The Annual Apple Picking (Dress)

I think I'm on repeat when it comes to some patterns. There are certain patterns that just work so well in a specific fabric for a specific season that I can't help myself and I repeat them every year. This is the third year in a row for the combination of the Oliver + S Apple Picking dress in plaid flannel.

Really though...I love it every year! It's kind of a perfect fall/winter dress. It's warm, soft, plaid and cute!

I used a brown, tan and pink plaid flannel from Fashion Fabrics Club. It feels like a really great quality flannel. It washed up really soft and fluffy.

Here's the visual history of this tradition...years 1, 2 and 3. :)

I've got to say, it's kind of hard to get a decent picture of clothing modeled by toddlers. They (or mine at least) tend to be rather uncooperative. Anyone have any tips?

Anyway, there's not too much to say that hasn't been said before about this dress, except that I still like it!

Bloglovin

If you're interested in following...

Guest Post at Oliver + S

I shared a tutorial for modifying the Sailboat Top to a dress over on the Oliver + S blog today. Click over if you're interested!

Oliver + S Wool Herringbone School Photo Dress

I've had the Oliver + S School Photo Dress pattern for a long time, and I've been meaning to make it for a long time.  I just really love the style; it's so classic.  Since I saw it, I've wanted to make it out of a tweedy wool fabric, but thought that would be totally impractical for a toddler. I saw this wool blend (65% wool/35% poly) online at Fashion Fabrics Club for about $5/yard, and thought I'd give it a try.  I washed and dried the fabric by machine and it didn't appear to change it at all, so I figure I should be able to just machine wash, then hang dry and it appears it will hold up fine.

I sort of mixed views, choosing the sleeves and collar that I liked.  I also omited the kangaroo pocket, just to get a cleaner look on the front.

I think it turned out pretty cute...I wouldn't mind having one myself (although on second thought, a shift style isn't really very flattering on my body type). It's pretty darn cute on a toddler.

I made the size 18-24 month width and 2T length for my skinny, little, almost-three-year-old.  She actually likes it too, which is nice, because she's got opinions about everything. I lined it with a lightweight batiste.

I'm happy I finally made this pattern.  It was a joy to sew, as are most Oliver + S patterns, and it should be a great little winter dress.

A little Library Dress

Well, I got around to finishing an Oliver + S Library Dress. It took a little while to finish, not because it was a difficult pattern, but because the new baby was able to sense in her sleep the minute I sat down at the sewing machine ;)

This was a fun dress to sew. As I said before, it wasn't too difficult, but it had a lot of details that made it fun. I used a black and white gingham underlined with a lightweight cotton to make it a little better suited to fall and winter weather.

I loved the little collar, the cuffs and the piping! I decided to keep the color scheme pretty simple, black and white with the addition of orange buttons on the back.

I think it will be a fun dress for fall and winter!

Two finished objects!

Wow! It's been a long time! I've been busy with sewing and other things, but the other things have taken a LOT of time and energy...enough time and energy to leave me with little motivation to blog.  Its becoming obvious that my first love is sewing, rather than blogging!

Anyway, on to the finished objects...first (and by far the most work ;) I had a baby! Another little girl joined our family in early August and we're delighted to have her. She's a sweetheart and we've really been enjoying her. She's also been keeping us really busy.  I forgot how much work a newborn is!

Now, the second, much less extensive project: a denim dress based on the Oliver + S Sailboat Top. Awhile ago, Liesl Gibson pinned a women's dress from Toast and mentioned that it would be a great modification for the Sailboat top. I thought so too, and before the baby was born, I made this for the 2 1/2 year old.

Here's a image of the original women's dress from Toast.

I used a lightweight denim from Joann to make the dress and topstitched with Coats & Clark heavyweight thread. I lengthened the top to dress length and modified the facing and topstitching shape.

I also added patch pockets and added topstitching to the hem and sleeves. I like the way it turned out. It's a fun shift shape that's both retro and modern at the same time.

We'll see how things go on the blogging front from here out. I can't make any promises, but I have big plans ;)

Leibster Blog Award

Ashley and Emily from the awesome blog, Frances Suzanne, nominated me for the Leibster Blog Award, which was super nice of them.  And I'm totally embarrassed to admit that it was almost two weeks ago and I'm just now getting around to thanking them and responding to the questions!  We've had some sickness, and more sickness and then a little more sickness.  We're finally starting to feel human again, thank goodness!  So I want to apologize to Ashley and Emily for the delay in response and say "Thanks!!" for the award :)
 

 So here's the description of the award:

"The Liebster Blog Award is an award given by bloggers to up and coming bloggers, most of whom have less than 200 followers (or have been blogging for less than 6 months). It is to show newer bloggers that they are appreciated, and to help spread the word about new blogs. It was created to promote appreciation and recognition among the blog world. Liebster translates to “dearest” (or favorite/best) in German. It is also known as the Love Blog Award."

