Oliver + S Croquet Dress

This was another of the Oliver + S patterns that I wasn't quite sure about when I first saw it.  I had the same reaction with the Apple Picking dress.  I think it must be the drop waist silhouette that my eye isn't used to seeing, as it hasn't really been in fashion since, oh, the mid-eighties (when I had a peach drop waist dress that my mom made for me, which I loved).  Dropped waists appear to be making a comeback, so I guess we can go with that ;)

Anyway, I decided to give it a try anyway, and I'm glad I did.  It really is a cute pattern with some fun details.  I think ultimately, it was the bow that got me :)

 I made the size 12-18 months, and I have to say, the sizing seemed a little big to me.  I had to bring the shoulders and neckline in significantly.  If I were to make it again, I would go down a size.  I haven't had this problem with any of the other Oliver + S patterns.  In fact, I've almost had the opposite problem with some. Miss S is 18 months and is a little on the small side, so she should have fit it about perfectly.  I'll just have to remember this for the future.

I used a black/cream linen for the body (same fabric as I used for these Puppet Show shorts).  It definitely wrinkles, but I kind of like the rumpled look.

For the waist casing and the bow, I used a polka dotted quilting cotton that I bought before Miss S was born to make her a quilt which hasn't yet happened...

I used a covered button for the back closure, and instead of making a thread loop (I'm way too lazy for that), I used a tip I'd seen on a blog.  Unfortunately, I can't remember which blog, but they suggested using a piece of a hair elastic, which worked great.

A fun summer dress I'm glad I tried :)

Polka Dot Bubble Dress

My youngest brother is getting married this weekend, and his fiance has chosen black, white and red as her wedding colors.  I wanted to make Miss S a dress to wear to the wedding.  I was really excited to see the Oliver + S bubble dress being offered as a digital download, since it had gone out of print and was really hard to find.  I also had some cream and black polka dot fabric I had bought at Joann around Christmas, wanting to make Miss S a Christmas dress, but December turned out to be a crazy month with the remodel and moving and holidays, so the dress never happened.

So I was excited to make the Bubble Dress and excited to use the fabric I hadn't been able to use at Christmas.  I modified the pattern to add actual gathered sleeves, instead of the cap sleeves.  I used the armhole and sleeve pattern from the Jumprope dress, then slashed and spread the pieces to create fullness to gather.  I finished off the sleeve with a bias binding strip.  So it's not exactly true to the pattern, but I think it turned out cute. 

I also added a black velvet ribbon to match the velvet dots on the cream taffeta fabric.  My younger sister made the little red flowers clipped onto the ribbon at the waist.

All in all, I'm happy with how it turned out.  I love the little bubble skirt and as always, the directions were great.  I'll post some pictures from the wedding of Miss S wearing the dress.

More Puppet Show Shorts!

I decided to make Miss S a whole batch of Oliver + S Puppet Show Shorts, since they're perfect for summer and go together really quickly (plus they're super cute!).  I had made a couple pair already for KCWC, and I already had the pattern out, so I went to town.  I love putting together the fabric combinations for these, because there are some fun options for using contrasting trims.

The first pair is a gray printed quilting cotton from my local quilt shop, with a bright pink polka dot trim.

Next is a cotton plaid that I got on the clearance table at Hancock Fabrics.  It's super soft and lightweight and the colors are really fun.  I always love sewing with plaid when you can use some of it on the bias for trim :)

Then I made another pair of linen shorts, because I love the look of linen and it's a pleasure to sew with.  I also got this linen from the clearance table at Hancock.  It's a dark grayish brown, and I used a pink plaid (again on the bias) for the trim.

The last pair is an Oliver + S Cape Ann print from my local quilt shop, again with the bright pink polka dot trim.

I think these take me a little over 1 1/2 hours each to sew, which is not too bad.  I bought a bunch of cute, bright onesies from Target, because they're so easy and fairly cool for little ones to wear in the summer, so I tried to make the shorts to coordinate with them.  I've got one more pair of Puppet Show Shorts in the works and we should be done with necessary summer sewing.  Then we can get on to less necessary sewing...

Remodel Part 3: The Kitchen

So, here the third installment in the remodel series :)  The kitchen...

The before pictures speak for themselves pretty well.  The cabinets were very yellow and the walls were a kind of sickly pink, a little like a tropical drink...in a bad way :)  The layout was also not great.  There was a lot of wasted space.  The refrigerator went next to the stove and there were some weird shelves with nothing below them, as you can see on the left side of the kitchen.  Again, this photo makes it look a lot bigger than it is, even though it's not ultra tiny in real life.

Another photo of the kitchen...love those cabinets, right?

One addition to the house that was actually really great was this bay window.  It provided a lot of extra light and a great place to put the table.  It still needed some work though.

We tore out all the cabinets, the floor (it was a really weird masonary floor that was super cracked, like all over), and the wall that the sink was on, so we could redo plumbing and electrical.

Also tore out the bench in the window seat area...

