Sleep Sack, T-Shirts and PJs

 I made this knit cotton interlock sleep sack for Alex using a free pattern from Sarah Westhover McKenna’s blog. I have made several sleep sacks since 2015. I keep enlarging the pattern as the grandkids grow! I added sleeves to the sleeveless pattern. 

I also refer to  Debbie Chapman’s sleep sack blog post because I like her method of adding a fabric strip behind the zipper.

 This dinosaur cotton interlock fabric was on sale at JoAnn's recently.
It's very nice, but it shrunk A LOT when I pre-washed it.
I bought 4 yards, but when it came out of the dryer I only had 3 yards and about 24 inches.

Here is a little T-shirt for Alex. I used an old Stretch N Sew pattern, #850 for this. I'm disappointed that I cannot find 100% cotton ribbing for the trim. I think this ribbing is a blend, maybe with some spandex in it. I think I applied it with the wrong side out. I hope it doesn't fuzz up!

I made this dino T-shirt for Gavin using Melly Sews free Basic T-shirt pattern, 2T-4T. 

About a week ago I was reading Gavin's big dinosaur book at bedtime. That was when he requested I made his sister, Vivian some Paw Print pajamas...

...So here they are!  I just hope they fit her!
I used Stretch N Sew #850 size 2 for the top. Trimmed extra from the neckline so it would go over her head. That pattern was designed for knits and this is woven fabric.
For the pants, I used the free pattern kids pants basic by Made Everyday with Dana
which comes in size 2-3 toddler
Since Vivian is 18 months, I altered to pattern and I hope it fits her!

Thanks to these generous sewists and bloggers who share their patterns with us!

...and THANK YOU you for visiting me. Wishing you happy moments!

Drawing a Little Beach Scene

I really like the Waterfront cards Lynette and I made at our Waterfront stampfest in June. Since I don't have the Waterfront set (by Stampin' Up!) I decided to try to sketch the scene. Used watercolor pencils by Stampin' Up, a set of 24. My dear neighbor Mary very generously gave this set to me. I really like the variety of colors.

In this card, I was hesitant to use an aqua painter after drawing it. I was afraid of messing up the drawing. But you can see another card below where I decided to give that a try.

I do not have a waves embossing folder like Lynette's so I used my "We are memory Keepers" TIDE folder. Also added crochet thread from my stash.

This card will be an anniversary card. It kind of reminds me of Hawaii. As you can see, it's pretty much the same as the card above. However, this time I used an aqua painter/water brush on the watercolor pencil drawing. The color became darker and more vibrant. I like it better this way. What do you think?

Used Hero Arts Stamp & Cut - Ribbon Messages for the sentiment in Versafine Black Onyx ink.

Used watercolor paper scraps from my stash.

Thank you for visiting! Wishing you a day filled with special JOY!

My Dad's 90th Birthday

This is the card I made for my dad's 90th birthday.  Most of the time I use my Stampin' Up! train stamp set, All Aboard, for the cards I make him because he is a big train fan. For this card I also used Stampscapes trees stamps and the bush stamp. Versafine Black Onyx ink was used for all the stamping. The mountains were hand drawn with gray colored pencil. Used colored pencils for the sky, valley and over the stamped trees.

Dad's birthday is today, July 16. We celebrated on Saturday with our family at a Lithuanian restaurant that was recommended to dad several years ago. We had a wonderful time and the food was so delicious!

Here is Dad with the Texas Chocolate Cake I made for him.

Here I am with our 3 grandchildren, Alex, Gavin and Vivian.

Here we are enjoying the meal.

Here's a close up of the cake.

Thanks for visiting! Wishing you a JOY-filled day!

Shorts Outfit for Alex

Here is our grandson, Alex in the shorts and top I made him recently. Was glad to find a good use for the pirate themed fabric from my stash. I am disappointed the fabric store where I bought this fabric is no longer in business. They had such sweet juvenile fabrics.

Below are close up photos. You can always click on images on my blog to see a larger view.

Thanks for visiting! Good wishes to you!

Another Romper & Adjustments, Headband and Pajamas

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I sewed another romper for Vivian using the same pattern as the navy romper except I shortened the straps. BIG MISTAKE! I shortened them because I saw a photo of Vivian wearing it. The straps were falling off her shoulders. The problem was that the bodice was too wide! 

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So....I had to figure out a way to lengthen this romper. I decided to add a strip of fabric to the straps. This created an extra seam and now the buttons are toward the back of the straps. Oh well, if it is comfortable I hope she will wear it.

To fix the navy romper, I used a machine basting stitch, gathered the fabric, then stitched with a utility stitch that zig-zags one way, goes straight and then zig-zags the other way. 

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Here is the front

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Here is the back

I hope this will fit better now. Will alter my pattern for next time.

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I also made a headband for Vivian.

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Here Vivian seems to approve of the flag table runner I made for her mommy. Couldn't resist this fabric that I spotted at Sew 'n Save of Racine, Wisconsin. We were up in Milwaukee for Summerfest last week and Don took me to Sew 'n Save so I could look for a special sewing machine foot called Acufeed Open Toe Foot for my friend's Elna sewing machine. We learned that Janome bought Elna and the Janome foot fits Linda's machine. Yay! 

I like to make simple table runners with 1 yard of 45 inch wide fabric, cutting it in half crosswise to get a table runner that's approximately 17 inches wide by 43-44 inches long. I use a thin polyester batting for my table runners.

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I would also like to share my Paw Patrol summer pajamas made for Gavin. He already has Paw Patrol fabric for his pillowcases made by you know who! When we were at his house on Wednesday I read to him at bedtime. I thought Emily said she reads 5 books to him. The first book was a dinosaur book that was quite long. He was really interested in the book, but after awhile, I started to flip bunches of pages. We never got to reading any other books! When I went downstairs afterward, Emily told me that she reads 5 pages from the dinosaur book! LOL! Gavin had a special treat with all those extra pages I read! He was very interested in all the information about dinosaurs whose names I could barely pronounce! I found out today that when Gavin got up this morning he told Emily that Grandma read the whole dinosaur book! Made my day!!!

Hope you are enjoying the little things in life that make it special!