Birthday sewing!

Since the very beginning of my sewing business I have had the fun of making some pretty special birthday shirts / onesies / outfits.  Over the last 3+ years I've made hundreds of them - and it's always a really cool thing to know that someone trusts me to make such a special, important item for their kiddo(s).

Last week, I had fun sewing up a birthday dress for our friends' daughter who turns two today!!!

Then because I knew she was pretty obsessed with Thomas - and figured it was probably pretty tough to find girly Thomas stuff - I sewed up another dress and a tunic for her birthday gift.

She was SO cute as she tore through all the gifts - doing a GREAT job of picking up each item and showing it to everyone - quickly - then moving on to the next gift!

One of the things that is the biggest bummer about custom sewing is that it is pretty rare that I get to see the items I make ON the kiddos I make them for.  They go in the mail and are (hopefully) loved when they arrive at their new home.....

But things look SO much cuter on kiddos than hangars!

So you can imagine how FUN it was for me to see that two kiddos (birthday girl and another friend) were wearing items I made at the party!

Crummy cell phone pic.... sorry! :)

A quick "hello!" {yes, I'm still here.... kinda}

Wow.  9 days since my last post?  Yikesa!

In all honesty.... I've been in a creative funk.  I think of projects I'd like to work on - and then when I happen to have a few free seconds {because that's about all I'm getting these days} the inspiration just isn't there!

Busy life, good healthy changes going on, active and growing kiddos, bits of sunny weather - - - so much to do, so little time!

I told my husband the other night I need to either take a BREAK (like for real.... intentional.... where I don't still feel like I should be doing some sewing / creating) - - - - or I need to chain myself to my sewing machine and "sew through it"!

Neither of those options are very practical..... so I think I'll go with option 3: attempt to get a bit more sleep (lately we have been averaging about 5.5 hours a night!), work through paid custom orders (not many... but a few are still hanging out there!), and then grab some FUN fabric and just SEW.

How do you get yourself through a slump / funk?  Whether it's in your creative life, work, fitness goals, personal goals.... I know we all go through them - and there's no miracle cure for them..... but help a mama out! :)

One thing I AM doing {that I think will help} - I'm running my first 5k in just over a week!  I have always HATED running.  No joke.  But tomorrow (or Saturday) I will complete the last run of my couch-to-5k training program - having run for 9 straight weeks at least three times a week.... and the following weekend I have friends and family ready to run a fun color run to celebrate!  I know it will be an awesome accomplishment - and the fact that I'm *this close* to completing this goal (and then making more!) is very energizing!

I haven't done TONS of sewing lately - though I somehow seem to be accumulating more fabric (oops!?) - but I have worked on a few projects....

Sneak peek of an item I made for a pattern tester {pattern releases in June - I'll share more then!}  Yes... I was brave and cut into some Art Gallery for this one!!!

This cutie pie was "helping" me with my photo shoot

*Just about* finished with some fun baseball jerseys for my friend's twins.  I made them onesies about 3 years ago - - - crazy how much our kiddos have grown!

Superhero Gift Set finish

I'm so excited about the gift set I finished up this weekend!

Look at all those fun items!  So bright and.... awesome!  I had shared a sneak peek at this project almost two weeks ago for WIP Wednesday - - - my how time flies when the sun comes out!

This gift set includes: A quilted security / mini blanket, two minky-backed bibs, two burp cloths, and a tie onesie

Two burp cloths - practical but oh-so-fun.

Bibs backed in suuuuuper soft minky

A quilted security blanket - about 18" square - perfect for the car or for snuggling without dragging on the floor {my 1.5 year old sleeps with his every night!}

And of course - a tie onesie!

My customer is giving this set as a gift to a friend expecting the arrival of a lil' superhero.  What an awesome gift!  Practical, fun, and perfect for their superhero-loving family.

I packaged this set up and put it in the mail yesterday - I hope they love how it turned out as much as I do!

