kids stuff

~Yesterday I updated the shop sale with all the kids stuff I had lingering. I had completely forgotten about this sweet little skirt for size 2-3 T . ...Burger fits a 2 T just right( even though he's almost 3), so as you can see this skirt could last a 2 year old probably until she was almost 4.( I am a mean mean mama) ~I have several T shirts with appliques. One of my favorites is the Texas baby Tee sized 6-12 months. ...The applique is a vintage quilt piece. Perfect for a lil' lonestar. ~I have this cool lucky horse one in kid's size small. ..and I have two sized 4T , this skull T on blue
and this one I love, vintage singing cowboy fabric patched on this size 4T

All this kids stuff is priced $10 and under.

ps********Look out for all my ladies skirts coming up.

The Texas Tank

~I recently met this sweet lil' filly from Boston and we easily hit it off chatting over baseball(hello she is from Boston). Many hours and Lonestars later we were cutting it up over at the Continental Club's Sunday Heybale show together . This whole night reminded me again just how much I love this big ole state I live in. Nothing like baseball, Lonestars and country music to bring a Yankee and a Redneck together in Texas. I found my self repeating her lines from Lyle Lovett's song and swearing they were true; Texas does want you anyway...even if you are a Yankee or a from the Georgia woods.
~Somehow this story seems fittin' in my post about my latest tank design. It is my Texas tank and you don't have to be from Texas to wear (or want)one, you just have to have some sweet Texas Pride which I think is pretty easy. This is my third one ( I wear the other two). I made it for my Dallas Mama's 4 year mamaversary. The applique is a quilt top scrap shaped like Texas made in to an iron on with wonder under. I then stitched it on as well because I just really like stitching. I have not really tested the wonder under without the stitching. I find the wonder under helps keep the integrity of the applique' a little more that just fusible interface especially since some of my quilt scraps are from the 40's. I bought the wonder under to make these appliques into iron-ons for Parts and Labour but that is still being worked out (in my little brain) I will tell you all about it when I get a method hammered out. There are plenty of these Texas tanks in the works and I will post them when I put them up for sale.

~One more side note about Texas pride, I love Texas music and I love me some Scott Biram (even if he is a mean old bastard). Now he has strayed on his last few albums away from my heart and away from country music. (he 's playing up to his Honky fans) Sorry honky fans not a lover. But this one hits me right where I live and so I share it with Ya'll. ( and the rest of the record is terrific)

The Shift

" when things do not feel right, make a shift" Jessica my yoga instructor 2 weeks ago

~Things are feeling kinda sludge like round here in central Texas. The weather we have been enduring this early summer is more like July and August not May and June. I usually shift down into a slower mode but it is a little harder to make the change so quickly. I have been struggling with whether or not I want to keep our market booth, because the summer is darn near unbearable. We have not been out to the market in almost 2 months, I am sure there is more to it than the heat but either way I have been in limbo about it.~ I find when I am undecided about one thing it affects everything else causing everything to sort of stall out( like my serger currently being serviced). So I am trying to make a shift into a more determined and comfortable position. We shall see
~We will probably do the market maybe 3 times this summer(once every 6 weeks or so). Then when the weather breaks in the fall we can step it up if we like.SinceI will not be at the market so much I decided to head over to Parts and Labor on south congress and peddle my Belle and Burger goods.
~ As usual Lazelle was warm and enthusiastic about my clothes. She always gives great feedback and boosts my confidence. When I first started sewing clothes to sell ( about 5 years ago) I sold out of parts and labor. They have relocated into a larger store and it is quite lovely !


~This kind of shift....I made a new dress pattern from a summer tunic shirt I got last year. I decide to make it a sheet dress the first time around. I made it sleeveless(the tunic had little cap puffy sleeves) and I added a scrappy wrap belt..... From my brooch stash I pulled this sweet little bicycle number and added it to the ensemble because it went perfectly with the shift and the belt. ~My sweet pal Blue Mama decided she needed to add the shift to her wardrobe. She makes it look super sassy and cute with her black cowgirl boots! This photo was a lil' impromptu bloggers meet at my house( very fun) It is Mama Sings the Blues(center in the shift) and Crazy Texas Mama (left)and me Belle and burger(right).

A sweet southern trio like Dolly, Emmy lou. and Linda, (How do you like that CTM, a dolly comparison ....are we friends forever now?)

new shirt...Simplicity 3692

~I cut this fabric for this pattern, from the built by you series from Wendy Mullin ,
Simplicity 3692, over a year ago and just now decided to put it together.... I am not so into the fabric choices now but I like the eyelet trim and the mismatched white buttons I came up with when I went to make it early Saturday morning(3Am insomnia)

~It is a fun, versatile pattern and helps you practice some good fundamental sewing techniques. Wendy gives great tips for sewing with knits( even more so in her book The Home Stretch ) and can help you overcome the fear of knits(if you succumb). The shirt is a great first knit project because the fit is forgiving. I had completely forgotten until this post that I made the 3/4 sleeve look when I first got the pattern almost 3 years ago(I gave it to a friend, sorry no photo). That was my first patterned (not my own) knit project and though it looked lovely it was at least one size to large( I soon realized patterns run a little large for me)... and looked quite lovely on my gal, Houston.
~ I am contemplating the shift look but I think I will opt for sleeveless( Texas heat) and maybe woven cotton instead of knit. I have seen the shirt in woven and I think it turned out very nice.

I dressed you up like a girl when you were little.

I will be able to say that to burger now and here are the photos to prove it. I made little Aleena a jumper dress and Burger had to model it before it was sent. I figured papa would growl but he just said, "you should have put tights on him". It was too late for tights however, the birthday dress was on its way to Cali. I used butternick B4841 and an olive green fat cord with contrasting jelly bean flannel. The buttons were my first real buttons with machined holes.So needless to say the button holes took me almost as long as the jumper( including time worrying about messing up the jumper with wack job button holes). I wish I had added pockets now(all toddlers need pockets ,right?) I also made her this green hat to match.