This time three years ago I was taking sideways glances at our third and final child in her plastic crib as I lay stilled by an emergency caeserean. Our little Emily was born at 4pm on March 4th and has been a joy in our lives every day since then.

At the eleventh hour I managed to finish and photograph this pastel striped dress to share in the Project Run & Play sew along for the final week of series 7.  The final week is My Signature style.  This dress took me hours - mostly because I photographed most of the steps along the way (which must be done when children are not around!!), since this dress is version 2 of my 'work in progress' next pattern.

 

When I think about what 'my signature style' is, I would probably say: feminine (because so far, two out of three of my girls have proven their girliness by refusing to wear 'boy pants'!!), youthful with a touch of vintage.  I think this dress encapsulates that.

 

 

Did you notice the scary shadow monster Isabella created?  She actually loves doing shadow creatures, so I will have to show her this one!

I really hadn't gotten as far as working out what I would sew for this week had I still been competing, but my entry would have included three dresses for my girls, possibly using this pattern.  I would have used more bold fabric choices if competing, but I loved this pastel stripe and didn't want to go out and buy something when I have plenty of fabrics in my newly organised crates of fabric. 

This version of my next pattern was made up in a vintage looking pastel stripe and has pastel aqua piped detailing.  I bought the fabric from a local quilting shop, but have lost the selvage ( really need to establish a system of recording the fabrics I use!).  Like the first version of my pattern (which you can see here), the dress features a v-shaped bodice, a central dress seam, pockets (these ones are rounded) and a deep hem.  I am happier with the rounded pockets than the rectangular ones.  I also achieved a more distinct 'V' with this version of the dress.

 

 

The back features two violet vintage buttons from my stash.  They remind me of my Grandma's 'tiddliwinks' that I used to count and play with as a child!  The fabric also reminds me of matching tracksuit sets my Mum made me and my two older sisters when we were young!

I will be making the other couple of views of this dress/top in the next couple of weeks to show you.  I am aiming for an all seasons pattern so there are a few sleeve options, and also a collar option.

Have you voted for your favourite of the designer looks for this week?  They are all awesome this week I think.  Voting closes in less than 24 hours, so head here if you would like to vote!

 

If you would like to see more of 'my signature style' and purchase my pattern on sale, you can check out my most recent Debbie's birthday dress here!

I wasn't really planning on joining in with Kids' Clothes Week this season, since we are mid winter here in Australia, and I knew most people would be posting great summer stuff.  But, after being asked by Meg to guest post on the KCW blog, I decided to join in anyway.  The first thing I have sewed up for the week actually fits in with the Summer season.  It's another version of my upcoming digital pattern - Debbie's birthday dress.  You can see the original versions of the dress and introduction to the pattern here and here.

 

Read on to find out how to win one of two of my patterns before my official 'launch' next week.  The pattern is almost ready - just a few last minute tweaks... 

I love how easy this view of my dress is to sew up.  Once I had it all cut out, I had it sewn and pressed within an hour.

The hemline sits just above the knee - not quite as short as Debbie wore hers, but I think much more wearable.

For some reason, Issie loves pretending she is a cat.  She donned her cat mask and had me crawling around on all fours being the Mummy cat.  She played the kitten, while Juliette was 'owner' and Emily was the puppy dog.  Love being a Mum!

 

Now, onto that GIVEWAWAY!!  My pattern will be ready for purchase next week.  You might see a couple of versions this week for KCW from my lovely pattern testers.  I also have a fabulous blog tour arranged for early August, where you can see some different versions of my pattern.  But for now, I am offering a FREE PATTERN to two readers.  To enter, you need to be a follower of my blog (via Google friend connect or Bloglovin' - links on my sidebar).  Simply leave a comment to let me know you would like one, and if you are a new follower, let me know you have followed sewpony.  If you do not have a blog, make sure you leave your email address if it is not connected to your profile.

The giveaway will be open until the end of Kids' Clothes Week - Which will be 12.00 midday Monday 22nd July (AEST), Sunday night for Northern Hemisphere readers.  I will draw the winners at random and post the winners later on Monday.

 Good Luck!

So my 'Part I' post for Juliette's quilt was written exactly six months ago...oops.  I find it hard to resist the pull of starting a new project, so am not a very dedicated quilter.  Juliette is not going cold though.  She has a doona on her bed, but her quilt has been in my 'to do' pile for quite some time!

 

I ran into trouble when I realised I would run out of the main red and white floral fabric about half way through creating the quilt top (that's making it up as you go along for you!)  The print is many years old and I was not even going to try to match it.  So the top and bottom of the quilt have a panel of vintage cream, orange and brown floral.  It doesn't really match, but I think once it is on the bed and quilted and bound - it will still work. 

 

 

It has been a rainy day here in Melbourne.  I resisted putting the TV on for the kids til about 2.00pm, but then as they settled in for a movie, I decided to quickly get to work pin basting Juliette's quilt while Emily slept.  I just used regular pins - placing them in areas which I will mostly not sew over.  I think I will machine quilt straight diagonal lines through the squares.  Hopefully it will be on her bed within a week or two.  It will be great to get it finished.

A quick little post to share this cute 'bodysuit' I made for Emily.  I bought this gorgeous deer jersey from Spotlight a few months ago.  I teemed it with some cherry red ribbing to make this 70's inspired bodysuit for my littlest girl.

In the spirit of Vintage May (a vintage sewing series hosted by Jess from Craftiness is not Optional and Kristin from Skirt as Top), and following my first version of  Debbie's Birthday Dress, here is view 2 of the dress.  It features the same A-line shape and but differs in that it has a centre front seam, peter pan collar and optional pocket.  After sewing this dress up in size 5, I have decided to lengthen the hemline just a little.

The bodice is lined with a sweet spotted cotton - Garden Pindot by Michael Miller from Sew, Mama, Sew!  (Their shop is closing down and they are selling lots of their fabrics at discount).

This view of the dress is inspired by another dress Debbie wears preparing for her party...

I remember loving this illustration as a child - all that delicious food!

 

I have decided that instead of developing the Mini Pinnie as my first digital pattern, that I will instead develop Debbie's Birthday Dress.  I am so excited about this design - I can't wait to get it out there!  The Mini Pinnie will have to wait!

It is a simple design that I am hoping will appeal to all sewers as a quick and gorgeous dress to sew up with a few design variations (the second is currently on the ironing board!).  The hemline is short but that is what gives it the sweet vintage appeal.  The bonus of this dress will be that as Juliette grows taller, she can wear it as a top with pants.  The dress took only an hour to sew once all cut and prepped.  I love a quick project! So satisfying.

 

The back has a simple button and loop closure - so no scary zips or buttonholes!!