Quilty Pants go Brick and Mortar!

Quilty Pants 2012, a set on Flickr.

The lovely and talented owner of Angellina's Toy and Children's Boutique in downtown Whitehorse asked if I would consider selling Quilty Pants from her shop. Ms. B does such a lovely job of sourcing her products and styling her shop that it was hard to say no to be included with such a fine selection of children's and baby's things. This marks my first foray into the world of wholesale pricing and making and there was a bit of a learning curve, but a happy one. While cranking out 30 pairs (60 legs, oh wait, they're also flannel lined, make that 120 legs!!) seemed a bit off putting, and I really wondered if it would spell the end of my love for these little pants, they are just too cute, soft, warm and durable for me to quit just yet! I've been making these pants for at least 6 years, I think, and they are one of my first made-and-designed-by-me items of which I'm pretty proud. The feedback from Moms over the years has been so important too - one Mom said her little guy won't wear anything but his overalls and quilty pants! I've made 3 sizes for Angellina's, 6 to 12 months, 12 to 18 months and 18 to 24 months. I have made them in sizes 2, 3 and 4 in the past but I've decided this year that folks can special order those sizes if they would like them. Angellina's is expanding their locally made products and there are some really sweet handmade hats, play masks and baby accessories down there right now - stop by and take a look!

Sunki Tunic Dress

Finally managed to try this fun pattern by Figgy's Patterns. It's nice to be able to search flickr for patterns to see what fabrics people use and for inspiration. I really like the pockets - hidden at the bottom of the light purple. This pattern lends itself well to the colour blocking craze that's out there lately. This two-tone purple is in cotton broadcloth. My next one I'd like to do in something heavier, maybe a twill, corduroy or velveteen? We'll see!

More Market Elephants

I had a request for a Market Elephant, I made 2 so B would have a choice of colours. He ended up taking both! I was a bit surprised and sad as I was really looking forward to hanging out with one of them for a while... they turned out so cute and Spring-like! They are now off to entertain 2 new babies, in 2 different towns, each baby named Ella! How perfect. So I will survive and I wish them well in their new situations, I'm sure they will do well!

Finn's Goose is sending some gooses to some bruces!

3 Christmas Gooses - check! The goose stuffie is a really cute project from The Long Thread blog, found here. I made a couple last year too, but forgot to take photos. These photos were taken at 10am in the dark, yes folks, a 6 or 7 hour drive north from our house and you can kiss the arctic circle if you're so inclined. It has been a dark November and December, many of us are looking forward to winter solstice and longer days. There are more photos of gooses and contents of those drawstring bags on my flickr site, but if you are K, you aren't aloud to peek! I've already shown too much but had such fun putting these presents together that I couldn't wait to share. Finn will be excited to see his goose after school today. A few notes on goose-construction, it is really worth it to take the time to hand stitch the beaks first, then machine stitch. I learned this the hard way as my beak was very crooked the first time around (and Finn's goose has the most crooked beak but I'm hoping he won't notice!). I also skipped trying to stuff the skinny feet, it was beyond my patience! I'm impressed with Ellen at the long thread for stuffing those feet!

43 Pairs and Counting!

Click on the photo to see the rest of this year's Quilty Pants on Flickr. Frantically getting ready for tomorrow's swap and must go for a run - bye!

Matchy-Matchy

Another a-line skirt! These are a very quick skirt to make and a nice staple to the wardrobe. 2 twirly girl skirts accompanied mama's a-line and all 3 girls were very excited to dress matchy-matchy! I've recently made some twirly girls with a corduroy top layer, cotton under-layer that look like so much fun to wear - while being a bit warmer too! Twirly Girl skirts will be available this Saturday at the KidzSwap Meet. Stay tuned for photos!

My nephew's quilty pants - how cute?!

My sister in law has been an avid supporter and purchaser of my quilty pants and it was with great guilt that I FINALLY managed to give her lovely son a pair - he was almost one for goodness sakes! He really should have had a pair for everyday of the week starting at 6 months! But, now he is wearing them with great style, which I think he gets from both his mom and dad! My excuse for being late was that I wanted to make them with that super cute mini zoo fabric, even though I could have given a pair out of my supply, I really wanted to make a pair just for him - to match his zoo room! Thanks for the photo N - she is also a talented photographer!

A Castle Peeps Dress for River

This is my staple dress and has been since university - I'm trying to remember the first one I made and I think the recipient must be 16 years old by now! It's a burda pattern #XXXX. This castle version was for my very awesome niece with a great monster roar! Her dad is big in to knights and castles, and so is she! And monsters, and rocket ships, and robots and...

