A Curbside Find!

At Bible Study last night, our friend from church had noticed his neighbor putting a lot of shrubbery at his curb. So, he went over and asked if they were available for the taking - and yes they were.  So this morning, Geoff went and picked up a van full of these mature bushes.  They seemed to have been ripped out with a lot of root ball attatched, so we're hopeful they will transplant well into our bare garden.  These are some before and after pictures.  If they take well they will be such a nice addition to the "brand new subdivision lot" that we have now.  I think it added instant character to the backyard!  And the price-tag was the best at $0 (full day of labor courtesy of Geoff :o)

Before picture - the corner of our patio in the backyard.

After, same corner.  They are beautiful boxwood shrubs which I have always loved.  They will keep their leaves all winter long which will be some great green color over the all the seasons.

Other corner of patio.  This is where we planted the most.  I think it makes the space much more cosy.  It is a nice layer to the backyard.

Layered Skirts!

I have had this book on my bedside table for several months and page through it often for inspiration, but a short while ago I began making some projects inspired from its pages.  The skirts in this post are only one of the 8 or so patterns in this book, and by far my favorite.  But the book really inspired me to combine many fabrics into one piece and showed me how to use trim to add interest and a really cute layered look.  This makes for a project that takes a little longer to put together - ruffling lots of fabric strips and pinning on thin little ribbons of trim is time consuming - but well worth it!  These skirts are some of my favorite completed projects ever!

This book was put together by 2 ladies from Germany and Denmark, I believe, and it has a lot of classic "Eurostyle" children's clothing.  A real pleasure to look through over and over.

Marin and Emma in their completed skirts.  The corduroy on the top layer makes it the perfect weight for a fall skirt.

The top layer is a yoke and overskirt made of corduroy, trimmed at the end with ribbon and ruffled coordinating fabric. For the underskirt I used 2 alternating fabrics and ric-rac trim at the bottom.

A close up shot of the mix-and-match fabrics.  I spend a long time pouring over my fabric stash to see what I think would go well together. I change my mind many times before the final cuts are made!

A Corduroy Dress

I have had this pattern sitting around for a while.  I thought it would make the perfect dress for Naya, and I finally decided on some lovely fabric for making it.  It was a great easy pattern to follow.  The sewing only took 3-4 hours from start to finish and I'm very happy with the results!

Kwik Sew is another of my favorite pattern brands to buy.  The problem is they rarely go on sale, and they're maybe only 20% off when they do.  But they are made from a nice solid paper instead of the tissue that other pattern pieces are printed on, so it makes them easy to work with and longer lasting.

I found this beautifully soft "featherwhale" corduroy at my favorite fabric store just over the border in South Carolina, FARMHOUSE FABRICS.   They have such a great selection of corduroys, it was hard to make up my mind.

 

The finished dress!  I think the color looks so great on Naya.  It will be such an easy outfit for weekdays or Sundays, and she loves it.  I ended up making the sleeves 3/4 length instead of the short sleeves shown on the pattern - by just winging it and using a ruler to add length to the sleeve pattern piece.  This will make it more of a fall/spring dress and even winter if I add a pair of tights to the outfit.  Then I finished the sleeves off with elastic sewn about 3 inches from the end seam to give them sort of a "bell" look.  I'm pretty sure I will make several more dresses for her from this same pattern in the near future.

A Pink Corduroy Jacket

It was a day I was in Joanne's fabrics and patterns were 99¢ that I came across this new pattern for a jacket.  Having "easy" stamped on the front cover made it seem like I couldn't go wrong!  I pictured it made in several fabrics with the same tone instead of in the different colors shown on the envelope.

I think all those ruffles attracted me to the shape of this jacket.

The finished jacket!  It is made of pink "featherwhale" corduroy that I had previously made a skirt out of and had in my fabric stash.  The ruffles are just a few remnants of pink polka-dot cotton prints I also had on hand.  The lining is the typical "apparel lining" found on the shelf at Joanne's fabrics.

I made the jacket in a girl's size 7 for Marin, but it ended up being way bigger than that.  Here is Naya (age 14) wearing it, but it is just a little snug - and sleeves too short on her.  I guess Marin will just have to wait a few years to enjoy it.  Disappointing to get a size I was not expecting, but not a totally bad experience making my first jacket.

Pants for Marin

I got inspired to make these pants a few weeks ago while flipping through a Burda pattern book. Burda makes some of my favorite patterns with their classic, slightly European style.

These are the fun pants I wanted to make.  There are actually 3 lengths that come with the pattern - pants, capris and shorts.  Since it's winter, I wanted to go with the long pants, and found a plain khaki colored cotton to look just like the picture on the pattern envelope!

The finished product!  Not too difficult to make.  It was definitely my first time doing a waistband, pockets and belt loops, but it worked out after ripping a seam or two :o)  The pants have a fun inset that has gathers and has a ballooning effect on the side of the leg.

This is Marin, who is 7, wearing her pants.  She is pretty pleased with them and they seem to fit perfectly.

Side/back view.  Notice the missing button on the bottom cuff!  I'll have to go over to a friend's house where her machine makes fantastic buttonholes!

 

By the Yard?

Welcome to my blog.  The title is an attempt to tie together two hobbies of mine that I enjoy and want to blog about (and it was suggested to me by my friend Kathy!).  Visiting yard sales has been a long standing hobby of mine that has been beneficial to our family over the years by providing us with necessary (and not so necessary) additions to our wardrobes, furniture and housewares at a minimal cost. Sewing is a more recent hobby that I have begun to enjoy.  Although I got the basics of sewing in high school Home Ec. class years ago I have only recently begun to consistently to enjoy it as a hobby.  Having lots of young girls provides the inspiration for making fun dresses and skirts.  And living in the South furnishes me with the available fun fabrics and also ladies who are experienced in these arts and are willing to pass on what they know!  Well, I'll stop with the introduction and show some projects I have been working on lately.