cute doll garland

My niece K (formerly known as Baby K) is turning 3.
I always sew something for her birthday and this year is no exception:
I made her a doll garland for her birthday.

For her 1st birthday I made her a soft doll fabric book,
for her 2nd birthday I made a baby doll diaper bag with all the necessities.

As she is now a "big girl", it was fun to sew something doll related but different.

I followed this tutorial from Charla Anne,
and I was also inspired by this doll garland by Girls inspired.

I chose to use 5 different skin colors felt for my dolls.
They also wear 5 different dresses, but the fabrics all come the same collection
and have the same pinks. They have the same eyes and lip colors, I skipped the cheeks.
I added lace, buttons, ric-rac, apron and applique to embellish the dresses.
I think it turned out really cute,
I hope K enjoys them as much as I did.

Miss C. was with me when I was making them and was inspired to make one for one of her girlfriends.
She did her own embroidery for the face,
I only stitched the hands, feet and head as the pieces are really small.
She sewed the rest on her own machine
(yes she received her first real sewing machine for Christmas)

It turned out really cute and her friend was very pleased!

Happy sewing!

croque-monsieur: some serious comfort food

After a couple days of warmer weather,

we are back in the snow and the cold.

Everybody at home is ready for some TLC,

and some comfort food.

To me, it means Croque-monsieur,

a French take on grilled cheese.

Don't you feel better just looking at it?

The only things that needs to be prepared is the bechamel sauce.

I make mine with 1.5 Tbsp of butter, 3 Tbsp of flour, 1 cup of milk and some salt.

It takes a few minutes to cook in a saucepan, but it is the required sauce.

Then I just layered Swiss cheese and ham inside 2 slices of sauced bread,

I grilled them in a panini press, we do not have the traditional French press.

Of course, if you are a vegetarian like me,

it is totally OK to skip the ham!

To make it more grown-up, healthier and less decadent,

I serve it with a salad and may (or not) only one half!

It makes me feel ready for another snow day!

Happy day!

planting some flowers

This winter (which is technically over) has been long,
we are all so looking forward to some real spring weather.
On Saturday, it was finally warm,
and I was motivated to add some spring touches to the backyard.

Since it is supposed to snow again tomorrow,
I was carefully to only put pansies on the shed wall (which can be put inside the shed)
and a few herbs (can be brought into the kitchen in case of hard weather)

A couple of years ago, I made over this part of the back yard (you can all about it here)
and it still look pretty good.

Now if we could get some warmer weather,
we could finally get on with the cherry blossom,
so far we are at "the green buds phase" according to the national park.

I could not finish this post without a real good spring picture,
 it is not from around here, but my parents' garden in France:

Happy day!

baby boy bib

Earlier this week, I became an aunt for the second time

and toddler K became a big sister to baby brother S.

My favorite way to welcome a new baby is with a pretty bib.

I was inspired by Nana company's bibs, Amy has so many cute examples.

I kept it very simple, with just 2 quilting cottons and a chenille for the back.

I added a touch of hand embroidery with a little S on the snail.

This one is different from the previous bibs I made,
it is fun to try new designs and ideas on such a simple thing.

(baby K, animal alphabet, little bear)

Welcome baby S!

Happy sewing!

quilt progress

Today was another snow, so I did what quilters do on a snow day,

I quilted! (most works/schools were closed this morning)

Well after walking the dog in the snow and shoveling of course!

(the snow melted off the road during the afternoon, so back to work tomorrow!)

 I have pieced about 2/3 of the quilt,

a huge improvement over last week blocks.

The rest might have to wait for another snow day (not!)

The squares are about 6 inch, so it is going well.

The pattern is easy to follow, my color choices make it more challenging,

but it is closer to Brick master's music box,

and it is more fun!

Happy St Paddy's day,

no green here, just white fluffy stuff!

Happy sewing!

undergarments for dolls

Because of the sensitive nature of theses pictures,

today there will be a "no Boys" policy,

yes we will be showing underwear for dolls!

We have 2 AG dolls (Kaya and Saige), and 3 Mrs Alexander dolls,

 and only saige came with some panties.

I have purchased a few pairs over the years,

but more were needed.

I have been keeping old but great looking tank tops from Miss C. in the hope to re-purpose them into
some doll clothing, and they are perfect for underwear.

For this training bras-panties set, I used a tank top with "a star is born" French writing.

For the bottom, I copied Saige's underwear, I cut it a little larger on the seat

as I found it a little snug on the back.

I used some lingerie elastic to finish all the edges,

it is one piece with 2 side seams.

For the top, I just shortened the pattern of the strap top from Liberty Jane Patterns.

For this other set of matching training bra and panties,

I used some green knit fabric that I had around.

The bottom was made the same way than the previous one.

The top was made by shortening the tank top pattern of Liberty Jane patterns,

and lowering the neck line.

I used some more lingerie elastic at the bottom of the bra.

With another tank top (one of Miss C's favorite)

I sewed a soft night gown, perfect for a hot summer night 

(it will happen some day, this winter will end!)

This time I lengthened the strap top pattern,

and stitched half of the back.

In another fabric, it could make a cute summer dress.

Miss C. is very pleased with the new undergarments for her dolls.
I must admit, it was totally necessary!

Happy sewing!

modern quilt

With all the snow we have been having,

it has been hard to sew and/or quilt,

there is not much heat in my sewing room,

and it is just too cold to work there.

I managed to start working on a quilt,

a modern quilt with only 4 colors: black, white, gray and orange.

I am making it for Brick Master,

at 13 he is a cool teen.

He actually asked for something with a houndstooth pattern

like on his little music box.

So I have using this pattern from V and Co.

It will be queen size, so it is going to take me a while!

Happy sewing!

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