Sweet Aprons {Gift Finishes!}

I love giving handmade gifts!  I made these aprons for my Mom and my three sisters and was able to gift them in person when I was in Yuma last month.  It was so nice to be all together with my parents and my sisters and brother and some spouses for a few days of my three-week vacation.

One of my sisters cannot have stand to have anything around her neck, so her apron style is different than the others {top left}.  It's the Scalloped Apron by The Paisley Pincushion.  I remember the older women wearing this style when I was young, and I think it's still quite cute.  This apron is reversible with bicycles and pink with red dots.

The other three aprons are made from The Sassy Little Apron pattern which claims to be a slimming design, and it's so true!!  My local quilt shop had samples made up, and I tried one on and lost 10 pounds, so I had to buy the pattern!  It's that sassy little ruffle, I tell you!  One apron is owls and red with aqua dots, another is purple hydrangeas, and the third one is a light yellow with flowers.  Some of the buttons are antiques from my grandmother's collection.

ALL Class Collections are on sale this weekend at Craftsy!  You will save 50% or more on all bundles of Craftsy classes in all categories!  Pre-Cut Piecing Made Simple and Playful Piecing Techniques by Camille Roskelley are two of my favorite Craftsy quilting classes, and they are bundled together for a special deal this weekend, along with over 140 other Class Collections!  Gift yourself a breath of spring and don't miss this sale!

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A Birthday Dress for Miss Millie

Miss Millie had a birthday, and her mama made her this dress.  She has been wanting to sew some new clothes for spring and summer, but would like them to mysteriously appear without so much as a snip of the scissors, so I secretly sewed this for her when she was off at a friend's house for a few hours.  She told me later that she saw the scraps in the garbage can, so she figured I had made something!  These kids sure get smart as they grow up! Millie is now 13 ... all three kids are now teenagers!
She picked out the fabric from my stash, saying she wanted to go back to more floral, feminine dresses after spending the last year in mostly solid colored skirts and knit shirts.  I love that she has her own style, no matter what other kids her age are wearing; it's a sign of maturity, I think.  She told me today the dress made her look like a woman!  A sweet little lady, for sure, I said. The fabric is Love's Bouquet by Holly Holderman, which I had been planning on listing in my Etsy shop, CutSewCreate, but this is a much better use for it.  The pattern is See & Sew 501 which I could only find on Amazon.  It's from 1997, the good ol' days!  I have a friend who sews most of her clothes, so I called her and asked her for a good go-to jumper pattern, and this is the one she recommended, having used it for herself for years.  It is a pullover dress with a gathered, slightly raised waist.  I added ties to make it narrower at the waist.  I knew Millie wouldn't like it without a bit of cinch there. So here's to my happiness that the days of sewing for Millie are not gone after all!

Girls 14/16 Modest Skirt with Apron Overlay

Modest girls skirts are so hard to find these days, so I sometimes end up making them for my daughter.  She is growing up and no longer fits into girls sizes, much to the budget's dismay. {Sigh.}   I was informed yesterday that she doesn't really want me sewing clothes for her anymore.  Oh, really?  I was a bit taken aback!  I reminded her of tiered skirts made with upcycled denim jeans, and she said those were okay.  In fact, she was in the fabric closet today picking out what she wanted for her next two tiered skirts!  Then there's the knit skirt I made her about a month ago using one of her store-bought skirts as a pattern, and that one was acceptable.  I think what she means is that skirts like this one are OUT, mom.  Not everything you make, just the younger girlish ones.  Yes, I made this for her, and she didn't like it, so it is going in my Etsy shop to sell.  :{ Adorable red polka dot yoke paired with beautiful light blue, royal blue, and red flowers. The underskirt peeking out beneath the apron overlay. A full length view with the apron overlay folded back. Close-up of interior details; professionally serged edges and ribbon tag in the back. Skirt Stats:

• Size:  14/16
• Waist Size:  25" unstretched to 40" stretched
• Hip Size:  44" {6" down from waist at side}
• Length:  27"
• Fabric:  England Swings and Flower Sugar, with unknown polka dot; all quilt-shop quality
• Value:  Cheerily feminine!

This skirt is for sale in my Etsy shop, BusyHandsQuilts.  This skirt is a one-of-a-kind skirt, and I will not be making another one in this size and fabric combination.

