Summer Seersucker Sun Suit!

This cute summer suit is for my little buddy Andrew, age 7 mos. I made the 9 mos size. The fabric is orange striped seersucker embroidered with owls. It was on sale awhile ago at fabric.com.

I worked carefully to be sure the owls were symmetrical, but I didn't account for the buttonholes falling right on 2 owls! It worked out, though.

The back has elastic at the waist and straps to go over the shoulders. It has elasticized legs and a snap bottom for diapers.

The whole thing only took about an hour to make, so it is a quick summer sew!

I haven't seen it on yet, but if I get pictures of the little cutie, I will share!

Toile Kitchen Towels

I love pretty kitchen towels! My Mom buys me the Williams-Sonoma white towels that are the best quality! They have a smooth surface for embroidery, too!

This one is a lemon toile design from Embroidery Library. I used a golden lemony color, but I wish I had made it a little darker. The design is so pretty. I think they have many fruits with these designs.

This design looks like my hen Shelly. This one was done with a light brown thread. I wondered what it would look like in variegated thread, so I did it again (on a cheaper kitchen towel in case it didn't work).

I think it looks better in the solid thread, but this one looks good, too! I will probably turn this one into one of those button-top towels that I made a few weeks ago.

Linny's Pinny by Louise!

This gorgeous set was made by Louise Jones for her little grand daughter, Gracie. I love it when people post or send me pictures of things they've made from my patterns. It is really fun to see!! Louise made a size 2. Don't you love the trim and the blue edge on the shorts. It looks great with the bows matching the pinny fabric, too!
If you've made a pinafore, sunsuit, or bonnet, I'd love to see it!! Email it to mommysapronstrings@gmail.com or post it on my facebook page !

Toile Dress for Ella

This little dress is a sweetie. I love how it turned out. Almost as quick to make as a regular peasant dress, this one is more shapely with the addition of a waist and gathered skirt.

The pattern is the Monkeysbug "Petticoat" Dress. I got it on sale for $3.50 and it has sizes 2-10. The only thing is that it seems long for a size 3. Next time, I would shorten it. I don't like little girls' dresses to be much below the knee.

Here's the bodice. Do you think a little blue sash would look good? I'm thinking of fabric, not ribbon.I used my ruffler to make the bottom ruffle, which just makes it so much quicker!!

The fabric has its own story. On our way back from vacation, there is an amazing discount fabric store. They have first quality fabrics at crazy prices. For example, I got authentic Sunbrella 60" fabric for my chicken tent there for $5/yd last year. Quilting cottons are $4/yd off the bolt, or $2.49 for flat-folds. We got swimsuit nylon/lycra for $4/yd and gorgeous home dec was $2/yd for flat-folds. I got 100% cotton dotted "Swiss" with real woven dots for $4/yd. I know it's not really the Swiss stuff, but it is lovely! I think I'll have to do a post to show you what I got. Anyway, this sweet toile was $4/yd and I only needed 1 1/4yds, making this a $5 dress! It has a soft hand and is really pretty. My girls said it would make a nice beach portrait dress. I like that it could just be a play dress, too, with simple over-the-head styling and machine wash/dry-ability.

I am sure to use this pattern again! Next up, I am pondering a sun suit for my little buddy Andrew and a summer bubble to send to Ella with this dress. First I'll show you my great fabric deals!

Heritage on Cape Cod

While we were at the beach, we spent a day at Heritage Plantation. It is a unique blend of gardens, exhibits, and outdoor fun! This is the Hidden Hollow kid's play area.

There are xylophones that sound amazing!

 This tree house is built on a hill.

You can build a fort or teepee.

Or build a golf ball obstacle course.

This was part of an exhibit of ways artists build natural resting places to sit and read. This has a bench all around the inside and a place to enter. It was quite beautiful.

The gardens are amazing. This is a waterfall.

Isn't this pretty?

Would you like to sit here and read a book?

I took lots of Hydrangea pictures!

This was a rhody that hadn't bloomed yet.

Then we rode the antique carousel.

It was nearly closing time when I spied this amazing painting. We didn't have time to see the Wyeth exhibit or the antique cars- definitely next time!

Beach Vacation

"Hi" from the beach, my boys say!

What have we been up to?

Eating yummy things both at home and restaurants!

Boys swimming...

Dog swimming...

Playing games...

Did you ever wonder what the golf ball sees?

Beautiful mini golf place!

Driving go karts!

The hydrangeas are everywhere and they range from blue to pink to purple...

Today we may go back to the beach...what are you up to?

Happy July 4th! The Parade...

We spend 4th of July at the beach every year and this year it was so cool and nice! Our parade had all the usual components of a New England Beach Independence Day:

Little boys collecting candy! There were several pieces that flew right into the bag, but I never caught it in a picture.

Beautiful antique cars!

With a real "trunk"- love it!!

Couldn't be at the beach without a real mermaid!

The Ladybug Ladies Lovely Umbrella Dance

Our dog liked watching the dogs in the parade, which were every size and color...

And Church was represented beautifully

with a friendly reminder too:

Don't forget the local creatures- if you don't live around here you might not recognize a horseshoe crab.
I have to include a little sewing in each post, right?

Two days early, I made these t-shirts for my little boys. This design is from PNW and I made the 6" square for Davy and the 4" square for Andy. I stitched them on white pique and then sewed the square onto plain navy blue t-shirts. This is my new favorite way to embroider t-shirts because stitching words on the shirts invariably leads to puckers. Also, the white square shows up better.

We have been very busy, so I'll share more soon!

A Unique Vintage Pattern

I have talked before about the reasons I love vintage patterns. Today I am showing a recent find that I think is really cool. First of all, I like it because it is something I would actually make. I think it's now called a wholecloth quilt, referring to a quilt whose design is derived purely from the quilting, not piecing. It is a pretty baby quilt.

This pattern is special, though, because it's the first one I have seen that folds open. See the crease along the center of the quilt? The front opens up so you can have a great view.


The last pictures shows how the transfers are tucked into the envelope and the directions are printed on the inside. It was funny that I found this pattern on etsy and it was sent to me before I realized the seller was only 2 towns away from me! A neat purchase all around!!