Easter

What a fun and busy weekend. My beautiful sister was in town for an Easter visit and we had so much fun dying eggs, hiding eggs and letting Madelyn and Lillian play together. Madelyn is my niece and is just 16 months older than Lil. Saturday we went shopping and stopped by the fabric store to get some fabric for some beach dresses that I'm going to make for the girls. I turned my back for 2 seconds ( I SWEAR) and when I turned back around Lillian was in the process of painting her eyes with lipstick. The kind that is long lasting. The kind that is pretty much just permanent marker in a tube. I had to scrub and scrub to get it off. You would have thought that I was pulling her fingernails out one by one though by the sounds coming out of her mouth. However, on Easter morning, her eye was still puffy and rug burned so I think maybe I did scrub too hard. Hence the reason that this was her best side this morning.

I Am So Tired

Of talking about myself. I'm sick of it...I feel really bad that I've put up post after post of "hey look at what I did". Anyway, thank you all for commenting and emailing and finding ways to lift me up on your shoulders so I feel as if I've really accomplished something with my sewing and smocking and blabbering about ME! Anyway, I know I've written about Heather before but I just LOVE her. See here and you'll see why. She's an incredible writer and her (written) voice sounds like the voice inside my head. She can put words on paper like no one else. Oh, if you don't like curse words or are easily offended--please don't click the links.

Smocked

Well, here is my second attempt at smocking. I do love it. Once I learned to smock, I knew that I MUST learn to "picture smock". I found the cutest pattern (they are called "plates" in the smocking world) in the spring issue of Creative Needle. It was a row of chocolate bunnies that just screamed Easter. Lil will certainly wear this through the Spring--not just for one Easter Sunday--considering that a lot of blood, sweat and tears went into it. Here's a peak:


Many of you have expressed anxiety over trying to learn to smock. I say GO FOR IT!!! My teacher told me that you will either love it or hate it--You will be over it before you even begin or you won't be able to get enough. Well, I certainly couldn't get enough. My first dress was a "bishop" and I took a class that walked me through each step. This second dress is called a "basic yoke" and I dove into it on my own. I bought a book that is indispensable called the A-Z of Sewing for Smockers. These A-Z books are incredible and this one deals only with construction--not smocking. So it walks you through the steps of how to construct the actual dress--whether it be a bishop, a basic yoke or a full yoke. How to add a sash, collar, sleeves, etc. EVERYTHING. I want several books from this series because there are a kazillion photos in the books with step by step instructions. I could go on and on. Anyway, the point is, don't be scared. Jump right in like I did but be prepared to make time for it. Lillian likes to sit right next to me while I smock. I would love to see your smocked creations! Here are more photos of the bunny dress:

The Song Remains the Same

Well, it's the same song second verse around here. I've been busy busy busy and haven't made the time to blog. I did finish my first smocking project and loved it so much that I learned to "picture smock". So I've completed two dresses at this point as well as some other projects. I've done so much lately that I really don't know where to start so I'll just take it one step at a time and blog about each thing separately....first is my very first attempt at smocking. Which I have to say I am very pleased with.



Oh SHOOT!!! I just remembered that sweet, sweet Tara over at Project Felt gave me a 'You Make My Day Award' exactly ONE MONTH AGO. I have so fallen from grace on this one and I apologize, Tara. I was so honored by this and yet I didn't even show up. Tara is great about blogging several times a week and honestly--She makes MY day. It's all on my list of things to do. And I don't even know HOW to display the badge:( That shows my stupidity with all things related to html. I'll just post another couple of pics of my dress since I DO know how to do that:)

I must stop

I seriously must stop browsing over at You Can Make This. When I told you all that it's my new favorite place--well, I meant it. Anyway, for about a year now I've owned a yard of the coolest material. It's chalk cloth that I ordered from Denver Fabrics but I have since heard that you can get it at Hancock's. About 6 weeks ago, I joined an AWESOME fabric co op. I have since spent my life savings there and, in the mean time, I managed to get hold of some of the Michael Miller Lolli Dot laminated cotton. I've been all giddy trying to figure out what I would do with it. Then I remembered the chalk cloth, then I remembered all the cool stuff over at You Can Make This, then I ordered this. And then I made this:



Mine is a little different than the one over at you can make this. The dimensions are a little more rectangular and I used a different technique to hold the chalk but all in all it's the same deal. I used some oilcloth around the edges--I purchased it when I ordered the chalk cloth. This sweet little placemat/chalk mat is a gift for one of Lillian's best buddies in the whole world. Maybe I'll find the patience to make another one for Lil. I would love to see your oilcloth or laminated cotton or chalk cloth creations!

With Love

I made this outfit for Lil with a lotta love. I did it in one marathon sewing session this past Sunday. It was so much fun! Both the top and bottom are from patterns purchased through You Can Make This--my new favorite site for patterns.

The back of the dress turned out perfectly and is probably my favorite part. It looks as if it is shirred but it is actually four pieces of elastic running parallel to one another.

I promise to update on my smocking soon. It is turning out better than I had imagined and I've even learned to "picture smock" and have chosen the perfect pattern for her Easter dress. More later but for now I need to enjoy this little outfit a little longer.

Just Enough

She now has just enough hair to pull up into pigtails. For months, Lil has been handing me pony tail holder after pony tail holder until her hair is littered with little sprouts of hair like water spouts---the elastic barely hanging on to those few strands. "More! More!" She would insist not realizing that she didn't have enough hair to support one ponytail much less "More!" So just the other day, I went for it. Eureka! We got two REAL ponytails out of those curls and now she feels like a princess.

As soon as I took this photo, I knew I would have to include it as a blog posting so I went ahead and edited it so that, when I found time to write, the photo would be all set to upload. Well, the next day I'm going through my favorite blogs and what do I see but this. I thought that was pretty cool. Almost the same shot. There's something so sweet about pigtails.