The Handmade Dress

...smiling eyes.... ... pudgy little feet..... ....learning new things...  ....a few minutes of quiet... Happy Saturday Friends!! ~xo, Sam

Last night, just as it was time to move to the body of this little vest, I decided to add a cable up the left side. (Sort of like the Milo  vest.) I wanted to learn something new (mix it up a little!) and I thought that it just might be adorable! My project details ae HERE . My first attempt at a cable went pretty well, I was surprised at how easy it was! What did we do before YouTube people? We didn't learn to cable at 2am, when all the kids are in bed, so that your mind can grasp a new concept...Then I went to bed at 2:30 and did nothing but dream about cabling (and nurse a baby) until I got up. Do you ever do that? Work in your sleep after you've learned something new? ~xo, Sam

Finally! A random post where I get to say whatever I want whether it ties into the subject of the post or not. I should have one of these once a week! :: For the longest time I have wondered why I can reply to some of your comments by email and others I can't. Sometimes I will hunt down their email address on their blog or website and reply, but most of the time I can't do that. Then yesterday I commented on my own blog to answer a question (I couldn't reply to this persons comment/email either) and when I got the comment email I realised my account was set up the same way! People can't reply to my comments via email either! There are some sweet folks that have been stopping by connecting with me for so long that I feel like I know them, I like to be able to reply to them directly. So yesterday I set out to figure this out, and I did! It's too easy. If you would like other bloggers to be able to respond to your comments by email this is whatchado: Sign into blog...

The In Threes baby cardi is done! (but not blocked) You can see all of the details on my Ravelry page HERE . I had a little trouble deciding on buttons for this sweet little cardigan, until I found these in my stash! They are red with wood checks, very interesting. I don't really know where I got them from though I suspect that they were in an old jar of buttons that my great grandmother, "Granny Dear", gave me. They are just perfect! As I was getting ready to take the pictures I mulled over what dress I should use, then I thought "What would Maddie pick?" You see more and more lately this little lady of mine is teaching me about thinking outside the box. So I told Maddie "When mama is done taking these pictures, I want you to have on an outfit that you think will match this cardigan good." And here it is. I think she may have shown me up a bit! Who would have thought? She has on her pink twirly skirt, a too short red and white dress...

I just think it's hilarious that my four month old (soon to be five months!) can have tiny little pigtails! Do you know what I've said for the longest time?  "When I get to Heaven I'm getting back in the hair line." I find it so funny that when God saw fit to send me my little miracle baby, that it looks like she was sent through the "hair line" twice. :) I love it! Happy Saturday friends! xo, Sam

I have been wanting pretty stitch markers since I started knitting, but it was one of those things that I didn't really "need", so  I never bought. I thought a few times that I could make some but I didn't have the stuff on hand so I would still have to buy something. Last night while I was knitting along, thinking about how much I would like to have a pretty little dangle where it was time to change from knit to purl, I got an idea! I had some earrings in my jewelry box that my sensitive ears wouldn't let me wear!  A little twist on the part that goes through your ear with a pair of needle nose pliers, and here they are. Knitting eye candy. Why does it please me so to be knitting along and see a pretty little marker there? It really does make my project more fun. Have you ever made your own stitch markers? Tell us how you made yours! Or link us up to your blog or flickr and show us! xo, Sam

...that these colors look good with just about anything (to me) and I am loving the way my new project is coming along ( you can see the details here )... ....that the Harmony KnitPick needles are my absolute favorite, as smooth as butter.... ....that this little sleeping face is one of the most precious things I have ever seen... ...and that after almost ten years, and three girls, these are still my favorite pajamas. :) I'm still waiting on my yarn to ge here! But as you can see I have a couple of pretty good distractions. Oh, and the last load of laundry is in the wash now, but you know as well as I do that there will be two more loads waiting after baths tonight. *sigh* xo, Sam

You see the problem? That yarn laying there should be connected to MORE YARN! Yesterday I went to four million craft stores and couldn't find another skein to save my life. Luckily I found some on the internet, but that means I'll have to wait.... While waiting I have: :: Crocheted the flower -which may be a little too big and may make it hang funny, so it may come back off. :: I've been rehearsing buttons -the vintage plastic ones are really speaking to me right now, but what color? Hmmm.... :: Looking for my next project on Crack-verly, I mean Ravelry - this one is making me smile. :) :: Wondering why I just noticed today that you could friend people on Ravelry ?? What?! Will you be my friend so I can see your projects too? :: And in the words of my favorite cousin, Aimee, "Just tryin' to keep the piles of laundry under the windows so the neighbors don't see." Clean clothes are sooo overated. More in progress pictures are...

To properly try out my new Knit Picks needles I started this little project on Sunday. (It has grown some since then.) It's the Striped Smock Top on Ravelry. ( My notes are here .) I love it so far! I think this is a good first-sweater-project because the pattern so far seems very easy to read. (picture from ravelry) I'm making it for Claire in a 12 months so that she can wear it this fall. This is perfect for our weather here, she will probably be able to wear this fall through spring. It's going to be so sweet over a little dress! *LOVE* xo, Sam

I made this skirt for my little neighbor's birthday this weekend. I love the fabrics together, both are old bed sheets. :) I wanted it to look like a twirly skirt on top of a twirly skirt, and I really like the way it turned out. My girls liked it too so it looks like I will be making more soon, I guess it's a good thing that it sewed up fast! Do you see that there? Those plants in my flower garden? It's squash! Somehow in all of the planting this Spring these little guys ended up here. When we were weeding it a few weeks back I told the kids to just leave them be. If they want to grow there we will let them. :) My most favorite part about giving this skirt away was the wrapping! I rolled it up like a bouquet of flowers, stuck the end into an old cardboard tube, and wrapped it with tissue. The girls had a very interesting *conversation* in the car, on the way over to the party, about who was going to carry it in....Maddie won. What's that? ...

I am so excited about these! This A-line skirt (with a yoga style waistband) is made from two thrifted t-shirts. They are fast, easy, cheap, and flattering! It can't get much better than that! This little "recipe" will work for kids too. A few of you asked for a tutorial, and because they are so easy, I decided to whip one up. (By whip one up I mean that I made it up at night, when three of my kids were asleep and the lighting was terrible. Sorry about that.) To start you need two coordinating old t-shirts (one of mine is a polo style shirt made out of jersey). The shirt that you will be using for the skirt part needs to be a couple of sizes bigger than what you would normally wear in a normal tee (so if a M fits you, you will need at least an XL for this). The shirt that you plan to use for the waistband can be your size or larger.  Measure your waist where you will be wearing the waistband, and then take 3 1/2 inches off of that, now divide that...

Ben surprised me with a one night getaway to Nashville last week! I was so excited, we haven't been off alone in so long. I love me a good fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants-trip. We left Tuesday morning and got back last night (Wednesday), but we packed a lot of fun into our two days away! I packed just one small bag for us, to me that makes it more adventurous for some reason...like you may have to make-do or try something new. I also left my big camera at home, so I took pictures using my hipstamatic camera on my phone, I documented the whole trip in pictures.... The morning we left I got up early to pack (packing the day-of makes it more fun too!). While I waited for Ben to get home from the fire station I made this skirt from a thrifted t-shirt -I think I may be addicted to these, but more about that later -and I painted my fingernails with my new green polish.  Our first stop was at Children's Corner , where I got the pretty voile on the left, and got ...