Back to "School"

Mondays at Mother's Day out started up again for Avery today. Let's hope that she is this happy when I pick her up. Dropping her off was another story. While she seemed super excited in the parking lot, she soon realized I would not be staying in the classroom with her.

Sewing Misadventure

It's almost football season, and Avery has been gifted several A&M outfits. She is lacking in the Ole Miss department, so I tried to do a quick repurposed dress for her out of one of Todd's tshirts and a plain onesie. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough room on Todd's shirt to make the dress wide enough. It's way too tight, but at least we got in a few good pictures.

Here's Daddy with his little Rebel fan.By the way, the start of football season is extremely significant in our household. It means a time of joy for Todd with a few frowns from me. At least this year, I can count on a babysitter as long as he doesn't have to leave the couch much. Gig'em Aggies, and Go Rebels!!!!

Another Run

Congrats Daddy on another great run! Thanks for bringing me along for the ride. -- Avery.

Birdie Shower

We had such a fun baby shower for our friend Kylie this past weekend. I thought I would pass on some of the pictures. Here is the invitation designed by the extremely talented Mary Jo Green of What's inside Designs.

We had cupcakes of course. This idea came from Martha Stewart's site. I made carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and toasted coconut.

The food was as delicious as it was colorful.

Beth put together this wonderful photo garland of the happy parents-to-be.

Here is the beautiful Mama and Grandmother as she opens a baby quilt made by her Aunt.

It's always so exciting to celebrate another one of God's creations. We can't wait to meet baby Ezra.

Pretend

Avery played pretend with us for the first time tonight. She repeatedly grabbed something off of the back of the bathtub, put it in her mouth, and handed it to one of us. We in turn put it in our mouth, handed it back to her, and she put it in her mouth. I'm pretty sure if she could talk, it would have gone something like this, "Let's pretend we are at the bakery and I'm picking out cupcakes. I take a bite then hand it to you. You take a bite then hand it back to me, and I'll finish it." At least she has good taste. All I know for sure, she was signing "more" as I was taking her out of the tub. Avery was not ready to be done with her fun and games for the night.


So I don't leave you with a picture free post, here are a few from Avery's weekend at the ranch. There was bonding time with Opa.And, early morning swing time in her pj's.

Test Run

BTW, the crinkle toys from the last post did go through a rigorous testing and approval process before they were determined to be suitable as gifts.

Baby Gifts

It's so much fun to have new baby girls to sew for. My friend, Katy, will be having another girl in September. Her first, Lily, is a couple months older that Avery. I made some reversible tops for them a while back. I figured Katy might like them to match one day. And then, switch it up another day (or later that day if I know Katy).I also pulled together a few of these crinkle toys. I used pieces from a shopping bag as the crinkle inside the toy. The best are from Bless Your Heart gift shop. No reason really, the thought just makes me smile especially since, Katy is one of the sisters who own the shop.

I loved the idea of tying them onto the package as part of the bow.

Friday's Mess

Here is what Avery was up to while I was trying to get us packed up to go to San Antonio this weekend.

Now she is taunting me with it.

It promises to be a crazy weekend. Avery will be staying with her Grandparents while Todd and I get away to stay with some friends. We are driving both cars up with hopes of trading them in for a single new vehicle. If all goes well, Sunday we'll be out on the lake. Getting up on the wake board will be the first true test of my post c-section abs. I'm a bit nervous, but we'll have fun regardless of the outcome. Have a wonderful weekend!

A Sunday of Firsts

We had another amazing Sunday today. Avery seemed to progress leaps and bounds in one day. Okay, she's not leaping and bounding, but she did climb our two steps unassisted for the first time today. She's been going down for a couple weeks now, but up was a first. Then, tonight in the bathtub, she decided to try pulling up to her feet for the first time. She did it about 5 times in a row, slipping and sliding as she went. Normally, I would completely discourage her from standing in the tub, but I had to give some leniency for a first time standing.


We also went to a friends house this evening to see the fawn in their care. Betsy, a vet, is raising one of two abandoned baby deer found by a game warden. She says they will release him once he grows out of his spots. This little guy is only 11 days old. He's so cute! Betsy's giving him goat's milk from a bottle.

Here is Avery's friend, Gavin, getting up close.

Pillowcase Dress

There are about a zillion and one pillowcase dress tutorials out there, but for some reason I never came across any that suited my pillowcase. Most pillowcase dress "patterns" feature a pillowcase with a vertical design and utilize the opening as the hemmed bottom of the dress. I had this adorable pillowcase from my last adventure to the Warrenton antique show. The design is horizontal with the case opening on the left. When I came across this tutorial the other day, I thought it would be the perfect application for my pillowcase. Then I thought I'd include some notes in case someone else might have a pillowcase in need of transformation. Ashley, of Lil Blue Boo, does a great job with her tutorial, so these are just a few notes where I made some revisions for my pillowcase. Be sure to check her blog for full instructions

First, I cut out the main body pieces based on the size of the embroidery on the pillowcase. I made sure to have at least 1/2" clear on all sides of the design for the seam allowance. I have two pieces, one from the front and one from the back. They measured 24" wide by 16.5" tall. Sew these right sides together at the side seams with 1/2" seam allowance. Finish seams.

