Harriet Doll Outfit By Genniewren

Did you just swoon with delight

at this darling little sailor outfit? 

I adore sailor outfits!

And I have a wonderful talented

friend who designs gorgeous patterns

for 18" dolls.

Her name is Genine and 

her company is Genniewren Designs.

This little outfit was made using her

brand new "Harriet" pattern.

I adore this pattern!

The pattern comes as a PDF

complete with pattern pieces

and instructions to make the dropped waist

pleated skirt dress,

the beret,

and the sailor blouse.

You can purchase the pattern as an 

instant download

right here!

I made the blouse with the short sleeves,

but there is also a long sleeve variation,

and even a ruffled collar variation. 

Ahnalin's Molly and Elizabeth dolls

each had to have their chance modeling

the outfit.

They both love it as well.

Ahnalin and I sewed this little outfit together.

She picked out the fabric from my stash,

and helped me with the cutting and the straight seams.

And it was her idea

to use the tiny piece of tucked trim for the

inset on the dress. 

(Ahnalin styling her model for the perfect photo)

She wants to make another dress

using this pattern,

to be more like a cheerleading outfit!

And Genine even has tiny 

cheerleading embroidery designs in her shop

that would fit perfectly!!!

If you have a little girl 

(or are a little girl at heart)

who loves

her 18" doll, then you need to 

get right on over to Genine's store

and load up on her gorgeous patterns.

She has so many darling designs 

and her instructions are so easy to follow.

Oh Genine,

thank you for allowing us

to enjoy your wonderful design.

I can't wait to make up

even more of your amazing designs.

Happy Sewing!

Sivje

Sewing For A Royal Baby

It came!!

I am so honored and excited to share with you

that I was a contributor to this beautiful book.

This book was the "baby" of 

the amazingly gifted

 Kathy Barnard and Amelia Johanson.

The lovely dress on the cover

was created by my friend Janet Gilbert

who just launched her own smocking website!

 Janet-Gilbert.com

I get chills seeing my name printed there.

I really do not feel I belong in this group of designers.

The contributors to this book are the most 

gifted in the field of heirloom sewing!

Do you see whose names are also there????

This book is filled with gorgeous designs,

complete with patterns on a CD-ROM in the back.

My tiny contribution was drafting a pattern

and writing instructions

for a pair of antique lace booties from

this photo.

These were my samples.

I made them from lace and cotton batiste.

But the original antique lace boots in the book

photo were made from a lovely silk.

The pattern for these little booties is included

in the CD-ROM in the back of the book,

and includes 3 sizes.

I am just so very thrilled to have been 

a part of this book. 

You can purchase it 

at the 

Martha Pullen Company 

and

Amazon.com

There are patterns for several dresses,

little boy suits,

bubbles,

booties,

bibs,

bonnets,

coverlets and other accessories,

and even 2 christening gowns!!

 

The patterns ,

 embroidery designs,

and heirloom construction techniques

alone are worth much, much more than the cost of this book. 

But the photography and inspiration are priceless!

I have only taken photos of the pages,

so the actual book pages are not blurry like

my photos. 

All the photos on the pages here, 

except for my two bootie samples,

 are from the book,

and are the property of Sew Beautiful and F&W Media, Inc. 

I hope you purchase this gorgeous book

for yourself and enjoy every lovely detail.

Happy Sewing!

Sivje

Ahnalin as Jane Austen

We love Jane Austen.

When Ahnalin had to choose a 

"Famous dead person" 

for her 3rd grade "Live Wax Museum" history project,

she chose to do her report on our beloved novelist.

Well, I must be honest here......

I LOVE JANE AUSTEN!

Ahnalin loves beautiful dresses and 

playing dress-up with her dolls.

She told me that she was considering

doing her report on Walt Disney or Lucille Ball.

Walt Disney lost out because she didn't want 

to dress up like him for the wax museum.

Lucille Ball ran a close second,

because she would have had fun portraying her
and she adores "I Love Lucy".

But in the end,

JANE WON!
(All right, it wasn't really a contest, but Go Jane!)

And that meant that mama needed to get busy

making a regency style gown.

And Ahnalin suggested

(well, more like agreed to....)

a smocked empire style. 

As research, (cough cough)

we watched most of my BBC versions

of Pride and Prejudice, 

Sense and Sensibility,

Emma

and Persuasian.

 I suggested Mansfield Park

and Northanger Abbey,

and had to watch them on my own time (again)

as she felt she had enough of a feel for the times.

We actually did real research on Ms. Austen,
but the movies were my favorite part.

