Have you met Jo-Ann?

I went to our new fabric and craft store, Jo-Ann, yesterday for the first time. I was (and still am) a little skeptical of the idea of another store of this kind within such as small radius, especially in this economy. However, there was a quote in the newspaper a few months ago from the owner of a local sewing shop that in this economy, their business has actually increased. That makes sense if you think about it because many people are turning to making things instead of buying them (hello, have you looked in the specialty shops and catalogs???) I realized last year that I could make some things for much less than I could buy them.

I love Hobby Lobby and I shop at Hancock's occasionally. For a small store (as compared to the square footage of the other stores), this Jo-Ann store really packs in a punch. I saw lots of fabrics that I am interested in and lots of other things, too. It is nice to have lots of options in Tupelo.

See more in my Etsy shop!

I opened my Etsy shop a few months ago, but not too long after that, I found out that we were moving, so sewing was put on hold for a little while until we could get settled in the new house. I love having my own sewing room. It gives me a lot more opportunity to get creative and be more productive (when I have time). I added a few items earlier this week and will add more as things are finished. Thanks for looking. Pass it on! Here is the link: www.etsy.com/shop/SewWhatsGoingOn

S is for Spring...S is for Skirts!

This is a sampling of some skirts that I have been working on lately. I just love the Layer Cake skirt and have made quite a few of them. They are so cute, easy to make, and easy to customize, whether it is for a 2 year-old, a 6 year-old, or even a teenager.

I made this Layer Cake skirt for my niece Claudia's 2nd birthday. She had a Minnie Mouse themed party and I thought this would be perfect for her.

I decided to try something different, so I thought I would try a 2-layer skirt. I really like how this one turned out and have started on several more in different fabrics.

Finally, how can you go wrong with using only one layer of fabric? I don't think you can. Even though this skirt does not have the gathering and layers that the other two do, the elastic in the waist works to give it a gather and a little pouf. Caroline wore this skirt a few days ago with just a plain white T-shirt and sandals and it was so cute on her.

More burp cloths

Here are some of the latest burp cloths that I have made. I have made some others, but I have already shown those fabrics before, so I didn't want to duplicate. A friend of mine wanted several, so I e-mailed her some pictures of some that I had done for her to choose from. She asked if she could send the pictures around and then that afternoon, a co-worker wanted a few also! E-mail can be a wonderful thing sometimes.

New Menu Item: Layer Cake Skirt...endless flavor options!

Here is my latest creation! I am getting ready for spring and getting a head start on making cute clothes for Caroline and praying for warmer weather. In case you didn't know, it snowed again (we're in Mississippi...this isn't supposed to happen multiple times in the same winter!) I found a tutorial recently on Prudent Baby for this adorable "Layer Cake" skirt and just had to make one for Caroline. I showed it to a friend of mine and she loved it, too and wanted one for her little girl. I guess I need to get started on that one...if I could only decide which fabrics to use! The possibilities are endless! The skirt featured used three different fabrics, but I couldn't decide on three from my stash, so I chose two that I hadn't used yet.

Shaking things up..Pillowcase Dress...without border

I made this dress quite a while ago and I forgot to post the pictures. I decided to make a pillowcase dress with one fabric and no border. I knew this would turn out so pretty and sophisticated. So, here is a little twist on the pillowcase dresses that you have seen here before.

Getting back in the saddle soon

I have taken a break from sewing for a while, but I didn't really mean to take this long. When we knew in November that we would be moving soon, everything got put on hold and put away. We moved in early December and it took a little while to get everything unpacked and settled and then Christmas came and I said I was going to get back at it after Christmas. Well, Christmas was a month ago and I still haven't gotten anything done! Last week, while Caroline was napping, I went into my sewing room (yes! now I have a sewing room!) and sat on the floor and laid out all of my fabrics for some inspiration. Since then, I have been online searching for new projects to get me excited. Maybe sometime this weekend I will have something done! I just needed a little inspiration and I think I have found some cute ideas.