Dedication Jumpsuit

When Carter was dedicated, he was only about a month old. Needless to say, Miles cannot fit into the same dedication outfit we used for Carter. That's ok because I wanted to try my hand at making the new Creations by Michie "Baby Jumpsuit" pattern - perfect for a boy's dedication outfit. I picked out the free Creations by Michie "Cross" smocking pattern to go with it. I even got to use my new pleater to pleat the material (I used white imperial batiste)! I loved the way it turned out - just beautiful (yes, I'm allowed to say that :)

I think this little guy is pretty excited about his big day next weekend!

Close-up of Smock

UPDATE: I am writing this a few weeks later, but I wanted to document that we were featured on the Creations By Michie Blog. Such a sweet post! 

Crab Happy

I guess I'm nesting through sewing because this week I completed another set of outfits for my boys. I'm on the downhill side of sewing though, because I seriously need to concentrate on getting rooms ready for both my boys - just 9 weeks left!

I think these are my favorites outfits, but it's a close call! I can't wait to take my boys to the beach and get their sweet picture in these outfits (maybe we can go in late August/September)!

The crabs are my variation of Little Memories's "Crab Happy" and Cross Eyed Cricket's "Blue Crabs" patterns. The fabric is called "Sis Boom - Maritza Aqua," and it came from the Sew Beautiful Marketplace. I WISH I could buy all my fabric there, It is BEAUTIFUL but fairly pricey fabric. Living Social had a $60 for $25 deal back in February, and this is one of the many things I was able to get! 

A Jon Jon for Big Brother

A Bubble for Lil' Brother

PRECIOUS!

NOTE: I am not smocking and making these outfits all in one week....I smocked all this stuff this winter, and now I'm just putting the outfits together which takes MUCH less time. I've gotten to where I can compelte a jonjon in about 2.5 hours....the bubbles take me a little longer - maybe 3.5 - mainly because I haven't made that many of them. So I can make a whole outfit (or close to it) in one good naptime. 

Sometimes Carter plays upstairs while I finish up certain things - like when he wakes up and I've only got button holes to go. This is what I find my little stinker doing a lot of the time...he loves his daddy's "shoos!"

I think they fit! What about you?

Smocked T-Shirt

This past weekend, we drove down to Jacksonville, FL to visit Kevin's brother's family. Carter had a blast playing with his cousins, and we adults had a great time visiting, but that's for another post. I decided to take a couple of smocking projects with me because we were going to be in the car for 20+ hours (and I do not get car-sick). Needless to say, we WERE in the car for that long, and I got both of the projects finished :-)

The rattles are going to be a bubble for Mr. Baby, and the sailboats were for C-man. 

I have been wanting to try to make a smocked t-shirt for a while now. The smocking is smaller, and construction is less intensive than assembly of an entire outfit... With boys, I figure it's just another good skill to have :-) I found THIS TUTORIAL online which seemed extremely do-able and easy to follow, and it was. I had gotten a blue t-shirt at a consignment sale recently for $1, so here's what I did...

I gathered my supplies...

...attached stabilizer to the inside of the t-shirt...
(I use Sulky Sticky Stabilizer...it sticks right onto the material - no ironing - so easy!)

...made/attached piping around the edges of the smock & cut a piece of backing material...

...serged the backing fabric to the smock...

(this was not a part of the tutorial - I added this part because I wanted it to have a lining...)

...cut a piece of parchment paper the size of the smock+piping...

...measured my center and found my placement (my insert was 2.5"x 5.5")...

(I centered the rectangle horizontally, and I placed the bottom of the rectangle on the vertical center.)

...cut the X out of the middle...

DO NOT CUT AROUND THE EDGES OF THE RECTANGLE!!!

...folded and pressed the triangles inward to make a frame...

...topstitched very close to the edge all the way around the insert...

...then I serged the flaps of the triangle to the already serged edges of the smock...

(this was another one of my additions to the tutorial & it's not perfect looking, but I think it makes it more durable..)

....stood back and admired my 1st smocked t-shirt!!!

