Sewing in a New Direction: Cuties for a Cure

Last month I stumbled upon a blog post that was reviewing a doll pattern from Dolls and Daydreams. I had never sewn dolls before but I was falling in love with nearly every doll pattern she had for sale. I was sitting with my son and he went crazy over the pirate pattern so I decided to buy it and give it a shot. Boy, am I glad that I did! He sat and helped me pick fabrics, he watched me sew the pieces and helped me stuff the limbs and doll. In the end we ended up with an awesome pirate that was nearly as big as his baby sister!

My son didn't even want to give him up so I could take pictures. He was running through the house with him yelling, "Arrrrr matey".

After our pirate success I returned to the website and continued to plot what would be our next adventure when I stumbled upon her Cuties for a Cure pattern. I knew immediately that I wanted to make some to donate. I contacted our local Children's Cancer Center to see if they would be interested and when they said yes I got right to work collecting supplies and getting started. This past week I finished my first 3 dolls. 

I already cannot wait to get a whole box ready to take over to the hospital. They turned out so cute. And I am learning new techniques as I go . . . like fabric painting on the faces! And once again my son helped me with these. I love that we sat and stuffed all 3 together. While we worked I explained that they were going to sick kids who don't feel good. My son smiled and said, these dollies will make them happy! 

I will be working on 3 little boys this week and I hope to get quicker with practice. It is great to be working on something that I know might bring a small smile to the face of a little one who is fighting a huge battle!

Until next time . . . happy sewing!

Side Note: I am in no way affiliated with Dolls and Daydreams and receive nothing for writing about the patterns. I am just a very happy customer, now a nearly obsessed customer, who wanted to share her extraordinary patterns. Most importantly, I wanted to spread the word of her Chemotherapy dolls in hopes of inspiring others to create some to donate as well!

Not Your Ordinary Skirt: A Simple Summer Blouse

I was able to squeeze in a little bit of sewing time this evening so I decided to try my hand at another refashion. I bought a skirt at the thrift store last summer because I loved the color and print. 

I wore it a few times but not as much as I had hoped I would. There just isn't much need for skirts when I am running around with the kids. So I decided to turn it into something I could get more use out of. I threw it onto the dress form and brought the old waist line in to create a boat neck hem. I also began seam ripping the sides where I wanted my arm holes to be.

To keep it easy and add some contrast, I grabbed some navy blue binding and used it to finish the arm holes. 

The top was nearly there. 

I then created a thin navy blue tie to add a beautiful shape to the top. I love how it creates the illusion of a peplum top. 

So feminine and yet nice and casual too!

It also looks great under a blazer for dressier occasions.

I will be on the hunt for a navy blue blazer now to complete the ensemble. This was a great refashion for a mom without much sewing time lately.

Until next time . . . happy sewing!