Hand Embroidered Letters

Hand Embroidered Letters, a set on Flickr.

Last summer I made these letter for Lil' Hoot's room.  I bought economy packs of art canvases then covered three of them in fabric.  For the other two I had Lil' Hoot help me.  The purple 'r' she painted after I painted it purple then I embroidered over the top of it.  The orange 'c' we painted the opposite way and I did a simple outline over the top of the letter.  Obviously the most difficult letter was 'a' but the blanket stitching on it was fun.  My favorite stitching is on the 'r' but the best letter was the 'G' - I love the two tones and the fabric beneath.  Best of all Lil' Hoot loves them.

However...I wasn't thinking when I hung them over her bed.  She is now tall enough that while jumping on her bed she can reach them.  After the second time she took them all down during nap time I had to put them away.  Maybe in another month (or more) I will get around to moving them to the other wall.

Individual Dirt Pudding Cups

We made this snack to as part of our unit on Gardening.  Conveniently planned so that Lil' Hoot could garden with Mama.  We planted seeds and dug in the dirt.  Yes, we "should" have scraped off the Oreos more and crumbled them up more but Lil' Hoot looooves the icing and doesn't like the texture of them when they're crumbled up more. 

 

She was able to help with every step of the process, though I decided to do the pudding so she wouldn't have to wait for it to set up.  Then she added the worms and Oreos.  
She had fun crunching up the Oreos.

 

Easter Mariposa Dress

My DH made me super nervous as he was clicking, not letting me pose or anything. So I just starting being silly. I am being courageous and sharing my silly with you...because I love the shoes. They were a gift and they didn't last long but I love them. :-)

For Easter I made the non-maternity version of Anna Maria Horner's Mariposa Dress. I used fabric from Jo-Ann's Lisette collection. It's so soft and wonderful. I love it. I made more than a few mistakes in my sleep-deprived state but all-in-all it worked out really well. I love the dress. It's wearable and it is great for nursing. What more can I ask for? Especially since it cost less than $20 to make!

Easter Dress

I can't believe I am this far ahead of things.  Normally I would be desperately stitching up a dress the night before Easter, only for her to wear it to church with the lining unsewn or still stitching on buttons until the minute before she needs to put it on.  Not this time!  The buttons are sewn, the sash is finished and I even added a couple of hooks to make sure it stays closed.  I feel so accomplished!

I used The Party Dress pattern and tutorial from The Cottage Home.  It's a wonderful pattern and tutorial.  The only thing I did different was to fully line the dress including the skirt because the cotton I chose was too sheer to leave the skirt unlined.  The only thing I plan to do differently in the future is make the button loops a tad smaller, but that is simply my personal preference.

 The fabric is from Jo-Ann's Lisette collection.  I am really enjoying this collection.  I ordered two prints for myself and this dress is made from the leftovers.  I wish I had found a coordinating solid fabric that was softer but I didn't have any luck so the sash is a bit stiffer than I would prefer it to be.

I asked her to show me her dress so she stuck her hip out to "show" it to me.

Now then, time to start on my own dress before school gets underway again.  Isn't this how all the cool kids spend their Spring Break?

Fabric Types Chart

While shopping for fabric today, I realized that I haven't much clue about fabric types.  I mean, I know the difference between a stretch fabric and a knit fabric, a cotton and a linen but I was looking at three different types of cotton.  And I was lost.  Sateen?  Poplin?  Lawn?  Huh?

I came home and went searching for a chart.  I didn't find one, so I am making one.  If you can help, please feel free!  I started with cottons.