LTTS: Play town

Here’s our scrappy play town, perhaps the most fun project yet from the Little Things to Sew Along.  I’m still plotting more buildings, because they are cute and silent. Silent toys are the best.

A birthday quilt

She’s nearly one, that girl of ours. And so her birthday was decidedly the perfect time to venture into the new territory of quilting. It’s a slippery slope, isn’t it?  While I was surrounded with measurements and fabrics strips and tags, all I could think was, I want to quilt everything. 

The front is entirely from fabric  I already had {minus the pink back}.  My thought was if it didn’t turn out, no real loss, just practice, and I’d pick buy more and make a new one.  Except the thing is, I love every combination.  I love how the strips from past projects come together in celebration of her first year.

My most favorite part is above on the left, the strips ended up being too short and I added the red polka dots to the end, and like magic, it was perfect.  The Traveler quilt pattern is from Little Things to Sew, from Oliver +s, and my project for the sew along this month.

In other news: Something to read.  Something to bake.

A pretty little apron //LTTSA #3

This pattern is darling and a major breeze after the backpack.  It takes me back to a place of china patterns and homemade meatloaf on the table, when I look at the combination of the floral print with the peacock blue bias tape. This one is going to a friend’s daughter, because every little girl needs a pretty apron. I know it will be perfect for baking holiday treats with her wonderful momma.

See more projects from our Little Things to Sew Along here.

Penguin backpack || LLTSA#2

I loved this project and that penguin, he needed to be in my home. My kid makes the cutest penguin noises. I don’t know what letters to type to make that sound, so, take my word for it.

One thing I’ve come to love about sewing this year is that if you can follow directions, you can make just about anything.  The people who make these patterns do such a great job of giving you all the information you need, taking away all excuses not to try.  You cut out all the pieces and little by little you see your project taking shape.  And was my little encouragement to all the I-can’t-sewers out there. Because, you can. No seriously, you can.

Jessica and the rest of us are working our way through the wonderful Little Things to Sew book, by Oliver + S. This month, the backpack.

Whenever he puts it on, that little boy of mine does this running dive.  Apparently, it’s also a magical super hero backpack.

oliver + s bucket hat (LTTS Sew-a-long #1)

Yesterday, my Little Things to Sew book from Oliver + S  arrived at my door, thanks to the delivery man
and guess what happened today…
The clouds parted, the stars aligned and the kids both took a nice long nap. Glory!
Good thing because, I was shoulder deep in the it-has-been-too-long-since-i-made-anything blues, so today was just what I needed.  Coldplay and the thunderstorms helped too.

The fabric for side one is this muted, soft, fall-ish  print. It’s cute, but woodsy and whimsical, perfect for a little girl about to enjoy her first fall, isn’t fall the greatest?  The reverse is a lovely green, richer than the photos show.  To remedy a problem area  add a little something extra, I hot glued a small Velcro round and did the same to a simple brown felt bow.  This one is a size small and it fits her well, with room to grow.
The pattern called for a blind stich by hand to add the cap for the reverse side, but umm, I didn’t do that, I folded under the edge and pinned it like crazy, then I sewed from the front side, so that the threads would match, brown on front, white underneath.  It looks like an intentional top stitch and I think it was way easier… and faster.

 
I’m going to make one for my hat-loving boy next, so he won’t steal this one from his baby sis. 
I can’t wait to make the rest of the projects from this book and to see everyone else’s finished hats, see who’s sewing along here.