Fox Farm by Melissa Mortenson of Polka Dot Chair for Riley Blake Designs

Ahhh, the simple signs of Spring are all around us.  The beautiful flowers are in bloom all thanks to the incredibly rainy few months we've had.  While rainy days are a bit dreary in appearance, the rewards are well worth it.

At least someone created cute Wellies to get us through it, right?!

I am so happy to share my creation from one of Riley Blake's newest fabric collections:  Fox Farm by Melissa Mortenson of Polka Dot Chair.  Inspired by the English countryside, it's full of Spring charm: flowers, dots, stripes, doggies, farmscapes (probably just made up that word...) and wellies!

I am in love with ALL of  these prints.  It was so hard to narrow it down to just a couple to sew something for one of my girls.  I knew the stripes were a must, especially because the wide-set stripes are not as common or easy to find. I selected the bright red stripes - - Fox Farm Stripes Red I also kept coming back to the Wellies print - - Fox Farm Wellies Navy.  I just thought it looked so cheerful.

I chose the Augusta Dress by Little Lizard King with the simple bodice and elastic back.   It's a quick sew, but the results are beautiful.  Plus, I had been itching to try the simple bodice.  (The sweetheart bodice is gorgeous too, but not quite right for this project.)

I had fun playing with the stripes a bit.   I started from the shoulder strap and angled the front panel slightly towards the center all the way down to the waist.

The back is so simple and dainty and perfect for warm weather.  I love how the stripes look paired with the Wellies fabric.

My daughter's eyes lit up when she saw her new dress.  She had so much fun strolling and twirling through a local garden.

Stopping to smell the flowers (sort of....they're fake. You can't actually pick the flowers in the garden... and allergies...LOL)  True to all of our previous Riley Blake Designs fabrics, they wash up well with no bleeding, have minimal shrinkage and are super soft.

Skipping through the tulip gardens to place a penny in the fountain.  This place is simply gorgeous and has been tucked away in plain sight in our downtown area.  I guess I need to get out exploring more.  My daughter and I had such a fun afternoon looking at all of the beautiful flowers.

Thank you Riley Blake Designs for this fun little fabric package!!!  It's so fun to see what fabrics can turn into.  I hope I've captured the essence of Fox Farm 💗

Although rain was in the forecast, it held off long enough for our photo shoot.  I was kind of looking forward to some puddle pictures to try to capture a reflection shot.  Unfortunately, I didn't have that opportunity, so I tried my hand at creating it.  What do you think?

Happiness is Handmade: Collection by Lori Whitlock for Riley Blake Designs

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As the temps are just starting to fall here in NC, I am already dreaming of warmer days.  I am putting my Christmas sewing on hold (ah, who am I kidding?!  I work best under pressure 😜)and prepping for SPRING!!  It's easy to be thinking of Spring with Lori Whitlock's new "Happiness is Handmade" line for Riley Blake Designs.  This line is the perfect balance of cheeriness, vintage and whimsy. 

I love the name of the collection.  For me, the happiness my girls exude when they are proudly wearing handmade is why I sew.  My youngest (and the one I chose to sew for this time around) told me something last year at age 5 that I will never forget.  She said "When I wear something you've sewn me, it's like you're giving me a big hug all day."  

Wow.  There isn't a better compliment in the world.  I think of it often as I forgo an hour or two of sleep here and there to sew up something new for my girls.  The excitement in their voices when they discover a new dress hanging on the back of their door as they wake up -- happiness is definitely handmade. It's my creativity twirling through life. 

I had such a hard time choosing which fabrics to select so I enlisted my daughter to help.  She really loved the little daisies on Happiness Floral Navy.  Next, I had her choose a pattern.  As we browsed the patterns in my pattern library, she chose the Charlie Dress by Violette Field Threads.  The cap sleeves and the little knot tie in front caught her eye.   I sewed the knot in  Happiness Dot Yellow for a pop of yellow.

Other than the little pop of yellow at the neckline (and the pockets.... shhhh), I kept it simple and sweet with just one print -- exactly how Miss 6 designed it.

