Buzzmills

And then she was five...

Five years ago today Brad and I were sitting in a delivery room watching the Today Show and talking about how funny it was that I was in labor and there we were, watching the Today Show, not unlike many other mornings at home in our apartment.

We also marvelled at the fact that we were chatting with each other and that I wasn't screaming bloody murder at him, apparently I am one of those "lucky" woman who doesn't feel much pain until it gets really serious.

We arrived at the hospital before the city awoke.  We often wondered how difficult it was going  to be getting from our Jersey City apartment to our NYC hospital while in labor.  We were lucky enough to make the trip through the Holland Tunnel at 4am, no traffic...

Five years ago today I was handed a little baby girl.  The first thing I said was "I knew it, I knew it was going to be a girl!" 

Five years ago today, we wondered what to name this baby girl who entered the world with eyes wide open and a full head of dark hair...
Taking a cue from the New Jersey State Flower and February's birth flower we opted for Violet over Molly.

I have no idea how these five years came and went so quickly!  It is one of those bittersweet moments of parenthood...I am nostalgic for those early days.  The days filled with firsts for her and for us.  I am sad when I see baby pictures of her.  Some days I wish she was small again, just to be able to hold her as a tiny baby again...

But, then I am excited!  I am excited to watch her grow.  I am excited to see her explore.  This little girl has so much of me in her but she is all her own.  I am excited to share secrets, walks, bike rides, adventures and more with her. 

This little girl came into the world 5 years ago with her eyes wide open.  Those eyes were filled with questions, curiosity, wonderment...And, today, 5 years later, they still are...

Happy Birthday to our little Violet Bud.

A Little Mend...

A few weeks ago I had the unfortunate run in with one of my kittie's super sharp cat nails...while wearing a down vest. 

For weeks I didn't fix this hole and ended up loosing my feathers a little bit at the grocery store, a bit at the park, a bit on walks...

It was embarrassing watching feathers following me in a twirl around the store and down the street.  Embarrassing, but a little funny, HA!

Finally, it needed to be fixed before I lost them all and this safety pin fix was definitely not the most attractive fix...
So, I stitched up a little flower, simple and sweet.
Hooray for simple fixes!

And now, over the weekend, Violet somehow managed to get a hole poked in hers...argh!  She is requesting a sunshine patch...

Wiksten Tova Dress...

So this dress was supposed to have been made by me, for myself, by my birthday as a gift to myself...

Um, yeah, that didn't happen...a few things got in the way, or maybe I let a few things get in the way, like the fact that I needed to make that feather pillow...or the fact that I was making these guys up until the day before my birthday...No worries though.  It did get finished in time for a date night, so that's all that really matters, right?
Ha, well, truth be told, it barely got made in time!  Another truth, once it was done I went on a made dash to purchase a pair of boots, of which I had zero pairs, to wear with this dress, because it needed boots!  I have been wanting a pair of boots for years and years...but I am too cheapo to buy them...finally this dress was my excuse.  I promised myself that if I made the dress and liked it then I would finally buy myself a pair of boots!  Yeah, yeah, I know I am weird 

(Incidentally, I've been wanting an awesome shirt dress forever too, and have been too cheapo to buy one...and now I can make my own!)

I love this dress!  I am so happy with it and Brad is happy that he doesn't need to hear me talk about how I wish I had a pair of boots anymore...
Between the Tova and the Washi I just might be all set!  I need to make more and more and more!
I did end up making the smaller size.  I am so glad I did because I think it would have been much too full as a dress in the larger size. 

One change I made to the dress version was to line the inset.  It bothered me that you could see so much of the back of the fabric on my tunic when the placket popped open...
So, for the dress I simply cut out two insets, one out of my corduroy (Denyse Schmidt, Chicopee) and one from a scrap of voile and then basted them wrong sides together to make an inset that was pretty from either side.  (Although I failed in that I didn't have the correct color thread.)

But now, doesn't it look so much prettier when the placket pops open...
(Oh, by the way...dress body is Anna Maria Horner, field study.)

