Kids Clothes Week

Kids Clothes Week kicks off today!

I have a few patterns picked out at the fabrics to go with them--let's see how much I get done. 

It is a challenge for me to sit down and sew for just an hour a day so I like that this gives me a push to do it. Two days a week I work 11 hours a day + drive time home...Maybe I'll have to do 1/2 hour in the morning and 1/2 hour after??

This is my game plan:

McCall's M6502
Two pairs of these pants on the right with the tab sides.

One in dino fabric and the other in a 21 wale camoflage corduroy.

Also from this pattern one tan tee shirt.

McCall's 4220

One style A jacket (the bottom left jacket with a hood)

in the faux shearling I got at for a STEAL a couple of years ago at a black friday sale.

This one I need some awesome wooden (or faux wood) toggles for the closure.

This vintage Simplicity 6863 from 1985 for my niece Azalea.
I want to do the one on the far right with the blue fabric being the top...maybe. It is a seersucker and I might switch it out tomorrow if I find something better at JoAnn's. I have a whopping 4 yards of the lower vintage fabric but I think it is WAY to busy to be both pieces.

I swear I had something VERY similar to this growing up!

Butterick B5585 for my nephew Eric-or as Hunter likes to call him "Baby Eric".

I think the only thing I might need for
this is some snaps.






Think you wanna join??

Go to KidsClothesWeek.com

A Simple Easter Gift

 

Every year for Easter I make special baskets for my Niece and Nephew.This year, my older brother is engaged and his fiance has two daughter's. This year I get to make for THREE girls -- SQUEAL!!! :) Being that I have a boy I rarely get the opportunity to sew for girls so I opted to make each of them a cute chevron skirt for their basket.

I just got a new machine and it did not go as smoothly as planned but by no fault of the machine.

 I bought the Brother SE 400.

Which I LOVE LOVE LOVE. It so unbelievably quiet compared to my old machine not to mention smooth as butter. It is reasonably priced and I (so far) would recommend it to others. Embroidering on knit though...there's a learning curve. That is where I ran into problems and had to buy a replacement shirt.

The three (yeah, THREE) lesson's I learned here:

1) Always use larger than your hoop size stabilizer

2) Make sure your fabric is taut and not hanging loose on one side.

3) Never get up during embroidering to look for a camera.

In the end the outfits turned out lovely and I hope all the little ladies love them!

I love how they are all chevron and match but are still unique. 

      AND by the way..the whole GFC thing...   Follow me on Bloglovin' instead:)     Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Another finish!

I've finished a quilt that I have been dragging my feet on. I always seem to do this. I love to start the quilt tops but hate the actual quilting process.

This one is a present so I can not show the whole thing but here is some snippets!

I decided to go out on a limb here and use a wide double needle for the quilting. It worked just okay. 

This is a picture of the front in the left lower hand and my hand made bias tape. On the top right hand is what the quilt looks like on the back using a double needle. I kinda like the zigzag look there.

For a tutorial on how to make bias tape go HERE.

As much as I drag my feet finishing a quilt I jumped right into another. While my sewing machine cooled down I started using up MY jelly roll to make these.

I used the some of the fabrics that are in my GIVEAWAY . It is only going on for ONE more day and if you were looking for some inspiration....go and enter:) Low entries here so you have a good shot at winning!

I used this VIDEO posted by MissouriQuiltCo. This was made by 3 Dudes Quilting originally though I believe. The only thing that I did differently was that I only used 3 strips vs. their 4.

Working on an "old girl"

JC Penney 6936

So I inherited this "old girl" from my mother. It has been stored under the stairs for at least 8 years. Prior to that it was in a closet in our old house in Michigan. This is the machine so many years ago I learned to sew on...we won't talk about how many years ago that was! 

Well, this machine has seen better days and now has some stiff (and younger) competition. Machines today can not compete however with the power of the older sewing machines. My harp space on my Brother sewing machine is NO WHERE NEAR the size of this one. So I really do want to "save" this machine. I've cleaned her up and oiled everywhere I can find...but she still squeals (very loudly) like a dying pig. . . I will have to keep looking for the source. 

On the off chance you have this machine...do you have the manual?? Ha I don't.

Do you remember the first machine you sewed on? Do you remember the first thing you have ever sewn?

Don't forget to enter my giveaway going on now for a 40 strip Jelly Roll!

Enter :

HERE!!!!