I also got this pretty stack o' fabric in the mail for the SMS Giveaway Day winner - Karen.  I'm thinking I need to sew something using these fabrics / colors ASAP!  Happy sewing, Karen!

WIP Wednesday 5/7

My customers have been picking out some FUN fabrics / themes lately {check out this Alice quilt I finished up over the weekend for a customer}!  

This week I'm working on a gift set that includes a mini quilt, some burp cloths, bibs, and a onesie.  It has a superhero theme and I just love the bright & fun fabrics I'm getting to work with.

Here's a peek at the mini quilt - a simple, double-sided quilt made from this comic book print on one side.....

..... and these fun superhero words on the other!

I've got it quilted (some straight-line quilting outlining many of the comics) - and I just need to bind it.  Then on to the rest of the gift set!

What a great gift - and I'm having fun working with such awesome prints.

I'm linking up with WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced - excited to see what everyone else is working on!

An Alice quilt {finish}

A customer recently contacted me about sewing up an Alice in Wonderland baby quilt.  Something simple but cute.

I found a cute border print that she loved and placed the fabric order.  We were working with a pretty tight timeline - but that's okay!  The fabric arrived Friday and by Sunday night I had a finished quilt!

I'm loving how it came together.  I used squares cut from the Alice fabric and then various fabrics with purples / pinks / lime greens in them from my stash - including a few last pieces of favorite "scraps" I just couldn't get rid of - perfect!

The quilt measures about 30" x 36" (give or take a little).  I did a very small amount of straight line quilting - about 3/8" off of each seam - to give it some texture and hold all the layers together.   It is in the mailbox to head to my customer this morning!

After a wash or two this one is going to soften up and just be the perfect little snuggly blanket!

Wednesday already!?

For whatever reason - maybe it's the wonderful sun we are getting here in Washington? - this week is flying by.  I shouldn't be surprised.... as the month of April was the quickest month yet this year!  But here we are - welcome to Wednesday or as my 3.5 year old says "hummmmp daaaaaaaaaay!" (and the 1.5 year old mimics this pretty well!)

Even with a fairly quiet blog and Facebook page I have been working a ton the last week.  Some of the sewing was for gifts / upcoming blog hops - so posting pictures is delayed - but I've been checking things off the to-do list and sneaking in fun time in the sun - playing outside, a family run after the hubby got home from work yesterday, and dinner on our back deck!

This week I FINALLY cut into a beautiful large-scale floral print from the Ashbury Heights line for Riley Blake.  I have a jelly roll of this line stashed away for a "someday" project - and will save enough of the floral for backing - but a friend of mine fell in love with it for a dress for her daughter - and I LOVE how it is coming along!

I shared this "peek" yesterday on Instagram

Finishing it up today so it can get in the mail - - then on to some sewing for ME (gasp!) - and my April quilt blocks for the various BOM's / QAL's I'm participating in.  Hubby suggested I work on the May blocks this weekend, too.  Hmmmm.... smart man?!

Linking up with WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced - excited to see what everyone else is working on this week!

Upcoming blog hop! Tie Dye Diva Perfect Party Dress

I'm so excited to be participating in an upcoming Blog Hop hosted by Handmade Dress Haven featuring 16 blogger's interpretations of the Tie Dye Diva Perfect Party Dress.

{{I previously owned the girls Perfect Party Dress but was given the baby version for free to participate in this blog hop (how I didn't already have it I'm really not sure!?)  This post also contains affiliate links.  If you purchase from Tie Dye Diva after following my links I receive a small portion of the sale - thanks for supporting my lil' business.... and my fabric addiction!}}

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First off, I LOVE Tie Dye Diva patterns.  Well written, great fit, professional finish, and Jen (THE Tie Dye Diva!) is an awesome gal and always willing to answer questions or give tips.

