Candy Corn Pants

John and I were browsing in Gymboree the other day when we saw these candy corn leggings for $14.50. I had just seen candy corn fabric for $2/yard at Wal-mart, so I not only said, "I can make that", I did.

Behold, the $1.50 version.



Now, I realize these are not as cute as the Gymboree version. But we didn't even pay $14.50 for pants she wears all the time, why would we spend that much on ones she will only wear for a few months? Plus they were fun to make and I learned how to use a new sewing machine foot to make a teeny tiny hem on the bottom.

I made the pattern myself and used a few tutorials:
How to Make Easy Kid's Pants
Frill Pants (for the ruffle)

These pants were fast and easy to make, other than the time I spent learning how to use the presser foot. They definitely took less than an hour to make. The pattern was simple, I cut out two pieces on the fold, sewed up three seams, added a waistband and hemmed, gathered strips to the legs. Ta dum! Now if only I can get Maggie to wear them.

Edited to add some action shots.

Great-Grandma

Here are some pictures of Maggie at the cabin on Friday, being silly with Grandma June. We went to visit her again today, she and Maggie just adore each other.


There's a wildfire burning quite near our house (but on a different mountain, so we're safe). It'd odd to think of Brook fighting a fire hundreds of miles away and here is one just a few miles from his home.

Going "Swimming"

Maggie and I went to Lagoon with our friends Theresa and Devan yesterday. What's that? You're tired of looking at pictures of Maggie on a carousel? Too bad.

Maggie wants to go on the lazy river. Really.

A silly picture of our friends. Devan is signing "water."

Devan is actually taller than Maggie. She is just naughtier and has climbed up on the fence.

On the train to visit Utah's second largest zoo.

Zoo Trip

We took James and Hannah to the zoo again today, this time for James' birthday. It was a lot of fun, especially because we got free tickets for the train and carousel. We also got a free stuffed white alligator, but that wasn't as much fun because Hannah wanted it and kept pretending Maggie was trying to force her to take it.

The zoo has built a beautiful carousel with hand-carved animals. It's is really nice, although I don't know if it's worth $2 a ride.

Hobo Purse

I made this cute hobo bag for myself. It matches my wallet. I made the pattern myself out of newspaper. I drew half the bag and cut it on the fold. You can't see in the picture, but I used a gusset on the bottom and sides of the bag to make it a bit wider. I pleated the sides of the bag against the strips I sewed the zipper to, both on the outside and the lining.
Here you can see my zippered pocket, just sewn on the top edge. The color is weird in this picture, it's actually more lime green.
Here is the pocket I made to protect my cell phone (and also so I can find it). That's the nice thing about making your own purse - I can put whatever pockets I need. You might be able to see the cute swirls on the lining fabric.

I spent less than $13 at JoAnn on supplies for this bag, which I think is a bit too much. This was my first time: making a purse; using interfacing; putting in a zipper; using a zipper foot. The absolute hardest part was attaching the straps. I had so many layers I was trying to sew through, and the green fabric kept fraying. I think it will hold at least! I am overall happy with and proud of my bag. The pattern turned out great, it is just the size I wanted, and I love my pockets. It could use a pocket on the outside, maybe next time.

To give credit where credit is due, and to help anyone wanting to make a similar bag, here are all the tutorials I used:

Ric-Rac 1 hour bag tutorial - This is what got me started, although I didn't end up using much of it since I did a zipper and a gusset.

Slouchy Hobo Bag - Most of the putting-together of my bag came from this tutorial, especially the zippered top and the pleated sides.

Purse Pattern - I used this to get an idea of what I needed to cut out - mainly for the gusset on the bottom of my bag.

Zippered Pocket Instructions - I followed these instructions, but I don't recommend anyone else do so. This made a cute little zippered bag and was very easy, but it didn't attach to my purse right because the zipper is on the top. Maybe if my fabric was flimsier it would have attached better. I ended up just sewing the top of the pocket (actually the back) to the bag.

I also watched a video on the Bernina website about using the zipper foot, but it didn't help me much.

Up and Down

Here are all two pictures we took in Park City before our camera died. Maggie pretending to be 2 so she could go on the ski lift, and some people going down the Alpine Slide (which Maggie loved).

Can You Tell What She's Doing?

Maggie is pretending to blow bubbles using a candle and John's electronic passcode.

Wallet

I made myself a new wallet today. I followed this tutorial and it took less than 45 minutes. I didn't use interfacing because I didn't realize when I bought it that it wasn't 40". I also didn't put in velcro closures, which was probably a mistake. I think that the pockets are a little too wide and not quite deep enough, so I might make some adjustments and try this again sometime. It was a fun and easy project though.

Garden Girls

For our second visit to Thanksgiving Point, we went to the gardens. This is a great place for pictures (although I hear bringing in a professional photographer is ridiculously expensive). The girls were not particularly cooperative, but you can see that the background is beautiful at least.

Farmer Girls

Tasha and I took the girls to $2 Tuesdays at Thanksgiving Point today. We went to the farm, previously viewed from the parking lot. We petted some horses and cows and went on the horse-drawn cart. The cart ride was the best part, Maggie loved it so much that she threw a tantrum when it was time to get off. The line for the pony rides was ridiculous, and I was afraid Maggie would just cry.

Patient horses to let us pet them.

Miss Kitty's Dance Hall...
On the horse-cart ride.

Sew News

I made this dress for the Relief Society talent auction, but John and I decided we like this one more than the one I made a year ago (which still doesn't fit). So Maggie wore the purple one to church on Sunday and the other will be donated to the auction instead.

Anniversary

On Thursday John and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. To celebrate, we had a picture taken of just the two of us, the first since the family pictures where I was pregnant, I believe. Now I can finally finish that scrapbook page...