Sew Alongs & Smocking!

 I've done 2 of Ellie Inspired's Sew Alongs recently. This "Best Friend's Dress" is made of very soft, floral corduroy. It is a size 3 with a ribbon casing at the waist. It is a super-quick sew with the dolman sleeves. I got some purple leggings to go under this.

 This smocking is for the current sew-along for the "Autumn Grace" pattern. It is a peasant dress with a smocked insert. I love the Oriental-looking flowers and the pink and red combo. The smocking was very quick and I like the addition of the ribbon. I'm hoping to construct this dress tomorrow.

 These adorable smocked inserts are CHEATERS! I bought them from Beaux and Belles online. I love, love the top one with the chickens (which you may remember we have as pets!). I am hoping to put it in some Jeffery overalls for Andy for Thanksgiving.

 I couldn't resist these ballerina inserts. Oh, Rosie would have loved these when she was little! I hope to turn one into a yoke dress for Ella sometime.

These florals are very pretty, too! I love adding these to my stash for when I want a smocked outfit without all the work! Back soon with more to show!

Princess Celestia Purse for Hannah

My talented teen Katie is a very sweet and thoughtful person! She wanted to send something to her best friend's little sister for her birthday. She remembered how much she and Rosie loved their jean purses when they were little.

We used an old pair of Andy's jeans from the consignment pile. They are pretty little, which makes the purse a nice size for a 6 year old girl. Katie knew that Hannah loves My Little Pony, but not just any pony would do. Her favorite is "Princess Celestia" probably the most complicated one to embroider! We found the design on Etsy and it stitched out quite well, even on the thick denim (2 layers because of the pocket).

What good is a purse without a few things to keep a girl going? Katie had picked up a special lollipop, some pencils, and a bracelet on a vacation recently. We added a $2 bill for fun. We wondered if people would think it's counterfeit if you try to spend it? I have one left in my car to try on an unsuspecting cashier sometime!
This package will ship out tomorrow. I think a special little sister in Florida is really going to love this!

A Wee Project, part 1

I stitched two little embroideries for sweet baby boys. Can you guess what I am making? I have several projects going at once and this one shouldn't take very long to finish. This train is from Artistic Designs. It is stitched in DMC 50 weight cotton thread. I love, love how soft it is and how it looks!

This design is 3 of Oma's Mini Baseball designs put together. This one is stitched in RA rayon, because I don't have bright colors in the DMC. I still used cotton thread in the bobbin, though.
I hope I will get these little projects done soon so I can share them with you!

FREE Happy Apple Feltie Design for You!!

My favorite season is Fall! In New England, Fall means colorful leaves, pumpkins, cool sweatshirt weather, cider, and apple picking! In a few weeks, we will be picking fresh apples from farms nearby. I thought it would be fun to digitize a happy apple feltie to share with you! You can glue this onto feltie hair clip covers or use it as a decoration for pencils, bookmarks, cards, etc.

The machine embroidery design and directions are available as a zip file on my Mommy's Apron Strings Pattern Group on Facebook. You can click on the link or just click on the Bonnet or Sunsuit pattern on the right sidebar to go there. If you aren't already a member, just send me a request. If you stitch these out, I'd love to see pictures! Enjoy!!

Baby Quilts

I did a quick baby quilt for a friend this week:

I originally thought the Irish Chain Quilt would be for her baby, but then I saw this jungle fabric, which matches her theme for this baby boy, due on Christmas! The 16-patches were part of a pre-sewn fabric at JoAnn's. I undid the seams to make it into blocks to alternate with the elephant fabric. It is flannels and minky. It has a bit of "wave" to it due to the pre-done patchwork, but I'm hoping I can figure out how to machine quilt it anyway.
I also finished the single Irish Chain quilt, which I am going to donate to my Quilt Guild's Comfort Quilt Closet.

Very bright and cheerful and all made from "stash"!

All 5 kids are back to school, so I now have 8 hours a week (pre-school hours) when I am alone! I hope to get a lot done!!
Right now I'm doing the Best Friends Dress Sew-along with Ellie Inspired, so I'll be back soon with pictures!