Finished Product

So this is the best pic of me wearing the dress I made-unfortunately we were in a bit of a time crunch to drop the kids off before the wedding so we forgot the camera-had the hubby take this with my phone...so sorry it's blurry :)

I learned a lot from this project...and yes ofcourse I'll share it with you.

-Always make a tester dress on something like this-I did that and it helped me adjust the pattern for fit

-I didn't use a pattern for this dress-sometimes it's best to pick a piece that you like and draft a pattern off it it.

-This was one of the first times I used elastic thread for the back to create a tight fit-I LOVE IT-really easy to work with and very useful to create fit.

-Line the dress-I was in a bit of a hurry and didn't want to take the time-ofcourse I had a heck of a time trying to find my slip the day of-but luckilly found one but still far from ideal.

-I need to adjust the fullness of the dress-yeah I kinda look preggo(I AM NOT), but I think that sometimes just goes along with my body type(AKA chubby).

All in all it was a great learning experience and I was proud to say that I made my dress when people mentioned that they liked it.

Childrens concepts

Just some concepts for childrens room I threw together.

We just happen to be moving both of our kids rooms right now too-it's a mad dash to get it down before my husband's surgery but I've been playing with the palettes for each room-one boy and one girl and will show you what I've come up with for each-I didn't choose any of these. The common accent wall color is a pale yellow-not sure what I was thinking, I really don't use yellow that much!

One Yard Wonders

I was feeling crafty today so I opened up our copy of One Yard Wonders and whipped up this cute little jacket for my little girl, in less than an hour and less than a half yard!

So cute-I love it-wish I could pull it off myself :)

Virtual Quilting Bee

Interested? Please say YES! I'm very excited about this idea and should have gotten a move on it last month so that we could start right away in January, but needless to say I had some things going on :)

Anyways, this is open to anyone in the US-you do not have to live locally. Basically the Virtual Quilting Bee is made up of 12 people who are each assigned a separate month as their month to be the recipient of the blocks. The bee will run then for a year, with each person taking turns making blocks for for everyone else 11 months, and one month sending fabric out and receiving their own blocks back.

So if you are interested please email me at drawstringstudio@gmail.com and we'll go from there. Hopefully we'll get enough people right away that we can get this started. Here's a link to some block tutorials if you're interested as well. HERE

Another Crib Quilt

I love making these smaller size quilts-I've found it to be a great way to test out some design ideas I have without getting overwhelmed with a large quilt. The last one I made HERE (the green and yellow one)worked out great in Ethan's pack and play when we went camping recently. I still have to finish the binding on this one-or maybe find someone I can pay to do the binding for me-even better idea! This quilt was created out of a Fandango charm pack, Pure Organics Hazelnut, a cream basic, Fandango Mustard, and a Blank Textiles Sparkling Paris on the back.

A Few Things I've Been Working On

I kept forgetting to bring my camera to the store all this week, but FINALLY forced myself to remember today. I've been working on these two project this week and am just waiting for my binding to come in to get them finished up(I don't make my own binding-seems too time consuming and difficult for me).

Anyways, this first project is a little quilt pattern that I found in a mag a couple of months ago. I have since lost the mag/can't figure out which mag the pattern is in, but the great thing about this pattern is that it's SO easy. I'm really excited to see how this one turns out after being washed. The edges of the circles have been purposely left undone so that the fabric frays a bit when washed. On the back I chose a simple black and cream circle pattern to round out the design concept. I think this one is going to be the piece I donate for the Gracie's Ride Auction.

The second project is something I came up with to showcase a few fabrics in the store. We just got in the floral print and usually I'm not a floral fan, but I thought if I coupled it with the steel and ivory fabrics, it would give it a more modern feel. I love how this one turned out-it's not something I would normally do for myself and I think that's part of the reason I love it. On the back I chose the Cloud 9 Organic sandpiper print.

So that's what I've been working on lately-what have you been up to?

I Can't Help Myself

I know I did a post on these Monaluna fabrics recently, but I got them in on Saturday and I am in love with them. I also ordered some PUL so I can't wait to get it in and start making some wet bags-they will be avail in our etsy shop soon. Perfect for cloth diapers, swimming suits, or juice soaked t-shirts! But back to these fabrics, the colors are so vibrant and I love that the designs are modern enough to be utilized with a variety of projects, not just baby/children but also adults-I think I might make a few pillowcases out of them.

The fabric is now for sale on our Etsy shop HERE.

We're also getting our Japanese prints in at the end of this week-so keep an eye out for them.

Personally I've been working on a few projects this past week, a few scrub caps(which I am slowly getting closer to perfecting the pattern), a few checkbook covers(again a little tweaking to the pattern) and a n elephant friend for Ethan-take a look at the pic-I think Ethan loves his new friend already!