I missed October....

Ooooopps. I complexly missed posting in October. Thats ok. I got into a sewing slump. Who knows why, they just hit me once in awhile. I had caught a couple of stomach flus from the grand baby and that didn't help and I also was diagnosed with another ailment so I spent time learning about it and learning another new way of eating. That wasn't too overwhelming as I was pretty prepared from having to overhaul my life when I had to go gluten free. I'm still learning and will probably have to be on different meds to help, but that is the way it goes some times. But, I have really gotten back to my sewing in the last couple of weeks an am able to share some awesome work and patterns with you. I was super excited when a pattern designer put out the call for pattern testers for like 6 new patterns and can you believe 4 of those were for boys!? Talk about super exciting. She is really breaking out with new patterns for the boys and this is super exciting as there is a huge lack of patterns for them in the market place. I love her designs because she makes it so you can embellish and change things how you would like. She calls them Blank Slate Patterns Seriously, go check them out. I had the pleasure of testing the Trendy Tuxedo Pants, Trendy Tuxedo Shirt, The Holiday Pajamas, and The Saddle Shoulder Polo Pattern which I don't see up for sale yet but you should jump on it when it does come up because it is such a fantastic pattern. I love it and it is a new favorite for me to make for my grandson now. This is my Holiday Pajamas. You will notice it is not in holiday fabrics. I used some I had on hand and can you believe I have not been able to find any holiday fabrics yet? I will be making a couple of stops later today to see if I can find some, fingers crossed.

I used a too cute Yogi Bear flannel and I love it. It was my first time working with piping and I had a few curse words for it while working but that was more about my zipper foot really. I can officially say I hate my zipper foot for my beloved Horizon. I need to work with it a bit more and I will work with piping again. This is my version on the Trendy Tuxedo Pant. I used a colored denim but it's not as heavy as a regular denim and used a ribbon I had on hand. I wasn't liking my choices until I put them on him and saw how adorable they look on.

This is my version of The Trendy Tuxedo Shirt. I didn't have any plain fabric so I used a cute Charlie Brown fabric that I have had in my closet for at least 10 years. No I am not joking on that. It turned out so cute! My only problem and big disappointment was I used an orange chalk to mark my pleats and darn it it did not come out in the wash! Big time FAIL! But the shirt is still cute as can be.

And finally the Saddle Shoulder Polo. I LOVE this shirt. It is so adorable on. It reminds me of shirts people wore in the early 80's. And I have to say I just love the color combo I chose on this.

I believe I gave you a sneak peek on what I was working on in my last blog post. I was making some decorations for Alec's room walls in his room at my house. It was pretty plain in there and needed some thing to jazz it up. I will have to share that in my next post because I need to take the photos. I took them with my phone and put them on Facebook but forgot to take them with the regular camera so I will do that soon. In the mean time I did take a photo of some thing I am working on now so here is a sneak peek of that project.

Every body needs a Thneed right? And finally Halloween has passed and here is Alec in his costume.

Cutest Mickey ever! Bye!

Cross stitching

Yes, cross stitching. I have been doing a lot of it lately. I used to do it all the time but as I got into quilting I got sporadic at best with the cross stitching. My taste changed and I could not find any thing I wanted to take the time to work on. It is easy to do but takes up a lot of time and I do mean a lot. One day I was looking around on pinterest when a pin caught my eye.

Source: randommization.com via Jamie on Pinterest

I HAD to have this pattern! I have a grandson now and this would be awesome in his room here and a sampler of super heroes spelling his name is just what his room at home needs too! Heck, he's just the excuse, I would have totally bought this and made it for ME! I search for over an hour because of course the pin did not go any where and I hit pay dirt. Wee Little Stitches They are awesome! I have been buying patterns like crazy and stitching them up! I am still working on the super hero alphabet and in between have made Buffy The Vampire Slayer, The Golden Girls, Milk and cookie Love, Peanut butter and Jelly Love and have a ton more to do. I am also working on Harry Potter. These are cute and stitch up fast. Here is some of what I've done and what is done on the Super Hero sampler. Buffy The Vampire Slayer

The Golden Girls

Milk and Cookie Love and Peanut Butter and Jelly Love

Super Hero Sampler in Progress

A shot of what my cutting table was looking like when I was prepping all of this work.

