Violette Dress in Purple Unicorns

Another busy week! I had my last holiday market of the year, the Market Day Merry Market, and did some sewing for my family and friends this week too. I'll be sharing the first with you today, the Violette Dress by VFT in purple unicorns was put sewn up for my daughter Lily. I normally sew her a "fancy" dress this time of year for all the holiday gatherings and special events we attend. Grandma also gifted her with a special night out to dinner + tickets to the broadway show "The Wizard of Oz." 

Winter Pajamas in Indigo + Unicorns

 Winter is certainly closing in on us here in the Midwest. Even though the forecast says we'll have quite a few 40 degree days (what?!) this month, I'm not a winter person and prefer above all else, to be in sweltering heat with no air conditioning. So, to me it's still pretty cold. haha 

Which has led me to make my oldest some new snuggly pajamas. She loves those pajama sets that have a matching top and bottom. We get them given to us from friends who have older children, but she has shot up another few inches and it's leaving her ankles a bit exposed. I thought I better take matters into my own seamstress hands rather than go purchase a new set. It sure does feel good to have practical skills. :) 

A Very Happy Handmade Halloween: Sleeping Beauty, Wolverine, & A Baby Bear

Ah! I've been gone for so long, I wasn't sure I'd be able to jump back into blogging again! I've certainly missed sharing my handmade items with you guys, but I'll admit that the stress of photographing and writing posts wasn't. I also began selling my clothing and the constant promotion of my brand has dominated much of my "free time." 

BUT, here I am. Back and ready to share my 2015 Halloween handmade costumes. 

DIY Best Bottom Diaper Tutorial

Hey guys! I was suggesting my diaper cover pattern + tutorial to a friend the other day and was saddened to find the link to the tutorial wasn't working. Granted, I am not a tech savvy person so fixing it will be an undertaking in itself. If anyone has advice on how to do that, I would be forever grateful! Until then, the most obvious answer was to post the tutorial into its own blog post and link it to the pattern. My main goal is to offer an inexpensive alternative to buying pre-made diapers and I hope this tutorial does that! 

Here we go!

First you need the pattern- you can find it at my original post HERE.

Winner!

Are you ready?

The winner of the Thread Cutterz ring is Beth James!

Thread Cutterz Ring Review and Giveaway

Hey guys! 

Hope you're gearing up for a killer 4th of July or just a killer weekend if you aren't in the states! I plan on spending the day doing yard work and breaking for mixed drinks and embroidery. I've been doing a lot more stitching on the go, and now I have a great product to share with you to make those impromptu sewing moments as easy as they SHOULD be. 

This little tool is called a Thread Cutterz Ring. Instead of keeping my little nippers in my lap while sewing, I'm able to slip it on and keep track of my cutter at all times. It's been such a time saver not to mention a huge stress relief!

Upcycled Vintage Sheets

Boy, getting back into the groove of blogging has been such a struggle after having Skye, ahem, a year ago. So, I was piling up projects for The Lucky Star Market that I was a vendor for last weekend and staring at all the items made me a tad sad. No, I'm not going all sappy about it, but know that I do love sharing everything I make with the sewing community. I was sad because I gained so much inspiration from the seamstresses I found online, and that's really what pushed me to keep making and failing and making again. I really like it when I get to give something back. Even if it's simply something beautiful for others to enjoy, and that small moment inspired me to take time to write up some new content.  

I'll start it off with a great find from the thrift store... a vintage Disney sheet rocking Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, and Donald Duck (with those two nephews.. Hewey and dewey right? Is that how you spell Hewey?)  This sheet is such a throw back to childhood and though I had an entire list of other projects I wanted to get done, I tossed that thing aside and made upcycled clothes.

Organic Cotton Plus Review - Midsummer Dream Top

I'm really excited to talk for a bit today about Organic Cotton Plus. 

KCW: Romper in Peach and Triangles

I really wish I had the time to sit and pre-purchase awesome fabric that matches the KCW theme because they're always insanely fun and well thought out.
This theme is Wild Thing and this make has absolutely nothing to do with it. I digress...

Boys Button Up in Echino Fabric

Hey!

I'm back to show off this killer boys button up that I made to sell last week. I was realizing the sad state of boys clothing on my Mae & Co. rack and had purchased a yard of this insane Echino fabric last year, but hadn't felt confident about what it should be. I wanted something that I could really show off the intricate design of the pattern. I think this top does a great job, though I could see it as a few other really awesome garments as well. 

