what I'm busy with

Since I have a fall tradeshow coming up, I am getting busy making some new dresses! 

 

The Amanda Dress from The Lily Bird Studio.

I love how I managed to get this bird on the sash just off centre.

A satin bolero... a pain in the butt to make, but turned out pretty cute!  I need a serger...

Had to add the ruffle.

sewing skirts

Still busy getting ready for two markets this weekend. 

The first one is on Friday in Neerlandia from 5-9pm, and the second is Weestock in Edmonton from 10-4.

I have dresses and button up shirts, and I thought I would add some little skirts to the loot.  I have skirts in sizes 2-4 already, but none in tiny sizes. 

Lucky for me, I have a little girl and so I can easily size the waistband on these by laying them over a onesie. 

I made some pleated denim skirts with a stretchy knit waistband.

Then I tried the same method but with a knit bottom as well.

Here it is with a 0-3m onesie snugly inside. 

Such a small skirt has no choice but to be cute!

The printed knit is a recycled tee shirt.  Printed knits are hard to find around here and I can order them online, but then shipping ridiculously high because of the weight.

We're also bringing the mini back! 

I made this little skirt without any sort of pattern.  All I knew was that I wanted a little denim mini for D and it had to have a flat front and elastic in the back.  She still has a diaper butt, so the back goes flat-ish when she is wearing it.

She wore it all morning over her pants, so it is a little wrinkled.  

But who cares!  She loves it!

i should be sewing

Really, I should be sewing rather than blogging. I've made a bunch of dresses for my upcoming markets, but I still have to make boys button ups. 

I've made two already for a custom order, but none for markets.  

My husband keeps asking me when I'm going to sew the shirts.  He seems more concerned about me being on the ball than I am!

Here is another style of dress I am making more of for spring.  

 

Cute little flutter sleeve dresses.

I also finished up my Covert Robin swap this morning.  Now I simply have to package it up with a little note and send it off to its secret destination.  

Sure hope you like bright cheery colours partner!

new stock

I've been absent. 

That's because I've been sewing. Getting ready for TWO markets now! 

One right after the other, so I have some serious stocking up to do. 

I am adding some new items to my stock as well.

Boys button up shirts.

And a new dress style, perfect for summer. 

Pattern is the Hannah Dress from Yeppar on Etsy

Off to make some more now!

Updates!

Hello everyone! 

We had a good weekend over here.  And I got a few things done.

First, as I mentioned I joined the Mouthy Stitches swap on Flickr.  We had to make a zippy pouch for our secret partner based on their mosaic posted in the group.  My partner definitely favoured applique and pinks and blues.  

This is my pouch for her.

The front is a picture just for tea time.

 The back is just for fun.

I'm even proud of the zipper!

I have never done applique in my life, and so this is a first for me.  I think it turned out pretty good.  

I only showed sneak peeks on Flickr for everyone to see, so if anyone is here from the Mouthy Stitches swap - lucky you!  You just saw my whole surprise!  

But... is it for you?

I appliqued cotton on a linen type fabric and I embroidered the steam and picture frame.

I love my special touch - the tea bag is appliqued on tea dyed fabric.  

Sometimes, I make me happy.

Ahem.

Sunday is always a nice day.  How can it be bad when you have church, family and friends all in one day?

I was also at West Edmonton Mall on Saturday selling my wares.  I had my dresses and skirts up for display along with a few things my sister had made.  All in all, I think for a first showing, I did acceptably well.  Nothing to be disappointed in this time!

My table from the front.

And the side, showing the rack my husband made me.

Then to top it all off, I received two swaps today!  One all the way from Portugal and the other from the States.  I love good mail days.

See! 

Told you I had a good weekend!

How to Make a Mannequin

This post completely not sewing related, but is important for me because I am not rich. 

I have gone to a few markets now and would love to have a toddler sized dress form or mannequin to show off a dress or two since they always look better on something than on the hanger.

I looked at a few online and, well, I don't have the money to shell out a hundred or two for a dress form or mannequin.  That being the case, I took matters into my own hands and made my own.  

Well, it's not really a mannequin, more a dress holder stand thing.  But it works the same to display the dresses.  I have five now for the trade show on Saturday at West Edmonton Mall.

Wanna make one?  Here's how.

You need dowels and a flat heavy-ish bottom.  I got mine from the dollar store.  

Cut the dowels to the height you need and the width.  For a size 4T dress my dowel is 26" and the crossing dowel is 12".

Paint them if you want.  

I did because I think it looks more finished than the bare wood.  I suppose you could stain them for an even better look, but the bases I got are not real wood and so I don't think they would stain well.

Make holes in the bases the same size as the dowel.  Mine were 5/16th dowels.

Make a notch in the dowel that will fit in the base.  The notch is for the dowel that will go across the top.  

I tried it with the drill bit, but, yeah, it kinda didn't work so well and I had to touch up the paint.

Add a dab of glue.  I used hot glue, but I think wood glue would work better.

Lay the second dowel across the glue and let it dry.  Then wrap the joint up with twine or a coloured embroidery thread or something just to hold it in place, and you are done!

It's not a full bodied dress form or mannequin, but it works to hold the dress up for display!

Going Hexagonal!

First off, how does a self-healing mat crack?

I mean seriously.  Do your thing mat!  

Heal!

Not working.

Oh well, I guess I have other space on the mat left.  Do these things have warranty?

I suppose you are getting sick and tired of my talk of hexies hexies hexies.  So I will only regale you one last time with my prized and time consuming hexies.

On Saturday I made hexie 'flowers'.  I wanted to have a solid colour in the centre of every flower so that there is never a solid touching a solid.  

So far, the tip of my middle finger is stabbed and sore and I like what is happening with my hexies.

Here are some of my favourites: 

The fabric from every one of those came from swaps.  Handy!

I am also making some teeny hexies for an upcoming swap.  I don't have all the colours I need yet, but when I do, I will be piecing these little suckers together. 

I am sure it will go quicker than large ones, but a little more fiddly because they are after all rather small.

I should actually be ignoring my hexies and focussing on getting ready for the trade show I am going to this weekend.  I will be at West Edmonton Mall as an exhibitor are the Postpartum Depression Awareness Mommy Event.  

After my market failures, I sure hope this one is a success!  Not only for me, but also for the PPDA.

From the PPDA website:

Postpartum Depression and other postpartum mood disorders affect approximately 15% of Moms within the first year of giving birth. It is believed that this statistic is in fact much higher as so many Moms do not come forward. The majority of these Moms do not get help for a variety of reasons: either they go undiagnosed, are unable to find help or never come forward because of the stigma attached to PPD.
Through Awareness and Information we can change this stigma and make it easier to find help. Canadian Moms are raising our next generation and their mental health is of top priority!

Off to get more ready now!