Abigail's first birthday party!

Abigail's 1st birthday party was a success!! We had a dozen adults and 18 kids/babies in our backyard. I'm glad the play structure FIL built is done!

I made the Babies First Birthday Cake (Carrot Cake) here. Everyone loved it, though it was quite dense, more like a loaf than cake. Good thing I googled sodium-free baking soda before using the full amount they say in the recipe... I only had regular bk - the sodium-free you have to use 2x the amount! I did a 9x13" pan, cut it in half and did it two layers, then a large cupcake on top for her to smash. They had lemon buttercream and blueberries on top. The cupcake "wrapper" I just cut from a gift bag I had on hand that happened to be the perfect colour! :)

 

She was unhappy I didn't let her grab the candle.


 

"Really? I can grab? They never give me big stuff to eat!"


 

She didn't actually smash it, just got a little sticky and ate a bit of buttercream.


 

Sticky baby


 

Balloons!!


 

Piñata!


 

This thing was impossible to break open. Next time, must use masking tape instead of duct tape... I found the tutorial here! Of course, last minute (well, day before). I couldn't resist. It's so cute. Plus all the older kids had a great time with it.


 

Precious birthday girl! You may remember the ruffle skirt from a while ago. I had nothing to match it though, and couldn't find a plain blue tshirt anywhere in stores. So I grabbed an old cami of mine that was too short, used a tank dress of Abigail's to trace, and made her a new one during nap time yesterday. I reused the hems, cut 1.5" strips and folded for the neck/armhole edges, and used a piece of the skirt fabric for the 1.


 

 

Red & Aqua!

ETA - SHHHHH if you know her! I'm pretty sure she doesn't check my blog regularly...

ETA #2 - She likes them!

 

My sister is getting married in 10 days! She liked the coordinating kitchen stuff I made a while ago for a kitchen swap I was part of, so I promised I'd make her some things. We went fabric shopping together and she picked out Amy Hamberlin's "Genevieve" line.

Here's what she's getting tonight at her shower:


 

Potholders with InsulBrite inside. Both wonky log cabin blocks, one a full and one a quarter block.


 

Backs (just because I think they look interesting!) Ignore the somewhat bumpy binding. :/



 

Table runner, my own design based on the Dresden plate template. I don't have a walking foot, and I didn't want it to have a lot of loft, so I just did a layer of flannel in the centre instead of batting. Worked surprisingly well, as the flannel was grabby and kept the layers from shifting.





 

Two topped towels (loosely followed tutorial here)





 

Valance for the kitchen window. Pretty basic, except I tried an exciting new-to-me technique for the hems! I sandwiched the raw edge of the main fabric top between the two raw edges of the hem fabric, rolling the extra width of the main fabric up to fit between. Then sewed those three edges together, and turned the tube right side out! No pressing under and topstitching needed. Sort of hard to picture - next time I do it I'll take a photo.



 

And my friend Suzanne from Making More With Less used the smallest print along with some other coordinating fabrics to make an apron for her! So not matchy-matchy, but still goes together.

 

I can't stopppp!!

There are just too many ideas for pretty girly clothes churning around in my head! She currently has about a dozen handmade dresses/skirts/tops to wear in her size, but somehow I keep itching to make more. The last couple of items turned out a little large, so she already has stuff for the next couple of sizes too!

 

I made this dress during KCWC (post here). She fits it now, but I had to modify it a bit. I sewed some elastic into the seam allowance of the top tier to bring it in a bit. It was rather wide on her - now it's perfect! Should fit her for the rest of the summer/fall.



This little sweater is from the KnitPicks pattern Baby Ruched Cardigan and the yarn is Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool. I find it a touch boxy - I wish now that I'd added an extra two rows to each ruched section to make it a bit longer. If I ever do this one again, I think I'll also go down another needle size for the garter sections between each ruched part.

I made the skirt to match from fabrics in my stash (you may recognize the fabric!), but it's too big for now. I didn't follow a pattern, just cut and sewed till it looked right. I like the sort of paper-bag style waistband, but not so sure it works on a very little girl...



I don't know why, exactly - this next little dress reminds me of picking berries in the summer! I love it. It was kind of an experiment. I started with the Sweet Little Dress pattern in 12 months. I took the sleeve pattern and drafted a pattern piece following the top curve but about 2.5" top to bottom. Then I cut those and the dress front/back and sewed them together as per the first steps of the pattern. Then I sewed a 1" casing of the red floral all the way around the top of the dress, centering it over the sleeve pieces evenly around. I put the elastic through the casing, folded the armhole edges under, and then sewed up the side seams of the dress and hemmed it. Her neck is pretty short, so the ruffle looks a touch long there, but other than that I love the effect!

One thing I might change if I do it again is to make the elastic longer. I used the SLD length, but that's for closer to the neck.



 

ETA - I forgot to add this one! It was a bit fiddly to figure out the exact tension to get the "flowers" to form in the jacquard yarn, but it was worth it.  It's Bernat Baby Jacquards and knitted from their pattern. Here are my notes:

Tried as pattern, but wasn't happy with the messiness of sewing down the waistband, so I frogged it all. Started again, top-down, with an invisible cast-on over an extra cable needle. Knit an inch of ribbing flat, then joined in the round and worked one round purl for folding. Knit another inch of ribbing in the round, then folded the waistband and worked the provisional cast-on together with the live stitches. Knit skirt to 8" before starting pleats. Inserted elastic through opening inside waistband and stitched it closed.

Skirt length from top of waistband: 10.5". Hips unstretched: 24". Waist with elastic: 17"

Good Deeds Dress

I have wanted to try the Good Deeds Dress pattern since Becca and Carisa released it! I love it. Very simple, both to sew and to wear, and so customizable (is that a word?).  I made two while I was at it, one 12 mo and the other 3 yrs.  Here's my precious girlie wearing the smaller one:



I used one of the prints my friend Shannon gave me last summer, along with some contrasting bias binding, some faux piping, and a 1" finished strip border for near the hem.  BTW, Shan, what size is your little lady now? :)




I'm definitely going to be making more of these!  The pattern is super simple, only two pattern pieces plus one rectangle for the skirt.  The dress has no closures at all, as the cross-over bodice allows it to be pulled on.  The bias binding on the armholes and neck edge are probably the most complex part.

Pretty little lady in a pretty little dress

Well, it's true. See for yourself.



 

It's the Sweet Little Dress by Leila & Ben, made out of cotton sateen, size 6-9 months. I only had a scrap of the blue so I made a little pocket on it - I cut a wide half-circle, gathered the top, tucked the edges under, and bound the top with a strip of the same.

More Wonkiness

I have 9 12" blocks done!!  There is one in each of the fabrics I picked. Now I plan on making 5 or more 6" blocks.

 

Trying to Be Random is Hard

I like symmetry. And straight, even lines. I may have more of my dad the draftsman in me than is healthy.

So - I'm really not sure why I chose a wonky star as my first quilt.  I came across this gorgeous one on Pinterest and was inspired. From The Silly BooDilly's tutorial, here's the first block, hot off (well, on) the ironing board.