"Twas the Day before Christmas

It's all bought and wrapped...phew!!  Mad dash this morning to Walmart for last minute things...went straight from working nights!

I finished the Rollie Pollies the other day.  These turned out great.  Filling them was an adventure but DH and I managed with minimal swearing!  Check out Dana's website to buy this pattern.  She has others too as well as a blog and tutorials for lots of wonderful things.  I have already had requests to make these for other kids and plan on making one for each of my other grandkids for their birthdays this year.

I also received my Farbenmix patterns from Karen at Patternsandmore  I made two "Olivias" for my two oldest granddaughters for Christmas.  I used Michael Miller knits for both.

 Had to modify the hood on this one as I did not have enough fabric to make the long "tail" you can see on the other hood.

 I love this pattern.  Very easy to put together and so cute.  I will definitely make more.  My mind is full of all kinds of modifications I could make to make these even cuter.

Merry Christmas to everyone.  May your holidays be filled with love and joy.

Christmas Dress for Abbi

Didn't realize how long it's been since I posted!  I have been busy with work and Christmas preparations as I'm sure everyone is. 

I am still working on the Rollie Pollies for the kids for Christmas.  Abbi's is finished and I just have to fill Connor's and Tristan's and sew up the "fill hole".  I will post pics of these when they are all done.

Yesterday I made a dress for Abbi to wear to our family Boxing Day celebration at my sister's.  Sam (Abbi's mom, my daughter) picked out the fabric.  I used Ellie Inspired's "Daddy's Girl" pattern to make this.  This pattern was easy to sew.  I just love puffed sleeves on little girls!

I found the snowflake buttons at Fabricland.  I used snaps to close the back of the dress and then just sewed the buttons the outside of the closure.

Now to fill the Rollie Pollies!  Made a big mess with the first one...hope these go better!

Beautiful Dreamer

Those of you who sew for little ones have to check out this talented lady's site.  Ellie Inspired is named after Laura's daughter.  Her patterns are easy to sew and create beautiful clothing for children.

I recently had the pleasure and honor of testing one of her new patterns.  Check out her Day Four of Christmas Week to see the sweet cupcake nightgown and white eyelet robe I made for Abbi.

Laura offers Free Patterns & Projects , a Pattern Store in addition to her blog.  And don't forget to check out the Ellie Inspired Flickr Group.

Right now I am working on Christmas gifts for some of my grandchildren.  I am making three of these...

from MADE by Dana.  These Rollie Pollies are cute child sized "bean bag" chairs.  Stay tuned for pics of the ones I made.

the Jocole blog: Refashioned Outfit Mini-Tutorial

the Jocole blog: Refashioned Outfit Mini-Tutorial

Here We Go

So I have finally decided to start a blog.  I have been thinking about this for a while and now I'm doing it.

I hope to post two or three times weekly.   What will I post?  As someone who loves to sew for children I am going to be searching the net for sites related to sewing for kids. There are many of these with lots of great information and patterns.  I will also be on the lookout for sales that might interest those of you who also sew.

Today I would like to tell you about a wonderful line of patterns called Jocole Patterns.  I purchased the Knit Peasant Tee last week and made one for my two year old granddaughter, Abbi.

The fabric is light purple on black "Hello Kitty".  I purchase it from Sara who runs the Yahoo Group JOSewing.  I love how this top turned out and how easy it was to put together.  I consider myself an intermediate sewer.  The pattern includes detailed instructions for shirring the sleeves and neckline.  You also have the option of creating elastic casings instead of shirring. Also included are directions on creating the look of a rolled hem without a serger.   I have a serger but it does not like to do rolled hems...the threads break and the stitching separates from the fabric.  I bought a set of "Creative Feet" last year and the Satinedge Foot  ( http://www.creativefeet.com/products/feet/satinedge-foot) works perfectly for creating the edge with my sewing machine.

Jocole Patterns are available from youcanmakethis.com or jocole.net .  You can also visit her blog .