I couldn't wait any longer so I started cutting up my new fabric.  I didn't have any specific projects in mind when I bought it, but because I had so much fun making my mom's belt, I decided to make another.  With the cooler, breezy fall-ish weather we are having today, this color combination seemed to speak to me.  I am looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

Here is another photo that made me smile.  I don't know why, but this pile of scraps just makes me happy.  Maybe it's all those zig-zag edges from the pinking shears...

Today my mom is the birthday girl and I hope she is enjoying every minute.  I have great memories of my mom's birthdays.  Every year my dad baked my mom a cake from scratch.  As I got older, I lent a hand in the kitchen and later took over the baking.  I wish I could be with them today to give my mom a big old hug and kiss and eat some chocolate cake with a glass of champagne.  No doubt they are having fun!

I love giving hand made gifts.  Inspired by Sally and Autumn, I made my own version of the patchwork belt for my mom.   Autumn has a nice tutorial on her site, but I made mine a little differently.  My mom has a fondness for red, so I mixed it with some pink, green, black and white and came up with this.

I am very happy with the way it turned out - hope she likes it, too!  I also made her a appliqued bird t-shirt complete with a swarovski crystal eye and more red thread.

Here's to you mom!

I bought these dish towels back in January at Anthropologie with the full intent of making them into summer skirts for the girls.

Today I finally did it.  I cut the towels in half lengthwise and stitched up the sides.  I then made a casing out of fabric from my stash and attached it to the towel making little hand pleats along the way.  I tried gathering, but the towel was a little bulky.  I pulled some elastic through the casing and voila, skirts!

I did it - I made the alterations and am very happy I did.  It was pretty easy to do - just alot of ripping stitches out.  I took the arms in (about 1 1/2 inches each!) and let out the sides towards the bottom (3/4 inch each).  Once those adjustments were made, it wasn't too terribly short.  I didn't have much extra length to hem it so I just enclosed the raw edge in the same bias tape I used on the arms (brillant idea courtesy of my hubby!).  It isn't very visible in this photo - kind of blends in with the black shorts - but the black band along the bottom makes it look finished.  It is super comfy and was nice and cool for our very fun croquet party last night.  I love my shirt!

I rarely make clothes.  Sometimes for the girls, but never for me.  When I saw this fabric earlier this summer, I knew I wanted to make something to wear with it - I thought maybe a skirt.  The fabric sat in the bag and I kind of forgot about it until I began cleaning out the sewing room.  When I rediscovered it and found this pattern, I thought ok, this is what I'll make.

Mistake #1:  When I cut it out, I decided NOT to lengthen the torso.  I kept holding the pattern up to myself and thought, "this is definitely going to be long enough."  Wrong, wrong, wrong.  It was a really dumb call on my part - I have to order long torso bathing suits.  What was I thinking? 

Mistake #2:  The armholes are huge!  I don't understand why - must be the pattern.  I should have looked a little more carefully.

Mistake #3:  At the bottom, it's narrower than at the arms.  Another pattern thing, I think.  It barely fits over my hips.

This is why I don't make clothes!

The result . . . still to be determined.  Part of me wants to scrap the whole thing because I am so frustrated.  The other part thinks I am up to the challenge of multiple alterations.  I guess I will wait and see.