so-cal sewing mom: Grand Hotel

Several weeks ago, I got an email from Rachael from Imagine Gnats asking if I was available to test her newest pattern, the Alder Skirt.

Of course I was! I had seen pictures of it on Instagram, so I already knew how cute it was.

Since I live on the edge, I let the 4 year old pick the fabric. She chose a very funky cotton from Jenean Morrison's Grand Hotel line:

Funky, right?

I had three colors of interlock knit to make a top - I had a light peach, an orange, and yellow. I voted for the peach, my husband voted for the orange, but Julia chose yellow. As it turned out, a good choice!

First of all, the Alder Skirt - it's a really cute design. The pockets lie slightly away from the skirt which is a detail the kid really likes. There's a flat front, which I prefer, and an elasticized back. Since taking these photos, Julia has worn this outfit 3 times already, so a definite success. As far as the sewing, for some reason, I had to get my head around the pocket construction, but the directions are really clear, so just follow them, and they work perfectly. Once I figured them out, they lined up perfectly when I attached the waistband. I have another cut out from a plain fabric which I'm hoping to make soon, so the details of this adorable skirt will show better. Oh, and the sizing is spot on - this is a size 4, and I actually hemmed it a bit shorter than the pattern called for (which is unusual for me as Julia's on the tall side) because I thought the shorter length went better with the retro vibe of the pattern/fabric combo.

And, the shirt - it's my second Oliver + S School Bus T-Shirt. I added the absolute perfect and simple embroidery design from Urban Threads - really, adding this little touch of embroidery really makes the outfit, in my opinion. Urban Threads is a seriously dangerous site, if you have an embroidery machine....

A cute outfit, eh?

Thanks much to Rachael for asking me to test!!

Mostly, I miss the east coast where I grew up.

Today, I love where I live now. It was so absolutely beautiful out. Not cold, not hot, sunny, but not too sunny. A perfect day really.

I sewed up another Roller Skate dress for Julia, and took her to the beach for some photos to send to the grandparents. My parents are old-school - I email them photos, and they print them on their computer. I thought it would be nice to actually print some and send them to them by actual mail for a change....

Here's the dress - the fabric is a quilting cotton from Westminster, the designer is Jenean Morrison. Since buying some of her fabric from her Grand Hotel line, I checked out her website (http://jeneanmorrison.net/) - her art is really cool - very much my style.

I had to really think about how I wanted to place the fabric on this border print. Since the bottom of the hem is curved, and the border is of course straight, I needed to leave a lot of the red at the bottom so that it didn't look like it was uneven. I also needed to have the elastic casing in a good spot as well....I was happy with the placement, except I should have centered the pattern a bit better. But, whatever....she's 3!

We went to the beach about 8:00 a.m. - the lighting was beautiful, the temperature was perfect.....I think I got a lot of good shots to send the grandparents....I think they'll be delighted!