What a difference a year makes...

Nonna and Papa's House Thanksgiving 2010...

Nonna and Papa's House Thanksgiving 2011...

Can somebody please tell me how to get them to stop growing?

Cloud Watching

Not sure if he is in a football pose or why the tough-guy faces, but this was a cute glimpse into their world. The backyard, which is right outside my kitchen window, is the kid's favorite place to be right now with our terrible, way-to-warm unseasonably warm weather. I had the back door open and could hear them talking. When I overheard them describing the shapes of clouds, I had to snap a picture, which disrupted everything. I love to hear them chit-chatting and love to catch them interacting aside from Matt and I.

Small Business Saturday

If you are looking to load up on super cute fabric and have lots of little projects in mind, get on over to Stitch Simple. Not only does the owner, Jen Madsen of Stitch Simple, prewash all of the fabric that she sells, but her prices are fantastic. In fact, you can score some FREE fabrics! She is currently selling celebrity fat quarter packs (lil 'ol me handpicked the prints you see above...that's right! 11 fat quarters for $25!) which are all originally priced between $30 and $35, but are only $25 right now and with the small business Saturday deal from American Express, these packs can be FREE!

HURRY though because these deals are available only until Midnight CST Friday December 2nd. These Small Business Saturday* specials are perfect for holiday sewing projects, stash building and gifting as-is to fellow crafters.

Carson Ruffle Shirt

I am having a blast sewing for the girls and getting excited about all of the Christmasy things I can make them to wear. When I got this damask print (way back in August) I knew that I wanted to make the girls something fun and this ruffle shirt pattern was perfect!

The fabric came from Pam's Crafting Place. She has some unbelievable deals right now (I am in love with the toile in her sale section for only $4.99 a yard, which would make a very cute ruffle shirt!).

This pattern is one more my current favorites. It is the Carson Ruffle Shirt from 

Mindy's patterns are beautiful. Each page of the PDF pattern is lovely to look at, easy to follow, and well explained. I also appreciate that her patterns are not "cookie cutter" versions of every other pattern out there. This ruffle shirt uses very little fabric (I made two shirts less than 3 yards). 

Don't want to sew your own? Check my shop later today...I might just have one or two in there...

Grand Opening

***update***

the code (grandopening) wasn't working but now is up and running. 

also, I am not meant to be in business. the love and support my in-real-life friends have shown my little business is overwhelming and makes my heart swell, but also makes me feel guilty! I just want to give it all away to you!

I LOVE to sew and love to blog about sewing but I can only use to many purses, pouches, and trinkets. See something you want on this blog? Walk your shopping fingers on over to my new etsy shop where I am putting a few overflow blog models up for sale.

Not everything I make and show on the blog will make it to the shop...some pattern makers prefer you not use their patterns for commercial sales and I will honor that. Some allow it in small quantities as will always be the case (three kids, two dogs, one husband...there simply isn't enough time to sew in large quantities!). The more I sell and move out of here, the more fabric I can buy!

Grand Opening Special:

Free shipping (no code needed)

20% off with code: GRANDOPENING

Sweet Caroline

I am pretty sure that this is the little baby I used to swaddle (until she was 9 months old, thank-you-very-much) but with each day, she is resembling that bundle less and less. She is SUCH a big girl! I am not sure how much longer she will get joy from the clothes I make her or the shapes I applique but I am going to keep making them while she does. 

Cute? Yeah, she's got that covered.

The fabric is called Just Dreamy by Riley Blake. I love the polka dots and there are many coordinating fabrics in this line...really great for kids! You can find it where I did...

They have TONS of great prints and a HUGE selection of sale fabrics (seriously, some are as low as $3.50 a yard!). They are the nicest of nice, ship quickly, wrap it up beautifully, and send a confirmation email so you know when it is coming.

This pattern was one of the easiest EVER! I know I say that with almost everything I sew, but this was one piece. Let me say that again, THE ENTIRE SHIRT WAS ONE PIECE! All you have to do is print and assemble the pattern, cut it out, and trim with bias tape. I think it fits adorably! The sky is the limit with how these shirts can be decorated! 

Caroline (the designer, not the daughter) has lots of one piece patterns and I can't wait to try more of them!

Psst...guess what? When I spoke with Caroline (again, designer not daughter) about this shirt and how much I loved it, she said that I can give a copy of this pattern away! This is perfect if you are thinking about trying to get into sewing or if you just really love a quick and easy project. Entering is simple...

* visit Caroline's Sweet Blog 

*Like her on Facebook

*Visit her shop and tell me which pattern you like best

each gets you an entry, just leave me a comment and let me know

Winner announced in a week...fingers crossed for you!

Punkin' Patch

Fall means crisp air, hot chocolate, picking pumpkins, and visiting the pumpkin farm with friends. A couple a weeks ago we got all of this and more as we celebrated our friend Zachary's birthday.

I didn't get tons of pictures of the group or all of the friends we had there, but Jenn did...visit her blog. Yeah, she's pretty awesome.

Leaves and Pillowcase Dresses

The giant tree in our front yard with its giant leaves make autumn fun. The leaves pile up and crunch beneath the kid's feet and they love being outside playing in them. It made for a great bribe to get a few pictures of the new dresses I made up for the girls. 

lip gloss and blush were also part of the bribe...these girls are tough

 do you spy with your little eye my little guy?

Pillowcase dresses are everywhere and I had idea whether or not they'd be hard to make or not, but I have wanted to make them for a long time...now I wish I wouldn't have waited so long! I literally made these two dresses in an afternoon. There are many patterns out there for pillowcase dresses and I've read through many of them but Pink Poodle Bow makes a really easy to follow one and I love the results.

This dress is the Kaylee dress. There are many more I am wanting to try out, especially the Reese, the Grace, and the Hailey...wow! PDF sewing patterns can be a little pricy but these patterns are 2 for $10! There are a huge range of sizes and some really cute baby rompers.  Alisha knows cute!

The fabric was chosen by Caroline (seriously, you had to know that, right?) and is soft, thick, and easy to sew with. I was online fabric shopping and was on Poppy Seed Fabric's site and Caroline asked if she could pick some out. Since I am hoping to get her hooked on fabric hoarding and eventually sewing, I was happy to have her sit with me and pour over the many, many choices. 

Kim of Poppy Seed Fabrics has some great sales going on and lots of Anna Maria Horner and lots of voile fabric. 

here are some of my favorite finds from her shop right now:

She also has a fantastic blog! Do visit her!

Cutest little skirt for one of the cutest little girls

Contain yourself, there is a whole lotta cuteness about to come your way...

you've been warned...

see? told you!

I know, right?

she melts me...

The fabrics came from Bobbie Lou's Fabric Factory and is one of my all time favorite shops. The name (and picture) are of Chelsea's grandmother. I have a feeling she'd love what Chelsea did with the picture, don't you? Chelsea has TONS and TONS of new Christmas fabrics in right now and my favorite is the new Michael Miller Christmas line. She also has fabric sets and many of these happen to be from Jennifer's line, SO St. Croix. Visit Chelsea and get a jump start on Christmas!

she has an entire Christmas section...go visit!

The pattern for this oh-so-cute-and-easy skirt is from 

It is the Aubrey skirt. I loved making this. It is twirly, girly, ruffly, and has the cutest drawstring so you can see the second tier of fabric. Perfect for fall and winter with tights and spring and summer without them. I see a lot of these in our future!