Flip This Pattern

This month went by so fast! I can't believe it is time to vote already. The other contestants had some amazing flips! I am seriously up against some stiff competition! I'm bring my "flipped" post home today but don't forget to head over to Frances Suzanne to vote for your favorite "flip"!!

 

To say I was speechless when I received an email from Ashley and Emily to be a part of a sewing competition on their blog would be an understatement! I was beyond excited that they asked me if I wanted to be a competitor and jumped at the chance to sign up! Right away I knew that I wanted to try the Sunki Dress and Leggings Pattern by Figgy's. There was something very cool about this pattern and something about it that said coat to me. Erin was definitely going to need a new fall coat so the timing was perfect!

 I present to you my Flipped version of the Sunki Dress and Leggings:

I found this super soft plaid fabric at Joann and just thought it would be perfect for my flip. And perfect for the fall weather we are having here in the Hudson Valley. For me, plaid always seems to be a preppy fabric and preppy makes me think of college so that is how the Collegiate Cutie was born! I had a lot of fun styling and photographing Erin in this outfit and she had a lot of fun as my model! She was very excited to head to one of the local colleges and don a pair of my old eyeglasses (lenses popped out of course!) and immerse herself into some Shakespeare. She might have had more fun with this photo shoot than I did…which is a first!

 

The Details:

Pattern: The Sunki Dress and Leggings by Figgy’s – size 4/5 width and size 6/7 length. To create the coat I cut the back pattern piece out on the fold and cut the front piece out as two separate pieces with two inches added to the center to allow for the button placket. I also took out the hidden pockets from the front by piecing together the front pattern piece and the side panel pattern piece to create one pattern piece for the front of the dress.

Instead of facings, I cut out full pieces of lining fabric (sleeves are fully lined as well) so that the coat would be fully lined with no exposed seams. I added pockets to the front of the coat, lining up the plaid to make them “disappear” into the coat.

I also added elbow patches to the sleeves made out of some scrap home decor fabric I had on hand.

For the leggings: size 4/5 The only change that I made was to use 1” elastic in the waist band and add velvet trim to the sides.

Fabric: Plaiditudes Brushed Cotton in Black, Grey and Camel for main/outer fabric.  Sew Classic Knit Solid Interlock in Cornstalk for the lining and the leggings. Both fabrics purchased at Joann. Elbow patch grey home decor fabric - not sure where I got it!

Notions/Trim: Black La Mode buttons. Black velvet ¾” trim to line the side of the leggings. All purchased at Joann
 

 

Thank you so much for inviting me Ashley and Emily! I had such a wonderful time “flipping” this amazing pattern by Figgy’s! I really love how it came out and I hope you do as well! 





 

School Photo Dress

Last week was school picture day at Erin's elementary school. She requested that I make her a dress which made my heart skip a beat! I laid out a few patterns for her to choose from and she picked the School Photo Dress by oliver + s.  I was pretty happy she chose that one because the pattern I have only goes up to a size four and she is starting to get too tall to wear a four. After she picked her pattern, I gave her a choice between two fabrics that I thought would work well. She chose this vintage fabric that I found at my parents' house last Christmas. My mom is not sure what she originally bought it for but she did say she had it in another color way that she used to make herself some culottes. My mom used to make herself clothes when she was in her early 20s. I really need to see if she has any of the things she made.

Any who, in true procrastinator fashion, I didn't start sewing the dress until 8 o'clock the night before picture day.  Thankfully the instructions were very easy to follow and I even installed my first invisible zipper! Woohoo! It was not very hard at all and I think I want to put invisible zippers in everything now. I took a few little breaks so I didn't finish up the dress until almost 1 a.m. But it was worth it when I woke up a few hours later and showed Erin the dress. She was so happy with how it came out. So it was worth the late night sewing and the sticking myself with pins multiple times (I really need to invest in a thimble) and burning my fingers on the iron. Late night sewing + Meghan = lots of scars

The Details:
Pattern: oliver + s School Photo Dress size 4 with 31/2 inches added to the length
Fabric: main fabric: vintage yellow floral - circa late 1960's  lining: old off white twin bed sheet
Notions: Coats and Clark invisible zipper purchased at Joann

she insisted on wearing these sunglasses - it sorta adds to the retro 60s vibe, no?

