polkadotbug

Look Out Elementary School

Well, there’s the big girl standing in front of her school this morning.  She did so well.  It seems like it wasn’t that long ago that I was pregnant with her and now she’s already in school!  I only cried a little bit, so I was proud of myself too.

Besides preparing to send Molly off to school, I have been chugging away at crafting things for the Art Festival coming up.  I thought I would see how much stuff I could get out of one yard of fabric.  I think I did pretty well. 

I started with a Buffalo Bonnet and matching fleece lined bib.

 

I finished by squeezing out one pair of reversible pants and a little matching purse.  I love this Kokka print with the big bold flowers.  They look just like the flowers that Molly draws with the huge centers.  The reverse side of the pants is Anna Maria Horner, from her Garden Party collection.

Let’s hear it for the boys!  I even went out on a limb and churned out a lounge pants/bib combo that’s made for a boy.  I didn’t do so hot finding designer fabric that I thought would be great for a boy, so I went to Joann’s. I got a neat dinosaur print and this puppy/dog house print.  I thought it was cute.  It is so different than anything I am used to working with so I did feel a tad strange.  These pants are also reversible with a very comfy gray knit on the other side. 

Hope everyone got the kids off to school without a hitch!

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P.S.  If anyone out there is interested in food (who isn’t?!) and wants to take part in a little challenge, my husband won last month’s Paper Chef food blogging competition and this month’s is underway now – the ingredients and rules are here.

The Beginnings of the Buffalo Bonnet

It’s a little sad to admit this but fall is on it’s way.  I’m starting to get prepared for the September Indie Market and have made the first of the Buffalo Bonnets.  I have one made from 4 of my favorite designers’ fabrics, so I thought it would be a good time to post about it.  (clockwise from top left: Sandi Henderson, Heather Bailey, Anna Maria Horner, and Amy Butler)

The Buffalo Bonnet is my usual reversible baby bonnet lined with snuggly soft fleece.  The bonnet no longer has to be a spring thing.  If you don’t know anything about me, one thing I can tell you is that I love baby bonnets.  They are just too cute.  I made one lined with fleece for my little one last winter and she wore it every day.  Andrew had the clever idea of calling it the Buffalo Bonnet, seeing as we live in Buffalo and most people associate it with cold weather (hmm… I wonder why?).  I never got a chance to sell any because my first market was in the spring.  Hopefully someone else will be as fired up about them as I am!

I love this one from Pop Garden.  I think the bright happy colors are an excellent way to cheer up the cold weather.

I have a ton of sewing to do now to get ready for the September show.  I hope the time finds me.

Molly and Jessie

Isn't this funny?  These are some of the first things I made when I decided that I wanted to try and sew.  They have been stuffed in a basket in the corner since they were made.  This past weekend I moved all of my crafty stuff out of the dining room so we can begin demolition and Molly discovered the basket of firsts.  

The bonnet is Amy Karol's pattern.  It's where I started with the bonnets.  I was very proud of my first bonnets but my stitching wasn't so hot and it was still snowing so Abby couldn't actually wear it.  Since that time my bonnets morphed into a new shape and it's the perfect weather to wear them.  So now we are all happy!  I also made the little skirt that I had no idea what to do with, so it sat in the basket as well.  That's all Molly had to find was a matching shirt for Jessie.  She dug through her baby clothes bin (which is composed of old "real baby" clothes) and found a onesie to match.  I found some fabric scraps and ironed on a matching patch to complete the outfit.  

"Isn't she SO cute Mommy? " Is what I heard from Molly.

In the basket we also found one of the first dresses I made.  It just happened to be in the same fabric.  I obviously did a lot of experimenting with the apples and pears pattern.  It was a very cute pillowcase style dress but too short for Molly.  She was so excited to wear a matching outfit with her baby so we just threw some shorts on and she wore it like a tank top.  Now she was all ready to go to a birthday party with matching baby in tow. 

We had a great time at the birthday party/picnic.  It was Rosie's 3rd birthday.  Julia (my very dear friend whom I've mentioned in the past) and her mom (hi Judy!) throw a party for her at a local state park each year.  We always have a ton of fun and Molly loves the beach.  The weather also turns out perfect each year (normally weather and perfect cannot go in the sentence when you live in Buffalo).  Molly would've loved to stay in the water all day.  It was breezy and the waves were pretty big so I am glad Andrew was there to go in the water with her.  Bathing suits and I don't get along very well.  Little Abby thoroughly enjoyed her first experience with the sand.  Overall it was a great day and fabulous to see everyone.  Happy 3rd year Rosie, we hope it's a great one for you (and your parents)!!

Oh yeah, that's our backyard (that I mentioned needs a lot of work) in the background.  If you look over Molly's shoulder you can see our cute little garden that Andrew built.  We are all very proud of the veggie garden!     

relief!

Well my 30 seconds of fame is over.  Thank goodness.  I truly had a stomachache every time I thought about seeing my own mug on television. It wasn't too bad and I only sounded somewhat dumb and not completely dumb. I was so worried because I would think of they day Lindsay was here interviewing me and I remember talking but had no idea what I was saying.  I hate cameras.  It's like a deer in headlights (very bright headlights). Thanks to Caren for calling me directly after it aired laughing hysterically.  My own husband burst out laughing the instant my face appeared on the tv.  Don't worry folks, it's not like I have a complex or anything! 

You did a great job Josie and your blog is fabulous!  Your lovely accent made you sound one hundred times better than me!  That and the fact that you make amazing things.  I am so happy to be considered one of the local blogging crafters with you!  Perhaps you will teach me how to make a quilt? :) 

Thanks to Vicki for recommending my blog.  Hollyhocks (a fantastic blog) has brought me lots of traffic since you have added me as a favorite.

I thought that I should add a picture of something that I made to this post for anyone who is here for the first time.  This is a bonnet/bib combo in Heather Bailey's Freshcut fabric.  I am in love with this stuff.  This one was made as a gift set for a baby shower.

Thanks for checking out my little place on the web.   

Here We Go...

How exciting!  This is the beginning of my very own site/blog.  I figure I would start it off with the reversible dress because it seems to be a great topic of interest.    This is the newest, inside and out, made with some recently arrived Heather Bailey fabric.  Mmmmm...

My good friend (crazy friend) Caren and I started a blog together, gigglepigs.blogspot.com, that we have been having lots of fun with.  She's a bag-making machine.  We've been very inspiring to each other, I think, and there's nothing better than having someone to share this all with.  My first reversible dress made its debut at gigglepigs, and that one dress has turned into many others and they will be coming with me to our first fair!   I am very anxiously awaiting this Saturday for the Buffalo Indie Market.  There is so much excitement and so many nerves at the same time. I plan to keep my blog with Caren and use this one more for my creations and perhaps a few tutorials.  Soon I'll begin putting a tutorial together for the reversible dress I make, so please check back.  I would love to help all you other crafty folks out there make your own reversible dresses!  I think it's so great that everyone is getting into this!

My bonnets that began this new adventure for me are still my favorites.  Is there anything cuter than a baby girl in a fashionable, modern bonnet?!  I don't think so, especially because I have an adorable 8-month old baby girl who looks great in one!  I think I've found something that truly makes me happy. The incredibly beautiful fabric choices out there make this even more exciting and addictive!  Hopefully I will begin to stock my Etsy shop soon.  Then all we need is to convert our walk-up attic into a work shop for me so I can move my mess out of our dining room!