Spring Easter Skirts

 

 

Over spring break, I decided that my sisters needed some new skirts. Then, when I had extra fabric left, I decided I needed a matching skirt too. I used the Simple Spring Skirts tutorial from Simple Simon and Company and some fabric from my stash. They are so easy to make! You only need two measurements - waist and length - and the tutorial is only 8 steps long! They don't take much time either - I made all three skirts in one afternoon.
 

The main fabric has Easter eggs on it! My mom and I bought it seven years ago when our local Ben Franklin store was having a huge going-out-of-business sale. I was just starting to sew and we thought it was so cute! It just took me seven years to finally use it.
 

 

The pink, contrast fabric is from fabric.com. I bought it two years ago, planning to use it in a skirt, but never got around to it. That's a good thing too, because it's the perfect contrast for the Easter egg fabric!

 

Spring hasn't made up its mind if it wants to come to Minnesota yet or not (it snowed in my hometown today!), but we braved the cold and went outside to take pictures. My 10 year old sister was being a goofball:

 

 This is one of the few good pictures of her from our photoshoot.

 

This is about the best one I have of the three of us.

 

Mostly, she just wanted to be silly!

 

 What's the longest you've kept fabric in your stash before using it?  

 

~Elizabeth

I will be linking to some of the link parties listed here.



The Covert Robin - What I Made

I had so much fun participating in the Covert Robin swap hosted by imagine gnats! Now that my package is mailed off I can share what I made for my partner. It was challenging at first, beause my partner does not have a blog, so I wasn't able to do any blog stalking. However, after a bit of googling I found her on pinterest and that gave me some ideas.

 

I decided to make my partner a patchwork dishcloth and matching potholders! She seems to like cooking and I thought it would be a useful gift that would brighten up her kitchen! I originally started with squares and darker colors for the towel, but decided to go with strips of fabric and more spring-like fabrics.

 

 

The front of the towel is strips of cotton fabric sewn together in rows. It measures about 9" x 15", if I remember correctly. The back is yellow terrycloth cut from a kitchen towel (it was a bamboo towel and it's sooo soft). I quilted the two layers together by stitching in the ditch so it won't move around too much.

 

 

The potholders are 8" squares using leftover fabric from the towel. I quilted these too and then sewed a binding on to finish the edges.

 

 

It's almost too pretty to use! I hope my partner likes her gift - it should be arriving at her house today!

 

~Elizabeth

The Flip Vest

I was so excited when I found out I won a pattern giveaway for Dana's newest pattern! It's the Flip Vest - a reversible vest for ages 6 months to 5 years. This is such a versatile pattern with many different choices. You can use fleece, flannel, cotton, corduroy, denim and more. Dana gives you options for a velcro or button closure, but you could use snaps or zippers too.

 

The pattern is very easy to follow and everything is explained well with lots of pictures. I had not sewn ribbing before, but Dana walks you through the steps, making it very easy to do and she provides you with two different options for finishing the armholes.  It's a quick sewing project - I made 6 vests in a day in a half!

I think I lost my mind a little bit, but my little brothers were so excited to get their new vests! The 4 year old kept coming into the sewing room and asking if I was done yet. I made the 4 year old a 3T-4T and the 2 year old a 2T-3T. They both fit great right now, but next time I might make it a size bigger just so there is some room for growing.

 

I used flannel for the outside and fleece for the inside on all the vests. I made the button closure, so it's not reversible, but I think the printed flannel side will get more wear anyway.

 

 

I think this is the cutest picture ever!

 

 

I made the 12-24 month size for my 7 month old sister. It is perfect for her and leaves plenty of growing room!

 

 

There is only one pattern piece which makes cutting super simple. The fabric requirements are only 1/2 yard of each for the small sizes and 2/3 yard of each for the bigger sizes. I only had to buy the flannel as I had everything else to make the vest. It was such a hit with my siblings (the 2 year old wanted to wear his to bed!) and I will definitely be making it again.

 

 

I think she is very happy with her cozy new vest!

 

~Elizabeth

I will be linking to some of the link parties listed here.

Snow and Sewing

 

The weather in Minnesota has been interesting. It was starting to feel like spring - the sun was shining, the snow was melting and it was so warm outside! Then on Sunday night it started snowing and it kept snowing through Monday. I was so happy because all but one of my classes were cancelled, including my 8am class and my midterm was postponed!

 

I thought the snow looked so pretty on the trees and in the bluffs, so I took some pictures on my way to school.

 

 

Because of my "snow day" I took some time to start on my Covert Robin project. It's a secret, so I can't tell you what I'm making yet, but I took pictures so you can guess all you want. :-)

 

 

It was so nice to sew again! I haven't touched my sewing machine since before the semester started! There are only two days standing between me and spring break, and I plan to do as much sewing as possible!

 

Since I haven't had much time to sew, I went fabric shopping instead. :) I bought some knit from the Fabric Fairy because they were having a sale and I have been eyeing some of the fabric for a long time. I'll show you what I bought and what I plan to make with it soon!

 

What have you been sewing lately?

~Elizabeth

Covert Robin

    Hello Everyone! This week has been crazy busy with studying for midterms. I have to survive two more weeks and then it is spring break! I'm hoping to do a little sewing over break, since I haven't had much time lately.      Back in February I signed up for the Covert Robin mystery gift exchange over at imagine gnats. We make something handmade for our person and we will receive something handmade from someone else. No one knows who their partner is.   We have all received our partners now, and so I am really excited to get started on her gift! However, she doesn't have a blog so I only know her name and where she's from. That's all I know! I have participated in swaps before, but this is the first time that I have no idea what to make.   Do you have any ideas for me? What would you make?    

~Elizabeth

 

Valentine's Day Swap

 

Happy Valentine's Day!!

 

This month, I had fun participating in a Valentine's Day swap hosted by Sew Caroline and Rags to Stitches.

 

 

 

I was paired up with Beth, from Acres of Desire. Her blog is so fun to read and she takes some amazing pictures! She is so creative too. Look how she decorated the package she sent me:

 

 

It was too pretty to open at first! The inside had a nice surprise too:

 

 

Bright colored tissue paper!

 

And:

 

 

Beth sent me a mug, chocolate candy, and a giftcard to Joann's! She is so sweet!

 

 

Thank you so much, Beth!!!  

 

~Elizabeth 

Giveaway Winner!

It's time to announce the winner of my giveaway for Sew Grateful Week! It was so fun finding new blogs to read, and reflecting on what sewing and and the online sewing community mean to me.

Now for the winner, selected by random.org:

 

 The winner is Jill, who blogs over at Laugh, But Not Loudly. Congratulations Jill!!! You will be getting an email from me shortly.

 

Thank you everyone for entering!!

~Elizabeth