Summer

 I can't believe how quickly this summer went by. It's been a really weird summer. The weather has been weird. Life has been weird. It's just been a very different summer. Granted, we still have 18 days before school starts and summer officially ends for us. I was going back through all the pictures of our summer and cannot believe how much sewing I have accomplished! This is the majority of my summer projects. And, like I said, I still have 18 days left. Who knows what else I can accomplish in that time.

But, just so you guys know, I've not been idle this summer. My blog has been suffering, but I have been a busy busy bee!

Happy August everyone!!!

Pattern Anthology Alphabet Collection

Quite a while ago I got chosen to pattern test for Melly over at Melly Sews. Do you know how hard it is to keep your lips sealed when you have a super cute adorable pattern all finished?? It is torture my friends! 

The pattern is the W pants for Pattern Anthology. I was chosen to test the short version in Jude's size.

I messed up when placing the zipper on these ones, but hey, I still think they turned out adorable. And in case you were curious, it says, "Don't bug me" around the bugs. 

Then, a little while later I got chosen to pattern test the Study Hall Jacket from Go To Patterns.

I LOVE this jacket! Aevarie and Jude are for sure getting ones made. I may just make the other 2 kids one as well, it's so cute! So what if they have a billion clothes already! 

And well, Zoe needed a pair of W pants to go with her stellar jacket, so we went to work on those!

Notice how they are shorts and not pants?? I didn't have enough fabric for the pants. :( 

They still make some adorable shorts though! 

I STILL messed up on the zipper and put it in upside down. lol But seriously, look at how cute they turned out!

I love that the jacket is reversible too! 

And these are just perfect to read books in!

Or state when you are finished with a photo shoot! 

You can grab your copy of all 4 patterns marked down 40% until August 12th at Pattern Anthology! After the 12th, they go on individual sale. 

Or if you want to test your luck, enter to win the collection here. That ends tonight though, so hurry!  

Time

I can't believe it's almost been a week since my birthday. Where has the time been going?? I've still been doing pattern tests, but we also picked up work on our basement. Electrician has been in and I am stoked! 

Here's some sneak peeks. 

I'll have my own sewing room, the kids will get a play room, plus 2 bedrooms, a family room, study, a question room and the cold storage. I really can't wait for it to be all finished! 

I'll be putting posts up of all my pattern testing soon too! 

Turning 30

So, it's my birthday. The big 3-0. I really can't complain, cause the majority of the kids I grew up with, as well as most of my friends are already 30. I've been pondering how I would feel. Does it feel different? Do you suddenly get an overwhelming urge to stop all idiocy and be a decent adult when that clock strikes 12am? I'm going with, nope. I still feel stupid and silly, and not 30. Although, with 5 kids I've been feeling it for the last few years. Probably have looked it too. lol

I also have to give a shout out to my baby sister who turns 18 today. Yep. we are cool and awesome and were born 12 years apart. So we are both Cancers and both Boars. Oink. Or Snort? I guess, I have graduated to the "snort". 

I'll post pics later of our birthday bash, but Happy birthday to me and my sis!

I Am SOOOOO LUCKY!

I don't know what it is I have done, but Karma is being lovely to me! Sure, we've had our downs this summer (one of those downs being our 4 year old going missing for 2 hours only to be found fast asleep in the undercarriage of our double stroller), but man. This summer has been SOOO good to us! 

My latest blessing being that I was able to snag a ticket to the Sewing Summit. Yeah. I'm doing a little happy dance over here. I am really sad that I wont get to meet the person behind my stroke of good luck, but I am so stoked to get to go! 

Our basement is also in the works to getting finished. Electrician is scheduled for next Thursday, and after that we have the inspection scheduled and then insulation and sheetrock going up. Eek! I keep thinking of my lovely sewing space, the playhouse for the kids, the older kids moving down there giving us a free bedroom up here to move Jude into. And the family room! I am just dying to get everything out of our "living room" upstairs and turn that into a sitting room. I'm on pins and needles for it to be finished!

I am also THIS close to being able to send my pattern out to testers. THIS close! Are you picturing my fingers basically touching?? Cause yeah, it's happening. I have my amazing sewing group to thank for pushing me to get it done. You guys are incredible! 