It's going to look so nice with these shorts which I also got at the consignment sale!

I may have to do more of these - not bad for a $1 T-shirt - 2 complete outfits for less than $10!!!

Old McDonald Had a Farm...

I have been smocking this outfit for no less than 9 months, and it took me 3 hours this afternoon to put it all together - ha! That's just sad, but true!!! For some reason, I COULD NOT FINISH the smocking on this project. I started it, then shortly afterward, I found out that I was pregnant.... It was supposed to be in a brown corduroy longall for the Fall, but I'm SOOOOO glad that didn't work out because I think this pattern is just perfect for a Springtime Seersucker Shortall. I wonder if I can get Carter to sing the song while wearing it?!?! That would be so fun!

I even felt spunky enough to add a belt to the back to break up the big 3T boringness :-)

Fearfully & Wonderfully Made

We've been loving the Spring weather lately! Does this face do it justice?

Here's hoping that Spring is really here, and Winter doesn't come rearing it's ugly head again. I know I'm ready for Spring to be here to stay. It's definitely my favorite season. Everything just seems to come back to life, and I love seeing it each year - it never gets old! Speaking of coming back to life, we are gearing up for Easter weekend around here. Easter is the most joyful holiday to me! I mean - JESUS IS ALIVE!!! It just doesn't get any better than that (no offense, Christmas...)! When I was growing up, we always got some new duds around Easter, and the most special of those dresses that I can remember are the ones that my Mama made. I was just so proud to wear something she had made :-) See (far left - that's me)?

Now, I am fully aware that Carter could care less if I make his clothes - good gracious, Carter could care less if he even has clothes :-) HOWEVER, I love making clothes for him - especially his Easter clothes! I made his very first Easter outfit last year - you can see it as well as how little he was last Easter in THIS POST.  Well, a lot has happened since then, and my sewing has both improved and expanded. This year I decided to make him a smocked romper using THIS PATTERN.  I smocked 3 crosses to remind us of Calvary during this sacred season that gets so covered up in the eggs, bunnies, and candy. I got to work on some skills that I had never done before: plackets, collars, sleeves, buttons down the back, belts, using my (surprise Christmas present) serger, etc... I had SO MUCH FUN making this precious little outfit!  Here are some snippets of the process. My camera died halfway into the project, and I was so wrapped up in sewing I didn't replace the battery until I was completely finished :-)

As I sew, I think. I love that time. I think about all kinds of things. I plan, I measure, I create, I think about our family/our future/the baby/our home/etc.... However, I when I was making this outfit, I could not help but dwell on how much God must love us - his prize creation!

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, 
I know that full well. Psalm 139:14

I was making this outfit thinking of how happy it makes me to create something so special, and my mind could not stop going back to HOW MUCH MORE precious we are to God than this silly little outfit is to me. He created us - in his image no less! From scratch :-) I have a pattern of course, because my mind is INFINITELY less creative than God's (stating the obvious? - I think so...). Then after he created us, he sent his son to die for us, and raised him from the dead to save us - on Easter :-) So there you go. Sewing is just my little tiny way of using the brain that God gave me to in-turn create something beautiful. The finished product?

The very next day I used extra fabric to make a certain someone else a special little matching outfit for when he gets here! This is the first outfit I've gotten to make for him, and my first project smaller than 18 mos in size. So, so, so fun!!!

This was a new pattern as well, which you will find HERE. I got to try my hand at several new skills for this outfit too!! I did heirloom embroidery, pleating, and elastic leg casings!

Close-up of my First (far from perfect) Attempt at Heirloom Embroidery :-)

I cannot explain how fun it was to make my boys matching outfits :-) Disclaimer: I do not expect this baby to be here by Easter, but they will be wearing these outfits throughout Spring/Summer :-)

BROTHERS :-) I can't wait! 

PS Can I just say that the Creations by Michie' patterns that I use are so easy to follow!?!?! I have used 3 of her patterns now, and every single one of them has been super easy to follow, and the finished product looks like it's supposed to and fits my child! Worth every penny!!!