I Say Yes To This Dress

Lately, I've been inspired to sew for the wee child.  She has recently acquired one new dress and a skirt with a onesie that has been made to match.  First, here is the story behind the dress.
About two weeks before Caleb's wedding, I realized that my child did not have even one fall/winter dress.  All of her dress were really bright prints and were all getting too small.  I was given a cute dress by a friend that her daughter had outgrown.  I liked it but it was really more of a Christmas dress as it was really long, velvet, and maroon.  It was also just a smidge large for her.  I also picked up a cute little dress at T.J. Maxx with a gift card I had but it was a little on the informal side of things.  So I did some basic research on the internet and came across this:

There are lots of "peasant" dresses for sale on etsy and tons pinned on pinterest.  Since it looked fairly simple, I plunged ahead.  I ended up using this pattern and tutorial. The sleeves didn't seem to quite match up with the neck but that problem was easy to fix.  After a couple days of work (it could have gone much quicker if I did not have a child and had not made a few simple mistakes), here is what I came up with.  All of the pictures are a bit blurry since they were taken on my phone. 

She may be uncooperative, but she is sure cute. 

 I decided that the dress needed a belt to pull it all together.

And of course she needed a matching leaf hair clip.  I think this would have looked a lot cuter if I had put it on a headband, but my child simply does not tolerate headbands.  

This sort of dress is super easy to sew as it is so forgiving especially as there are no zippers or buttons. 

Hello, World!

Remember me?  I used to blog, sometimes.  Now I blog...well, about once a season.  I think the biggest reason is that I don't have much to say and when I want to write a post, I can't take any pictures since my charger is still lost.  If that charger doesn't show up before Christmas, I'm going to go out and try to buy a new one.  Sometimes a person just needs pictures in her life.
Life is good here.  Very simple though.  I've spent this week obsessively working on my quilt.

The edges are officially bound! 

I even made my own scrappy bias tape! Unfortunately, I think it was made for a full sized bed and we have a queen.  I'm thinking of doing something like this with it especially since we still don't have a headboard after over 2 years of marriage.  

It has finally warmed up here.  We had a couple weeks of cool temperatures but today's high is around 70.  We love it though it does make me nervous cause we seem to have very severe weather after a warm spell like this.  I took this picture yesterday when out for our walk.  For some reason, right before I took this picture, all I could think of was how she looked very Whearish.  This picture doesn't capture the family features that I noticed but she looked strangely like Jubilee or Ella to me.  My sister Sara made this hat for her.   

Autumn

It is officially fall here.  Today I'm working on drying basil and making pesto before all the basil is destroyed in our first frost, picking all the green peppers, sewing a baby skirt, unpacking winter clothes and of course drinking tea while reading a book.  Unfortunately, I realized just after I started to make the pesto that the only nuts I have are peanuts.  I don't want to be murdered by any Italians who might happen to try my pesto so I'm going to go try to pick up some walnuts or almonds.
My brother got married this past weekend and the last 3 days have been quite busy for us.  We've had meals out with family, guests at the house, freezing cold outdoor receptions, etc.  My poor child is plumb wore out.  I'm pretty sure that she has spent more time napping today than actually being awake.  Hopefully, we can dash out for the missing ingredient when she wakes up.
My exciting news for the month consists of the fact that I made Kira a dress for the wedding.  About two weeks before the wedding, I realized that she did not have a single fall/winter dress and that all of her super summery dresses were getting to be too short.  I looked up some tutorials online and whipped up a fairly quick dress.  I have pictures on my phone but I need to figure out how to get them to transfer over to the computer.
I wish I could think of more exciting things to write about but I guess you're stuck with this simple post cause I hear my child finally waking up.

14 Months

I no longer have a baby.  She has magically transformed into a toddler.  Seriously.  Here is what she has been up to lately:

• She loves to "put on" clothes.  This mainly involves sticking the item in question (a kitchen towel, daddy's sock, etc) either on her head or around her neck and scooting around the house.  
• She is definitely working on learning how to pull up on things.  She has yet to make it to her feet unassisted but she can get on her knees or even on one foot and one knee.  
• She still loves food and is not picky.  She still nurses but we are working on cutting back to only a few feedings per day because Mommy is getting tired of nursing.  
• She is just starting to figure out the names for things.  Her favorite people to call by name are Mommy, Daddy, and Bella.  
• Her favorite toy is her blue "da-wee" (doggie) given to her by her great-aunt.  
• When you ask her who made her, she points upwards.  
• She loves going to different babysitters' houses and has no problem with me leaving her at any place with anyone.
  
  
  Blurry phone pic since the battery charger is still lost. 

DIY Signage

Lately, I've been really bad about blogging.  It is not that I don't have ideas, I simply don't have a camera right now.  Correction: I do have a camera, I just don't have a charged battery.  I have one of those fancy schmancy cameras that comes with its own special battery and charger.  I enjoy not having to buy batteries but if you happen to lose the charger, you're in big trouble.  So this post will not include pictures of my adorable child, my freshly planted garden, my pictures hanging on the wall, or my new diy nursing infinity scarf.  Fortunately for you, I do have some pictures of a sign that I made that I have been waiting to share with you.  

My brother's fiancee asked me to make a couple of signs for the wedding.  I can't show them to you yet as I want to save them for the big day, but it did inspire me to make a sign for myself.  Two years ago, I made some signs for myself.  They looked cool, but they were a pain to make. 

The signs near the porta potties.  Trying to keep things classy. 

I first designed them on the computer then printed them on cardstock and used an exacto knife to create a stencil.  It took forever to cut the words out just right.  Then last year I saw a life saving technique on pinterest.  I tried to find it when I was planning out the latest round of wedding signs but I it is lost in cyber space.  Fortunately, I remembered the technique and now you too can give it a whirl.  

First, have your handy dandy husband cut you a piece of wood.  

Second, design what you want your sign to say on the computer.  I highly recommend downloading some free fonts.  They have so many adorable ones these days.  Print out said design. 

Third, lay out the words just the way you want them on the board and then tape them down.   Trace over the words while pressing down firmly with a pen.  

You can see how I have traced over the word and but I have yet to do the 'B'.  As you can see, I messed up on the 'A'.  Don't worry about it.  You still get to paint over it.  Nobody will see your little mistakes.  

When you take off the paper, you should be able to see the indentation of the words. All that is left to do is paint over the words very carefully in the color(s) of your choosing.  

These pictures are from the sign I made for the wedding but here is the sign I made for myself using the same technique. 

I plan to hang it on my door eventually but I can't find my wreath hanger thingy.  Humph.  It is probably with the camera charger.  Humph.