i MADE a circle skirt.

i always have ideas for things i want to make.
i've been trying to be better at just taking a couple hours and making something.
last week i made twirly skirts.
i used the instructions from MADE circle skirts- found here.

they were easy and my girls love them.

oh, did i say my girls?

well, i meant to make them for my girls-- BUT one came out a bit large.

i tried it on and i think it fits me.
honestly, tell me if it looks like i'm wearing my daughter's clothes.
i have a hard time taking pictures of things i've made.
all my craft pictures turn into family pictures.
i guess i like kids better than skirts.  :)

i'll definitely be making more of these skirts.

lily cries every night asking for her pink skirt...

i love that they are fun and twirly.

i love that all you need is wide elastic and fabric.

they are EASY.

i will say-- be sure to get enough fabric.

at first i bought one yard and it wasn't big enough for the whole circle.

i ended up with about a yard and a quarter (i think i just got a yard and a half to be sure.)

i also made this easy tiered skirt.

sorry- these pictures are after church, half dressed.
we had a Primary Pie Night at our house to thank all the teachers.
Probably more than 50 people.
the basement was wall to wall kids.  :)

while i was snapping pictures, the boys were finishing up the dishes from the party.

sort of.

back to skirts...
i had some old corduroy fabric and i copied a skirt that we bought from Crazy 8.

i just picked a length (8 inches).
The first layer was 8 inches tall by 45 inches wide (the width of the fabric).
The second layer was more fabric, a strip and a half.  So, 8 inches tall by about 60 inches wide.
The third layer was even more fabric, two strips sewed together.  So, 8 inches tall by 90 inches wide.
i don't have a serger so i just zigzagged the edges with a tight zigzag stitch (make the length smaller and width bigger).
and, when you gather each layer to attach them, leave the seam exposed.
can you see what i'm talking about?

it makes it look like a ruffle.
i just did a simple elastic waste, but a friend told me to sew right down the middle of the elastic to keep it from twisting around at the waste.
great idea.
easy.
cute.
modest.
my girls love these skirts (and so do i!).

i also picked up some clearance old navy shirts and i'm excited to fancy them up!
i'll show you those projects when i get to them.
AND i made a bunch of quilts for Christmas that i'm excited to share.
AND my girls sewed darling cherry apple dolls over Christmas break.
AND i have two really cute ideas of things to make with a whole class of kids.
more to come...

These skirts-- EASY and fun.

primary chair covers.

i sewed again.

i know.  twice in one week... can you believe it?

these are chair covers for our primary (the children's Sunday school class).

i made one for each class, and one for the talk, scripture and prayer.

i measured the white square 15x18.  i cut a 5" strip for the bottom that i folded in half and sewed to the top square (so there would be a finished bottom) and then I just sewed a pillowcase.

the backs are red, yellow, and blue.

easy.

i used No-Sew Heat n Bond for the letters and numbers (it saved me a lot of sewing time- and, i don't think they will need to be washed often).

i used the font Bodoni (I think 1200 size).

i printed everything mirror imaged.

I had to cut a sheet of paper 8.5 by 12 and feed it through my printer to get the numbers big enough.

Then I just traced them onto the Heat n Bond, ironed, cut, ironed again and Tah Dah!

don't you just love to make things?

make a moby.

this moby can handle an 8.5 month pregnant belly and a 2 year old.  :)

yes, i made a moby wrap.

it was simple-- two seams and some cutting.

I used a 40% off coupon at JoAnn's and bought 3 yards of ribbed knit fabric.

(I did look at my Walmart and they didn't have any cute knit for less than $5 a yard.)

I cut the fabric in half down the fold line, giving me 6 yards of fabric only 22.5 inches wide.
I didn't just want to sew the two pieces together- because I didn't want a seam down the middle where you would see it, so I cut one 3 yard piece in half (1.5 yards each) and i sewed them both to the ends of the other 3 yard piece.  Sorry if this is confusing- it really wasn't difficult.
The trickiest part-- figuring out what stitch to use when sewing two pieces of knit together.
The BEST is to use a serger- which I don't have.

I used the STRETCH STITCH... on my machine it looks like a teeny-tiny zig zag stitch..

Two seams later I was done!
I also stitched a little heart in front middle so I could easily center the wrap when I'm trying to wrap myself.

We'll see if I love it.

I'm glad I'll have the option to try it out... and it only cost me $15, so I won't be too dissappointed if I have to repurpose the knit later on.

I REALLY thought it would be fun to have my baby yesterday- 3-1-11 (remember I have 4 other kids born on the first of the month.)

But, for now, my lily will have to get all of our baby lovin'.

bows and headbands.

remember this--

it is DARLING.

and, i want to buy it.  You can buy it here.

but, i decided to TRY and make it...

this is what i came up with... 

Here is a cute tutorial for felt flowers.

Mine's not as cute-- but it was free.

while i was hair clip making, i pulled out some of the ribbon i had saved from my baby shower packaging...

i think our bow supply is sufficiently updated--

Oh, little girls... little girls...

We were at church yesterday and the cute baby in front of us climbed over. 

(Meaning- I made faces at him the whole meeting until I finally couldn't take it any more and I stole him from his mother.  Yes, I'm VERY ready for my own baby to distract me during church.)

Anyway, the little girls and I were playing with him for awhile and leah said with surprise and a little bit of disgust, "Mom, this is a BOY baby."

I chuckled.  I'm not sure she even knows what to do with BOY babies.

And, i really do LOVE little girls.

just sayin'.

ps- this is MARCH... do you know i'm having a baby THIS month?!!

yup... 17 days doesn't sound very long to me...

although, to me, tonight sounds like a good night to have a baby!

still sewing.



8 months and counting...

this picture makes me laugh.
and, i actually had to run to TWO stores with my thready belly...
luckily they were craft stores and i think the nice ladies understood.
black might not be the best color to wear for a day of crafting with your kids.
and check out that belly!!
oh baby!

an easy blanket.

anna had a birthday party on Friday night.

we decided to do a little sewing.

With 60 inches of a cute cotton, one yard of a soft fabric, a little iron-on and some co-ordinating scrap fabric, we made a cute, easy blanket.

first- we printed out reagan in mirror image.  anna traced it onto the iron-on, ironed that onto a piece of fabric, cut out the letters and ironed them onto her front fabric.

second- on the sewing machine, she stitched in the middle of each letter.

third- we pinned right sides together.

fourth- anna stitched around the edges of the blanket leaving a hole to turn it right-side-out

fifth- we top-stitched around the whole blanket.

VERY FAST and VERY EASY.

 And, I had to make a blanket for my sweet baby...  you can never have too many soft blankets...

happy president's day!

ps. my boys sew too.

just in case you're thinking i only sew with my girls... i thought i'd add these pictures from last weekend.

yes, my boys get crafty when they are on a mission.

this mission-- create a Sheath for their swords.

 mission accomplished.

a blanket for baby- tiramisu.

i had some off-white yarn and decided to crochet a quick blanket for my baby...

BUT-- i ran out of yarn!!  (I had enough for the middle, just not the edging.

I opted for some dark gray yarn for the border... it's cute. 

And, it only cost me $3.

Here are some pictures of other tiramisu blankets i found on ravelry.
I really like it in all white-- but i thought it would look weird trying to match yarn that didn't quite match...

Here is a link to the "tiramisu" pattern if you want to make your own...
it's quick and easy... although, i'm not really sure i know how to crochet.

now, i just need a baby to wrap in it...