Good Ole Days

I looked thru some old pics last night and picked some to share. I will show more in the next few weeks. OK, this was not a good ole day, but it makes me so grateful for my lil boy! These are his NICU days. He was 1 month early (all 3 were) but he weighed in at a honking 7 lbs 12 oz! The nurses said "he's a newborn in his heart" about my big ole preemie. We finally got to hold him and I could not resist playing with all that hair! My lil rock star! This is what my lil hog looked like at the end of every marathon nursing session! This is Miss Molly on Christmas morning with her new power wheels. She is so cool! My boy following in Dad's proud footsteps. I have a few more sleepless nights ahead of me!

Maddies Apron Dress

My lil milkmaid. How sweet is this? My little Madeline is wearing my newest creation. I made the same dress for Molly (in the last post). I decided at the last minute to add a little apron, and I am lovin it! This might be one of my favorites. Maybe.

Broken Teeth

See the big space between his front teeth......well.....THAT WAS NOT THERE 5 MINUITES AGO!!! He broke it on a cup. YES, a cup! Well off to the dentist! This boy has been a little accident prone this week. Hopefully this will be it for the rest of the week! This first pic is his "daddy mad face", and with the black eye, it's pretty hysterical.

OK, off subject. I made this dress for Molly last night. It's a "rub off" of her favorite night gown . She loves it! I will probably make Maddie one tonight. I know.......it's matchy.......shu-up! hehe.

Kim, if Grace needs one of these just let me know. My house is dirty.

Just in case you all are wondering, Kim is one of my best friends. She is a wonderful cook and housekeeper. And when I say wonderful I mean she enjoys it! She loves it! She is amazing at it. So, we have this little agreement. I sew and she cooks and helps me stay organized. Sometimes I think this deal is a little one sided. I mean I love to sew it is not really work, but she says she loves the arrangement. So we are a happy pair!

Am I on a roll this week or what! I have posted almost every day. My car has not left the driveway. Maddie has been sick with a summer cold and now I am coming down with it too. Ben has been either out of town or at the fire station for two weeks. I posted today so he could see Tim's teeth. I do realize that is weird.... Hey what can I say, I'm a firefighters wife! haha.

My Lil Tough Guy And His First Shiner

Now if this ain't tough, I don't know what is! How funny is this? That big black eye (that looks much worse in person), sucking his thumb, curled up in mama's bed asleep. Now if you ask him what happened he will tell you" somebody shoot me", and I have tried to tell him that this story does not add up! I tell him, say sissy punched you (that's what he calls Molly), but to him this does not add up! So the real story is......when my firefighter is at the station my kids sleep with me. I put them to bed and went to turn the light off. I was headed back to the bed when I heard Timothy start screaming! I ran back to the light switch and found out Molly had accidentally elbowed him right in the eye. I think it is so cute my lil man with a shiner. Am I weird? This is today day four, it looked pretty bad today. This was the morning after it happened, you could barely tell it was just a little blue. He's so cute!

Just had to add this one in. They said they were going to the "candy store". hehe!

My Kinda-Sorta Instructions/Tutorial to Madeline's Elastic Dress

I have definitely realized that I am with sewing, how my mom is with cooking. There is no exact, just a dash here and there, a little of this and a little of that! When you design these things in your head they are all images, it is hard to put in words sometimes. Here is my best shot, hope it's helpful. If you have any questions just ask. I know this is a stupid pic..... Shu-up. Ok, I stretched this dress over the chair to show you that 1. this dress is just like a mini pillowcase (a tube sewn up one side) and 2. that there is a little groove cut out on each side for an armhole.

Let's start with measurements, Madeline is 21 mo and she wears this like a short dress with bloomers (think Shirley Temple). Her measurements are 14' long x 36" wide.

You would just measure how long you want it, and add a little for hem allowance on bottom. Measure the child around for the width and double that. Sew up the side. So you start with your tube of fabric. You can add a band of coordinating fabric at the bottom like I did. With the seam on the left side iron flat.

