Poodlemania

It has been a Poodlelicious week. If I wasn't sewing with it, my daughter was playing with it, the Long Ladies were blogging it, or I was seeing it in kits at my favorite quilt shop in New Braunfels. So check it out.
This week I tested a BRAND NEW pattern from the Carla C/Jennifer P duo. The Dana top!

I emailed Jennifer a while back and asked her to pattern a shirt that I oogled often in her shop. Lo and behold it was already in the works. And then I got to test it! Does it get any better than that??? No, it doesn't. The pattern comes with options, its not out yet so I will wait to spill ALL the beans, but as you can see you can make it into a dress. So cool and comfy. I took it with me to the pool yesterday. Perfect to wear after a swim when you want to sit a while and read.

This was super exciting to me! She saw the scraps of Poodle from the Dana and asked if she could design a dress for her dolly. Well gee umm I don't know... YES YES OF COURSE! Oh my heart was singing watching her play with the fabric. Her friend came over before she finished so we did not get to sew them together but they are sitting on my sewing table waiting for her to get the sewing bug again. Stay tuned!(BTW This is the true color of the fabric, the sun came out JUST as we went outside to take the pic of the Dana, so the color in that pic is a bit washed.)

Marie Madeline Studio blogged these cutie Emerson skirts.

It made me want to click buy now! I love the length of the skirts and look at how beautiful they look in Poodle. Look at that green with the pink, gorgeous! Aren't these girls precious?? Go check out more pics of these skirts in action here. You don't want to miss them. Darling! Make sure you pick up the pattern and fabrics while you are there, but save some for me of course!

And then to top it all off, I went to my favorite local quilt shop, Quilt Haus aka Creative Sewlutions, to buy a pattern and a little fabric. Wow! Look what I found hanging on the wall! Words like, so fresh, beautiful, pretty, vibrant were coming from the shop keepers as they gazed at the Poodle fabric with me. My favorite words were, we really need to order some more of this! Yes yes please do because you sold out of some of it that I came in for!! Golly do I wish I had had my Nikon to get a better shot. 

If you are loving this quilt as much as me you will be happy to hear it comes in a kit!

Everything but the batting and backing for $68. Pretty good deal if you ask me!! Here is their number if you are interested in purchasing this kit 830-620-1382. Tell them I sent you. They get a kick out of hearing they have been blogged. 
For you Texans save the date, August 19-21, and be ready to trek over to Quilt Haus.  It really is going to be BIG, BIG, BIG event!!! Make sure you bring a friend. They will thank you!

Sisboom. Don't leave home with out it.

You didn't think I went on vacation with out fabric do you? I didn't bring my sewing machine, although I WILL be coming back here and I won't leave the machine behind then, but I did bring fabric and patterns to do some tracing and cutting. I have two projects planned for these pieces. One is a pattern test that I don't think I can talk about yet, and the other is just something I wanted to make, both projects are women's patterns. I LOVE how Jennifer's fabric lines play so nicely together! The house we are staying in is decorated in lots of browns so the Sisboom colors are such a welcomed sight. So before I cut all this up, I have GOT to take the kids swimming in the river ONE last time and then they are off to bed. I am off to jump in the river, and if you hear rumor of a mother standing on her inner tube in the river trying to teach her son to do the same.. shhhh don't don't tell them it was me!

Be a great boy!

 

We went and toured Camp Stewart today. This camp is owned by the brother of the owner of Heart O' the Hills. Jane Ragsdale owns the Heart, all girls camp, and Jeeper Ragsdale owns Stewart, all boys camp. My son goes to Camp Stewart and I cannot say enough good things about it. Where else can a boy go and cut loose and be a boy. I mean a BOY. They are completely unplugged here and they have every activity under the sun, from riflery to horse back riding, to canoeing, to archery, swimming, team sports, golfing, shuffle board, hiking, camping, rock climbing, I could go on and on. Basically if the activity exists they have it. If you are looking for a great camp for your child I highly recommend these camps, I can say from personal experience as a camper, and as a mother, they work hard to create a safe and fun environment for you child.

I understand my router is out at home. So if you don't hear from me for a couple of days, it's because we are waiting for a new router to arrive in the mail. Guess I will be unplugged at home! Or my computer guru husband will have it all figured out by then.

The Ultimate Day in the Texas Hill Country

We went to Fredericksburg today. As you can see from my kids totally cracking up we had a great time. I have been many times before but today has to be the ultimate trip ever. First we had lunch at The Fredericksburg Herb Farm. That is the number one place I would recommend for lunch in Fredericksburg.
It is off the main street but not too far off and the food is really, really good. I think they have had a few James Beard awards. The grounds are absolutely stunning.