 And here are the rules:
1. You must post 11 random things about yourself.
2. Answer the questions that the nominator set for you.


11 Random Things:

1. I love old sewing machines!  I have a Singer 201 from 1957 that I use nearly every time I sew.  I also have a couple Berninas from the early 1980s that I love dearly.

2. I think winter should end after December (can you tell I've got cabin fever??)!

3. I studied Industrial Design in college and loved it.  I started out interested in designing furniture, which I explored while I was in school, but ended up designing laptops for several years before Miss S was born.

4.  I'm 2nd of eight children in my family and one of four redheads!

5.  I've never had a cavity (due more to good luck than perfect dental hygiene :)

6. I've been sewing for as long as I can remember.  I received an old, metal sewing machine ( I can't remember what kind) for Christmas one year, and I went to town on it!  I remember sewing grass skirts (with real grass!) for my brothers and a grass door for a treehouse we built.

7. I'm a Mormon!

8.  I really love dill pickles.  They've been one of my favorite foods since I was old enough to ask for them.

9.  I don't like to travel much.  I'm kind of a homebody.  I used to have to travel to Asia every month or two for work, and while it was always interesting and sometimes fun, it cured me of the desire to travel :)

10. I'd rather do laundry than cook!

11. I'm kind of a fabricaholic...

 
 And now, here are the questions from Frances Suzanne: 

1. What are your top five ‘must-read’ blogs?  
Ooh, that's a tough one...there are so many great blogs out there...
 Little Betty:  She's got great style and is really good at seeing hidden potential in patterns
skirt as top:  Super talented and super nice
Five and Counting.....:  Nicole is constantly making amazing things for her five kids
No Big Dill:  She's got really creative ideas
craftinessisnotoptional:  Fun ideas and tutorials

 
2. Do you have a phobia? And if so – what is it?
Hmm, maybe rodents?  I'm pretty irrational when it comes to thinks like mice...


 3. What is your favorite fabric? This might be a certain designer’s look, or a particular style / texture you are drawn to....





Hmmm, I love cotton voile, especially the really finely woven, super silky ones.  I've loved the Free Spirit voiles that have come out in the past few years. There wonderful to sew with and the drape is so well suited to garment sewing.

4. What is your most tried and true pattern in your stash?

Actually, I think the best patterns I have in my stash are those taken from items of clothing I've purchased and loved the fit.  I have a tshirt pattern and a jeans pattern that I pulled from existing clothing, and have reproduced several times.  These are probably some of the most-frequently worn items in my wardrobe.

5. What is your dream job?
I kind of feel like I have the dream job right now :)  Life's not perfect, but I love taking care of my little girl and sewing during naptime...I don't think there's anything else I'd rather be doing.  Ask me again when she decides she's done with napping ;)
 
6. Share a tradition that you and your family enjoy.

We love going on long walks on summer evenings.  It's the easiest way for everyone to relax!


7. Name one thing sewing-related that you haven’t tried…but want to learn how to do.

I'm totally intimidated by sewing jackets for women.  They seem so hard to get right, but I'd love to learn from a great tutor.

8. What is your favorite month of the year and why?
I love May, because the weather is usually pleasantly warm, but it's still spring and everything is new.
 
9. If you had the opportunity to do a guest post, what series would you want to participate in….or, on which site would you like to guest post?
 Ooh, this is kind of hard.  I'm a little intimidated by the idea of guest posting, so I don't have a good answer for this question.

  10. Where do you get your sewing inspiration (be specific – for example: a particular pinterest board, blog, children’s retail, etc.)? 
 I'm generally inspired by fabrics.  It's usually in looking at my fabric stash or browsing a fabric store that I am inspired.



11. What has been your greatest “sewing find” to date?
 Maybe Oliver + S patterns...they're practically no-fail!  The styles, the fit, the instructions are all so good.


Now, there are a few more rules:

3. Create 11 questions for the people you nominate.
4. Choose 11 new blogs you love and link them in your post.
5. Please leave me a comment on this post with the URL to your Liebster post so I can learn more about you!

....but I'm going to break them.  I don't think I know of 11 new blogs that haven't already received the Leibster award.  I hope that's okay.

Thanks again to Ashley and Emily from Frances Suzanne for the award!  It's been fun trying to think of random things and answering all their questions!