Handmade 52 - Item 5 - Missy's Dress

One of my all time favorite designers, Samantha from Little Comet Tails, designed a dress for a her daughter called the "Spin Around Dress". It has the most adorable sweetheart neckline that just looks so cute on our little girlie. And because Samantha's such a sweetie, it was (and still is) available free from her blog in a size 2T.

Well, recently she went back to that pattern and graded it to fit a sz 4-6 as her daughter, Molly, had outgrown the original size. And what does she do? She offers it as a freebie on her Facebook page! All you have to do is "Like" her FB page (linked above) and you'll be able to download this awesome dress pattern. Trust me, it's well worth it. Plus, there's always something wonderful going on over there!

Anyway. I decided to jump in and make Missy a new Spin Around dress! I'd been hoarding this beautiful "shirting" fabric from Joann for a while now, and decided it was time to use it. Hubby gave his suggestion on what colour to use for the sash (off the kids and I went to Joann for the sash fabric), and then the cutting and sewing began.
On a whim I swapped the skirt portion out for a full circle skirt, cut out based on this tutorial from Dana Made It. I've been wanting to try a circle skirt for so long now, but I keep getting busy with other things, so instead of waiting for another time I just went for it!

The end result:

 Just a quick check on brother mid-shoot. Too cute!

Mia is definitely at the small end of the sizing, but thanks to the lovely sash it stays on beautifully and will fit for a couple years to come! Which is great by the way, because did I mention I LOVE this fabric?! ;) Thanks Samantha! And the next one I make will have the original skirt and probably cap sleeves from her free sleeve pattern to fit this dress.

Handmade 52 - Item #4 - JOE!

Handmade Item #4

Poor Joe. He's been stuck in my UFO pile since about ... well, I'm not 100% sure. I'm guessing around 2009?
Who is Joe, you ask?

Joe started out as a monster, drawn by our son, on paper. I then traced the main lines onto my "Easy Pattern" material so that we could turn him into a stuffie. A special stuffie that my son could say he had designed. We cut him out of the fabric Booger chose.....and then he lay there, being moved from pile to pile, and even to a new house, until this month.

After I finished the crayon bag for Missy I asked Booger who I should sew something for next. After some thought he asked me to finish his stuffie for him. And feeling rather embarrassed that I'd left it this long, I agreed!

So after several sewing sessions, and a surprisingly large amount of stuffing, Joe was finally done! Yay!

So without further ado, let me introduce you the monster of the year....

JOE

as drawn by "Booger"

Joe likes to scale tall...umm..mountains.

And be carted, in clenched teeth, by silly monkeys attempting to climb where they shouldn't!

Joe, as you might have realized, is rather special.

You see, he has one normal arm, and then one arm shaped like a hammer. And his legs and feet are also not even. One big, and one small, just like his eyes. There's several things that are rather unique to Joe...but one of my favourites has to be his hiney "tattoo"! ;)

P52 - Week 4 - Bokeh

Wikipedia's definition of Bokeh.
"  is the blur, or the aesthetic quality of the blur, in out-of-focus areas of an image, or "the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light." "

This week between everyone except the hubby getting sick, trying to sew Missy Moo's dress, and Noo-Noo teething...well...basically no photography happened. So I'm cheating a little and using a photo from earlier this month that I feel is a great match for this theme.

Checklist - Striving for 52 Handmade in 2012

I need a place to keep track of my "To Do" and "DONE!" lists, and what better place to do that than right here? I'll be editing this as I go instead of re-posting as I finish another item or find something else to add to the list.

Items on the "To Do" portion are not necessarily going to be completed in that order. I'll probably choose one to do as the need arises or simply choose one that tickles my fancy that day!

DONE:
Updated 2012-1-29

1. Go Mama Diaper Bag
2. Homeschool cabinet - curtain sewn for opening
3. Zippered pouch for Missy Moo's crayons with clear vinyl front
4. Booger's "JOE" stuffie (designed by him in...oh...about 2009!)

TO DO:

• Mod Kid Kyoko for Missy Moo
• Finish Missy Moo's In Threes Cardigan I was knitting before Noo-Noo was born
• Few mug rugs as gifts for family? (UFOs and from scratch)
• Hello Kitty wall hangings from panels for Missy Moo
• IOOP shorts from cammies I have aside for Booger
• Sheets and pillowcases for Missy's bed from our queen sheets as well as new veggietales, HKitty etc fabric
• Build Ana White workbench for garage so that I can build more easily
• Build big kid picnic table from Ana White
• Sew doll diapers, moses basket etc for Missy's doll, Ariel
• Sew medium sized lego playmat for Missy, the one that has a drawstring to close it- small enough for her to carry it around, even on stairs without her tripping
• Sew sweatpants and jackets for Missy for next winter from the hearts and stars sweatshirt fleece
• Sew jammie pants for me and kiddos from the stretch french terry
• Tank dresses with lettuce hems from the Muse of the Morning, Practically Perfect Tee pattern and tutorials on her blog
• Patch holes in homeschool cabinet (from hardware removal)
• Sew long Spin Around dress with cap sleeves for Missy Moo
• Sew shorter Spin Around dress - sleeveless
• Quilt for Booger - maybe Quilt as you go,like Keyka Lou did?
• Wooden puzzle (and other) storage envelopes with foldover flap and clear vinyl front - also one for Moo's ballerina
• Dragon on the Loose's Owl softie for Missy
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