april is a busy month for us. besides the dreaded tax season, it's also birthday season. a few of mackenzie's friends have their bday's this month as well as her, plus we are busy trying to get things ready for the baby. so what have i been up to at night - sewing!

i love making dresses for mack's little friends for their bday. this one was made from the tutorial " one hour sundress" on the blog " from an igloo". i found the tute very easy to follow but it seriously took me more like 3-4 hours not 1...haha. i blame most of it on my sewing machine, i swear it tried to kill me while i made this. swear words came out of my mouth that i didn't even know i knew - it was a sight to be seen. at the end of it all i decided that i needed to buy better thread and a serger, but i got it done and i love it! it was hard to part with and i think it's a fun dress for any little girl!
i made the dress out of my favorite fabric line at the moment " nicey jane" from heather bailey. the two prints i used below were hop dot cherry and lindy leaf - pink. i purchased them from the wonderful skyreve fabrics! natasha has a great selection of a huge chunk of my fave designers all at lovely, lovely prices! she's sweet to talk to, and speedy when it comes to shipping so pop on over and stock up on some pretty prints & say hi for me while you're there!

once i finished the dress above you would have thought i might stop there, my feet were seriously the biggest i have seen them yet. huge, gigantic and looking ready to burst, but did i stop? nope. i kept on sewing. i figured my little princess needed a party top to wear to her friends bday party. i think the pregnancy has got to my brain. i started it at 9:00 at night and didn't finish it until a hour before the party the next day.

i let her help me make some of the decision for the style of the shirt and the fabric she wanted. we decided to go with a take on this pattern from " prudent baby". i followed her basic outline for the neck line and arm holes and of course the placket on front, except i didn't use adhesive interfacing and big buttons. i decided to go with an applique and a little jewel of a button to pick up on the blues in the print (you can't tell in the pics but the placket is a soft blue print) and the shirt.

the bottom of the shirt was my idea. mackenzie loves an elasticised ruffle and we seem to keep buying tops with this same elastic style on the bottom of them. i figured i might as well have a go at it myself this time round. i like the way it turned out and she liked wearing it. i call that a success, but my feet may not agree with you, or my back, or my legs, or my belly.......oh i could so easily go on and on here, but i won't torture you all :)
the above pics are what happen to your child after a mixture of bday cake and easter candy - they wear bowls on their heads, stain their tops with chili and parade around the house with a cat balloon singing at the top of their lungs. oh my..........anyhoo, i hope you all had a wonderful easter weekend and your sewing machines have been nicer to you than mine has been to me.

*all images luvinthemommyhood