Be sure to twirl on over to the rest of the stops on the Happiness is Handmade Blog Tour!

Jedi Craft Girl
Ameroonie Designs
Beri Bee Designs
Hem Me In

{BLOG TOUR} This & That by Jill Finley for Penny Rose Fabrics

Woo-hoo!!  It's FINALLY fall here in the Carolinas.  I am thrilled to join the blog tour for Jill Finley's newest fabric line for Penny Rose Fabrics, "This & That".  It is the perfect palette to kick off my fall sewing.  The main print in this collection is full of gorgeous blooms in vibrant reds, yellows, pinks and greens on either a red, black or white background.  The coordinating prints in the collection compliment each other perfectly.

I selected three prints: This Main White, This Graphic Yellow, and This Script Red and chose to sew my daughter a Roanoke Dress by Little Lizard King and then I added a "little bit of this"and a "little bit of that".  I think with a simple change of the shoes, my daughter can also carry this dress on into the spring.

The Roanoke Dress features a gorgeous split bodice design, but I saw this remnant of wide lace in my sewing stash and loved how it contrasted against the cheery yellow bodice.  

I omitted the pintucks in the skirt in favor of adding my new favorite pockets, the Emory Pockets (free in the Izzy & Ivy Design group on Facebook).  I thought the pop of red from the This Script Red was the right amount of accent.  I lined the pockets with the This Graphic Yellow.

This Script fabric is full of two items that often are paired together.  It's fun reading all the pairs.

Obligatory back picture 😜  My daughter has taken so many pictures over the past few years, she knows all the angles I need to shoot.  LOL   It takes more time to get ready for photos than it actually takes to capture them.  I really would have loved to have taken her to a local park with a little walking path, but photo shoot day was packed with the School Book Fair and a Soccer Banquet that a trip across town to the park could not be squeezed in.  Luckily, our street is lined with some gorgeous fall trees.

With those fall trees come fallen leaves!!!  She had an absolute blast gathering leaves and tossing them into the air.  She absolutely loves her new dress. When I finished sewing it, she gasped and said how beautiful it was.  She looks absolutely radiant in her pictures which is the true test of how much she loves it.

For more "This & That" inspiration, including some gorgeous quilts, be sure to visit these other stops on the tour:

Nov 7th  Clever Quilt Studio

Nov 8th  Ameroonie Designs

Nov 9th  Debby Brown Quilts

Nov 10th That's-Sew-Kari

Thank you Penny Rose Fabrics for these gorgeous fabrics!!!

{Blog Tour} Coming Up Roses by Jill Finley for Penny Rose Fabrics

Oh. my. squee!! 

I am so excited to be a part of the Coming Up Roses {Blog Tour} with Jill Finley for Penny Rose Fabrics.  The moment I saw this collection, Coming Up Roses, I fell in love.  This collection is simply stunning.  A mixture of roses, paisley, stripes, hexis, bees, buds, and vines, each print comes in 3 colorways making it easy to mix and match.

If you know me at all, even a little bit, you know stripes have my heart.  I love, love, love stripes and I love matching them even more!  Once I saw these Roses Stripe Blue, I knew I would sew the Amsterdam by Little Lizard King.  It comes with an option for a pieced chevron bodice, including a fool-proof method of cutting your stripes to perfectly match every single time.

For the straps, I chose the Roses Bees Blue to draw a bit more blue upward.  These little bees are adorable!  You can also see in this picture a pop of red peeking out.  I lined the bodice in Roses Hexis Red and carefully ironed a bit of the lining to show to mimic piping (without all the work!).

 These roses, though!!!  They are bold. They are beautiful and I am just smitten.  To pair with the blue stripes, I chose the Roses Main Red.  I love how the blue stripes compliment the red roses and help pick up the blue accents in the roses as well.

I also carried the Roses Bees Blue downward with the addition of pockets because... well, pockets are always a fantastic choice!  I turned to the Emory Dress by Izzy & Ivy Designs and snagged its pockets!  (Hint: Join Izzy & Ivy Designs Fan Group on Facebook and find the pocket template free in the files section!)  I lined them with the Roses Hexis Red that I used to line the bodice for just a hint of red at the pockets.

