Catching Up Part 4: Gingerbread Dresses

As always, click on the pictures to enlarge them.

 Yes, I am still trying to catch up on posting things I made before the Christmas holidays.  This is what happens when I don't post for two months!  I really do have to resolve to post at least twice every month...no. matter. what.  (Because there is still more to come!)

Anyway, the little gingerbread dress here is one of a pair I made as gifts for the special little ones in two co-workers lives.  This one is a size 2 and was made for the one and a half year old daughter of one of our first grade teachers.  Kayla has the most gorgeous blue eyes!  The second dress (that I never photographed) was nearly identical to this one but was a size 18 months and had the addition of a back placket and three red buttons down the back.  It was made for Coral, the first grandchild of our media specialist, who is a very dear friend.

The aprons I posted in the last post were my inspiration for these dresses.  They are apron dresses using bodices I drafted and the strap/ties from the Portabellopixie Petal Knot Dress.  The apron and skirt were just rectangles cut to the measurements the ladies gave me.  The little white blouses were made using a white on white snowflake print that doesn't show up in the picture.

 My friends were delighted with the dresses and their little girls wore them several times over the holidays.  We are hoping that they may get to wear them again next year since the knots on the bodice can be adjusted and the ties loosened in the back.

Oops!  I didn't tie a great bow here.

 Buttons, yo-yo cheeks, and a bit of bias tape make the faces.  Cute!

I hope you like them.  I could post the bodice pieces I drafted for those two sizes if anyone is interested.  Just leave a comment.  I love to hear from you!

Have a wonderful day!

Catching Up Part 3: Gingerbread & Snow-lady Aprons

 I am still catching up on posting some of my December 2013 sewing/doings!

These cute little aprons were made using the Simplicity 1954 pattern.  I made the three sizes included and sized one down for a size 2 child.  They were fun to make for children's gifts and the recipients loved them!  Chloe, A.K.A. 'Alice', the beautiful model from my last post, loved her Gingerbread apron once she put it on.  (Getting it on her was another story!  She is three...enough said.)  Chloe wears a size 2 so her apron had to be sized down to fit her.  Chloe's mommy loved the apron so much,  she decided it was a pinafore and had her wear it to preschool with cinnamon colored leggings.  Adorable!  Just look at that sweet smile!

 I loved the look of the aprons so much that I wanted to try the snow-lady view but had no little one left to sew one for.  So....I sized it up to an adult size!  Here it is being modeled by my lovely daughter.  I wore it to school for our class holiday party and also on Christmas Day.  If anyone is interested in the dimensions for a grown-up version of the aprons, please just let me know in the comment section.

This apron was my inspiration for the pinafore part of my Winter Wonderland PR&P sew-along submission.  You can see more of the pictures HERE.

I'd love to know if anyone else has made these aprons.
Have a wonderful weekend!

Catching Up Part 2: My Rosebud's Christmas Stocking

I am catching up on posts again today.  There are several things I made in November and December that I would like to share.  I hope the dear readers who check this blog won't mind.

As always, click on the photos to enlarge them.

 Two days before Christmas I decided to make Victoria-Rose, our daughter, a Christmas stocking.  The one she had was perfectly nice but it was a purchased one that didn't reflect her personality or style.   Rosebud's (family nickname) favorite colors are the more muted shades of green.  She loves vintage style and is (thank heavens for me) a very feminine young lady.

 The photo above shows the stocking cut out and bits and pieces of vintage laces that I have salvaged and restored.  The green fabric started out life as a man's pima cotton shirt.  It isn't shown here, but the lining is a red and white striped cotton.  The laces were all brown or dark tan from age and dirt and spent many hours/days in a Biz Bucket.  They are too delicate to be used in clothing because they would be washed too often and subjected to too much stress with wear.  The little broach, rose stick pin, and the charms were found in an antique store here in St. Petersburg.  The charms were cut off a bracelet that was from the 60's.  The little bee and basket were purchased many several years ago from JoAnns.