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A Spring Dress for Millie

This is one of the projects I completed back in February/March while I was taking a break from blogging.  Millie, of course, is continuing to grow and always needs new clothes each season.  She is now taller than me, so I am officially the shortest one in the family!  

Dress Stats:

• Pattern:  Amelia from Marie Madeline Studio with grosgain ribbon added at the waist
• Fabric:  Just Wing It by MoMo for Moda
• Value:  Sweet!

A Fun Skirt For My Sister

Just finished today is another knit skirt for my sister!  As I mentioned in this post, skirts that fit, are modest, and cute are so hard to find, so when my sister found a really cute knit skirt that fit her well, I offered to make her more like it.  This is a knit fabric, but I do not know what kind of knit it is since I was not with my sisters when they bought it.  

Once again, knit proved it self to be fairly simple to sew.  With this type of knit fabric, I had to stretch the waist seam while I serged it in order to preserve the stretchiness of the fabric.  Otherwise the serged seam would tear when being stretched out to put it on.  Usually it is taboo to stretch knit while sewing it.  I did not have to do this to the previous knit skirt I made.  The hem had me tripped up for a bit, until it dawned on me to just fold the serged edge over and make a narrow 1/4" hem rather than the typical 5/8" hem I usually make.  This worked like a charm with no puckering at all.

Enjoy, sis!  I can't wait to see you with it on!

A Super Cute Skirt For My Sister!

An uber cute skirt for my sis, if I may say so myself!  We three sisters recently vacationed together, and my next older sis had found the most darling skirt that fit her perfectly, so I offered to make her more of them.  {Sigh}  Skirts that fit, are cute, and modest are SO hard to find.  {Sigh}  She and my other sis went off to the fabric store and picked out two knit fabrics.  This skirt is made from a deep navy denim-look knit and has an elastic waist, an extended length yoke, and is finished with a moderate flare.

I was a tad nervous about sewing knit fabrics because it has been years since I have done so.  I can't even remember what I have made with knit fabrics, but it must have been something for the kids...?  I read some tips online and discovered, it really ain't no big deal, and truly it wasn't!  I would consider a serger a must-have to sew knits with a nice professional look, and I've got one!  My dear husband bought me one 20 years ago when we were first married!  Knit fabrics also require a ball tipped needle on the sewing machine, but I did not change the needles on my serger.  However, I may have been sewing with ball tipped needles on it already and just didn't know it.  ☺  Just use lots of pins, sew slowly, and don't pull on the fabric as you go.  That's pretty much it!

The skirt is in the mail to her, and hopefully she gets it before she reads about it here!  If it suits her fancy, I will make her another one out of the second fabric she chose.  It is way wilder than this fabric {I was surprised she chose it!}, and I love it!

So now I am inspired to make knit skirts for Millie and myself!  Trouble is, there ain't any knit fabric in the stash!  Uh oh!

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Itty Bitty Floral Ruffle Denim Skirt in Light Blue and White

Hot off my machine is this sweet upcycled denim skirt!

Girls Long Modest Denim Ruffle Skirt Size 8 10 12

Old-Fashioned Itty Bitty Blue Roses

For Sale in my Etsy Shop!

Only $21.99!!

Linking to:

Crazy Mom Quilts

Upcycled Girls Modest Denim Ruffle Skirts

I've begun sewing girls modest denim ruffle skirts since long skirts are sew hard to find. I cut the legs off jeans and added three tiers of coordinating fabrics. Fabrics are quilt-shop quality, including Urban Chiks by Moda, Honey Child by Jennifer Paganelli for Free Spirit and more!

{The pant legs will be sewn into a quilt top - the ultimate in UPCYCLING!!}

For Sale at Busy Hands Quilts on Etsy!!

Update:  The skirts on the left and right have sold, but the skirt in the middle is still available!

Linking to: 

Crazy Mom Quilts

Laura Ingalls Wilder Dress for Millie

For Millie's 11th birthday {yes, my baby is getting old!}, at her request, I made her a Laura Ingalls Wilder Prairie Dress.  She loves old-fashioned things!  THIS is the pattern I used, and the fabrics can be found HERE and HERE.  

Here is the Laura Ingalls Wilder Prairie Dress I made for Millie in 2009 for her birthday.  Three years later, she still wears it although it is a bit below her knees now {with the wide hem let out}, and the sleeves are halfway to her elbows!  The loose waist makes it fit for a long time!

Linking to:

Crazy Mom Quilts