And oh the stuff we have planned! Things are in the works and I swear, PINKY swear, that once school starts I will have more time to be writing posts and filling you all in. But, since I can't leave a post pictureless, here is our unintentional pumpkin garden. Gavin is going to be so excited to see them when he gets home!

Heidi & Finn Chevron Dress

If you have ever read my blog, you should know by now that I LOVE Heidi & Finn patterns. I love knit and a lot of her patterns are for knit. I also love the urban vibe they have. Although, my picture is out in the middle of the forest.....lol 

I also find them really easy to follow and very thorough. I just love them. 

I was really pleased to test the Chevron Dress. I'm totally into the chevron craze (the girls bedroom AND bathroom both sport them on one wall) and this dress was perfect! Not TONS of Chevron, but just enough. 

All of my girls begged for one. I made Zoe's first. 

She wanted pink and purple, so that's what we did. Zoe just came up to the screen while I was writing this and said "-intake of breath- THAT IS BEAUTIFUL!" Yeah, I think she is totally in love with it. 

And then of course when Paisley saw it, she just HAD to have one. But she wanted turquoise and purple. 

And yes, shoes on the opposite feet are so IN right now. Well, when have wearing shoes on the opposite feet ever been out? Honestly?? 

We went up to the Mountains to go fishing for the 4th of July and got pictures up there. Not the smartest thing ever to do. The cleanliness of those dresses were pristine condition one moment, to "head to toe dirt" the next. Ah well, they fished in comfort and style.

And a note about taking a trip up into the mountains. Always, ALWAYS look at your gas tank before going. We realized this an hour into driving:

And while you sit and wonder how we got off the mountain, seriously go and grab your copy of the Chevron dress!

Failing at Blogging

Well, I have failed miserably with the "Ultimate Blog Challenge". I guess I DO have 2-ish weeks left to try and redeem myself, so we shall see how I do. 

I'm wrapping up some pattern tests and I am so excited about them! I've been dying to post pics and what-not, but I have to be patient and wait until patterns are out.

Beyond that, we have been busy busy busy. Life has really turned tables and it seems like things have just fallen into place. We are finally able to really get our basement finished. It's been framed for the longest time. But the electrician comes next week and after that I know it will come together super fast!

I know this isn't much of a blog post, but in the next week or so when ALL of these patterns are getting released I will have more than an abundant amount of posts going up. Too, I plan to keep you posted on our basement! I can barely contain my excitement for it all!!!

And just so you can glimpse a bit into our world, here is my 2 youngest girls being silly. These girls crack me up! I can't wait to show this picture to them when they are all grown up and REALLY having babies!

Candy Castle Bubblegum Dress Review and Give-away!

This month I am taking the "Ultimate Blog Challenge" and to kick it off I am reviewing the Bubblegum Dress by Candy Castle Patterns and giving you the chance to win the pattern yourself! 

Candy Castle Patterns is a really new designer. They just released 2 patterns last month and are working on a third right now (which I have every finger, toe, arm and leg crossed to test!).
Now, I don't know about you, but I've made all the summer clothes that could possibly fit in my kids wardrobe and have started looking for patterns for the upcoming school year. And with school, comes a dress code. SIGH - When my eyes fell on this dress I was drawn like a moth to the light. This is one that easily fits into all of dress-code criteria. And honestly, I love the kimono cross-over thing going on. I really could not wait for it to come out! Did I mention that the sizing is from 6 months to 12 years! You read that correctly, 12 years! With a 6 year old that is outgrowing size 8, my options have been growing slim. So I was ecstatic that this pattern will still last us some good years!

Printing was great. It's 24 pages, but the pattern aligned perfectly. The tutorial was amazing with step by step instructions and pictures, so the dress came together SUPER easy. The part that took the longest was making all that bias tape, and you can buy that pre-made at any Walmart or craft store.
You also have the options for a few different variations. I chose not to do a ruffle, but if you want to see a version with it you can look at That's Sew Kari's review. Her's is stunning! You can also check out Candy Castle Patterns Facebook page to see a few different versions too.
I also love that you can easily use knit to make this dress. I already have 3 in my head, fabric all chosen out. lol
Here's some of the pics we got today in this dress:

I feel like I'm missing something in this post.......OH! That's right! The reason you are actually here reading all my stuff. Cause lets be honest, you were hooked with the first picture! 

