Hello July!! And A Pretty Summer Dress

How we can possibly find ourselves welcoming July already, is a total mystery to me! Good golly, time sure does fly by!

 

As we welcome a new month, I find that I am able to sit for longer sessions at the sewing machine. Knee replacement recovery has been going well - very grateful for that! And I've set aside some time from the TATW quilt project to make a dress for Granddaughter Reagan.

My sewing journey actually began with garment making at age 8 when I entered 4-H and became a member of The Sewing Wigwags. What a name. I wonder if that 4-H club still exists? Anyway, for the next 10 years, I made clothes for myself. I advanced through all the levels in 4-H and even took a home-ec class in high school in which I made my own winter coat.

After marriage and having children, I continued to make clothes for myself and the kids, but as my interest in quilt-making grew, my clothes-making waned. I probably did not make any clothing for 20 years or so, while I concentrated on quilts. 

Now that I'm a Grandma to three little girls, I find my interests shifting back to making clothes! I have plans to make lots of little dresses and outfits for them. One dress was realized this week.

I have the cutest and simplest pattern for this sweet summer dress. It contains toddler sizes 1, 2, and 3. I made two size 3s in May - one for Cate; one for Reagan. The pattern is rather vintage; I have no idea whether I bought it when my girls were little or if it was given to me.

I had the idea that little dresses in bright Kaffe Fassett (Rowan) fabrics would look darling, so I dug around to see what I could come up with. I found three pieces that appealed to me and then I went digging for suitable lining fabrics for each one. This first dress in done in a Phillip Jacobs print called Tea Rose.

This first dress is done except for the buttonholes and buttons. I have 4 more dresses in various sizes cut out. I might get one or two done yet today!

 One dress will be made with "Fans" using that mottled blue as lining. 

 Another dress will be made with "Lavinia" and the Benartex weave for the lining.

I did cut out a second dress from the first combination - had enough remaining for a size 1 - so it will go to baby Annie.

The more of this pattern I make, the faster I finish them. Repetition will do that, don't cha' know! I've had a super-engaging audio book going which also helps. I will try to do a post in a few days on some of the recent reading I've been doing.

I am still picking up the Trip Around the World quilt; three quadrants are done. One more then I will construct all the parts. I'm motivated!

Have a wonderful July! Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Little Girl Dresses

Getting back into the sewing groove around here has me ready to share three little dresses made for three special granddaughters. Garment sewing was how I began my sewing life over 60 years ago, but I have done so little of it in the last 30 years that I don't naturally gravitate to this type of sewing. Darling granddaughters make the task more appealing.

 The two A-line dresses are for Cate and Reagan. The little pinafore-style dress is for Annie. It also has bloomers to match; I didn't have those finished when I took this picture. Also, this picture was taken prior to making buttonholes and attaching buttons. Now all those finishing tasks are completed.

The dresses are all made from the same soft peach/pink and gray calico. I bought the end of a bolt at Mae Lynne Makers in Nelsonville while we were at the quilting retreat. I have become quite fond of calico prints lately, so you'll likely be seeing more from the sewing room with tiny florals and calicos.

The A-line dresses required lining fabric, and both came from the existing stash. The buttons all came from my button jar. The elastic for the bloomers also came from what I had on hand. I didn't need to shop for any of it after buying the end of the bolt. 

It is likely that I will make several more items for the girls. I have a nice little array of patterns that I can choose from and all manner of kids' clothing is available. 

While I am sharing kids' clothing, I will share a couple of dress-up skirts I made for toddlers who like to pretend. We saw a variety of Disney-themed clothing when we were there at Disney this winter. I know the girls will love playing with Minnie Mouse ears and skirts, so I stitched these up for playing when at Gramma's house.

 Kids' clothes are fast and easy; I don't want to miss the opportunity to make them some fun stuff!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne 

A Joyous Event

As eager as we are to arrive in Florida each January, I am equally eager to return to Ohio in April so that I can wrap my arms around the little granddaughters and all other family - mother, siblings, children, all. This year we anticipated an exciting new addition to greet - and now she has arrived!

Our family is thrilled to welcome our newest blessing! Annie James Dillon arrived at 3:44 pm yesterday, April 10. She weighed 7 lbs., 10 oz. and measured 20.5 inches. We couldn't be happier to meet our newest little love. Parents Erin and Jeff are doing well.

Big sister Cate, age 3, is as adorable as ever, and was absolutely brimming with equal parts questions and explanations of all the goings on. 

During the previous week, we'd had the chance to spend time with darling Reagan Jayne. Emma and Glen have quite a growing girl on their hands! At 18 months, she very nearly tops the charts in height and weight.

I missed these little sweeties so much over those Florida months, and while FaceTime is wonderful, it cannot equal the squeeze around the neck and the peck of a sweet kiss on the cheek. I am soaking up all the cuddles I can.

Our Easter celebration was with my side of the family at sister Sandy's - we had 39 in attendance. Both family and friends joined our feast. 

Easter was followed by a 4-day quilt retreat, and gosh was it great! So productive! I am eager to follow up with quite a few posts highlighting the quilts of all the attendees. Several posts are in the works; be sure to return for those!

Here's sneak peak, heh-heh. 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Summer Dresses

Now that we've been in Florida for two months, my hankering for those two granddaughters is growing more intense by the day. They were on my mind when I was shopping at the AQS Daytona quilt show, so much so that when I saw these fabrics, I thought of how cute they'd be made into summer dresses or tops for the girls.

Both fabrics are from Windham designers. The top one is called Celestial, and I plan to make a pinafore-type dress for Reagan with it. I've made it for Cate, so I know it well enough and should be able to whip it out pretty fast. I will have to do it back in Ohio, though, since I didn't bring the pattern with me. I made two from this pattern.

 

The surfing print will become a dress for Cate. The very first movie she ever became enthralled with is the Disney movie Moana. I will probably wait until I return home to make it also. I've got a box full of old patterns to choose from.

 

Now, I did bring two patterns with me; they contain multiple sizes. So I could move forward, depending mostly on my mood. 

With just a yard of each fabric to work with, I'm thinking I could definitely do the sleeveless dress. So we shall see. I need to find my sewing mojo, for sure.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne