Playdresses

With two little girls in this house, I get a lot of requests for dresses, especially from the big one! I do enjoy making them dresses, but I have been in a huge rut.

As far as knit playdresses go, I am quite picky. There are a lot of styles I don't care for over a certain age, although I don't judge those that do prefer them. One dress I have always really loved the fit of is the Olivia by Farbenmix. I usually just make the underdress on that pattern, which makes a very cute knit playdress.

But, looking back through pictures, that's all my girls wear! I know I have made it a lot, but I didn't realize I had made them THAT many. They will still get some for summer, but I obviously need to change things up a bit.

So, I am trying to broaden my knit playdress horizons. Today I decided to give the Henrika, also from Farbenmix, a trial run. It's basically a drop waist playdress with a full circle skirt, very cute! There are lots of options to add ruffles and all sorts of things, but for the trial run I kept it pretty plain.

I used a Flap Happy overrun fabric, I love this print! I haven't found the perfect use for it yet, but I really like how the fabric works so well with this style of dress. I also used the matching stripe I was able to get to make a pair of leggings, so this cute dress can be worn now while it's still a bit chilly outside:


Abby really liked it, which was a bonus. I think it's very flattering on her:

And like any princess girl, she is most impressed with the twirl factor of the full circle skirt:



The dress went together really easily, and I think I might have another Farbenmix pattern that will become a regular in their closets! Draya will definitely get a dress in this style, I am still thinking about the perfect fabric for hers.

Sometimes UFOs can motivate me

And no, not the flying saucer kind! UFOs in sewing land are unfinished objects....you know, those projects that seemed fabulous, so you cut them out, and then there they sit on your sewing table for just a few months :)

This outfit was one of those. It's been cut out and embroidered for weeks, but I just haven't felt the need to finish it. Maybe because I wasn't totally happy with the embroidery (it looked cuter on the computer), or I was just not feeling into the project.

Today, I just decided it had to be finished. Period. So here it is:


"This shark is going to bite you, num num!":


I actually do like it now that it's done. I love this forest friends corduroy I used for the pants, and the way the light pink and rust red compliment it in the shirt. Overall, I love it! And Draya was quite happy the pants had pockets. I used my favorite pants pattern for her right now, with pockets, elastic back/flat front waist, and a nice straight leg. I did make them slightly slimmer this time, instead of wide like the birdie pants, and I was really happy with how they fit!

Deja Vu

Dan was looking through old pictures tonight, and we were really surprised at how alike our daughters look at the same ages!!

Abby at a little over 2 years (notice her sense of fashion went back to a very young age):


Andraya at 2 years, 7 months:


Andraya at 2 years, 5 months:

And Abby on her second Birthday with Grandpa Bob:


I just could not get over it, they look so much alike! And it cracks me up that they have the exact same cheesy grin! Dan and I are also thankful that we have moved consistently over the past few years, otherwise some of these pictures would be hard to tell apart in the future! But with the backgrounds changing, we'll be able to use that as a reference to tell which kiddo it is, thank goodness!!

When your five year old teaches you new things!

I think that is one of the best things in the world!

Abby goes to what I consider to be a fantastic preschool. After one year there, she knew all of her letter sounds, was able to read with some help, could sight read a handful of words, write legibly, tell simple time, the list goes on and on. Since her birthday is in October, she is spending another year there because she was too young to start Kindergarten. This second year has just really reinforced everything, and she is really Kindergarten ready. She can now read simple books with little or no assistance, and is just a very well rounded student. I am constantly amazed by her.

They do spend a lot of time just learning about topics related to different events throughout the year. Naturally this month her class has been learning about Abraham Lincoln. They have learned a few fun songs, and learned about things he did. She comes home and shares these with us, and most of them are familiar. He helped to free the slaves (and yes, we leave it at that simple idea), he carried important documents in his tall hat, he was very tall himself, just random facts about the man.

This weekend she asked us, "Do you know how Abraham Lincoln's mother died?" I responded with an honest "No." Abby proceeded to tell us, "She died from a snake. It didn't bite her, but a cow ate it and she died." Now, I am very happy to learn new things from my five year old, but this had me a little bit confused. So, a quick Google search (thank goodness for Google, I don't know how parents a generation ago clarified things like this without Google!!), revealed that Abraham Lincoln's mother died of Milk Sickness. She contracted milk sickness from drinking milk from a cow that had eaten white snakeroot, passing the toxins on to humans in the milk.