I used the left over scraps from the four sides of the pillowcase that were cut away from the main body pieces to create the remaining pattern pieces from the tutorial. The opening to my pillowcase had a cute crochet border, so I cut the chest band from this piece. I did not have enough scraps to bifold the piece as the tutorial indices, so my piece was 21.5" by 2". Sew this side seam with right sides together and finish the seam.

I was able to cut the four shoulder pieces from the remaining pillowcase scraps. Create the bias tape straps as indicated in the tutorial.

Ashley gives some good tips on gathering the main body fabric of the dress. I also like to stitch a double row of gathering stitches, one at 1/4" and one at 1/2". This seems to keep my gathers straight and provides a backup if a thread breaks during gathering. I also snip a small cut, less than 1/4" to mark the center of the body fabric instead of using the safety pins. You will need to hem the bottom of the main body piece since you will not have a selvage edge. I just sewed the main body piece to the chest band with right sides together and finished the seam since I did not have the bifold piece to tuck the body into.

Follow along with the tutorial for the remaining instructions. Hopefully the results speak for themselves.

Avery was a tad bit mad when Todd was trying to help her stand and walk, but I still enjoy the look on her face here.

Happy Sewing!

The Winner Is.....

TZel. I'll be sending you an email shortly.

Thank you to all who entered. I browsed each site that provided a link, and I was inspired and delighted by many. This was so much fun to get to hear from other bloggers and readers. I will definitely be doing something like it again.

Last Chance

Today is your last chance to enter to win the apron giveaway. So hurry over here. Good Luck!

Mamma Tried

Some days I feel like Avery gets tired of the same old toys, so I made a little "table tent" for her yesterday. When she is ready I hope to make her something like these. We read some books and played with the flashlights. Unfortunately, the fun only lasted about 20 minutes. Oh well, I tried. I've been on a fruity dessert kick lately. First, I tried out this nectarine cake. Then, I made the pear pecan cake from the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook when my Mom was in town. If you have this cookbook, you must try this recipe. It's as easy as it is delicious. My only recommendation would be to let the cake cool almost completely before trying to remove it from the pan.

Today, I bought some peaches to make Avery peach puree, but when I got home they were screaming to be made into dessert. I've typically shied away from cobbler. I think I just didn't want to mess with blanching and peeling the peaches. You don't have to with this recipe! Plus it makes a perfect 8x8 dish of goodness for two. The only sinful thing is that I don't have any ice cream to serve with it.

This recipe is adapted from Rebecca Rather's, The Pastry Queen.

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup milk
3 sliced peaches, PEELS LEFT ON
1/2 cup firmly packed golden brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 deg. Melt the butter in a medium sauce pan set over medium-high heat until it bubbles and turns a nut-brown color. Watch the butter closely, as it can go from browned to burned in a few seconds. Pour the butter into an 8 inch square baking dish. In a medium bowl, stir together the granulated sugar, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and milk. Pour the milk mixture on top of the melted butter. Do not stir! Without mixing, arrange the peaches evenly on top of the batter. Evenly sprinkle the brown sugar over the cobbler.

Bake the cobbler for 40 to 45 minutes. until the top turns golden brown. The batter will migrate from he bottom of the pan to cover the peach slices partially. Serve warm or at room temp. Enjoy!

What's for Dinner Apron, Left Overs Skirts (Giveaway)

Here it is, my first giveaway. I was wandering around bloggy world the other day and happened to find The Apronista. She was gearing up for an apron giveaway and invited others to join in. I decided it might be fun to see who would be interested in one of my little creations. Here is the apron up for grabs. I used what I had left of Paula Prass' butterfly fabric mixed with some others from the stash. This is the "Cup Half Full" apron from Anna Maria Horner's book, "Seams to Me." Here is a detail shot of the pocket with lace.

When I saw this in my kitchen, I hesitated to let it go. Hopefully it will make someone happy. Leave me a comment. Tell me your favorite thing to make for dinner (besides reservations) or anything else you have on your mind. I'll pick a random winner. (Don't forget to give me a way to contact you.)

Check out the other aprons up for grabs here.

Enough about the apron, on to the skirt. I used Jona's pattern, the Evelyn Apron Skirt, from the wonderful Fabritopia. I love, love this pattern!!! The fabrics were all leftovers from this, this, and this. I love putting every last bit to use.

Here is a shot of the cute peek-a-boo border. The swan lace I was lucky enough to inherit from a friend that needed to reduce her stash of vintage fabrics and trims. Thanks Katy, you rock!