Having a marvelous time

In the Sound of Music, Captain Von Trapp finds out his children have been wearing play clothes from drapes that formerly hung in Maria's room. He states: You mean to tell me that my children have been all over Salzburg in old drapes? (not an exact quote and it's been awhile since I saw the movie) Maria replies, rather smugly: Yes, and having a marvelous time. Here is my version of the old drapery play clothes. My sister gave me the fabric. She loves Mary Engelbreit and thought she'd make some kitchen curtains from the Mary Engelbreit fabric she found. She found she didn't like them sew much and gave me the fabric. They were turned into church dresses for granddaughters 1 and 2. I used a Daisy Kingdom pattern I had bought years ago for the 7 year old and a baby pattern I also had on hand for the 2 year old. Can you find Daisy Kingdom patterns anymore? I know they were based here in the Portland area and closed up a couple of years ago. Loved the style of their patterns. Not sew much their fabric though. Granddaughter #2's dress. A little bright and I hope her Mommy likes it. My daughter in law is not much of a bright color person. She tends to like classic, neutral colors but she likes blue on her daughters so there's hope. I tried to tone down the brightness of the fabric with the blue. This is an old McCalls pattern I think.

Of all the dresses I've sewn lately this is my favorite. It's for granddaughter #3, the one year old. She won't fit in it for a bit but I really like it. I actually found some new patterns I like for little girls when I went shopping on Labor Day and this is from one of them. Another McCalls. Very easy to sew and it was finished in under 3 hours. I had the fabric on hand leftover from another project and the collar I purchased at a Daisy Kingdom sale years ago.

Another dress for granddaughter #2 and another new pattern I purchased on Labor Day. The fabric was leftover from a quilt.

I used the same pattern as the dress above for this and Daisy Kingdome fabric I was given. This is for granddaughter #3 but it will be awhile. I love this pattern and have used it for years. Of course you can't get it anymore so I'll be holding on to mine!

Another dress for granddaughter #3. They only had one yard of this fabric left on the bolt and it's one my daughter's favorite colors so I made do as best I could to get a dress out of it. The same pattern as the blue dress above.

And finally, my most grateful recipient....my youngest daughter. All the sewing I've been doing for grandmunchkins and she was probably the most in need of clothes! I'm sorry, but little things are just more fun to sew. However! She is so grateful for whatever I make her that it's rather fun to sew some bigger things just to get the smiles and squeals! I've bought her clothes too just because she is so grateful and delighted with everything bestowed on her. Not that I would wish an orphanage upbringing on anyone but she did come out of it with a grateful attitude that is sadly lacking in many children. I used a simple pattern for a girl's size 16 and had to lengthen it for her long torso. The skirt fabric I was given and I bought the top and jacket fabric on sale.

So, the only fabric I bought for the outfits above was the aqua for the dress, the contrast fabric for the "drapery dresses", the top fabric for my daughter's outfit, and the sheer for the skirt on the blue. The other fabric I had, was given, or was leftover. My fabric stash is dwindling and the little girls are growing so I'll probably have to resort to buying fabric soon but for now this was nice to the budget and my self esteem! I do have three more dresses to sew for the grandaughters but they are for Christmas.

I did not make this quilt but I love it. My mother-in-law makes quilts for each one of her grandchildren when they graduate from high school. She tries to make the quilt to mimic the graduate's interests. She actually found some sign language fabric for S's quilt! Of all the quilts she's done I'd say this is my favorite. She pieced it and had it professionally machine quilted and gifted S with it today, finished, a year after graduation but worth the wait!

The sewing room has been cleaned and the machines oiled and covered until it's time to start dresses, PJ's, and quiet books for Christmas giving to the grandmunchkins. So I'm knitting! And crocheting. I finished another hat for chemo patients and forgot to take it to the Guild on Thursday. I'll take it next month and try and have another done. I found the pattern on Ravelry and used Jiffy yarn.

Mystery Stole 4 is half done with clue three coming out on Friday. I'm doing both sides at once and finished clue two on Friday night, err, Saturday morning. Thus far I'm keeping up. It's been cool and cloudy here and could have used another shawl for church. However, my existing shawl is pink and didn't go with my dress. Wish I would have examined my closet a little more before making this one pink but too late now.

It's raining, I'm cold, and I think a cup of coffee and some knitting is in order....I love fall! I love the rain! I talked to a lady in church this morning who's heading to their southern home in Arizona for the winter. She doesn't like the cold or rain. She and I have, for years, agreed to disagree on the cloudy rainy days in the Pacific Northwest. I've got webs in my toes and proud of it!