Tea Party Dress

I've had this tea party themed fabric in my stash for such a long time. I bought it with the intention to use it as backing for a child's quilt.  But I'm just not a quilter so it's been sitting in my stash waiting for another project.

Well, the other day my internet sewing friend Sharon posted this tutorial found here.  
It gave me inspiration so I dug down deep in the abyss of the turquoise fabric box and unearthed the tea party fabric.

I have a tea set for Caitlin that's lime green and turquoise, so this will be a perfect outfit for dress-up when we have tea in the Gazebo.

Truth be known, the image reminds me of myself pouring imaginary tea for my childhood and lifelong friend Kathy. When we were kids, we played tea party for hours on end.

So here's the finished dress with piping (of course) on the arm and neck opening.

While I was sitting on the rock stairs taking this photo, mom Blue Jay and one of her fledglings landed beside me.
I think this is her second brood because it's so late in the season to see young Jays. And speaking of the unusual (or maybe proof of global warming) is the presence of many Common Buckeye butterflies that rarely appear here. They've even been spotted north of Lake Superior which is in the Boreal Forest.

None of this has anything to do with sewing though.

Nor does this photo.
Beside where the Jays landed is a bench with a basket of Iceberg Pansies and I have long blamed the local deer eating the blooms.  Not any more.  It's Chippy who is the culprit!

Okay, back to sewing.  The pattern I used was Bodice Dress by Collars Etc.  I omitted the collar on view 4 and used Sharon's directions.

I made it size 3.

Okay, so now I'm going to go jump in the lake because it's outrageously hot and humid here again. And when I dry off ... tea in the Gazebo of course!

Vintage Natalie

When I saw this pattern I knew I had to make it. As good luck would have it I was inspired from versions here and here made by my internet sewing friend Jenny Jo, as well as here made as an entry for PR&P.

The fabric for my version is by Robert Kauffman called Betty Dear. The dress is size 3.

The pattern was designed by Janet Gilbert for Sew Beautiful and you can read all about how she got her inspiration for the pattern here. 
http://texassmockingcompany.blogspot.ca/2011/04/picture-that-inspired-pattern.html

The instructions were quite detailed as there are many versions of this dress. Overall, they were clear to follow and there were lots of tips too.
It's a good idea to read through all the steps before even cutting out this pattern. It's not a difficult pattern by any means, there are just a lot of versions.

While the illustrations and instructions were straightforward, I managed to goof up the placket. It didn't come out sitting as flat as it should but my trusty iron fixed that problem!
I dithered about adding a belt/tie and in hindsight perhaps a narrow one might have been a good idea.
Next time.
Also, perhaps I should have tried to line up the flowers so that the front panel matched the sides. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough fabric to do that.

If this dress is a little too big for Caitlin, which I suspect it might be, my plan is to make a white blouse that she can wear under this dress in the fall.

Note to self:
For the back skirt, cut on fold and make placket with slit and 2" facing.

Ruffled Halter

On the Oliver + S website there are several free patterns to download.  Today I decided to make this one called Ruffled Halter. Download it here.

The fabric is raised dot voile and it's sized to fit 3/4.  It was really easy and quick to make. The hard part is getting a decent photo.

Maybe this is a better angle and better lighting?

The neck strap ties at the back and there is elastic around the back bodice. 
On the hems of the ruffles, I serged using the rolled hem technique and because I didn't have the correct colour of cotton thread, I had to use several shades of rayon thread. 

Perhaps this is better photo? Maybe not. The Day Lilies look good though because the deer haven't eaten them yet.
At any rate, this top ought to be light and cool for the hot and humid dog days we're experiencing right now.

Now it's time for lunch, afterwards a quick swim and then back to the sewing room!

