Happy Little Geranium Dress

I sewed up another Geranium Dress for Erin last week. I just love this pattern! It really is such a great pattern, so easy to follow and I love all the variations available. I went with view B and made Erin a size 4. The fit is perfect! I was worried that I should have added some length (she is a skinny 5 year old) but I think the length of the 4t was just right. It should take her through summer and then still work as a tunic in the fall and winter. She definitely grows up more than out. And even up is not that much!

I used some quilting cotton that I have had in my stash for about 2 years now - it is some of the first designer fabric that I purchased when I began sewing. It is called Happier Garden by Deena Rutter for Riley Blake. I purchased it from Fabric.com and unfortunately it is no longer available. I love all the happy flowers and little bugs that are in this print. It was the perfect choice to me for a Geranium Dress! And it really makes me want spring to hurry up and get here already!! We are supposed to get some more snow tonight :( Really winter your time is done! Bring on the sun and the flowers!

So until the weather gets warmer, here is a happy little garden dress to bring some spring into our life. Complete with a happy cheesy smile!

Erin is so happy that she has hidden pockets in the dress. Most of the pictures that I took of her in the dress she has her hands in the pockets!

 

 

She said it is a good dress for twirling.

And a good dress for silly poses too :)

Erin loves her dress and has requested more which of course always makes this mama very happy!

Thanks for stopping by!

A little something for me!

So, I took a little time last week to sew up something for myself. I know how daring lol. When I first started this blog, my intention was to use it as a shop of sorts. A place to showcase and sell handmade gift items. But as I got more into sewing I changed directions and decided to use the blog to showcase all my handmade items and any crafts I did with the kids and recipes that I tried. I closed down my "shop" and decided to focus more on sewing clothes for my kids and maybe even for myself, along with sewing gifts for others instead of selling the things that I made.
Well, the reason for this whole tangent is I decided to revamp one of the items that I made, the gadget case into more of a gadget purse. The original gadget case had even evolved from the one I blogged about back in 2011 but I was still unhappy with the design. I had originally put a small pocket on the inside of the case to hold money, ids, credit cards, etc. but it was a bit difficult to get to those items with a cell phone in the main pocket. It was also a bit of a pain to sew up. Not that is was really difficult to sew, it just was for lack of a better word - annoying.  So I decided to change the look which made sewing the case together easier and actually quicker and more enjoyable!
I got the idea to change the look from this Coach wristlet that I have had forever:

 

I love this wristlet. It fits my phone, id, money, credit cards, chapstick. The only thing I don't love, is that everything is just shoved in there. There are no pockets to store ids or money. And when ever I go to take my phone out, I am always afraid I might pull out all the other things that are in there and lose them. So I decided to take the look of this wristlet and combine it with the pocket idea on my gadget case to create the gadget purse!

 

Large pocket for phone (I even have a chapstick in there!) and two pockets for id and money

 

 

I am really pleased with how this came out! I pretty much just turned the original pattern I had made on its side, created a pocket for the front so that things would be easier to access and changed the flap closure. Here is a picture of the original gadget case that I created:

 

Not the best picture but you can see the pocket on the inside



While the original case is cute, it just was not as functional. I now have two pockets on the front of the gadget purse - one for id and credit cards, the other for money - much easier to access and no fear of dropping those items when I go to get my phone. I kept the flap a Velcro closure but I am thinking of making another one that is slightly larger with a magnetic closure. (I am due for an upgrade on my phone and I am going to get the iPhone 5 which is a little larger than my Droid is so the fit is going to be tight with this case) I also kept the snap hook on the side for attaching to my key ring. This is the perfect little purse to grab when running errands and other quick little trips or anytime I don't feel like lugging my big handbag around (by the way I do love handbags and I recently made myself a handbag which I love and will post about soon - yay selfish sewing!)

I love this little purse so much I even made one for my mom!

 

She likes having something small to carry around her things in and was using an old cell phone case for her id and such - it was not working for her - she needed something cute!

 

 

The fabric I used for my case is from Lindsay Wilkes Blogger's Choice Fat Quarter Bundle from The Fat Quarter Shop. I purchased this bundle several months ago and unfortunately it is no longer available but I can tell you that the outer/main fabric is from the Amy Butler Lark collection and is called Heirloom/Jade and the inside/lining is from Art Gallery's Pure Elements line - color emerald. And for my mom's purse, I used Heather Bailey's Nicey Jane in Church Flowers pink for the outer/main fabric and Hop Dot cherry for the lining. I purchased the Nicey Jane at Fabric.com.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Meghan

 

 

Linking up:

 

 



Celebrate the Boy

Have you been following the Celebrate the Boy series over at Made and Made by Rae? They have been sewing up some seriously awesome boy clothes the last two weeks. I love that they do this series. It is pretty easy to sew cute things for Erin, there is a lot out in blogland that is centered around sewing for girls but not so much for boys. It is so great to see fun stuff to sew for boys and get inspired.

I was definitely inspired by Dana and Rae to sew up a fun outfit for Jack in honor of Celebrate the Boy and to add to his wardrobe for the spring/summer. I used Rae's FlashBack Skinny tee pattern for an up-cycled short sleeve shirt and Dana's Kid's Pants tutorial for some shorts. I had a shirt of Kevin's in my up-cycle bin for about a year now so I figured it was about time to make it into something different. I don't think Kevin even wore the shirt. I bought it for him at Abercrombie & Fitch several years ago and he never liked the fit. I am really glad that I saved it though because it turned out to be a pretty cool tee shirt for Jack! And Dana's first post in the series was just the kick start I needed to make the shirt Jack-size. I was able to use the existing hem on the sleeves too which is always a bonus.

original shirt

  For the shorts, I used some left over fabric from the Party Dress Coat that I made Erin during Project Run and Play. On the inside of the pockets, I used some left over fabric from a dress shirt of Kevin's (also an Abercrombie & Fitch purchase that never fit right *sigh*) that I had from the first dress I ever made Erin using another of Dana's tutorials.  I had to hem the shorts twice. They were a little long the first time so hopefully they will last him all summer if he has a growth spurt. They are still a little long but I was going for more of a board short look so I am pretty pleased with the length now. Jack likes his new duds so that's cool ;)

nice cheesy smile

thinking pose

I like how the pocket lining pokes out just a bit

nice big pockets to hid his treasures

Jack says his new clothes are good for tumbling



And this is where Jack said "no more pictures mommy!"





I have a polo shirt that I made too that just needs buttons and button holes put in and another pair of shorts cut out that I need to sew up. I am just deciding on how I want to add the pockets. I know I want to put faux welt pockets in the back but not sure how I want the front pockets. I have some time since summer is still a few months away. Make sure to head over and check out Dana and Rae's archives here and here and the Celebrate the Boy Flickr Group.


Thanks for stopping by!
Meghan