that that was kind of cute on Evelyn, but not on my six-year old. I completely ripped out the neck (hand sewing and all) and re-made the neck. Great.
3. I threw both dresses in the wash to get all the markings off of them. I dried them. Upon removing them from the dryer, I discovered that our wonderful well water had stained them orange, at which time, I sort of had a nervous breakdown.
4. A couple of days later, after several rounds of shock therapy, I took them to the local drycleaner to see if they could help. The next day, I got the dresses back in pristine condition. Hallelujah! That only cost me $14.00, which means I probably could've just bought "store-bought" dresses to begin with. During the drycleaning process, some of the stitches came out of Blythe's dress where I had re-done the neck.
5. Sunday morning, I sat furiously rigging up the neck of her dress so that it would hopefully last the two or three wearings required of the dress. We'll see.

Depending on your bent, many different lessons could be learned by this whole unsavory episode. I'll let YOU enumerate those.

"Sew, how have you been?"

I wish I could stop thinking of ways to use "sew" instead of "so" in a sentence (Blogosphere: "We do, too."). It's just "sew" easy to do.

Anyhoo, I've been sewing. I wanted to share a couple of my latest projects. The first is yet another pattern that I intended to make for Claire years ago and ended up making for Blythe. The pattern is out of print, but I found it here.

 

The whole reason I ended up making the coat was because of these:

 

I could not resist these buttons, but I had to have something to use them for. I ended up with this fleece coat. It was a really easy pattern. Fleece is very forgiving of mistakes. The only thing I suggest is...DO NOT use black fleece. My white marking pencil did not work very well on the fleece, so it was almost impossible to see the markings I made for buttonholes. Sheesh!

Blythe is adorable in this coat; it's a classic cut and very ladylike. I'm thinking of making her another, more casual, coat out of this pattern with camel-colored fleece, a hood and wooden toggle buttons.

My next project is from another simple, adorable, FREE pattern from Oliver + S. This is their Popover Sundress pattern:

 

I realize that is a huge piece of fabric laying across the front of the jumper, but I like it anyway. The colors are great. The bird fabric is actually a Michael Miller quilt square scrap I found at a local quilt shop. I bought it without knowing what I would ever use it for. I also had the most amazing colored lace from Fabritopia that I've been dying to use. I just went crazy and used it all on this little jumper. Too much? Perhaps. Jimmy crack corn and I don't care (Ha! I just love saying that). Here's a closeup of the lace and Evelyn's tongue:

 Here's the back view:

 

I'm planning on making several of these for Blythe and Evelyn. There are so many possibilities for these. I think they'll be cute with close-fitting long-sleeved T-shirts underneath and some funky leggings and boots.

Next on the sewing agenda - candy cane dresses!
 

Quite a few sewing projects...

Thanks for letting me show off my sewing projects. I really enjoy sewing even though I could use some improvement.

I made this little play outfit for Blythe the other day out of some hand-me-down fabric and old ribbon. I confess it looks "homemade" and "crafty", but Blythe likes it.

 

I made her sleeves by using a puffy sleeve pattern piece from one of Evelyn's patterns. I just left them open and hemmed them.

 

She's also been nagging me to make her a bracelet, and I finally got around to it. I attempted a little free-hand quilting. It didn't turn out too well, but the bracelet's still cute.

 

Next up is the always adorable Evelyn Kate. This is a pattern (Vogue 9462 out-of-print) that I bought and cut out for Claire when she was three. It's been in a Ziploc bag until now.

 

Lastly, I decided to sew something for myself. I've been wanting to buy a maxi dress, but all the ones I liked were really expensive. I found a cute pattern (McCalls 5843) and some seersucker fabric on sale and made this:

 

This dress is super comfortable. It took way more time than I wanted to invest, though. Man, it took forever to sew and gather all those ruffles! I dreamed in seersucker the night I made it. I had to take up the bodice - a lot. I completely wimped out and just sewed a seam right up the back of the bodice:

  

One last look:

 

Like I said, this is a lovely dress, but not one I want to repeat. Definitely not instant gratification.

I'm working on a dress for Claire right now. I think it's going to be really cute. It's a Hilary Duff pattern. We'll see. Have a great day!

"E" is for Evelyn...

I'm on a sewing jag. I can't explain it, but I'm having so much fun. I whipped up this little number Tuesday night. The coordinating green tattoo is courtesy of Evelyn:

I've been wanting to try some applique', and I finally got the chance on Tuesday. I've sewn this top once already for Evelyn, but this time I made pants instead of bloomers to go with it. Please forgive my first-time applique' - it's a little shaky. I'm pretty proud of it, though. I'll keep practicing.

I am crazy about covered buttons. They make outfits look so well put together and "custom". Next time I do covered buttons, I'd like to embroider them. I've seen this in several places, and it is just so precious!

