Princess Heart Pillow

My daughter and I decided one day that we were going to turn her room into a "princess" room. I was surprised that she chose that theme, because she is not into princesses, but there it was. So we started to move things around and plan, and we ordered some pink sparkly sheets. After the sheets arrived, she decided she wanted to change the theme to stars and planets! I convinced her to stick with the plan since we'd already sunk a little moolah into it..... so she decided she'd turn her brother's room into a starts and planet room! (He disagreed) So back to princesses. I made this pillow tonight just as an accessory. It's made from some velvety soft pink fabric I had on hand already, and happens to have raised hearts on it. (Sometimes I think I buy fabric that is intended for something that I just don't know about at the time. The reason comes through sometime later on. =) I wanted to put some frilly, lacy ribbon around the edges, but didn't have enough in my stash to go all the way around. I used some for the top only. It's hard to see in the photo. But it just adds a little bit of sparkle. DD loves it, and so does DS. He actually fussed over it a lot more than she did. =D 

Boys Flower PJ Otto Top

That's a big title, I realize. Here's the story. About a year ago or so, I made myself a pj shirt. It's a long-sleeve knit jobby. The main part of the shirt is made from this knit:

Ever since I started to wear it, my 3-year-old son has been telling me he wants a shirt just like it. He loves this fabric. After about 10 times of hearing him ask me to make him something with it, I decided to do it. Yesterday we found a piece I had left over. Of course it is just a hair too small to work with. So I've appealed to the Sewing Mamas community to see if anyone has some. Otherwise, I'll have to get creative.

To make the project more interesting, I've decided to follow a pattern from an Ottobre magazine for the first time. These are extremely popular with the SMs. I have collected four of them, it's time to make something from one of them! I am going to make a top that looks similar to the one on the cover here.

This is one of three 2-sided pattern sheets that came with the magazine. Terrifying, ain't it? I managed to locate (ha!) and cut the three pattern pieces for the top. The instructions for cutting the binding are to just "measure what you'll need from the pattern pieces." Oh the ways I'll screw that up! lol

But for now, I await the fabric...

Worn Out Pants To Lovely Summer Shorts

 My daughter loves these velour pants, and wears them often. Being that they are velour, not the strongest fabric there is, they tend to wear at the knees after a while. (see below)

 See what I mean? I asked Dear Daughter if I could cut then all up and make something interesting with them. She said, "Nah, just turn them into shorts." Brilliant!

 I cut the legs off just above the worn-out areas, and did a quick lettuce edge on the bottoms. Voila, shorts for summer! AND..... she LIKES them!

=) Now, what goofy thing can I do with the legs?!

Sewing For Charity - ConKerr Cancer

The Sewing Mamas group is encouraging its members this month to sew for charity. Among other groups, there is a link for an organization called ConKerr Cancer. The goal of this group is to provide as many children as possible who are battling cancer with a fun and comforting pillowcase. Even with my limited sewing time I figured I could put some of these together. There are drop-off locations in many areas around the U.S. For those who don't sew, there are plenty of other ways to contribute to this cause: become a coordinator for your area and collect/distribute pillowcases. Donate money or fabric. Etc.

I made my first pillowcase yesterday. The instructions are on the website, and are very straightforward. I put the word out to Facebook friends that I would sew up any fabric that was sent to me, and quickly received notice that some was being sent my way. Very cool. I have contacted the organization and have requested a button/link to put on the blog to make it easy for folks to get from here to there. In the mean time, click the link above and check it out.

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