Made!

There have been many instances since I began sewing a zillion years ago that I have attempted to make something for me to wear. And I believe that until this weekend, each trial has been a miserable one and I have never been happy with anything I've made. I have been on a mission to change this! So a few weeks ago, I made this great tunic for someone else and it turned out so cute that I decided to give it a try for myself. It's the Schoolhouse Tunic from Meg at Sew Liberated. The pattern is super easy to read and put together, and my tunic came together in probably just about 2 hours (it's hard to judge the time because I start and stop a lot due to the demands of my sweet things). The fabric is from a sheet set that I found on clearance a few weeks ago. I didn't change the pattern one bit, but I did add a navy blue sash, just to add a little definition to my waist.

I wore this to church with some straight jeans and ballet flats. It's a super kid-friendly outfit, I might add~ I ran and danced all over!  Maybe someday I'll be one of those cute 'What I Wore Today' bloggers... but for today all I've got is this blurry cell phone shot. You get the idea...

Oh, and as you know I've been on the hunt for some brown boots. Over the weekend I ordered this pair from Ruche. Why had I never heard of this site before?! Sooooo excited to get them this week~ Yippee!

Personalized Pajama Details!

Hello again, friends! I have finally figured out most of the details for winter pajama sets and wanted to update those of you who had been inquiring.

The sets will be similar in style to this little set (I'll post pics as soon as fabric comes in and more sets are made!) with wide leg cotton flannel pants and a matching long-sleeved t-shirt. I will be appliqueing a block letter first initial on the front in a matching flannel to the print you choose for the pants. The price per set will be $25, and they can be purchased in children's sizes 6 months and up. I can also make teen/adult size pants to coordinate for $18. I am looking at the flannel patterns from Riley Blake's Colorful Christmas Collection seen here. I think these prints will make such cute winter pictures!

Right now I am taking pre-orders that will be ready to ship approximately on November 1st. You can contact me here or send me an email at my2sweetthings {at} yahoo {dot} com, and I can set you up with a custom listing in my shop. Please let me know the sizes, first initials, and fabric choices (List more than one if you have it, and I will check availability). I will be placing an order for fabric this week!

Thanks a bunch~ I have the best customers in the world!

In Progress...

A few shots of my {crazy} workspace today- literally dozens of projects in the works! Most are cut and waiting to be sewn, and a few are done and waiting to be photographed and listed (like this sweet apron!). 

What are you working on today?

Oh, the Dresses!

So something strange happened to my pictures from Saturday, but as promised, pictures of the Homecoming dresses I was working on.  Fortunately these girls post everything to facebook, and I snagged a few. They all wanted to match and chose Simplicity pattern 2440, view E, which is a knee length dress with one strap and bubble hem. Cute stuff! They each chose a different color combination and fabric, which proved to be the most tricky aspect as I've not worked with much special occasion fabric. (Most parents of toddlers don't pick satin for their little ones!)

Front view (I didn't make the cute blue dress second from the left)

Back view, sashes

I do think I would do this again, though I'd love to have more time so I'm not pulling my hair out at the end! On Wednesday of last week one of the girls came over to try on her dress (the blue satin), which was completely finished, and it was way too big. Like no-other-way-to-fix-this-than-ripping-out-the-zipper too big. So I had to carefully take out each stitch and completely rebuild the dress. Thankfully it fit the second time around (after almost 6 hours of alterations!)!  The girls looked great, each bringing their own personality to the same style~ it's definitely 'the girl that makes the clothes', as my sweet grandpa would say!

Until next time! xo

My New Baby

Yesterday was not my favorite. Well, at least it started that way.  I woke up with a sore throat, the same one that several of the youth girls have been passing around. We kept it pretty simple in the morning, staying home and taking it easy. During nap time, I was trying to catch up on a few orders, and my sewing machine broke. Not just jammed up or anything~ Broken with a dead motor.

Horrified because I have too much to do, as soon as Trace got home I took my sick machine to the repair shop. Upon assessment, they told me that it would be more to fix than my poor machine was worth. In truth, my sweet machine just wasn't built for the kind of every day sewing that I do. So (and here's where my day got exciting!) it was time for an upgrade... and it's a big one! (You can see the specs here, if you're interested in that sort of thing...)

