It's 5th birthday time!

Now that I'm "caught up" (for the moment), maybe I will do a better job on my posts?

I had purchased these fabrics in Tennessee last year, as I wanted to make an updated variation of something similar I had made for her mommie years ago.

This was her mommie's 

This is a close-up of the fabric combinations for the new one

Back view, with sash

Matching shorts

Finished front

I just couldn't get past that too wide panel of too-large daisy's, so I took strips of the other fabric and did this (all by hand, in an attempt to not "stiffen" the gathered panel and to nail down all four edges of each piece so it looks almost like it's printed there).

So now it looks like this

It's a big improvement.  I didn't do the back as I didn't want to make any more stiffness, and now that the front is done, I think it looks fine.  It probably needs a bow at the left neck made out of the daisy's, but it would just bug her I think.

Hope she likes it (even though she WILL say, "Nana, you know turquoise is my favorite color now, but I still like pink, too."

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Update--she LOVED it and ended up wearing it to dinner that night WITH the vest on top!     (Hilarious!)   In fact, I have not seen her without the vest since I gave it to her...

Five year olds are precious!

Beach Clothes

So the Christmas presents are finished and it's time to go on vacation.

In a fit of idiocy on the day before we left for Hawaii, I decided to see if I could finish the sun hat I had cut early.  (I copied a hat I had to return because it was too small.)

I hated the one we made in class because it felt like a ton of bricks on my head and the fit was not perfect either.  I was determined to make a light weight, packable, sun hat.  I had this fabric left from something I made for my mother-in-law back in the 1970's. 

It turned out really well.  I used very light weight, very stiff, fusible-on-both sides stuff for the the brim.  Attaching it to the band was really tricky!  

The whole crown flattens down (it is unlined for coolness), I roll the brim slightly at the edges to close my suitcase, and wow!   I have a travelling sun hat!

After that 4-hour bit of insanity, I decided to try to copy my friend's dress from Mexico.  I just used what I had in the house, and I can't get the proper knitted fabric for the yoke like the original had.  That makes all the difference in how it hangs, but it turned out pretty well.

Miles and miles of ribbon and lace...

It's a comfy flowing cover-up sort of thing, although her's could be worn as a dress.  I just don't think I would do that with this one, unless maybe it was a luau...  Great for a family dinner by the pool though!

More Christmas prezzies

For a 3-year old's dolly

The Christmas dress was an especially big hit for the 4-year old's dolly.

And her mommie wanted a lot more reusable snack and sandwich bags

And the almost 5-year old loved hers, too.

And her big brother loved his tuxedo vest and pants (I bought the shirt, tie, and cumberbund on E-Bay).

   

And the jamies, dolly jamies, and tiny dolly with blanket went to a 3-year old in Sweden.

While her coming-soon little sibling got one of those nice double-sided flannel blankets like I had made for the shower gift previously.

We don't know if it's a boy or a girl, so I hope this can go either way.

Another person got the same bag as above, and I made reusable snack and sandwich bags of the matching material for her.

Baby Blanket for a Shower Gift

(This one has to go on here, because it is not a quilt; it's a blanket.)

I saw this idea in a gift shop, so decided to try it.  It's not a receiving blanket, it is two layers of wonderfully soft flannel with a little bit of decoration.  It's a 36-in. square, cut size. Detail

And for our sweet heroic lady

She had three of her own, lost her husband, and 'inherited' her three Godchildren from Mexico, who were in a state of abuse and malnutrition.  So each of the four girls got a dolly and jamies.

And a receiving blanket for each dolly (they are not doublesided)