More Wrapping and Crafting with Sew Liberated

Continuing our Ruby Star Wrap-Along..
Meg McElwee from Sew Liberated posted her project today. She crafted this adorable little apple book for her son plus a bag to gift it in (and later reuse for snacks)! Precious! Read more about them and see more beautiful photos over on her blog: HERE!

A book for little Finn - made and photographed by Meg Elwee!

Capes and costumes + a thought about dressing up

My girls (like most young kids) love to dress up and play pretend.
We're actually preparing to have a little party surrounding that theme so I've been digging through our dress up box and assessing what might be added.. being that I have 2 girls, most of our costumes are on the frilly side. We have a lot of "princess" dresses. It happened naturally.. that is I didn't really encourage it.. they were either picked by my 5 year old from target or the thrift store or handed down to us from friends. I know some parents try hard to avoid this and actually I myself thought I would (growing up I was definitely a tomboy and hated both pink and purple) but recently I learn from a teacher of young children that at around ages 3-5 children start establishing their sexual identity and it is very common to see them go to extremes with gender at this age.. with very "girly girl" or "boy's only" type thinking and it is an important part of figuring out their place in the world. I was happy to hear this and definitely see the sense in it but I also want to show my own girls that being "girly" can embrace a strength and maybe even quirkiness! Now as an adult,  I wear makeup and dresses almost daily and (while they're not ready for the makeup, I actually let them have washable marker instead..)  I'm not going to discourage them from doing the same but rather share with them why I wear what I do. It's kinda like war paint. It makes me feel good and powerful. Ready to face the day. And when I feel good about how I look I tend to smile more, engage with people, feel more energetic even.. I want my daughters to have that... however they find it.
Then again, I also want to see them wear more colors than just pink and have more dress-up options than dresses... not to mention the fact that we need more choices for the little boys who'll visit (especially if they're experimenting with a masculine extreme and can't possibly have anything to do with "girly" things).
So I decided to sew up some capes!
I used solid colored knit fabric for the main portion of the cape so it didn't require any finishing.. I attached a yard of twill tape to the top and then ironed on some emblems using steam a seam, iron on adhesive. The first I made was a navy blue cape with a star centered on the back.. then this yellow  "Super Kitty" and the finally a teal blue cape with a lightning bolt and a red and white striped grosgrain for the tie.
The best part.... all the emblems GLOW IN THE DARK!
Now whether the kid's a "tomboy", a "girly girl", a "gentle boy", or a "tough guy", ALL KIDS LOVE GLOW IN THE DARK!

She loved the cape as soon as she spotted it on my ironing board...
I asked if she'd let me take her picture in it and as I was finishing the felt eyes and whiskers, she got her outfit together.. complete with backwards purple pants and wild hair.. I mentioned something about it but she wanted them that way... lol. What's a mom to do?

Once we got going most of the photos were action shots...

she's either jumping, kicking, dancing or giving me super silly faces...

like these!

I could hardly get her to show me the back..

but she's Super Kitty.
And Super Kitty's can't stand still!

Happy Thursday!
April


note: you can get the GLOW IN THE DARK fabric right HERE :)

Made Monday

A beautiful quilt in blues and greens. 

Made for a lucky little guy

by his mama, Amanda Sasikirana.

What are you working on?

This little dolly is for Aelyn, the shoppe baby, who's really not such a baby any more. She is even helped sew the arms last night, well set on my lap while I sewed them that is :)

We are making a Princess and Prince. Using the Wee Wonderfuls Kit, Chloe and Louise pattern for her Princess and Eddie from the Wee Wonderfuls book, for her Prince.

Tell us what's on your sewing table...

The BOOK!!! [An Even Better Reason to Blog]

I have been meaning to blog for several days weeks now. I have been thinking of blogging, dreaming about blogging and day dreaming about blogging about the reasons why I have not been blogging.

But today our dear Terry delivered it!

And suddenly I felt that there'd never been a better reason to blog.

Wee Wonderfuls (The BOOK!!!)

Hillary Lang, the creative mastermind of Wee Wonderfuls, the blog, shop and patterns, has now given us the ultimate softie book! 

It's pages are filled with gorgeous, fun doll and soft toy projects with a heavy vintage, danish modern flavor. Her love for old dolls and vintage Fisher Price toys certainly inspires her designs, while they each have a look that is uniquely her own. Her handsewn touches add that special lived with, long loved quality that an old doll holds. 

It really could be my favorite book, however Aelyn's already claimed it for her own. "Make it for me. Please? Please? Please?    Please!?!?"...Aelyn says this in just that way, as to imitate little Tiana wishing on a star, for those of you who've seen Princess and the Frog.

It's her third birthday next Wednesday so this treasure couldn't have come at a better or more tantalizing time. Of corse I want to make every other project! And there are several that she's requested already, but she shows an extra special interest in the Mermaid doll, so we'll start with her. 

I also hope to make a tutu and a Little Red Ridding Hood Cape as well as some simple supper hero capes for her and her 3 little guests. Luckily her party isn't until the following Sunday so that buys me a little more time. Still, I better get started. 

Wishing you all a Happy Weekend!

- April

P.S. She wore it!!! On her own free will too :)

Made Monday

A precious Oliver + S ruffle halter in crisp japanese linen gingham. Made by Amanda Sasikirana.

"You will wear it."

This darling little Oliver and S Jump Rope Dress was made by my mom, April's grandma, Aelyn's great grandma, Ruth Pennel.

Ruth does an amazing job sewing anything she sets out to do. She is a very busy quilter but makes us samples a couple times a year. The details on this one are so sweet and her stitching is impeccable.

Aelyn loves to carry this dress around the shoppe on the hanger, hanging it in various places. She's always arranging our little dress samples. They really are hers.

Aelyn is the real owner of the shoppe. When people come in the door she says, "Customers!" One day we heard the cash register drawer open seemingly by itself. She had pushed a stool up to it, climbed up and keyed the appropriate button. She wanted to get her hand on some cash. But she'll be ringing up customers soon. Maybe when she's 3.

Anyway, one day Aelyn had her hands on this little shirt waste dress and I asked her if she wanted to wear it. She promptly said, "No." Then April jokingly said to Aelyn, "You will wear it." Oh, the frustration of sewing for a 2 1/2 year old who has strong opinions on what she will and won't wear.

Well, April and I are secretly hoping that she will wear it. Spring is coming and we shall see.