Figgy's Strikes Again - the Zephyr Romper!

I do NOT know how I haven't made more of these!!!  I love this Zephyr Romper by Figgy's and wish I'd made Camden one for each of the past two years.  She has only ever had one of them, and I loved it to pieces!  

OMG!!!  May of 2013!!

Well....okay.  I DO know why I don't make them more often....it IS a bit fiddly, though not difficult, really.  And I have been putting it off in favor of quicker things to sew...especially since Tiberius arrived in our lives, aha!

The pattern is awesome, and it's another that is best to assembly line sew, in my opinion!  As with last time, I also made two dress versions, yet to be blogged (as in, I finished them last night, in the midst of having a cold, LOL).  I used a fun fabric I bought way back when I purchased the fabric for the first I'd made.

One of the fiddly bits is in making the braided straps, BUT....I made them simpler this time by NOT sewing tubes out of my knit fabric strips...I left them raw.  Smart move, I KNOW!!!  I also did NOT cut them on the bias, as I found the top dragged a bit last time I made this.  As for the button loops, I'm just plain silly and SHOULD have made tubes, but I thought I was a GENIUS and had another plan...that then involved me hand-sewing the tubes shut.....not good times, but whatever.

Also, not photographed is a defect:  I didn't realize until after I'd sewn the WHOLE OUTFIT that I didn't manage to get the end of one of the button loops caught under the original seam, so, it's dangerously exposed and could probably fall out at some point.  I could try to fix it - but maybe later, aha!  I do wish, though, I'd looked at pattern photos, as I wouldn't have moved the buttons so far over.  Another strike against me, as I did that on the dress versions last night, too.

The cuff pieces are a bit of work, but I used the knit on the outside, attached a knit interfacing, then lined the cuffs with shot cotton.  I also hand-stitched those into place after I knotted them.

Lastly, I totally took GENIUS to the next level by just not reading the pattern at all.  I attached the bodice to the shorts and completely forgot about that whole elastic casing bit....so, there was a bit of SERGED seam un-picking.....oops.

Overall, love it!!!  Just bummed about the button loop situation - and thinking it won't fit for long.  I sewed the size based on her chest measurement, but it's a bit snug getting on, so, I'm sure the same'll go with the dress versions I made.  Last time I made all of these, she got a LOT Of use out of them, so, I must have sewn based on age last time or something.  Such is life!

Days in the life.....

Best spot to read, really!

Tea Party Dress/Tea Party Birthday!

Let's not get too hasty...Camden sort of had a tea party-themed birthday, but not really.  I made teacup-shaped invites, and we made butterfly-shaped placemats (that blew all around in the wind that thrives in Bend, OR)...and I meant to make a butterfly-shaped birthday cake, but that totally didn't pan out (at least it's GOOD cake!)  Anyway, best-laid plans and all that aside, the kids had fun, and it was a gorgeous day!  I took not ONE single picture, and I'm now a bit sad in realizing that.  I was too busy trying to keep candles lit and things from blowing away, aha!

Back on topic, though!  I made Camden a fourth Tea Party Sundress by Oliver and S.  I last made one in 2014 and blogged about it here.  I always LOVE this dress.  The sad issue is that Camden has run her course with this pattern.  I officially made her the size 5 - AND lengthened it.  It's definitely still a bit short.  I added an inch to the hem and sewed the bodice length with a smaller seam allowance then did the same with the bodice/skirt seam, just to give it that much extra.  No worries, as it's still cute, but this pattern ends with size 5 - understandably.  It wouldn't be quite as fetching to see it on an older child.  The bodice DOES have a tendency to look wider, compared to the skirt.  There exists an optical illusion, just because of the piping, but also because of the flare.  It's just definitely a little girl dress, and one of these days, Camden won't BE a little girl!  :O

I used the same bodice fabric as I used for THIS dress, which worked out nicely, and I again used deep stash fabric.  It feels good when I'm able to use up some of the cuts I already have, rather than buying more, when I really can't afford to.  Camden really wanted some sort of blue, as in ELSA blue, but I had to keep insisting that sort of blue wouldn't quite work, aha!

The pattern is always delightful to sew, but insert a million disgruntled faces here:  I totally recognize that my flat piping looks WONKY, and I went against my better judgment and cut it the width the pattern calls for, though I'd been thinking of cutting it just a bit narrower.  Too bad, so sad for me, but that's a bit of a bummer, as it looks too wide and crazy.

This kid really wants his own photo shoot, it seems!

Simple, chain-store buttons, but I love how they work!

It worked out well, and everyoone at Camden's party loved it!  It's always nice when other people notice her me-created outfits.

Up next for me??  I have yet to blog about a new skirt I made Camden, and I have plans for a few more outfits, but.......NO sewing this week!  A friend and her family will be in town, so, I hope we get outside quite a bit!  I also just bound off a cowl, and I hope to sneak photos of that this week!

A bit of a weekend in review!

That tongue, aha!

Awww!  Helping at Windy Acres Dairy

Crazy sunshine days!

Poor, hungry babies!

Last Minute...And On Time!!! Disco Dress for Easter!!

