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:

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.

 

 

 

to blog?

I can hear the leaves falling outside my windows, making a rythmic rustling, and I love it. Autumn is heaven where we live.

It's been 4 months since I posted.  And the more time that passes, the harder it becomes to post.

I love my blog, but it is difficult to balance blogging into my day, along with family, exercise, spiritual uplift, relaxation, recreation, serving as relief society president in our church, and keeping our businesses running. I spend so much time on the computer with our online shop that it can be hard to justify spending even a little more time in order to blog.

The past 4 months have been full of wonderful moments, and I will try to fill them in...as best I can.

more customer goodies

a sweet customer in canada shared these darling primitive dolls that she has dressed in dots from the "american vintage" collection in my shop - thank you shelley!

 

and look at these beautiful primitive dolls made by another customer. i wasn't able to copy the photos, so i'll take you to her website. scroll down to "Olde Mother Angel with Dollie riding a Pig", which are dressed in fabrics from my shop - the Lincoln Bicentennial collection. it's so fun to see these fabrics used in ways i would have never imagined. the "american vintage" dots are from a 50's repro collection, but do look wonderful on these primitive dolls. i am sold out of the colorful dots, hoping more will arrive soon.

technology free

we enjoyed the most delightful day yesterday. skies were blue, birds were singing, the temperature was perfect. but these were not the reasons we enjoyed our perfect day, they were just icing on the cake. what made the day wonderful is that our cable provider's system crashed, leaving us without phone, internet, or tv. i wish this would happen more often. it was blissful. we were relaxed, and leisurely caught up on so many things that had been put off. i made banana blueberry bread and granola and strawberry rhubarb jam (rhubarb from our garden!). i cleaned. i enjoyed gracie.

i wouldn't want this to happen too regularly, because i had to ignore the customers of our internet shops. i really enjoy our shops and our customers, and want to provide the best service possible. but there is always more to be done with the shops, ALWAYS. and not being able to access the shops, or anything/one else by phone or internet was so refreshing. maybe i should schedule one day like this a week. i believe it would bless my life. but do i have the self-control to stay off the internet and phone if they are accessible? i fear i don't. and that's a painful admission.

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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flickr

my new flickr account:   http://www.flickr.com/photos/19373030@N04/

it began as a place to post my customers' creations, and i have found it a delightful way to organize my photos.

the column of photos on the right of this blog, under my etsy shop photos, are from flickriver, and show randomly changing photos from "my projects" file on flickr.

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.

shiki

 

i love this fabric collection by kumiko sudo for "in the beginning" fabrics. shiki is "four seasons" in japanese. a good reminder that winter won't be eternal. i can't wait to start sewing cute summer dresses and pj's for my little girls (especially mia) from this fabric.

 

a kimono dress like this one by emaleighscupboard on etsy would be so fun in this fabric.