Amy Butler - Purses - Halters- Pecan Waffles-& Novocaine

If you are an Amy Butler fan and happen to be in Carrollton, GA be sure to stop by a little Dentist office on Center Street. The gals in there will welcome you with pure Southern style! They are every bit as friendly as a waitress in a Waffle House!

For those Non-Southerners..... you should know that a Waffle House waitress will greet you with a loud " good morning" as soon as you walk in the door. Everyone else will look up from their pecan waffle and nod. Super friendly folks, yet NO more friendly than the ladies working at Dr Ayers Dental office!

Wondering where I am going with this??? Keep reading.

You'll get MORE than a simple "good morning" or " good afternoon" at Dr Ayers office. Heather is happy to usher you to the best seat in the place! She'll encourage you sit down & kick your feet up. Shoot.......she will even brush and floss your teeth while you sit and relax!

Come to find out, the dental staff loves Amy Butler fabric as much as I love my Novocaine before having a cavity filled!

Wildflowers - navy & Happy Dots- leaf

Deco Rose - brown

Handmade Fabric Ballet Slippers proved fun to sew

I love checking my email and finding pictures of anything handmade. The very first email waiting for me on Saturday morning was this picture of dainty ballerina feet!

Digital cameras are wonderful aren't they? Snap, snap, click, click and it is being sent from Sweden to Georgia!

Jennie purchased the Ballet Slippers by Favorite Things sewing pattern from my web store several weeks ago & promised to share a picture of the finished project.

Just so you know........Jennie told me this was her very first pair of Ballet slippers to have sewn but says she will be be sewing more for family and friends.

A big "Thank you" goes to Jennie for sharing and inspiring us to try new things!

If you want to see more pictures you can go here: www.flickr.com/photos/teddybearssweden

Amy Butler Sun Surf Halter sewn by Beth!

Here is what Beth had to say:

I am typically a Small/petite and I had to go to the Girls' XL size to get the right fit for myself, so mine's a tiny bit shorter than the regular pattern. I recommend anyone who's going to make it take the time to measure themselves first!

Thanks Beth for sharing your picture......next time don't crop off that pretty little head!
Yes, this pattern is a generous fit. I am finding that cutting one size smaller than what we typically wear is working well. As Beth mentioned, add back the length to the hem if there is a difference when using the smaller size.

If you like this fabric, you can buy it here
Pressed Flowers- forest from the Amy Butler Daisy Chain collection

Sun Surf Halter pattern by Amy Butler was super fast to sew!

Leaving pre-washed fabric in the dryer overnight is optional.

The weather has not inspired me to sew one of these little babies until now. In between horrible thunderstorms laced with tornadoes, we've had some warm spring weather.

I started thinking about the Sun Surf Halter and all of it's possibilities when a friend of mine was talking about making herself one to wear around the house.

For you Young Moms, it's modest style would take you almost anywhere! Some of us whom are NOT as young, may enjoy wearing this gem with Lounge pants on a lazy summer morning or as a bathing suit cover up.

I made this one from Amy Butler Midwest Modern 2 fabric. Noveau Trees - mustard.
The pattern is designed with generous fitting ease and longer length. If you are in between sizes, use the smaller size because of the generous fit. The Sun Surf Halter would look nice paired with skinny jeans or Capri pants.
As you can tell from the photo on the pattern cover, it hits at the hips. I can easily see this Amy Butler halter top as having another possibility ...... add a few more inches to turn it into a sun dress. Pedicure time is just around the corner girls!!

this picture is from www.amybutlerdesign.com

Contact Me

gw@yourfabricplace.com

Handmade Fabric Tea Cup and Saucer

Crafted from fabric, these tea cups and saucers seem to say "let's pretend". No flashing lights, no noise. In a world of battery operated toys, this little cup is simple and sweet. What a new concept! Don't ya love it? These have been designed and crafted by Mika. You can see more of her creations at atelierusagisquilt's Etsy shop.

Pink Fig Cuppy Cake is Fun to sew

This was my very first time shirring and it turned out great!
I wrote about shirring in my earlier post. (click here to view)
Now I'd like to share another little tip.

When selecting your fabrics for the panels, avoid using the same fabric for the skirt panels as in the bodice & hem. Look close at the above photo. You will notice two panels which are the same as the band & bodice. I've made two of these dresses and avoided using the polka dots in the skirt because I used it in the bodice / hem.

The ribbon trim helps to "break up" the solid line in those two panels. Having a hard time putting it into words, but the picture tells the story better. Have I confused you?


The pantaloons were made from the Pink Fig Bella pants pattern modified to be shorter.

The bodice and hem are made with Amy Butler Midwest Modern II collection: Happy Dots.

