Crabs, Monkeys, & a Duck!

{pardon the appearance of this outfit... I dug it out of the dirty clothes pile!}

Several of y'all asked about the crab outfits the girls have on in these pictures. I bought the fabric at the Bernina Connection (a quilting shop) in Tallahassee, FL a couple years ago... and unfortunately it was a "closeout" special and no name on the selvage... argh! If I see it again anywhere I'll let you know. As for the pattern for the tops... here's what I did. I took a "Pillowcase Dress Pattern" (I honestly think it came from ebay) and changed it a little. Basically I cut the armholes to size 12 month because I didn't make the casing at the top of the dress for the ribbons. I followed the pattern (w/the exception of making it "top length" rather than dress length) through finishing the armholes with prefolded bias tape from Walmart/JoAnn's etc. Rather than folding down the top and making casings for the ribbons, I sewed 2 gathering stitches along the top at the front and back and gathered it according to what I thought looked appropriate on the girls {Paige age 2 is gathered to 6" in the front & 7.5" in the back. Morgan age 3 is a little bigger! :)} Then cut TWO 2" wide 35" long bias strips (2" strips cut on the diagonal of fabric) to use as the ties. Folded them in 1/2 and pressed and then turned the raw edges towards the center fold and pressed again. Then pinned to the top and sewed to form the ties. I hope that's exact enough... if not email me and I'll give more precise instructions. And the shorts are: Creations by Michie: "Diaper Shirt & Shorts".

Despite a rough start to the weekend... it's been better. I haven't decided what to do about Morgan's hair. The lovely "chopped" part will still pull back in her barrettes so for now I'm leaving well enough alone. I have managed to put my new sewing machine to use this weekend. And OH DO I LOVE IT! It sews beautifully and is oh so quiet! And what a treat to not have to disassemble my Viking every time I go between sewing & embroidering! Leslie always talks about that "dreaded fabric pile" that haunts anyone who sews. It's a pile of fabric that you buy because you think it's cute and have every good intention of putting to good use but for some reason don't. Well, slowly but surely I'm making my way through mine... these little monkeys have been hiding in my pile for over a year and I thought they'd be cute w/that Simplicity pattern I tried a couple weeks ago! I can't wait to see my 2 funky monkeys in their new monkey dresses!

And somehow in the last week or 2 I've managed to smock & put together a little daygown for brother to come home in...