Sewing Aprons for the Little Ones

After seeing a wonderful kids apron pattern by Beth Galvin at Craftsy I decided to make aprons for our three grandchidren and a friend's two children.  I have lots of fabric in my stash, and these aprons only take 1/2 yard, so I grabbed some fabric and went to work on these little surprise Christmas gifts. 

Here is the front of Vivian's apron. I like how Beth keeps it simple with a waist strap that secures with Velcro (hook and loop closure). Making the apron reversible is an easy way to finish the edges!

Here is the reverse side of Vivian's apron. The pattern size that Beth shared is for a 3 to 6 year old. Since Vivian is not quite 2, I reduced the dimensions of Beth's pattern. Used this size for Alex and Lucy who are both under 2 years old.

I made myself a pattern for the smaller size, which is
about 2 inches shorter
and about 1.5 inches narrower.
Used 14.5 inches of 3/4" elastic instead of 15 inches for the neck strap.

Here is the front of Alex's apron. He's 18 months old.

Here is the reverse of Alex's apron.

Here is Lucy's apron. She's almost 18 months old.

Here is Gavin's apron, made according to Beth's pattern here.

Here is Henry's  apron also made according to Beth's pattern.

I am going to see our grandchildren next week. I think these will be early Christmas gifts for them. I can't wait!

Thanks for visiting! I hope you are enjoying this season of love and giving.

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!

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!

Monogrammed Jeans

Over the years I have made lots of monogrammed pocket jeans as gifts.

Now I have the pleasure of sewing for our grandchildren!

(click on image for larger view)

Gavin is showing me his sand art.	Gavin's pants
Is Vivian is modeling her jeans?	Vivian's jeans
Here is Alex wearing his Star Wars shorts and purchased onsie where I have added a fabric applique from the Star Wars fabric. I don't have a photo of him in his jeans....yet.	Alex's jeans

Regarding the notes in my photos...

I add notes for myself with the hope 

that the next time I sew with the pattern I might be more efficient...

we'll see how that idea works out.

I found a new way to display images side by side in blogger.

A great big thank you to Sharon Brennan for sharing her tutorial  on 

Inserting Images into Blogger Side by Side.

Update, June 4, 2018...I noticed the images were elongated when views on mobile device.
I reset image size to small. By clicking on image you can see a larger version.

Thanks for visiting.