white ruffle skirt

I had a bunch of this white fabric and so I wanted to test out this skirt pattern. It is the nie nie skirt from pink fig. The pattern still calls for 2 more layers of ruffles but I like the length of this one on her. The fabric is a little thicker than the normal cotton quilting fabric so this skirt is extra puffy and quite heavy with just the four layers. I have been doing all the ruffles on her clothes the old fashion way with a basting stitch and pulling the threads. It is soooo time consuming. I enjoy doing it, it is almost therapeutic pull gather, pull gather, pull gather. I feel like I go in a trace;) But because it is so time consuming and I'll be making skirts with ruffles for my Etsy shop I bought a ruffler foot for my sewing machine! I played around with it all day yesterday trying to figure out the learning curve for it. There are so many factors that you can change to make more or less gathers or pleats. It is really a cool little foot and I know it is going to save me a ton of time and actually be more precise on the gathering placements. I whipped up another nie nie skirt in black and it took at least half of the time or maybe even less from when I did it all hand gathering on the white skirt.

Last month I got a new machine! I have had my viking designer for about 9 years and my daughter broke the embroidery part on it a couple years ago. I thought about just getting it fixed but it is a floppy disk and I would also have to upgrade it to a USB and so I decided it was also just time for a new machine. I went with another viking, The Ruby and I love her!!! It is so nice to have my embroidery part back. Everything from my old viking I can use on my new one so all the feet and hoops I've collected over the years is not a waste. I am keeping my designer as a backup and if I get really busy I can use it while my other machine is embroidering. It has been so fun! The shirt she is wearing is an embroidered applique rudolph and then her name. So stinkin' cute!

I am hoping to have my Etsy shop up and open in the next week or 2. It is called She Sew Sassy. It will mostly be for girls clothing but also I will have a few random other things occasionally. I am nervous and excited and it has been a few years in the works and the timing is finally right now. I will post when it is open.

skeleton animal fabric

When we were out shopping my daughter said mom I love this material. So how could I not get it and make a cute dress with it! I also love anything polka-dots so I grabbed this black and white dots to got with it. I made a mistake when I was cutting the skirt part and it didn't get cut on the fold so I had a seam down the middle. Well I was just going to put it in the back but somehow it got on the front so I had this ugly seam down the middle of the dress. I sat and looked at it and decided it had to get covered so I made the ruffle and sewed it down the center. I love how it turned out and looking back many of my mistakes end up working out for the better! It causes me to get creative and it always seems to work out to my advantage! This dress might be a gift for my niece if we happen to draw her name for Christmas if not it will have a home here. It just needs a button in the center of the flower and it is done.

ruffle mania

This is my daughter's christmas dress. It was a lot of ruffles but I love how it turned out and can't wait for her to wear it. The pattern is the stella dress from izzy and ivy designs. I am a glutton when it comes to ruffles! It is my love hate relationship with them. love how they look but there is just no easy way to do them other than the old fashion way of gathering and pulling the thread. I have gotten quite efficient and can whip out some ruffles quickly. It is true practice makes perfect. After I finished this dress I said it would be awhile before I did another but I quickly made a skirt from the pattern for thanksgiving. I adore those ruffles down the sides.

upcycled jeans

These jeans had a hole in the knee and were too short in the length but still fit in the waist so I seam ripped open the legs, cut the length and added fabric and a ruffle and presto the jeans have a new identity and another year of mileage left in them. I got the idea from pink fig and just started cutting and pasting;) I love how they turned out and I think I see a few more pants that are going to go under the knife

ruffle pants

Another great pattern from pink fig! These are the bella pants. The material is a brown suit type fabric from Joann's. I was originally going to make a skirt for me but ended up using it for my daughter. I am all about ruffles and all things girly but I really love it in these basic brown pants. I prefer lots of color but it is also nice to have more dressy neutral things too.

My next project is getting some labels printed up so I can sew them into my clothes. My hubby is always asking which way do her pants go. It is hard to tell the front from the back if you don't know what you are looking for. My daughter is also dressing herself a lot so she knows tags go in the back but when her clothes are tagless it makes it harder. I just need to design something in photoshop and print them out on fabric paper or iron transfer stuff....not sure what would be best.......time for some research.

Halloween skirt

I just love riley blake fabrics! The colors and patterns are always so perfect! This is called trick or treat. The pattern is a take on the patchwork skirt I just cut some blocks even smaller and left some bigger. I have used this pattern a million times and with all the different materials the skirt seems a little different each time.

This is the same pattern just the blocks were cut a tad bigger. I also did a bunny applique on the tank to make a set. I loved this material!! It is sparkly in the fabric. It is called urban angel by studio e. They had it at my mill end textiles and I grabbed what was left....not much. Pink is my downfall anything that is pink my eyes drift towards and I HAVE to have it. I was so happy to have a little girl because I have a feeling my little boy would be wearing a lot of pink much to my hubby's dismay.

