More girly garb... and a random tip

Hi everyone! Just a quick post here to show you some fun and girly outfits I made yesterday for my friends' daughters - I had a *blast* making these! Frank was on call (def: we were house-bound), and it was rainy and gross all day... I didn't even notice!

First let me re-introduce you to Cory, our beloved black and white cat. Since finding out I was pregnant, Cory is attached to my hip... or my sewing machine... or my chair... He's everywhere! He's on my pillow at night when I go to sleep and awaken in the morning, and loves to curl his little paw around my arm all night. It's just the darned cutest thing (aside from when I get a genuine "Mama" from Sydney... which is rare...).

Cory loves the sewing table (aka dining room table with a super soft cushy blanket covering it), and I literally have to push him aside and use one of those de-furring, lint brush things to clear off my station. That's typically when he hops off the table, onto the chair (which I'm sitting in), and finds a spot behind my tush to sprawl out. Watch out buddy... that space is going to be getting smaller!




Outfit #1: For Ameila :) Gina (Amelia's mom) and I keep saying that we need to make the patchwork purse panels (see yesterdays post for pics) into a skirt... Gina is taking the kids down to TX this week, where we all know it's a heck of a lot hotter than in NH, so I felt compelled to get this outfit done ASAP so Amelia could start getting tons of wear out of it. I've got to make one for Syd now! I had hoped to get Syd to model it outside, but of course it was raining this morning, and then by the time the sun came out, the outfits were delivered to their recipients. Feel free to click on the pics to get a better look.



I kind of flew by the seat of my pants with this project. I haven't made a lick of clothes before (aside from Jordan's dress last week), so it was a fun challenge. I wasn't sure what to use for the waist, so I crossed my fingers as I headed to my notions box. I found this funky and super functional stuff called STITCH & STRETCH that I must have picked up at one of Joanne Fabrics half price sales. Looked like it would do the trick, and it did! Gathers in a snap - love it! I lined the skirt with a lightweight cotton (this one has pink/white gingham and the other has white eyelet) before top-stitching with the decorative feather stitch (my favorite for this kind of project).



Gina *loves* the Lime Star Paisley fabric from AB, so knew what the top embellishment would be :)


Outfit #2 is for Michelle's Anna, and I used AB Pink Temple Garland and Lime Full Moon Polka Dot. Michelle just sent me over a pic of Anna in it (she loves it!) - all smiles :)



Oh! Before I go, I have to share a random tip. A few months ago I ordered 2 charm packs (? 4"x4" squares") of Heather Bailey's FRESH CUT when they went on sale at Hancock's of Paducah. Wasn't sure what I'd do with them, but they definitely helped in my selection of bolts for my order from Free Spirit (which I'm anxiously waiting for...).

I figured I'd want to wash them first (I wash all my fabrics first unless they are for a project that won't end up in the washing machine), but dreaded dealing with all those darned threads! Well, I had to pre-wash the fabric for the skirts, so I threw the squares into a lingerie bag and hoped for the best. Check out what I found when I opened the bag after a twirl in the dryer:



All those nasty threads clumped together into a separate ball! I was pretty shocked.... I still had to iron all of the squares (didn't take as long as I thought), but my thread issue took care of itself! Now what to make with these... anyone have any ideas?



Gotta run - my little peacock is on the move... check out this 'do! Wakes up like this every morning :)