Ella Bean's Vintage Flour Sack Apron Dress

I was sewing at my parent's house a couple weeks ago and eyed up a beautiful, vintage, hand embroidered flour sack my mom had hanging in her sewing room. Since she didn't have any particular plans for it, she let me use it to make Ella Bean a splendid dress! I used the Portabellopixie - Claire pattern. The patterns are not necessarily easy to sew, but the directions are very well written. I had to modify the pattern a wee bit to make the skirt longer, due to the size of the embroidery.

I found the skirt and bodice fabric at Firefly Quilt Shop in Mankato, MN. When I saw it I knew it would be a perfect match with the flowers on the flour sack. It was meant to be.

I used another part of the flour sack for the back of the apron, so there is even a little special touch on the backside.

The sash was fun and sort of unique.

Well there it is. I am so excited for Ella Bean to see it in the morning! I hope she loves it. Thank you mom for the flour sack. I am glad you and Oma have a good eye for estate sale treasures!

Tutti Fruitti Fun!

Here is a skirt I made for Hannah with the Tutti Fruitti fabric from Joanna's. I made a very similar one for Ella Bean. (I just reversed the fabrics.) I believe all the Tutti Fruitti fabric is on sale right now. I added a fun lace trim as well. (It's hard to see in the picture.)

Up-Cycling Part I - Sweater to Backpack

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to do some up-cycling with my sewing projects. So here is one project I have done.

Philbert had a grey Eddie Bauer sweater a lot like this. (I forgot to take a picture before I cut it up... oops.) It didn't fit him well. So I commandeered it and felted it in the dryer.

I saw this in People Magazine while waiting at the doctor's office. Suri Cruise has one cool backpack. I would argue the shoes are over the top for a small child, but that is another story. The backpack costs $50 and then some. I will not spend that. I am glad Miss Cruise's parents would... clearly they love her a lot. ;)

Here is my version of the backpack, using the up-cycled sweater. I loved sewing with wool. It still does not have eyes. I am not sure what to use for eyes. Applique eyes? Button eyes? What do you think?

Bean loves her new backpack. I think it looks a little more like a bunny then a dog, but that's ok. My next backpack will be made with an up cycled blazer/sport coat. I am thinking brown corduroy. I'll change a few things on attempt number two, but I am excited to hunt for the blazer. Perhaps I'll make a trip to the Shakopee Goodwill tomorrow.

Escaping the Heat

Well, we tried to escape the heat by heading North to Duluth, MN and Ely, MN. We made a valiant effort, but it was still toasty. We had a great time in Duluth visiting my Oma, aunt Cathy, uncle Bob, and cousin Kyle. It's such a blessing to be close to everyone again. The girls had a great time. I enjoyed several late night conversations with Oma. It's one of my favorite parts about visits to Duluth. I think that Bode enjoyed himself the most of all. Oma spoiled him with treats and took him on walks. He didn't really want to leave. I think she enjoyed his company as well.

We spent a day up in Ely, MN as well. One of former campers, Helena, had her AE banquet at camp and it was an honor to attend. We spent several hours at Widjiwagan, just walking around and exploring with the girls. I love that everything is pretty much the same. I can't wait for the girls to attend Widjiwagan and I am already excited to hear about their trips. (I better start saving money now!)

The girls coloring with Oma. :)

Hannie beats the heat by being cute. It's easy for her.

Bode had a grand time in Duluth. Oma spoiled him rotten with treats and brought him on walks early in the morning when it was not so hot. Aunt Cathy also loved on him. It's good to be Bode.

The highlight of Ella's weekend was throwing rocks. She threw rocks in Lake Burnside and Lake Superior. It made her very happy.

Ella read to a giant moose in Ely, MN.

Oma threw rocks with Ella. Oma is very good at skipping rocks. Ella just likes to throw rocks. The bigger the better. Oma founds some grand, BIG, rocks for Bean to throw. I am so glad we get to visit Oma now. It makes my heart happy.

Life is good! (Please note that there were NO waves on lake Superior. It was crazy calm, and crazy hot.)

My former camper and I at Widji. It was so great to see her and see her with her AE campers! I love Widji so much. I especially love that it does not change all that much. I had not been back in about 7 years, but it was all pretty much the same*. I even saw several familiar faces. Kathy, the cook. (Who still remembers my love for her food, especially her ice cream.) Patty, another former camper. I was her intro counselor and now she is leading an Explorer trip! Kurt, who I worked with, and is now admin. It was grand.

Ella Bean at Chapel Point. She'll attend Widji in 9 years. :)

Hannie sitting in front of Kirby waiting for dinner. She'll attend Widji in 11 years.

* One change I am not thrilled about is the no skinny dipping rule. That makes me sad for many reasons, but that is post for another day. A post that I am pretty sure most folks would not be all that interested in.

Life In Minnesota Thus Far...

We have been very busy since arriving in Minnesota. Really too busy to realize that we are living here. It still feels like summer vacation and that we are only here for a few weeks. It does not help that the town home and suburb we are currently living in is temporary, only for a year. Anywho, we are making the best of it and getting settled. Here are some photos of our latest adventures.

How can you not love this goof ball?! I think she is getting a little shaggy. There may be a haircut in her future. Although I am waiting because after I got Bean's 1st haircut she didn't look like a baby anymore and it made me sad. :(

Bean, Hannah (she's on my back), and I on the carousel at Como Zoo. Ella really enjoyed the ride.

Hannah has a love for shoes. She digs my shoes out of the closet and tries to wear them around the house. She's a hoot.

The covered buttons I made for Bean's Dr. Suess dress. She helped me with them, but only because it was too "buggy" to play outside. She did tell me that when she grows up she'll be a sewer like mommy. It was very sweet.

