Wednesday, August 29, 2012

My First Sew Beautiful Story- A Giveaway!


Look! Do you see my name?

That is my name right next to 

 Yes, much screaming and jumping up and down
was done by me when I saw it!

is my very favorite magazine.

I have learned so very much of sewing,
smocking, 
embroidery,
construction,
design,
and inspiration 
from this magazine
and it's writers.

Janet Gilbert is my favorite!

(Yes, she knows that I was a stalker fan before
we finally "met" and now we are friends!)



And look!

Our story is even a "cover story"!



So Janet and I worked on this article together.

It features 3 of my skirts
and 3 of Janet's skirts.

One of the skirts is my 
Monkey Girl Bloomer Skirt pattern.

You can buy the pattern here from my blog,

Or from my Etsy store



The corduroy A-line skirt with zipper trim
is featured in the article as a free pattern!

My photos are awful but the photos in the magazine are 
much better!


And the free tutorial for my "Math Skirt"
pattern are featured on the 

There are many, many more
wonderful articles,
ideas and patterns in the Back To School issue
of Sew Beautiful!

So to share my joy and excitement,
I am giving away a copy 
of this issue of Sew Beautiful Magazine!

If you would like to be included in this giveaway,
please leave me a comment 
with your email address.


Thank you for sharing my joy!!!!!


Happy Sewing!!!


Sivje



Wednesday, August 22, 2012

The First Day Of Third Grade Dress


Today is the first day of third grade.

And Ahnalin had definite ideas of how she wanted to look.


The first item in building her look
was the saddle shoes.

You see, my father loves saddle shoes.
So when Ahnalin saw these in a store window,
she told me to take a picture of them 
and send it to her grandpa.

Minutes later, a text came saying
Grandpa John John would buy them for her.

Ahnalin was ecstatic!


So the decision was made that 
she must have a black and white outfit
for the first day.

My friend Janet had sent me
this fabric from her stash
and Ahnalin had been eyeing it
since it's arrival.


I had already made the "Vintage Natalie"
dress pattern that Janet Gilbert
designed for
earlier this month for Ahnalin's birthday dress.

Have I mentioned that I love this pattern?
Well I do!!!!!

So Ahnalin negotiated for what she wanted,
and the design was sketched up!.




She wanted puffy sleeves,
so of course she got those.

And she wanted the collar to be in black
with red trim.

I had this red whipstich piping
already in my stash.


She also wanted one of my 
Mary Engelbreit scottie dog
buttons on a belt style sash,
instead of a bow this time.


I liked the whipstitch piping for the whole
dress, especially the panel down the front.

She thinks it looks like candy canes.


This photo is blurry,
because she was swinging the skirt.

But I made a banded hem 
and added the piping at the top and bottom
of the band.

I cut the skirt at the "knee" length of the pattern.

And I cut the dress a size 6, 
which is perfect for her.

She is 8 years old and very thin.


I adore the back on this dress.


It is so classic!


Ahnalin is crazy about it.

She said she feels like a 
"50's diner girl".


We have to have a "Classic Ahnalin" pose
every time.


Ahnalin bought this black and white
polka dot trench coat at "Forever 21" with her
birthday money from Grandma Barbara and 
Grandpa John John. 

She definitely had a theme in mind.



Happy First Day of Third Grade
Ahnalin.

This is going to be an exciting year.

I pray that my darling girl 
grows and learns wonderful things.

I am so proud of her.


Happy Sewing!


Monday, August 20, 2012

Ahnalin Was A Flower Girl


Actually, both of my girls were in the wedding party.

The bride was a beautiful girl named Ashlee,
whom we have loved since she and India met
in the 7th grade.


India was honored to be Ashlee's Maid Of Honor
and she was so thrilled to be there for her.
Thankfully, I didn't have to make the bridesmaid
dresses for this wedding.


And Ahnalin was asked to be Ashlee's Flower Girl!

So this gave mama the opportunity 
to make a special dress for her to wear.


Ahnalin refuses to wear anything that scratches or itches
or is slippery or makes noise when she moves.

And the temperature was to be around 100 degrees
at the wedding.

So, that meant that I needed to make something 
that was comfortable for Ahnalin,
yet beautiful and "wedding appropriate".

I chose to make the bodice out
of one of Ahnalin's favorite styles.

As usual, I didn't use a pattern,
because I just measure her chest and 
waist and cut it out.


I had to made this dress in a short amount of time
(due to a crazy packed sewing schedule!)
and a very limited budget.

So, I grabbed my bolt of white Imperial Broadcloth
out of my stash, and started creating.

The vintage cotton lace had been in my stash 
for a while too.
I had purchased it about a year ago from 
a local crafting thrift store in Sebastopol
called"Legacy".


