Go West Young Lady!

 West Indies!  What was that about me saying I am not an autumn colors girl??



 Well you know only Jennifer can get me to embrace the other side! Since Honey Child she has had me swooning over yellow too! Oh I know yellow, cringe! Oh but not Jennifer's yellows! I want all of them! Wait till you see this print in yellow. Swoon! Have plans for that too! Wow the colors in this line are so beautiful. They do look autumnal but they definitely have the brighter Sisboom touch. Really beautiful jewel tones. I love them all. Oh and the zebra print is Sis Boom but is not from West Indies, but it works beautifully!

The skirt is Patty Young's Julia. You know I kept passing that pattern in my stash thinking, "Later later I will will make one later", and gosh what was I waiting for?? There's a LOT of fabric in this little skirt. I didn't measure exactly but it has to be something close to 1.5 yards or so of fabric used. That's a lot for a skirt! So worth it. I like the little drawstring effect too. Just a fun design all around. Oh something to note. To make the trim visible on the bottom tier of the skirt, I had to add about 3 inches to the length of the bottom tier skirt. So if you want to make something similar, keep that in mind when you are cutting.

The shirt is Pink Fig's Olivia in swiss dot fabric. I was hesitant about this pattern only because I didn't think it would fit my daughter right. Loved the picture and the design but didn't see it on my daughter. Well I love a peasant top, love Chelsea's peasant patterns in particular because of the rolled hems and shirring,  and by this point I have made a LOT of peasant. Wanting something fresh and different I thought "Well why not." Another "What was I thinking? Why didn't I do this sooner?!". I like how it fits my daughter and I like how it fits at the top of the waistband so that the skirt is seen wtihout having to tuck in the shirt. It also gives the outfit more interest and I like that too. So glad I made it! I will be making more like it!

The trim is Hobby Lobby. Sparkly brown velvet ribbon(like the ribbon on the glitter apron in Girl's World) and that rosette trim you can buy by the yard. I bought 2 yards but could have used maybe 8 inches more. I just modified the skirt width instead.

I often get questions about her shoes, we shop everywhere but I ALWAYS start with Target and Payless(sometimes Walmart) and if they don't have something that fits(skinny foot) then we go on to Nordstrom's. These shoes are Nordstrom's brand. Oh and the Neckace is from the magnifique  le junque(read junk) costume jewelry chic store Charming Charlie's. Oh how I love that store! I really do! Inexpensive, great for the occasion, not for forever jewelry. Love it!

Oh and while I am sourcing everything, we are in a horrible drought here. Horrible! And hot for even this native Texan. HOT! Every green thing is dead, everything.  Finding a decent backdrop is challenging to say the least! So I finally got my act together and went and found green grass. Why the golf club of course! What really cracks me up about this place is they keep a longhorn there. I am not kidding a LIVE longhorn, at the GOLF CLUB! Don't ask me why, I don't play golf but I do think that is a hoot. My daughter saw it tonight and got all excited. Guess we should have gone an stood closer to the pen...yes the one in the background...

Okay I am nodding off so forgive my typos. I know there have to be more than what I have caught!

Josie from Girl's World

This is the first Josie I ever cut out and it was not for my daughter but for my friend's daughter. I was worried that it would be too small for her  and didn't have a sense for fitting yet since it was the first one, so I went ahead and cut out another one size bigger thinking either way, we would keep one and give the other to my friend's daughter. So, voila! The Josie in Nicey Jane!

With Portabellopixie Farmer's Market for the sash.  Something to note about the sash is in the pattern  it is intended to be sewn into the sides with the bottom band of the bodice being a curved band cut the same width as the sash. But I wanted to try the sash to look like the dress pictured in the book so I experimented. This sash  cut to the width of the sash for this dress with a middle piece added in. The sash that I think works better with the curved band in the front of the bodice is the sash for the Mary's Fancy Dress. It's wider than this sash which makes it perfect for covering the curve. You can just straighten out the curve on the band and just be done with it already! I just had a mental block cutting on the bodice like that.

My daughter wanted her hem to be all the way to the ground.  Her wish was my command! She was so princess like walking in it this morning lifting the skirt to step up on curbs and stairs and such. To top it off, they made Esther's crown today in Sunday School. She even had a crown! Very fun indeed.



My friend's daughter apparently lives in her dress. I had a hard time getting her to take it off when she came for her fitting! "Just take the pins out and leave it like this. I don't want to take it off!" As she ran to hide in my daughter's room. You know what a wonderful feeling it is when a little girl loves something you make. Made my day! Still makes me smile! I need to get a picture of her in hers. The day I delivered it we were going out of town and there wasn't time for pictures. Hopefully soon!

Oh the weather outside is frightful....

Frightfully HOT! I honestly believe it will be 100 degrees plus in the late afternoons still  when my son starts school next week! My daughter has a couple more weeks before school starts, but I am not anticipating  a snowstorm then either!

So what's a girl to do starting up school in hot HOT weather? Wear summer clothes of course! Or summer weighted clothes anyway.

So leggings. Where does one start with leggings in this heat? Well you don't wear too many for starters! But my daughter loves to wear them with skirts, crazy  in the heat I know. So here's a couple I made out of gorgeous knits I found at Banberry Place.