Now, pictures of the remodeled kitchen!  The cabinets were again built by Davis Mill and Cabinet, my dad's company and are knotty cherry wood, with a stain and glaze.

We added a dishwasher (which is great!), all new appliances, new tile floor, new sink, new granite countertops, new paint and new window seat.

In the area which originally just had random shelves on the walls, we put the fridge, as well as a nice big pantry cabinet.  It added a lot of valuable storage to the kitchen.

The window seat got revamped to match the rest of the kitchen and is a great place for the table now.

I'm really loving the new kitchen.  The setup works well for just our small family, but also expands pretty well for larger dinners with extended family and friends.

Puppet Show Shorts for KCWC

These Oliver + S Puppet Show Shorts are the other two items I made for KCWC.  I made this pattern three times last summer and loved them.  This year, I made them in 12-18 month size.

The first pair is black/white woven linen from Joann.  I bought up several pieces of this a few years ago and I really love it.  It's quite lightweight and the weave gives it a really great texture.

I actually used the same fabric and same trim for this pair as a pair I made last year.  They went with everything and Miss S wore them and wore them.  

These shorts go together surprisingly quickly.  There are only five pieces: the legs, pockets, pocket trim, waistband and leg binding.  They are such a fun, easy sew, especially after you've made them a few times.

The next pair are made from a medium weight chambray, also from Joann a few years ago, with a trim left over from a shirt I made last month (which I will hopefully get around to posting).  Again, these went together really quickly.  I actually didn't participate in KCWC according to the rules.  I sewed these shorts on Tuesday and Wednesday, and they took about 1 1/2 to 2 hours each.  Then I sewed the Jumprope Dress on Thursday and Friday and it took probably 3 hours total.  I didn't sew on Saturday or Sunday or Monday, because there was too much going on.  So even though I didn't follow the rules exactly, I still got some summer things made that I needed to make, so I'd consider it a success :)

Miss S loves the pockets.  She puts her cars in them :)

I'm planning to make about three more pairs of these shorts for summer.  They are really so fast and fun to make, and I love the result.

Jump Rope Dress for KCWC

I know that Kids Clothing Week Challenge was last week, but I did sew this last week, during the challenge.  I just didn't get around to photographing or blogging it.  That's kind of been the story of my life around here. I have been sewing, but it's photographing and blogging that bottlenecks...I have the makings of an awesome blogger, huh?  ;)

This is the third time I've sewn the Oliver + S Jump Rope Dress, this time in size 12-18 months, and I still love it.  I'm even getting faster at sewing the placket.  I think this is my best placket yet.  I love the details on this dress.

I used an aqua cotton gingham that's been in my stash for a couple years now.  I saw it earlier this year and thought it would make a really fun spring dress, combined with a coral-y pink.  So I finally picked up a fat quarter at my local quilt shop and decided I'd make it during KCWC.

I have to say, this totally reminds me of a housedress my grandma used to wear.  It looks very much like a grandma dress to me, but I love it.  It guess I kind of have granny taste :)

It looks really cute on as well, and Miss S has decided that she loves pockets, so she walks around with both hands in the pockets.  It ends up being a little dangerous, because she's not super steady on her feet yet, so if she happens to trip, she doesn't have anything to break her fall.  Apparently, she doesn't care, because she keeps putting her hands right back in the pockets.  Silly girl...

 I do have a couple other items I finished last week that I'll get around to posting, hopefully this week.

Remodel Part 2: The Baby Room/Sewing Room

So here's another section of the remodel.  This room was originally really disgusting.  It was super dirty and had a weird closet addition, plus a window that had been blocked off when they added a garage.  They didn't bother to remove the window moulding, so it just looked like an obviously blocked-off window

We ripped out the carpet to expose the original wood floor underneath.  It was in fairly decent shape (I guess the filthy carpet did some good) but still needed to be refinished.

We repainted, added new base board, ripped off the blocked-off window moulding and repaired the wall, primed and repainted everything.

Testing paint colors...

Now, it doubles as the baby's room and sewing room.  I found the dresser in the house and it was pretty beat up, with peeling white paint over brown paint.  I primed and repainted it, then put a coat of polyurethane sealer to protect it.

I made the little bunting to go above the crib out of fabrics I had in my stash.  I think it adds a fun touch.

Here's the sewing section of the room.  I have my serger, my Bernina 830 and my Singer 201 set up.  I sometimes switch out my Berninas, just for fun, because I love them both.

The Singer 201...this was a birthday present last year that I bought from a man who had refurbished it.  My sisters and mom helped me refinish the case last summer.  It is such a great little machine.  It's a straight stitch only machine, but I have honestly never seen such nice stitch quality before, even on my Berninas.

The Bernina 830 and the Juki 654DE.  I love both these machines as well.  My husband and his brother made the thread rack for me, and it's super useful.

My dad made me this little sewing box a long time ago, probably 15 years ago.  He modeled it after one my mom had seen her grandma use when she was small.  It's got a little drawer to keep buttons or notions in, a thimble in front, spindles to hold thread, pincushion wings and a scissor beak.  It's one of my favorite sewing things ever.