Ahnalin did not want a slip or any tulle
under her dress,
so I decided to make the skirt with an overskirt.

She wanted it to overlap like a tulip.


I added the lace at the hem as well.


Ahnalin felt that it made the dress
look more like a dress from
"Thoroughly Modern Millie".


She said she felt like a real bride in this dress.


I had these clear lacy buttons in my 
button jar just waiting for the perfect dress.
The bride had chosen silver accents
for the bridesmaids dresses she chose for her girls.
So the silver dots on the buttons were just right!

I also added sash carriers
so that the green ribbon 
would stay somewhat in place,
even with my active Ahnalin.


Ashlee had chosen silver shoes for herself
and her bridesmaids.
So I was very excited to find these
"Cinderella" shoes at the Disney Store
for a very reasonable price.
How very princess-like!


Ahnalin wanted me to take a picture with the 
lilies in our backyard.




Both of my girls looked lovely at the wedding
and had a wonderful time celebrating 
Ashlee and her new husband Jeremy.



Eventually, India tried to teach
Ahnalin a little line dancing.


But then Ahnalin got tired 
and asked if she could play games on my iPad
to chill out for a while.

The wedding was beautiful.

Ashlee and Jeremy are now "man and wife".

And we are back home in time
for school to start this week!

I am back to work sewing,
and have openings for customs again.

But tonight,
I must make a "First day of school" dress
for the little bridesmaid. 


Happy Sewing!

Sivje


Friday, August 17, 2012

Happy Birthday To My Hot Rockin' Hubby!


Happy Birthday my darling Don!

You are still my favorite!!

I love you forever.

Sivje

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Ahnalin Is Now 8 Years Old!!!


Today my precious baby Ahnalin turned 8.

I can hardly believe it. 


In my mind, she is still this yummy little dumpling.

And I am so grateful that she is mine.



Ahnalin decided she wanted a tea party with a sewing lesson
for her birthday party.


This is a very blurry photo,
but Ahnalin designed, cut out, and created these invitations herself.


And India created the banner to celebrate her baby sister.

I have quite a large stash of scrapbooking supplies
from the days when I actually still made scrapbooks.
So the girls went shopping for supplies in my 
stash of papers.



You can order the pattern here:

I didn't get great photos this time because 
Ahnalin was so excited about the party that she 
was jumping around like a frog!


But I adore this pattern!
Ahnalin chose the fabrics from my stash
and it had to be polka dots.


This dress twirls well!

I had originally added the band of larger dots
so that I could enclose the hem.

But Ahnalin wanted the dress long,
so I just made the teeniest rolled hem.


I love how the piping frames the center panel
of the dress. 


Ahnalin has already requested another dress
from this pattern for the first day of school.

And it must be polka dots as well.

Well, yes, of course!

But let's get back to the details of the party, 
shall we?


The birthday princess requested
strawberries and Nutella sandwiches.
The tea server belonged to my grandmother.


And she wanted her favorite mango oolong tea 
served in my Alice In Wonderland tea pot.
And the sugar and creamer set belonged 
to my aunt.

 

I made honey cupcakes
from scratch.
(Don told me they were too dry, 
so I am glad I didn't eat one.)


India picked some flowers for the table.


Ahnalin was so excited because she wanted
a Barbie Doll very much and her friend
Mikayla gave her one!


She also requested Top Ramen!
I am NOT KIDDING!

Her friend Julia made her the sock monkey
and the card and we loved them.


Brynn gave her a little pink caddy
filled with goodies for doing her nails!

Oh the joy and excitement!!


 And Annette gave her a bead craft kit,
sticker, and sparkly shoes!!!!



After Ahnalin opened her presents 
from her friends,
we had a little sewing lesson.

Ahnalin thought it would be fun for her friends to sew
their own "goody bags" using the leftover
fabric from her dress.


Some of the girls chose to sew theirs 
by hand and some chose to try out my sewing machine.


After they finished sewing their 
goody bags, they got to fill them with 
Hershey Kisses!

After the party, Ahnalin thanked me
and hugged me so tightly.

She told me that this was the perfect birthday
party and she said it was exactly what she wanted.

She loved all of her gifts and was
so grateful that all of her friends were so kind and generous.

This is the first
"friend" birthday that Ahnalin has had in many years.

She was always nervous about birthday parties
and never wanted to have one.

She is usually nervous about attending parties as well.

But she really wanted a party this year,
so we threw it together 
just a few days ago.

And my girl handled it beautifully.

I am so proud of her 
and so grateful of the progress she has made.

Happy birthday my precious girl.

I love you and am so grateful that
God gave you to me.