How time flies

I have been sewing I just haven't been blogging about it. I have been blogging about my bunnies! I show american fuzzy lops and that has been a huge part of my last couple years. Now that fall is approaching I find myself at my machine sewing more. I spend most my time making my daughter clothes and the other time is spent quilting or making other crafts. I made this back to school outfit for her now that she started preschool she needs to be stylin'. The teachers commented on how they all look forward to seeing what she is wearing the next time at school! Those are big expectations to live up to to try and create something new each week;) This fabric is from Robert Kaufman it is a corduroy material and is super soft and lightweight. I love it. The pants are the bella pants. I have used this pattern so many times for pants for her over the last couple years. Every time she wears a pair someone always comments on them I am also a sucker for ruffles! The shirt is from baby gap and I just appliqued some material on it to make it a matching set.

frog quilt

This is another project that had been sitting waiting for a due date. The color is so much better in person I really should have waited to take the pic in daylight tomorrow. I liked the frog prints and didn't know what to do with the flannel, I was going to make some pants or something for my daughter but then decided to just do a little kid quilt. You can never have too many handmade quilts on your shelf incase of a last minute birthday present or shower gifts. I might even make a run to donate a few with winter here. There are 2 more quilts waiting to get finished and not sure what I want to work on next. I think the pinwheel one for our bedroom would be best now for the cold winter nights. I really need to find a nice old wardrobe unit to store my quilts and blankets in. Might have to hardcore garage sale this srping

gonna finish my UFO's

So I am going to work on getting some of my UFO's finished before I start some new ones. This dress was started at least a year or more ago for my daughter and all it needed was buttonholes and the buttons which have been sitting waiting patiently for me and a needle. Not sure why it took so long to finish since my machine makes doing buttonholes a breeze. So now that my daughter has grown like a weed this dress is more like a long shirt it will be cute without any bottoms but if I can find some of the same material around, a pair of bloomers would be adorable too. Hopefully it still fits this spring but I guess a cream shirt under would work too. Kids can pretty much pull anything off

gotta do something

I had to go to the fabric store to redo our stools at our kitchen island. We had 4 very nice stools with backs then came along our toddler and a tipsy neighbor and all the backs broke on our stools so for months we had been using then with sawed off backs thinking we need buy new ones eventually. My dh took one apart to see and figured out we could remove the swivel part that held the backs and cut a new wood piece out of plywood and I could recover them and then we wouldn't have to buy new stools. So after I grabbed my 60% coupon for mill end textiles I was back in a fabric store and the big has bit me again. I was able the recover 4 stools for 15.00. I picked up a couple spring type fabrics for my daughter to make something just not sure yet but I promise I will have something to post fairly soon. I still want to make some stockings for christmas since he family doesn't have anything to hang...something I've wanted to do forever

Cleaned my room

My sewing room has been so out of control and I haven't wanted to be in there and do any work. I finally cleaned most of it up yesterday and found my machine under piles of stuff. I am missing it so I am going to dig out one of my many UFO's and do some sewing so hopefully I will have something for you guys to look at. Now I just need to figure out what I want to work on.....

Easter dress

I went to joann''s yesterday and bought some cute fabric for Presley' easter dress that I just decided to make the other day. This pink fabric is just adorable and it was in the clearance section for 2.00 a yard so I bought what was left and figure it will get used for something. I am such a fan of pink and have a hard time resisting anything that is pink! I can't believe how fast Easter crept up and it is even later this year. So I have to whip it up quickly today I need it done asap so I can get her pics taken in it and send out a Easter card for everyone. I have been getting all my cards out either late or on the day of the holiday lately. Well at least they are getting in the mail so that is an accomplishment.

well I finished her dress. It turned out cute. I used this pattern but altered it a little because I wanted more of the bottom to be the pink material. That material was a little more sensitive to work with but I just love the look of it. It is so shabby and romantic. Not that I was going for a romantic look for a 2y.o. but I couldn't think of another word to describe it. I love the look of the sleeves I just left the edges raw I think they will be fine. I am so excited to see it on her after her nap. Now I just have to wait until the chicks arrive on monday and hopefully get a cute pic of her and the chicks for a Easter card. I am sure I'll have to wash it after the photo shoot with chicken poop all over it!!!! Oh well clothes are meant to be worn and get dirty.

urban couture

I bought this charm pack before Christmas. It was my first charm pack so I didn't know what to expect so I decided to cut the 5" squares into triangles and sew them that way. Well I realize that if I want to make any type of halfway decent size quilt I need to buy a few more charm packs. I really love the colors and designs in this line so I need to order a few more packs and I'll have a nice size lap quilt. This is probably measuring about 2x2 right now so not sure how many more packs to buy 3-4 I think?

well it is something

I was out yesterday and found a easter basket for Presley. I found it for $6.99...much better price than pottery barn for kids $40+ bucks for their baskets. On the other side it came with this cute easter egg embroidery. I knew I wanted to embroider her name on it and knew it would fit good on this basket. Decided to do a green instead of a matching pink. I love pink and green together. This is one of my fav fonts it is called curlz.