The crocheted snowflakes on our tree were made by my husband's Aunt Shirley and were given to us for our wedding.  I love them and want to learn how to make more of them!

 The  flower  basket was to honor Victoria-Rose's sweetness and the bee is for prosperity.  The broach was chosen for the red and it's star shape:  she is our shining star, a gift from God.  The rose, of course, is 'her' flower!  The ribbon above the basket and creating the "V" is silk embroidery ribbon.

The Santa behind the tag was on my mother-in-law's first tree 96 years ago!  

 The little red heart was cut from a pair of earrings that Rosebud wore a lot but lost its 'sister'.

The little elf ornament peeking out from under the stocking was one of many made for me by my godmother/aunt Janet Hughes in the 70's.  They are treasures!

I am linking this post to Sewing Mama Raeanna's Snowflakes & Lace  Linky party HERE.  Go and check out all the lovely things made with lace!

I hope that your holiday was as wonderful as ours was!  I still have a couple more holiday-themed posts to share and I am working on things for all three of the remaining Project Run & Play themes for Season 8.  Please come back and visit!

Winter Wonderland: Project Run and Play Season Eight

Project Run and Play's eighth season has begun with a wonderful line up of themes.  The first is "Winter Wonderland".  Perfect for the weather for most of the country right now.  Even Florida is having nippy weather!  I live in sunny Florida but we do have some cold (lower than 65 degrees F) days in January, February, and March.  We do bundle up and wear jackets, hats, gloves, and scarves because to us, It is winter and it is cold outside! Today the temperature in Palm Harbor, where I teach, was a very wintry 54 degrees F!

When I think of Winter, I think of these things:  cold, snow, blue skies, rosy cheeks, snowmen, layers of clothing, mittens, warm capes, and pretty hats. I think this outfit embodies it all!  

I had already decided to make little Miss Emma a snow-lady dress when Emma's grandmother and I were discussing what to make for Emma this winter. (Emma and her grandmother took care of my shih tzu puppy girls last summer in exchange for a special outfit. I love 'bartering' with her because I get to indulge in something I love:  making pretty things for an adorable little girl!)  When I saw the themes for this season's challenges the week after Christmas I couldn't believe that the first theme would be perfect for something I was already planning on making!  Two of the fabrics arrived from Farmhouse Fabrics on Friday, January 3 and I immediately put them in the wash.  Saturday saw me sketching ideas, ironing fabric, and choosing patterns.  That Sunday I cut all the pieces out except for the French beret.  Then it was a mad dash to sew the outfit to enter on time (8:00 PM tonight) between teaching full time and the normal family routines.  I am not a fast seamstress.  I am very careful and try to be precise when I sew so it can be rather slow going.  

The underdress is a pink pima cotton one eighth gingham with an attached white cotton slip.  I used McCalls 6062 and made changes only to the sleeves.  I omitted the elastic in the sleeves and added a band of Swiss beading and hand whipped French lace edging to the bottom.  Pretty pink ribbon is woven through the holes in the beading.

                                             

                                            

For the pinafore I used white cotton sateen, and pink and blue pima cotton gingham.  The skirt, apron, and ties are just rectangles cut to Emma's size and my vision.  The petal knot ties are from the Petal Knot Dress in "Claire" by Portabellopixie.  The bodice was drafted by me to accommodate the snow-lady face and Emma's size.  The cheeks and nose are yo-yos, the eyes are large buttons, and the mouth is wide rick rack.  All the facial features except the eyes were sewn on before sewing the lining to the bodice. 

The lined cape is one I just fell in love with!  I just love those mitten pockets and so does Emma!  The pattern is a PDF design purchased on Etsy:  "Gwendolyn's Cape" by Ruby Jean's Closet.  I love everything about this pattern except how the side seams are sewn.  I followed the pattern this time but will sew it like a man's lined vest next time to give it a prettier finished look on the inside.

