My Sewing Projects

It's been so long, I KNOW.

No excuses. We've been out enjoying summer, up at the cottage, at swim lessons, and trying to stay cool in 90+ degree heat with only one oasis of air conditioning in our bedroom.

Josephine at her swim lesson in her new "Boats & Fishies" bathing suit

Finally, it's cooling down, and incidentally, I have a few things to share. 

I've been SEWING!

Back in February, in anticipation of our first family vacation and Josephine's first flight to Florida, I made a sundress (In February. A sundress.). Here it is

Needless to say, she looked adorable in it. 

And that project gave me confidence that I COULD follow a pattern. This month I cracked open my copy of Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing: Patterns and How-To for 24 Fresh and Easy Projects. I bought it years ago at the Swedish shop in Chicago, and finally tackled one of the projects. 

I made two of these awesome door-stoppers! One for us and one for a friend. It was half a joke, but actually really cute. I didn't have enough lentils on hand for hers, so I poured cous cous, popcorn, and literally everything I could find. Paul thought I was nuts and wasteful. The next day I stocked up on 4 lb. bags of pinto beans.

Then, I made 2 of these draft snakes. 

One for us to keep our lovely air conditioned air in our bedroom, and one for my sister to warm her new apartment because she was moving away. I put eyes on hers. Josephine thought it was AWESOME. 

(Now Josephine talks about how Aunt Stacy moved "Far Far. It's Sad.")

My next project is a baby snuggler a'la Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing for Baby: 24 Easy Projects for Newborns to Toddlers.

This great blogger posted about the ones she made, and I just happened to purchase the pumpkin colored fabric, and it arrived today! I also received the fabric I ordered for a friend's shower gift, but I'm not going to post about that until after the shower (If I remember to post, because really, I have been so inconsistent, I feel guilty even promising to post). Anyways, they will look something like hers: 

That's all for now! Have a great week!

Photos of the door stopper and draft snake via are from Lotta's book, via The San Fransisco Chronicle, and the baby snugglers are from http://probablyactually.wordpress.com/. I have actually had that photo pinned on Pinterest for months and am glad I stumbled on her post again!