Loving :: This Dress

I am loving this book…..

I've been waiting all summer for it. Last Friday it finally showed up and I LOVE IT! The patterns are both practical and funky. I love the vintage inspired style and the photography is fabulous!

I really, really wanted to make something from the book……… but with two Halloween costumes to finish up I tucked it aside…….. waiting to make something from it…….

Until Miss Seven announced that she would need a red gingham dress to be Little Red Riding Hood…….

I pulled out Carefree Clothes for Girls and found the perfect little dress pattern inside. Now, red gingham isn't necessarily my favorite…… but my Little Red was quite insistent on being completely red.

"And with a ruffle mom!"

Well then, red and ruffled you got……..

The pattern in the book was easy to follow and came out really, really nice. The pattern is true to size in my opinion and the size 7 fit my Miss Seven very nicely. She's been wearing it every chance she could get since its creation! I will certainly be making more of these!!

And with an apron and a mama made velvet cape….. she certainly makes a pretty Little Red Riding Hood!!

Make that a silly little Red Riding Hood!

I'll see you all this weekend to share a photo or two of Halloween Kiddos.

Have a spook-tacular Halloween! (sorry, I couldn't help myself)

busy busy……

I've got family visiting for the next week, so I won't be posting as regularly.

I'm just hopping on here real quick this morning to give you a sneak peak of the Max Costume……

A photo shoot will follow soon!!

Happy Monday Folks!

WIP – Max & “The” Sweater

So here we are again at Wednesday all ready………

I would like to start by saying I am trying my darndest to join the sweater club. I want to knit more than just a hat or booties. I want to knit a sweater. And so with 4 skeins of yarn and a pattern in hand I have begun. Cast on 133 – join – and knit in the round for 9 inches. I've been knitting in the car….. while the kids take their baths….. in the morning before anyone is awake….. and the sweater has grown to just under 6 inches….. it's coming along slowly but surely and I'm liking the variation in this yarn……. so long as I keep on keepin' on this should be done in plenty of time to be under the tree at Christmas.

And then there's Max. Yes I know the movie Where the Wild Things Are is out in theater, but we are not planning on seeing it. Why you ask?? Because this was my f-a-v-o-r-i-t-e book as a child. One of the very first books I bought my own kids as soon as they were past the "eating board books" stage. A book that has now survived 4 children, a puppy, 5 cross country moves and lived in 4 different states. Seeing the movie would ruin that love affair for me. And since I am smitten with my littlest's sudden interest in this book, I dare say I may ban the movie completely! I remember reading this story night after night after night years ago to the eldest when he was the same age. (insert teary eyes here) Mr Three is certainly King of the Wild Things around here…… and Max is his hero these days…. so I am going to come up with my own version of a "Wolf Suit" for my own little mischief maker……..

"Max" pattern cut out…….

And there's talk amongst the bigger wild things of a little red riding hood and a granny to go with her….. so I'd better get sewing while Wild Thing Mr Three is napping…..

Swamp Thing(s)

The *finally* cooler weather seems to have the swamp dwelling critters on the move…. we've been seeing more and more frogs and turtles. We've seen at least three types of frogs in our backyard. I love hearing them croak out there. My favorite guy, and easiest to photograph, was the one that hung out on the window of our french doors.

Joe has been finding turtles in the road lately…. he bikes to work so he sees a lot of cool stuff….. so rather then let them get squished, he brings them home for the kids to see (we're only two blocks from where he's found them) and then we return them to the swamp…

The Box Turtle Mud Turtle came first. About the size of an orange….. he was shy and wanted nothing to do with anyone. His body is a big round shape……

Then came this guy who we initially thought was a painted turtle, until we saw the design on his belly. A little google search revealed to us that he is in fact a Red Eared Slider. Not one we had ever seen up north! His ridged back is so prehistoric looking. Fiesty itsy bitsy guy he crawled all over everything! What fun he was….

Their Gallery

For the last few weeks my kids have cracked jokes at the empty frames I'd hung up on the wall. They still contained the "fake people" in them from being purchased….. their jokes went something like this…..

"Who are these people in our house?"

"I've got amnesia, I don't even know my own family!"

"This is our little brother who was sadly eaten by a Louisiana alligator." while pretending to cry…..

And they went on….. and on…… and on…….

Yes my loves you are very funny.

But your joking days have come to end because the mama finally got her act together and put those frames to their intended use.

Art.

The look on Mr Three's face when I presented him with his framed water color picture from yesterday was just priceless.

"I won" he told us as he hugged it. I am assuming that means he liked it!

These were inexpensive frames purchased from a craft store and I haphazardly arranged them in a square on the wall in our large entryway. It's a place where everyone can see it. The kids will be switching art out of them whenever they have a finished masterpiece they want to add to their gallery.

And while I miss all the bad lovely jokes from the oldest two about the random faces on the wall…… I will enjoy walking past this space and admiring my kids creations. There's just something very serious and professional about having your art framed. They love it!

(You'll have to excuse the early morning mixed with thunderstormy day lighting in these photos!)

Enjoy Your weekend!!

this….

