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Hi friends. I hope you had a fantastic weekend! Ours was nice and relaxing. Spending extra time with my hubby and dad (grandad) on Father’s day is always special. I even got to squeeze in an impromptu “mommy nap” Ahh, so refreshing.
Little Kids Grow has been a little quiet on the surface because there’s LOTS going on behind the scenes. I’m working on a new summer top for girls (yay!) which should be ready soon. I also have my hands in a few projects that you might be interested in:
Today on Motivation Monday, I’m talking about “Trust”. You can follow the link here.
Justine over at Sew Country Chick is doing a fun series called Sewing The Trends based on what’s “in” this summer. I’ll be hangin’ out with her this Wednesday. Today is the first day of the series. Stop by and see what’s new this season.
Melissa over at Melly Sews is having her 30 Days of Sundresses again this year. Have you seen any of the dresses? So cute and they all come with tutorials. I’ll be there on the 28th, but don’t wait. Head on over there and find some new sundresses for you and your little one.
And, yes, we’re still working on this driver’s cap pattern. My pattern testers are awesome and helping me to get this pattern just right. I look forward to sharing it with you soon.
Whoa Hoo! I thought that title might get your attention.
(Altogether now)
L-O-V-E T-A-L-K
Ha! Ha!That’s fun to say.
I’ll be honest with you, when I think about the phrase “love talk”, I think about my sweetie pie hubby or those times when I cuddle with my kids and tell them how much mommy loves them. It makes them feel good to hear loving words, and it makes me feel good to say them! But what about ourselves? What kind of self-talk do you have going on in your head? Are your thoughts toward you loving and kind or are they hateful and mean? Do your thoughts sound more like:
Motivation Mondays is a weekly series posted at www.motivationmondays.org. I talk from a Christian perspective about my past struggles as well as triumphs in the hope that just as others have helped me along the way, my readers will find something beneficial to carry along with them throughout their week. I believe that community is important as well as honesty and transparency. Want to chat? Send me an email: littlekidsgrow (a) gmail (dot) com. My welcome mat is always at the door.
For those of you that have been hangin’ out with me since I was a contestant on Project Run & Play (and before), you know that I love hats on kids. I think they are absolutely fantastic! They add so much style and personality to outfits and with just the right one, a child’s personality will shine!
I’ve had a few requests for a driver’s cap for boys (A great look for girls, too). But, let me tell ya! If it weren’t for the fact that I love hats as much as I do and will pretty much give any design challenge a try, I would have thrown in the towel and raised the white flag on this one. Ha! Ha! But, after a few bazillion tries, everything finally came together (Whew!)
This little driver’s cap will be another free bonus pattern offered to new and existing subscribers of the LittleKidsGrow monthly newsletter (Sign-up HERE). It is a fully lined cap that works well for medium weight woven fabrics. I haven’t tested the pattern with knit fabric, yet, but that will likely be an option. The hat requires interfacing and a sturdy material like buckram or something similar for the brim (You can use other materials for the brim like flexible plastic, but you’ll need to let the hat air dry if you wash it because it may not be dryer safe.)
This hat pattern is a little bit on the persnickety side. An intermediate sewer shouldn’t have difficulty (Advanced beginners who are comfortable attaching linings, interfacings and sewing around curves/angles should be fine as well).
I need testers for the following sizes:
small (19.5″/49.5cm) medium (20.5″/52cm) large (21.5″/54.6cm) extra-large (22.5″/57.2cm)
If you’d like to test this hat just let me know in the comments below or send me a lovely email at littlekidsgrow@gmail.com. Please include the size and whether it will be for a boy or girl. I’m looking for 5 additional testers for the small/medium sizes and 3 more testers for the large and extra-large sizes.
I should have the pattern out to all testers by this Tuesday, June 7th and will need review responses (survey provided) and sample photos back by the following Wednesday, June 15th. (I was looking at my May calendar, OOPS!)Tuesday, June 11th and need everything back (including pics) by the following Wednesday, June 19th.
