Non slip chair pads

Back at Thanksgiving we bought a beautiful new dinner table and chairs.  But like most chairs they were in need of chair pads.  We found some at walmart that we liked. The only issue was that the ties were so tight on the back of the chairs and most of them broke :(

When we were visiting my husbands paretns over Christmas I noticed that my mother in law has chair pads with a non slip bottom and no ties.  I thought it was the perfect idea for fixing mine. 

Now that school is over I have finally found time to sit down and work on them. I had some non slip material on hand already.

And Another New Dress

When I bought my jeresry knit fabric for my previous dress I could not decide on a color. Since I am gearing up for yet another trip, this time to sunny CA, I figured why not make two new dresses to take along. So I picked up this pattern...

...and enough fabric for both dresses. This particular pattern has a few tricky instructions, but once I figured it out it was quite easy.  I love how it came together and the fit was spot on (for me anyways).

I can't wait to wear this one! CA here I come!!!!

A New Dress

I bought this pattern a while back.

I have been waiting and waiting for our JoAnne's to get their jersey knits back in and they finally did.  So this is what I worked on all day yesterday:~)

It's lightweight and will be perfect for my upcoming vacation.

Pretty Little Dresses

Boy, have I been a blogging slacker!! Between traveling, homework, and housework I've been busy, busy, busy!!! But enough with excuses and on to good stuff....

Three of my favorite little ladies are turning 1!! I have had this adorable pattern from Prudent Baby saved away called the "snappy toddler dress" and with spring time upon us I thought it would be perfect. I used Amy Butler's Soul Blossoms fabric again and Michael Miller's Doodle Daisy fabric.  They were super, super simple to whip up and turned out rather adorable! I can't wait to see them on.

Happy Birthday, Girls!!

A Pretty Apron

I ordered some fabric to make an apron over a month ago.  I don't know if it was the weather or bad postal workers, but this was my second package in less than a month to get lost in the mail (and people wonder why the post office is loosing money??).  Luckily the seller was extremely pleasant to work with and they re-shipped as soon as it looked like the first package was never going to make it.  Anyways, I finally received it yesterday and it's gorgeous!!! 

This is from Amy Butler's new Soul Blossom Collection.  I'm inlove! I wish I could order all of it, but for now I will have to be satisfied with this small sample.

As soon as I got it home I washed and dried it and got to work on my fun new apron. I did not use a patter for this one.  I have an old plain apron that I used for measurements.

I did not use the standard tie in the back.  Instead the sash wraps around and fastens using a button.

I really love how it turned out.  The only sad thing about super cute aprons is they are made to get messy.

 

 

And Another Baby Gift

Babies, babies, everywhere!

I spent my little bit of free time last week making another baby gift for my friend's new baby girl.  It was nice to make girly things for a change since my last few baby projects have been for boys.  Don't get me wrong baby boys are super cute and lots of fun, but I do enjoy playing with florals and girly colors:~)

I used my silhouette to make the heat transfer with the bird.  Have I mentioned how much I love that machine?

For the faux necklace onesie I cut out 9 little felt cirlces, pinned them to the onesie, and stitched one big line with my sewing machine to form the "chain".  I've seen this done several different ways, many of them start and end way out on the shoulder seems of the onesie which I'm not a huge fan of.  I placed my felt circles where they would hang if it were a real necklace. For the ribbon, I stitched it on first and then tied a knot.  I finished it off with fray check to keep the edged looking clean.

The ruffle onesie is by far my favorite! It was also the most difficult.  Stitching those ruffles in place took some finagling to get them through the sewing machine.  I cut four 2 1/2" strips, sewed them in half, and turned them right side out.  I didn't want raw edges and it was quicker than ironing and sewing eight 1/4" seams.

I really had a lot of fun with these!

Another Baby Gift

I know it's been a while since I've posted anything. Life has been busy, busy, busy for me these days especially with school.  I have been able to squeeze in a few projects. Here is one of my most recent ones...

I did this project for a friend's new baby.  Her hubby flies kiowa helicopters for the Army hence the helicopter theme. I made a self binding receiving blanket (my new facorite way to make blankets...so easy!) and lucked out with the flannel print I found. Then I used my silhouette cutting machine to make the heat transfer of the kiowa for the onesie. 

I really love how they turned out and so did my friend:~) Can't wait to see the new little one rockin' them both.

Baby Things

I've been busy lately with school, crafts, and other projects. Sadly the school work and other projects have been taking priority.  But here are a few things I did manage to whip up for my nieces and a friend's baby.

For the onesies, I had fun with my silhouette cutter and made heat transfers for the name tag and trucks.  And I used some extra fabric to cut out the tie applique.

The pacifiers clips were super easy as well and can be used on pacifiers with handles and with those tiny holes. 

Three Special Dresses

A while ago I stumbled across this adorable dress pattern for little girls on etsy.  I made three dresses, using this pattern, for three of my favorite little ladies for Christmas. I would have written about it earlier but with them being Christmas gifts I wanted to keep them a surprise.

The pattern was simple and the instructions were clear.  I made all three dresses using the 12 month sizing. I'm hoping they will have room to grow.

They all looked so cute in their dresses:~)

Another Blanket for Project Linus

Today I whipped up another blanket for Project Linus. Flannel was on sale at JoAnne's so I took advantage.  I used a self binding method on this blanket which was super easy.  Tea Rose Home has a great tutorial is anyone is interested. I also added some ric-rac trim to give it a little somethin' extra.

And just for fun...We had a visitor in the back yard the other evening:~)

The moose have been every where the past few weeks.  In just the last few days I've seen 7.

 

Flat Iron Travel Case

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is already over and Christmas decor is coming out! Where did this year go? Not that I'm complaining.  In fact I'm incredibly excited! There are only 21 days left until we leave for Colorado, but I'm not really keeping track:~) 

A while back I saw a flat iron case.  It never occurred to me to put my flat iron in a case while traveling.  I usually just wrap it up in a shirt and make sure it's tucked away safely in my suit case.  I really like the idea of a case.  And since we are traveling this christmas I thought why not make one.

I used the same fabric I used for my jewelry roll.  It is Amy Butler's Love Paradise Garden in Periwinkle.  It is padded with a snap closure and has a divider on the inside so that the cord stays neat. 

Embellisehd with Pleats

The weather in here in Interior Alaska has been unusual.  Thanksgiving should bring with it snow and minus temps. Instead this year we get barely freezing temps and rain....yuck! The roads have been so hazardous that they actually closed all the school even the college! That never ever happens here.  It could have dumped snow, there could be dense ice fog, or -65 degree temps and school stays open.  That should paint a picture of just how awful the roads are. I borrowed this pic from a friend.  This is what the roads looked like on Monday morning.

Fun, right? Any-who...I had intended to make some pretty fabric napkins and napkin rings for Thanksgiving, but give the road conditions I decided that driving into town on my own for fabric was not the best idea. The hubby and I did brave the roads yesterday to run errands, but I completely forgot to grab fabric.  Not that my hubby would have been patient in JoAnne's anyways:~)  

I have a white cardigan from the Gap that I have been meaning to dress up a bit and just haven't gotten around to it.  Since my napkin project wasn't going to happen I decided to finally work on my sweater.

I used an old tank top and cut it into strips for the pleats.  I then folded each pleat and pinned them in place.  I stitched my pleats in place by hand. This way if I ever decide to remove the pleats I can. I'm thinking about stitching on either side of my initial stitch line with colored thread.  We'll see:~)