Be sure to check in with the rest of the tour stops!!

July 6:  A Bright Corner

July 13: Auribuzz

July 20:   Ameroonie Designs

July 27:  Beri Bee Designs

Aug 3:  That's-Sew-Kari

Aug 10:  Kimbery Einmo Designs

{BLOG TOUR} EEK. BOO. SHRIEK. by Carina Gardner for Riley Blake Fabrics

Exactly 3 months away.

Eek!! The countdown is ON for Halloween -- can you believe it's just around the corner?!  I am so excited to share my wicked little witch and her sidekick for the EEK. BOO. SHRIEK. {Blog Tour}.

Eek.Boo.Shriek. by Carina Gardner for Riley Blake Fabrics is such a fun collection for Halloween.  It's a mixture of skeletons, skulls, and all things Halloween.  It has purple, orange, and black colorways and also includes 3 doll witch panels (each colorway) that have the pattern pieces pre-printed on the fabric, along with the pattern directions.  

Isn't this the cutest little witch?! The pattern even includes a little witch hat.  As soon as I saw this as one of the fabric selections, I was sold.  Of course, my daughter would want a matching dress, right?

Easy peasy!! I simply grabbed the individual prints and turned to the Janie Lou Pattern by Little Lizard King.  With a little sleeve modification, a bit of hand-applique and a smidgen of ribbon, I recreated the 18" Doll panel in big girl size 😊

The front bodice of Janie Lou has an inset which made embellishing the Shriek Dot Orange with ribbon extremely easy.  In lieu of the buckle, I added just a straight piece of ribbon.  (And because I forgot about the sash and buckle... LOL)

I also switched out the button loops on the back bodice for actual button holes, mainly due to preference... and because my machine is a wizard at buttonholes so they aren't scary at all.

To add the Shriek Dot Black to the bottom of the skirt, I simply folded the width of the fabric until it was about a quarter of the original width.  Then I freehand cut jagged edges into it.  I used my first cut as a template for the back skirt. Then I pinned in place on the Shriek Damask Orange and stitched close to the edge to secure.  I opted to not use any Heat N' Bond to affix it because I think a little bit of frayed edges after washing will add a little dimension to the costume.

My daughter cannot wait to go trick-or-treating with her best girl, Grace.  She has even requested I sew Grace a Halloween bag to collect candy. HA!

Have you started sewing for Halloween yet?!  

I'm now one down, one to go 💀

Check out the rest of the Eek.Boo.Shriek Blog Tour!

July 31 That'-Sew-Kari

August 1 Material Girl Quilts

August 2 Daisy Cottage Quilting

August 3 Orchid Owl Quilts

August 4 She Quilts A Lot

Happy {Early} Halloween!!

{Blog Tour} Glamper-licious by Samantha Walker for Riley Blake Designs

I am so excited to be the next stop on the Glamper-licious Blog Tour!  Funny story about camping...Just this week, my girls tried camping out for the first time and they lasted 45 minutes.... LOL  They would fall more into the "glamping" category, I'd bet 😜  They take after their mama!

"You want me to sleep in a tent?!  For the whole entire night?!  With, like, bug noises and stuff???!!!"

When I was invited to join the Glamper-licious Blog Tour, I couldn't resist these adorable fabrics by Samantha Walker for Riley Blake Designs!   I knew my daughter would love it too.  (Actually both daughters loved and one is currently mad at me...LOL) The Glamper-licious collection features 7 different prints, each print in 3 colorways.  There are pinks, blues, reds and greens. The main print features the cutest campers and picnic scenes.  Then, the adorable glamper campers are also in a mini print.  The remainder of the prints are great coordinates. Plus, there are two cheater prints which are great time-savers for quilters.  I had the hardest time deciding!  I seriously wanted them all... lol.

In the end, I chose:

• Glamper Main Aqua
• Glamper Camper Aqua
• Glamper Geometric Pink
• Glamper Dots Red.

