Birthday Dress

In yesterday's post I talked about, for me, the dreaded Single Fold Bias Tape (or sfbt). It won't be so dreaded eventually, because I will learn how to use it properly!

I promised pictures of a project I am working on where I have to use it around the neck and arm holes. I am making a dress for my daughter to wear when she eats her birthday cake. (Sorry Michelle and Katie, I am ruining this surprise).

I am using Simplicity pattern #3854. I am making the top left dress pictured below.

I bought some Yo Gabba Gabba fabric which I am using for this dress.  Here are parts of the dress cut out.

So let me show you my attempts at using sfbt.
First the neck:

Not as good as I would like, but that is why I am showing you, my wonderful blog followers. The next time a project calls for sfbt I would like to make my own and use matching fabric, which I think would look better.

Now for the arm holes. These are in progress, waiting for my sister to return my sewing machine. She is using it to embroider something, another birthday surprise!

I love this fabric and I know this dress will be super cute! I think sometimes we are our harshest critic! It's all part of the process though, which I love just as much as the end result. I will leave you with pictures of my daughter and doggie.

Thanks for stopping by!

My baby is one!

I cannot believe a whole year has flown by already! It's amazing watching my baby grow into a little girl. When she was a few months old I felt like she would be a tiny baby forever, but one day you look up and she's not so tiny anymore!




Little Miss didn't quite know what to think of the cake, or maybe it was all the people staring at her! She took a little nibble, but no cake smashing for her.

She also had her hair cut for the first time on her birthday. Here she is with her cousin DJ who she adores!










Madison with her cousin Cody, who she loves so much!


This little girl is the greatest blessing in my life. I can't help but think back on everything we went through to have this little miracle in our lives. It was such a stressful and nerve wracking journey, but so worth it.

Location:Walnut Creek,CA

Learning to sew.

I was thinking the other day about what was the first thing I ever made. I remember taking home economics class in junior high and making a simple two handle, heavy weight cotton bag. It was pink and maroon striped and could carry all my books. I loved that bag, I think partly because I made it, which was awesome!
I was also in 4-H and did some sewing for the county fair in Nebraska, where I grew up. I remember the best thing I learned in 4-H besides sewing was how to properly cook and prepare a hard boiled egg so that the yoke was yellow, not green. Very important for deviled eggs and has come in handy many times over the years!

My mom was always dragging my sister and I to Joann's and various other fabric stores. We were bored out of our minds! She could not be done fast enough! But then it clicked one day and I saw how amazing fabric was. The shapes, colors, the feel of each different type. Plus if I used my sewing machine I could actually make things! Now I understood why we always went to fabric stores.

This always makes me think of my own daughter. I am constantly going to craft and fabric stores. Someday she may think it is super boring too, but hopefully she will come around and see how awesome it is too.

 I am basically self taught at this point and I want to get better! I want to do this for a living! I have a Masters degree in Psychology but that is not what I want to do.

That is a huge thing to admit...but it's true! I should have listened to myself in high school when I decided I wanted to be a fashion designer. Well many, many years later, I am on a quest to do something like that!

I am working on a dress for my daughter's first birthday. The pattern calls for using single fold bias tape around the neck line and the arm holes. I have very little experience with s.f.b.t. but I found an amazing tutorial on making your very own! I absolutely love, love, love, this tutorial! Who knew all the possibilities!!!

Also french seams, another wow! Apparently my mom did. I was complaining to her that an outfit I made for Madison turned out,  but the seams showing on the inside made it look incomplete. FRENCH SEAMS PEOPLE! Can you tell I am easily amazed and excited!

I am totally willing to tell you what I don't know, show you my mistakes and how I then perfect these techniques. Join me won't you!

I will leave you with a picture of my beautiful little girl standing up. A new trick of hers.