It's never as easy as it seems!

After a number of mistakes and do overs, I finally finished another ensemble.  I probably need to make one more thing to go with this one.  I think I need to make a shirt to go with the pants.  The jacket can go with the dress or the pants, but if worn with the pants, it still needs a shirt.  That will come later.  I was a little upset with this pattern because it doesn't seem to run to indicated size too well.  It is the pattern I used for the six month cow girl outfit that turned out to be for a three month size.  This one is supposed to be an eighteen month, but is easily a size two, if not larger.  However, the real problem with this pattern turned out to be the jacket.  It seemed so straight forward that I didn't feel I needed to keep referring to the guide.  Big mistake!  I had to keep taking things apart and doing them over yesterday.  It was a day for that.  Even with my knitting, I had the same problem.  I just kept messing up and had to keep taking out and doing over.  Today was much better, and I accomplished much more.  Lexi has been such an angel to let me do a lot of machine sewing while Joey is sleeping.  She is such a good baby and plays by herself so well.  Another big problem I had with this pattern were the ruffles.  None of the pieces seemed to be long enough to give enough of a ruffle effect.  It might be that I used knit material and it stretches too much to give the right effect.  Anyway, they will have to do because I am not taking them apart again for anything.  I'm finished with these articles of clothing.,

I really like the dress, except that it much larger than I had planned.

The jacket makes a nice compliment to the dress.

The jacket is pretty, but I hope the sleeves aren't too long.  They seem to be, but maybe it is because the jacket is supposed to be short and they just appear to be long.

Definitely need a shirt to go with these pants.

Perhaps a dark pink shirt will complete this ensemble.  I have just the right material for it.

More down, but much more to go!

Well, I've finished some more projects intended for Eva's order.  It is a good thing that I have grand daughters of various ages between one month and two years.  Anything that comes out too big or too small or that Eva doesn't want, can just go to somebody else.  It turned out that way with a little cowgirl outfit that I made that was supposed to be 6 mo. in size, but turned out to be more like 3 mo.  It won't do for Eva, so Portia is going to get it.  It turned out so cute and I was disappointed that it wasn't big enough to work out for Eva, but then I realized that it would be perfect for my new little grand daughter.  I still have a lot more to do.  I have been working on a nice cotton knit baby throw.  It is coming out nicely and I can't wait to see the finished project.  Here are the new things I have finished.

This is a fun little summer petal dress

"Look at me...I'm so pretty!"

Having fun in a dress meant for the sun.

"Ooooh,..this is coooool!

I just have to put in all three of these pictures of my little model, Lexi,  because I can't decide which one I like most.  They are all so darn cute that I can't refuse.

Another adorable sun dress.

Not as happy to model today, but still adorable.

"All I really want to do is play ball...not model anymore dresses."

My first cuddly friend blankie.

This is the cowgirl outfit that will be for Portia.  It is made of brown corduroy that has horses embroidered on it.

Lexi loves taggies and since I never made one for her before, I decided to make one and she loves it already.

Mission accomplished!

Well, I did it...I finished the gifts for my friend that is having twins.  I know I should keep it a surprise, but I doubt she is checking my blog, so I'm going to share what I have done.   She is having a boy and a girl, so I made things appropriate for each.  She said she liked the fringe tied fleece blankets, the taggies, and the play mat.  I had fun with the play mat because I tried something different from my others.  I wanted to be able to hang the animals, so I needed to find a way to make the arches.  With a little creativity, I came up with the idea to use pcv pipe to give the arches the necessary strength and flexibility that they needed.  I had the pad finished, but realized that it would be too wide for the arches to be high enough.  I had to cut off the border that I originally had, and reattach the loops to the bottom of the mat to hold the arches in place.  It was quite a bit of work, and I really didn't want to do it since I thought my project was complete.  But, I figure a project worth doing is a project worth doing right, so I took the extra time to take it apart and do over.  It was just what I wanted it to look like, and I was so happy that I took the time to do it right.  Now, I can feel pleased with the outcome.

This is the play mat with the border.  Looks nice, but the arches are too flat.

This is the mat after being revised.  It is smaller, but the arches are much higher for hanging animals.

This is what the mat looks like with the animals hanging.

Laughing Leo the Lion

Gentle Gerry the Giraffe

Energetic Ellie the Elephant

Crazy Christopher the Crocodile

Happy Holly the Hippo

Zany Zach the Zebra

Kissable Kerry the Koala

Mischievous Maggie the Monkey

Terrible Terrance the Tiger

This is the boy's fringe tied fleece blanket.

This is the girl's fringe tied fleece blanket.

This is the boy's taggie with Patriots on one side and the Red Sox on the other.

This is the girl's taggie with the zoo animals on one side and plain purple fleece on the other.

 Now that I have finished these projects, I am back to working strictly on the things for Eva's big order.  I cut out a lot of things yesterday and started sewing them tonight.  I finished a corduroy skirt and a vest tonight.  The material had embroidered horse patterns on it.  It was hard to cut out because I had to do what my sister calls a "fussy cut" where you have to cut around the individual pattern piece that you want.  It wastes a lot of material to do it, but in the long run it looks much better to do it that way.  Now, I need to go to the store to get some plain white rib knit to make a onsie that will match.  I hadn't planned on doing this outfit, but after I found the material on my shelf when I was looking for something else, I decided it would make a cute outfit for a little girl, so I made it.  I'll save the picture for it when I have finished the onsie.

I'm on a roll!

 I'm really accomplishing a lot right now.  I just completed another ensemble today and made a fleece jacket also.  I still have another sleeper without feet like the one below and two with feet left to finish that I  have cut out.  I have so many cute patterns and great material left.  I'm having a hard time deciding which to do next because I'm so excited to do all of them.  Here are the new things.  I've even added a couple of darling little models for some of the outfits.  I'm repeating the ensemble I showed last time, but this time Lexi is showing them off for Grandma.

Lexi wearing the dress from the last ensemble.

Lexi wearing the dress and jacket.

Lexi in the shirt and pants.

Lucy wearing the new ensemble consisting of a onsie, pants, and short sleeved hoodie.

Lucy in the onsie that goes with the new ensemble.

My little goose is so camera shy sometimes, but she is still a great model for Grandma.

This is the onsie that Lucy was wearing.

These are the onsie and pants.

This is the whole ensemble.

Hooded fleece jacket.

The sleeper without feet.

I'm working on it.

I've nearly completed the gifts for my friend that is having twins.  Should be done by today.  Along with that project, I have begun to work on the things for the big order from Eva.  So far, I have finished a taggie cloth, a quilt, a cloth book, four sleep sacks, one sleeper, one onsie romper, four bibs, and a ensemble consisting of a shirt, a pair of pants, a dress, and a jacket.  All can be worn separately, or used in combination with each other.  I'm not sure what Eva will want, but I am just making things that I hope she will like.  These are the things I've finished.

Bibs are made from left over remnants.

Eva already purchased this cabled wool hoodie sweater.

Sleep sacks are wonderful for the first few months.

Taggie cloths are a must for any baby.

Full ensemble

Shirt and pants can be worn together.

Shirt, pants, and jacket are another option.

Dress can be worn separately, or with the jacket.

Nursery rhyme quilt

Onsie rompers are great and can be worn separately or with pants or a skirt.

Cloth books are great and this one will go along with the Noah's Ark play mat that Eva wants.