Kaylee's crayon activity tote

The tote is a little big but it can hold color books and 

color wonder lap desks too as pictured here.

Crayon tote

I made the handle extra long because Kaylee likes to wear her bags/purses cross-body style which is very popular today in high fashion.  Models are wearing purses that way and Kaylee seems to have picked up on that because she wears her silver sequined heart shaped purse that way. 

I lined the inside and rolled the hem with the variegated rainbow thread so that it would match the outside.  

I haven't made any crayon totes in awhile so I decided to make Kaylee her very own crayon tote.  I used rainbow striped fabric, rainbow variegated thread with yellow and red fabric on my serger.  

I started out making the stretchy crayon pockets to hold the crayons or pencils as pictured here.   I made the pockets big enough to hold the toddler coloring pencils or markers so that we could leave it in the car and not have it melt all over the upholstery. The reason I made the

pockets stretchy is so that Kaylee could easily take the pencils in and out of the tote.  It also allowed me to learn how to use the new elastic foot on my serger.  I admit it took me several tries to use the elastic foot with elastic and a triple cover stitch but the end results were worth it.  It will take more practice for me to get used to that one. 

I also used a rolled hem with the rainbow variegated serger thread to make the edge match the rainbow fabric.  I was so excited about how it came together looking like it was all planned together.  

I made the bag stiff with a stiff machine washable lining so the tote would stand up, and not spill its contents all over the floor.  I learned some new techniques making this tote for my daughter.  She kept asking me if i would finish it soon all throughout the process.  I hope she likes the fun bright colors.

Learning how to serge beads onto fabric

I was playing with my serger tonight and tried a new technique.  I used the beading foot and sewed these little 4 mm beads onto a cover-up I made some time ago.  Who knew embellishing with a serger was so easy. 

Here is a close-up of the beads serged directly onto the fabric.  I am so excited about the beading foot.  I just couldn't wait to try it.  I know two little princesses who are going to want some fancy beads sewn on their dresses.

Wahoo swim team color flip flops

I made these Wahoo Swim team flip flops for Sophia.  I hope she likes them.  She has been wearing pink shoes/sandals with everything including her team swimsuit so I thought she might like some flip flops color coordinated to her team swimsuit. I plan to surprise her with these in the morning.

Mission impossible? Maybe not!

The challenge: Transform this pair of blue jeans into a pair my father could wear. My dad has a new leg brace which he would like to hide inside the pant leg.




Idea - add zipper to inside leg of jeans to allow for my dad's leg brace.



First, I ripped out the hem and inner leg seam approximately 17 inches to allow for ease of use from the seam because the leg brace is 15 inches tall. Then, I serged the edges of the seams of the blue jeans independently. Next, I inserted a zipper with a zipper foot on my sewing machine. Then I resewed the hem.




Ta Da! Mission accomplished!

Zipper opening in the inner leg seam that my dad can open to put on his leg brace. I hope this solution works for him.


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Sleeve bib

Front of bib showing crumb pocket.



Back view of sleeve bib

I love my darling little Kaylee but she is one messy eater. I am just short of putting her in a straight-jacket to eat meals most days. So this idea for a sleeve bib has been on my mind for awhile. I think I will tweak it a bit for the next one but I think the general idea is coming together.

I sewed it with the intent of being able to let Kaylee eat without destroying her clothes. I am hoping to cut down on laundry a bit. Even though I put bibs on her for every meal, she manages to get food outside the bib everytime. Yuck! Hopefully, this will help a bit.

I used some fabric I had leftover from some dresses I sewed for my girls.

Recycled part: I used a T-shirt collar that I cut out of an old white T-shirt for the ribbing of the neck since I didn't have any ribbing fabric so it would stretch and slide over Kaylee's head. I just serged it into the neckline.


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The ladybug and polka dot ensemble

Matching accessories for the ladybug pillowcase dress.





Every three year old needs some fancy bloomers since they don't understand that you just can't lift up your dress in public. Sometimes they want to run around splash in puddles, climb ladders, or swing on swings at the park and having your panties show just won't do.






And a floppy hat to match...





Oh, and of course it is reversible for those days when you feel like you need more polka dots.





"Sunbonnet Sue"  or maybe "Holly Hobbie"comes to mind in this photo, but I think with that fancy hat, she could give the fancy bonnets worn at the Kentucky Derby this past weekend a little challenge.

This has been a busy week for me. I taught myself to install a zipper in the fly of a pair of dress slacks because a best friend of mine needed help and well let's just say, I have a sewing machine or two so we figured it out.






Then, last night I had a couple hours to myself while my husband worked and decided to make bloomers or as my darling Sophia likes to call them pretty panties covers and a reversible hat to match the pillowcase dress.

I love using my serger to make these adorable floppy hats and my sweet girls love wearing them so that works out pretty well. Sewing these hats on my serger is a snap. I made this whole hat including cutting the fabric and ironing in the waterproof lining that gives it it's shape in a little over an hour.

Next on the list is making the mini me version for little Kaylee baby. If you ever wondered why I usually make the bigger version first, I can tell you why. There are two reasons. It is easier to size a pattern down that I make than to size up and the smaller version takes less fabric in most cases, unless I make a mistake and have to start over, so I can use the leftovers to make the smaller version.

If you know any little girls who need a super cute outfit like this, let me know.  If I can find the fabric again, I can make one for you.

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