Well, the fourth time's the charm. After many failed attempts, I designed my very own pair of boots for Jill that she absolutely, guaranteed, CANNOT kick off. And they are totally cute! The sole/vamp construction was inspired by the Bitty Bootie tutorial. But the shaft and lining is all me. It's the first thing I've ever designed!

The soles are faux suede. The outer is cow print Minky. And the lining is a cuddly soft sherpa. I added a piece of elastic between the liner and outer at the top of the boot to keep them on her legs. They can be worn folded or unrolled. They extend up to just below her knee. These are sized for a infant size 2 shoe. If you used a sole material with grippers, you could make them larger for walkers. The best part? They are SO warm. No socks needed!

A fall project round-up:

Bootie-Licious

First - rad kicks for Jillian, which after I created them turned out to be just a tad too small. So now they are rad kicks for Baby Healy (go babies!). These are lined with sherpa and the outer is uber-soft minky. The soles are a heavy faux suede. They are SO cute and so cuddly soft. But, they don't stay on quite as well as I hoped. I'm going to sew these again, a size larger, and try to make them more into calf-boots so they are un-kick-off-able. Stay tuned!

Every-day Stripes

You may recognize this material from Lucy's pj pants. I had some extra and thought I'd copy a cute hat I had from H&M. The problem is (as you'll see in the other hat I made for Jill below) I just can't figure out the logistics of creating a cuff with the finishing done correctly. Booo! Anyway, it's just a baby hat. One day I'll figure out how to do the cuff without raw edges.

Fits her like a box

I saw a super cute tutorial on making a fleece bonnet. I'm not really a bonnet type. But this seemed so doable and more sporty. I had these bits of fleece around in my bin. Turns out this looks more like I cut the hood off of a sweatshirt and applied a ruffle with a terrible fit. I give this project a "W" for "wadder" (i.e. wad that sucker up and throw it in the can) Also - I sewed the snaps on wrong three times in a row. The last time I just said, forget and decided it was fine if the strap was twisted. Also, I sewed the ruffle on wrong twice and cut the strap too short the first time around. (I make a lot of mistakes.)

Little Lamb

I found this cute hat tute in a book somewhere along the way. I used an old tshirt of mine - and thought I was being very thoughtful by retaining the shirt's hem at the bottom. Alas, I just am ignorant when it comes to making finished cuffs. So you can see the hem on this. (also, I sewed the back on backwards, so the "backside" of the shirt fabric is on the outside.) Did I mention I make a lot of mistakes? This really is a cute hat. When I do this again, I'll add some interfacing for the ears so they stand up more. (and I'll sew the fabric on correctly, too.)

Fleece hat for Lu

Finally, I wanted to try my hand at making winter hats for myself and Lucy. Lucy got the first go-round. (directions on the hats by Martha herself.) Pretty cute, over all. And super easy. I'll be creating a yellow one for myself.

I thought I was ready for this. Turns out, I wasn't. Picked up a super sweet knit stripe that would be perfect for Lucy's pjs. Time to learn how to line up a stripe. The stripes on the sides of the legs are perfect, but don't look to closely at the center seams. As long as she wears a long tee to bed, they are impeccable! Also added a cute fluffy heart on the front so she could tell the difference between the back/front sides.

Hmm. Maybe it's time to invest in some cute custom tags for the things I make?

I whipped up a cute nightgown for Lucy with this cool pink, double-sided knit. First time sewing a collar and first time with knits. Turned out okay -but it was bland and needed something to spice it up.

Enter the sheep. Cute, right?

Upon request, here are a list of sites I use to find new ideas, tutorials and directions on general sewing techniques. Happy browsing!

TECHNIQUE SITES:

1. Learn to sew - bias basics
2. TUTORIAL : GRADING & UNDERSTITCHING
3. Invisible Zipper Tutorial
4. Make a Muslin
5. Make a duct tape dress form
   

TUTORIALS & IDEAS
>> For Kids

1. Tutorial Database : WhatTheCraft.com
2. Pillowcase Dress Instructions
3. Shirred Dress or Shirt Tute
4. Dress with tied knots tute
5. Petal Backpack/purse/bag
6. Tshirt dress for todders - ruffles and hair accessories
7. CUTE! The Market Skirt

>> For Me

1. Wardrobe Refashion
2. Beautiful and Simple Cotton Wrap Skirt
3. buddy-nursing cover tutorial
4. the car organizer
5. The gathering apron
6. Ruffle Necklace Tutorial
7. Ruffle Scarf tutorial

BOOKS I'VE GOTTEN FROM THE LIBRARY

1. Sew Liberated
2. One Yard Wonders
3. Multiple Amy Butler books
4. The Best Apron Book Ever (it's a bit of an overstatement in my opinion!)
   

My first project postpartum is complete: a cute retro apron (including brick-a-brack!) This adventure was filled with roadblocks and it made the whole experience that much more gratifying.

A summary:

• I broke my machine during the bobbin winding process and then stumbled on the fixit by unscrewing, rattling, banging and then rescrewing the stop motion arm a few times.
• I sort of liked the original pattern design, but wanted to swap out the skirt design add a pocket and use more fabric contrast than specified.
  
• I accidentally bought too little fabric (thanks to the skirt swap) and found a way to squeeze out a few more inches from a single yard.
• I had to find a way to include brick-a-brack in the finished project (can it be called a retro apron without it?)

Over all, I think this apron is a smashing success. The finishing details are completely hidden except for the late entrance of the b-a-b and the button at the pocket closure which I didn't add until the apron was finished. If I had to do this again, I'd add them both before sewing on the lining so all seams would be hidden.

Found this online tutorial last week and had enough scrap fabric to whip one of these cute skirts out for Lucy. After I finished it, it seemed like the tank needed a little bling so I tried my hand at making an applique to bring the two together. She wore it to The Rock last Friday and I had a few say it looked "store bought" which I guess is a pretty high compliment for something homemade!

The skirt is comprised of rectangles - no pattern needed. And it can be sized up or down. The top is a simple elastic waistband and the skirt is heavily gathered so it's fun to twirl in. I finished the skirt in about an hour. The gathered pocket and applique took a little more time, but not much. Seems to be the perfect length for climbing and running about - the undies remain mostly covered :)

More pics coming of other finished sewing projects.