Cinderella!

Here she is in all her princess splendor!

I see all the faults of this dress, of course, but the Bug's eyes light up and she is transformed.

Insisting I call her "Cinderella" for as long as the dress is on.

I also made the long sleeved tee shirt to wear underneath.

Halloween is typically chilly in these parts.

I ended the sleeves in a point with a little elastic loop for her finger to resemble fingerless gloves and make it a little more princess like.

Underneath, the pettiskirt, more nylon chiffon than I ever care to deal with again. 

(almost a football field worth!)

But it's so cute.

It might reappear in green as a Christmas dress. We'll see how crazy I'm feeling.

The look on her face. . .

The wonder. . .

The excitement. . .

It made all that pattern sizing hassle, all the satin and chiffon headache, just disappear.

~Lindsay

Current Project

Because I obviously learned nothing from my attempt to make baby bloomers from a traditional pattern, I am currently working on this:

Thankfully, the Bug requested the easier Cinderella dress.

"She has yellow hair like me!" she says.

I am currently drowning in satin and sparkly chiffon.

You may need to send help.

Trick or Treat is a little less than two weeks away here and if I continue at the current pace of sew two seams, rip one out I just might eek it out in time.

Wish me luck.

Oh, and next year?

Remind me that store bought costumes are cool too, k?

~Lindsay

A Circle Skirt for Fall

Since the Bug fell in love with the twirly purple skirt that we had to send away, I made her one of her own.

This sweet little print is a Kokka print on a super soft fine wale corduroy that I found on clearance at The Needle Shop about a year ago. Oh to have had the gut of steal and just bought the entire remnant. Instead, I purchased three yards--which seemed extravagant since I had no plan for it and even on clearance it was more per yard than I typically pay.

But I loved it.

Plain and simple.

Isn't it silly how some fabrics do that to you? Or am I the only one?

At any rate,  I have been hoarding it for just the right project ever since.  I'm not sure this was "it".  I still have a sweet little coat in mind but this skirt was a good way to ease me into the idea of actually using this fabric and not just letting it collect dust.

And the Bug loves it which is good enough for me. I am reveling in these days when she swells up with pride to say, "My mommy made it!".  I know soon enough eyes will roll at the suggestion of wearing something made by mom. 

~Lindsay

Circle Skirt and The Outtakes

 Need a quick project?

Dana was right, this is the simplest skirt on earth.

I used her tutorial to draft up my basic pattern but took a little liberty with the waistband.  I don't have any wide elastic but I do have lots of tee shirts that need recycled. It's the hazard of being married to a youth pastor. Youth groups make tee shirts for everything.

I digress.

In lieu of a wide elastic waist I opted for the almost as easy fold over yoga style waist. I love this because although this skirt was made to fit 2T measurements I think it would fit well into the 4T range and possibly beyond.

The Bug loved modeling this one so much that I had to promise to make her one of her own. And I did. In the hour she was at Wednesday night church. An hour. Start to finish. 

That's what I'm talking about.

And just in case you were wondering why I cropped my lovely daughter's head out of the above photos, I leave you with the following series of photo session outtakes (i.e. pretty much every single shot).  

Here I said, "Pose for me! Look pretty!"

And she mimics a bird? Really? 

I guess birds are pretty, but this pose? Not so much.

Then, "Smile! Say cheese!"

Mmm hmm. . . 

Then she's mad. I've somehow offended her by asking her to stand by the flowers.

Oh wait, FINALLY a genuine smile! 

Directly into total cheese fest. 

And she's gone. 

And her shirt itches. 

O.k., this one holds promise there might be a real smile coming. . . wait for it. . .

Nope. False alarm. 

I'm done.

I will never win an award for best blog photography if this goober is all I have to work with.

And so, I chop off her head.

No offense sweet girl, it had to be done.

~Lindsay

Seeing Spots

This is the latest in the line of one of a kind dresses for precious baby girls of my friends. It's quite nice to have so many friends whith little girls keeping me busy.

This one is for a sweet girls 6 months pictures.  Mom requested blue to showcase sweet girls baby blues.

I love the crisp look of the navy dots on white.

It's hard to tell here but this is a knit fabric with a slight sheen to it. I have no idea where I got it but I think it suits this little dress quite well.

And that though kept me going through those difficult "Why the heck didn't I choose a simple easy cotton" moments.

The straps feed through a button hole in the back and tie in this nice big floppy bow.

My favorite part.

I hope you like it Angie! Can't wait to see your precious little lady all dolled up in it!

~Lindsay