They were once featured in Country Living magazine.  But if you plan to go soon it is under renovations so it's not so stunning at the moment but what they are doing is going to make it amazing.

After we ate lunch  we took the kids to the park on Main street behind the fire station.

Look at this gorgeous garden next to the playground equipment. Great photo spot, especially in the spring.

Then we went on down Main street  to Rather Sweet Bakery.

Ohm mfm ohmf mfh mfh. Pardon me as I eat the last bite of my Mexican Chocolate cake. Ohhhh so good! The portions are HUGE even for me so plan on taking some home.

THEN, here comes the part that makes this the ULTIMATE trip to Fredericksburg. Look what I found just a few stores down from Rather Sweet at a place called Things in a Room!!!

SISBOOM!!!! Oh wow was I ever excited!! I don't know WHAT they thought of me taking all the pics(there are quite a bit more but I just wanted to give you an idea), I did ask permission, but I am SURE they thought I was a crazy lady. I don't care. It was just SO COOL to see more of Jennifer's fabrics in the Hill Country. And you know allll this is only an hour away from my house... SCARY!

I spy something....Sisboom!

Check it out! Creations in Kerrville, Texas is dabbling in some Sisboom goodness! Of course I had to talk with the shop ladies about Jennifer, and her fabrics, and how much I love her fabrics, and how much I adore Jennifer, and Carla C's patterns, well you get the idea. It was so exciting to see her fabric there on the bolt. IN PERSON! And it was her LAMINATE!!!! I am coming back in a few weeks. Some of this WILL be coming home with me for sure! If you are in the Texas Hill Country, check out Creations. It really is one AMAZING fabric shop. Room upon room of fabrics, patterns, notions. It is worth the trip out here just to have a look. You will not be able to leave empty handed!
We also visited my old camp, Heart o' the Hills, today. It's right down the road from where we are staying.

Check out this view from the little ones' cabins.

Stunning isn't it! My daughter may go here someday. So last night I asked if she wanted to go down there to check it out(its close to where we are staying). She dropped everything and bolted for the door and said "Come on, let's go see the camp I am going to go to one day!" On the way there she said "Now mommy, I am not ready to go to camp so don't leave me there, okay?" I had to giggle at that one! Then at the end of our tour she said, "Can I stay? Please??? Um, no, mommy is not quite read for that!  Then today we went back for an official tour and we saw a lot of the same things but one thing that was new was we saw a couple of the cabins. Now to understand what we saw, the camp does a great job of teaching personal responsibility, including keeping up your cabin and personal belongings yourself. You even have to CLEAN it yourself. (I remember the first time my cabin cleaned our room, we used the ENTIRE bottle of Pine Sol without diluting it to mop, we had to air out the room and re-mop it a few times!) They really are not there to be your mother but they do offer guidelines and training then leave it up to you to execute. So with that, the do not nag you or even prod you along but you do get checked. Some rooms do a better job than others, it's just the dynamics of the cabin I think. So all that to say, the first room she showed us was a DISASTER. My daughter looked at it and said "OOhh mommy I don't think I want to go here." The next one she showed us was very tidy and she said with great relief "Ohhh this is much better mommy." It was funny! Because you know her room is a magazine cover all the time! What good memories I had going back to visit today! Maybe someday my daughter and I will be able to compare notes.

AnaClaire darlingness!

It's done! I LOVE this pattern. It's the Marie Madeline Studio AnaClaire Jumper pattern. It is loose fitting and sweetie peetie darling. This is the first pattern in my stash, that I can think of, that offers sooooo many options for you to play around with when planning how you want to construct it.  You can cut it long at the ankle, like I did, or at the knee(like I am gonna make and show you!) and pair it with leggings. You can  mix up how you close it up in the back.  Instructions for attaching ties or buttons with loop closure are included. There is a pattern for the back skirt tie or you can do what I did and use ribbon.

 

There are also ruffle and band pattern pieces you can use at the bottom of the dress. And then the apron leaves all kinds of space to embellish and play with.

I added a band, an applique flower and rick rack. It was so fun to play with all the options I could think of! The options just go on and on. But more important than all that, it got my daughter's seal of approval. Which you know how important that is!!! If you are looking for a one stop, cutie cute, well written jumper pattern, THIS is the one! 

You may notice my  photo venue has changed. 

We have been on the Guadalupe River all weekend. Check out this view from our porch(rental property, not OUR porch. If only!). 

