Birthday Presents!

   I come from a large extended family. My mom is one of eight children which means lots of birthday parties! This month we had a party last weekend, two this weekend, and one next weekend for a relative on my father's side. All these birthday parties means sewing for me! 

    We were unfortunately not able to attend last weekend's party but I still wanted the birthday boy something special! This big boy turned ONE! For him a chose the Lil Rascal Romper (affiliate link) from Peekaboo Patterns. If you haven't checked them out, you need to! I seriously love Peekaboo Patterns!! They fit my children so well and sew up quick! The Lil' Rascals Romper is one of the quickest sews. I was lucky enough to win a free pattern from the Peekaboo Pattern group. I knew I had to have the Lil' Rascals Romper that I have been eyeing. It was everything I hoped it would be. A quick sew, easy to take on and off, and so stinkin cute! The romper goes on by the child stepping in the neck hole and pulling it up over their shoulders. I made a 2t for the tall birthday boy and my daughter happens to be the same size so I made her model. She had fun jumpie jumpie on the bed. I can't wait to make her one for every night of the week!

   The first birthday party of this weekend is for a very special miracle baby! She was born at just shy of 26 weeks. Weighing just 1lb 10oz! This tiny princess is turning 3! I knew she needed a versatile dress because she will be able to wear it for awhile. The Brownie Goose Allie Oop is perfect for multiple seasons! Long sleeves underneath for the winter and just a dress for our hot hot summers! Again I made a 2t and had my daughter try it on. She is just a little bit shorter than the birthday girl! She was also not very happy that I made her take off the Mimmie dress.
  The last 2 parties are for boys turning 5 & 10! These big boys need a special wallet to carry their birthday money in. I searched pinterest for a child's wallet tutorial. I found several choices. I chose the one from this blog because I loved that it had a place for bills and no zipper. I have yet to sew a zipper! It is on my list of things I would like to try to master by the end of the year. The tutorial is easy to follow! I used velcro instead of a snap. I was also able to use this comic book scrap fabric that I have had since my son's 2nd birthday party. He will be 5 at the end of September. Yes I have held on to it for 3 years!

    All of the fabrics I used came from my stash! The only thing I had to purchase was fusible interfacing for the wallets. I hope you enjoyed seeing my creations! What is your favorite pattern to use for birthday gifts?

Meet the Teacher!

My big boy will be starting Pre-k next week! For most it is an easy and exciting event. For us it is stressful. My guy was diagnosed as high functioning autism this past winter. He does not handle a change in routine well and doesn't want to go to school because he has to follow rules. Oh boy! He will be going just 3 half days a week to begin with. I am praying that makes the transition a little easier. Tonight we all sported our mama made clothes to meet the teacher. Hubby had school tonight so he was unable to come. His teacher is amazing! I know he will have so much fun and she will really help him be prepared for kindergarten. It is hard to see my floral Sweet Tee behind the cuties. I will try to get some better pictures this weekend. My daughter is wearing a Jocole patterns girl's peplum with skater skirt add on. While I didn't actually sew my son's shirt, I did create this special embroidery design for him! The school spirit shirts were way too big. They have ordered some more in smaller sizes but in the mean time he will be able to wear this one! I need to find some time to catch up on my blogging to share the rest of the things I have sewn up. The rain has finally stopped so I can take better pictures!

9 days!

Counting down until my very first blog post tour! 9 days! Can you tell I'm excited? I thought I would share a little teaser! Please come back on August 25th to read all the details about this cute Jeanine Jumper by Sis Boom. 

A little behind

Have you ever lost your sew-jo? Mine has faded since I have been so busy moving and getting my son ready for big school! He is my oldest and I had no idea it was so much work to get a kiddo ready for pre-k at public school. I know it would probably be easier if he didn't wear a uniform and have to have all elastic waist navy or khaki bottoms. I also have been volunteered to be room mom. He only has 6 other kids in his class. All boys! Bless his teacher!

 I did manage to make myself a wonder sweet tee top by patterns for pirates! The Sweet Tee fits XXS to 3X. It has options for long, 3/4, and short sleeves, banded sleeves, banded bottom, curved bottom, straight bottom, and even dress length. If that wasn't enough there is also two neckband options! I wanted something quick to test the fit of the pattern on my body. I chose a short sleeve, t-shirt neckband, and a curved bottom. It is perfect! And exactly what I wanted! I found this beautiful blush pink and lace stripe knit on clearance at Joanns last spring.

 What is so great about Patterns for Pirates is that the owner Judy has these awesome tutorials on her blog for making petite and tall adjustments! I am only about 5'2! I followed the petite adjustment by taking a half inch out of two places. I should have taken a bit more according to the guidelines in the tutorial but I have an average torso but short legs. Which is the beauty of sewing my own clothes, I can adjust patterns to fit me correctly! I also blended sizes together to fit my mom gut. This shirt fits perfectly! Patterns for Pirates has out done themselves again!! I can't wait to have a fall wardrobe of pattern for pirate clothes!