I always enlist my girls when it comes to picking out a pattern.  I've learned over the years that involving them in the process means they wear it more!  My 6 year old decided she wanted a strappy dress.... this, after refusing to wear ANYTHING without sleeves for the past year.  After I picked my jaw up off the floor, we found the Sun Dancer Pattern by Little Lizard King. And then we added large pockets from the Hoya Dress Pattern (also by LLK) in case she needed to hold anything while glamping... like her lip gloss.

The Glamper Geometric Pink looks so great with the Glamper Main Aqua.  I added some clear red buttons to pop out a bit of the red in the main print.  The fabric is really soft and is a breeze to iron and sew.

Of course, we couldn't stop there.... nope.  Not when the 6 year old is designing alongside.

Apparently, her my Wellie Wisher Camille *needed* a coordinating dress.  So I got out my doll bodice block and drafted my own.  I will make a few tweaks on the next one, but I'm pleased with the initial draft.  The Glamper Camper Aqua print is perfect for dolls or any other small scale sewing you may do.  I paired it with the Glamper Dots Red.  The dress even matches her signature Wellies!!  (That was completely accidental.. haha).

The nice thing about dolls:  they don't move when you're taking a picture. HA!!  

While my daughter may not be up for real camping, my girly girl is game for glamping -- and will be dressed for it too!  Just point which way the camper is....LOL  (or hotel, I'm okay with that!)

Don't forget to check out the rest of the Glamp-sites on the tour 😉

June 7 - Snickerdoodle Stew

June 15- Jina Barney Designz
June 29- That’s Sew Kari
July 5- Flamingo Toes

{BLOG TOUR} Happy Day Fabric by Lori Whitlock for Riley Blake Designs

Eeeks!! I am so excited to be on tour with Lori Whitlock and Riley Blake Designs to show off Lori's latest line, Happy Day!  This gorgeous line is full of color, flowers, kites, butterflies and charm!  These fabrics instantly make you smile.

If you've been following along the Happy Day Tour, you've probably noticed a recurrring theme... quilts.   I'm here to shake things up with some sewing for my two happy reasons in life -- my girls.  (...and I've never sewn a quilt in my life. HA!!  I admire those who have -- such patience!)

As I browsed the fabrics selections, Happy Main in White caught my eye along with Happy Floral in Aqua.  I had visions of a maxi skirt and summery top.  While I sometimes choose between my girls for whom I'll sew, I thought the Happy Floral in Red would make a cute coordinating romper.  All three patterns are from the Breeze Collection that released this Spring at Little Lizard King.

My 6 year old has developed a recent love for maxis.  I used the Mayari Skirt in a 3 tiered maxi length which showcases the main print really well.  The skirt also comes in a 5 tier which is a bit twirlier (shhhh, don't tell my daughter) which would be perfect for mixing several prints from the Happy Day line.

My little blondie has gorgeous blue eyes which I love to accentuate by choosing a blue hue for the top.  The Happy Floral in Aqua is almost a perfect match for her peepers.  It sewed up so beautifully in the Isla Top by Little Lizard King.

My 8 year old is at that age where she needs to feel cool, especially to wear handmade.  I turned to the Havana Romper by Little Lizard King.  It was my first romper I've ever sewn, if you can believe it, and my daughter is in love!  She felt very fancy and the Happy Floral in Red complimented her skin coloring and chocolate brown eyes.

I added mini pom pom trim for added detail.

We had a little photo shoot in our new backyard where we have spent many happy days since making the move!

Thank you Lori Whitlock and the Riley Blake Designs team for the invitation to tour with you and to be a member of your Contributor team.  I feel so very honored and blessed to showcase your fabrics.  There is nothing but love from my girls and I for your fabrics!

_____________________________

In case you have missed any of the other Happy Day Tour stops, be sure to visit!

April 18  Quiltscapes
April 27 Lori Whitlock
May 2   Jedi Craft Girl
May 11  Fort Worth Fabric Studio
May 16  That’s-Sew-Kari