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:

wedding quilt

lexi & bear's wedding quilt. lexi designed it, and i'm not sure if she chose this simple pattern to make things easy for her mom, or because it was what she really wanted....maybe a little of both. it features her wedding colors and some of the fabrics from her wedding, many  from my stash and our shop, and several fun fabrics i collected in japa ~ some that i made clothing out of while we lived there. as the wedding drew near, the quilt was only about 1/3 of the way pieced, and my sweet mom offered to take it home and finish piecing it. that made it much more meaningful and fun. i was worried about finding time to get it quilted, and a friend with a long arm quilter quilted it for me. it wasn't done for the june wedding, but lots of loving hands worked on this creation.

(koji the cat loves all things hanging on the clothesline, and when i'm not looking, he'll pull down his favorites and cuddle with them.)

 

she wore my mom's wedding dress - so fun!

the littles in their wedding togs (untucked shirt and silly bands, et all)

~Nauvoo Temple

 

 

happy halloween!

 

halloween sewing

making a little red riding hood for little one - so fun!

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.

 

 

 

the "pettiskirt" lesson

over a year ago, i found this fun pattern & kit on etsy, and thought it would be a delight to make for my little one's 3rd birthday. well, it wasn't finished until after her 4th birthday. and i'll admit that this situation (finishing projects much later than anticipated) happens frequently at our house, this case was special. i could never have imagined the hours and hours i would spend gathering layers and layers of fluffy fabric. i lost track, but i would guess at least 15, maybe more. and i'm not a novice seamstress....and this is is "short" version, with only one layer of ruffles.

it wasn't worth it.

it goes against my grain to say it, but if you are tempted by the fluffy and feminie offerings in this lovely shop, go ahead and buy the lovely ones they have already made for you.

i love to sew, and i didn't love this. at all.

it is a cute result, but not worth the effort. i got much faster and smarter as i sewed, and sewed, but it wasn't smarter or faster enough. i can hardly even stand to see her wear it. she does love it though, and loves me for it. but she would love it if i had bought it too :)

grace on the 4th

this book was recommended to me by amazon.com, where their computer has apparantly discovered my passion for sewing.... and i LOVE it.

my first project it inspired is a patriotic dress for little grace. we visited brock's parents in the wilds of missouri for the 4th of july weekend, and had a wonderful time. i took these photos there.

easter

"bunny buns" from the "friend" magazine for saturday dinner.

the "i found my easter basket" dance, saturday afternoon.

easter dress

easter morning ensemble ....i had so much fun making the dresses and tie. i used this pattern from mod kid for the dresses. it only goes up to size 7, so i adjusted the pattern for big sister. photography by tashi

 

baby kittens, 1 week old, photography by mia

easter tulip

our easter weekend was full of fun: firehouse annual pancake breakfast & egg hunt, stake preparedness fair, egg coloring, easter basket hunt in our yard, missionaries for turkey dinner on sunday,....and well.....lots of chocolate!