For the cutest little niece in the world :-)

Imagine me hopping up and down and clapping my hands, smiling from ear to ear. I'm an auntie :-))

I had almost forgotten what it was like to hold such a teeny tiny baby, with the cutest little nose and mouth and fingers and ears and... Okay, you get the idea. Only three-and-a-half years ago, my boys were just as tiny - no wait, even a tiny little bit tinier. Now they're so grown up, telling funny stories and singing and jumping around and giving me the biggest bear hugs in the world. Three-and-a-half is a wonderful age, but holding that cute little girl brought back memories of holding my own two babies for the very first time. I nearly cried.

Of course I made something special for the newest addition to the family - tadaaaa:

More pinafores

Isn't it amazing how different fabric qualities, colors and details can make the very same pattern into completely different items? For my boys, I sew every pattern at least twice, of course. But even when I sew gifts for other kids, I tend to make varieties of the same patterns over and over. I've sewn several varieties of cozy car caddies, a number of hats, tons of neckerchiefs... And one pattern I just adore for little girls is the pinafore by Smashed Peas and Carrots. I've already shared the first one I made a year ago, and here are two more I've made since:

On a pattern like this, where everything is cut in one piece, fussy cutting is somewhat limited,

Last minute...

When we were preparing for our fairly spontaneous trip to Fuerteventura last month (huge grin :-D), I decided to do some last-minute sewing. The boys needed new bathrobes, as the ones I made for them nearly two years ago were definitely too small now. I was a little surprised how long they actually lasted - the pattern is just fabulous! So again, I chose one size up to accommodate for the next growth spurt or two.

I had been planning to make a second set of these bathrobes for a while, so when I found those striped beach towels

Helau!

I love making (and actually also wearing) costumes, so Karneval is is always lots of fun for me. This year my boys are finally old enough to really join the fun. When I asked them what costumes they wanted me to make them, their ideas were pretty straight-forward: A cuddly blue cat for E and an astronaut for L.

And I must say

Long time no sew...

... or rather long time no blog. I actually did a little sewing, I just couldn't get myself to sit down at the computer and write. Again, there are so many things I want to work on, design, create, research and write that I can't get beyond the stage of sorting through everything again and again, trying to find somewhere to start. Is procrastination an art in itself? Then add that to my hobbies ;-)

But this week is different. It's Kid's Clothes Week again! Since I missed the last season *sniff*, I've been really looking forward to this one. I had everything planned out in advance and was able to start cutting on Monday! Whoohoo!!!

I've finished a

Dinosaurs!

I stenciled some plain white shirts with "Blopens", a crossover between felt tip pens and airbrush. Quick and easy, and the boys love them. When they're a little older, I'll let them make their own shirts, but for now, I get to have all the fun ;-) Will probably make some more, I'm thinking of guitars. But I'll have to make my own stencils first (the dinosaurs were included with the set of pens). Will have to try out if freezer paper stenciling works with these pens...

Kid's Clothes Week in July

Hey, I just signed up for Kid's Clothes Week in July. That means I've committed to sewing clothes for my boys 1 hour a day each day for 7 days, from 21 July to 27 July. Read more about the challenge on the KCW blog.

I've got a few projects in mind, but so far haven't got any ideas for the theme "Kid Art". Projects don't have to conform to the theme, but I think it's really cute and has great potential.

Anyone wanna join in?

Work in progress... erm, regress

Anyone wanna see what I'm currently working on?

I hate, hate, hate picking out stitches. And today, I'm extra "lucky" as the flatlock stitch I used here not only turned out terribly uneven, but is next to impossible to rip. Do you see all those little "x"s? It seems like I have to use my seam ripper on every single tiny stitch here, that is FOUR times per "x"!!! Wish me luck that I get this done before midnight. Or at least before sunrise. I really want to finish this pair of sweatpants (from Ottobre design 1/ 2014, size 98). And as soon as I've completed the second one, I promise I'll never ever use this stitch again.

Pinafore

Less words, more pictures today :-) Last week, I sewed up this pinafore for our friends' cute little girl.

I had been tempted to buy this lovely fabric (from the Nördika Collection by Jeni Baker for Art Gallery Fabrics) for a while, but never really knew what to do with it. Now seeing how it looks in a little dress, I guess I'll have to buy some more for myself to make a skirt - or even a dress? ;-)