I don’t keep up this- I think I’m just so busy lately – it’s hard to keep up my family blog and this one and work and be the mama all the time.

Recent stuff

Grocery bags (just a few that I recently made)

A wrap skirt I made from a 70s pattern. I may make some more of these for my store

A quilt for my friend’s new baby girl

I’ve been in love with aprons lately. I enjoy wearing one – the look and the feel. Even more, I enjoy that I’m keeping my clothes cleaner when cooking and eating dinner (yes, I’m one of those who spill on their shirt often). I only had the one apron – a gift from a sewing friend.  So, I’ve been making more.

These two are for my etsy shop but I do love them. I hope to make a few more this week.

A very full retro-style skirt half apron –

A patchy cafe style apron with a towel loop

It amazes me how fast the 6 weeks of summer vacation are flying by! Only 2 more weeks until my big kids go back to school. Amazing.

The past few weeks I’ve been working on skirts and gifts and a few custom orders for my store.

Something new – I worked on this wrap skirt – I think it turned out pretty well too. A soft stretch poplin (I may make some summer capris for my older girl out of what I have left).  This one is for sale at on of the stores at Hyenacart.com that I sell at: http://hyenacart.com/prod_details.php?id=97431&vid=210

Wash cloths – There is something comforting about making these. My husband does the dishes more than me and he’s not a fan, so I use these for washing my face. It’s amazing how soft they wash up. These are for sale at my store hyenacart.com too (congo group Sewingmamas):  www.bugzNbean.com

I love celebrating the 4th of July with our family and friends from church. The kids had a wonderful time playing with friends and we enjoyed talking with old friends too.

Of course the girls had matching dresses. My boy wasn’t interested but he did match his daddy. My older girl wanted her dress more snug (being she’s so thin, most everything is baggy on her), so I added a ribbon to the back of her dress.

HAPPY 4th of July from my family to your family.

I’ve been wanting to do more shirts for myself. Of course, sewing for everyone else often seems to come first.

I like how this one turned out. The color is a soft kind of 30’s retro green with very small dots (flowers, I guess) on it. Kwik Sew 3062 with a few modifications. I did a much narrower bias tape (self fabric) and the pattern didn’t have it quite long enough so there are a few very small tucks in the back and I squared the neck a little (the gaping here is probably due to my lack of fullness in the front)
(do you know how hard it is to get a picture of me around here!?)

I tried first to have my children take the pictures but the angle was so far from flattering (even in the ones where you could see my head and my shirt lol), that I went for the mirror option.

and for my girl…..

I did do a little sewing for my older girl. She saw a shirred dress at the store. A simple little white dress. Being a sewing mama, I had to do it myself.  The dress does look a little mu-mu ish to me but she loves it. It hangs a little low in the front here, but we figured out that if we cross the ties in the back, it stays up better  on her super thin frame. She wore it for 2 days in a row, so I guess she likes it Actually, she insisted I make a few more for her.

Today I took my girls to the local fairy festival. They had a blast running through the flowers and just being girls. Tulle skirts, wings, and flowers in your hair! All those little girl joys.

My little fairies

I took a lot of pictures — I put them in my flickr photos instead of putting them all here

Sewing-wise, I have been getting a few things done.

one custom nightgown (actually 2 but I forgot to take a picture of the other one) … only 3 more to get done this week and then I’ll be all caught up with my custom orders.

This is a little dress I made for my older girl. She really loves this pocket. Now I just have to make one for my younger girl too.

I’ve been in the sewing mood lately and got some things done. A few more to go for today but this is my “animal” sewing for listings at Eclectic Earth tomorrow. I’m tempted to keep the green tank dress for Faith, but I’m going to try not to

I love this dress! It’s the Celina dress. I only did a few modifications which I’m not sure are due to me not paying attention or something not being printed right in the size I needed… but in the end it turned out OK. It’s a touch too small for my littlest one (can get it on fine but I would like it looser). She’s already getting into size 3T and I keep forgetting this fact when sewing for her. BOTH girls want me to make them one of these dresses now. They love the pocket in the front. (it goes the full front of the dress)

Next is a pair of sea world gauchos – dd had a pair of these and loved them. Once again, I need to make some size 6 for her now.

