What’s Charlotte liking this week? Find out each Tuesday as she spots trends and captures a little slice of goodness from Pinterest.

+++++++++++++++++++++++

A very special friend of mine is turning 3 this week and I have been helping to plan her party.  What could make for a better summer party than BUBBLES!  Here are some of the tricks I have up my sleeve–click through the source links at the bottom to find the tutorials related to each.

PS Shhh…the artwork in the last item is my gift to the birthday girl!

Pinteresting Finds - Week of June 27, 2011

Sources: /one/ Giant Bubbles found via /two/ Living in a Bubble found via /three/ Bubble Painting found via /four/Monsieur IV print by Blanca Gomez found via

Want to see even more of what Charlotte is looking at this week?

So you followed our tutorial on sewing our Sandpiper Pants and now you are thinking, “How do I put them on my kiddo?”  Here’s a little step-by-step that will have your little one donning and doffing¹ these pants with ease.

Step 1: Position the front of the pants (where the buttons are located) at the navel level of your child.  Tie the twill tapes in a bow around the back.

Step 2: Pull the back of pants (where the button holes are located) through the child’s legs to the back.  Straighten the waistband and position center back seam at the center of the child’s back.

Step 3: Pull the tabs with the button holes around towards the child’s front along the waist, fastening them to the buttons on the front.

Step 4: Once the pants are secure at the waist, you can loosely tie the cuffs around the child’s leg.

Step 5: Your child is now ready to romp down the beach!

———-

1 doff (dôf, df)

tr.v. doffed, doff·ing, doffs

1. To take off; remove: doff one’s clothes.

2. To tip or remove (one’s hat) in salutation.

3. To put aside; discard.

What’s Charlotte liking this week? Find out each Tuesday as she spots trends and captures a little slice of goodness from Pinterest.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
It is hard to believe that it is almost the end of June! That means lemonade, corn on the cob, bike parades, and lots of red, white, & blue are right around the corner. I’ll be making the annual trek to my family’s cottage this year to celebrate the festivities. Where will you be watching the fireworks?

Pinteresting Finds week of June 20

Sources: /one/ Patriotic Wreath found via /two/ Red, White and Blue Strawberries found via /three/ Flag bunting found via /four/ Summer Dessert with cookie spoons! found via

Want to see even more of what Charlotte is looking at this week?

Photos all courtesy of Katy Dill

We have a special treat for you this Monday morning!  Katy, of NoBigDill fame, has posted her renditions of two of our patterns on her website.  We knew Katy would find interesting twists on our patterns and she hasn’t disappointed!  Be sure to check out her beautiful and fun variations of our Finch and Sandpiper looks, modeled by two of her little girls.  There’s also a special little something from us for those who stop by her site (a giveaway, perhaps?).

Whether she’s reworking a simple idea or tackling something really ambitious (her Avalanche skirt comes to mind), Katy is known for using lots of color, fun trims and great fabrics. What’s more, her sewing skills are equally matched by her skills with a camera.

Did I mention she has small obsession with the color orange??  Need I say more? I didn’t think so.

A big thank you to Katy and her daughters for this little Monday morning pick me up!

I’ve had this beautiful array of Kaffe Fasset’s shot cottons* hanging around my fabric stash for a while now.  I purchased about 9 of the pink-red-purple colors, but only in 1/4 yard increments–leaving me to get creative on how to use them for apparel sewing.  The answer came to me recently in two words: color blocking.  The resulting Finch Top is three layers of such sweetness that I just want to scoop up a big mouthful.

Adding the bias tape hem

I chose to make up the Finch Top since it is fairly symmetrical and would lend itself to wide horizontal stripes.  After selecting my colors, I sewed the 1/4 yard pieces together from selvage edge to selvage edge, making sure the total length of the three sewn panels would accommodate the length of the top’s pattern pieces (for this size 4T, the pattern pieces were 18″ long), plus a little extra length for good measure.  The middle stripe is 6″ and, once the pattern pieces were centered on the fabric, the upper and lower panels also measured about 6″.

An important aspect of successful color blocking is to make sure the stripes match up at the side seams.  You can see from the picture below that I placed the single notches of the front and back pattern pieces on the same seam line joining the bottom two panels.

As for the fabric flower on the left shoulder, I wanted to show you an alternative to the bow that we feature with the pattern.  This was a fabric flower that I previously made for a different project and had at the ready.  I lined the garment with the pink and mauve plaid shirting fabric we sell in the shop–it is so soft and silky and will feel great against the skin.

Since putting this Finch Top together this week, I have been dying to try adding a fourth layer to make it long enough to be a dress.  Stay tuned for that version…perhaps in a lemon-lime colorway?

_______________
*For those of you not familiar with shot cottons, they use two different colors for the warp and weft fibers, giving the fabric added dimension and a slight iridescence. They come in a wide variety of colors. For example, the fabric in the top stripe of my Finch Top has white and pink threads; the middle stripe has pink and tangerine threads. The fabric is slightly lighter in weight than a quilter’s cotton and perfect for making lightweight apparel.

Hello! From my Pinteresting Finds post a few weeks ago, a number of you were interested in seeing my complete list of books I will be attempting to read this summer.  These books are great for readers in the 2-3-4th grades or read aloud by an adult to younger children.  Quite a few of them have only recently been re-released.

For optimal reading enjoyment, I highly recommend spreading out a picnic blanket in a breezy spot along the edge of the Tweed River, with a tall glass of strawberry lemonade in hand.  I hope you’ll pick one or two of these great finds to read along with me!