So.  I don't know if y'all ever get a chance to craft with friends, but it is a NICE thing.  It'd been a long time since I'd been able to do such a thing with anyone, and I had just that chance the day before Easter.  Lisa, over at Irons in the Fire, suggested we have a sewing day at her place, and THANK goodness!  It is a bit easier (LOL) to sew without my children around.  Just a bit ;)

Now....we will NOT talk about how I forgot tracing paper and pattern directions - and decided NOT to bring the serger, when, in fact, it may have been a good idea.  Anyway, I did accomplish a bit - and in the end, with tracing paper in hand (thanks to Matt for dropping it off!), I was convinced by Lisa to  sew up the Disco Dress by Ainslee Fox for Camden - to match Elora on Easter!  I wasn't sure I had enough stash fabric at home, but prepare, I did.  And low and behold, when I arrived home, I searched frantically, turning down idea after idea as I came across various gorgeous stash fabrics.  Finally, though, I came across enough yardage from a past project (Apple Picking dress of January 2014) - yay!  The red is NOT a linen, I swear, but it's something I grabbed at Bolt sometime in the last year or two.  I was pleased I had that in my stash, as I like that the dress isn't solely quilting cotton.  The yoke fabric gives the dress a nice textured section.

Obviously, this was a quick project...which....whew!  I had traced it before I arrived home, and I essentially put in three hours Saturday night.  Sunday, before noon, I managed to sew the belt, the four buttons and hand-sew the lining of the bodice.  I have to say I'm pretty proud, aha!  I felt like I was being challenged.

The pattern itself is super easy.  The pattern designer, Jen, is pretty chatty in that she throws in humor/dialogue that isn't necessary to the pattern.  I normally don't care for that sort of thing, but she does it in a way that works, honestly.

It's a simple pattern, as you can tell, and I only had one real issue.  There is a better way of attaching the bodice to the "yoke" - in that a full bodice piece shouldn't be cut out, as you CUT AWAY what is underneath that yoke area...so, it's fabric waste, but I tried to get over it, LOL.  Otherwise, it's a lovely pattern with detailed instructions, etc.  I'm not sure why the belt is supposed to be so long, and you can't tell Camden's is, but I have it tucked away in the pictures.  I could cut it down at some point, but we'll see if I get around to it.  Also, there is a zipper option, but I happily had buttons on hand - for ONCE, right??!

The ONLY emergency was in thinking I didn't have to hit up the craft store for D-rings for the belt....Fatal mistake when you are trying to make a dress FOR Easter....the night before Easter....and stores are not open ON Easter.  Except Home Depot!  Matt did a great job finding what I needed.

We all had a delightful Easter dinner and playtime over at Lisa's house, and I have pictures to prove it, LOL.

Scampering off to find eggs!

Thanks to Lisa and Garth for taking care of eggs!

Taken with my phone....

Taken with Lisa's camera....OMG at that face on Tiberius!

Lastly....Camden wanted to show off some of her ballet moves, I believe....aha!

The ballerina hopeful??

Arabesque with an assist??

All Spice from Paisley Roots - Traveling With the Blog Tour!!!

So!  About this All Spice Blog Tour for Paisley Roots....What a fun dress!  

But what a hot mess I am about being a destination on this blog tour, aha!  I have NO action shots this blog post....because I made a dress in a size or so too small for Camden :O  And I find this incredibly devastating - in a first-world problems kind of way.  I made the size 4, as I thought that would work for Camden's chest size, as the finished measurement is 24 inches, and HER chest is 22 inches....or so I thought, LOL.

Camden's sad face at not getting to keep this dress!

I love how the dress turned out - and I completely ADORE the fabric....which is why I'm bummed it doesn't fit - but whatevs.  it's all my fault.  Camden's chest is 22.5 inches.  The next one I make - because YES, there WILL be a next one! - will hopefully use the same fabric (please, Joann Fabrics, do NOT run out during this holiday weekend!  I beseech you!  And if you are a close reader, you are noting that I did, indeed, buy fabric at Joann's!)  I do not have quite enough of the shot cotton I used to line the bodice, so, I will need more of that.

The dress, running AWAY to it's new owner!  (that....and the crazy wind!)

And speaking of wind....this is Camden's "it's windy!" face

The directions seemed super easy to follow, though I did change some things up.  I didn't extend the buttons into the skirt, and I ironed interfacing on the wrong side of the pintucks - to stabilize the fabric for the buttonholes themselves, but also to hold the pintucks still so there'd be no pulling when I added buttonholes.  Lastly, I never like exposed seems at the end of a sleeve, if I can help it, so, I sewed my sleeve side seams before I hemmed the cuffs.

This dress will be sent off across the country as a fun gift for somebody else's little girl, so, I can't wait to see action shots!  For now, please just enjoy the fun buttons and pretty fabric - and sad face of a girl who cannot wear this dress, aha!

Look at those pintucks!!!

There is a giveaway and a link-up, so, make sure to check out the links below!!!

But WAIT!  There is MORE!  Karly is doing a Black Friday sale - 25% off with the code "blackfriday2014" - remember that, y'all!  That's tomorrow!

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