Halloween kicks off the maker/crafter/seamstress time of the year, and I don't mind admitting it is my favorite holiday of the year.  Here are the projects I have planned:

1. Take Zoe to a pumpkin patch  (Pre-step:  Find out if they have a pumpkin patch in Central Texas)
2. Decorate the house, including some inspiring pumpkin ideas found on Pinterest
3. Not one, but TWO Halloween costumes for the 4 year old who has several party invitations piling up already.   Can you guess what Zoe wants?  Of course!  An Elsa dress and a pink princess dress.
4. Help plan the school party and make fun treats
5. Make cool flashlights for the neighborhood kids 

I'll be sure to link the projects as I get them finished -- help me stay accountable, will you?

xxx Anna

I've experimented with several different fabrics, and I've found that my repurposed waterproof mattress cover worked the best for these popsicle / frozen yogurt holders.  I sewed the shiny part on the inside, quilted part on the outside.  

I followed a very thorough and informative tutorial with pattern (thanks, Ikat Bag!) to make racerback jersey dresses for Zoe and a friend's daughter.  The links to the introduction and 3-part tutorial, as well as the downloadable pattern for girls sizes 3T, 5 and 7, are below. For Zoe's dress, I just cut between the 3 and 5 pattern lines, since she is a size 4.

Don't be intimidated by the length of this tutorial! The author goes into GREAT detail at every step, and you'll find it's an easy dress to make -- perfect for summer.

Oh, joy!  Leo and Caroline have had a gorgeous baby girl.  She is such a little doll, and we couldn't be happier for them.  And what fun to get to sew for a new baby girl.

These baby shoes are from a tutorial (LINK) found at Crazy Little Projects.

Fabric and terry cloth bib -- tutorial and pattern (LINK) found Purl Bee.  I found the magnetic snaps at Amazon. 

Sweet little baby dress from free pattern and tutorial (LINK) found at See Kate Sew.

My mother gave me two gorgeously embroidered pillowcases she says are too short for standard pillows.  I transformed one of them into a sweet pillowcase dress for Zoe using the free pattern and tutorial from Sew Sweet Patterns. (LINK)

Goodwill, how do I love thee?

Not only have I been buying every wool sweater in stock at Goodwill to turn into wool felt, I also have picked up some great fabrics to upcycle in my quest to learn to sew.  This sweet dress was once a curtain.  (Bonus, didn't have to hem the bottom of the dress!)

Found a great free pattern and tutorial (LINK) on the Burdastyle website.

Here is the first dress I made for Zoe!! 

I found the free pattern and tutorial at Small Dream Factory (LINK).  The butterfly fabric was given to me by my friend Beverly, and the blue suede butterfly fabric was actually one side of a throw pillow.  I lined it with fabric from an old, soft sheet.

Oh, Zoe laughs so much when we read this book, Turtle and Snake's Valentine's Day!  And now she has a snake to go with the stuffed turtle I made her; she loves to act out the story with her animals when we read at night.  Too cute!

I have created a bendable snake tutorial (LINK) and pattern (LINK) that you are welcome to download.  This is the first pattern I have created from scratch.   I'd love your feedback.

Turtle      Penguin      Owl Family

Zoe could not get enough of the penguins at both the Dallas and St. Louis zoos.  We have two books we love to read about penguins: Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester and Lynn Munsinger and Penguin by Polly Dunbar.

I found this free tutorial and pattern (LINK) for a stuffed penguin at Purl Bee.  I think all the tutorials at Purl Bee are so easy to follow, with lots of pictures and great pattern downloads.  I think my little guy came out pretty good!

Are you ready to make some of the easiest skirts ever?  Then head over to the MADE website and check out this easy tutorial.l (LINK)  You can easily make these for adults or children -- and no pattern required!

I used the following fabrics: old starry sky bed sheet, a brown and green valance found at Goodwill for $1, and fabric leftover from another project. 

Super easy project, using old sweaters and felt flowers.  Easy tutorial here, and lots of felt flower tutorials on my Pinterest board. 

Who's Hiding? is a lift-the-flap book that Zoe just doesn't get tired of reading together.  She also reads it to her circle of animals and tolls during her own pretend story telling time. 

The baby owls I made from a template/tutorial at Hobby di Stoffa.  The tutorial (LINK) is in Italian, but the pictures make it very easy to follow.  I didn't print the owls full size -- they are 70% scale, FYI.

For the mama owl, I found this great tutorial (LINK) on the Sew Little Fabric blog.  PLEASE NOTE:  I changed the design of the owl a bit:  I made the wings larger and DID NOT fully sew them to the body.  I added a small Velcro patch as well, so that the mama owl could hold her owlets like in the book.  You're welcome to my PDF of the altered wing design (LINK.)

Here he is, the first stuffed animal I've made EVER!  Is he perfect?  Heck, no!  But is he still cute?  Ab-so-lute-ly.  I got the pattern and instructions from Ashley Johnston at Make It Love It.

You can find the pattern here:

http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2011/06/stuffed-fabric-turtles-with-pattern-pieces.html

Zoe has really been grooving on turtles and tortoises lately.  They are always her favorite at the zoos we've visited, and the Shelley the Turtle character is her favorite in the book we're reading a lot lately, Happy and Sad, Grouchy and Glad.  Shelley has also been featured on several Sesame Street episodes.