Square Neck Summer Dress - Happy Homemade Vol 2

Another lovely pattern and so quick and easy. The button loops at the back made for an easy closure - no button holes required.

Backpack

I've been eyeing this pattern for a year or more and when do I decide to finally get the pattern and make it? The night before Day 2 of Summer Camp of course! It is a terrific little pattern from Made by Rae (another terrific blog for sewing for kids, and moms too!). Easy to follow and the result is a very professional looking, sturdy little back pack for your little guy or gal. It's called a toddler backpack but is easy to size up, which I did for a 5 year old. The instructions even provide tips on how to do this (which I should have read to save me adding an extra inch that I ended up chopping off...). I added 2 inches in length and a name tag sewn on the back panel. There are no pockets on the exterior which I might add on the next one. I thought a side bottle pocket too with an elastic gathered top might be nice. I cut and sewed this up in one evening. I think Rae is a science teacher, you can tell by how methodical and well written the pattern is! I really loved making this up! And Finn seems to like it too!

Twirly Girl Skirt with Olivia!

Here is a fun skirt for a birthday girl today! Luckily her birthday landed on Kids Clothes Week Challenge!! Another thing that landed around here was a snow blizzard this morning! Not many of us are impressed - probably just the 5 and under crowd think it's neat. Luckily it has melted and turned to rain which is greatly needed - haven't had any rain yet this spring!

Kids Clothes Week Challenge - Dad's made-by-me sweater gone wrong...

I like to think that every knitter worth his/her salt has one of these, misshapen sweaters in their repetoire. I knit this for my husband a while ago and it took forever and it was too big and we tried to shrink it but it seemed to be short in the back and long in the front and it never seemed to look right. So, I decided to chop it into a sweater for our five year old. I didn't think I could actually cut into it - pretty scary and it was so much work to knit, I think it was 2 years in the making! But, better to use it than to throw it away! Now it looks great as a tunic sweater. I kept the neck line which, might have been a mistake as it is a bit of a big boat collar now. I'm also thinking it would make a great sweater dress for my niece after Finn is finished with it! I have so much overdue sewing on my plate this week, I sure hope I find the time to sew for KCWC!

Polka Dots

This is a new Ticker Tape quilt for this weekend's Kidz Swapmeet at Whitehorse Elementary School! All polka dots. Intended for a child's room, but this one could go just about anywhere!

How cute is my nephew in his sling Auntie made??

Sneak Peek No. 5 - Ticker Tape Wall Quilt in Pinks

Sneak Peek No. 4 - Ticker Tape Wall Quilt in Blues

Another one coming in pinks, they are small, 11x15" or so. Could decorate a child's room - or any room you choose. I made one for a friend's nursery and she looks at hers and dreams about all the crafting she's going to do while her boys are asleep! I am totally flattered that something I made inspires this incredibly talented crafty gal!

Sneak Peek No. 3 Quilty Pants, 6-12 months

Barty's Parties!

I was excited to make Birthday Banners (or Barty's Banners!) for a friend who has ventured into a birthday party supplies and rentals business here in Whitehorse. Barty's Parties is a service that provides a selection of really neat cake pans for rent, as well as biodegradable disposable plates and cutlery, environmentally conscious loot bag gifts and lots of other party related items. The banners were lots of fun to make. Katie asked for a superhero theme (red and blue), a dinosaur theme (greens) and of course the pink and purple theme (which, I think turned out the nicest).

Baby Scallop Blankets

Let the Christmas Craft Season begin! Here are the only 3 baby quilts that will be available this year at the Littlest and, if they're still around afterwards, you'll find them at the 12 Days of Christmas. They are a lot of work and a bit slow for my need for speed! But ooo they are lovely and very gratifying to make... (or maybe I mean once they're made!). The pattern is from the book Bend the Rules Sewing, which is a great book for any level of seamstress from beginner to seasoned veteran - as long as you don't mind bending the rules once in a while! Hmm... is this starting to sound like a recommendation for that sewer on your Christmas shopping list?

Baby Quilt Block

Here is my contribution to a group quilt for a friend's new baby, due next month. The theme was baby animals and the organizers provided the background square. I have a thing for elephants for some reason (probably because my husband does a really good elephant noise and action for our little guy, and has done since he was brand new!). So, I picked an elephant. I'm wishing I pulled the red embroidery floss out from behind the elephant so it wouldn't show through like it does, but it's not too bad, shows more in the photo than in real life I think! Maybe I'll just go and pull it out right now...! Done!