Suddenly, later in the evening, I was feeling better and even felt up to making muffins! =) What better way to welcome a new toy into the family?!

I'm still in the process of reading her manual, so all I have done are the basics at this point, but she is amazing! Can't wait to see what flies off the machine today!!  I'll be back for We Scout Wednesday later... xo

A Cooler Weather Question

Hey, lovelies! I'm in and out today~ busy with the previously mentioned homecoming dresses and custom orders. But I wanted to get your opinion on something... I am thinking about taking some orders for Winter Pajama sets and would love your input:

~Are pajama sets something you would be interested in? I would likely be making lounge pants with matching appliqued initial t-shirts. I've never been too matchy, but I think I'll definitely be making some for Remy and Halle!

~Would you prefer cotton or flannel?

~What colors do you love this year? These are some of the fabrics I have been looking at (I love the trees, dots, and stripes!):

photo courtesy of Fabric Shoppe

~Would you be interested in adult sizes in the pants?

I would love your input~ thanks so much!

Friday Love~ Found

In keeping with my Simple Goals, I am working on organizing my work space. I scored big last week when sorting through a much neglected drawer~ I found a bag of vintage lace and trims! Some of them scream eighties (like the gray and pink woven ribbon), while others appear much older. 

This envelope has about a yard of this incredible handmade trim. I can't even begin to imagine the time it took to make these sweet little circles!

It kind of makes me think I should clean more often (or just stay organized in the first place...)! Happy Friday!

The Big Reveal!!!

Well, I've been talking about moving my shop for a while, and today is the big day! 2 sweet things is ready to grow into something new, and I have chosen to use Big Cartel as my venue. There's a link in the sidebar, or you can click on the same icon below. I think you'll love it~ it's super easy to use and works with paypal. I am still tweaking the design a bit, but I wanted to get things launched while I had so many great new items to show you. 

I hope you'll take some time to click around a bit! I will also still be taking custom orders- feel free to send me an email and we will carry on as usual. This feels like the right move for right now, though it'll take a bit of time to get used to it all. I'll be keeping my etsy shop through the end of the year, I think, but all new items will be going through the new shop. Here are some pics of just a few new items already listed:

Sweet Bow Headbands

Candy-Colored Mod Dot Booties

Lime Green Fleece Neck Warmer

Thanks so much for your support to this point. I love creating and being able to make such lovely things for such lovely customers! Y'all are what make it so rewarding! I can only imagine the wonderful things that God has planned for 2 sweet things into the coming months~ my mind is just bursting with new ideas! Feeling so blessed!

Pretty Maids All in a Row

I have found yet another use for my beloved clothes line! I'm busy getting these little beauties and heaps more photographed and ready to be listed in my new shop (info to come!)! 'Hope y'all are having a lovely week~ see you soon!

Easy Breezy~ Halle's Curtains

So I am almost ashamed to post this because it was sooooo easy, but I thought I would post anyway because I'm terribly happy with the results. I posted months ago that I had been working on curtains for Halle's room. I finished the curtains at that time, but we had only purchased one curtain rod. I spent the next months putting 'curtain rod' on my Target list, then promptly leaving the list on the table, or not finding the right rod at Target the one time I actually remembered my list. Finally last week I found it, and now I am happy to report that her room has curtains.

(I apologize for the poor lighting, it was very sunny. ) For the fabric, I purchased a full size sheet set that matched Halle's bedding. They were on sale, and this gave me a ton of fabric that matches all her pieces. Way cheaper than buying yardage, plus I have all this other fabric to use for something! I cut a rectangle the size of the window, adding enough for a hem on three sides and a pocket at the top. The I lined the whole piece with white cotton fabric to help it hang better and block the light a bit. (Her room is bright pink and on the sunny side of the house~ in the afternoons it glows!)

Then I just rolled it up and tied it with a pink polka dotted ribbon. I thought about doing something more elaborate, like a roman shade type thing, but after waiting this long to get rods up and curtains hung I decided to not push it and just get them on the windows. I know my limits...

Happy Tuesday!

Making...