I think Corie still has the pink and white but the pink and red is long gone. I don't have skirts for them yet, hence her favorite eyelet dress from Target(last year), but my daughter did find this skirt in her closet that I think works pretty well! Actually she pulled the whole thing together. Not too bad! Summery but hey, who's gonna be picky in this heat? Not me! She had to add the ribbon sash, that very one, she wasn't taking suggestions from the peanut gallery this time. I will say it picks the roses out of the skirt very well.

I have a lot of half completed things to finish up here. I hope to get them done so I can blog them soon. 

Sugar! Sugar!

 Ohhhh the Spring 2011 Flower Sugar is cheery, happy and not to mention pretty! I have really been enjoying working with it.  Here is my latest creation, Pink Fig Rosie Posie pants in capri length.

We decided to pair the pants with the Ottobre shirt I made last year. Thank goodness I made it extra long! After putting it all together it still needed something so I made a sash. I think I probably need to shorten it but you know we are not girls who shy away from a little drama in the wardrobe. Glitter, Glow and Bows baby! =D

We had the bow in front at first but once I moved it to the back we both agreed it we liked it much better.

I purchased the fabric at Marie Madeline Studio, the ADORABLE Sweeny and Wolfi Farbenmix at Banberry Place and the pattern at Fairytale Frocks and Lollipops.

Josie in Knit!

My second Girl's World dress to make in knit and I love it! I bought the knit from Banberry Place a great while back, Euro goodness soft and light with lycra and it has a great bounce to it. It is a very high quality fabric.

The construction went together smoothly. If I were to do it again I might modify the bodice just a little bit to reduce the amount of gathering because it tends to pull the neck down a little, it's not super noticeable but that is something I would want someone to tell me if I were about to embark on this project with knits. I could probably adjust the straps to fix it but I haven't had a chance to look at it yet.

 

The dress waist is a little different than what you see in the pictures in the book. The tie is integrated into the waist. If you want a tie like the picture, use the Mary's Fancy Sash tie in the book and that will cover the curved waistband really well. It's a little wider than the picture but it looks great. That's what my student made for her sash in the previous post.

My daughter loves to wear knits and now this is the dress she is reaching for. I love it when she loves what I make her! You know that's just not always the case. She has developed opinions so I am dancing around the fabric and patterns to keep up! It's really  fun to see her tastes developing.


Okay that's enough of me for now. Time for dinner. I have a few more things to post and then I will be all caught up! Woo hoo!

Miss Jenny, I want to make the Josie.

Okay so she has never made a dress in her life and she wants to start with the Josie. I LOVE her spirit! LOVE IT! So we went for it!

Here she is hard at work...

And here is her finished product! Doesn't she look amazing!? I had to redraft the bodice because she had outgrown the sizes in the book and it came together pretty well! It was a little high on one side and I don't know if that was from construction or just my drafting or maybe both.

I am so proud of her! She wore it to church that Sunday and she was so proud of herself. Such a darling dress pattern on a darling bright ambitious girl. Love her!

Thank you Judy of Hickity Pickity for sending the box of fabrics for these girls to work with!  Such a sweet thing to do for them and they have really appreciated it!

People in Tennessee are so NIIIIIIICE!

Sorry for the quiet coming from my end. My hubby and I took a road trip to Tennessee last week and we had the BEST time! Such nice nice people in Tennessee! Great service, helpful, friendly, cute accents and always wearing a smile. Seriously what are you folks putting in your sweet tea over there?! Hahaha! Kidding on that last one. A great beautiful state, Tennessee is a place to put on your list to visit. Oh and I know this is a picture of my by myself, my husband is not really a fan of having his picture posted so you are just getting a shot of me!
If you do plan to go may I suggest you visit Fall Creek Falls on the Cumberland Plateau? Gorgeous state park with beautiful trails and of course gorgeous falls. If you go there, try staying at Cumberland Plateau Retreat. Privately owned little cabins in the woods 10 minutes from the park. Super friendly owner and DARLING accommodations. They are newly built cabins but rustic and a great value. We hope to take our kids back there one day just so they can stay in the little lofts in the Twin Oaks cabin. I would have LOVED to stay in those little lofts when I was a kid. Great retreat spot for the family.
If you motor into Gatlinburg I highly recommend staying at Black Bear Falls Log Cabin Community. I think I said "Oh so cute" every time we drove in to the little neighborhood and the VIEWS from the cabins! I gasped every time I opened my  bedroom door in the morning. The wall across from our bedroom was solid windows. Stunning scenery. They also were running specials on the cabins so it is definitely worth your while to check them out.

Okay so this is a sewing blog and I am blibber blabbering about Tennessee! Well before I left I made the Casey Scroll skirt I am wearing above and this Honey Child skirt. The Casey skirt is a skirt I copied in my closet. It is pleated in the front and back at the waist and has a zipper on the side. Sweet Jennifer sent me this fabric a good while back and I just HAD to have a skirt out of it. I used every inch of that fabric and it came out just above my knees if I wear it below my  natural waist line. I love it. Jennifer posted a picture of me in it on facebook and it is in my flickr as well.

This is my absolute FAVORITE Honey Child print. HANDS DOWN! My favorite. I just love the intensity and depth of the colors. This is the same New Look 6843 that I have sewn from many times. Love that pattern! I did change it up this time though. Instead of having the zipper in the back, I moved it to the side because the zipper tends to not lay flat in the back. Much better!

Thank you Jennifer for your generosity! You color our world with your beautiful fabrics and prints!

Okay I am on a blogging roll I think. Well until the kids come in saying they are hungry. Josie dresses from Girls World and back to school creations coming up!

Black Bear Falls on Dwellable