Bindings and Pop-Eye

This is my last of three donation baby quilts made with some of my scrap fabrics. My ALYOF December goal is to finish hand-sew the binding to the back. 

I hope to get them mailed in the New Year with some school supplies... kids don't just need school supplies in the fall! As a former teacher, I remember my students always needing new pencils and borrowing paper from their peers (or me!).

 

 I showed you this Popeye Skater Dress for E in a previous post, but I figured it would be too big for her to try on. Well, it's not! It fits just right over a black turtleneck. Don't mind her zebra leggings... her black ones were in the dirty clothes basket. She gets so excited when I pull down a dress and ask her if she wants to wear it that day. She loves dressing up!

As you can see our Christmas tree is up... E loves naming the different ornaments ("ball" and "star") and jingling the bells. She should be quite entertaining around all the decorations and presents this year!

E's Popeye Dress {ALYOF}

I finished it! 

 In a previous post, I showed you a Popeye Skater Dress that I made for a friend's little girl who recently arrived... I figured that I might as well make Evelyn one at the same time. 

Evelyn's dress is a little different. This is my first sleeveless Skater and I didn't have enough of the Popeye fabric for the skirt. The skirt is a thin, black knit instead... and because it was so thin, I decided not to hem it. I haven't tried it on Ev yet, as I made it a little big so she can grow into it for the summer. When summer does arrive in 6 months or so, we'll see if we have to shorten the skirt any.  If she grows into it sooner, we have a black turtleneck that can go underneath :)

She likes dresses... and soft things... so she liked carrying her new outfit around until I hung it up in her closet.

Happy Girl!

Pattern: Skater Dress by Kitschy-Coo

Top Fabric: Popeye The Sailor Man and a red ribbed knit (both from a Craigslist purchase)

Bottom Fabric: Thin, stretchy black knit from a chain store

November ALYOF Goal is Complete!

Goal Post: Here

Entry Number on Goal Linky: 25

Popeye Skater Dress {Plus November's ALYOF Goal}

Remember good-ol' Popeye? And his beloved Olive Oil and little Sweet Pea? 

Ok, I admit, I don't remember watching the cartoon that often... but I certainly remember his love of spinach :)

I found this knit fabric (selvedge says it was made in 1987 for Peter Pan Fabrics, Inc.) while buying a bundle of fabric from a lady on Craigslist back when we were still in Montana. I always knew it would make some really cute clothes!

Here is a Skater Dress (pattern by Kitschy-Coo) made for a sweet baby girl recently born to my first best friend (her husband was also a classmate of ours). I made the 6-12 month size (free add-on to the pattern), and I'm crossing my fingers that it will fit this coming summer.

I hope to finish Evelyn's version soon. I started them at the same time, but then some travel plans came up and I needed to finish this gift quickly. E's dress has a few differences, so I'll be sure to post it when I finish it! Actually, let's make finishing that dress my November goal. Wish me luck!

Sewing At The Lake {ALYOF July Goal Complete}

Even though we were living in my parents' lake cabin all of June, I was able to still get some sewing done!

My ALYOF July goal was to complete two quilt tops using my scraps. You can read about my scraps in the goal post (number 16 in the link party). I did a simple alternating design with 4-patches and 5" charms. 

Like I said in the goal post, these will be quilted and donated as baby quilts (Mom thinks I need to keep them to remember the fabrics from special projects dating back to my 4-H days, but I keep reminding her that I have plenty of these scraps left for more projects!)

Surprisingly, I also got two more quilt tops partially done. These still need borders. The top one uses the rest of my Sasparilla charms (cut from a layer cake)... this quilt will be finished and then tucked away in case Ev ever gets a sibling ;) 

The bottom quilt has a slight plus design and uses more of my charm scraps.

Even more surprisingly, I even finished a winter dress for Ev. 

Pattern: Skater Dress by Kitschy Coo

Cream Fabric: Interlock knit remnant from JoAnns

Floral Fabric: A jersey knit from Hancock Fabrics

While I am soooo happy to finally have a home of my own, I very much enjoyed my month-long stay at the lake cabin :) This journey to home ownership has been lengthy, but we've be blessed with wonderful friends and family that have helped us out along the way. God is so good!