Ready to Get Back in the Groove!

It's been a busy summer, and between swim lessons, Vacation Bible School, and the summer reading program at our county library...plus dishing out meals like a fast-food diner and countless hours of Legos® and Play-doh®, watching movies and more (including an upper respiratory virus that the boys contracted and "shared" with me), I have had very little time to sew.  BUT...where there's a will, there's a way!

So...I have managed to make five pair of "pajama shorts" for the boys...

two "picnic dresses" for an 8-year-old friend who is part of our "extended family" and her 9-month-old sister...and a top from the scraps for Zola...

and four "picnic dresses" for all of my nieces (three from the owl print, and one in the pink/green prints)...

plus a pretty cute little "peasant dress" for Zola.

I love seeing the kids' faces when they get the new outfits.  Next up are things for fall...some "school spirit" shirts, some orange print for October, leggings repurposed from long-sleeved tees, and some Christmas outfits.  I know...summer is fading fast, and it's time to think about fall and the holidays.  They will be here before we can turn around!  Stay tuned for pictures...I'll keep them coming!

It's Batman, Y'all!

Our youngest great-nephew, Nathan (age 2½), is obsessed with Batman.  His mom mentioned to me one day, "If you could make him ANYTHING with Batman on it, he would go nuts."  I made Timothy a Batman cape and mask a few years ago, and Nathan wears it all the time now.

So I went online and found all kinds of Batman prints.  I settled on one that was black with the yellow oval "Bat signals" and ordered enough to make shorts for our two nephews, Timothy and Nathan...and a 5-year-old cousin, Owen.  Then I bought black T-shirts at WalMart and used knit scraps to applique the "Bat Signal" on them to match the shorts.  I used my pattern from the cape that I made a few years ago.  Let me tell you, I am not an expert at applique...and sewing black and yellow and making it look halfway smooth was definitely a challenge.  I think maybe I should have done the oval itself in yellow and stayed just inside the knit line.  NEXT TIME, I will know better!

 
I couldn't leave out Zola.  Girls like superheroes, too, y'all!  So I used a thrift-store knit t-shirt in yellow to make her a pillowcase dress, and I had just enough print scraps to make a tie.  I covered some flaws in the dress (aka HOLES and stains) with a big black bat...and I even added a small "Bat Signal" from the print fabric on the back to cover a hole.  It's not the best dress I ever made...and we'll have to put a black shirt and leggings or shorts underneath it...but Zola won't care!  She will have Batman like her brothers...and that's what really matters!

I didn't get a single picture of all three children in their matching Easter outfits.  I was going to do that at the egg hunt, and it rained and the children went in three different directions.  Oh, well...maybe we can do better with Batman!  Time will tell!  Stay tuned!

A Dress a Day?

Between Vacation Bible School, play dates for four-year-old cousins, and life in general... I've had little time lately to sew.  But boy-oh-boy, am I ever ready to get back to it!  The only thing I've done lately besides some mending is to create this dress for my 9-year-old cousin, Olivia.  But I'm gearing up... the counter is piled high with pieces to repurpose... I have fabric stashed in the closet... and I just bought a stack of vintage linens at an estate sale to create dresses, collars, bibs and more!  Whew!

 

Yesterday, I printed out all of the pictures of cute outfits that I have been saving in a folder on my desktop for months!  I had 7+ pages...9 pictures per page... almost 72 ideas!  WOW! Now if I just made ONE outfit per day... I'd have them all done before Halloween!  Yeah... probably not gonna happen!  But it could.....  Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!  Stay tuned to see how I did!

Oh, the Things You Can Do with a Thrift Store Shirt!

(click on image for larger view)

It's been a "repurposing" kind of weekend.  I scored a really cool stash of thrift store goodies on Friday, which will soon be turned into all sorts of cute dresses, pants and shorts for the kiddos.  But today was all about a bright lime green polo shirt and some toddler shorts/pants!  I purchased this X-large ladies 3/4-sleeved knit polo at the thrift store a few weeks ago.  I think I paid $2, but it might have only been $1, since there was a half-price sale in progress.  Either way, it was a BARGAIN! 

The shirt had a knit collar, a pocket on one sleeve with silver grommets, and white twill tape trim on the snap placket and at the side slits near the hem.  I still have the snap placket - it will be perfect for the bottom of a toddler or baby romper!  But I used the sleeves and collar to make a darling pair of wide-leg pants for my niece, Kelsey.  The collar was perfect for folding over and creating the elastic waistband - created a really polished finish!

Then I used my boys' boxer short pattern to cut out shorts, utilizing the hem and the twill-trimmed slits.  I had enough left over to create a pair of toddler pants for my niece, Zola... a ruffled flounce made them just the right length!

In all, I think I got my money's worth out of this shirt... and I still have scraps for making the head and legs of a great little stuffed fabric turtle toy for the new baby!