You're Such a Hoot!

When I purchased this Michael Miller fabric, I honestly had no idea what I was going to do with it. I just knew I had to have it! After making the first skirt for Mckenna (see post below for that), I wanted to try a fuller skirt and knew the bold colors of this fabric would be perfect!

As the skirt was coming together, I felt it needed a little extra something. One of the fabrics in this collection has owls all over it (which you can see in the closeup shot of the owl applique), and so it became obvious that I should applique a large owl to the front of the skirt. The owl template is from Sew Simple magazine, volume 11. It is supposed to be enlarged to make a softie but it was the perfect size for Mckenna's skirt. The little triangle on the top of the owl's head is not from this collection.

The skirt was fairly easy to make. The applique was more involved, but I am pleased with how it turned out. I'm getting better at using my machine's applique stitch!

Something for Aidan

Aidan asked me the other day why I did not have anything made for him on my blog recently (I reminded him that his Clone Trooper Helmet cake was my first post!). Admittedly, I have not made a lot for him, but I remembered I took pictures (closeup picture is a little blurry, sorry) of something that I did make for him for this school year.

Second and Third graders have to have what is called a "carry all" as part of their school supplies. It holds crayons, glue, etc... Aidan picked out this cute "rocket in space" fabric for his carry all. I felt it needed something extra and asked him if he would like a larger version of the rocket that is in the print appliqued on it. He said he thought that would be cool! I've always intended on perfecting the blanket stitch by hand, but found this applique stitch on my lovely Janome sewing machine and knew I had to give it a go! Let than five minutes later, this rocket was finished! Yay! I would have loved to hand stitch some of the smoke swirls coming out the bottom, but time was running out and Aidan was very pleased with just the rocket.

These bags are fun and easy ( I have made some for other kids in school and also for the stand at the picnic) and "fun and easy" are three of my favorite words when choosing a project!

Skirt with Matching Headband for Mckenna

I call it a "twirly" skirt, but my mom called it a "4-H" skirt. That should let you know how easy it is to make. It took only a half yard of fabric with enough left over for the headband. This was SO much fun to make for Mckenna, and the fact that Mckenna would wear skirts and dresses over anything else makes this project a sure winner with her!

This fabric was supposed to go towards a zippered pencil case for her to use for school, but I still have not tackled the whole zipper thing yet, so I placated her with a skirt instead. I like the accent fabric on the bottom but I would do the seam underneath slightly different next time. I think I may have to serge the seam that connects the two fabrics together.

Mckenna and I have two other fabrics pinned and ready to go for more skirts. I want to find some cool corduroy fabric for Fall and Winter. I am also going to try different lengths and variations in fullness. This skirt design is really easy to play around with.

If you have a little girl or young lady in your life that would like a skirt like this, let me know. I will be happy to make more! If you would like to try this yourself, email me and I can go into more detail on how to make it.