Quilts

I spent the last nine months working on quilts for Matthew and Anna. A friend from church taught me how to do traditional English paper piecing, and I fell in love with it. I wrote all about the process on my sewing blog, but let's just say it was a lot of work! I hand stitched the whole top of her quilt, and I really loved (almost) every moment. I'm so happy with how it turned out!


I made Matthew's quilt after this arrow tail quilt idea. I love that it looks a little more masculine than the hexagons do, but it is still a similar size and style.


I finished the quilts just in time for Christmas, and got them under the tree just before we left on our trip. The kids have both been so sweet about them, and it makes me happy that they are being used now!

I finished putting the kids' room together and I'm so happy with the space. They love sharing a room for now, and I'm happy because it means I get my own sewing room. :)



My mom drew those beautiful portraits of the kids and gave them to us for Christmas. I smile every time I walk past their room!

Sewn

I've been doing some spring sewing! I have a hard time sewing when I feel like my home or my life are unsettled, so it has taken me a really long time to get back to sewing as regularly as I like after our move. Just in time for the kids to be out of school for the summer! :) Here are a few things I have sewn up recently. There are more details on my sewing blog if you are interested.

We are going to Italy in July and I can't wait to wear this dress there! It will be perfect for the summer heat (which we don't really get a lot of here...).

I love this flowy top, which is pretty much the only type of shirt I wear anymore since they are so comfortable!

Matching shirts with my Anna girl!

Tunics and leggings are my favorite thing for Anna right now - so cute and so comfy.

I'm also working on some quilts for the kids' beds, baby things for my sister, and more summer clothes!

Sew-vivor: Challenge #2

Thanks so much for your nice comments about my last sewing post! The next Sew-vivor challenge is done and posted over on Family Ever After! I had a great time designing and sewing this outfit, and you can go to my sewing blog, Call Me Cat, to read more about the process.

Go here to check out all the other great button projects, and to vote for your favorite! Four people will be going home this week, and then there is one final challenge left for the top three! Voting goes until midnight on Friday!

Sew-vivor

I've been busy! Last week, I was selected as one of the top 10 finalists in a sewing competition on the blog Family Ever After. I've been super excited about it, and I've been working hard on the first challenge. All of the projects were posted this morning (you can view them here) and now the voting starts! The top five people get to continue on to the challenge for next week. You can see more about my project on my sewing blog, Call Me Cat. I'd love for you to check out all the projects and vote for your favorite! Voting is open until Friday at midnight.

(I just saw that I was lucky enough to get immunity for this week, so I'll be moving on to the next challenge for sure!! How exciting! So head over and vote for some of the other amazing projects!!)

Sewn

Here are a few things I have sewn during the last couple of months:


I made this floral dress for Anna out of a thrifted shirt. I love the collar and buttons on the back. I also made her a Geranium dress and I love the simplicity of it. She also got a couple of long sleeve shirts. But I'm not sure why I bother since all she will wear when we are at home is her swimming suit... :)


I made this striped cardigan using this tutorial. This is the last of my fabric that I bought at Mood in NYC, so I'm really wishing I could go back and stock up on more! I got the sweater at a thrift store and altered it to fit better, then added a (fake) leather heart hand stitched to the front.

I made the gray peplum shirt from scratch, and then hand painted the polka dots. It is such a comfy tee. The gingham tunic was my first experience with a button placket and I love how it turned out!

I'm thinking up some fun things to make for the Spring, so I'm excited!

Some Sewing

I haven't been able to sew very much since we started preparing to move in May. My supplies are still in boxes and bags, and I can't wait to get everything organized and get started on some fall sewing! But I did get to make a few things for myself over the summer while the kids were entertained with grandparents and cousins.

red button front skirt --- polka dot tee --- aqua midi skirt --- bright flowy top

I made my own patterns for all of them, and I'm really happy with how they turned out. I feel like I'm finally getting good enough to have something end up exactly how I had it imagined in my head... at least most of the time.

I wish I could have made a bunch of new school clothes for Matthew, but there was no time. I did pull out the freezer paper and fabric paint and the kids got a few fun t-shirts. Anna is in love with her batman shirt. My favorite is the USA map that shows all the places we have lived. If it holds up well, I can add to it when we move next year.

Next on the list are bridesmaid skirts and bow-ties for my sister's wedding in a few weeks!

Spring Sewing, Part 2

Here are a few more things I made for the kids this Spring. Matthew & Anna got matching seersucker shorts, and Anna's green top is made from the same fabric as Matt's shorts from this post.

These two things are probably some of my favorite things I have ever made. This chambray top with buttons up the back goes with everything and fits Anna so well. The little red denim shorts are itty bitty, but I love that they are custom made so they actually fit her little body! All of her other pants and shorts are falling off all the time.

Now if only it would stop raining here, then they could actually get some more use out of these clothes!