Dolly and Me outfit

 
I made this outfit for

Miss C. and her dolly

with cherry fabric.

I used the Simply Sweet Tops and Dresses pattern

from you can make this.

It is an easy pattern,

with great instructions, almost too much information...

but it would be perfect for a beginner!

You might recognize the doll skirt,

I had a tutorial on it in this post .

 Miss C.'s skirt is a modification of a pattern from Ottobre Design

The skirt is fully lined with the petticoat,

which is attached at the hip level, not the waist.

Miss C. has really enjoyed this outfit over the past 2 summers,

the top is getting a little short,

But she loves to wear matching clothes with her doll!

Happy sewing!

ratatouille

Ratatouille
or how we will celebrate my Holiday!

No fireworks here,
the dogs (90ish pounds each!) are terrified of them!

But a nice recipe,
and if you like the movie "Ratatouille",
you will appreciate it!

Ratatouille, family style!

you will need:

zucchini,

red peppers,

tomatoes,

onion,

olive oil,

herbes de provence,

salt,

coriander

(and garlic,except for me!)

First remove the skin of the tomatoes and the peppers:

-boiled tomatoes for 30s, then ice water for a minute

-fire roasted the pepper, then ice water

it takes some time but it is worth the effort!

Cut all vegetables into small pieces.

In my family we always prepared it in a pressure cooker.

So in the pressure cooker,

put some olive oil and cook the onion,

then add the rest of the vegetables.

Season with the herbs, salt and spice.

Close the pressure cooker,

and let it cook for 20 min once it is under pressure.

Prepare some couscous,

and serve your ratatouille over it.

A healthy vegetarian summer dish.

Enjoy!

picture from wikipedia

Happy Bastille Day!

 

embroidery for summer dress

For the last few days,

I have been working on a little embroidery:

This cute mommy cat and her baby are from

"Sublime stitching"

by Jenny Hart.

It is an easy embroidery, done mostly in stem stitch.

Hopefully it will soon be a dress for Miss C.

Happy sewing!

cute bib

A friend of mine is having a baby

in the next few days...

Obviously it has been going on

for while...

but some how, it just downed on me

that I had to make a baby present!!

So a little on the late!!

On my defense, she lives far away

and I have not seen her in a few years,

well it is my excuse

and I am sticking to it!

So I decided to make a few bibs.

I used this pattern from Nested.

(without the pocket)

I was also inspired by these bibs on Flickr.

I used some fabric left from an older baby quilt,

and appliqued the alligator and the zebra.

I think this one need a little something more,

may be another bear, with some background fabric....

Still thinking about it.

I do not know the baby's gender,

so I might wait a few more days to finish it.

The back is a chenille fabric, perfect for softness

and absorbency.

I lined the alligator applique with some denim

to give it some presence.

I also quilted the apples.

I hope my friend enjoys them,

they were fun to make....

so much fun, that I might make some more....

Happy sewing!

I made the cut on the CSI project!

I got so excited this morning,

so I called mon Cheri: guess what?

Somebody made an offer on the house?

No....silly!

I made the cut on the CSI project!

Husbands have so sense of priorities!!

for the outdoor decor challenge

I posted the garden structures that

I build .

I am so happy!

The csi project for next week is:

yard sale/tag sale makeover.

Go over and have fun.

Happy day!

updated basement craft room

A few weeks ago,

I mentioned that I had to move

my sewing room out of my formal sitting room

to make place for a home office.

Selling one's home is no fun!

But I was not about to call it quits,

no way was I going to give up sewing,

after all it is a great stress relief,

well most of the time!

But before I share my smaller

but usable sewing room,

let me show you

my work place for anything paper related!

So here it is my crafting space with very little natural light!

I tried to make the windows seem bigger

with longer curtains...

but there is no real hiding the fact

that this is the basement!

So here it is my crafting table.

I have been using it for a few years,

and it is perfect.

I used 2 book cases

(called 9 cubes, purchased at Target, probably 5-6 years ago)

and put a piece of 3/4 inch melamine on top of it!