So after a few months of less-than inspired sewing (and busyness, which doesn't help!), my little machine and I are back to sewing at a maddening pace. Creativity strikes, and I can hardly get the pieces cut and sewn fast enough. I love that frantic feeling!

Just a few tiny peeks of things to come... This is the last week for the Clearance Sale in my shop, and then next week I plan to begin listing fun new fall items.

Lots of layers and ruffles, new prints mixed in with some older favorites, classic styles with some new twists. 

'Hope you have a lovely Tuesday!

Making...

Happy Tuesday! (I can say that now that I got a new coffee maker!) Today is our 8th Anniversary, so we celebrated by driving in my delightful new van (my gift!) to the gym... big times at our house! =) 

I have been on a sewing binge for my girl. This weekend I made her two different dresses and a new swing-type top. One dress and the top are already in the wash, so that's another post for another day, I guess.

I had forgotten how much I love these simple, smocked dresses until I saw this post on SouleMama last week. I made one in shirt form for Halle last year and loved it so much! I had this great fabric just sitting around and decided to whip one up. I tweaked the idea just a bit by doing a halter style. It sewed up in just an hour or so and will work equally well as a tunic later on~ love that!

I do have a bit more of the fabric, enough for one in the same size (about 18 months to 3T)... just email me if you'd like to order it! I'm not listing as much stuff  in the 2 sweet things shop with summer upon us, but I would love to set up a custom listing!

Also, as promised, here are a few pics of some of the winter items I chopped for summer play clothes. I took them at night, so the lighting kind of stinks, but you get the idea. I mess with the lengths a lot to give some elbow sleeves, some 3/4, some caps, and some of the leggings become capris or shorts... I use a tight zigzag on the hem to make a sort of lettuce edge (isn't that what it's called?!), which I think makes them a bit more girly.

Inspiration Follows

I was pleasantly surprised that after my lack of inspiration last week, I had a burst of sewing energy and made a few new things. I love creating when it just comes naturally. I used the same teal cotton canvas to make this sweet little clutch. It was completely experimental but came out just like I had pictured in my mind, and that doesn't happen often!

I also made this dress using the same Freebird fabric that I used for my giveaway skirt. The top is a new design for me, and I loved the way it came out.

Lastly, this pile of baby boy goodies was actually made last week, but I wanted to share with you now that my sister has received them. I have a new nephew due in 2 weeks, and we are so excited for his arrival! I used Riley Blake's Wheels prints and pieced the cloths together. I also made a matching pair of booties because I just couldn't resist.

I'm hoping to have time to get a shop update happening in the next few days, and hopefully some of these new things will be in it plus some other goodies I've been working on. What are you making?

Mama's Got a Brand New Bag

Have you ever tried to be inspired? This weekend I was feeling particularly un-creative at my sewing machine, and forcing it wasn't helping the issue. I had the terrible urge to sew something and remembered this shoulder bag tutorial on Melissa's blog, tiny happy. I had been wanting to try it for quite a while, along with a bunch of other beautiful things that Melissa posts. I also had been itching to see if my sweet machine could handle sewing something heavier, like this teal cotton canvas that I've had in my stash forever.

I tweaked the pattern a bit, adding a little length to the body of the bag to make it a bit slouchier. (Okay, so spell check says that isn't a word, but I'm going with it. Slouchier= from the root word slouch, and meaning more slouchy.) I also made the handle wider so that I could fold it in half. I'm not sure why I wanted to do this, but I really like it and love that it shows off the Alexander Henry Fashionista print I used for the lining. The pictures don't do the colors justice, but it's bright and bold, perfect for summer. Sigh... someday I will take good pictures, I will!

Happy Spring! It's a Giveaway!

Good morning, sweet things! I am so excited about this post that I can hardly stand it~ I love giving stuff away, and today's giveaway is especially fantastic to me because I am soooo in love with it! Remember this fabric? Well, it came, and is more lovely in person that I thought it would be. (Okay, so those of you without a serious obsession for fabric may think that I am just being a tad bit flowery with my language today, but I know there are those of you that just get it...) I had some time at my little machine yesterday evening and whipped up this pretty little confection of a twirly skirt and because I love it so much I have just decided to give it to one of you.

