Summer Sewing for Sweet Friends

 Who can resist sewing for this sweet face?

I sure can't! This is Barrett, an adorable little boy that lives across the street. His mom and I have become good friends and have playdates all the time. Isn't it great when you can find a friend like that? A friend that has children close to your children's ages and someone you would be friends with even if you met before you had kids? Well that's his mom, Rebecca. And guess what? She's crafty too and has a monogramming machine! I know I sound excited about it like it was mine, but she offered to monogram some things for me if I sewed some things for her little boy, Barrett.

FREE MONOGRAMMING?

Of course I will take her up on that :)

So here is one of the outfits I made for Barrett. It's a navy and yellow striped pair of shorts with an initial applique. It's cute, summery and perfect for a fun-loving little boy, who loves wearing his daddy's cowboy boots! Yeehaw! 



I will be posting the awesome things she monogrammed (Catherine's 2 dresses - one is seersucker and another is lime green and white polk-a-dots, a beach bag, and 4 t-shirts that my kids call "Mrs. Becca's" shirts) later this week.

Oh and if you want to know how many times I had to make the shorts, it was twice! I even followed a pattern when I made the first pair because I wanted to make it "right." But "right" ended up being able to fit a 12 month old instead of a size 2T. Has that ever happened to you?

Sew Chic Upcycling Event August 1-12

All you bloggers out there that LOVE UPCYCLING...

this event is for you!

Sarah from the blog This Crazy Blessed Life and I are hosting a 2 week long UPCYCLING, RECYCLING, SEWING event called

Sew Chic Upcycling!

Each day there will be a post from a different blogger, some of which you may already know (I personally LOVE their blogs!). We will also have a linky party where you can enter your UPCYCLED SEWING projects starting Monday, August 1st. There will be PRIZES for the top 3 upcycled projects!

Start thinking and start sewing!

The lineup for my guest posters: click to see their blogs...

August 1st - Natalie from Johnny in a Dress

August 2nd - Mandy from Sugar Bee Crafts

August 3rd - Kelli from Small Town Stitcher

August 4th - Erica Louise from Recycled Fashion

August 5th - Sarah from This Crazy Blessed Life

August 6th and 7th -Post about our Giveaways and Linky Features!

August 8th - Maradith from Strictly Homemade

August 9th - Carly from Chic Steals

August 10th - Emily from Domestic Deadline

August 11th - My own UPCYCLED sewing post....wait til you see what it is!

August 12th - ANNOUNCING THE WINNERS from our UPCYCLED Linky Party!

All the guest posters spot are filled. If you would like to provide an item for the giveaway, email me. For the giveaways we will feature you, your blog and your shop!

seaminglysmitten@gmail.com

Jenny

Summer Sundress with Ruffles

If you know this little face of my little girl's you've probably noticed you haven't seen her on the blog lately. That's because she's been laying down all summer! Catherine broke her femur climbing onto a bed 5 weeks ago (her leg got stuck between the rail and the mattress and she fell off) and has been in a spica cast.  That means a full-body cast with a bar in between her legs to keep her hips from moving. She has been laying around, army crawling around and being carried around the past few weeks. A week ago today she got that cast off and is just in a long legged cast on the broken leg and the cast still goes around her hips. BUT...she can stand! This is HUGE! I had to have the camera ready for when she did start standing again because it's almost been like having an infant in the house. Yay...she's crawling! Yay...she's standing! And in 10 more days we cannot wait to say YAY...SHE'S WALKING! But...that's in 10 more days. So for now I can finally take pictures of Catherine again (We call her "Ladycakes") in some sweet summery dresses standing up.
That's big news in our house and it is the little things in life that I appreciate. 

 I love this polk-a-dot and flowery fabric combination and the length of the ruffles. But do you see my mistake? I made the dress a few inches too long (I was trying to cover the cast...do you see it poking out on her right foot?) and had to make it shorter, but I had already attached the ruffles. So I just cut across and took off a few inches then reattached the bottom. I should have done this along the ruffle line...note for next time!
My sweet neighbor, Rebecca, who lives across the street has a monogramming machine and offered to monogram a few things for me if I sewed her little boy some clothes. I am all about bartering! Of course I jumped at the chance, gave her a few things and let her choose the monogram font, size and color. Well she did not let me down! I LOVE this monogram with the scrollwork around it! I've never had such a fancy monogram on a piece of kid's clothing before and now I think I won't go back to simple initials. Thanks Rebecca! You can see her blog here at The Klar Family blog. And I will post all of the awesome things she monogrammed for me in a few days! Thanks REBECCA!

 LOVE this monogram!

"See my dress, Momma? Cheese!"

I love my baby girl!

Sewing up a Silk Dress for Summer

Do you ever go to the fabric store and wonder where the "real" fabric is? Like the kind of fabric that clothing companies use to make clothes they sell in stores? The more and more I sew, the more and more I want to sew for myself. I see blogs like Elle Apparel with this amazing number:

Or read posts from A Pair and a Spare, an amazing Do-It-Yourself blog, that focuses on thrifting, repurposing, creating from scratch (and you get to see all her amazing travel photos) and would love to see what's in her closet. Check out this lace cami she made:

I dream of a new kind of fabric store. A store where fabrics are amazing to touch, bring instant inspiration and carry fabrics that could be turned into boutique clothing pieces for women. The fabric stores here focus on quilting fabrics, some clothing fabrics (linen, linen blends, poly/rayon blends) and then your typical costume or dress-making fabrics (super shiny). 

Last time I went to my fabric store I decided I was going to stay there until something sparked my interest. AND I FOUND IT.

SILK - my new love

I bought a yard of it and tons of ideas flooded my mind but two ideas stood out: a maxi dress or a mini dress.

I went for the mini, sewed it up that afternoon and wore it to a wedding shower.

Purple silk. Soft to the touch. Delicate on the skin.

And it felt great knowing that I made it.

Before:

 After:

So please comment and let me know:

What have you been making? Where do you buy clothing fabric for yourself?