Jumpers in Upcycled Vintage Fabric

Lately I've been cranking out jumpers like a mad woman- why? Because I'm stocking the Five Little Monkeys shop that I'm offering my clothing in locally! I wanted to really have fun with the items to match the vibe you get when you walk in. It's fun, it's eclectic, it's bright and colorful, and it's in a small business nook with two other vintage stores. So where am I going with all of this? Upcycled vintage fabric.

Boutique Style Outfit for Easter

Happy SPRING! 

Oh man, I've been waiting what feels like forever to say that! Luckily, my son's birthday is the first day of spring and so I get to doubley celebrate it. 

Mae & Co. SS15 Releases

How silly of me to have forgotten to show the last items released for Spring and Summer. I've be working endlessly to place items in local shops (locations have been updated under the Mae & Co. tab above!).   While I really enjoy custom orders, they are super time consuming and many times I'll spend hours on end communicating with customers who never purchase. It's totally part of the process, but for my families sake I'm moving into pre-made lines rather than custom orders. In a way, this is a big move for me. I NEVER thought I'd enjoy sewing 5 vests in a row, though once I began working this way I found it pretty gratifying. Yeah, it takes me much longer than one item, but when I'm all finished and have FIVE items hanging up, it's pretty cool. 

Alright, the last two items I released for spring are super cute. The first is another take on the vest that I've sewn quite a bit. This pattern rocks, it fits slim and looks so trendy dressed up or down and my son loves telling me that he's going to dance with a girl in a big dress and lipstick when he wears it. Totally fitting, right? haha!

Mae & Co. release day 2 and 3

Hey! Running a bit behind on what's been release (yeah, what's new?) so I've got two looks today. Tuesday was the pinfafore and bloomers set, the pinafore coming from Rachel at Imagine Gnats. I really liked the classic look of it. 

Mae & Co. SS15 Release

Shamelessly cute baby attention grabber...

Little Photographers Camera Pattern Test

Hey guys! I'm back with a really fun pattern I tested for Stephanie at Swoodsonsays who now lives IN MY CITY. As a midwest blogger, that's a pretty big deal. Sewing bloggers are few and pretty far between in these parts- so I welcome the company! 

Ok, to the pattern. Isn't it cute? I saw her post a teaser on her IG account  and asked if I could be added to the tester group. I'm kind of an Instagram junkie, so if you don't follow me GO DO THAT. 

KCW Upcycle Spring 2015

This round of KCW was super fun! I only wish I could have seen MORE awesome things. I mean, my upcycled box runneth  over and that's after purging it 6 mo. ago! 

Watercolor Dress Remade

Who would have known that the Watercolor Dress I made for Lily last summer would become one of the most adored pieces. It's gotten so much attention on my FB group that I've created two more in size 2t for a customer.

The Top Posts of 2014

This year I was having trouble wrapping my brain around the whole Round-up of 2014 thing. Last year I had fun doing The Best of the Worst 2013 where I pulled out all of the bloopers from 2013's photoshoots. This year I was planning to skip it because I couldn't think of anything new that wasn't an overwhelming task. Let's be honest, now that I have myself a busy toddler and a baby under 1yr, time is not something I have in excess. So today when I was scrolling through my newsfeed during a shockingly long streak of uninterrupted free time, I came across the idea of rounding up your top 7 posts in 2014- Readers choice. I love it! What a great way to show you guys what YOU like and also to get some insight into what makes this place fun for the readers. Shall I venture to say this is definitely going into my thought process about goals for 2015?? 

7. Project Run and Play: Let's go to the Movies

Brindille & Twig Bodysuits version 1 and 2

Before I get to these ...

I'm going to start with a list. 

I really like lists. I make them in my head when walking around. I am most likely to hand you something written in list form. I make multiple lists per day on scratch paper I find in my house. Even simple things like "do laundry" or "unload the dishwasher" get listed because checking off things from a list is satisfying to me. It keeps me focused and goal oriented and so I think it'll help me expand in my writing here on the blog as well.
So here goes my first list, I think you will all need it as much as I do.

 5 Reasons Why Winter Isn't Total Hell:

Embroidery Season

While I'm sure there are embroidery enthusiasts that stitch all year round, my tendency is to stitch when the weather gets cold.