Spring Sewing with Puperita Patterns

I am so happy spring is here! Warmer weather brings all my flowers back to life and I start spend lots of time tending to all my roses. Spring also means the kids need new clothes because their wardrobe from the previous summer is too small! I sew all of Emma's dresses and in fact, I can't even remember the last time I bought her a dress. She has grown a lot in height since last summer so none of her dresses are long enough. Since we are past Easter I thought it was about time to get started on her new wardrobe.

Three years ago I was introduced to PDF patterns and I bought several from various designers, not really knowing the quality of the patterns since I was new to sewing apparel. I also started to learn hand smocking and some heirloom sewing about the same time and have gradually learned proper sewing techniques.  This helped me know how to find the pattern designers who really "knew their stuff." There are very few designers that I will purchase patterns from now and Puperita patterns is one. Puperita patterns are professionally graded, include accurate measurement charts, have proper pattern markings, and are just top-notch patterns. Owner, Annalisa, is very sweet and helpful if you have any questions. She has superb customer service!

click on photos to enlarge for better detail

 

Several bloggers who love Puperita patterns got together to share one of their Puperita creations today on each of our blogs. You will find a list with links at the bottom of my post. This is a surprise for Annalisa and she did not know we were organizing this.  I thought this was a wonderful idea and a great time to get to my spring sewing list! I chose to make Emma's first spring dress from the Puperita Lil Critters Romper Skirt Sewing Pattern. The Lil Critters Romper Skirt pattern is sized newborn to 6 years. This is such a darling pattern that really doesn't take much fabric even for the size 3 I made Emma. The pattern can be made with woven cotton, corduroy, denim or fleece. Since there isn't a lot of fabric in the skirt portion the heavier weight fabrics do just fine. I chose this butterfly denim for the outer fabric which gave the skirt nice body.

I chose pink check cotton woven for the bodice lining and pocket accent since I knew it would match her pink boots just perfectly. She loves wearing her boots and they actually look cute with this dress design.  There is enough ease for the dress to slide over the head and for a shirt to be worn underneath.

 The details on this dress just make it so darling! Emma is a pocket-loving girl and this dress has 5 pockets so she is in Heaven. If you haven't sewn a pattern with pockets before don't let it intimidate you. Annalisa's tutorial is very thorough and they are really easy to sew!

 If you haven't sewn a Puperita PDF pattern you are really missing out! Check out her shop and take time to visit some of the other bloggers listed below.

 

Emi ~ Just Add Fabric     Jaime ~ Made By Jaime     Janice ~ So-Cal Sewing Mom     

Soso ~Moineau & Petit Pois     Ula ~ Lulu & Celeste     Nuala ~ clootie dumplings

Pam ~ Threading My Way     Maria ~ Fairies, Bubbles & Co.     Shelly ~ Sew Shelly Sew

Chari ~ Take time to smell the rose     Helen ~ The DIY Fox     Karly ~ Paisley Roots

Sanae ~ Sanae Ishida     Candice ~ Candice Ayala     Melissa ~ Rebel & Malice

Janet ~ 7 Pine Design     Jenya ~ While she was sleeping

2016 Quilt Along with Whimsical Fabric

I was so excited when one of my favorite fabric stores, Whimsical Fabric, announced a Quilt Along for 2016! I'm always so busy sewing and smocking new things for the kids that I keep thinking quilting will be something I will do when the kids are older. When Whimsical Fabric announced a year long Quilt Along project I knew there would be no reason not to join especially considering how many scraps of fabric I have. Each month there will be a tutorial posted on their blog  for the month's block pattern. Make as many squares as you want and then share your pictures in the Whimsical Fabric & Me Facebook group. Each block is considered an entry. There is a super cute Riley Blake charm pack as a prize for one of the January participants!

January's pattern is the 9-patch. I chose a few of my Parisian pinks for these. I haven't decided yet if I will stick to these colors or themes yet for the entire quilt.

 

Emma's New Cowgirl Summer Dress

We've had a very wet spring here in Oklahoma, but now we are looking forward to a warm and drier summer! We live on a large acreage so there is plenty of room for the kids to run and explore. Since Emma is 2 years old she is simply fascinated by the smallest thing and doesn't mind getting dirty. I know this summer will be so much fun and she will enjoy....

Picking wildflowers

 

running

jumping in puddles ...or thinking about it ;-)

Playing in the mud

Riding her tricycle down the driveway

and, of course, stopping to smell the roses!

....and this Mama gets to watch it all and take pictures! 

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Here are a couple more pictures to show off the details of this sweet little dress I made her for the summer because it is just difficult to capture it all on a moving toddler. I used Ellie Inspired's Texas Rose pdf pattern. It's the cutest western style cowgirl dress pattern I have seen for girls sizes 1 to 16. A very easy to understand pattern and tutorial.

The pattern has short or long sleeve options. I love the button tabs on the sleeve, a perfect touch!

The skirt is 2 tiers and I added a wide lace to the hem of the top tier so it gives it a bit of a different look. 

I used fabric from the new Riley Blake line called Rodeo Rider which works excellent with this pattern. I want to make another Texas Rose or two with their other prints in this line. The fabric is amazing soft and nice weight cotton. The weight of the cotton gives great body to the skirt ruffles and will hold up to the wear and tear of a toddler.


Thanks for stopping by to read my post and I hope everyone has a great summer!
 

I received fabric from Riley Blake free of charge and no other compensation was received from any other party. This post was written 100% by me and all opinions are my own.

Emma's Nutcracker Suite Outfit

One of my fondest childhood memories of Christmas surrounds the Nutcracker Suite story. I took ballet for several years and it was my passion. One year I tried out for a role for The Nutcracker in the Tulsa Ballet. It was an all day affair with hundreds of other little girls trying out as well and I was so devastated that I did not make a role. However, the experience did not spoil my love for the Nutcracker! This Christmas season I was inspired to make Emma a Nutcracker outfit so I started to put all the details together. My favorite sewing patterns are from Ellie Inspired because of the style, consistent fit and the designer is just the sweetest person! I was determined to use a pattern from my Ellie Inspired collection. I chose the Beautiful Dreamer pattern because of it's beautiful square neckline and it's great potential to transform it into what I was envisioning.

Picking out the fabric was next on my list. I wanted to use white, but since I wanted to use red piping I needed a fabric that was thicker than broadcloth. Ended up finding a medium weight white fabric with silver metallic 'glitter' throughout. Very beautiful and thick enough, yet not too heavy. Red Kona was used for the sash and piping which I already had on hand.

After spending many hours searching for embroidery designs online I finally found an adorable fill-in set! There wasn't enough space on the front skirt to even use all of the ones in the set. The embroidery took several hours and literally spent all day on the machine while taking care of everything else.

There were a couple of modifications to the Beautiful Dreamer pattern to shape it into the outfit I desired. I wanted a more fitted looking bodice and a shorter skirt to resemble more of the traditional ballet tutu shape than a comfy night gown. Adding a skirt lining with tulle sewn along the bottom gave it the built in petti-skirt to give it body and help show off the embroidery designs a bit better as well. Piping was made with red kona which lined the waist, neckline and the center bodice to create a rectangle center where a single "E" monogram was stitched out in a script font. I felt the elaborate top would be best paired with simple leggings. The black leggings are from the free pattern in the Ellie Inspired Facebook group.

I don't have pictures of Emma in the outfit yet. We are in the middle of a move to our new house so it has been quite hectic around here. I wanted to go ahead and share photos though. Obviously, the outfit was a labor of love, but it was completely worth it!



   
All photos are copyright of Take Time to Smell the Rose blog