Hearts Full of Joy

recent sewing

i couldn't resist creating something with these wonderful prints by sarah jane for michael miller.

...and from the fun grinch collection.

i used this book again for both of the above:

see more of my sewing from this book here, here, and here.

and this simple pillowcase dress, make in softest corduroy is from another favorite sewing book:

halloween skirts

another  fun project from my new favorite sewing book, and here's another post about it too.

i was thrilled to see that mary abreu, who wrote the book, commented on the second posting!

i should clarify that most of the patterns in the book don't have aprons, but i love using the cute panels we have in our shop for the aprons - can't resist.

the skirt on the left is for my little one, and the one on the right is for her little friend who is turning 3. i made them both last night during the last few hours of summer - quick and easy and ready for fall!

this little girl is at the most scrumptious, delightful age - wish I could keep her this way.

nancy's quilt

i wanted to make a fun, cheerful quilt to be a comfort to nancy during her chemo, surgery, radiation, etc.  i made one for my mom 6.5 years ago when she was fighting breast cancer too. my mom's was intricately pieced to form a pattern of hearts.

for nancy i chose an eclectic assortment of bright novelty prints (featuring two of my loves, asian and vintage - i love to mix the two) from our shop and my own fabric stash, cut large squares and pieced them together. i wanted simple quilting that added some curve and flow to angular squares. i'm happy with how this quilting turned out and how quickly it was done. i quilted during the byu/utah football game, which i wasn't as happy about - good thing the quilt meant more to me than the score of the game!

oh! there's my toe! didn't notice that until it uploaded...funny!

it's harder to choose fabrics that look good together, while making them look random, than it seems. i love the process though, and i adore working with gorgeous and interesting fabric.

one thing i should have done differently is adding another row to the length - i didn't think about the fact that she is 6 feet tall until it was quilted, but designed it for a person about my height - 7 inches shorter!

i also sent nancy a jar of red clover flowers that i picked and dried this summer. they make a tea that is supposed to work wonders on cancer.

 

a cat in the hat dress for my little one

gracie & i had a blast creating this dress for her to wear to preschool! mia & noah even joined in the design process. we used fabrics from the "Dr.Seuss" collections by robert kaufman fabrics, that we carry in our shop here.

we planned on "Thing 1 & Thing 2" fabric for the sleeves, which i would have liked better, but i forgot when i was cutting....and didn't remember until they were sewn and serged in place.

i used "Little Girl's, Big Style" again, tweaking a pattern. i am just loving this book, and want grace to slow down in her growing so i can keep using indefinitely:

amazon.com suggested this book for me (thank you amazon!), and it is such a bargain. with free shipping, it costs about what one or two patterns would cost, but is full of patterns that can be made so many different ways and combined for even more looks - just wish there were some fun boy patterns too.

the dress turned out fuller than i expected. if i use this pattern again (i'm sure it will), i will take out some of the width.

 

 

 

little guy ties

i love to sew for my kids, and i can dream up endless opporutnites to sew for my girls, but very few for my little boy, especially as he gets older. one little man can only wear so many different pairs of pajamas. so i was delighted to find this pattern for "little guy ties" by "my little londyn". i easgerly started sewing them, and couldn't stop. my little guy is not the proud owner of 4 little ties, his dad has a matching tie, and we've also made one for a friend. i keep thinking of new fabrics that would be perfect to use.

his old ties were stained and snagged. i love that these are more washable and un-snag-able.

i thought he would like thing 1 & thing 2 the best, as they fit his personality so well, but excitedly picked out a print called "japanese words"

as his favorite. i asked him why he liked it...."i like the way i feel when i look at it". (he is japanese).

