Ansley's Christmas Dress 2011

(most original post title ever).



Isn't she gorgeous?!



Almost everything that could've gone wrong with this dress did go wrong (ran out of one fabric, which was alright b/c it was leftover from the quilt I'm "working" on, didn't buy enough the second time, had to order more chiffon, ran out of thread, changed my mind and unpicked the chiffon from the cotton layer and sewed it on to the chiffon layer instead, forgot to change my tension back after helping my friend cheater ruffle some scarves, the chiffon layer turned out shorter than I thought, etc). I even tried to keep it simple by using my favorite pattern for the top (simplicity 5695), seen here and a bunch of other places on my blog. I used view D, thinking it would be more fitted, and ended the top about an inch below the waistline. I used Ashley from Lil Blue Boo's cascading skirt ruffle template after seeing Jill's daughter's costume. I lengthened it but probably should've adjusted the curve too. After some research at Old Navy I decided to sew the ruffles onto a chiffon layer, which kind of looked like view C.

Okay, so here's the inspiration picture.

Source: gymboree.com via Emily on Pinterest

I know mine doesn't look quite like it (so maybe we should say it's a loose interpretation) but the price tag is better and Ansley and I are happy with the color, albeit quite an uncharacteristic Christmas color.

Ansley tells everyone at the store that she's a princess and threw a fit when I told her she had to change her clothes. It's perfect for dancing to her favorite song, Party Rock Anthem.



Sometimes it's quite voluminous:



So should I make some sort of sash or belt? What do you think?




Linked at Project Run and Play.

The Best Buttermilk Pancakes

When I got married, my sister in law made better pancakes than me. She's twenty years younger! I found this great recipe and no longer have to hang my head in pancake shame. In fact, I may need pancake therapy b/c I want to make these all the time now.

Original recipe found here.

Ingredients
3 eggs, separated
1 2/3 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Directions
Beat the yolks until pale and smooth.
Beat in the buttermilk and then the baking soda and mix well.
Sift in the dry ingredients mixing as you add; make sure the batter is smooth.
Add in the melted butter and mix well.
Beat the egg whites in another bowl until stiff.
Fold into the batter until no bits of white are visible.
Let batter stand about 20 minutes before making pancakes.
Make sure your griddle is really hot (the old water droplet test).
Ladle batter onto griddle; turn when bubbles form across the cakes and allow to lightly brown on the second side.
Serve with warm (REAL- not the stuff laced with high fructose corn syrup) maple syrup and sweet butter.

Oh Hello!

Hey! Still here, just haven't taken pictures of my latest sewing projects and have finally emerged from the heating pad/laying in bed/sleepless nights. Thanks for your input in my last post! I ordered postcards, since I won them from Kelly's blog, with the picture that everyone seemed to like best. I hope they come tomorrow.

Anyway, enjoy a few pictures of Ansley and the stocking I made.











Hopefully this week I'll get pictures of the two dresses I've made and finish Ansley's Christmas dress (which is blue b/c it can be). Pretty much everything that could go wrong with her dress has gone wrong, but nothing I can't fix after ripping out seams and buying more fabric a few times. . . .

Input Request

We took some pictures yesterday and I'm debating which one(s) to use for our Christmas card and/or if we should just start over! We had to take advantage of a rare non windy day. I have a favorite but I won't bias you. Please share your favorite! On an unrelated note, each day I'm becoming more convinced that Ansley will be able to read before she's potty trained. She's already read a few words (and not from any books that we read over and over) and is figuring out the sounds the letters make. She's also pretty interested in spelling. She told me today that "daddy's name starts with a 't,' mommy's name starts with an 'e,' and Ansley's name starts with an 'a.'" She also told me "daddy starts with 'd'." I am continually surprised with how she can name all the members of various family friends (including their parents) and wants to know what everyone's names are when we're out and about.











Or some collagey thing:

Ooh Shiny!

I've been in a rush to play with toxic chemicals while I can. Okay, I'm mostly kidding but I did lacquer my kitchen chairs and coat the table with semi gloss polyurethane. I did a little bit of touching up with a stain marker and lightly sanded the surfaces so the lacquer and polyurethane would have something to stick to. I should've sanded with the grain of the fake wood but didn't realize it until after doing the chairs. I also would've used finer grit sand paper if I could've found it at Walmart (I was too lazy to make another trip to Home Depot). If I'd known how easy it was, I would've done this when we first bought our table five years ago.

We also painted our master bedroom with Behr's Candlelight Ivory. Tyrone was (and is) much better at applying the coats evenly even though I used the "m" and "w" strokes. That satin finish is a little tricky b/c you can't invisibly touch it when it's started to set even just a little bit. I will post pictures after we get the pictures I want to put over the bed.

Ruffly Goodness

Yeah, this photoshoot isn't working so well with the 25 mph winds. haha.





A few weeks ago Jessica from Me Sew Crazy posted the prettiest jackets she made for her beautiful girls. I was kind of jealous and commented that I wanted one for myself. Jessica kindly replied that an ivory version would look nice and I obviously ran with it. :) Thanks Jessica! I used a bottom weight for the outer fabric b/c I wanted some more structure but I regretted it a little bit when the ruffles poofed out more than I expected at my waist
(note- bottom weight fabric was not suggested in the tutorial). but then I added a few cheater darts to the front to make it more fitted around my waist. The sleeves were narrower than expected but I can still hold Ansley and play the piano while wearing the jacket, so I consider that a success. :)

I made the adult version of Dana from Made's Can Can Skirt and love it! I was a little skeptical of the shape when I'd only sewed the skirt lining but it's wonderful to not have any extra bulk around the hips and it hangs beautifully; so beautifully that I talked Tyrone into taking more pictures out of the wind so you can see the perfect shape. I love how soft non fray chiffon is. (and I actually bought some to make a dress for Ansley. Hopefully it works).

I'll leave you with a collage of us practicing the can can:

Blazer

I had the opportunity to pattern test for the first time. Melissa at MellySews made the most darling blazer pattern for her son. I LOVE how it turned out! Thanks Melissa!!

I love the shape of the collar and the curved edges. I love the way the blazer facing and the blazer front lining fit together. I love how she recommended trimming the curves with pinking shears. I'm totally going to do that from now on. I also love how it's completely lined. I love the suggestion to use a fun lining fabric.

Ansley just turned 2 1/2 and she typically wears between a size 2 and a size 4. I cut out the size 3 and didn't take it in on the back at all. The shoulders fit perfect and the length is perfect. I only sewed on one button for a few reasons- buttonholes and I don't get along, I like the look of just one button, and I think I would've had some pulling/tugging over her little kid belly if I had added more buttons.

Hand sewing is not my forte. I probably should've zigzagged or pinked the sleeves and hand turning hole section of the blazer bottom before blind stitching.

I think this pattern works equally well for a little boy or little girl, depending on fabric choices.

Exterior fabric is leftover from Ansley's Halloween Costume and my A+ A-line skirt. The lining is leftover from one of my many circle skirts.

Here are some bonus shots from our library photo shoot.

Elephant Parade

A little Saturday morning sewing. Ansley suddenly needs a bunch of shirts. I love her in dresses but they're not very conducive for potty training. I made my own pattern for the shirt and the leggings are from Gymboree.

Happy Halloween

from the ghost of Ansley.