The sound of their footsteps in the hall each morning as they awake……

After putting in the bamboo floors…. I can easily tell which of my four is coming down the hall by their footsteps. The littlest one, Mr Three will almost run to the corner and then stop to peak around and see who is up all ready. He waits until someone makes eye contact with him and then he runs into your arms. Most days he has a HUGE grin on his face and greets me with a "Good Mornin' Mama!" or my favorite "I love you really much!" Some days he needs extra time to sit on my lap before he starts his day… head buried in my chest….. a little grumbly bear……

I want to remember this……..

PS – I just found out about a LOVELY give away – ending today…… head over to Garden Mama to see…..

WIP Wednesday

This last week has been a whirlwind of knitting and sewing. I have been doing one of these in every bit of free time I have……. sometimes the creativity makes me crazy! Must keep sewing…….

It started with knitting up this hat for a friend…. Mr Three was kind enough to model it here….. (please excuse the peeled off wallpaper look behind him!)

Then my other friends welcomed their sweet baby girl to the world last Thursday and I have since been sewing and knitting and sewing!! They didn't know if baby was a girl or boy until her arrival….. so much fun! So I've been getting a little pile of goodies to send out…… finished up the last item today. The hat started it all….. (VERY loosely based on this pattern…… little gnome)

Knit in "Poppies" by Mosaic Moon (LOVE this yarn!!)

And with such a cute hat, doesn't a girl need an outfit to go with it?

And for those cold Wisconsin winters, a cute snuggly blanket would also be nice!!

The quilt is based on my original design but with flannel on one side to make it extra cozy!

It was like the book "If you give a mouse a Cookie"…… one idea kept inspiring the next!

And for my true WIP (work-in-progress), I started a sweater today based on the pattern in Last Minute Knitted Gifts, one of my favorite books….. I'll share the progress on this next Wednesday because after sharing the above photos, my itsy bitsy beginning of the sweater is rather boring! And besides, I have a feeling this sweater will be a "WIP" for awhile…….

A Day in New Orleans

My friend & I headed to New Orleans on Saturday for a mama's only day in the city. My friend is a born and raised Louisiana girl and so she knew all the fun places to go and things to see in New Orleans.

The French Quarter is amazing. The old architecture is beautiful. We drank coffee and ate beignets at Cafe Du Monde. YUM! Lots of fun places to see, eat and shop! Street performers on every corner keeps it all very interesting. You can tour the area in a horse pulled cart or in a street car. I walked down the famous Bourbon street, just so I could say I'd done it! Wow. That street is like a whole other world…… one which I am glad I experienced without any kids in tow. I'd have spent a lot of time covering their eyes!! It was fun though 🙂

I much preferred Magazine Street area. This is where the yarn shop is and clothing boutiques and antique store after antique store after antique store…….. heaven!! I came home with two little gems. Both things I had been looking for.

St Louis Cathedral

Volkswagen Art

wow

back window

yes, he's real!

deconstruction update!

So here is what I did……..

I quilted the whole piece and two handles freestyle. Sergered up the sides. Added a border to the top. Then, Voila! A funky bag was born. I used the one long/one short handle design so you can slip the long into the short to close up the bag. This bag will be headed to a Miss Seven's long time pal in Seattle. We overnighted in Seattle this summer and Miss Seven's pal LOVED her art bag. So once I get the pencil holder done this will be on it's way (complete with eco art supplies from Stubby Pencil!)…….

Can you find the name? I wonder if the bag's recipient will 🙂

This was my first time destructing a previous project to make something new. The hardest part was being brave enough to cut up that quilt! Now my girls are looking at the remaining three quarters of that quilt and hinting at the need for another bag in their life…….. holiday ideas are all ready forming in my head 🙂

And this is what the kids did while I sewed…… sorted vintage buttons. Who knew it would be so fun (and time consuming). They did this for nearly an hour…… and all their own idea.

Happy Weekend to you all 🙂

A princess for a Day

Yesterday was certainly a day full of fun and celebrating and smiles. Lots and lots of smiles on the face of my sweet girl.

We waited for Daddy to come home from lunch so we could have homemade ice cream cake and open gifts. This way Miss Seven could spend the rest of her afternoon playing instead of w-a-i-t-i-n-g…… we aren't the best of waiters around here :) (homemade mud pie a.k.a ice cream cake is officially my new favorite ~ YUM)

waiting for Daddy

her crown

serious wising(there are seven there… one is hiding behind the other)

ice cream cake

Then for the evening, upon her request…. (or should I say pleading and begging) we headed to the Japanese restaurant for her favorite. Sushi. Seaweed Salad. Dumplings. So very delicious and the mama didn't have to cook. It was a win – win! The waitress brought her fresh pineapple with whipped cream and a candle and they sang her a birthday song in Japanese. The look on her face was priceless.

The mama made crown stayed on her little head all day long. Out to dinner. And even to bed.

Then it was time for home, and bed, and a recap of her "best day ever". Kiss on the head and tucked in with that favorite new baby doll from Grammy and Papa.

A good, good day.

P.S. Happy Happy birthday to my Grandma today 🙂 Love you!