Violet noted, and this is indeed why I did it, that the "white fabric makes it looks nicer, without all of the dark all around".  "It brightens it up" we both agreed.  She really is becoming quite the "style queen".  I am looking forward to making many more of these tova dresses, super comfy, simple to make and stylish.  I told Brad, "with dresses like these, why would you wear anything else!"  Well, yes, that is a bold statement, but pretty true...

Oh, and one more thing...remember that part about "date night" up at the beginning of the post?  Well, it seems that I ought to make things for myself more often, because it seems that each time I do we end up going on a date (which is definitely not a usual occurrence around here)...a dress, a clutch and now this...I'm thinking that I'm onto something...

Have a great day!

Wiksten Tova Tunic...

Way back at the end of November I asked my Facebook fans if they had any suggestions between the Wiksten Tova  or the Schoolhouse Tunic?

I thought that, perhaps, (silly me) I would try to get a new dress in for myself by Christmas.  HA!  Seriously, I knew I was kidding myself...But, I really wanted to try something new for myself.  While I certainly love my Washi dress, and tunics I was looking to branch out a bit...

And then early in January Jennifer started talking about making a Wiksten Tova of her own, and then Anna and Erin made two corduroy dresses that I loved and it was all over...decision made...Tova it was!

I bought fabric to use as a "muslin" tunic and some to use to make a dress.  I loved Jeni's idea to make her muslin out of inexpensive fabric so that if it worked out then it would still be wearable.  Great idea.  I found some fabric that was marked way down at Fabricworm (Joel Dewberry, Handpicked Daisies) and used that as my muslin.

It is quite a "quick" sew, the directions are clear and simple.  The only thing that slows down the process is all of the gathering, but you know that's what makes it look so pretty.

I made this version based on my measurements, but I felt like it was a bit too big.  Not crazy big that I couldn't wear it, because I do wear it, a lot!  I really do love it!  But, big enough that I decided to go down a size for the dress version.  But that's tomorrow...

Covert Robin, 2013 sign ups open...

it's time to sign up for this year's covert robin!

what is the covert robin?
a round-robin gift exchange of handmade presents. you get to make something special for another blogger, and you'll also receive your very own handmade present from a mystery gifter (your "covert robin").

handmade gifts should have an approximate retail value between $20 and $30. i know this can be tricky to determine for some items, so if you have any questions about what is/is not appropriate, please don't hesitate to email rachael at: rachael {at} imaginegnats {dot} com. thank you!

not sure what to send? we saw a great variety of items last year, from sewn goods to paper crafts, from baked goods to beautiful artwork... anything is game, as long as it's made by you! want some inspiration? you can see some posts about last year's gifts in the link-up here.

how does it work?
once sign-ups close, my co-hosts and i will assign everyone a gift recipient. after receiving your recipient, you'll make your gift and send it off. and here's the extra fun part: you can blog about the gift you made and/or the gift you received for a chance to win prizes! we'll host a linky party starting april 1, and each of the co-hosts will be randomly awarding one participant a prize (that's TEN chances to win!). you can keep up with covert robin updates here.

when does this happen?

sign-ups: open NOW... through february 28

recipient information: will be emailed by march 4

gifts: must be mailed by march 31

blog post link-up: open april 1-30

prize winners (will be chosen randomly): announced on may 3

who are the hosts?
Cassie (elegantitus)
Clara (Clover & Violet)
Courtney (mon petit lyons)
Jane (buzzmills)
Jill (Made with Moxie)
Karen (Sew Well Maide)
Kelley (casa crafty)
Melissa (a happy stitch)
Rachael (imagine gnats)
Stephanie (The Crafty Kitty)

swap guidelines (are simple):
1. make something handmade and lovely
2. send your gift according to the above timeframes
3. post about your gifts to enter for a chance to win!
4. have fun :)

not required, but would be appreciated:
1. add a nifty covert robin button on your blog (code available in sidebar)
2. check out and follow my lovely co-hosts' blogs

click here to read the covert robin FAQs.