We went back over this with Abby, who stated, "Oh yeah, that's what happened. Yep!" I honestly had never learned this before, and it was pretty interesting to me I love learning things from my five year old :)

Snow is fun!

We got another round of snow, so the girls were out taking advantage of it:


They get so excited to see snow, and so does Whip. Stretch tends to hang out inside when it's snowy outside, he's a little tender.

Ms. Roboto

I realized that everything I had made for my guest spot at Necessitae was for boys! My girls, why they definitely prefer girly things, really like fabrics that have monsters, bugs and of course robots.

To keep it girly with a robot spin, I did a fun knit hoodie dress with a pink robot embroidery:


And with a fun knotted hood in the back:


Of course the best part is that if it does not sell, it's Draya's size, so she can wear it this spring!

It's still mama made, but now longer lasting!

I really enjoy sewing special shirts or outfits for my girls for each and every holiday, it's something that I enjoy! The hunt for the perfect fabric for the occasion, then the design and construction of the perfect garment for that special day, all made with mama's love. Then, the outfits are worn on that perfect day, and usually another day around the holiday or occasion, and then they are thrown to the back of the closet never to be seen again.

*sigh*

So yes, while I enjoy it, I have also become frustrated with the special shirts I make that scream a certain holiday or occasion (like last year's Valentine Shirts) that are worn once or twice, and then never again.

So I have been attempting to make outfits that are appropriately festive for a holiday or occasion, but will still be worn before and after without screaming "I AM A VALENTINE SHIRT!!" or something similar.

This year, when I saw the mad sky hearts and mad sky chickadees in stock at an online fabric store, I knew that the fabrics would be perfect for valentines, but would not look odd worn all year long. So I took the mad sky hearts and made Abby a tee shortly before Christmas, and then for Andraya I made a chickadee outfit about a month ago.

Their Valentine parties are happening at preschool today, so they happily got dressed this morning in clothes they have worn before and will wear again, but yet they look so festive for their parties!



I know I got lucky with these fabrics working out so well! Let's hope I can do it again sometime!

Mr. Roboto

I am so pleased to guest at Necessitae for their stocking on the 15th! It's such a great group of artisans.

The theme is loosely "Mr. Roboto," and I had some perfect knit fabrics on my shelves for that theme! I had fun cutting into these for spring and summer outfits. I love how both outfits are sort of retro versions of robots, they just make me smile.

First off, a 3T set, raglan tee and board length shorts with embroidered pocket:


I found this little guy to embroider, I think he's a good match, and he is so cute!


A size 6 raglan and boxers set:


And of course, my standby, little bitty boxers! In 3T:


And 4T:


I cannot wait to see what the other vendors come up with for this theme! It will all be available in their cart at 9PM on Sunday the 15th!

Sense of Style

The conversation today:

Abby: "Mom, are we going anywhere today?"

Mom: "I wasn't planning on it, we did all of our errands yesterday and I have chores to get done today."

Abby: "So, can I wear whatever I want?"

Mom: "Sure, it doesn't matter."

About 20 minutes pass

Abby: "MOM! Don't I look soooo cute???"


She does have a daring sense of fashion! (And yes, she will most likely want to strangle me for this when she is a teenager, but isn't that one of the bonuses of being a mom? :) )

Photography by Draya

Andraya took such a cute picture of Abby and I today! I am usually the one behind the camera, so I had to share this:

Random Cuteness

I sometimes snap a few pics when the girls are being quiet and still and doing something cute, like:

Cuddling with Stretch: (Doesn't he just look thrilled??)



Lounging in Daddy's chair:



Playing "SUPERGIRLS!"


Cuddling up and watching a movie:

Abby, Carry me!

Something we hear often in this house! Andraya demanding that Abby carry her from place to place:



How she does it, I have no idea. Draya weighs maybe 5-10 pounds less that Abby. What a strong girl! Whip is of course keeping a close watch.