The Give-away! 

Enter the raffle-copter below for your chance to win this pattern yourself! Or if you are like me and couldn't wait, grab your copy here: Bubblegum Dress.

Be sure to check out her other pattern the Jelly Bean Skirt too and keep your eyes open for more greatness to come from this designer! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Heather Top by Shwin Designs

Last weekend I saw Shwin Designs asking for testers. I had a moment of massive crushing doubt that there was no way I'd be chosen to test, then that ray of light saying, "If you never try, you'll never know". Actually, I think I'll put that saying on my wall.....with the small disclosure at the bottom excluding drugs and cigarettes.  Don't need to give my kids conflicting info there. 

Back to the topic. I typed out my info and pressed enter. I was thrilled to open my email and find I had been selected to test for Shauna! 

I downloaded the pattern and read through the instructions, chose my fabric and got started. 

When I started sewing the skirt to the bodice I realized that there was an inch extra fabric, so I added a pleat and sewed it up. I knew it looked pretty long, but it was supposed to be a tunic so I figured I'd see how the fit was in the morning and sure enough, it was a dress.

I know the "red, white and blue" is a little corny, but the girl needed a 4th of July outfit.

And just cause we can't leave out a picture of this girls massive personality. 

I wrote to Shauna about the extra fabric and length and sent the pictures and kept thinking, "I massively screwed up somewhere and I'm never going to be chosen to test again." Lovely self-doubt. Don't you love how it creeps up into your mind?

Shauna was great and asked me a couple of questions and as soon as I read her response I knew EXACTLY where I went wrong. This is why having beginning sewers be a part of your testing is a good thing. Even though I read through and saw it stated one way, my brain fell back on my years of sewing and decided it needed to be done another way. Cause you know, my mind just knows better. lol 

So I got to work on a second one, but this time it was made the correct way. 

I just love the fabrics on this one. It was still a little long, but I love that since my kids grow fast. Does anyone's grow slowly?? And if in fact someone has found a way to keep their kid little longer, do you want to pass on the secret?

The pattern comes in sizes 6-9 months to size 8, so we'll be getting a lot of use out of it. 

I already have a black shirt in the works for school and am so excited to see it layered like that!

Thank you again Shauna for choosing me to pattern test for you! I can't wait to make a few more for school too. You can grab your copy of the pattern here: Heather Top.

Heidi & Finn Tennis Skort Pattern

I love Heidi & Finns patterns. They are such quick and easy sews and I love the comfort and versatility they provide. I was able to test their newest pattern the Tennis Skort this week, and again, I just love it!

They sport some built-in shorts, which with this specific kiddo is very important!

She was twirling and dancing and jumping around without a care in the world.

I really can't say enough good stuff about Heidi and Finn. I really do love their patterns and the endless possibilities you have with them. You can check out the Sporty Maxi that we made, as well as the Summer Maxi. Then the Colorblock Dress, and Playday Dresses are staples in our wardrobes and this skirt was just added to that list.

Thank you Christina for another wonderful pattern! 

Early Birthday Present

My mum called me a couple of weeks ago to tell me that she had found my birthday present. My birthday isn't until next month, but when you see a good deal, you jump on it then. How my mother is so insanely gifted with finding awesome deals, I will never know, but I am very grateful for it! Thank goodness that she is also instilled with a sense of impatience too! 

She had found 6 backdrops that were from Kiddie Kandids on Craigslist for sale. Then we started counting and realized that there wasn't just 6, there were 7! I haven't been able to take pictures in front of all of them yet, but I have been loving it and setting up my backdrops as often as I can. 

Here's some of the pictures we've taken. 

And what is a pretty field without it's zombie??

The greatest part? We found pictures of Gavin and Aevarie from 2008 in front of the same backdrop. 

LOVE my new present! You can even ask my neighbors. I'm sure they're getting a kick out of seeing me set it up on my porch! :D

Thank you mother dearest! You KNOW I love love love it!