Sweet Birdies

I knew this adorable fabric would become the cutest ever nightgown. And it did! It's even cuter than I'd imagined. I love it!

The background is a true white, not sure why the colors look a little different in each photo. I'll say it's because the light that day was wonky.  =)

So far, I've made this in a toddler size and a newborn size, and they each made me giddy. I will be taking a break from the shop in the next few weeks, and I won't be making any new summer items, so if you've been on the fence, now is the time to order.  =)

I'll be back with some gorgeous new things for fall...

Finishing a Project When You're Ready to Give Up

Good morning! I think this post could be alternately entitled: "The Project That Made Me Cry. A Lot."

A couple of months ago I put a picture of a tunic top I was making on instagram.

And I just knew. It was going to be that kind of a project.

Well then. Since none of us has two right arms, there really isn't much need for a double right-armed top now, is there? But that's what too-early, dark mornings will do to a girl.

And I had zero extra fabric.

After repeated trips to the store and looking online proved futile, and the print is just so pretty that I hated the thought of giving up entirely, I amended the project. Shorter length, slightly narrower width. Problem solved, I smugly thought.

And then this.

Oh it might look innocent enough, but it was brutal, painful, nauseating...all of it! The seams refused to line up, the fabric insisted on puckering where flat and smooth were required, the lining...well, wouldn't- it fought me Every.Single.Step.Of.The.Way.

I thought I was going to have to toss the whole thing out, but I just couldn't. The fabric is so pretty and dainty (neither of which you could possibly tell from the awful photos above), and I could see the finished top in my head and it looked so, so cute. Very much unlike the one staring me down on my sewing table.

So I did leave it alone for a few weeks. Sometimes that's what you need to do before you can move forward.

And here it is on my little girl, after winter fiiiiinally ended and she could get by without fifty layers to keep warm, ha.

I'm not going to lie and tell you that I'm incredibly pleased with the results, that everything worked out perfectly. It did not. I had to get creative with hiding those puckers and mismatched seams (decorative buttons), and really just let go of the idea of it needing to be absolutely perfect. Nobody but me is going to inspect it, and it does look as pretty on my beautiful daughter as I imagined it would. Plus, she loves it, which is really all that matters.  =)

Here she is on our recent Girl's Day. Cute tops just scream for ice cream!

 

We enjoyed a beautiful day at The Fells in Newbury, NH with Mimi (my Mom). There were so many flowers to see and sniff, and we took a tour of the estate which belonged to John Hay (an advisor and friend to Abraham Lincoln) and his family. Fascinating history there, and perhaps the older two gals of our happy little trio enjoyed that part more than the adorable little pip squeak, but she did a good job listening.  =)

Apparently all of the surrounding area was flat, clear farmland, which gave you a view of Lake Sunapee from every vantage point on the estate. No more. The trees have filled in, obscuring much of it, but it is still breathtaking. There is one small view below from the main garden in the back of the property. 

My beautiful little girl and me

 There was a trail that led to a Fairy Village, where children can create fairy houses of their own. This is one versatile top...from ice cream to fairies!

I have been extremely busy keeping up with orders, so thank you thank you thank you!

This darling set was mailed out last week for sisters. I just love it!

And of course, I still make time to sew special things for my baby's babies...

You can find me on instagram- roseandruffle - to see other projects and snippets of our daily life. Say hi!  =)

Isabelle's Denim Tiered Maxi Skirt

Good Monday morning! The sun is shining and the summer fun is in full swing...plus two are heading off for sleep-overs today. Doesn't that always put an extra happy spring in your step?  ;)

I still cannot fathom how this baby girl of mine is growing up ever so quickly. She loves dresses, but she is really into long skirts. Only she didn't have any for summertime. So I whipped up this lightweight denim maxi skirt in about an hour on Saturday evening, and she hasn't wanted to take it off since church yesterday. That's what I call success! It will transition perfectly into Fall, too.

I have had several requests for these skirts in the shop, so that might be a possibility in the coming weeks. With all my free time, that is.  =)

I also post sewing projects (and the occasional mishap!) on instagram if you want to find me (roseandruffle) there.

Have a fabulous week!

A Fun Summer Tote Bag with Pockets

Okay, first things first. I have no idea what's going on with the color in these pictures, so I'm going to go ahead and blame it on the weather conditions. I only remember sunny skies, but hey, the problem couldn't be me, right?

Anyhoo.

I was green way before it was widely accepted, as I used to make myself tote bags back in high school. They were known to hold flowers on occasion, the ever-present glass bottle of Lemon Iced Tea Snapple, writing journals, knick-knacks, sometimes even my flute! So maybe I was more of a dork than an environmental activist, but I loved to sew, and I loved bags. I saw it as the ultimate win-win.

For whatever reason, I hadn't sewn totes or pouches or clutches in a really long time until just recently. I had this one in mind for Isabelle's teacher, who is such a sweetheart; she also just lost her Mom two weeks ago after a long illness, and we feel so sad for her and her family. Isabelle and I decided on a tote bag with lots of pockets because we could fill them with goodies for her for the summer.

The colors are bright and fresh, but since they are cottons, I added a little quilt batting for some stability. I realized too late that I should have added batting or at least interfacing to the straps, but they are layered and stitched together, so unless she's using this tote to transport bricks, she should be set.

The straps are long enough for the tote to be worn on the shoulder, but not so long that they'll be a pain simply to carry. I like that in a tote.  =)

There are no pockets on the inside, but there are six outside. They're rather narrow but not too deep, so they should hold sunglasses, phones, water bottles and the like very well.

Some of the fun things we included were small bags of candy, pens, a crossword puzzle, a cute spiral journal/notebook, some sparklers and a few other simple items. We sure hope she loves her new tote bag and the surprises inside.

I shared a photo of the bag on IG and a few people asked if it will be for sale in the shop...I don't know! (But thanks for the vote of confidence!)

I wrote about some of our summer traditions over at Celebrate...the post is here if you want to read it. Hope you have a fantastic weekend!