Happy New Year

I don't know about you but I'm actually looking forward to getting back to normal- as in non-holiday normal- and getting back on a regular schedule. The holidays were great, but I'm ready to get on with normal life.

Having said that, there was sewing during the holidays. I wanted to get a couple of things made for the Princess (she's in desperate need of some dresses) and the first one was this one, Simplicity 3515 from the Hannah Montana Collection:

This pattern is available in sizes 8 through 16.5 and I made a size 8. I was worried that it might be a bit too big, but I really don't think she could wear it any smaller. My baby has grown.

What drew me to this pattern was the jacket with its cute military vibe. I have some stash fabric pulled to make it, but I haven't gotten to it yet.

The dress is really cute, though. The plan is for her to wear it now with tights and a turtleneck underneath (and the jacket when it's done) and then with a short sleeved tee in the spring, and finally, without a shirt in the heat of summer.

I used a 100% cotton Hello Kitty print with a black and white dot print for contrast. I made the straight size 8with no adjustments. The pattern went together pretty easily. The front "sash" piece was kind of fiddly, but not too bad.

The next finished project was McCalls 5694:

I basically made view B (the brown one in the photo)without the bow. Cute as it is, a 7 year old doesn't need a big 'ole bow flapping around in front of her all day. I can just imagine it dragging through her lunch tray at school or in the sink every time she washes her hands.

I wanted this pattern the second I saw it. I love the plaid version with the contrast bands and if I could find a similar fabric, I'd make it just like the pattern picture. I can't recommend this pattern enough. I love the cute, casual style, the sillhouette, the ease with which it goes together, and the fact that it takes so little fabric (just 1 5/8yd).

I made the smallest size in the envelope, a 7. It fits just fine, in fact I think it's pretty consistant with RTW. DH was concerned that the top band looked a little bit loose on the Princess, but there is no zipper or buttons. The dress has to be a little loose to fit over the child's head.

I used this cute cute dotted corduroy fabric that came from Hancock Fabrics. Once again, this one will be worn with tights/leggings and a turtleneck underneath. I like this one so much that I've already cut a second one out of black corduroy with red and green apples. This time I'll be making red contrast bands. Stay tuned for pics!

I also made a quilt top during the holidays:

My Best Bud, Angie, and I are diving back into quilting and we've started with this pattern. I found it at Crazy Mom Quilts and you can find her directions and a link to her inspiration here. Now, Angie claims that I am ahead of her on this project because I have my blocks sewn together. But actually, I'd have to say that she is ahead of me because she's already quilted an absolutely adorable table runner and so once she gets her blocks sewn together she's going to be able to get it quilted and finished, while mine will probably still be folded up and draped across the back of a chair in my bedroom. (Yeah, umm... I still need to learn how to machine quilt.)

Anyway. I'm going to call my quilt Waiting for Summer. I thought about calling it Waiting for Spring, but the colors are really too bold for Spring. This says summer to me. All of the colored fabrics are fat quarters from Hancocks, with the exception of the aqua swirl which is from my stash. The sashing is a white on white print. I haven't decided yet what to do for the backing. I don't think I have anything in my stash that coordinates and is big enough for a solid backing, so I will probably have to buy something. I will probably use the aqua swirl for the binding since I have plenty of it.