PINK FIG Cuppy Cake dress - How to sew - Shirring

When the Cuppy Cake dress pattern by Pink Fig came out, it was love at first sight! The process of making my choice of fabrics took a little longer.


After reading the pattern details I discovered a scary detail........SHIRRING. Panic struck! My thoughts raced.........I've never sheared a sheep, but thinking about shearing sheep seemed LESS intimidating! I know how to clip an Airedale Terrier......which is the almost like sheep shearing I think. Shirring with elastic thread is completely unknown territory for this gal! Decades of sewing, with absolutely zero shirring!

How did I get by without learning this and when did they invent elastic thread??

The pattern of which I fell in love with was giving me doubts and it was pushed aside for a couple of weeks while I gathered the courage to try the required shirring.

Finally I made the decision for fabrics and purchased the elastic thread.
I chose Amy Butler fabrics from Midwest Modern and Midwest Modern II collections

Once I began cutting the strips and sewing them together knew it would soon become fabulous! Sewing each strip of the Cuppy Cake dress is much like picking wildflowers . Each strip serves to enhance the other as do different flowers in a bouquet!

Measure your child and compare to the size on the pattern details.

Zoey wears a size 5T off the store rack, but is closer to a size 4T for this pattern's size chart.

The Cuppy Cake dress is a very forgiving design because we only need to be concerned about the length of the skirt and bodice size. Making it even better, the bodice has a stretchy back which allows for growing room! (size 12 months to 10 years included in this pattern)

Prepare to sew

I find the quickest way of cutting the strips is by using one strip as my pattern. The fabric-to-fabric eliminates the need for pinning. This seems to be much faster than measuring each time.

Once my strip lengths were sewn together I trimmed any uneven areas.

Chelsea Anderson, the talent behind PinkFig patterns, suggests joining the skirt strips in a circle. The hem band is created by a long piece which is seamed into a circle as well. Next, you would attach the skirt circle to the hem band circle.

I cheat (sorry Chelsea)

With right sides together, I pin the skirt band to the the skirt. Next I sew the side seam from the hem to the top of the skirt. This completes the circle of the skirt. My new serger makes a tidy side seam.

The above picture shows the finished panel ready to be stitched to the dress skirt. (right sides together)
The Shirring - turns out to be easy!

Can I stress again my fear of failing and self humiliation?

Once the skirt was ready, I could not put it off any longer! The completed bodice front , and the bodice back panel laid starring at me! I resisted the urge to kill time by grooming the dog.

Time to hand wind the elastic tread on the bobbin.
Not too tight. Not too loose.

Simply set your machine on a, straight or elastic zigzag stitch. If you've never used this stitch, you'll need to look for it. My Bernina 930 is 24 years old and has had that stitch waiting for this day! It looks like a broken zig zag.

With standard thread on the top and elastic thread on the bobbin, simply stitch the first row.
Now, repeat another row about 1/2 inch from the first. Repeat again. Smile.........you are shirring!!! With each row, the shirring gets more noticeable. Do not worry if your stitch lines have a little wave or two. This won't be easily noticed when complete...... as long as your top thread matches the fabric.

Once all of your rows are done, take it to the ironing board and shoot it with a burst of steam. The steam magically shrinks the shirred panel into a nice, even shape.
This part is so much fun that you may consider summoning your family to watch!

The thread shrinks up into a lovely shaped panel.
Smile again and pat yourself on the back!
For more information on shirring you can go to Pink Fig patterns tutorial.

Pink Fig patterns are wonderfully illustrated & easy to understand. Thank you Chelsea for making it easy for us!
I am itching to get back in front of the sewing machine now! More of my sewing trials & errors soon

Handmade Fabric baby booties

IMG_2078, originally uploaded by simplysugar.

Handmade Baby slippers from Amy Butler pattern

Yes, we can sew for BOYS too!
These baby slippers were sewn from a pattern included in the book titled
Little Stitches For Little Ones by Amy Butler.

Have you sewn anything from the Little Stitches book? If so, send me a picture to share your work. Thank you Simplysugar for sharing this with us. We love it!

AccuQuilt Go Pillow top

AccuQuilt Go pillow top, originally uploaded by ga2wilms.

I used my new AccuQuilt Go fabric cutter
to cut the 4 1/2 inch square from scraps
This is my very first quilting project !

Pillow top in progress. I know I have some large piping cord around here somewhere..............

Easter Bunny Handmade Felt Egg Cosies

Rabbit, rabbit, originally uploaded by PlanetCoco.

Chocolate is good, but felt lasts longer! Thanks to Kirsty for sharing!

These made me smile! Are you smiling too?

tea party sundress & bloomers set

tea party sundress & bloomers set, originally uploaded by Gus & Lulu.

Same Oliver + S pattern but different look.