New Beginnings

 It has been over a month since I lasted posted.  In that time, my sewing machine, a 20 year old basic Singer, has given me a lot of grief.  Thus, began the path towards a new sewing machine.  I thought it would take me a while to save up the money to buy the one I wanted but my lovely husband threw some into the pot from his bonus and I was able to buy my dream machine, a Janome Memory Craft 5200.  

 Isn't she loverly!   

And she has all these stitches and more on the back of this card.  I am just thrilled with her capabilities and power and her quiet, strong motor.  A huge step.

So, to begin to use her, I decided to make a few of these Bit of Whimsy Mermae dolls.  I bought the pattern from her website and the pdf came right away.  It is a well-written pattern with lots of good hints.  I especially liked the Youtube video about embroidering the face.  It has been a while since I did any emberoidery!

So, here is the finished doll.  This is dolly #2.  The first doll was a rough draft, so to speak.  This one, I have been told, is not perfect  But, I think she came out pretty cute and her next mates will be even better.

I like the zigzag stitch feature on the new machine.  

It was very simple and easy to sew this bodice top.

Sewing her face together was not hard at all, thanks to the video on embroidery.  

 

The new machine has such lovely stitches, including this one we all think looks like waves.

So, look for more stuff happening in Kathy's sewing area starting today.

Happy New Year!

Loving Children at Play

I ordered some Sarah Jane Children at Play fabric when it first came out and have been looking at it ever since.  I love it!  It is so cute and colorful, but so not very fall at all.  Therefore, it sat in my cupboard for a while until I finally couldn't stand seeing what others were doing with it and made this dress.  My four year old picked out which fabrics she wanted to use and where they would go, with assistance from me.  I used McCalls 5835 pattern, with a lot of adjustments and alterations.  This is one horribly written pattern, yet I like it for the pieces.  I made adjustments to the bodice as follows in this tutorial.   And, for this particular dress, I added 1/3 to the width of the skirt by adding a blue panel in the middle front and back.  Further, I took the ruffle and doubled it's length.   And I left off the sleeves, per you know who's request.  So, here is the result.  It is 39 degrees in this picture, but sunny, so she thought it would be a perfect dress to play outside.  Go figure!  At least, it twirled nicely!

Back in the saddle!

After more than three weeks of illness (three weeks!!!), I am finally well enough to sew again!  When you have bronchitis AND sinusitis, it is truly difficult to find the energy to sew.  And, the noise from the sewing machine just does not feel good on the already painful head.  Thankfully, I am finally well this week and back to sewing!

So, what have I been doing!  First, I made this lovely twirly skirt for the winner of my blog give-away.  I love this color combo and I hope the wee girl and her mama do as well.

And, for the same lovely mama, I made another Pretty Peacock peasant top from my beloved Dena Designs Monaco peacocks. I literally never get tired of this fabric!  You can buy your own version in my store, see link at top right of blog!

Now, I am beginning some knot dresses and then some tank dresses.  Should be fun!

Modkid Penny as a nightie

The search for loose-fitting nightgowns that are 100% cotton is a fruitless effort in the USA, what with our child protection safety laws.  They are all treated with fire retardants that are proven to cause long-term health problems.  So, what's a sewing mama to do?  Make her own! *

With that in mind, I bought some lovely light-weight pink floral fabric from a sweet sewing mama on Facebook and decided to use Modkid Penny as my pattern.   The fabric turned out to be a nice weight but does not have a ton of stretch.  Still, I went ahead and used it for the whole nightgown rather than spend lots of time and money searching down something with more stretch to use as the binding.  Frankly, binding drives me a bit nuts and since my own kids don't care, I just went ahead.

Here is the finished result. In less than one hour, from cutting out to finished product, including serging and finishing all seams, we have one cute nightie and one happy girl.

I highly recommend Modkid Penny.  It is a great pattern, very simple to use, nice instructions.  Be sure to trace your pattern pieces so you don't have to cut into the paper pattern and you can make many sizes.    Penny have four views to it and several more options: short sleeve, long sleeve, top, dress, contrasting sleeves or bodice, and ruffled hem. A very useful pattern indeed!







* I take full responsibility for any fire liability for my child alone.  You are on your own. 

Gonna toot my own horn

I am going to toot my own horn here for a minute.  I love this dress! I have had the Joel Dewberry Modern Meadow fabric for over a year.  Bought it from Treasure Bay Fabrics in the hopes of making a dress for my oldest daughter.  But she scoffed at it.  (how dare she?!?!) I found the Benartex Habitat fabric at a local quilt shop.  Then, I got the Tula Pink Prince Charming, also in the green and blue.  Finally, I discovered Timeless Treasures Portabello line and ordered some of that.  Pretty soon, the navy and green section of my fabric stash was looking a bit full!  And I found a small piece of Amy Butler fabric I didn't remember I had.  Love it when that happens.

So, what's a girl to do?  I made a peasant dress for my youngest! She is always willing.  Love her for that!  (love oldest, too, but wish she would still wear dresses)

Anyway, I fiddled around with these for a while until I came up with this combo.  Then, I had a mild panic attack because I realized I needed ribbon down the front!  Luckily, Les Bon Ribbon on Etsy came to the rescue!  Isn't the ribbon trim down the front more lovely than any ribbon imaginable? I mean, come on!  That is one amazing ribbon!

So, I ended up making two of these.  I was not sure which size would fit my four year old since, in my opinion, Portabellopixie Claire pattern runs a tad large.  The size four ended up fitting her great, a tad roomy but that is ok. So, the size 2 is now up for sale in my store, Delphinium Designs, on Etsy.

I have to say that I am in love with this dress.  The colors are just beautiful.  I almost wish I could quilt because I would love to have a bedroom quilt in these fabrics!   This dress is made from two patterns.  The top is Portabellopixie Claire peasant, with added tuxedo ruffle and sash.  The skirt and ruffle come from Romeo and Mae's Lucia dress pattern.  Both of these are among my favorite patterns for little girls.

Here are pictures!

Winners!

Here are the winners of my giveway!

First off, the winner of the twirly skirt is Ros!  Random number generator chose post #10 which was her.  Please contact me at delphiniumsummerblue@yahoo.com.

Next, the winner of the ruffle pants is mollibijouscloset!   Random number generator chose #7.  You can also contact me at delphiniumsummerblue@yahoo.com.

Thanks for participating!  I uploaded a few pretty peacock dresses on the Etsy page and they sold!  I will upload some more within a few days, I promise.  More fabrics and ribbon are arriving daily and I am trying to sew a few hours a day.  Hard to get everything done when you are a busy mom but I am doing my best!

Thanks for your support!

More Peacocks!

Looks like I may have found more Dena Designs Monaco peacock fabric!

Yeah for mislabelled listings on ebay! Woohoo! I bought everything the store had, so I should be able to make more of this lovely peacock peasant!  I might even try it as a dress!

Don't forget that my store, Delphinium Designs, opens up again this Friday, September 23rd.   See the post below this one for the contest.  Join the fun!!! I am giving away a pair of ruffle pants and a twirly skirt.