New Year sewing...so far Pt. 1

During a recent conversation with a very dear friend who lives far away, it occurred to me that my daughter is incredibly spoiled with a closet full of frilly dresses. And I am spoiled with my shelves full of fabric, way too much for my own little girl. So, I really wanted to share the love with my friend's daughter, who is 5 and sounds like she might like an uber-twirly outfit.

This is one of those outfits that just looks so better modelled. It is one of my drop waist t-shirt dresses, except I used a different tee pattern (Otto 3/09) and attached a very full tiered skirt instead of my usual. You can't tell in this woefully inadequate picture, but the skirt is like a 1.5x circle, suitable for super-charged twirling. :) It's the kind of dress that is perfect for everyday wear AND Sunday morning church.


Since it *is* still Winter, I thought I'd try my hand at a cardigan to go over the dress. This was my first time making any kind of cardigan/sweater, and I thought it went well. I especially like that this pattern doesn't need more than 2-3 buttons. Buttonholes on a knit are such a PITB to me, and I am always stressing that they aren't evenly spaced (they aren't. I suck.). This cardi kind of covers up mistakes like that, so I am sold! :)


During our conversation my friend was also telling me about her little son, who is 14 mos and a little, ahem, cranky sometimes. :) Well, I know all about that! I decided to make him a lightweight hoodie out of this won-der-ful Chez Ami jersey. (Actually, most all of these are from my last fabric order). She can layer it for colder days, but if the weather warms up it will still be comfortable. Oh! And I used a Tulip stencil and fabric paint to do the plane separately, then fused and stitched it onto the shirt. Again, a new technique for me, and I was surprised at how easy it was. I will definitely have to try that on some tees for my son:


Since my friend works her a$$ off every day homeschooling her kids, working part-time from home, and holding her youngest, I had to include something for her. So I sewed up another reuseable grocery bag with some of my new Anna Maria Horner fabric (from her Garden Party line). I know how much pretty fabric can cheer one up, so I hope this does the trick for her:


This is just a fraction of what I've done in 2010, so, more to come!