Happy Halloween 2015

My boys were Ezra and a Storm Trooper from Star Wars. We got a lot of use from these costumes, as they went trick-or-treating Thursday at Katie's school, had their school parties on Friday, and went out tonight too!

We had extra fun this year because our friends came with us! We had a big dinner for everyone first- some teen friends as well. Then my teens left for parties and we went trick-or-treating. Our little dog loved taking a long walk at night, too!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN to you!

Izzy + Color Me = FUN

I am always late to the party. I just found the new "color me" fabric last week. I couldn't resist ordering some! I chose the Royal Life and Christmas Candy Border designs at fabric.com.

One pattern I have been eager to try is the Izzy Top by Climbing the Willow. I have seen so many cute versions and it's a free pattern!

I had to lengthen it to dress length to accomodate the size of the color me design. I love it! The pattern is very quick and easy and really cute. The curved yoke is such a pretty touch!
I couldn't decide if the yoke should be white or a color. I am still not sure! I used white pique. There is a one-button closure at the back of the yoke. This is the kind of pattern you can make over and over again. I used about a yard of the fabric. I cut the yard along the middle, making 2 pieces about 22" long each x 1 "design" wide. Then I used the princess part for the front skirt and the clouds for the back skirt. You could certainly use twice as much and have the design go all around.
This is for my god-daughter Ella, for her 3rd Birthday. Her Mom loves to color with her and she's OCD enough so I know this will be well done- LOL!

 What am I going to do with the Christmas Candy Border Color Me fabric, you are wondering? Haley Crouse at Mouse House designed these fabrics and she offers a wonderful tutorial on making pillowcases from them. I plan to make my little boys cases for a little pre-Christmas project! I think we will have fun coloring them and using them!
I bet you're off to order some Color Me fabric right now, aren't you??

Dibs are a Big Thing at our House!

 My kids call "Dibs" on their favorite chair, the last piece of cake, the front seat of the car, the TV, a cozy sweatshirt, going first at the dentist, even the bathroom! So, when I saw this new design at DigiStitches, I knew it would be perfect for my little boys!

Ready for Halloween with a week to spare: this must be a record! I had so much fun making these 2 shirts for Davy and Andy and coordinating pants for Andy.

Here is Davy's shirt- the 2 have slightly different color combinations. I stitched them on black twill and then sewed the square onto the knit shirts. This works great for me! When I am doing words, they invariably come out wavy on knit- no matter how well you stabilize and then the kids complain that it's scratchy on the back.
The design is from DigiStitches and it stitched beautifully.

Here are the shirts for big bro and little bro! I changed the green and purple colors and used a little spider face on Andy's lollipop. The green shirts were on clearance at Children's Place last Christmas for $2, but they worked out great for Halloween and I still have reds left for this Christmas!

Here are the coordinating pants for Andy. The corduroy has little pumpkins embroidered all over it. It is super soft and was on clearance at fabric.com last year. The pants have a knit waistband and are the Castaway Cargos from Peek a Boo. He wore this to Kindergarten yesterday and I'm sure he'll wear it for the Halloween party, too. Fall weather has arrived - do you see all the pretty leaves?

Linny's Pinny for Fall!

Lauren Marie shared her beautiful version of "Linny's Pinafore" on facebook. She allowed me to show it, too!

Lauren tells us this was only her third smocked garment! She made an 18 month size for her niece to wear next year. Lucky little girl- these colors are beautiful. Look what an even job she did on the ruffles! The big ribbons are so pretty, too! I love it when people send pictures!! If you have made a "Linny's" please share some pictures with us!!

A Wee Sleeper

 Yes, I'm still on my Wee Kick. We have a Smocking Guild meeting this Thursday and I want to turn in my Wee Care items for the year. I've been experimenting: wondering "what would parents want for their baby"? Many will love the fancy smocked gowns, but I think others would want something more simple- especially here in New England, where smocking is rather uncommon. I think some Dads would rather have "pants" on their little boys.

This is a tiny knit sleeper, meant for 10-12" preemies, which would be about 24-26 weeks. Even comparing it to the glasses, I think you have to see it in person to realize how little it is. This is the back- see how the feet are formed- that wasn't easy.

The fabric is cotton knit and I added a little lamb embroidery from Blue Ribbon Baby. It is about an inch tall. The snaps are size 14.

There is a little hat with the suit. Isn't it cute- this took all of 5 minutes to make.

I purchased a new pattern, designed for 10-12" preemies or dolls. While I think it turned out well, the pattern left much to be desired. Until I hear back from the seller, I am not going to link to it. I will update later if I can recommend it.