 

At the risk of sounding like an obnoxious Texan, I know how we can sound, I LOVE TEXAS!!!! I cannot help myself. It is just so beautiful in this part of the state. I am thankful to be so close to such a retreat spot. Oh and final photo I promise! 

 

As she was running down to the river front, the theme to Little House on The Prairie popped into my head. Of course I was BEHIND her and not in front so the perspective was different but still the same idea as the intro to the show. Then my husband made a reference to Little House as well. We both LOVE Little House so it was a nice memory recall and so cool that we had the same thought.

Oh wait did I say last photo?   This is outside the bedroom where I am staying.

I cannot tell you how odd it is to have this outside my bedroom! It really makes me giggle! And it looks like it is standing over a prized javelina skull perhaps? Or just may be a wild boar. I don't know! I have seen many mounted deer heads in my lifetime,  but the WHOLE deer??? Especially when there were a whole bunch of live ones next door tonight.... 

YEEHAWWW! It's time to visit the dentist!

Okay so I know I am running a sewing blog here but I just had to share this one more thing. My kids went to the dentist today. The OVER THE TOP never want to leave dentist. I am sure this concept is going on in other cities and not just here. Isn't this awesome? Gosh I would have been pining to go see my dentist instead of dreading it if it had been this enticing! When you walk in the walls are painted with flowers and vines and dimensional butterflies are attached to the walls. There is a play area and a VIDEO ARCADE ROOM! Mostly vintage games. Nothing creepy or yucky. And there is always a sweet girl sitting at a table making balloon animals and painting faces.And that's just the waiting room. The exam area is always decorated in a theme and has several arcade games in there as well. Today's theme was a luau. Complete with the dentist all decked out in luau clothing. Well brightly colored clothing anyway and a hat with wig. So hard to have a serious conversation with him without giggling! They have had this theme before and that time we went he wore LILY PULIZTER. I am NOT kidding! Did you know they had the classic Lily green and pink patterned pants for men? I was so surprised! He has been actual characters too. My favorite being Superman. There's the dentist all decked out as the man of steel, tights, cape and all, with shorts on for modesty of course. He said he used to ride a motorcycle to work wearing that costume. Can you imagine the cape flapping in the wind??? I could go on and on, YES there is actually more but you get the idea. This place is happy, everything is fun and tastes wonderful. I wish I could be a patient there!

Having our last girlie fest!

The boy comes home in a few hours, yay! Shooting, crashing, exploding sounds and lots of action scenes will no doubt resume in my household so my daughter and I are having our last girlie fest. Cookies baked, check, hair styled a zillion times, check, mommy allowing her daughter to watch TWO princess movies, check, stack of purple and pink paintings drying, check. Being inspired by all this girlie play below I embedded my all time favorite clip from Cinderella. I think it may have been one of the many elements from my childhood that inspired me to learn to sew. Make sure you pause my music at the bottom of the page. In the meanwhile please say a prayer for my son. His plane is in the air right now. He made it! Thanks for covering him in your prayers!

A giveaway!

This fabric line is on my looooong list of fabrics I would love to have. Flower Sugar 2 is so bright, cheery and beautiful . Wouldn't this make a lovely quilt? The Long Ladies at Marie Madeline Studio are giving away a Flower Sugar 2 fat quarter bundle, 21 fat quarters to be exact! Wow! So go check it out here and enter to win!

A Breath of Fresh Air

That's what the Marie Madeline Studio online shop is for me. From the fabrics, to the trims, to their in house drafted patterns their shop is a wonderful place to retreat. What I adore about their patterns is they are modest, adorable, and very easy to construct. You know I am ALMOST old enough to be their mothers! Not quite but almost.(Whispering,  "I am 39. Shhhhh!!!"And actually I am old enough to be some of their mother's just not all) They are drafting these cutie pieces and writing well thought out clear instructions that rival most patterns in your stash. Pretty darn impressive if I say so myself.  I am currently working on their latest pattern the AnaClaire Jumper.

I just heard you squeal. Adorable isn't it!?!? What little girl wouldn't want to wear this??? I know a certain little girl in this house that is excited about hers...  And the fun thing about this pattern is you can make it ankle or knee length, with or with out the apron, with or with out ties, with or with out a ruffle or band, with or with out exterior pockets.... you get the idea. And it has the cutest button closure in the back. The buttons are covered and fastened with a loop. NO BUTTONHOLES! Woo hoo! Thank you Long Ladies for another wonderful pattern. To check out their patterns go here. To see other examples of the jumper go here and here and here and here. I hear you saying, "Oh so adorable" already!