The Perfect Party Dress is a pretty little dress that has some great options included in the pattern.  There are two sizes - for baby (newborn through 24mo) and for girls (size 2-10) - - - and they are both just too sweet!

The REALLY fun part about this blog hop is that we are all going to "play" with the pattern - changes may be subtle or bold - but they're all made using the Perfect Party Dress as a base.  Then we'll share about how our creative process!  I love what Kathy says about this fun twist:

I want to help people learn to use patterns in creative ways, not just the one or two ways the designer shows you.  We all can't be pattern designers, but we can all think outside the box now and then and get creative!

Yes!

I shared a sneak peek of my creation on Instagram (I'm new there.... so you can giggle while I figure it out!) - - and can't wait to take pictures of it on my adorable niece this weekend!





The blog hop takes place next week - at these fabulous blogs:
Mon. 4/28 - Kathy, Amy, Michelle
Tue. 4/29 - Tasha, Ren, Alyssa
Wed. 4/30 - Sara Beth, Shawnta, Shelly
Thu. 5/1 - Jenny, Meriel, Victoria, Nichole
Fri. 5/2 - Deanna, Zura, Kim (that's me!)

I hope you'll join us - I know I can't WAIT to see what everyone has sewn up - and learn a ton from all their tips!

Baseball Shirts!

I am *trying* to do more sewing for my kiddos - it's one of my recurring goals each month.  They are amazingly appreciative EVERY time I do.... and I always love seeing things I make actually being used (but don't get to see this often because most of what I sew is sold and ships to my customer and I might get a picture back - which always makes my day - but I don't get to REALLY see it being used).  Making things for my kiddos allows me to see the item in action - being played in / on, snuggled with, thrown through the wash who-knows-how-many-times.  Love it!

When I saw Alyssa's pattern review for the Old Tyme Baseball Shirts I knew it was going on my "someday" list.  You know the list..... "Someday I'll sew that.  I might even buy the pattern today.... but someday I'll actually get around to sewing it."

Well.... then my friend Eileen contacted me about being a guest boutique for a themed auction group - and guess what one of the themes was?!  Yup - "Take me out to the Ballgame" - perfect!

We are coming up on recreational softball league season around here - and our boys LOVE cheering on Daddy's team, the Yard Dogs - so I thought I'd make them shirts in his company colors - black & yellow (yes, like the song).  If you want a giggle.... check out this remix done by someone from my hubby's company (it's clean... and makes me laugh because he definitely drives a "bumblebee" - yellow truck, black hood)

To say they love them would be an understatement, for sure....

I may have had to bribe them with the new super-duper-massive-sized bubble container to get them to take the shirts off....

I loved sewing these up - and this was my first attempt at piping (it went well.... I learned a ton.... and the second shirt went even better)

We have one left-handed lil' guy.  We started noticing this around 7 or 8 months old - as he was starting to feed himself little snacks.  Sure enough.... he's a leftie!  Partway through last softball season we got him his own glove.  I ordered it on Amazon because I wasn't finding anything small enough for him locally.  I wasn't about to pay twice as much for colors that were more traditionally "boy" - so he has a black and pink glove.  And he loves it.  Then again, we have lots of pink around our house! :)

We are pretty sure B-man is right handed..... check out his form!

This picture cracks me up.  They were both being a bit.... uncooperative.... with the photo taking (can you blame them?  The sun was shining so they wanted to be PLAYING!) - so I told them there was a monkey inside my camera.  He's looking for the monkey in the lens!  Tehehehehehe

A few detail shots - love the curves at the front - and the piping!

The hem is also curved - longer in the front and back, shorter on the sides - just like a traditional jersey - so cool!

This design will be one available for custom order - - - or you can bid on your own custom shirt(s) at the When You Wish Designs Auction (it's a group on Facebook.... they just recently started using the group in an attempt to increase visibility and communication) - their Facebook page is also used for previews / advertisement. 