Antoinette

I have my sewing room back for a few days as all the guests have gone....but not for long.
Today I was able to complete this dress, it's called Antoinette, size 4.  It was designed by a very talented lady named Nele from Belgium.
Despite that the instructions were written in Dutch, it was really easy to put together. There were good photos and the rest was intuitive.  Unfortunately, the pattern is no longer available.
The next time I make this dress, I will add 4cm to the hem as opposed to 2cm as per the instructions.

Nele's website can be found here . She has many beautiful items that she has made, designed plus a lot of sewing tips and tutorials.
She got the inspiration her Antoinette dress from this dress at modcoth.com

The fabric I chose is periwinkle blue linen and the collar and piping is light green cotton.

Afternoon sewing.

This afternoon I managed to squeeze in some sewing.  It'll be the last sewing for awhile because we're expecting an onslaught of guests this summer and my sewing room has to revert back to being a guest room.  Next weekend alone, there will be 14 people and 4 dogs sleeping over.

Here's what I made.

Using Oliver + S patterns, I made the Swing Set top in a gauzy cotton fabric and Puppet Show shorts in gray linen. They are size 3 and they fit perfectly.

I whipped these up while my daughter, her husband and the grandchildren who are visiting us for several days went to Santa's Village, a local amusement park.
Poor Santa must have been sweating buckets because we've had a heat wave of 100+ with humidex over the past week.  Given this is his summer home, maybe he should be wearing a Hawaiian style shirt instead of his fur trimmed red suit!

Here's our little model with a prize she won earlier in the day and her best pal, Lucy. Labradors and kids are a good mix.

I have a few items cut out and ready to sew but given the busy summer that lies ahead, any sewing time for me will be a complete luxury.

Mallory

This is a Children's Corner pattern that's been sitting in my to-do box for some time.
Inspired by this talented lady (go here) I just had to make it.

It took no time at all to make. As a matter of fact, I dilly dallied all day long surfing the internet that when I realized it was late afternoon, I scurried back to my sewing room and assembled it before dinner.
What took the most time was cutting bias strips and making piping.  Oh, and deciding whether to have off-white or blue piping.

(I supposed I could have done a better job of centering the dress on Dumella, but the light was disappearing fast.)

I think the key to getting this dress right is to press the pleats from the beginning and basting them in place while assembling the dress.

For the lining I used batiste. The main fabric is a poly/cotton twill from Fabricland that looks sort of Fabric Finders-ish, but not the same quality.  No matter.  I'm happy with the outcome.

Size 3.

More summer outfits

The top is the Oliver + S pattern Swingset which I found rather difficult to follow.  Confusing actually.
I have since found several tutorials: here and here which I will use next time.
Size 3.
The shorts are from the pattern Puppet Show and are easy to make.

Using the Oliver + S pattern Sailboat pants and top. I made the top in size 3 from cotton. The sleeves were too long and I had to shorten them by 1/2 inch.

The pants are in linen, size 3 and they haven't been tried on yet.

While I was trying to get a good photo and obviously didn't succeed, a very hungry mom Chipmunk hung around.
I usually have a pocket full of peanuts so I tossed her some.

Brains in the mailbox

I've learned once again that the grass isn't always greener elsewhere. I should have stayed true to Bernina.
Thankfully a reader, Anne Lo from Denmark, suggest contacting a Husqvarna dealer in Europe to find the utility stitch card, essentially the main brains, for my sewing machine.
I found an on-line sewing business in England who most likely has the last few remaining stitch cards in the world, for my machine.
As coincidence would have it, my Grandparents and my Auntie and Uncle lived near Bournemouth, England where this sewing business is located.  I spent one summer there when I was young and while I was happy to get my stitch card, thinking about Bournemouth brought back a flood of happy memories. 
How I fondly remember eating Ice Lollies (popsicles) and spending day after day by the seaside with them.  Oh I do like to be beside the seaside.
But I digress. 

The stitch card came in the mail yesterday and life is back to normal.
Thank you Anne Lo and Sewing Machines On-line.

