Happy Day Dress!

This was Lady's *Happy Day* dress; her 2nd happy day to be exact. I love this dress! I am so proud of having finished this dress. This was my hardest project to date - and, I needed some help. But, it is done and Lady looks beautiful!

One of the displays in my local fabric shop children's section were beautiful day gowns with lace insertion. I never would have been able to make this dress by myself. So last Fall, I took my one and only sewing class. The instructor was great, she helped modify the pattern to fit a two year old, not a newborn. But it quickly became obvious I was in WAY over my head and the class was definitely not long enough for me to complete the project. Early in the Spring, Joel's Mom offered to help (thank you!) and we were able to finish the dress before Lady's Birthday! Unlike other projects, every step in in dress was learning.



The dress has one main insertion down the center of the dress. There are cathedral windows displaying the ribbon, then two pieces of lace on the right and left side. The dress is then finished as a day gown.

Maybe, just maybe, I can make all the girl's happy day dresses.....

And, Lady on her 2nd birthday.

Sassy Pants for Buffalo!

Lady got her skirt for the plane!

I really like this style skirt on her and I wanted her to have a new one to wear to come to see my parents. Here she is sitting outside my parents house, happy as a clam! This skirt was made out of one fat quarter and a part of another. This time, I was able to get clean edges on the inside of the skirt by doing french seams and folding down the edge fabric on the bottom hem.

Sassy Pants Skirt

I made this skirt for Lady last week. While I was measuring her waist in order to finish the elastic, she was being a sweet sassy pants. Purposely saying silly things so she could call herself a silly goose and to make me laugh. I called her a sassy pants and she thought that was the name of the skirt. She walked around the house waiting for her dad to come home singing "my new sassy pants".





I used the following tutorial to create the skirt, and was very pleased with the sassy pants result. So pleased, in fact, I purchased two fat quarters to make another similiar style skirt (Goal: to make it before we head to Buffalo next week so Lady can wear a new skirt on the plane because I am funny and like to look nice to fly). I wasn't thinking through to the end result as I was sewing, and so, I was left with a visible raw edge where I placed the white addition onto the bottom of the bandanna. This was bothering me. I went back and folded up the hem of the bandanna over the raw edge and top stitched. I am much happier. The original tutorial probably took care of this, but I was so excited about being able to finish a project in one afternoon I didn't realize the raw edge until I was done sewing. (There aren't many things I can complete in one sitting...this skirt felt like a HUGE accomplishment!)

Sophie's quilt

Is completed!

And, I love it!

This was my first attempt at patchwork. My first attempt using batting, my first attempt quilting and my first binding. Overall, I am very pleased with the quilt. I keep wrapping her in it to go to sleep, and I think she likes it! I am smitten with the colors and how the binding came out. I quilted in the ditch, and it almost came out straight - I had to fudge it a tiny bit in some places, but Sophie does not seem to mind. The back is a wonderfully soft, white chenille.

I did learn quite a bit making this quilt. Most importantly, I learned not cut the backing and the batting the same size as the quilt top thinking you are maximizing time, energy and fabric, for contents will shift and you will have to then cut the quilt top.... and, that is just a hard cut to make.

So to you my Sophie Rose, with love from Mommy, your (and my) first quilt.


And, I must thank Candice of Daffodilhill Too. The quilt was inspired by her and much of the fabric came from her etsy shop.