The auction runs Tonight through Thursday! :)

Pattern Review: Promenade Girl by Ellie Inspired

Oh my!  When Laura from Ellie Inspired posted that she had an opportunity for boutiques to do a review of one of her patterns in exchange for a bit of cross-promotion I definitely jumped at the opportunity!

Can you see why?!

Meet the "Promenade Girl" - - - and my adorable lil' model!

There are SO many adorable patterns over at Ellie Inspired - beware!

The nitty gritty:

Sizes: 4-12, and two doll patterns (for 15" and 18" dolls)

Options: skirt only, skort, and about a bazillion options for pockets / no pockets, trim / hem style

Fit: slim, average, and plus sized options are ALL included in this pattern (WOW!)

Time: my skort took me 90 minutes from printing to finished skort - breakdown of that time after another adorable picture....

Here was my time breakdown:

Taping pieces together - 3-5 minutes

Cutting time (including cutting out the paper pattern after it was taped) - 23-25min

Shorts sewing time - 17 minutes

Pockets with accents - 44 minutes (phew!  But they're sooooo cute!)

Skirt / final construction - 42 minutes

A few key things I LOVE:

Printing: there are 2 pages to print for the various pocket options - and 6 pages to print if you are adding the shorts (skort option).  If you are just sewing a skirt (no shorts / skort), you don't need to print those 6 pages!

Pattern design:  The use of different patterns for the lines for each size (like Laura does for this pattern) is one of those things that just makes me do a happy dance!  I print SO many patterns (because I'm constantly printing a different size... and because I have TONS of patterns) - and I much prefer to print in black & white.  The use of different line styles for each size makes it SO much easier to follow the correct line!!!  BIG brownie points to her for that one!

And.... there are so many options - and this makes for such a professional, fun lil' skirt (or skort) - perfect for playing!

The directions were clear and easy to follow.  Laura does a great job of explaining each step, using lots of photos, and letting you know what you can skip over (depending on what options you are including).

Play structure to climb?!  No problem!

The fit is GREAT!  this little girl wears a size 4 in ready-to-wear clothes, so I made her the Promenade Girl size 4 - average.... without getting her measurements (GASP!) - and it fits perfectly!

After all that playing.... it was time to relax for a bit....

... and soak up some sun!

If you can't tell.... I just love this pattern!  I look forward to sewing up more!

I added Ric-Rac to the pockets - because, well, why not!?

One thing to note: I used 3/4" elastic (not the 1" the pattern calls for).... mainly because I'm a rebel - but also because it was going to be a VERY tight fit to get that 1" elastic into the back waistband.... and this skort was just too cute to get all frustrated over something simple like some finicky elastic! :)

Peek!  See - look at those adorable shorts under there!  No undies will be showing when this lil' lady is busy playing!

So..... I know after all these pictures you are itchin' to sew one (or ten?!) yourself!  I know I will be sewing a bunch over at my shop - Eggo in the Oven.  You can find the pattern here:

Promenade Girl by Ellie Inspired

A HUGE thank you to my friend Heather, who provided the adorable model (Seriously, those curls?!  And that smile!?  Love her!) - and took these amazing photos.  My friends rock!

A thank-you to Laura from Ellie Inspired for giving me the opportunity to sew up this sweet pattern and share my photos / experiences with it.  This could be dangerous, though.... there are many more patterns from her shop on my wish-list now!

If you made it this far.... you should be rewarded, right?!  How about 10% off anything and everything in my Etsy Shop?!  Use the coupon code "Promenade" (without the quotation marks) through this Saturday!

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This review is 100% my opinion after sewing up this (adorable) pattern.  I was given the pattern for free to sew - but was not compensated in any other way and my review is a completely honest representation of how I feel about this pattern!  I had a really great time sewing it - and the questions / suggestions I had along the way were met by Laura of Ellie Inspired with open arms!

Linking up with The Inspired Wren - Inspire Us Thursdays