May holiday - another birthday dress

I'm totally counting the birthday dresses for the Holiday Challenge, because if your birthday isn't a holiday then what is it? Yes. I know you know what I mean.

So here we have SM's birthday dress:

The pattern was the Oliver + S music box jumper, and SM chose the fabric at JoAnn. I learned how to do pleats with this pattern. The one thing I didn't get a picture of is that there are buttons all the way down the back - a dozen pink glittery buttons that she chose herself. (Big surprise.)

ruffled tote

Not a lot of sewing this month.  I had a large commissioned drawing to get done, a week long babysitting job, and my husband's new company getting started. 

I did do my holiday challenge for the month though!  After making so much for my little girl, it was about time I did something for myself - a ruffle tote bag.  Technically for Mother's Day (and I am now a mother, so I count), even though it happened a few weeks late.  I had a tote bag that was falling apart, so I reinforced it and add a few ruffles on top.  Next time I'll make sure the ruffles overlap more.

Projects coming up:  a reversible baby bucket hat (that I'm terrified of), another pair of pajama pants, and possibly a red-white-and-blue little something for the reunion in July.

stylo

Stylo Magazine is a fairly new online magazine about children's clothing that is AMAZING. Go to the link for issue 2, click on "magazine" at the top for issue 1. There are a few tutorials and sewist profiles here and there, but mostly it's just photos with the patterns and fabrics identified in the captions. The stated purpose of the whole publication is to be inspiration. LOVE it. I sat up last night until almost 1 a.m. going through the whole thing.

The editors note at the beginning of issue 2 gave me my quote of the week - or year -

Let's go get our zest on

I'm going to somehow put that on a wall in really big lettering. Of all the motivational quotes you've ever seen, doesn't that one just NAIL it?!?!

birthday dress for #3 turning 4

Birthday dress #2 for the year, for JE! I did a size 5 of the roller skate dress/tunic from Oliver + S - I am LOVING their patterns! This is the 3rd O+S pattern I've done just since Christmas - the nightgowns, and JK's Dr. Seuss dress (which was for her birthday), and now this. It's a fully lined dress so I've seen a couple of online sewing gurus make this into a reversible dress. I wasn't quite that ambitious this time - maybe next time I use this pattern. My learning curve on this one was the lining - I hadn't done anything like that before.

It's pink and white gingham with little white daisies all over it, and lined with solid pink. I had ordered the gingham from online a long time ago and it was just sitting there waiting for someone to pick it up. JE thought it was great because it's PINK! I was originally going to line it in white but I couldn't find white at the fabric store when I was getting a few things - I came across some pink and laid the gingham over it to see how it would show through, and it made the flowers stand out a lot more than if they were backed in white. So it worked out GREAT! The bow on the front is gold ribbon, and she has gold summer sandals to wear with it.

She loves to pose like she's dancing - she has her arms out in most pictures of I take of her these days.