The fabric for this side of the top is from Heather Bailey's Freshcut collection. (Please pay no attention to the blue fabric mark that has yet to be removed - I'm so embarrassed!):

This side and the pants are an old Sandy Klop for Moda Fabrics print, "Look and Learn", I believe. (I don't know why my kids are always in trees - maybe it's a phase):

The green buttons are Amy Butler's lime green Lotus print. The yellow buttons are scraps of a Darlene Zimmerman fabric. Like I said, I whipped this outfit up in one night. So easy, even with the applique'. Sewing is so much fun!

Sew dang cute!

More sewing! I'm on a sewing binge right now. I'm having such a good time sewing easy things. I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to sew anything with great detail. I need (almost) instant gratification.

Here's the pattern for the dress I just made for Blythe. It's McCall's M5613.

I've watched this pattern for a couple of years now. I've always wanted to make it. The picnic tablecloth print just spoke to me. I finally caved in and bought it. I spent all afternoon making the dress. It cost about $6.00 to make, and it is so dang cute!

The fabulous photographer is Claire. I am so impressed with her ability to see and get a good picture. Very good eye. Maybe she'll keep practicing and save me a bundle on custom family portraits.

 

My model is the lovely Blythe Elaine. This dress suits her to a tee. She's such a bright, happy, optimistic child, and so nice to be around.

 

 

What fun! I may try my hand at some applique' next.

The pillowcase dress for grownups...

Pillowcase dresses are all the rage for little girls and have been for several years now. The main reason they are so popular, besides the fact that they are adorable, is that they are a breeze to make. Sew a few straight seams and you've got it made. Start with a pillowcase and it's even easier!

Last year, I bought what I would call a pillowcase blouse from one of the sassy boutiques here in town. I paid a whopping $50 for it! Granted, the blouse was made out of really cool fabric, but still! (Note:  This was pre-Dave Ramsey). I determined right then and there that I would make my own pillowcase clothing from there on out.

I was going to make a pillowcase dress without a pattern, but I found this at Hancock Fabrics the other day:

Believe it or not, I found some decent fabric on sale at Wal-Mart for $1.12/yard! That means that I made this dress for about $3.00! Woo hoo! NOTE:  I forgot to add this about size. According to the pattern, I should have bought a size 18 pattern. I made a size 14. I think a size 16 would have been perfect, although a little too blousy maybe. So...buy one or two sizes down from what the pattern says. 

I discovered three looks for the pillowcase dress. Here they are. First, we have the casual look with flip-flops. This look is for when you have to get dressed, but you really don't feel like it:

Next, we have the hippy chick look for going out to lunch with friends:

Lastly, the date night look. The dress is a little bit shorter and, with the high heels, a little sexier, no?:

There you have it - three looks for $3 and about an hour. I'm not sure you can match my price. You'll probably have to pay about $10-$14 on average, but that's still a great deal. Alright, that was fun. Let me go see what else I can sew.

Easy Peasy

Well, first I have to show you my new t-shirt:

Does anyone else miss The Electric Company? That was the grooviest kids show ever. Remember when they used to spit parts of words at each other across the screen? Remember Spider Man? Remember Morgan Freeman??? T-shirt from Wal-Mart:  $7.00. Memories from childhood:  Priceless!

Now, on to Easy Peasy. I have to show you the cutest sewing project ever. I was just surfing the internet and found this (sorry for the blur):

 

It's a fashion wrist cuff (directions here). Isn't that cool? I just whipped one up in under 30 minutes with some fabric scraps I had laying around. I'm not a big accessories person, so maybe these have been around awhile and I just missed the boat. I don't care. Think of all the cute variations you could make with embroidery, stamps, buttons, bows...yeah!

I don't know about you, but it would make my day if someone gave me one of these. It's just so dang happy! And handmade! That's like somebody writing me a bona fide handwritten letter. I keep those forever - they're rare.

So I challenge you. If you can sew even just a smidge, whip up a few of these and go spread happiness and good cheer.

Spring Sewing

Just finished my second Spring sewing project. I bought this pattern and fabric when Blythe was a baby. Blythe missed out on this outfit, but that's O.K., she's getting an outfit from fabric I bought for Claire when Claire was five. If I ever finish ripping out seams, that is. My seam ripper and I are best friends right now. Dang - I hate rippin' seams.

Anyway, at least this outfit was easy and fun to sew. It's reversible, too. The pattern is Simplicity 8948. Look how sweet:

I love the covered buttons.

I really like the back of it, too.

 

This is such a classic baby pattern; one you can't find "store bought" anymore. And again, it's my favorite kind of sewing - low investment, high return.

More cute sewing to come (I hope)!