I love all their embroideries and they have sales all the time. I got this alphabet font for 50% off before christmas and did some pillowcases for my family. Now we are all set for the easter bunny. Maybe I should sew up a big bunny costume for greg to wear.....

nothing

I have not been doing any sewing. I have plenty to finish and hopefully in the next few days I'll be able to get a little time at the machine. I am starting to have some withdrawl from not being able to get any time to sew. I think the biggest thing right now is to get my room organized and cleaned up because it is a disaster area and when it is that messy I just can't stand being in there. I think that is my first goal....clean tomorrow and then maybe the creative juices will start flowing. I hope to have something for you guys soon

practice skirt

So I got my pattern and material in the mail so I whipped out a practice skirt to see how I liked it. The skirt is super simple and it turned out good. I don't like the material so much but it was in my stash and it was cheap to practice with. I didn't want to use my good stuff for the trial run. I will wear this one too but not loving it. It is a fun bright color for summer. I am so excite to make the one with my new material it is even prettier in person and such a soft cotton. I think it will lay much better than this stiffer material I used on this skirt. Don't mind my white pastey legs I do live in MN and only see the sun for about 5 minutes a year!!! Well that and being a strawberry blonde with freckles doesn't help either.....oh yeah and already having skin cancer..... Anyhooo I like the skirt but hoping to make this next one a wee bit smaller cuz I just have to lose a few lbs. before summer!!! I am going to the dentist on wed. I'll ask if he'll wire my mouth shut!!!

bella pants

So since I am waiting on my goodies to come in the mail I needed to get a sewing fix in today. I decided to make another pair of pants for my daughter since all her 2t pants have become high waters. I love this little pattern for a quick pair of pants. It goes perfect with this shirt she already had. I used what was in my stash and my poor stash has become quite depleted which is a good thing because I have been wanting to use up what I have but I have run out of things to make new. 

I couldn't do it!!!

I caved today and order some material!!!! I just couldn't to it for one stinkin' month. If it is any conciliation  I probably won't be getting the material till almost march and it is coming from march's budget. Plus I am making a skirt for me so really it should come out of my clothing budget right???;) Oh How we can change anything to fit our agenda.  I am so excited to see this new material in person. I so wish we had a big material store that carried these designer fabrics.  The one place that carries a good selection is about 40 minutes from me so not super convenient. There is a quilting shop close but they carry very traditional quilting fabrics so I usually don't like a lot of their inventory. Joann's is ok for some stuff but they lack in the fun trendy styles sometimes too. I like going to this one warehouse they have a huge selection and great prices but it is hit or miss with what they have in. I need something more edgy and trendy. I would love to open a little place of my own but in this market I don't dare even think about it. These are the 2 fabrics I bought and I think it is going to make one cute skirt!!! I am hoping to squeeze it out with just the 2 yards. It might be close and I'll see if I need something else for the waistband. I always do a test run with any new pattern on cheaper material from my stash to iron out any kinks. Depending on how much I like the fabric I might order a fat quarter sampler of it for a patchwork skirt for P and we will have our matchy-match outfit!!

10 more days

I have just 10 more days before my new budget for march starts!!! I am already jonesing for some new material. I am still undecided if I am going to make that soiree quilt bigger or leave it a lap quilt. I keep going back and forth. If I do decide to make it a king size it will take all of march and april budget to finish...... With that being said I might just stick with the lap size and redo our bedroom down the road. I really want to start making some skirts for me for summer. I just want to make a few swing skirts because if and when I lose weight they are still going to fit nicely now and later because of the lose fit. If I lose a lot of weight which is highly doubtful all I would have to do is make the elastic waist a little smaller. Ok I just decided to keep soiree a lap size and make some cute summer skirts for me!!! I really love this pattern and finally they have it in stock!!!I have been waiting for about 2-3 months and now I just ordered it. I am going to make quite a few for summer. With different material they will all look so different even though it is the same pattern. I am sooooo excited now. Hurry up 10 days!!!! Maybe my hubby will give me an advance for next month's fabric allowance???

Scrap quilt done

this lil' guy is done!!! I feel like everything is in slow-mo lately. I am not getting in as much time at the machine so things are taking a little longer to get completed. I really like how this little guy turned out. I think it is about 35' square. I will definitely do this design again. I finished it up with all scraps and it feels so good to put it all to use and not waste any fabric. The colors all go so well together too I love when that happens.  I will be donating this lil' guy along with a few more. I just need to get some labels put on so somewhere someone will say "who is this sheila from MN????" I used a white sheet for the back and the white on the front but after using sheets for a few quilts I realize that I just don't like the way they sew as much. They are so dense that the needle doesn't go thru them as easily when stippling and piecing. I will still use them once and awhile but I think I'll stick with quilters cotton for the most part. I do love the softness to the sheets though much more pleasant to the skin. I think tonight I will try to come up with some labels and get them printed on the fabric I have for it.