Two of Ahnalin's favorite findings about
Jane were:

1. Jane's father was a minister just like
 Ahnalin's daddy has been.

2. Jane was proud of her stitching and
handiwork skills, just like Ahnalin.

The dress fabric was rather see-through,
and she wanted a new petticoat,
so I cut a quick yoke style bodice
and long skirt out of some cotton muslin from my stash.

She was practicing her posture with a book on her head
in this picture.
Goofy girl!

I found just enough cotton lace in my stash
to trim the neckline and armscyes. 

I added a long embroidered cotton batiste trim
to the hem of the petticoat.
I had planned on enclosing that seam in a
growth tuck, which is my oft used hem treatment.
However, Ahnalin wanted it to be left
as long as possible.
So we left it alone.
Her plan is to wear it as a nightgown
after the wax museum project was finished.

Ahnalin kept cracking up while Grandma Barbara was
taking pictures from one angle
and I was taking them from another angle.

Yes, there it is.
My favorite cheater hem style.
But I do love growth tucks.

And the long petticoat is peeking out.
And how cute are those pink ballet flats.

I truly love the fabric I used for this dress.

It is "Juliet-Coco" by Anna Griffin,
and can be purchased at the Martha Pullen Company. 

I drafted the pattern and designed
the smock plate based on various
gowns from my favorite
Jane Austen movies.

And, well,
you know I had to include smocking!

I am working on the pattern for this dress
and it will include the smocking design.
 

Ahnalin wanted you to see her hair.
She knew exactly how she wanted it to look.

The back of the bodice is simple and pretty.

I like the lace of the neckline of the
petticoat peeking out.

 I had not stitched the grosgrain ribbon
in place so it fell off when Ahnalin
was frozen in place at the school wax museum.
But it probably looks more authentic without it.

 She got tired of being frozen in her standing pose,
so she sat down and read her "prop".

Good thinking, my brilliant girl!
 

I am so proud of my little one
for working so hard on her Jane Austen project.
Her research paper was very well written
and she enjoyed the process.

And I am so glad she gave me a good
excuse to create a regency style gown for her.

Now she wants one for her American Girl doll.
I guess I had better get busy!

Happy Sewing!

McCalls 6388- She Loves It!

Ahnalin loves to look through the pattern catalogs

when we go to the fabric store.

She fell in LOVE

with McCall's 6388

and just begged me to sew it for her.

In fact, 

in true Ahnalin fashion,

she told me about the fabrics

in my stash that she thought would be perfect!

This is the first combo she wanted.

I can't remember where I 

found this patchwork cotton 

lycra knit in the first place,

but Ahnalin has had her eye on it for quite

some time.

And this "Paper Snowflake"

corduroy is from Sandi Henderson's

"Meadowsweet" line for Michael Miller.

We added the blue rick rack to coordinate

with the legging fabric.

And Ahnalin chose the buttons too.

I think my favorite part about this pattern

is the sleeves.

The pattern actually shows gathers

but I wanted to make pleats instead.

I made them the size 8 in length
and size 6 in width.

I didn't actually measure the pattern
pieces on her this time,
because sleeves are ALWAYS too short
on her.

Not this time!

And of course,
there are pockets!!

And they are trimmed with rick rack!

I had to add 4 inches in length to the
legging pattern!

I cut the size 6 in width
and size 8 in length PLUS 4 inches
and they are the right length for now.

We found these darling
hot pink and orange shoes
at Target and added
white eyelet trimmed socks too.

 

I really wish I had purchased the smaller
size pattern because
I think a size 4 in width would
fit her much better than the 6.


She is SKINNY and
this pattern is roomy!

But she loves it.

It is a cozy outfit.

By the way,
she insisted I take a picture
of her eating her favorite
Jo-Jos cookies.

Ok.

Like I said,
she loves the outfit!

She has already chosen the next
fabric combo
for the same pattern.

And of course,
we need a little "Classic Ahnalin".


So, what am I working on now?

Well, I was invited to a lunch and craft party
with women from our new church,
so I pleated up this "Henna Garden"
from my stash.

I am attempting to smock again and praying my
hands don't scream too badly.

I do miss smocking so much!

And I am also working on
a new slipcover for my sofa.

Yeah, photos to come when I have some
to show for myself!

Thank you for your prayers for India.

She is soldiering on,
and very tired of her giant splint on
her foot.

Her blood sugars FINALLY stabilized
and she started back to college
on Tuesday.

And guess what!!

She is taking costuming classes!!!


Thank you for your prayers for our family.

If I can so boldly make one more request,
it would be prayer for a closer
full time job for Don.