Using my backup sewing machine in the meantime, I was able to finish the Baptism outfit for Adam.  It's difficult to make something for him because he's not handy to try things on.  In addition, he has enormous thighs, a beer belly and a plumbers crack. Chunky baby! 
I made and unpicked these overalls several times. 

On the sleeves of the shirt I used some entredeux.  For the collar and around the bib edge I used a size 18 needle as the wing needle was gouging too large a hole,  and a Turkish style stitch.

Because he is teething and drooling as babies do, mom wanted a bib to match the outfit. 
On my Husqvarna Iris embroidery machine I have Martha Pullens' Heirloom card and found this crucifix.
(I'm waiting for that machine to poop out on me next.  A new boat anchor!)

This photo is out of focus, sorry, but these are just the sweetest little bunny buttons ever. 
The thread in the stitching is silk and it's absolutely beautiful to see in real life.

The outfit looks much better on Adam than hanging on a hanger off a tree limb.  Mom is happy with the outcome and that's all that matters to me.

Meanwhile, his sister Caitlin called "Grandma, can you make me a Cinderella dress?"
Using Simplicity 2563 I was able to whip this up today.  I used a satin type of fabric that is just horrid to work with especially when inserting the zipper.

For fun, I called around to find out what a new Bernina is worth and maybe with embroidery capabilities because I know the day is coming soon when the machines I have will have to be replaced.
The price I was quoted was around $11,000. 
I nearly fainted.
 
If I had that kind of money to spare I would rather have a Dippy.   Now that's practical!

Tea towels.

I've had this embroidery pattern sitting in my to-do-embroidery box for some time. Maybe since the last century.  And since I'm trying to bust stash and there's no time like the present, I stitched this pattern onto some beige linen and then made a Class Picnic blouse.

I got carried away and stitched more birds on the top yoke of the blouse and paired it with denim Puppet Show shorts.

I'm thinking tea towels.  The blouse looks like a repurposed tea towel.

I may unpick the birds on the yoke and perhaps it may look better.

Well, whatever.  There are plenty more embroidery transfers in my to-do-embroidery box so I'll give it another go on another item.

2 dresses

I really like the Bubble Dress. I've made slight changes to the pattern in the past adding long sleeves. But since my daughter likes Peter Pan collars, this time around I added just that. I left off the bubble part. Yet true to my usual, I put piping around the capped sleeve, bodice, and of course around the collar too.
My daughter picked out the fabric, it's really summery looking.

I also really like the pattern Maggie Mae by Shwin & Shwin.  The last time I made it, I added piping around the armscye but found it was too bulky.  This time around I left off the piping there but kept it around the neck and between the upper yoke and mid-yoke.  I also added a placket to the back skirt.

April showers plaguing the lighting for these photos.

Shorts and Tops

The top is Class Picnic Blouse. Added a little ric rac on top.  The shorts are Puppet Show and added ric rac on the pocket to match the top.
Size 3T. Oliver + S pattern.

Top and shorts are exactly the same as above.  The fabric on both pieces are a little stretchy which might make the outfit more comfortable when climbing.

My daughter just loves these shorts.  I've got 2 more made but need to pair them up with tops.  Three more need to be cut out.

It was raining like crazy when I took these photos so the lighting wasn't the best.

Boat anchor

The "A" card on my Quilt Designer is kaput.  Finding a replacement is highly unlikely according to several Husqvarna/Viking dealers I called.

Meanwhile, I have several big projects that I'm trying to complete in limited time.  It never fails, eh?

Thankfully I hung on to the first sewing machine I bought 30 years ago, a Bernina 801.  I'll dust it off and put it back in action.  But creating buttonholes on that machine is really difficult. And of course, several of the projects require numerous buttonholes. Argh!

Testing

I only have this week to complete a Baptism outfit.
My daughter wants white linen overalls with a smocked insert and a white shirt with perhaps some blue stitching here and there.
So I sent her this blue corduroy overall and white cotton shirt to test for size. 
The overalls need to be lengthened as does the waist  and of course a smocked insert will be on the final outfit.

