Knit to Twirl In

Last time I was able to visit Jenny of Sew Pretty Dresses she sent me home with a wonderful gift of knits to sew with. Thanks a million, Jenny! I decided to go out on a limb and try another one of the European Bizzkids patterns (Summer 2009 - 4103). Yikes! The top came together fine, and the skirt came together fine. For the life of me, I could not bring to two parts together. I think my problem came in the instructions when it says, "Let always extrude the extra seam space at the top of the point." Huh? This is definitely not my kind of English.



So, after setting it aside for a week, I elected to cut of the points of the top and skirt, cut a separate waistband, gather the skirt to the band, and sew it to the top. Not my favorite fix, but once the dress is on Avery, you hardly notice the band. The skirt on this one has miles of twirl in it which makes for one happy little lady. If I was smart, I would steer clear of these Euro patterns, but I love so many of the looks. Let's hope for better luck next time.

More from Sanibel Island

It seems we tried to fit in as much travel as possible this summer. I think we’re afraid of how hard it will be once baby 2 arrives. This trip to Sanibel Island was perfectly relaxing. Avery got to love on cousin Ford (whether he wanted her to or not).

My sister snuck in a few family photos.

Avery is our little water baby. She prefers the pool the best, but beach and waves are good too.

Not only did Omie and Opa treat us all for this great trip, but they even opted to have both kiddos in their condo while the younger adults shared the other condo. I can’t remember the last time I slept in until 8:00 am!

We're Back

from a little of this....

and a little that.....

in Sanibel Island, Florida.

Butterfly Gift Set

My second cousin started planning a nursery for her baby girl a few weeks before I found out what I would be having. She asked me for some fabric ideas to go with a butterfly theme. I happily passed on fabrics that had caught my eye, and you know Dena's Kumari Garden line was at the top of that list. My cousin and I ended up doing our nurseries using the same fabric line, but with completely different prints and themes. Since, I knew the fabric I had on hand would coordinate perfectly with her nursery I pulled together this little gift set. The butterfly pillow/toy pattern is from Amy Butler's Little Stitches book. I included a little minky backed stroller/car seat blanket as well.

Her Future is so Bright

Not So Blank

Remember the start of our nursery redo here where I told you we had a blank canvas. Well, it's not so blank anymore!!



We purchased the wall decals from this etsy shop. They were super easy to work with, and they sent swatches of their vinyl for me to pick out the perfect shade. The decals are easy to apply; however, laying out our design was slightly more complicated. My only piece of advice is to work with a super patient partner who loves you. Luckily I happened to have one of those on hand!

I've been working on so many projects at once, that it's a bit crazy around here. As you can see, I've gone a bit wild with some watermelon spray paint. (If this baby somehow ends up being a boy, we're in big trouble.) Hopefully, I'll have some full reveals before too long.

Fall-ish Pants

I'm trying to update a few items in Avery's wardrobe for "back to school". She's not quite school age yet, but you still get the idea, right? These are actually capris, so they don't completely fit the fall category. I think they will work for us for a while though; since, it's still super sticky and hot around here. The pattern is Farbenmix Yelena which is another completely German pattern. I was able to pull this one together without any translation, but I've found myself stuck on another European pattern at the moment. Wish me luck, because the dress is about to become a shirt if I can't get it figured out.



The fabrics used here are by Tanya Whelan and Paula Prass. I love mixing in those vintage buttons and trims!

He Did It!

Todd competed in his first sprint triathlon this morning, and we couldn’t be more proud of his accomplishment. The biking stretch of the race went past our house, so Avery worked extra hard on a sign.


Here’s Daddy’s number 1 cheerleader!



At least we were able to put a smile on his face for a few seconds of the race. He’s making this look easy!



We tried not to distract him too long, so he could catch up to this guy. Todd finished 9th out of 16 in his age group. Great job Daddy!

Finally Found It

After seeing this jumper by the ever talented Ivey on Flickr, I knew I would have to try out the pattern (New Look 6845). My belt didn't turn out quite as flawless as Ivey's, but hopefully no one will look too close. On the upside, I think this is going to be my go-to for an A-line jumper pattern. It fits Avery perfectly and goes together quickly. I used some Tea Garden fabric by Dena Fishbein with pink piping and vintage buttons. Every time I look at this picture, I notice how little "baby" is left in this little girl.




I've been saving up a couple ideas for the perfect jumper pattern. This Lilly Pulitzer dress version may have to wait until next summer, but it is certainly on my list.

Source: amazon.com via Courtney on Pinterest

Dallas Adventure

Omie kindly drove Avery and I up to Dallas to spend the last leg of our two week Texas trip with my sister, Casey, and her family. Omie was able to enjoy a couple of days with her two favorite people.



Cuties!!!!



Casey and I took Avery and Ford to the Dallas Aquarium to enjoy some air conditioned fun.



Since they have a wonderful pool, Avery insisted on swimming every afternoon.



She got in some good big sis training as well.



Avery went from shy about getting her head under water in San Antonio to practically swimming in Dallas. I’m not sure what brought it on, but I couldn’t be prouder! Of course, Uncle Cool provided great encouragement.

Time Away

Avery and I have recently returned from a two week trip to Texas. I've fallen so far behind on getting things on this blog, so I'm just giving an abbreviated version of the first leg of the trip. We spent 8 days in San Antonio with Omie and Opa. I think we squeezed in visits to family and friends about every day or so. Avery met up with a cousin one day and friends another day at this inflatable play gym. Here she is with our friends Luke and Becky. She was all smiles tickling Becky's toes and talking baby talk.

We fit in as much swimming as possible too in the crazy heat. I'm hoping to get the video up to show the transformation Avery went through with swimming on this trip. In San Antonio though, it was mostly splashing and floaties.