 

 

Since it was so late when I finished the dress, I didn't get a chance to try it on Erin before I hemmed it to see if I need the extra length I added. It turns out I could have taken off another inch. Oh well, maybe her growing up and not out trend will continue so the dress will still fit next year just fine ;) Also, please excuse the wrinkled photos - I took these pics after the dress was worn all day and since I was on my fourth cup of coffee by this time and starting to crash, I just didn't feel like having her take it off to iron it...or try to take better pictures. Real life here people...can't be fancy all the time! Ha!

Thanks for stopping by!

Six Years Old

Happy 6th Birthday to my smart, sassy, funny petite pumpkin! You bring so much joy to us everyday. We love watching you grow and learn new things. We still can't believe you are a big first grader now!

Here are six things about you on your sixth birthday:

1. your favorite color is yellow.
2. you love your puppy Raven.
3. you have a strong opinion about the kind of clothes and shoes you like - girl after my own heart!
4. Barbie and American Girl (specifically your McKenna doll) are your favorite toys.
5. you love cheerleading.
6. you have a great imagination.

Happy Birthday Erin!!! You make Mommy and Daddy proud everyday!!!
We love you more than you'll ever know!!!

Mini Oktoberfest Celebration

So this post is completely inspired by my sister-in-law's trip to Oktoberfest! Yes, that lucky duck went on a trip to Europe for two weeks complete with a trip to Munich right in the middle of Oktoberfest celebrations. Why oh why did I not sneak myself into her suitcase - ha! I can't wait to hear details of her trip and see pictures. While she was off celebrating the real deal, we decided to have a mini celebration of our own over the weekend. Sunday marked the last official day of the 16 day festival that is held in Munich every year. We had our little celebration on Saturday complete with soft pretzels, Bavarian hats, dirndl skirts, German food and beer for us adults ;)

The kids had a great time eating their pretzels and running around in their Bavarian hats. I found a tutorial at eHow on how to make the hats out of felt. We headed to A.C. Moore to get some green felt, feathers and trim. I pretty much followed the tutorial except that I hand sewed the sides and edges down instead of using just glue. I thought they would hold up better that way. I also let the kids choose a button to add to their hats to make it their own. 

 

 

 

I also made Erin a dirndl skirt. I had purchased a pattern from Anneliese of Aesthetic Nest well over a year ago. I used the pattern to make Erin a skirt last year but really wanted to make another one with the apron this time. It is an easy skirt to sew. There are no real pattern pieces involved, you use the measurements of your child to plug into a formula to get the measurements of the skirt pieces. It is very easy, I promise, and it gives a great custom fit.

 

The pockets on the apron were perfect for gathering some wild flowers

 

 

The Details:

Pattern: Dirndl Skirt by Aesthetic Nest omitted apron ties

Fabric: both from the Fairgrounds line by DS Quilts for Joann - sadly no longer available

Notions/Trims: elastic for back waistband purchased at Joann

 

 

For food, I found some really great recipes for an Oktoberfest like feast just by searching around the interwebs and picking out something I thought would taste good. The recipes I found did not disappoint! The German Potato salad recipe is so delicious, I don't think I want to eat regular potato salad ever again!

Recipes:
Dinner: Bratwurst with Apples, Onion and Sauerkraut  substituted regular all purpose flour for Wondra flour and apple cider vinegar for dry vermouth. German Potato Salad - more like mashed potatoes than potato salad but seriously delicious!
Dessert: Apple Strudel

The bratwurst came from a local deli called The Smoke Haus. They specialize in German fare and smoke and process all of their own meats. My husband takes his venison there to be processed as well. This deli is amazing! If you are ever in the area I highly recommend you try it. I also picked up some German biscuit cookies that were so good they almost didn't last the car ride home and its only two miles from our house!

So we had a great mini Oktoberfest celebration this weekend! I am sure the festivities in Munich were much more interesting and I can't wait to hear from my SIL all about it!

Don't forget to leave a trail of breadcrumbs ;)

Thanks for stopping by!

Flip This Pattern - The Sunki Dress and Leggings

 

Hello everyone! Today is the day I share my "flipped" version of Figgy's Sunki Dress and Leggings over on Frances Suzanne for their Flip This Pattern Series. I am so excited to be a part of this awesome series! Head on over to Frances Suzanne to see what I came up with!