Checking in...

For no reason at all.

Just some housekeeping.

On the blog front, I have a lot I want to say.

Just no time to say it.

On the crafty front, lots going on.

No time to document it as it goes.

Maybe a giant post-holiday post is in order.

On the holiday front, wow, its like they are flying by.

And for some reason I feel like I am trying to do 20 more things than I can handle.

I love it all.

On the family front, this happened.

I don't know how, and I don't know why.

I am a messy mix of emotions about it all.

So I took Molly out into the snow to celebrate.

(Crazy, stupid mom ideas, that make great pictures.)

And if you are intereted in keeping with any of it,
instagram seems to be easier these days.
Follow here.

-luv-

Kristy Lou

Mini Minnie: Halloween 2013

Of course I had to at least try to make Molly’s 1^st Halloween costume.

I chose Minnie Mouse.

I wanted the dress to have a circle skirt.

I thought I was going to have to use a top from another pattern and draft my own skirt.

(Scary)

But I was lucky enough to find this McKenzie's Classic Twirly Dress pattern on craftsy.com.

(I love Craftsy.com)

It was fairly simple to follow.

I made the 6 month size and it fit my 8 month old EXACTLY.

I was actually nervous because I finished it two weeks early,

and I was afraid Molly might grow her belly too much.

But, it worked!

And if it’s OK to say, she made a mighty cute Minnie Mouse.

(Have I mentioned lately that this girl is hard to photograph?

She NEVER sits still.)

Just for cuteness, this is Minnie attacking COUSIN Dinosaur for kisses.

Here she is a few weeks prior showing off her costume to Illinois Grandpa and Grandma.

And just for fun, me and my crazy haired baby!

 

(Disclaimer: The shoe(s), headband and leggings were bought.)

-luv-
Kristy Lou

Candy Corn Dress: Le Challenge

I know its been a while.

I have been doing some sewing, just not keeping record of it here.

Lucky Molly has been the recipient of almost all the handmade goodness.

For Halloween she was Minnie Mouse.

I made her dress, but that is saved for another post.

I did not want her to wear her Minnie Mouse dress to daycare,

and risk it getting pooped or thrown up on.

So plan B came into action.

I saw this pillowcase Candy Corn Dress on pinterest.

Its originally from the etsy shop daintee Designs.

She has some incredibly cute stuff.

But I thought I could probably make something similar.

So here it is, not nearly as perfect,
but good enough for daycare Halloween dress up.

Its hard to get good pictures of her these days.

She does not stay still very long. 

I also have some cruddy phone pictures. 

She happened to be discovering the TP roll at the same time.
(This is how she stays entertained while I get ready in the morning.
ALWAYS ON THE MOVE!!!)

One thing I have been seeing happening at Charm About You is this fun Le Challenge

Since my Candy Corn Dress fit PERFECTLY in to the STRIPES category this month,
I am going to enter it.
People are VERY creative over there.

I hope your holidays are off to a great start.
This will be a whole new experiance for me with having a 9 month old to tote around everywhere.

I also linked up to
Finish It Up Friday with Amanda Jean

-luv-
Kristy Lou

P.S. - Just a shout out for fun:
I have been listening to Amy and April on a quilting podcast they do. the QuiltCast.
If you like quilting and like listening in on the professionals, you should check it out.
What I love most is that they do not have all the high tech stuff.
And they do care how much thread costs!
JUST. LIKE. ME.
Sometimes I think we hold these "professionals" to a different standard.
But at the end of the day, they are just like the rest of us.
Love it!

A 7 month old....

Trapped! She thinks its fun... for now.

Wait, what?

I have not slept a whole night through in 7 MONTHS!

I guess the blurry eyed me did not take the time to see the MONTHS pass.

Right at the 6 month mark she decided to like baby food, sit up, almost crawl.

Too much for this mama too handle!

She loves DVDs to play with, lotion tubes to chew, and dad's shoelaces to knot.

Here she is in her all her 6 month glory.

I made this dress :) Too bad she did not get any good pictures in it.

-luv-

Kristy Lou

The Maxi Skirt (and Amazing Sisters)

Well, it looks like my sewing has turned from quilting to garments.

For now at least.

I am learning once again that I like quilting sewing better.

But a successful garment really makes me feel accomplished.

My sisters came to visit (hijack my child) for a long weekend.

They also brought projects to accomplish.

To be fair, they also did projects while I went to work.

Lisa texted me on her way into town and asked if I knew how to make a maxi skirt.

A quick google searched confirmed, “I could try.”

Steph has her sewing machine all set-up at her house, waiting to make a quilt.

She picked this one to make from Moda Bakeshop, and just needed some help starting out.

They live eight hours away, so everything HAD to be crammed into one weekend.

I also live an hour and a half away from any decent store.

All that said, they arrived on Thursday evening and received a crash course in baby care.

They kept Molly home from daycare on Friday for some quality Auntie craft time.

Friday evening we had some very important things going on.

Saturday morning we (4 girls) headed out to go shopping.

Saturday evening they babysat while the hubs and I had some good grown up friend hang out time.

Sunday all five of us hit up the pool and Molly went swimming for her second time.

Sunday evening, sunburnt and panicked we jumped into quilts and skirts.