I love that this fabric is pretty much seasonless~ it's brown but mixed with tons of great bright colors and will look as great with flip-flops and a tee as it will with boots and tights.

Here's the fine print: There's just one way to enter, so only one entry per person will count. Simply follow my little blog here and leave a comment on this post stating what size you would like (Toddler Sizes 12-24 months, 2/3, 3/4, 4/5). Please also leave your email address. This will run until midnight next Monday, May 3rd and is open internationally. Good Luck!

***COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED! THANKS A BUNCH FOR ENTERING!***

Indispensable

Today I thought that I would introduce you to one of, if not the, most used tools in my sewing arsenal. Gingher Knife Edge Thread Snips.  Even the name sounds fantastic, right? My mother gave these to me after I began sewing regularly last year. I had hinted to her that I loved them, asked where she got them, etc., and she was kind enough to let me have them for my own. These little clippers are razor sharp (as the name implies), and after a bit of awkward practice, they fit into your hand as you work, making quick work of clipping threads, notching seams, clipping curves, whatever! I am almost never without these little babies! I was thrilled to discover that you can still buy them at several places online (thrilled for you, of course... I'm keeping mine!) including here.

So what is your favorite thing in your craft room? Do you have one tool you couldn't live/work without?

Tuesday

Today is seeming just a bit 'daily'. Nothing major to speak of, but we're loving this sun, especially the kids. I had to find the sunscreen, which was no small task, but I did, and fortunately it's still good. They are in the newly filled sand box at every spare moment. I love that they are happy, but it is proving that this is going to be one dirty, sandy warm season. I have swept twice already today and the sand just keeps showing up. (Sigh.)

Then, I guess there is this bit of GIANT news:

Upon inspection of my seedlings this morning, I discovered that a handful of them are showing sprouts. I am doing the happy dance over this~ There is hope for this garden yet!

And one last picture. This is Halle in the new Bubble Suit that will be in my shop later today. My mom gave me a bunch of vintage patterns, and this is adapted from one that I adored. I did change it to that the shoulders would simply tie at the shoulder (eliminating buttons) and took out the snaps at the bottom. Simple, easy dressing is definitely my key to summer wear, and I am assuming y'all feel the same way. You can bet that she will have bunches of these this summer!

Piece of Mind

When making things, I am constantly plagued by feelings of guilt for not using the scraps. I have blogged about it before, getting some fun ideas from y'all about what to do with my scraps. Last year I ended up with a book from the library about string quilting (sorry, I don't remember what it was called, but it was really old...). It is thought to have begun in the depression era, when homemakers used every piece of fabric they had to make quilts out of necessity.  I immediately loved the idea and put it on my list of things to do. But as we all know, sometimes that list gets too long and lost and forgotten. So the scraps pile up in drawers (above) and in bags (below) and on tables and in containers... 

Finally last week I decided to try it. I gathered a bunch of scraps from the gorgeous Riley Blake fabric that I used for Halle's Easter dress and several things for the shop and put them together in sort of a random pattern to make two one-of-a-kind burp cloths. I am so excited about the way they turned out!

The pieces went together fairly quickly, and I feel so happy about using up some tiny pieces that might have otherwise been trashed! Wise stewardship is something that I believe God has called us to, and I think this is another way of being 'green'. These should be in my shop, along with some matching bibs later today. Have a great day!

Missing Days...

The million dollar question is 'where does the time go?'! I am a pretty organized girl. Thanks to my blog and kids' schedules I usually know what day of the week it is, but rarely do I know the actual date. So I miss birthdays and holidays~ not because I forgot that my Grandma's birthday was on March 13th, but because I didn't know it was March 13th! I was rereading my post from yesterday, and in it I said that I would tell you more about my upcoming April items 'as it approaches'~ like I had time. Then last night it hit me that April is IN 2 DAYS!!!

So, as promised, here are some pictures of only a few of the the spring things that will be in the shop soon:

And, for good measure, here are a few pictures of my little 'treasure hunters' in the back yard. It's been terribly fun for them that there is a ton of junk to discover back there! (And not so fun for Trace...)