It is not attached in any way, 

the weight itself keeps it in place,

even with crazy monkeys going around! 

I finished the edges with some iron-on melamine,

it could probably used a support bean underneath,

may be in its next location.

The chair is from IKEA and is mostly used by the kids,

the table is over 3 feet tall!

I like to work standing,

finding things all over the place.

It works perfectly with the new cabinets,

that I just finished installing.

So here are some of the furniture I was able to relocate

and use to store my fabric.

Some of the less used fabric has already been boxed up,

a sore subject

so let's not talk about it!

The armoire, still in need of much love (probably after we move...),

stores my extra machines and some fabric and notions,

it is a bit tight inside!

Next to it, are 2 stacked set of drawers

that used to be under my desk, right at my finger tips.

It might seem messy,

but I know what is inside each drawer....

And finally here is my library.

As a scientist I am only comfortable if I have access

to reference material.....

So a large collection of books and magazines....

It took quite a few trips for my son to bring everything downstairs!!

The red and blue bins are full of fabric and patterns,

and projects almost complete, and in total danger

of never being finished.....

On the left is a little desk where I can sew,

I do miss my big desk,

perfect for quilting.

And I am not the only one whose toys were sent

to the basement!

Miss C and her kitchen/dolls are still with me!

Happy crafting!

4th of july parade

Yesterday was fun and HOT!

We were in the parade with the cub scouts

and they did a great job!

And of course last night, we enjoyed

fireworks,

multiple fireworks!

Happy day!

smocked night gown

A couple weeks ago,

I wrote about my smocking experience

with my daughter's dress.

Well I decided to make something

for myself....

at least I know I will wear it....

or at least feel terrible if I do not!

So here it is

A beautiful smocked night gown.

I used the pattern

 from "sew Beautiful" magazine,

number 118 (2008).

I basically followed the directions

and it went well.

I made a shorter version,

and my fabric is a heavier cotton.

It is perfect for hot summer night!

The bullion flowers took some

time and practice.

The back is a little simpler,
without the center flowers.

Overall I am pleased with myself,

and I wear it proudly!

I am posing the best I can,
there are bees in the lavender behind me!
and the sun is setting!

Happy smocking!

flag

Today the kids and I

got ready to celebrate

the 4th of July.

Not being a citizen does not mean

that I do not celebrate the holiday,

it means I do it twice!

I saw a while ago this post

http://www.howdoesshe.com/cheap-home-decor

and I did not get it....

I know, so slow.

Somehow today, I read it again,

and it totally made sense:

making flag out of 2 x4 is a great idea!

and I have plenty on hand!

While the kids decided on the paper,

I did some cutting and sanding.

With one 2 x 4, we did 3 flags.

We used less than half of a sheet of paper in each color.

So a very economical project.

Miss C. did a good job with the gluing,

mod podge is really great!

and after some more sanding,

I wrote the message

(less fancy than in the directions!)

and we glued some stars.

We did not have any ribbon,

but we have plenty of fabric,

some I cut some fabric on the bias

to wrap it all up.

Tomorrow, we will give the 2 extra ones

to some friends!

Happy crafting!

Home for sale

Yesterday we put our house for sale.

For the past few weeks, I have been decluttering

and cleaning the house,

not a great way to enjoy summer!

And shame of it all,

I had to remove my sewing room!

Here in its previous glory.

Apparently it is not a selling feature!

I know, totally shocking!

And neither is a play room instead of a dining room....

some peole have not priority!

 So now we officially have an office,

nice but not as useful!

and a dining room,

we are quite grown-ups!

We transfered everything to the basement,

it is getting a little crowded down there,

but overall, not bad.

And since I just finished installing all that storage,

it would be perfect if we had bigger, real windows!

I am still working on making it to my liking,

so more pictures coming up soon,

after all I have a cool table to go my fancy cabinets!

Happy cleaning day!

Happy crafting day!

happy father's day

Bonne fete Papa