They kept Molly home again on Monday in order to bake cookies and make freezer meals for us.

(Best sisters ever!)

We finished on Monday evening with a successful skirt and a quilt ready to be worked on.

So for the Maxi Skirt we followed this tutorial here.

I will break it down on how some specifics we did.

Fabric

We knew we wanted some type of jersey.

I should have done more research, we had a heck of a time finding anything we liked at JoAnn’s or Hobby Lobby.

I think cotton knit or jersey knit is what I would ORDER next time.

(Next time meaning that we will plan ahead on stuff like this).

Lisa came away with some gray knit something.

I am not sure exactly what it was, but we had a couple of issues with it.

Measurements

The tutorial says to measure the waist, divide by two and add an inch.

I would change the word waist to hips.

Lisa tried on the band and it did not even go over her hips to get to her waist.

(Nevermind that the women in this family have this issue often ;) )

This could partly be because the fabric we had was WAY less stretchy than what we expected.

Once I readjusted the measurements to hip size, it worked perfectly.

I forgot to change the length from waist-to-ground to hips-to-ground.

So I just chopped it after she put the finished skirt on.

Stitching

I did a lot of research on this.

I knew tackling the stitching on jersey would be tough.

I found this little tutorial here.

I ended up using the triple stitch on every seam.

IT WORKED GREAT!

I also bought a double needle and used that for the first time in a few spots.

Loved it.

Finished Product

Perfect.

Lisa thinks she will be able to use Stephanie’s machine to make more of these for herself.

And just because.... here are a few more fun July snapshots.

We have started up a new fitness goal.

#50milesinJuly

We were rockin' it... then it got HOT.

So now I am rockin' it without my two companions :(

Fun morning smiles.

 More walking.

When the Aunties come, we get dressed to the nines!

Mom's at work.... craft time with the Aunties.

A break from the sun.

Family photos should never be taken in swimsuits... HA!

-luv-

Kristy Lou

Pattern Review: Audrey Crossover

If you are still around out there

You won’t even believe this…

I went to my sewing machine and I made something.

From start to finish.

Even before I got pregnant,

I dreamed of making clothes for my ‘lil one.

I had found and followed Naptime Crafters

and the peek-a-boo Pattern Shop a long time ago.

Then I got pregnant.

Then I got tired.

Then I had a baby girl.

Then I was exhausted for 4 months straight.

Next week Miss Molly will be 5 months old!

(Whhhhhatttt?)

She’s the perfect baby in so many ways.

She has her fussy times.

Some days are better than others.

And once in a while she sleeps through the night.

(Of course I wake up wondering why she hasn’t woken up.)

So without further ado….

The Audrey Cross Over Dress by peek-a-boo patterns.

I have not made much besides quilts and little projects.

So as a first time child garment maker,

And a first time peek-a-boo pattern user,

I would label this pattern easy for beginners.

(I sure hope her other ADORABLE patterns are this easy to make).

So in an attempt to review this pattern and MY process, here we go:

The DIFFERENT

I only changed one thing, ok two.

(I absolutely hate that phrase when other bloggers say it!!!!)

For the side seams on the skirt, I made French seams.

Not sure what those are?
I discovered them here.

Since I do not own a surger, it popped in my head that this would be a good way to have a finished seam.

I am SO Happy I did it this way.
EVERYTHING should have French seams.

Oh, also, I don’t have a bow yet.

But for such a little girl, I think it would be overpowering.

Plus she would put it in her mouth and eat it all day long.
See.... she eats everything.

The BAD

When I went shopping for supplies, I did not know my way around bias tape.

The pattern CLEARLY labels what I needed.

I just can’t read when I am so excited to make something.
So the wrong purchase made for a second trip to the store.

I hate unfinished seams.

I have no idea how to get around that on the bodice/ skirt seam.

I did zig-zag stitch it, but I am not happy with it.
I think my inherited Bernina comes with something to fix this.
I will have to investigate.

(Any other suggestions?)

Update: Does anyone use ther Bernina Cut n Sew foot?

I have it, will it solve this issue?

I have no idea how to sew a snap in.

I happened to have these snaps on hand.

This is how it looks now.

I am going to look up a tutorial and redo the snap on the outside.

I wish there were directions for this.

But my guess is I can find them on the internet.

The GOOD

I made the 6 month size for my almost 5 month old.

She is tall and skinny.

She still fits in most 0-3 month clothes (onesies, shorts, skirts).

But with pants and pajamas where length matters, she’s too tall.

(Since its summer, we call her small pants capris.)

3-6 month clothes fit her, but they are baggy on her.

So, that all said, this dress fit her great for length.

And a bit baggy overall, as I expected.

So, in my opinion, this pattern is very true to size.

I realize I could have made the smaller one with her chest measurements, and made it longer.

But A) I didn’t know how long it would take me to make,

And B) I like that she will grow into it (for her 6 month pictures???)


Let me know what you think?
-luv-


Any tips or hints for my next one?

KristyLou

LINKING UP TO:

It's been a while...

...and it may be a little longer while I soak up the summer with my new family!

Until then you can follow me on InstaGram if you want to.

I am kristylout.

-luv-

Kristy Lou

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