  

                                 

The hat was added to the line up after the hood I drafted to fit the pattern just didn't look quite right.  I then thought a little French beret would be the way to go.  Now I am so glad the hood didn't work out!  I love the beret and I think it is the perfect accent for this outfit.  I used a pattern by SewBaby called the Hat Shoppe.  I added lining and the bow and button details.

I am linking this post to the sew-along at Project Run and Play HERE.  Go check out all the wonderful designs by the contestants and the sew-along 'sewists'.  This was FUN!

A Visit With My Heart Sister

Karen and Jana, June 2013

 I recently spent a wonderful little vacation in Georgia with my dear friend Jana.  Although my family adores her and would like to come, as well, I go alone and soak up the goodness of being with someone who is one of the sweetest, most thoughtful, people on earth!  We have been friends since we were in ninth grade and she knows my entire life story almost as well as I do.  This little 'retreat' is a gift we give each other every summer that we can.

We don't schedule very much and just take each day as it comes.  In fact, we make sure that we have time to nap every day and the 'tea parties' begin as soon as I arrive.   I usually schedule my flight to arrive just before lunch time and Jana has all kinds of goodies made up ahead to put together a quick gourmet organic luncheon when we get to her house.  But first, we have tea...beautifully brewed loose black tea that is perfectly timed so that no trace of bitterness can be found.

We talk...a lot...and then it is time for a nap under quilts and flannel sheets and pillows with hand-embroidered pillowcases.  On the bedside table is a lamp, a small vase of flowers from the garden, a stack of books and magazines that Jana thinks I might like (some with pages marked), and copies of things that she has read/researched that she thinks that my family or I might need/want to read.  There are often little wrapped presents on the table as well (dark chocolate candy, tea themed note cards, notebooks, etc.).  To put it simply, Jana spoils me rotten!  When it is time to get up, Jana brings in a pretty tea tray with tea for two and we prop the multiple pillows up at both ends of the bed and talk some more.  Now, I must tell you that tea comes to me on a tea tray in the morning, too.  Yes, I know....VERY spoiled.

We do go out on errands and often have one lunch and one dinner out at a fancy restaurant.  This time we ate dinner at a middle eastern place that was amazing.  We ordered seven different dishes and they arrived on little serving dishes to serve ourselves and share.  Wow!  Very yummy.

I made the Christmas stocking below to match the one I made for Jana last Christmas.  (See HERE.) I had made her stocking and filled it with little things for her present.  She was tickled with it and suggested that I make one for myself but leave the decorations of the stocking to her.  I was to bring this stocking with me on this visit and return with the one I made her last year.  We will now have a new tradition:  filling and sending the stockings to each other.

The stocking is made from two different (damaged) hand-made small tablecloths, linen for lining, and a holiday print for the back of the stocking.  Aren't those scallops on the edge of the finer linen tablecloth beautiful?  Every stitch was hand done!

Jana gave me her waffle maker when I told her that I had some wonderful Belgian waffles at a P.T.A. breakfast the last week of school.  Oh, my!  Who knew waffles could be so good?  I have already used it twice!

The waffles are very pretty, too, with roses on one side.

 It makes a very large waffle.  (It fills the center of a dinner plate.)  We had ours with fresh fruit, butter, and maple syrup.  Delicious!

One of the things that we make time for every year when I visit Jana is an afternoon of visiting antique shops.  I always come home with lovely vintage linens to use in my home and in my sewing creations.  The photo below is a small sample of the things I found on this visit.  (I'll be doing another post on my 'finds'!)  Aren't the two sets of matching pillowcases pretty?

Just click on the photo to enlarge.

Needless to say, I always feel that time has flown and that our visit is too short.  I look forward to this time with Jana all year.  I leave the end-of-the-school-year madness and stress and take deep, rejuvenating breaths, basking in a precious friendship with a cherished friend.  

Thank you, Jana!  

Linking up with Thrifty to Nifty Thursday at:  http://www.ajennuinelife.com/2013/07/thrifty-to-nifty-thursdays-24.html