The shirt fits but the collar needs to be closer at the front neck. I'm not happy with the feather stitch. Next one will have just straight double stitching. There will be entre deux on the sleeves just as this one has.

There are few other tweaks needed for this outfit, but this test run has worked out just fine.  I drafted the pattern for the overall myself.

I don't mean to be biased but isn't my grandson just the cutest little baby ever? 

Blouse and shorts

Two Oliver + S patterns: Class Picnic Blouse and Puppet Show shorts.  Both size 3T.

Class Picnic blouse is minty green cotton with brown polka dots.
This pattern was easy to do. Because the back yoke is similar in size to the front yoke, next time I plan to stitch a piece of ribbon in the back yoke to mark the back. Although if the blouse is worn backwards it probably wouldn't be noticed.

Puppet Show shorts are made in brown linen, but not true linen.  More like a faux linen.
The pattern was quick and easy. Too easy.  So I'm going to make a lot more shorts using this pattern.
Next time I won't double double stitching on the pockets.  That was a mistake.

Note to self: stitch a piece of ribbon in the back yoke section of the Class Picnic blouse to denote back of blouse.
Pay attention to the pattern directions for the Puppet Show shorts pockets.

Everything fits.

This biggest concern when I make outfits for Caitlin is, will it fit?  Despite having all her measurements most times it hit or miss.
I was down in the Big Smoke the other day and with dresses in hand tried them on.

Maggie Mae by Shwin & Shwin fit perfectly except it was a little long.  That was my fault as I added extra length to the dress as well as the contrasting hem to balance with the yoke contrast.
This is an easy fix.

When I was cutting out Oliver + S fabric Modern Workshop for the Oliver + S Apple Picking dress,  I silently thought it should have been used for pajamas.
Well, when I showed Caitlin the dress she said "jamama's!" Hmmm. Seems that a 2 year old thinks the same way.
At any rate the dress fit perfectly as all O+S patterns do.

Notes to self:  leave hem lengths on Maggie Mae as per the pattern.
On Apple Picking dress: cut the neck tie portion wider after the point where it attaches to the neck to make for a fuller neck tie.

Apple Picking Dress

Oliver + S Apple Picking Dress size 3.

It went together quickly but I struggled with the neck tie.  Next time I need to make sure the piece has been cut and notched exactly.
Also, next time make the right side placket (under side one) wider.

Piping was added while putting the front placket in place.

Piping on the sleeve added while assembling the cuff piece.

Pretty fabric but maybe it's would have been more suited for a pajamas.

Note to self: neckband must be cut exactly and make right placket a little wider.

Maggie Mae

This is pdf pattern from Shwin & Shwin called Maggie Mae.  I made it in size 3.

The instructions were easy to follow and came with photos too.

I added piping to the neck, top yoke and around the armholes. But I must have made an error because the armholes seem too small.  Since this is a test run, I'll adjust the pattern next time out.

 

Note to self:  add a placket to the skirt section, construct the upper bodice section differently than instructions tucking the lining inside.

Sarah wants the next one in navy blue with white contrast and red bow at waist as per Jackie O styles.

Pockets!

I received an urgent call from my daughter early yesterday morning for some Mom/Granny help.  A nasty flu big was sweeping through her family.
So I quickly gathered a few things, jumped in the car and drove down to the Big Smoke.
I took with me the Seashore Sundress but in my haste forgot to put a little treat in the pockets.

Caitlin looked inside one pocket ... but found nothing.

Then she looked in the other pocket and again, Grandma has struck out and forgot to put in a little surprise.

Well, I might have been fired from being a Gran but was totally redeemed because everyone loved the dress.
It fit perfectly. My daughter loved the fabric.  It was a hit.  Even the empty pockets!
 

I'm going to make up a bunch more dresses over the weekend and pray I don't get the flu bug that was rampant in my daughter's house.


Note to self: Don't forget the pocket treats!