This may have not been the best use of my time, but I do so little sewing these days. I made Maeve's a little snow babies dress. It's pretty big on her even though I made it in size 6-12 months. I'll likely loosen the elastic next winter and she can wear it as a tunic! I think it's pretty cute and this my favorite dress pattern. 

I made only a few Christmas gifts this year: a backpack for my nephew, Hudson Pants for two of my sister-in-laws, the dolls for the girls, American Girl doll dress for my nieces, and a quilt for my in-laws.

I love this quilt! It turned out better than I wanted it to. It's so cheerful and bright and happy. I used a Pow-Wow quilt pattern. I used the corners to make the baby quilt for the school auction. My girls look so cute wrapped up in it, in my opinion.

I've had the fabric to make this dress for a couple of months, or I thought I did. I didn't realize the main fabric is a knit... I went to cut it out last month and I didn't have the right fabric. Not really a big deal. I used a plain navy blue knit and a bunch of pieces from Leah Duncan's Meadow collection. The pattern is Figgy's Stellar Dress, and I cut it out in an 8/9 length, which was barely just right... Holly will need to wear leggings under it in about 1-2 months. Sewing with woven and knits combined really intimidated me, but the instructions were clear and I didn't have any problems. I like that the dress has some personality and I liked using all the different prints. It seems to be a comfy dress for Holly - she was riding her bike and running around in it. I think it's a success...

I've had my eye on this Lion print from Cotton and Steel for a while, and when Gail from Probably Actually made a dress out of this print, I knew I had to follow suit. It's such a darling print - so much fun. Holly got an Oliver + S rollerskate dress out of it. And she likes it! I've stopped sewing for Greta. I'm not a big fan of making things she won't wear, so I'm taking a short break until she shows interest again. It lightens my sewing (self-placed) load. Until Greta is ready to wear what I make her (I think she needs more pink items sewn for her...), it's all for the daughter that wears and appreciates what I make. Holly's been through her phase of disinterest too, so I'm confident with a little bit of space and the right fabrics I'll have Greta back on board.

Anyways... here's some pictures of Holly in her dress...

I hardly sew at all anymore... two beautiful daughters and their wonderful summer has taken over my life. Every now and then I get overwhelmed by the things I want to sew, but then I remember what I'm doing with Holly and Greta is a million times more important. There will be more time to sew when school starts. And then I'll be wishing I was at the beach or swimming with my two best girls rather than sewing. There are a few things that I really do truly want to get done - a swim cover-up for myself, a twirl skirt for my friend's daughter, and then I definitely have to sew up Holly's birthday dress.

So, finishing up these cargo duffles felt like a real triumph! Each time we travel with Holly and Greta, I have to empty my temple bag so that it may be used to pack the girls' clothing. No longer! Now they each have a duffle to use. I doubt these duffles will be used exclusively for Holly and Greta when traveling. They're a great size and I can see them being used for all sorts of things.

Making these was time consuming - that's a lot of quilting! The pattern is fairly straight forward and with the help of some tips and a sew-along, I managed just fine. I used fabrics from Leah Duncan and Andover Chambray, purchased from Lima Sews.

I'm happy with how they turned out. And maybe they weren't actually as much work as I think they are. I worked on them for over a month, so it felt like a long time, but some of my sewing spurts were only 30 minutes.

A time and a season.