b is for bella

What is it about 1st graders and their teachers? My daugher, Emma, absolutely adores her teacher and hangs on every last word that she speaks. Her teacher has a 1 year old daughter named Bella and Emma has been begging me to make her something all year. Telling me that her teacher had "requested" certain things (me knowing that Emma had graciously offered my services on a daily basis). So, last night when I realized that it was the last opportunity to fulfill her wish, at 12:30 am no less, I pulled out my fabric and started thinking.

Luckily I had a spare white t-shirt and some big ideas.  What started out as a simple applique quickly turned into a three hour project with ruffle pants to complete her look.  Why is it that all the good ideas come in the twilight hours?  Anyhow, I snapped a few pictures this morning just to make sure that it all wasn't a dream, and then sent off a very happy 7-year-old girl to her last day of 1st grade.  It was a long night but I have to take advantage of this limited time I have before she doesn't think I'm cool anymore.  

I haven't had much time for the last few weeks to sit down at my sewing machine.  Luckily, a good friend had a birthday and so I had an excuse to use this fabric I have been saving for a while.  It seems like aprons are all I have time to make lately but I have big ambitions to get some fun dresses/skirts done for my girls in the near future.  I didn't use a pattern for this one, just inspiration from a party an amazing friend threw for her daughter (she made aprons for all the little girls)  

sewing lessons

I have great memories of my mom patiently teaching me to sew.  We had a big family so I know that her time was very limited but I am so glad that I learned the basics of quilting, window treatments, embroidery, following a pattern, and sewing.  Aside from those skills, I think the most valuable thing I learned was to have a desire to create in my own way.  I find it very satisfying to see a project through from the vision inside my head, all the way to completion.  Most of the time, my finished product isn't exactly what I had pictured but I learn something new every time I try.  

 

My 7-year-old daughter has been begging me for her own sewing lessons lately and I have a hard time finding quiet moments to teach her.  I am not ready to let her have free reign over my precious Bernina so I have not been sure where to start.  A good friend suggested letting her draw a picture on some fabric and then putting it into a hoop to learn embroidery.  We tried it out yesterday and she was in heaven.  It kept her occupied for a long time and she has big plans for future designs.   I really want my girls to enjoy being creative and to develop an attitude of wanting to figure out how to do something on their own rather than just buying it off of the shelf.  (Even if it is cheaper and quicker to do so)

Rugby, anyone??

These window treatments have been bouncing around in my head for the last 6 months or so.  I was dying to incorporate some sort of rugby stripe into the room and this is what I finally came up with.  One thing is for sure, I am NEVER going to repurpose old curtains into something new.  I had picked up a few packages of red Pottery Barn panels at the outlet for cheap with the idea of cutting them up for a future project.  That was mistake #1.  None of the lines were straight and it was a mess trying to get everything to line up the way I wanted it to.  Mistake #2 was trying to use the old boards from my former window treatments.  They were 2" too wide so I had to take them all apart, have a nice neighbor cut them to the right size, and then rebuild them from scratch again.  

I had a hard time getting a good picture of the three windows in the room but here they are.  I am SO glad to have this project done!

fun felt applique

I have been doing a lot of the fabric letter appliques and wanted to experiment with felt.  Some friends of mine (who are sisters) both had babies within a week of each other so these were a perfect little gift for them.  They have a "J" thing going.......now into the third generation.  After ironing them on, I thought they needed a little something extra so I hand-stitched around the letters with embroidery thread and I think they look a lot better.  Although, next time I think I would have done the hand-stitching before the adhesive because it was a pain sewing through all the layers. 

Aprons for Auction

I went out on a limb and made a couple of aprons for a fundraiser we are having for our baseball team.  I don't know why I have such a fear of "selling" my handmade items.  I even have an etsy shop that remains empty to this day.  I guess it comes from not having any formal training other than lessons from my mom or online tutorials/library books.  Maybe I just worry that they will fall apart or not last through the first washing.  Silly.  But, its something I need to get over if I want to keep creating.  I think my first ambition would be to just sell enough things to pay for my fabric addiction......especially because my friends and family are going to get sick of the same gifts for every holiday! 

I made a matching mother/daughter apron and included two rolling pins and Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook, "Deceptively Delicious".  It's funny because I wasn't too excited about this fabric while it has been on my shelf but I love how they turned out.  Now I am going to cross my fingers that someone actually bids on this at our auction!

Cake pops

My kids' favorite treat to take to school for their birthdays are these fun little cake pops.  This week we had a half-birthday at preschool to celebrate and we had enough left over to send in for a baby "sprinkle" for another teacher.  These treats are time consuming and messy BUT, so fun to make and look at when I am done.  I do have to say that they get easier each time and I have learned several tricks to make the process smoother.