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Posted on September 29, 2011
I’m not sure when my love for FALL and all things related to it began. But it sure is strong. It may have been the trips to Holy Hill to gaze at the beautiful colors below. It may have been my Aunt Gloria’s pumpkin pie that I always looked forward to and eventually learned to make on my own. It may have been the satisfying feeling of pulling on a pair of blue jeans after wearing shorts for four months. It may have been the football on the tv on Sunday with windows open snuggled under blankets with a nice bowl of soup. It may have been the fall festivals and outdoor activities. Actually, it’s all of those things. Along with the beautiful colors, cooler temperatures, cozy clothes, come some of my favorite foods. Pumpkin anything, soups, and many different things made with apples. The best part of those food made with apples was the satisfaction that I picked those apples and brought them home. They didn’t come off the shelf in the store but straight from the tree. I have always loved picking apples and was disapointed to learn that not everyone picks apples in the fall. When we lived in Texas it wasn’t something that people did and it was hard to find…you had to drive a couple of hours to find an orchard. Well, since we moved to Jackson I’ve been looking forward to the fall with great anticipation. Cooler weather, leaving windows open all day long and snuggling under blankets at night, leaves changing colors and yes, picking apples. Yes, we did have to drive an hour to find an orchard but it was SO worth it. Yes, we spent more time in the car than actually picking the apples but that’s what memories are made of.
Hannah carried that apple around the whole time we were at the orchard and most of the way home!
We had lunch at a great little pizza place on the way home and then got the kids settled in to watch a movie/nap and I got started on my applesauce. The first batch of applesauce that I’ve made is very good…and I didn’t need to add any sugar. We also bought a bushel of pears so I’ve got some work ahead of me with all the applesauce and pearsauce to make but it’ll be worth it! We had a great evening at a local festival and I’ll share those photos soon!!
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Posted on September 24, 2011
As you can see I love to sew. I love to make things that are useful and pretty. I love it when the things I make put a smile on the recipients face. And I love it when those things last and can be passed down.
I’ve noticed on a few of Hannah’s dresses that I forgot to do a zig-zag stitch on my seams and they seem to be fraying…if only I had a serger 
…
But I remembered a lesson that one of my sewing lady friends taught me and I want to share that with you today.
Maybe you already know this trick and maybe it’ll be new for you…but I wanted to share it anyway so that maybe at least one person can learn something new.
This sewing trick is so that you have no seams showing at all…no raw or exposed edges of fabric, thus no fraying or random threads hanging out here and there.
And off to the tutorial.
I am making skirts for my daughters birthday outfits and I wanted to make them without the exposed edges…so here we go.
Measure the length that you want your skirt to be.
I wanted to use two fabrics so I took the total amount and split it.
Don’t forget to add some extra length for the casing and hems.
Sew the pieces together on a long edge with the fabrics facing the same way.
I know this is contrary to how you’ve learned to sew but trust me on this.
Oh and skip this step if you’re just using one fabric.
Take the bottom fabric and bring it around to the front and fold the exposed edge down 1/4inch.
Sew the folded edge as close to your first row of stitches.
This will create a little bottom piece without any exposed edges!
Next, fold your skirt in half with the wrong sides together and sew at least a 1/2 inch seam.
Again, I know this is not how you’re used to doing things but trust me!!
It will look like you sewed it the wrong way and your exposed edges will be on the outside of the skirt but that just means you did it right.
Now take your scissors and cut ONE side of the exposed edge off…closer to the seam.
Fold the longer side (that you did not cut) over the short side that you did cut and iron down.
Now just sew that to the skirt. Make sure to pull the fabric that is underneath taut so that you don’t sew it in the wrong place.
Does that make sense?
See, then you have two seam lines but no exposed edges!! YAY!
Inside view
Now just make the casing for your elastic (don’t forget to add your label)…
Add your elastic…
And sew the casing shut once the elastic is in.
I also sew one vertical line through the elastic so that it doesn’t move too much or get twisted.
Stand back and check out the cool skirt you just made that has…
no exposed edges!!! CLEAN AND NEAT!!
And the reverse for the little lady!
I added some appliques to their shirts and called it done!
I thought this version of “5″ was more fun than just a plain ol “5″…
plus then I can teach her about hash marks.
I realize this photo makes these look REALLY busy but they don’t look that crazy in real life!
Did I totally confuse you? Let me know if I can clarify anything!
So did you learn anything new?
Do you have a favorite sewing tip that has saved you time and headaches? Please share!
Posted on September 22, 2011
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Posted on September 22, 2011
I’ve been doing a lot of sewing lately and I LOVE it…so today I’ve got a peasant dress tutorial for you!
