A Few New Creations

Another Grown-Up Dress :) This is the first dress I have made for myself that I "splurged" and bought new fabric.
The belt is still thrifty though :)

I found a super-duper 80's pattern for this circle skirt and overalls.
  I love how it turned out! Now all of my nieces want one.

I started making these little bundle babies out of some socks I bought at Michaels for only $1 a pair. 
I made one today for a friend's baby and put a dingle bell in the head so it chimes and rattles.  I was inspired by a lady selling these on etsy...shhhh, don't tell anyone! :)



This little jumper dress is from a really old pattern.  The yellow flowers are an old table cloth.
 I actually braved it and put the zipper in by myself.  Hey, I am still a beginner sewing momma! 
The belt on this is from the same fabric on the belt on my polka-dot number dress.

Well I thought I should update my blog with a few of my new creations.  More to come...
*amanda*
but my daddy called me *manda laine*

** Another Sibling Sock Buddy **

  A Horse For The Fourth

This is a sassy little horse that I designed and hand crafted for my sister Susan.  She and my dad had a special place in thier lives for our horses and would spend hours out riding together.  In other words, I just HAD to make #4 a horse.  I had never tried one before, so I practiced on an old pair of wool socks. Of course, Amelia has claimed that one ;) 

 Silly me forgot to take a picture of this crazy haired horsey.  Thanks for sending me the pics, Susan!

*amanda*
but my daddy called me manda laine

** A Year **

It's been a little over a year since Dad died, and I am just now ready to start making my siblings some  friends out of my father's socks.  Pulling the socks out of the bag, cutting them up and repurposing them into something that can make me grin and giggle has been a little therapeutic for me.  I finished my oldest sister, Stana's, sock buddy yesterday and gave it to her.  I am happy to make her smile right now, she is going through alot.  Here is her Monkey Buddy...

I better get busy, since I have a bit more creating to do for my siblings :)

(#2, #3, #4, yours are coming soon!)

*amanda*

but my daddy called me *manda laine*

and my siblings call me #5  ;)

** Vintage Sock Monkey **

Who knew that Monkey's liked to ride horses??

My buddy Genevieve is a fellow thrifter & when she found these original red-healed socks for 50 cents, she quickly grabbed up all she could and sent them to me.  Thank you Gen!!  This is my very first original style sock monkey.  I am going to be sad when I no longer have these socks to cut up and sew on, but at least we will have a few more Monkey's in the world...we can never have too many!!

*amanda*

but my daddy called me *manda laine*

1971 Dress Pattern

Check out this 1971 pattern!  Yes, I fell in love with it as soon as I layed my thrifty eyes on it.  So off to the fabric pile I went.  When I came across this entirely see-through piece of 1970's chiffon floral fabric, I knew right then and there that this was what I wanted for this crazy little dress.  I lined the top with a lemony-yellow cotton and the skirt with a baby blue, just to give the dress a slight contrast.  I was very happy to find this flower trim in my mom's stash to put on the waist and collar.  Amelia looks like a 50's girl in this darling little dress & she loves to spin herself dizzy in it!

*amanda*
but my daddy called me *manda laine*

 

~I must give my mother the credit for putting the zipper in...hey, I didn't want to mess this one up!!~

Dress In-A-Day

So I started this little orange, polka dot number on Tuesday and wanted to finish it so Amelia could wear it to meeting that night.  Hey, if it doesn't have a dreaded zipper, I should be able to finish it in a day, right?  Well I did it!  I did have to have some "Mommy guidance" (linings can get me confused, because they are not on the pattern), thank goodness my mommy knows what she's doing :)  When I met Peter at meeting, he asked if I made her dress.  Later he told me that he was joking, because he didn't really think I made it, he thought I bought it.  Nice....he doubted my skills ;)
*amanda*
but my daddy called me *manda laine*

Vintage fabric & ribbon used, gotta love thrift stores!
~yes, that is the real sunset in the background...good ol' Arizona!~

Emily's Havin' A Munchkin!!

My b.f.f., Emily, is joining the Mommy Crew pretty darn soon. So my mom & I of course ran straight to the sewing machine as soon as we found out it was a girl! Well at least it better be, or the poor boy will be rocking the cutest little flowery bonnets you've ever seen ;) Here are a few pics of the goodies we got to make Baby Dora Jean, but I might just call her Georgine, because that's what my mom keeps thinking I'm saying!!

Pictures: The one on the top are the dresses that Mom and I made.  The first one with the bunny and bonnet -I made for Emily; the dress and bonnet in the middle - Mom made out of an old tablecloth; and the last black and colorful dress - Mom made for our friend, Courtney's baby, Monroe.

Then I took one of Amelia's baby cardigans and sewed  on"Dora Jean" hearts.  A girl always needs a good cardigan.

Emily had such an awesome baby shower - we were encouraged to bring pre-loved items, so she got the coolest stuff!!

More Sewing Creations

So here are a few more of my crazy sewing creations.... This bunny was sewn by hand to go with a dress my mother had handmade to sell to a friend.  My mom made the little skirt to go with it.  Believe it or not, this was my very first item that I have sold!! Woo-hoo!  Thank you Shannon!

 I actually braved it and wore my dress that I made to meeting.  I also made Amelia's dress.  There are many flaws on this green number, but I don't care...it's mine :)  It was an old table cloth!!

 Here's a flower for you.....I made this dress for Amelia out of vintage fabric :)

 I guess she wants the flower back...Anyways this was my very first dress that I made.  It is a vintage tea cloth in the front, with ducks on it.

 This was for my niece, Cassie's, graduation.  Yes it is weird, but so is she.  Hee hee, just kiddin'.

 Another sock buddy.  This is Zanastasia...she is pretty cool.  She likes rollerskating and ballet.

Oh, by the way, my mom, Linda, now has a store on etsy.com and is selling a few of her handmade treasures. Stlinco is her store name, but she calls it Stubby's Sewing Farm. Alot of her fabric is vintage and just plainly fantastic, you should check it out!! Here is the link...

http://www.etsy.com/shop/stlinco?ref=ss_profile

*amanda*
but my daddy called me *manda laine*

Chandelier Overall Skirt with Button Down Shirt

 This is my latest sewing creation :) I hand painted the chandelier onto the fabric, which is an old pillow case. Then for the first time, I made a button down shirt. Amelia has not taken it off for two days, and she desperately needs a bath. It's meeting night, so that thing is coming off for sure when she wakes up from her nap.
*amanda*
but my daddy called me *manda laine*

My Sewing Summer

So  (or should I say "sew"), I have been learning the art of threading a needle this summer.  It all started because, as some of you know, we lost my dear father to extrememly unexpected heart disease last July.  He was always so particular about his feet and wore the best socks.  I swear, his feet looked way more smooth and manicured than mine, even down to the day he died.  He put me to shame :)  We were left with a whole drawer full of these nice & thick, white and gray cotton socks.  I couldn't handle donating them or sticking them in some dusty shed somewhere, so I decided to make something out of them.  I found a book, Socks Appeal (now that I say the title out loud, it's funny :).  Anyway, it got me started on this sewing journey and now I just can't stop!  Above is a picture of one of my first sock bunnies out of my dad's socks.  He could only see out of one eye and was a sailor man, yes, I know what you're thinking, much like Popeye ;)  So this sock pal is a good little reminder of the man so many cherished. 
Yes, I also know what else you are thinking...My sewing skills HAVE improved, I promise!
I will post new pics of my sewing creations soon,

*amanda*
but my daddy called me *manda laine*