In addition to his job as music director
for our church,
he works full time as an audio and
acoustical engineer.
He commutes 3-4 hours every day
to work.
We are so so so grateful for the jobs,
but he is exhausted all the time

I am so blessed to have a loving,
committed, and godly husband,
who sacrifices daily for us.

Please pray that he can find
a job with benefits closer to home.

Thank you so much for the prayers and encouragement.

Sivje

Bloomer Skirt for Carissa

Every girl needs a Bloomer Skirt for back to school!

This one was a custom for a 

darling little China sister named Carissa.

Here mama remembered 

that I had made a Bloomer Skirt

for Ahnalin with Tanya Whelan's "Darla" fabric

and requested one for her girly.

I appliqued this little rose onto the gingham print.

Attached bloomers in the gingham print

for proper coverage while

jumping rope and hanging from Monkey Bars.

If your little girl needs a Bloomer Skirt,

I would love to create one for her.

Or, you can make one yourself using

my "Monkey Girl Bloomer Skirt" e-pattern.

Just click on the links to the upper left

of the blog,

either my Etsy store, 

or the "Add to cart" button.

You can also purchase the pattern from

You Can Make This .Com

and

 

Fairytale Frocks And Lollipops

Please email me if you are interested

in me creating a custom Bloomer Skirt 

for the darling girl in your life.

And now, Ahnalin and India and I 

are off for an afternoon of pottery painting.

Ahnalin starts second grade tomorrow 

and we must enjoy our last day of 

Summer together having

creative fun together.

Happy Sewing!

Summer Day Trips and Bloomer Skirts

Summer is finally here!

And Ahnalin has been keeping me

so busy that I have not had time 

to post!

As a treat, Don bought us season passes
this year, to Discover Kingdom in Vallejo.
It used to be called "Marine World, Africa USA"
and we went there on our honeymoon 23 years ago.


Ahnalin is not super keen on all the rides,
but she is CRAZY about all the animals!
She got to pet an elephant there!

They have an indoor butterfly habitat that
is just amazing!

I love the killer whale show.

Her favorite show there is the dolphin show.


In fact, she managed to find some fabric
in my stash with dolphins, killer whales,
and fish printed on it.
Of course, she insisted that she NEEDED
a bloomer skirt out of this fabric!

So, of course I sewed one right up. 
She still LOVES her bloomer skirts!

Bloomer Skirts are great for twirling!

Running through splash zones...

And of course, for hanging upside down,
which is what Monkey Girl does best!
I sewed this up using my pattern,

(which you can purchase, by clicking on the link)

but instead of adding the band at the bottom,

I trimmed the hem with ribbon and rick rack.

 I didn't have much of the fabric, so 

I did this treatment so she could 

have as much length as possible. 

She prefers her skirts at the knee or longer.

She loves this little spot.

This window overlooks the giant walrus tank

and he often swims up to her.

I don't think we made it on to one ride this trip!

I wonder if we will go on any rides

or if we will just hang out with the animals all Summer.

------------------------------------------------

Thank you all for your prayers for Don!

He is FINALLY well.

When he started to get his strength back,
I begged suggested that we drive

back to Bodega Bay for some fresh ocean air,

and seafood.

So on Saturday, we did!

We ate crab cakes and chowder

at Spud Point Crab Company

and then parked at Doran Beach

for a frolic on the beach.

Do you see the clear ball in this picture?

This is a jellyfish egg!

There were THOUSANDS of them all 

over the beach! 

The kept getting stuck in my toes 

as I walked barefoot on the sand.

When we looked at them closely, 

we could see the tiny baby jellyfish inside!

While Don rested, breathing in that

healing ocean air,

Ahnalin and I walked up and down the beach,

talking about miracles and God's creation.

We looked for shells and sand dollars.

And somehow, we found two!

It was a wonderful gift of a day.

Summer continues to be busy,

with a fabulous week of 

Vacation Bible School.

(photo by Tina Kammerer-Wells)

Yes, these two are both the same age!

(photo by Tina Kammerer-Wells)

Yes, this is me, leading music for the preschool 

aged children at VBS.

What a bizarre look on my face!

But VBS was great!

-------------------------------------------------

So, I am FINALLY getting 

caught up on sewing and blogging.

Yes, I am making more 

Monkey Girl Bloomer Skirts

because they are so fun and practical

and Ahnalin loves them.

You can purchase the pattern

at my Etsy store

or You Can Make This.com

or at Fairytale Frocks and Lollipops.

I am also working on some new patterns!

Hopefully between trips to 

the library, beach, Discovery Kingdom

and all the Ahnalin's sewing, 

I will have some time to finish!

Happy Summer and
Happy Sewing!