Zafarani Saffron Twirl Dress Neckline Options!

Yesterday, Zafarani Designs released her first PDF sewing pattern!  

Introducing the Saffron Twirl Dress! You NEED this pattern!

It comes in sizes 6-12mo to 8 years.  Until next Monday, it is only $6! After that it's $9.  $9 isn't all that bad either, that's only $1 per size!

(Click the first link to like her Facebook page and click the second link above to go buy her pattern.)

I was one of the lucky pattern testers for this gorgeous dress.  

It features a V-neck front with button tab closure on the back.  

The back of the skirt portion has a bit of elastic for dressing and playing ease.  

Along with a long sash to tie in the back or double wrap around for a tie in the front

With a full skirt, this dress has MAJOR twirl action!

The Saffron Twirl dress is a perfect fit for the little girl in your life.

Ali's $154 Room Makeover!

Updating rooms can be very expensive, but it certainly doesn't have to be if you shop right and DIY the hell out of it!

After we moved in, Karl and I painted Ali's room a wonderful light yet bright yellow.

My Dorothy Day Tripper Bag Giveaway

Ali Cat & Co recently hit 100 likes!  Wahoo! We are actually up to 120 likes now. 

I have been pondering what to do to thank you. 

Well, it hit me in the shower this morning (yes, that is typically where I get all my good ideas.)

So, I am happy to announce that I will be giving my chevron Dorothy Day Tripper bag away to a lucky Ali Cat & Co. fan.  

This is the actual bag I made, NOT the pattern.

As a reminder what it looks like.

Little Lizard King Retro Glam Skirt Pattern Test

I am very proud to have tested for Little Lizard King and her new Retro Glam Skirt! You can buy as an all size bundle or from 6 months -5T + doll or 6-14+ doll.

When I showed my 3 year old a picture of the skirt, she was THRILLED! We headed to the fabric store and she picked out the two main fabrics.  A little bit sweet and a little bit sassy!

The skirt took me about 3 hours to sew up.  Very simple instructions and easy to follow.  Great pattern for an advanced beginner sewer.  

The skirt has a flat front and elastic back waist band.  You can use regular elastic or there is also an option for sizable elastic (the preferred method) AND a tutorial for making your own sizable elastic, which is what I did! The pattern also comes with a Rockabilly hair wrap pattern and a doll size pattern.

This skirt is very diverse, which is why I love it so.  Kari from That's Sew Kari made hers the Candy Corn Cutie.  Check it out!  Perfect for the entire fall!

Another tester chose fabrics to mimic a cheerleader skirt.  It was equally adorable.  (Once I receive permission to link photos, I will).

I also think this skirt would be awesome made from bandanas and denim for a cowgirl look.  Some of the other testers also suggested a skirt for each Disney Princess or Minnie Mouse.  All great ideas.  Like I said, VERY versatile!

Here is Ali enjoying her skirt "tutu".  She receive many compliments on it at school.

Sew Much Ado: Seafarer Pattern Review

First, administrative information. If you look at the top left of the page, just above the "about me" and my picture, you will see PAGES!  Yippee for me figuring out Blogger.  I have a page for all the pattern reviews thus far plus a page for recipes.  There are many more patterns I've sewn but never posted pictures.  I will slowly start adding all of the beginner patterns I did when I first started sewing.  It's scary when you first start and I had no idea what kind of patterns to buy.  Hopefully I can help some new sewing mamas out.  

Movin' on.

Recently I was introduced to Sew Much Ado's Seafarer pattern. It's a classic pattern and a staple in the closet.  I think this took me 1.5-2 hours to sew up.  Pretty quick.  It's a great fit.  Roomy and forgiving yet still flattering on the figure.  Most importantly, comfortable! If you are in between sizes, I would size down.  That's the most wonderful aspect of knit, sizing down! :)

I don't have much else to say other than I love this shirt and will definitely be making many many more in all the different ways possible.  

Prepare yourself for some ridiculous pictures.

My Boyfriend's Apple Pie

A few weeks ago (maybe a MONTH?), I was a guest blogger on Welcome to the Mouse House.  This is one of my all time favorite blogs.  Hayley is amazing.  Her sewing and crafting skills are out of this world!  You should really check out her blog.  She has a tutorials page that will give you all kinds of ideas and inspiration!  My apple pie recipe is on the tutorials page under recipes, but here it is as well.

Enjoy!

My sophomore year in high school, there was a new boy.  

(I'm sure all of you remember that feeling!) 

And he was SOOO cute!  He started dating a friend of mine.  Every single girl in the school was jealous.  Lucky for me, he was in my Spanish class. Hola, guapo! At the end of the semester he began talking to me a lot and we started hanging out during winter break.  He had broken up with

"the other girl" a few weeks before.  If he told me the reason why, I don't remember.

Who wants to talk about other girls when you have a hottie senor looking you in the eyes?

We officially started dating before school began for the spring semester.  When my friend

found out she was no longer my friend.  She was pretty peeved at me, to put it nicely.  Double lucky for me, she was super tall and skinny and got picked up by a modeling agency and flew

out to Spain for 5 months to model. 

(I heard she did topless pics on the beaches, but I was never able to confirm that.)

At some point, I met his family for the first time.  We had dinner at his house.  His mom had made

an apple pie.  It was love at first sight.

Sis Boom Jamie Dress

There is currently a Sis Boom Jamie Sew-A-Long happening; here's Day 1.  It's only 4 days long, very fast sew.  I wanted to participate because the pattern was on sale for $5!

Sis Boom always has great patterns, easy instruction, and it comes in sizes XS-3X.   If you are a busty gal, there is also a cutting line for extra room in the bodice.  This dress truly is flatting on every single figure.  Just Google for images. It has a full skirt but you can easily change it to A line or just narrow the skirt for less gathering.  The pattern gives you measurements to make the dress any length you desire.  I've seen it as a tunic and maxi dress!  Looks awesome with any cut.

The dress does not originally have pockets.  The sew a long tells you how to add the pockets based on the Sis Boom Angie pattern (which I also bought for $5!).

The sew a long ALSO gives instructions for how to make this dress nursing friendly!   Lot 'o' options!

I'm in love with this dress.  It's so comfortable.  Dress up or down or with a bolero when it's cool.

The only thing I changed was the zipper installation and length.  The pattern calls for a 14" zipper, which would make me cut off one pocket.  I only sewed the zipper to the top of my pocket (which was approximately 10").  I'm a pocket girl, I really didn't want to cut 1/2 of it out.

The shorter zipper works fine, but there is not enough room to get the dress over my hips.  I'm forced to take it off/put it on over my head.  Not a big deal for me.  If I had cut 1" off my pocket and used 11" of the zipper, it would have fit over my hips just fine.  

I took extra care to make sure my side checks would match up.  I did a pretty darn good job.