Welcoming spring

Spring is here full force. So is work... lots and lots of work. I'm amazed I'm keeping up with my health goals, 25 lbs lost so far this year. And I'm amazed I still find time to sew and craft. Two finishes to report: a table runner and my easter bunny wall hanging. I even managed to decorate a little ...

Thanks Nike for the pretty fabrics :)

I love my little bunny wall hanging so much it now displayed on my mantel :)

Now if only Bug would stop taking off with the decorative eggs ... I find them EVERYWHERE

Trading posts - Paper piecing and sweet bunnies

 In good trading post fashion, we did tray something new and out of our comfort zone again. This time around we were joined by another fellow blogger, Morgane from Bear, Dolly and Moi, that graciously agreed to school us in the art of paper piecing. Both Amie and myself were a bit nervous but very excited to try out this technique. Morgane made it easy and fun. She brought a pattern selection and great tips/expertise for a successful first experience. 

Morgane adding embroidery details to a lovely paper pieced panda and supervising our efforts

Morgane demonstrating the technique and Amie attentively observing

Euuuhh I swear this mess will turn out good

See Amie proudly showing her completed bunny

Yay! We made it!

Not bad for a first time :)

Now I'm working on turning my bunny into a small Easter quilted wall hanging.

Lemon twist necklace

 After slacking off for a few weeks, I finally got some pictures of my latest jewelry creations. I love those chunky light yellow glass beads that I bought over a year ago on sale. I had 2 strands left when I found those cute bead caps. It just was the perfect combination for the elongated shape of the beads and their slight twist. I added anthracite Swarovski pearls for contrast... grey and yellow are so pretty together.

You can guess the blooming branches of my forsythia bush in the background. 

Spring has definitely arrived in MD

Pastel spring skirt

 Spring is definitely here, a full 4 weeks earlier than last year!!! I'm out of my usual winter funk but it also means I have to pay a visit to my Dr's office very soon to renew my Epi-Pen prescription ... bees will not wait for me to start buzzing around. It's also time for pretty outfits... Starting with a cutie Easter skirt for my sweet Bug. Love the bead hair in these pictures :)

And Bug loves the pink and pastel colors of this lovely paisley I got for a steal ( $4 a yard!!)

My ruffler foot got another workout... Definitely the best attachment to invest in when there is a little girl that loves frills and ruffles

Doesn't she already looks so grown up? 

 

And I even put a zipper !! 

Spring envies necklace

Looking at the calendar, spring is just a few weeks away and frankly I can't wait. I never made a mystery I'm not much of a winter person. Even though this winter has been extremely mild, I long for flowers, grill parties and just hanging out in the sun. I have "spring envies". Time to pop some spring colors to help the mood. So I made a fun necklace with green polka dot beads. To finish the look,  I decided for some matching "pompom" earrings.

Aren't those polka dot beads too much fun !

First 100% upcycled dress creation

 It's not perfect by any means but it was 100% free. The lace came from my stash of "deconstructed clothes", the yellow fabric from adult sized tunic and the top from a terminally ripped t-shirt. I think I did OK, and Bug likes it so it's all good.

 

I'm still struggling with knits, a few chosen word did get uttered and my seam ripper got busier than usual. Altogether, this time around it came out much better than the previous attempt. 

Spring colors

It's still pretty cold in MD. Hoping to be able enjoy the outdoor some more soon. Despite the cool, the garden is slowly turning greener, bud and tender green leaves everywhere. It was high time to inject some spring colors to our home. A few pink blossoms on a branch, some decorated eggs are bringing the spirit of rebirth in this small display.

 

 

Like my big yellow and green egg? 

I made it out of a piece of ugly fleece sewn into an egg shape, flowers plucked from a party lei that had seen better days hot glued on the egg shape and some ribbons all from my stash. Not bad 

Don't forget to enter to win this ruffled apron HERE

Email me to get your 10 % discount code for 

any pattern purchase at  the Ruffled Begonia until April 6th

A second life

Do you have a favorite sweater you wear over and over and over. I do. The thing with well loved sweaters is they end up with pulled yarn or worse a hole. When I found a big gaping hole in the sleeve of my favorite black jacket I was sad. My knitting/crochet skills are totally insufficient. Who am I kidding: I can't knit beyond the absolute basic. SO I put my beloved jacket away at the bottom of my "to mend" basket, not quite ready to say goodbye but still thinking there was no way I could fix it. Or was there?

I decided that I had to take a chance with what I knew best: sewing. So here is the rescued jacket:

No before pictures of the "victim" but this is the same model in cream to show you how it looked.

Not a great pic sorry but it gives the general idea

Since it is a cotton yarn therefore a spring jacket, I clipped the sleeves just above the elbows. Then I used a blanket stitch to finish the edge of the sleeves with a satin blanket binding ribbon from my stash. While I was sewing the binding on, I stretched the knit to give it this lettuce finish. Then I added the same binding to the bottom hem. 

It is no longer a plain black sweater. I love how it turned out.

Princess Fiona's Spring wardrobe

Princess Fiona hasn't gotten a new outfit in a long while. Well that was until last weekend. I started sewing a summer dress for my little bug and there was just enough scraps to make a couple little outfits. I wish I was a bit better at handling knits. Only one top turned out "wearable", the other 2... let's say I'm learning from my mistakes :).