And a sneak peek at what I'm working on now, along with fitting in the cross stitch while watching tv.

Yeah, wait until you see the cuteness! Bye!

It's been awhile, I know

My husband reminds me often how I have not updated. Well it's been busy and not a ton has been accomplished and yet some has. I have been baby sitting the grand baby so some days no sewing gets done, some times days and days at a time. But now the boy is getting older and less clingy, more independent so I am able to do more. I also post lots of finished projects on my face book instead of posting here. It's pure laziness really. I just snap a pic and upload it with my phone instead of getting the big camera out so I can load them here. This summer I had the pleasure of testing 3 patterns from Melly Sews She has created a whole book of Blank Slate Patterns all for boys. I love it! There is such a huge hole in the market when it comes to patterns for boys. Every thing is for girls and it drives me crazy when I am trying to find some thing to sew for the grandson. You can buy these patterns in a booklet and can make a whole wardrobe of basic patterns that would be so simple to embellish. I tested the blank T, the prepster pull over and the jeans. Loved them all. The instructions are so simple and clear. The prepster pull over even taught me how to install a yoke. I had actually started a shirt for me in the beginning of the summer that has one and because I just could not understand what the instructions were saying about it I set it aside. Now, because of her instructions with this pattern I completely understand what I'm supposed to do!

This tee is my very favorite t-shirt pattern of all time. I have made quite a few and they are my daughter favorite for my grandson as well. She loves how they are well made, the fit and how cute they are on. This pattern is the skinny t from Made By Rae I can't say enough good things about this pattern and I have praised her pattern before. She is very meticulous to make sure they are easy to follow and the instructions are very clear. I have used this pattern for jammy t's and every day t's. Because my grandson's body temp is so hot I always make the short sleeve version.

These overalls are called the over most from Whipstitch fabrics I took her online kids clothing course and learned so so much. I loved it and walked away with so many great patterns and skills that I can reuse until Alec is at least 7 or 8 years. Awesome! If you want to learn to sew clothes for kids defiantly take this course next time it is offered!! This version of the over most I made into shorts and I have a plan to make a couple more for the winter time. I love how these are lined so I can choose a nice flannel for our super cold winters if I'd like.

I'm not sure if I've shared this jacket on here or not but it cam from the kids course as well. The class was in the spring and even with all the growing Alec has done he will still be able to wear it this fall, yay! It's so adorable and I can not even tell you how much I love the fabrics and colors I chose for his jacket.

This final outfit is a pair of pj's I made just the other day. I actually made several pairs but this one we got a picture of with the big camera because of all the climbing around he was doing. I am still working on more pj's so I will be sure to get good photos of those. The top is once again Rae's skinny t top that I discussed above and the bottoms were a free pattern I found online. I don't recall the link but I would not recommend them anyways. The tushie area is just too small. This little guy does have a big tushie but not much bigger than another diapered babe so these pants I will not make again. I will go to my stand by of Rae's big butt baby pants. Follow the pattern link above for the skinny t and you will find those as well. I love those pants and am so sad I am on the largest size for Alec. I don't know what my go to jammie pant will be next but I am testing a few now so hopefully I will find one.

And I will leave you with one more photo (ok, 3). Non sewing but we had a huge mile stone around here lately.

Alec Daniel turned a year old in August! What an amazing boy! So smart and sweet and independent. We love him so much! He is such a joy. Next time I post I will show you some more sewing I am doing and another craft that I used to do all the time but got burnt out for a few years. But isn't it funny how just one picture you see can spark that interest again? Bye!