Using this armhole guide cut out the groove for arms. This is just an example, I always just wing it. It's about 2" across and 2" down, this will work for most sizes.

Fold twice (1/4"-1/2") and hem bottom of dress, I just top stitched.

With coordinating fabric sew a casing for the elastic between the armholes at top.

Madeline's elastic was 6" long.

You will need to measure the child from underarm to underarm to get this measurement.

Run elastic in casing and when you get it about half way sew the elastic down at opening, then run it all the way and sew down the other side. Do this on front and back.

Finish the armholes with about 36" of bias binding on each side.

If you have any questions about this PLEASE just ask.

OK! So, we're matchy! Is that a sin?

I could not resist! Maddie just had to have one too! So here it is, and if Maddie were here she would have been able to model it for you. Sorry. The kids are camping with Nana and Papa tonight, Ben is out of town, and mama is goin to PARTY! Just kiddin, you will find me pouting... at home... alone. Aaaahhhhhh........

Kim, I hope you 're happy!

This is Grace's new slip dress, all I have left is buttonholes and embroidery. Yay! Waltons here we come! I will have to hem it tomorrow on your machine, after I measure Grace. Oh and yes that is entredeux between the bodice and skirt. Your welcome hunny. See you tomorrow, you better fix me something good to eat! Love ya girl.

Edit: OK embroidery is done! Hope you like it.

My Sis His Bro

This has all happened so quick that I have not even "blogged" about it. My lil sis (22) is having her first baby (she is married to my husbands lil brother) and she went for her mid pregnancy sonogram. She had NO intentions of finding out what the sex of the baby was. Then THERE WERE TWO!!! OK so this was a big deal! Her husband immediately said "tell us what they are"! TWO LIL IDENTICAL GIRLS!!! So needless to say we are all shocked! They totally missed the fact that there were TWO KIDS in the first two sonograms. So WOW there you go. I have alot of sewing to do! They are due in November but are not expected to go past 32-34 wks. She has the rarest form of twins, they share the same sac and there is no membrane separating them. There is a high risk of the babies becoming entangled, but we are praying for the best and so far we have no reason to doubt that she will do just fine! Did I mention the fact that I am planning a baby tea for 110 people in 3 wks. Yeah. So Im gunna be a little busy. She goes in for observation in three wks, and will stay till the babies are born. She is gunna take her sewing machine with her and catch up on some sewing (burp cloths, blankets,ect..) I am working on the dresses and booties. Rae and Jake

My babies are gettin big!

We went to the beach a couple of weeks ago and here are some of our pics.

Playin Catch Up

OK. So here is what I have done in the last three days. Molly's best friend Emily had a birthday so I made them matching outfits. This is Molly's. I am never able to get Molly to smile right in pics, especially when the sun is in her eyes!

Molly had to go to the dentist yesterday and keeping with tradition I made her a new outfit. She told me on the way to the dentist that she woke up with a loose tooth. WHAT! A loose tooth! Yes I am still in shock, my baby has her first loose tooth. This is such a big deal to me, it just seems like only big kids loose teeth and she is still my baby!

Baby Gift

This is what I made for a Baby Tea I went to Sunday. Heirloom white and cream dress with matching Crochet booties and pintucked blanket with crochet edging. mmmmm........... I am gunna crochet another pair of booties in a bigger size for her.

I decided to add a pic of the hem detail. I could not leave out the feather stitching and hemstitching!

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This is another outfit for Abby. Miss Molly was more than happy to model.

Little Abby Caroline

I made this for my little friend Abby Caroline, she is about to start kindergarten. Hope you like this Abby! Your other outfits will be done soon.

Maddies new ballet slippers

I love these! I know she is a little old for booties but I could not resist.

New Stuff

These are my new crochet patterns for sale, on etsy.