Raglan T-Shirt

Partially inspired by the Spring Top Sewalong, partially due to the fact that most of my shirts no longer fit--I decided to finally sew a new top.  I used a pattern from my Sew U book (which I need to use way more) and altered the front bodice to have more room.

It came together quickly and will be easy to hem and take in a little post-baby.

I've already started plotting a few more t's to keep me from looking shabby this last stretch.

Handmade Teepee

We don't have much going on in our backyard and I wanted to have something fun for the girls to play with this summer.  There are a number of tutorials out there, but I remembered seeing this teepee tutorial years ago.  Like most everything I do, I used her pattern as a starting point and then changed it.

I wanted each section to be equal (rather than have a big opening like Rachel's version), so I cut my panels about 44 inches wide tapered to 5 inches wide at the top.  I thought a round opening would be fun so I just went for it.

I cut a few inches off the wood due to necessity (I may have wedged the teepee against our ceiling...).

I didn't want to sand the wood, but didn't want to hear about splinters all summer.  So I decided to use strips from a vintage sheet I had lying around to hold the wood in place.  I was a little short on the length needed so I added a strip to the bottom of the teepee as well.

I haven't pulled it outside yet, but so far the girls seem to like it and I think it's totally cute and girly. Hopefully hours of fun will be had in this girly teepee this summer.

Big Black Apple Dolls

I love trying to make something homemade for my girls for their birthdays.  This year I decided it would be fun to make them a doll.  I've always thought the Black Apple Doll was adorable, and have sewn a few in the past.  This time I wanted to make them a little more special.  I enlarged the pattern to give me a starting point and then got creative with the rest.

I'm totally in love.  Way more than the girls love them, but isn't that how it always is?

I stressed about the face and left it for last on both dolls.  That was silly to do.  What if I had messed up after I had finished the whole thing? 

I painted the eyes on and then stitched the eye lashes and mouth on.

The hair took forever.  My girls are young and I knew I needed to adhere the hair on pretty well.  So I stitched every piece of yarn on to the head.  I used pins to sort of weave the yarn on the head and then I tacked everything down.  I found the technique/idea here.

The peach doll has tiny suede moccasins..Ack!  I die over them.  My oldest doesn't like to wear shoes so I thought it would be fun to leave her doll barefoot.