Green tank dress set. I got this fabric from HSMom24 while at expo. Just enough for a toddler dress I dyed it but the color just won’t photograph well. It’s a bright pale green – kind of a lime color. I’ll try for some better pictures in a bit (once the drizzle stops again).

Next up will be a reversible black and white dress for my etsy shop and a tank for me I love when I get in these moods, but unfortunately I’m still in my “lounge clothes” (I’d call them PJ’s but I really do where them much more than that) and I’ve not brushed my hair today either. I guess I should do that and take out some chicken for dinner before I get wrapped up in another project.

really I’ve been sewing and getting things done… just not talking about it.

Today I had the day off from kids and hospital work (well, I will do some work tonight but that’s not day hours)

I’m not a purse maker. I love to buy patterns to make purses but I actually even trace the patterns very rarely.
I made the AB swing bag a few times and I’ve made a few wristlets for the kids… I make grocery totes regularily but that is different.

Anyway – at the annual sewing expo this year Suzanne (sewzanne’s fabrics) had a cute little bag that we all admired and ooh’d at. So, of course I had to give it a try and bought the pattern that week (back in the first week of March). Well, I finally traced and sewed it up and I’m happy. I bought this cute fabric at expo with some friends and fell in love with the little snails.

The bag is by that*darn*kat – her comming and going bag. I lengthed the strap a little and added a few pockets. A cute little purse. for me, I need a purse a pinch bigger so I can fit my basic stuff and some knitting in it too, but I do like it. very easy to sew up, even for an inexperienced bag maker like myself. I even used up some magnetic snaps I bought a few years ago! I’m planning on making on of these for P’s teacher – she’d like it.

Next is a dress I made for my little girl. It’s old stash fabric and an old stash pattern that I slightly altered. A very full dress. In the back, which you can’t see, is a large yellow vintage button I got from a friend 2 years ago at the sewing expo retreat. My little one really loved the dress. I’m going to do something similar again for her, just not quite as full I think.

I’m working on a shirt for me next

Summer is comming!!!  My girl is already done with preschool and my boy will be done on Friday. Friday is also my girl’s birthday – she’s turning 5!

 The hyena cart was down this past week, so I wasn’t able to post anything new for sale but will try to get more up later this week. I did set up one set on etsy.com (ID: Bugz*N*Bean) - 

other recent sewing projects for sale – just let me know if you are interested in anything

I’ve been not only a bad blogger, I’ve not been sewing as I would really like to.

I need to get OFF the computer and back to my sewing area.

KNITTING

 I’m loving knitting lately but it’s hard to find things that I want to make, are easy enough to be put down and picked up, and not warm weather stuff since it’s already in the high 70s here quite regularily.

I made a cupcake last night.

Dh asked – “What is it?”

A cup cake.

“what’s it for?”

“to look at. For P to play with…”       

He didn’t get it and thought it was odd. Well, the cupcake didn’t turn out as planned and looks a little odd.

The girls both reall like it and P was able to guess it was a cupcake. I already have ideas for future ones.

SEWING

I have realized I’ve not been sewing for myself. I have tons of patterns and even more fabric for myself, but haven’t been working on things. I guess just a lazy rut?

Anyway, I decided to give the new Women’s Ottobre a try and make myself a shirt. I think I need to go a size bigger- at least for now b/c it’s snugger than I wanted. I’ve learned my lesson and started to use fabrics that I only have a little bit of when trying new patterns for me. This fabric had almost no stretch and probably wasn’t the best choice, but I got an idea for the construction of the shirt and the fit. I like the little gather in the front (although I didn’t center it well) and the sleeves are ok. I don’t like the fit around my “i’ve had 4 pregnancies” belly though.

Paige LOVES gouchos! She has requested that I make her some shorter ones. Here is the first pair. I’ll be making her more for the summer/spring and some for my store at hyenacart.com too.