I have a dear friend of 23 years that I met our freshman year of college. (Uh oh, I’m dating myself here aren’t I?) Over the years we’ve grown to be more like sisters than friends. We live in different states, but somehow the miles and the years have brought us closer. Maybe life has just matured us and we appreciate, respect, and value each other more , or maybe we still can’t believe that those silly girls back in college turned into wives and moms that juggle careers and a house full of kids. (I’m still amazed)
The one thing that I truly value the most about our friendship is its transparency. It’s always refreshing when someone’s heart greets you before pretense. Our personalities are probably as different as night and day, but that never gets in the way of the honesty.
Motivation Mondays is a weekly series posted at www.motivationmondays.org. I talk from a Christian perspective about my past struggles as well as triumphs in the hope that just as others have helped me along the way, my readers will find something beneficial to carry along with them throughout their week. I believe that community is important as well as honesty and transparency. Want to chat? Send me an email: littlekidsgrow (a) gmail (dot) com. My welcome mat is always at the door.
So, last week my mom called me and asked if I would go with her to the cosmetic’s store and help her find some new lipstick, something about not having the right shade or running out, I forget. Now, my mother is a very fashionable woman. She knows how to choose her own lipstick. But, I wasn’t thinking about that at the time. I thought, “Sure. Helping mom find some cute lipstick should be fun”.
It was a trick!
She wanted ME to get some new makeup, and wouldn’t let me leave the store until I committed to at least some lip gloss. Ha! Ha! (Subtle mom, but I get the point )
Moms have a way of knowing exactly what you need before you do.
I’ll admit that “beautifying myself” hasn’t been on the top of my “To Do” list in quite sometime. It left somewhere between dirty diapers and late night feedings, but I will admit that I feel FANTASTIC when I’m wearing something that makes me feel good and why shouldn’t we feel fantastic everyday?
I’ve been thinking about starting a style segment on this blog for some time. There are lots of style blogs out there and this is not a style blog per say, but I hope you consider it to be a blog with style. I thought it would be fun to put some outfits together as I make them, (kid style included) and show you how we wear them down here in Atlanta, GA. (Woot!) I don’t know about you, but sometimes a little motivation (or a good kick in the pants) is just what I need to help me refocus and place myself somewhere in the fashion equation. Sewing for myself feels really good. And feeling good, feels REALLY good.
And now to SKIRT WEEK!
My friend bloggers over at Crafter Hours, Adrianna and Susan (Remember Susan from my Moms Know Moms series?) , are running another fun Skirt Week. Today I’m sharing with you my Ladder Skirt and Tutorial. I love texture, that’s why I’m so hooked on making these puzzle-like skirts. Remember this one? It’s probably as close as I’ll ever get to making a quilt. Ha! Ha! (I think my crafty gene might end at clothing. LOL, but you never know). I’m usually not a jean skirt person, but I’m lovin’ how this one turned out.
They are easy to make and each one is different. I love that this type of design will work on any type of skirt, A-line, straight, wrap, maxi, you name it. It just depends on how you divide your pattern piece. You can buy your fabric, but I just thrifted some old jeans that I was going to throw away (holes in the knees). Now I feel extra special because I did something great for the environment, too. To complete the look, I just threw on a men’s white shirt, some pearls and some Anne Klein sling backs to pull everything together. Not the most practical outfit for a trip to the grocery store, but hey, I felt good!
And, joy of all joys, I got my husband to take my pics this time. I usually grab one of my older kids, but I’ve been asking them to take pics so much lately that their eyes are starting to glaze over. I thought it might be time to bring in “The Professional”. He’s awesome. Here he is explaining to me the importance of location, and the sun, and shadows, and ummmmm . . . . Well, I got lost for a second, but that’s okay because he’s really nice to look at.
The Ladder Skirt Tutorial download can be found here: The main focus of the tutorial is to show you how to piece the front panel together. I do a quick “how to draft a straight skirt” but it assumes that you know the basics of putting one together. If you’ve never drafted your own straight skirt and need some additional guidance, here are a few great online links that will give you the Step by Step instructions.
