Holly's Shower

(photo courtesy Kristin and was taken in her darling home)

 My good friend Holly is expecting her third baby and very first GIRL!  The gang is very excited for her and wanted to throw an intimate shower.  I really love baby showers.  And birthday parties.  And really any excuse to celebrate something.  It may not come as a complete surprise to you that can I get a little carried away when it comes to making gifts for these kinds of things.  Knowing that Holly is really practical and expecting a move in the next year, I wanted to make sure whatever I made was something she really needed.  Lucky for me, she had a small list of projects she wanted to make for Baby Girl, but didn't think she'd have time to do.  She had even bought fabric-- so all the guess work was taken out of it for me!

Most of the projects she wanted were from here:

So, picked up a copy and whipped up these pants (and appliquéd a matching onesie).  A few other friends took different projects that Holly'd requested.  I think between us all, we were able to get most of her to-do list finished up.

Holly had also picked out some coordinating turquoise and orange fat quarters.  I put them together in a quilt. I can't for the life of me remember where I saw the idea for this design.  It was on a pillow on some blog.  Trust me, I have looked and looked.  If anyone out there recognizes this flower design, let me know so I can give credit!  The used a soft, natural linen and the back is cream Minky.
The inspiration for this quilt came from HERE.

I had a little Minky leftover so I put together these make-shift burp cloths.

Last but not least, I did a little bunting for a shower decoration but that Holly could take home for her nursery.

We are so excited for our friends and can't wait to meet Baby Girl!

And the Winner Is...

WENDY with her guess of 16 feet!  The actual length was 17 feet 
(that's 5.7 yards, 204 inches, or 510 centimeters, in case you were interested).

  Sooo, Wendy, you can expect something coming your way soon.  
Just let me know which State to mail it to. :)

Have no idea what this post is about?  You can catch up here.

12 Squared: March Square

Here's my block for March.  This is going to Amy who provided an inspiration fabric (the large floral print in the center and on the right edge) and the piece measurements.  

You can see the other quilters' blocks by clicking the 12 Squared link to the right!

Civil War Dress

When I was a freshman in college, I worked in the school's costume department as the "wardrobe supervisor".  It sounds more glamorous then it really was.  Basically, I was in charge of making sure all the costumes were clean and pressed for each night's performance (or dirty, if that's what the roll called for).  I gathered jewelry and props for different costumes.  Mended little things as they needed it.  I LOVED watching the designers research styles and time periods and make their own patterns.  

For a long time after working there, I had dreams about the "closet"; an enormous room in the dim basement of the theater building with rows and rows of period clothing cascading from high hung rods, drawers and drawers of pantaloons and pettiskirts, shawls and gloves.  

It really was neat.

So, these pictures aren't of me, but they are of the BYU costume department.  Just so you can get an idea of what I'm talking about.  The one on the right is from BYU Costume Dept.'s Facebook page and the one on the left is from Flikr.

Despite my impressive resume entry of "wardrobe supervisor", I never actually made any costumes.  But, several weeks ago when an opportunity to help a local costumer presented itself , I jumped right on it.  Sure I'm qualified!  She asked me to make a Civil War era dress for a high school production of  Little Women.   Looking at the pattern (Simplicity 4551), it seemed challenging, but not impossible.  

Um, yeah.  I was kind of wrong about that.  

This pattern proved to be much more work than I anticipated.  And anyone who knows me well knows I am a procrastinator and a complainer when it comes to stuff like this.  

However difficult, I really learned a lot from this project and overall enjoyed making it.  I figured out how to use my sewing machine's blind hem foot (thanks to Teriney and some internet tutorials).

I also became an expert at making CARTRIDGE PLEATS.  The hardest thing about this pattern is that so much of it is done by hand.  I thought I'd be doing some gathering stitches on my machine to make the skirt and attach it to the waistband-- no problem!  But it was ALL done by hand.

The bodice is lined with a darted/fitted under-bodice.  The outer-bodice has gathers in the front and back.  The sleeves have multiple pleats and in some places, double pleats.

Originally, the costumer said I didn't need to do button holes, but simply close it with Velcro and make the buttons decorative.  But, once I got into the pattern, I discovered the buttons were already decorative and the front was actually fastened with hooks and eyes.  With how fitted the bodice is, I couldn't see it staying together with just Velcro-- I kept envisioning the actress moving her arms and the front ripping open with that loud sound only Velcro makes.  Can you say "wardrobe malfunction"?!?   

So, I stitched on a ton of hooks and eyes and buttons.  Not to mention the collar and cuffs were hand sewn.  I'm not sure why the pattern didn't construct more using the sewing machine, but now that it's all done, I am proud that most of it was done by hand because it feels more authentic.

I just realized that I didn't turn the cuffs up before I took pictures of the dress.  

OOPS! :)

If you made it all the way to the end of this super long post, I think you deserve a prize!  So, here is a little CONTEST!  To first person who can correctly guess how many feet of fabric it took to make the skirt, I will send you a prize!  Leave your answer in the comments and a way to contact you, if I don't know you.  

  Kristin Sharp, you cannot enter, but I will give you a prize anyway for putting up with my whining.

Jubilee 2011!

Just like last year, Billy and I sauntered down to the President Clinton Library for Jubilee.  We got there a little late, but still had a nice time (aka, there were still some refreshments left by the time we got there).  

This year the Sharps (who are always up for a good time) came, too.  I forgot my camera and I don't know the magic words that get pictures from my camera into my computer.  So, these precious photos are all I have to remember the night, thanks to Kristin's magical phone to computer powers.

Unlike last year, I was not in charge of the class art work.  It is a lot of work to execute an art project involving 75 grade schoolers.  No, this year I was off the hook and made a personal donation of two Star Wars pillows and some decoupaged suitcases.  Much easier than say three full sized quilts.

I didn't take any pictures of the pillows, but I made a Yoda and a Darth.  The auction went really well and my donations sold for more than I would have ever imagined.  

Now, I can start thinking about what to do for next year...