I want these so bad!!

How cute are these shoes? And what kid wouldn't want to create all sorts of animal footprints? They are made by a Japanese company Kiko + Kids and they are called Ashiato Shoes. I think I partially love them because when I was in elementary school I read a story about a little Japanese girl and her square shoes and I just loved it. Since, I've always had a soft spot for them.

They aren't going to be available in the US for a while though. Do you think there's anyway I can make some for the girls?

Fall Wardrobe 2 - Refashioned Sweater Dress

This was once a sweater that I wore all the time in high school in college. But, as I'm no longer the same size, and I very rarely ever wear sweaters anymore, I decided it was time for it to find a new life. I have to say, that this kind of refashion is one of the easiest to do. I simply laid one of Charissa's a-line dress on top of my sweater, and cut along the lines for the body keeping the shoulder seams and the neck. So then I lined up the sleeves, keeping the hem of the sleeves (one less thing to do!). Sorry, this probably doesn't make sense, but it was so easy. Because I kept the neckline, the bottom hemline, and the two sleeve hems, I only have three seems to sew. can't beat that! And CJ has a new dress!

Fall Wardrobe 1 - McCall's M6154

I made the girls two of these dresses this week using McCall's M6154. Well, I feel like they may be more like tunics. They are so wide that they seem shorter. Either way, it'll be fine since I have a great love affair with leggings entrusting that the girls will be covered. (I feel like leggings are a bit more wearable for little girls than tights. They are a bit tougher so I don't have to worry about them crawling all over the place or being rough and tumbling at a park.)

ANYWAY - the pattern is super easy. I actually feel like the directions made it harder, so I ignored them and just made the dress on my own. Which really wasn't hard because there are all of four pieces (I didn't add pockets or bows or anything else). The only thing I had to alter was the yoke. I felt like it was just way too big. Looking at their pictures, I think that was the style they were going for, but I just didn't want the yoke going half way down their chest. I think I probably would have lengthened it a bit too so that I could get one year as a dress and the next year as a tunic.


This year as I work on the girls' wardrobe I'm trying to focus on serviceable items that Charissa can wear to school. We're not 100% sure she's going this fall, but if she is she'll need clothes that aren't super poofy and adorned with bows and bobbles. It's going to break her heart. I don't know what she'll do if she ever goes to a school with a uniform.

Sew Much Ado's Reusable Swiffer Cover Tutorial

I have long been a fan of the Swiffer WetJet - especially since I have wood floors throughout my entire house. It's light, it's easy to get in tough spots, and there's just enough spray to get those extra dirty spots where small people have left their mark. But I don't like the covers Swiffer makes because they aren't reusable. I tried just using a rag and sticking it on there with the existing velcro, but that led to less than desirable results. I really wanted to make a reusable cover, but I just never sat down to figure out how to do it.

Enter Sew Much Ado with her Reusable Swiffer Sweeper Cover Tutorial. Brilliant! It was so easy, a picture with every step, and I made 2 in about 20 minutes - using materials that I had on hand.

I did make a few *minor* changes:

• She used an old chenille sock for the sweeper part, but I didn't have a sock to donate to this project, so I just used some terry cloth I had in my fabric stash. Worked just as well.
• For the stretchy part on top, she used an old tshirt, but again I didn't have one I wanted to cut up so I used some knit from the stash. Note: if you use a 2-way stretch knit instead of a 4-way stretch, make sure the fabric stretches lengthwise so it gets around the sweeper.
  
• MEASURE YOUR SWIFFER! Her measurements were not the same for my swiffer. It turned out ok, as my knit is really stretchy, but it would have been easier to add an extra 1/2 inch in length.

I didn't really change anything ... just fabric choices. Hope someone out there uses this tutorial!

One of these days ...

Eventually I'll share what I've been up to. The problem is, that lately I've been so busy with the doing, that I don't actually have time to share about it. I think I see a break coming up next week ... but we'll see.

I hope you all are enjoying this lovely fall weather - and decorating your homes for the season! Fall is definitely my favorite season to decorate for ... and it's just my favorite season in general.

Thanks for stopping by! I *hope* it's more interesting next time ....


PS - I've recently started listing some things on etsy again. Nothing spectacular. It's more of an effort to clean out my supply closet. But you can stop over there if you want to. Thanks!

A Quilt for My Little Boy

When people are hurt or hurting, I want to do something for them. Take them a meal, babysit, clean their house, make them something. I just want to do something. So when I was hurting and grieving after losing Lucas, I was filled with the desire to do something, but couldn't think of what. One day when we were at Target, I saw the line of crib bedding I had picked out for Lucas. I stood there staring at it for a few minutes, and then in a burst of determination, I snatched up all the different sheets and blankets (it helped that they were on clearance). I love making blankets for people when they have a baby, and I made one for each of my girls, so it was only fitting to make one for Lucas. But then for some insane reason I decided to use 5" hexagons on both sides. Oh - it gets better. I started off making a baby sized blanket, but then after pondering it, I realized that no baby was ever going to use this blanket. So I decided to go for a lap size that I could use. I got working on that, but then as I was going along, I had some extra pieces and decided to extend it. Yup. My baby blanket ended up as a 6 foot by 4 foot blanket. Covered in 5" hexagons on both sides. Here it is:



I know it may be hard to see, but in this last picture, on the 4th row from the bottom, the middle green hexagon has "Lucas" embroidered on it. I wanted his name to be on there somewhere. And although it felt like it took all summer to finish, I'm glad that I did it.

In my world of pink and frills and bows, I now have something distinctively boyish. Something that shows that my little Lucas was here. And that's really all I wanted.

This Kind of Makes Me Want to Have a Dog ... But Just for One Day

One of my favorite clothing catalogs to receive is Chasing Fireflies. I love their style and their combination of classic styles with modern touches and colors. About half way through my last copy, I started laughing ... out loud. Look at these dogs!











I REALLY want the Princess Leia and Yoda costumes. Problem - I don't have a dog. Also, I don't have $36 tagged to spend on something completely ridiculous. But most importantly, I don't have a dog. I actually considered buying them for my brothers 2 dogs. I know - how insane! But they are just so funny! If I had a dog, I would definitely be one of those people that tried their patience by dressing them up in silly hats or costumes or the like.

Speaking of Chasing Fireflies, I saw this little number as well:

In the catalog, it's a full body shot with dark denim jeans and black flats. And I have two things I want to say about this outfit: 1) I love it and wish that I could find it in my size, and I would also get it for my girls, and 2) does anyone else think this is the outfit of a 30 year-old? I can totally see her getting out of her SUV with her two kids and taking them to dance or soccer.