Blue Skirt (and a plan for summer)

As spring approached this year, I realized that I could use a few skirts. So I finally cracked open my copy of Wendy Mullin's Sew U and cut out the skirt pattern. I ended up making four skirts to use up some of my fabric stash and they worked up really fast. Here is the blue linen skirt that I made:

It's very basic and unfancy, but it fits well and is comfortable. And I love navy blue--it goes with a lot of my clothes. Making these skirts reminded me of my very first sewing projects about seven years ago. When I got serious about learning to sew, all I did was make skirts. My first skirts were all a lesson in fit, fabric choice, hemlines, and zippers. A lot of them turned out to be unwearable. But now sewing skirts couldn't be easier for me--I understand how things will fit. I know how to decently insert a zipper and my hems are even. My first skirts took me forever to make, but these skirts only took about an hour each. I guess I've made some progress in my skills. Well, that and the pattern is awesome. I highly recommend Wendy Mullin's books and patterns.

(Here is another shot--an attempt at a self-portrait. But self-portraits are dumb. At least you can see how comfortable the skirt is--I mean, it's easy to lounge in.)

I also made a denim skirt, a coral skirt (it's actually more orange-ish and a tad too bright), and a white linen skirt with a ruffle that needs to be re-ruffled. I'll post those soon.

Today I am going to set up a double sewing station in my sewing room for the summer. I have visions of teaching Abby to sew on my old White machine. She wants to make some Barbie clothes and sew a few BunnyBear patterns for her American Girl dolls--especially the 1930s dresses. I secretly suspect that she is just humoring me, but oh well. I still think it will be fun.

Spring Sewing Swap

I recently participated in an American Girl spring sewing swap on AGPlaythings (a forum for us crazy AG doll lovers.) About a month ago, I signed up for the sewing swap by filling out a questionnaire about what dolls we have and what our "dream outfit" would be. After sending that in, I was sent another forum member's same questionnaire. The person assigned to me wanted a party dress for her daughter's dolls. So I spent some time thinking and planning. I bought the supplies and a pair of matching shoes. And then I got to work.

This is what I made:


I used pink taffeta, which I love. Taffeta is so crisp and swishy. I also added a layer of tulle to the underskirt and a sash of grosgrain ribbon. I was going to glue the little flowers to hair clips, but decided they looked pretty on the sash.

The fun thing is that the person I was making this dress for also has a Julie doll. I think Julie looks good in pink. In fact, Abby was just a little sad to see this dress go--I guess I'll have to make another.

So after the outfit was finished, I mailed it off. I was a little nervous, but excited too. I was especially excited for our package to come from another secret forum member. On my questionnaire I had said that my dream outfit was a Civil War-era dress--Abby and I were dying (okay, mostly I was dying) to see what we would get.

On Friday afternoon we spied the mailman putting a large envelope in our mailbox. We ran out into the rain in our bare feet--we might have even skipped. The excitement was pretty high--even Cameron started to jump up and down while clapping his hands. Inside the envelope was this:


My dream Civil War-era dress! I think it is so pretty. The person who sewed for me also included the sweetest handwritten note (on Kirsten stationary no less), matching hair ribbons, and a cute bouquet of flowers. But what really impresses me is that I happen to know that this person is a teenager--wow, she is already such a talented seamstress. I don't even want to talk about the bad stuff I was sewing at that age . . .

I have to say that signing up for this sewing swap was so much fun--I would totally sign up for another one in a heartbeat. Even Graciella thought it was fun:


I mean, doesn't she look like she's having so much fun? Whatever, she's ugly.

So that's the exciting doll news around here. Abby keeps telling me that Julie wants to try this purple dress on. She says that Ivy will look good in it too. But Kirsten is a little reluctant to take it off. I better get going on some more taffeta party dresses . . .

Get To Work

So these little colonial dresses are kind of old news around here. I made these the week before Mother's Day for my mom. (Yes, my mom loves dolls too and when American Girl archived the colonial girls Felicity and Elizabeth, she got them. And yes, when one of my sisters asked me what I was giving Mom for Mother's Day, I said, "Two colonial doll dresses." She rolled her eyes.)

When my mom bought Felicity and Elizabeth, she also bought some of their outfits which included pretty tea dresses and ball gowns made from satin and bows and lace. The funny thing is that when Abby comes to play with the dolls, Elizabeth and Julie (because they are the blonde ones) get all the best dresses while poor Felicity gets ignored and Ivy is relegated to doing the chores.

Well Ivy and Felicity are sick of it. So in order for Julie and Elizabeth to do their own chores (and to preserve some of the more delicate gowns from being played with too much) my mom requested two work dresses. I used the McCall's 3627 pattern but I modified it a lot--I sewed the bodice to the skirt and added lace to the sleeves only. As for the aprons, I sort of just cut them out and sewed them together--very easy. The caps are from the Pleasant Company patterns produced for Felicity. I thought I was making the mob cap, but I actually think these hats are the round-eared caps? And those are both different from a pinner cap--you know, colonial headwear for women and girls is so confusing.

I used Kirsten to model both ensembles, although I don't think colonial girls had bangs. One of these days I'll take a picture of Felicity and Elizabeth wearing them--they are both really cute dolls. And now Elizabeth and Julie have something to wear to do the baking and mopping while Felicity and Ivy wear satin dresses to the Governor's Ball. They deserve it.

Mother's Day Pillow

There are a couple of projects in Alicia Paulson's book Stitched In Time that use photos printed onto fabric. I decided to make one for my mother-in-law for Mother's Day.

So I took this photo . . .

and printed it onto a page of ready-to-use inkjet printer fabric. I also chose some purple fabrics because my mother-in-law loves purple. This is the pillow I ended up with:

Apparently Cameron didn't like it there on the chair:







There. Much better.

Happy Mother's Day!

Embroidered Pillowcases

I made these pillowcases in February from Alicia Paulson's Embroidery Companion. At first they were a lot of fun. I loved the colors of the thread and taking the time to slowly stitch each bunch of flowers. It felt old-fashioned in a satisfying way--I pretended I was making them for my trousseau.

But then I remembered I was already married and my husband probably doesn't want to sleep on an embroidered pillowcase.

So they have been neatly folded up and put away. Maybe someday Abby will want them because they are awfully pretty. And at least my embroidery skills improved a tiny bit. Although I do admit that stitching the second pillowcase got a little boring. And my stitches got a little sloppy.

I think when it comes to embroidering more pillowcases, I'll probably pass.