I'm referring to myself. I've been a sewing machine. Today, I sewed up a doll-sized quilt top for Holly's Christmas gift. The girl is so baby obsessed, it's dangerous! She loves babies more than what I think is within normality for her age. Good thing we've got one on the way! 

I used the new Oliver+S City Weekend fabric (I had a 40 - 2.5"x2.5" sample pack) and the border is leftovers from a dress I made for Holly last week. It's from Amy Butler's Lotus collection.

I'm curious, what Christmas gifts are you making this year?

I can't take full credit for this. I saw my sister-in-law Elizabeth do this a couple years ago and I tucked it away in my mind. This project will take between 30 to 60 minutes, depending on your skill level and the amount of embellishing you do. This is a good project for a beginner. 

Supplies:

• t-shirt
• coordinating knit fabric (I used another shirt that I was okay with cutting up)
• thread
• needle
• scissors
• pins
• sewing machine

Cut circles from your embellishing fabric. For my t-shirt, the largest ones I used were 3+ inches in diameter. For Greta's, they were about 1 inch and Holly's were a little bigger than that. I like to have varying sizes to work with. 

Fold each circle into quarters and, with a hand needle, stitch a small square at the end, using coordinating thread (I used dark thread so it would photograph). You don't want your stitch to be too big. Mine were about 1/8th to 1/4 of an inch. Remember to start and finish with a knot.

Open your "rosettes" up and arrange them on your shirt. I choose to do a bib style for my shirt. And I like to layer the rosettes.

Pin like crazy. Make sure your pins are perpendicular to the direction you'd like to sew.

Sew the rosettes on using a sewing machine. I pivoted at the edges, so my stitching was continuous. Remove pins as you go.

Take a look and add in any more stitching as necessary (to flopping edges, etc). Admire your handiwork and wear!

Side note: Embellishing is a great way to resurrect a shirt. I had a shirt, which I loved, but it had some small bleach stains on it, so it was hanging in my closet without being worn. I covered those bleach stains up using this method and it's now a favourite again! 

It took me a day to make this Vogue dress. Not a full day, but over the course of the day I completed it. I cut it out during naptime and sewed it up when Holly went to bed. It was such a simple dress to make (only 5 pattern pieces!) and I received lots and lots of compliments today. I'll probably have to belt it as my belly gets bigger so I don't look like one big bump! If you're looking for a quick sewing project or are a beginner, this is an excellent pattern.

Tuesday night I made my first special Greta item. I embellished a grey H&M bodysuit (size 0-1 months, it's so tiny!) with blush pink fabric. The fabric is an old t-shirt of mine. I love the colour of it, but the shirt is too short. Aren't I thrifty? And then, I couldn't help myself. I just had to make something matching for Holly. They'll having matching tops right away - true sisters. I envision both girls wearing their shirts when they meet at the hospital... Life is so sweet! 

GIRL! 

Before we even got a good look at her face she turned her bottom to us and gave us a clear view of her gender. Conor and I both knew before the tech even said it. We're both really excited, me a little more so because the wheels are already turning on all the things I'm going to make (you know, because my "to-make" list could be a little longer). 

And her name is... Greta. I love it! I especially love the way "Holly and Greta" sounds. We're going to keep Greta's middle name a surprise! Anyways, I couldn't be more thrilled that I get to have another little girl to love. And this guarantees that we'll be a family of 5 one day.