Bridesmaid Dress

 Sorry this post is so delayed, but here it is, all in one place, the making of my bridesmaid dress for Mom's wedding.

 First we cut all the pieces and put fray stop on                                                                                          them. 

Then I started assembling them. Outside first, then lining.

Then finally the underskirt.

Put it all together, top stitch some seams, and voila!!

Ginger Cookies (Because we have no printer ink) =P

Soft Ginger Cookies

2 1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp ground ginger
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
3/4 c. butter, margarine, or shortening
1 egg
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. molasses
For Rolling Cookies in:
2 Tbsp. sugar

In bowl combine flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, set aside. In a mixing bowl beat butter, with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 sec. Gradually add the 1 c. sugar. Beat until fluffy. Add the egg and molasses; beat well. Stir in the dry mixture.

Shape dough into 1 1/2 in. balls. Roll balls in the 2 Tbsp sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheets about 2 1/2 in apart. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 mins until light brown but still puffed. Do not over bake. Let stand on cookie sheet for 2 mins; transfer to wire rack and let cool. Makes about 24 cookies.

Bib and Blanket for Bradley

 A bib and blanket I made for my Cousin's new baby boy. I was told she likes yellow so I went for a bee pattern on the bib. The embroidery was new to me and I'm afraid I used too much thread. It was a bit thick, but future reference. Buttons instead of glue on eyes. It turned out really cute.

I went for the same fabrics on the blanket to match, and I decided to do a tag end too. I always have fun picking out ribbons and it looks really nice. It goes well with the bib too. My cousin likes both. Functional and fun to make!

Pregnancy Shirts

 I recently found out I'm pregnant again so I got out my maternity clothes. Last time I was pregnant mostly during the winter, so I had a couple long sleeved shirts. This time it'll be summer and more humid since I live in Dallas now. So I shortened the sleeves. You can barely tell with the purple one (I wear this one all the time) and it's really comfortable. I love the shorter sleeves on it.

The pink one is a slightly different story. I made the sleeves a little longer on this one because it's cotton, not polyester like the purple one. I haven't worn it since I altered it because I'm not really showing yet and I don't need it. I'm satisfied with how it turned out though and it'll be nice to have it when I do need it.

Newsboy Hat

 I had a bit of trouble finding the pattern pieces for this hat, but it was worth it in the end. I used cardboard in the brim, so there's a bend in it. I should've been more careful about what piece of cardboard I used but c'est la vie.

As far as the actual sewing goes, it was pretty smooth sailing. The directions were simple and clear cut. I wasn't able to gather it the way it wanted me to because my machine doesn't zigzag wide, there was too much fabric for my ruffle foot, and I didn't have the super strong thread anyway. Even a regular stitch wasn't loose enough and wouldn't work. I wound up doing small tucks where the sections fell and adjusting until it fit the band.

The flower was a lot of hot glue. Five pieces of wide purple ribbon folded in half  twice to form petals. I glued them all together and sewed a button to the top. It was hard to get through the glue with my one needle (I need new hand sewing needles) but I made it work and sewed it on the finished hat using the petal sections that overlapped. 

I'm super happy with it and I'm currently wearing it (not just for the photo).

Yarn for Life Sweepstakes

Attention Fellow Crafters!!
Just found out about a cool sweepstakes called yarn for life. You can win free yarn for up to 20 years!! Plus, if you enter using my link, I get extra submissions so, yes, ulterior motive. You should still enter. Here's the link: http://ck.upickem.net/r/683dh3kJ7cu?r=25486

Pillowy Pink Owl

Another owl pattern from my granma. The beak was supposed to be felt but I have no idea  where the box with my felt currently resides (besides somewhere in the garage) so I improvised. I just crocheted one on the fly and I'm rather happy with how it turned out. I did pink since a little birdie told me that's a popular owl color these days. I'm going to do a purple one as well (I just got some purple yarn at wally world today) along with a few other colors I have lying around. As always, let me know what you think. I love the feedback :)