He made it!

And having a great time. For the trip we bought him a pre paid cell phone, that or a calling card was required by the airline, and boy has he been calling! He's happy, you just have to know him, chatty and wants to share EVERYTHING with us. Hmmm sound like somebody you know???

So this is a little something I sent along with him

.Sorry about the picture quality, I just didn't have enough lighting to take a good pic and it needed to be packed right away.  I started this quilt a looooong time ago. It is a double Irish chain, machine pieced, hand quilted, lap/almost twin size quilt. It is for my sweet mother in law to keep at the foot of her bed. She helped with picking the fabrics. I think she did a great job and it will be perfect for her room.

Still sewing and creating here more to come so stay tuned!

He's off!

Off to see our family in North Carolina. Our hearts aches for him but we know he is going to have a wonderful time. His sister is glued to his side all the time. She is going to really miss him a lot! But I have a feeling he is going to welcome the break... It's his first time to fly by himself. He has flown quite a bit so that is not a foreign concept but still this mommy is nervous! He is in God's hands where ever he goes whether around town or off in another city. There's just something about him being in the air! With out me! So to keep my mind busy, I pulled out a little fabric...

I guess I need to stay REALLY busy!

I have a few things I am working on.

Like the combos? Keeping the rest a secret. Well until they are finished and blogged of course! I am giggling. My daughter's best friend is over she just came in here and exclaimed "Whoa, you have a lot of clothes to make!" Well yes, I guess I do! So say a prayer for my son. He has been in the air for 24 minutes. Not that I am counting....

Cutiest little DIY dress kit gveaway

Tasha over at a little SWEETNESS is giving away this cute little DIY dress kit. It is a complete kit  from her darling fabric, dress pattern, embroidery pattern, right down to the elastic. And if you don't win she is going to be carrying this kit in her shop. Squeal! So go check it out and enter to win!

Shazam!

Where is an mp3 clip of Gomer Pyle when you need it???
I hesitated on posting these pics. They are not quite what I wanted. I am at my parents house and I don't know where their photo editing program is on this computer. And on top of that I didn't have time to arrange the dress so you could see the bottom better.  So just bear with me on seeing a lot of the back ground and just squint your eyes and turn your head 45 degrees so you can imagine my description. Although I will have to say that is one amazing piece of furniture behind my girl. So pretty.

Okay so first about the pattern. It is Abracadabra pattern number 92 that I purchased from Corie at Banberry Place. Abracadabra is a pattern company from Holland so the instructions sheet is written in English but the pattern page is all in Dutch. At least I THINK it is in Dutch as I don 't know Dutch and it didn't look like other languages that I am at least somewhat able to recognize. But no worries. The pattern is so incredibly simple you don't really need to know what the pattern page says the instructions are thorough enough.Here you can see the lines of the hem in the pencil drawing on the cover of the pattern.

 Isn't that cool? You really need to make one of these and see it in motion to really appreciate the lines of the hem. The second really neat thing about this pattern is it is actually TWO dresses. Now it is hotter than I don't know what here right now so I doubt my girlie is going to go for wearing two dresses right now but If you use a lighter fabric for one or BOTH of the layers , use some oh say maybe voile or lawn or swiss dot... your little one can definitely have a very comfortable pretty summer dress. But I just HAD to use this Sisboom fabric. The top dress is in my favorite stripe from the Dance with Me line and the bottom is my girlie's favorite Kayla from the same line(I just checked you can still get it at Marie Madeline Studio).  And here is what makes the top and bottom dress layers so cool.(I found their photo editing program! Yay!)

I love how the lines are different for both the bodices and the straps and those differences make for an interesting pattern on the back. The only thing I don't like about the pattern is it does not have a facing requirement/pattern piece for the underdress. I am sure it's because it's suppose to be an underdress and not a stand alone dress on its own, but that is not how my daughter sees it! I will be fortunate if she ever wears the top dress! She just loves the Kayla fabric.
I only made two changes to the pattern. I altered the length 5 inches on the pattern pieces by lengthening them just under the where the hole for the underarm ends. I omitted the straps and used bias for the underdress straps and ribbon for the overdress strap.
Overall I think this dress would be great with a tee. I was actually going to have her wear a tee for the pics but realized all I had with me were white tees and you would not be able to see the straps or rick rack as well. But really, the dress would look great with a tee underneath. Sort of jumper chic. Ooh la la!(Had to get some Fancy Nancy in there!) So go drop in on Corie and Marie Madeline Studio and  check it out!

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