 

making children's clothes

this book is a pure delight, and i have been having so much fun with it...

a friend recommended it, and sent me home with her copy to enjoy. the more i looked at it, the more i knew i needed to own my own copy.

i made these little shoes for my brand new nephew andrew from the woolies flannels that i love, and made my favorite baby gift, raw edge burp clothes (also from woolies flannels) to go with them.

i also made bloomers and shoes out of the softest coduroys for a baby shower for a friend who loves brown and green polka dots, but forgot to photograph them before i gave them away.

and i made this pillowcase dress - easy, easy and fun, fun - for my little one

 

little temple quilts

my friend joanna was in charge of the nauvoo women's retreat this year (in march). it was absolutley wonderful! i was recruited (happily) to organize the service projects - so fun! joanna had the great and simple ideas, i just carried them out. we made white hair bows for little girls who come to the nauvoo temple, and hoped to also make some quilts to replace the original ones made for little children to cuddle in the youth waiting center, which are getting worn. i kept hoping to find time to piece some quilt tops, and at the very last minute, and i do mean the VERY last minute (the day before and day of the service project) i was able to pull these two quilts together. i had pieced the red top last summer, set it aside and forgot about it, and fortunately found it. the blue quilt worked up quickly - it is a reproduction of an antique quilt made in the late 1800s from indigos, cadet blues, and shirtings. the ladies at the retreat tied them with pearl embroidery floss. i would have loved to have them hand quilted, but the time restraints made that unrealistic. i was surprised by how much the the women enjoyed working on the bows and the quilts.

 

more customer inspiration

more fun inspiration from some of my incredibly talented customers:

boodybabies bedding made this amazing crib set made with "retro rocket rascals" and "play stripe" from michael miller fabrics. click here to see more details of this set and find her etsy shop.

handmaidenscottage on etsy made this sweet dress from the indigo stars fabric from the "waving old glory" collection.

and nancy in london made these sweet dollies with fabric from my shop, and even sent me the first one as a present! gracie just asked me to make her a dolly for her birthday (end of may), and i am so happy to have this darling one to give her. visit nancy's etsy shop.

izannah walker dolls and other inspirations

i love my customers! and love them even more when they share their incredibly lovely and inspiring creations with me.

i am completely smitten by this izannah walker doll by dylnne on etsy - everything about it is something i love: history, accurate reproduction, beauty, fabric, sewing for children, and i could go on. she inspired me to do some research on izannah walker and her dolls, which i found fascinating. here is the story, and here are photos of some of the original dolls. this dolly's dress is made from a sweet reproduction fabric designed by mary koval for her "mary's chocolates" collection by blank textiles.

one of my amazing mary friends (i have several amazing and well loved mary friends) makes beautiful reproductions of dolls that were the forerunners to the izannah walker dolls. 

and krista made this inspiring bag - if only i can find the time to make one too!

this math fabric from the "american vintage" collection by windham fabrics is selling fast. 
i love it too. see krista's post about making this bag on her delightful blog, which will lead you to another blog for a tutorial on how to make your own.

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projects in progress

one thing i am never lacking is a very great number of projects in progress.

here are some current favorites:

 

stacks of ragged edge burp cloths made from woolies flannels (in my shop) for 2 friends from church who have recently had baby boys.

i LOVE these woolies flannels! and i finally used them to start a long-planned quilt for brock (it was originally going to be for christmas). he got the first 4 blocks as a valentine's present. 

it's a simple log cabin block with big 2 inch stripes of the incredibly cozy woolies flannel that look like wool and feel like heaven. i was inspired by an antique quilt made in the late 1800s and photographed on a bed in "house beautiful" magazine. i need to photograph that photo.

and more woolies projects:

 

i made a nightgown for gracie and pajamas for mia for christmas using woolies flannels and this vintage pattern i found on etsy. mia loves hers, and gracie has tried to live in hers for the last two months. if we do manage to get her dressed to go out, she'll change back into her nightgown as soon as we get home. it was becoming like linus's blanket, and so i made another for her to wear while the first is in the laundry, from the creamy plaid. and mia cut out her own nightgown from the blue plaid (still in progress).

i found these two 1920's era dress patterns to make dresses for my two teenagers who are double-cast as dorothy in their high school's production of 'thoroughly modern millie".

i have fun fabric (found on etsy) for the dress on the right (slightly sheer yellow with dots), that is ready to cut into. the taffeta i ordered for the dress on the left was a disappointment - completely wrong color (deep emerald green instead of a dusty pastel blue/green), and i'm working on finding a good replacement.

and this is not a project yet, but i want it to be:

 

I found this precious pattern, published in 1957 on ebay, and can't wait to use it to make a dress for gracie.