I picked up this crazy fabric at an estate sale a few months ago and knew as soon as I saw it that I wanted to make something for Anouk with it. The dress came together in a couple of hours as I listened to episodes of Radiolab. The top was originally a black long-sleeved tee that I made into a tank top and then added the skirt (I had juuuust enough yardage for minimal gathers). So simple but because of the print it feels like something special.

fabric: vintage, shirt: H&M, sandals: saltwaters (thrifted)

Happy Monday!

Anouk inherited this hand-me-down blue corduroy shirt from my friend Molly's son, Z. My kid usually likes lots of glitz and glamour and pink, but I thought this shirt was innocuous enough that it might slip by without comment. No such luck. As soon as A. pulled it out of the pile of clothes: "Mom...this is for a BOY."

The pom-pom idea was something I saw on Pinterest, ages ago. They had suggested sewing the poms (onto a skirt) but I found that the act of piercing them with a needle made them fall apart. And hot glue melted them (I only have a high-temp gun). In the end, we used E6000 craft adhesive, which is usually for working with metals or woods, but it worked great and has been through 2 washes (but not in the dryer!) with no problems.

Anouk loves her quick, cheap, and easy pom-pom shirt! So much so that she was really voguing it up during our photoshoot.



^^ the tongue is her signature pose. SO FASHUN.

I've written before that one of my favorite things to find at thrift stores is fabric. For the beginner sewer (like me), it's great to find lots of fabric to practice on without breaking the bank. I found this vintage curtain panel at Thrift Store USA an age ago, and bought it for 99 cents. Even though it wasn't a lot of fabric to work with, I really couldn't bear to leave the adorable floral anemone pattern behind to languish on the rack. What if nobody else appreciated it like I did? It stayed curled up in my fabric stash until Anouk noticed it one day, and told me she wanted a dress out of it.

I decided to make it work, Tim Gunn style. I used an existing bodice pattern piece, tracing it onto freezer paper and lengthening it to a tunic length, and just managed to make it fit the cloth. I lined it with some muslin, and then tacked the existing ruffle to the bottom (the ruffle is really the best part, with the yellow contrast stitching). Over pants or shorts, it really is the sweetest thing and even if it isn't perfect, I'm glad that an adorable piece of old fabric got some new life (of course its new life was quickly threatened by a handful of rogue blueberries but I managed to get the stains out without ruining anything so hooray!) It's one of my favorite thrift store finds to date. 





Now A. is all ready to visit Rhett at the Atlanta jail and ask for the money to pay taxes on Tara! I'm sure she'll get it, how could she not looking this cute?

Have you found any thrift-store gems lately?

Anouk is at the stage where she wants to do whatever it is I'm doing, especially if I'm sewing. "I want to sew, mama, can we sew?" For a long time, she was content to merely sit next to me while I ran fabric through the machine, but yesterday when I lifted her up, she looked at me like I was crazy. "No, I REALLY want to sew. By myself." So we did some quick thinking about how to make that happen.



This was what we came up with: a roll of shelf liner, an embroidery hoop, some yarn and some plastic needles that I picked up a while ago with the thought that I would make some lacing cards for A. and her friends. I spent a little time showing Nou how to work the needle -- one hand pokes the needle through, the other pulls it from the other side -- and then she waved me away. She had it.

I think this is a great way to get the youngest kids familiar with sewing techniques, and holding the small needle is definitely good for developing fine motor skills. Not to mention that this project holds Anne's attention really very well. I've seen similar tapestry tables on Pinterest (my friend Molly made a great one for her kids), but what I like about this version is that it's portable. It can go anywhere -- in the car, to the store, to the new house. I got a good chunk of my future guest room/craft room primed last week with the help of this little hoop and some yarn.
I especially like the Lion Brand yarn bon-bons in bright for this project. I thought the neon pop looked so striking against the black that I popped one of A.'s early attempts in a frame to spruce up her dresser top.



Do you sew? Do your kids? What have you been working on lately?