I’ve never taken a formal sewing lesson. I’ve had two wonderful women show me a thing or two about how to sew. One taught me how to read a quilt pattern and one taught me how to read a clothing pattern. I am so thankful for their help and wisdom but also thankful that my brain works in such a way that I can look at things and sort of just figure out how its made. This doesn’t work all the time but I find that I can often times work something out in my head till it actually works in real life. I’ve been intimidated by patterns since my first “sewing with a pattern” lesson. I’d much rather just get to sewing…but measuring and cutting carefully is all part of the game. So, when I first started making clothes for my kids I stuck to the simple things like pillowcase dresses and tie shirts. Then I did follow a pattern for another dress that I’ve made a few times and I love it…but I wanted something simple that would come together with little effort…see, I’m lazy and don’t want to mess around with a lot of extra steps. My neighbor told me about the peasant dress she had learned how to make at one of her MOPS meetings and I was intrigued. Four rectangles with a little notch cut out, sewn together, add elastic a hem and call it a dress. Yes please. These are almost easier to make than the pillowcase dresses!! So, please remember that I am no seamstress and I probably don’t do things correctly…but here’s my version of the peasant dress!
Edited: I forgot to add the link to the sizing chart! You can find it here! Sorry!
Cut out four rectangles of some gorgeous fabric according to the measurements for the size you desire.
(You can do all four rectangles in the same fabric or pick a coordinating fabric for the sleeves.)
Fold the rectangles in half wrong sides together and stack the four rectangles on top of each other.
You will have eight pieces to cut through.
Cut a “J” shapped notch into the top left corner of all eight pieces of fabric (you don’t want to cut the folded side).
Take one sleeve piece and one body piece and sew the notch part with right sides together
If you have a serger use it to serge the edge otherwise just use a zig zag stitch near the edge.
Repeat this process with all four pieces that you cut the notch out of making sure to fit the sleeves on properly.
You should have a piece that looks like this when you finish these steps.
Then fold the dress in half right sides together and sew from the end of the arm all the way down to the end of dress.
Follow up with a zig-zag stitch or use your serger again.
Don’t worry, I know it look gi-normous but it’ll get better! I promise!!
Fold the top edge 1/4 inch and then 1/2 inch to create a casing for your elastic.
Sew close to the edge of the 1/4 inch fold to secure the casing but make sure to leave an opening so you can get your elastic in there.
Once you get your elastic in, sew it together and then close your opening.
I like to sew a small vertical line through the elastic just to make sure it stays in place and doesn’t flip over on me.
I sew that line close to where the sleeve fabric meets the body fabric so no one can see it.
There are a number of different ways to do the sleeves…here’s my way.
I like to add some elastic to the sleeves but don’t like to just have a small casing for elastic at the bottom.
I took it one step further and left a little extra fabric to sort of make a ruffle.
So, start by making the 1/4 inch fold then make a bigger fold like 2-3 inches and iron it down.
Then sew the first line about 2 inches in depending on how big you want your ruffle to be.
Then sew close to the edge of 1/4 inch fold to create the casing, again making sure to leave room to insert the elastic.
Insert the elastic, sew it together and then close the opening of your casing.
I hate to hem things…so I usually try to find a way around it.
With these dresses I just added some ribbon to the bottom of the dress.
Sew the ribbon to the wrong side of the dress then fold it around to the front and top stitch it down.
I don’t have this down to a science yet but it works.
That was clear as mud hey?
Let me know if you have any questions.
Leave any questions in the comment section and I’ll try and answer them as best I can!
Stand back and admire your work.
Try it on your little model and see how it fits.
If it’s made to be a size bigger than your child wears (like mine is here)
then just tell yourself that it won’t look so much like a pillowcase when the bigger kid wears it!
And I’m not saying who the bigger kid is who might be wearing this come January!!
You can also make something cute for their hair to go with their cute dress!
Like I did so go with these other peasant dresses that I made…
Posted on September 21, 2011
Here are a few more images from our mini photo shoot at Greg’s grandparents farm.
Want to know more of the story, read this post from Sunday if you haven’t already.
Remember how I told you my settings were messed up…that’s why the photos look grainy…but I love them anyway!
Hannah’s “ready for some football”
Remember I said the baby wasn’t happy…here’s some proof…
But she did give me a few smiles…
Naomi of course was all smiles and excited about the photo shoot from the beginning!
LOVE this one…it is SO my girls!
Hannah loves her big sister so much! And Naomi adores Hannah as well.
I was able to get a few shots in the front as well, just before the sun went down.
And Micah joined us for one quick photo! Love this one too!