Bean wearing the Dr. Suess dress I sewed for her, while holding her Urtle the Turtle. She wanted to hold Hop on Pop, Horten, and Fox in Socks as well, but could not balance them all.

We continued the tradition of watching the North Mankato Fun Days parade from the Johnson's house. Bean found the treat table quickly. :)

Hannah spent most of the parade running between Oma, Opa, Dad, and Mom. She only tried to run away to a new family once. We caught her. :)

Bean was thrilled with her candy collection from the parade.

We've been hanging out with Lisa and Pete and it's been grand. I can't tell you how thrilled we are to be close to them again. They are great friends and we always have a wonderful time with them!

We went to Como Zoo and the girls had a great time Hannah saw the zebras and said "doggie, woof, woof." What a goofball.

We had a fanastic time being part of Seth and Laura's wedding! (Yes, we are wearing clothes, they got cut off in the picture... it wasn't that kind of party! Get your head out of the gutter Seth Boyd.)

The happy couple! Their wedding was a beautiful celebration of their love for each other and their love for their family and friends.

(We also attended Renee and Dustin's wedding. It was a beautiful garden wedding and fit them perfectly! In true Megan form I brought the camera and left it in the car. Oh dear.)

This Is Why I Have Not Been Blogging...

We hit the road in four days = Craziness at our house!

My entire classroom in boxes.

More Boxes...

Ella packed her toys in these boxes. There is one toy per box. She took her marker and wrote on the boxes as well.

Lazy Weekend

This is how we roll on a lazy weekend.

Hannah enjoys playing in laundry baskets. Who says kids need fancy toys? :)

Hannah didn't get dressed at all yesterday. She enjoyed frolicking naked. Someday she will enjoy Naked Hiking or Naked Paddling at Widjiwagan. (Of course I am a stronger supporter of Naked Hiking, since I was a Mountaineer, but I would be happy with a Voyageurs as well. Perhaps one of each?)

Ella's baby doll was feeling sick, so she had to go to bed. (I finally folded laundry, so the baskets were free.)

Ella thought she would take a little snooze too.

Her other baby had to go in the stroller to the doctor. I guess she does not have healthy babies.

So that concludes our lazy weekend so far. We will head out soon for the grocery store because no matter how lazy our weekend is, we do need food to eat. I imagine I should get Hannah dressed for a trip to the grocery store.

Bargin Lace Creation #1

On a recent trip to Hancock Fabrics I found this for 20 cents a yard. I got really excited and purchased the entire spool, all 14 yards. I was not sure what I would do with it, but I would figure it out. (This lace is normally $4 a yard!)

I used 12 inches of it to create the embellishments on this skirt for Ella Bean. She loves it. I'll add a picture of her wearing her skirt later. (First I need to get a matching shirt done.) I also found a new use for the snap press. I used it to attach the flowers and lace to the apron. It was super quick and easy.

The fabric is left over from Hannah's apron knot dress that I sewed earlier. (I've got a post about it as well.) I look forward to getting a cute picture of the girls wearing their outfits!

So that is my first creation with my bargin lace. I still have 492 inches left. So many options! I am going to attempt to dye some of it. I think that will be fun. Ella wants a baby doll dress with lace trim. I may even make something for myself! :)

Spring Break in Minnesota

We enjoyed spring break in Minnesota, but I didn't have the camera so blurry iPhone pictures will have to do. We spent most of the break in Golden Valley with Philip, Sue, and Mari. It was a grand time. Ella Bean loved playing with Mari and Sue. Although it was funny because she could never remember Sue's name so she referred to her as "that lady".

Some highlights where:

- An afternoon in Mankato with my folks (It would have been nice to stay longer, but we wanted to spend as much time as possible with Philip and both the girls had icky colds.)

- Meeting little Everett (My cousin's baby. He was super cute and so little!)

- Dinner with the Klaber-Nathan family (Ella LOVED playing with my cousin Julia. She really likes playing with the "big girls".)

- A date with Philip! (We went to Water for Elephants and ate dinner out. It was a good movie, not great, but good.)

- A trip to Coma Zoo with grandpa, aunt Maureen, and cousin Sean (Bean loved the polar bear the best.)

- A wonderful 90 minute massage thanks to Sue (Her friend Ellien is a gifted massage therapist. She's got magical hands!)

Hannah got her own seat on our Minneapolis to Atlanta flight. It was wonderful. She sat like such a big girl and loved eating off the tray. (I choose to not think about all the germs on the tray because it entertained her for an hour and was worth it!)

Bean enjoyed playing in the play area at the Humphrey Terminal. I love the Humphrey Terminal. It's not busy at all and has a great place for kids to play. (In this picture she is flying the airplane.)

Hannah going up the stairs in the play area. She is a little monkey!

I love this picture! It's Taffy, Penny, and Bode on the sofa at Sue's house. They all get along so well. Taffy is the cheese to Bode's macaroni. They are so happy together. I have never seen Bode play with other dogs until now. Bode and Taffy run around the yard together. They hunt squires together. They sleep on the sofa together. I think it will be hard on them when Bode and Philip move out in June. They are such good friends.

Ell In Her "Baby Crib"

Ella will be sad when I put the suitcase away in the basement.

E is for Ella

Check out what Ella made with her Legos! She did it all by herself. That's my smart girl. :)

I'm Making Crafts Mom...

Last weekend I woke up to the sound of Ella Bean humming and singing her monkey song. When I cam out to the living room to follow the sound she was all set up at the coffee table and told me "I am making crafts mom." She had decided she needed to make cards for her friends. Oh Bean, my little crafter. Just like mommy.