At school and play with Sis Boom

Welcome to the Sis Boom Blog tour!

I feel honored to be a part of the Sis Boom At School and Play Blog tour. There are so many fabulous ladies taking part. Follow the links below to check out the other blogs and be sure to read to the end to enter to win a copy of the Jeanine Jumper! Sis Boom Patterns are on sale RIGHT NOW for 40% off until September 4th using the code BACK2SCHOOL! Shop here or on etsy. 

 

We are excitied to announce that our bloggers EACH have a pattern giveaway on their posts! Everyday something new; so be sure to follow along with this tour!

August 22 Paisley Roots / August 23 Cookies n' Bees  /  August 24 Tina Sew Tiny  /  August 25 Screeching Dinosaur  /  August 26 PearBerry Lane  /  August 29 Troosp To Tots  /  August 30 A Crazy Craft Lady  /  August 31 Glitter in My Coffee  /  September 1 Sunflower Seams  /  September 2 Adventures with Bubba and Bug     I am brand new to blogging but I have been sewing for many years. I was first drawn to Sis Boom patterns in 2013 because of their wonderful women's patterns. The easy to follow instructions, professional finishes, and wide ranges of sizes have kept me hooked over the last three years. The Jeanine Jumper is perfect for my silly little girl. Recently she has decided that if she can't lift her legs or squat easily in an outfit the she will not wear it and screaming will ensue! Great news the Jeanine Jumper has passed the test. She ran, climbed, jumped, and went down the slide with no fuse about her outfit getting in the way. 

 Mark, Set, Go is one of her favorite games to play with big brother.

 I had to bribe her with M&Ms to get out of the swing so I could get more than this one picture! Next time swings last!

 I am just as excited as she is about this cute owl fabric from The Fabric Cobbler. Unfortunately this owl fabric is out of print but have no fear the Fabric Cobbler has many more to choose from! 

  The Jeanine Jumper has two sleeve options, a gathered waist option, and a wide range of leg lengths. I wanted a simple quick sew which lead me to choose the flutter sleeves and a gathered long leg. The best part is it is easy to get on and off of a busy toddler. A long sleeve t-shirt added underneath when the weather cools off will be a cute fall look! Of course in the deep south it may be Christmas before it actually cools off. I see many more Jeanine Jumpers in my future! 

Comment below "What is your little ones favorite activity on the playground?" for your chance to win the Jeanine Jumper. A winner will be randomly selected on September 3rd after the blog tour ends. Go follow the sew-a-long going on in the Sis Boom Pattern Group and enter your creations in the Back to school album between now and September 10th for your chance to be one of three winners who get a pattern of their choice. 

Happy Sewing!

Kathryn

Pretties preview!

Hi again! I have been so busy moving this past week. We are still unpacking here at the new place and cleaning up the old place. I did manage to snap a picture of some of the fabrics I will use for my daughter and me! I got several character prints at the hancock store closing sale. Can't beat 70% off character prints! The fabrics for my son are either in the wash or they walked off when I attempted to photograph them. I just want to take a minute and stress the importance of pre-washing fabrics before you sew with them. Fabrics shrink! Some may shrink a little some shrink a lot. My poor friend order a quilted baby blanket off Etsy for her daughter. After the first wash, she posted a picture on Facebook to ask what was wrong with the quilt. The quilt had minky as well as cottons together. It was obvious that the seller did not pre-wash the minky and it shrunk in the wash but the cotton didn't shrink as much. My friend was left with a horrible misshapen quilt. When you take the chance not pre-washing fabric that you are using to make a garment you risk the garment shrinking after washing and becoming unwearable! Don't waste your pretty fabric and time! Pre-wash all your fabrics!

Kids shared their germs!

My stinkers share some icky germs with me. They bounced back so quickly. Me...not so much! I went to urgent care and caught it while it was just a sinus infection. One ear is on the verge of being an ear infection. :( I am now resting in bed. Thanks to my awesome mama! I have been perusing pinterest. I love all the fall looks on pinterest and I can't wait to make some pinterest inspired outfits! Have you done a pinterest inspired outfit? If so please share in the comments or share which pin you would like to make an inspire outfit from!
This is my pinterest board: https://www.pinterest.com/finleysmommy/
I have an entire board of fall looks (https://www.pinterest.com/finleysmommy/cool-and-breezy-styles/) that I would like to make! I even pinned some of the patterns I plan to use!
This one I am most excited about trying to recreate! https://www.pinterest.com/pin/131941464062277571/

 Next blog I will share a picture of my stack of fabric! We are moving this weekend into a bigger place! I will be sharing a bedroom space with my husband. His computer desk will get a corners then my fabric and sewing machine will get the rest!! I am so excited about getting some good space to set up to sew. I will need it for this challenge!

I am off to take some medicine and go to bed early!