So Random....

1.  I meant to link up with Debbie on Tuesday and then forgot it was Tuesday and posted bee blocks instead but as the temps cool (and by cool I mean I don't start sweating as soon as I step outside, it take 15 or 20 minutes...) I've been wanting to bake more!  I made these last week and they were DELICIOUS!!

Apple Cider Doughnut Muffins via My Baking Addiction

Seriously--make these.  You won't be sorry.  I've also made Salted Caramel Pumpkin Blondies and they are also a winner!  Although I originally got the recipe here I found almost the same recipe here and mine look much more like the second version.  Bree's are so pretty.  Mine might not look so pretty, but definitely taste delicious.  I don't use Bree's caramel either.  Chris makes a divine and simple caramel here for ice cream and the like so I used that instead.  As mine weren't overly pretty--here are Bree's to get your appetite going...

Salted Caramel Pumpkin Blondies via Baked Bree

2.  To counteract the baking, I've signed up for 2 fitness challenges.  Tina is hosting a plank challenge to strengthen our core muscles.  I have like little to no core strength and a bad back to show for it, so I'm in.  It just started this week, so definitely jump in if you're interested.  On Mondays you hold a plank position as long as you can to get an initial time.  I got 75 seconds before my back started literally popping.  Then on Wednesdays she posts a core workout involving planks that takes 10 minutes or less.  Yesterday's was difficult by not quit-worthy impossible.  Then on Friday, we'll hold a plank position again to get our new time.  Most people have set their goal in 4 weeks to double their time--I'm going to try and push myself harder and get to 3 minutes.  Things like this are often as mental as they are physical and I really need to start pushing myself harder mentally.  I want to give up way too easily when it comes to exercise.

  The second fitness challenge is from Monica.  To encourage us to pile on the miles instead of pounds this holiday season she is hosting a challenge.  Pile on the Miles 2012 is a chance to sign up to commit to run your choice of miles in November.  There are prizes for those that do participate.  As I'm still half-marathon training and starting to get into real training time, I've committed to running 60 miles in November.  I can easily do that and would like to do more, but I didn't want to over commit because I'm not sure how busy we'll be yet.  You have to sign up for this one by October 31.  I encourage you to do this, even if it's only 10 miles.  Even if you're walking.  Any exercise is better than none!!

3.  I've got my dGs quilt basted and ready to quilt.  I think I'm going to go with random straight lines across it, BUT...I might go with a diagonal cross hatch instead.  I was leaning toward the random but with the symmetrical and very orderly design of the quilt top, I'm not sure if random will take away or add to it...

4.  Oren's got a field trip to the local "pumpkin patch" tomorrow.  And by pumpkin patch I mean the Methodist Church who sells them under a tent.  It's a long walk from the school, but they did it in pre-k too, so I'm counting that as my mileage for tomorrow.  ;)

5.  We're trick-or-treating Saturday night with good friends at the local carnival.  House to house trick-or-treating around here isn't big and the city decided to do it Friday night this year instead of Saturday (no, we never do it on actual Halloween here and especially not on a Wednesday night--people gotta get to church!  Yes, this is the rural south.)  I'm trying to convince Emma that her store-bought Merida costume is enough and we don't need the wig.  I bought some red hair spraypaint and I want to just curl it or braid it wet and let it be wavy...

6.  It is such a dreary day here today I just want to put my yoga pants on and curl up in bed with a good book.  Unfortunately it looks like some sort of kitchen monster threw up in my kitchen so I'm going to spend some time in there.

7.  I started a new sweater last night!  I'm knitting the February Lady Sweater in a mustard yellow.  I've never done a sweater before so I am excited.  Well, that's not exactly true.  I started a sweater last year and got the collar done before giving up on it...  BUT, I'm determined to see this one through!  It's so pretty!  Here's Pamela's:

So, there's a whole bunch of randomness for you...

Bee Blocks done

I don't know why I always put off my bee blocks each month.  I get my marching orders the first week of the month and I never even consider starting on them until at least two weeks later and then it'll take me another week to get to the post office.  Does anyone else do this?  But...it's only the 23rd and I've got them all made and mailed, so I'm feeling pretty smug this October!  ;)

This month for Nubees, I decided to try out Lee's cartwheel paper pieced block and it is a great block!  I was so tired Sunday afternoon when I made these that I had multiple mistakes and rip-out sessions, but that is completely my fault and not the pattern.  Paper piecing is so simple, but you have to be paying attention.  Glad I was only making three--it took me all afternoon!

Please excuse the over-exposed photos--I took these this morning in direct sunlight because I needed to get to the post office...I didn't want to stall too long and lose my momentum to get there!  haha

Laura's block--she asked for aquas, yellows and pinks--light and lovely

Tara's block--she asked pink, yellow and burgandy--I have absolutely no burgandy in my stash...shopping time!

Marisa's block--she asked for dark purples, lime greens and aqua or turquoise blues--Emma LOVED this one!

In our Empower group of do. Good stitches, Shannon asked for Converging Corners blocks from Ashley.  I didn't love this block while making it.  I don't know, I usually love log cabins, but this one just didn't do it for me.  And then my second one got all big and I had to cut it down so much that I didn't like how the corners turned out.  I think the finished quilt will look awesome and I love all the ones I've seen floating around blogland, but it just wasn't my favorite to make...

Wow--next time I'm hurrily taking pictures, I might want to at least stop long enough to smooth out a block before taking the picture.  yeesh...

And with no block in October for my Modern Blocks bee I'm done until next month.  Of course I'm in charge of both Modern Blocks and dGs in November, so I've just got to get everything sent out and emailed and then sit back and wait for the blocks to start rolling in.  That'll be nice!  

What are you up to today?

A gift for a dear friend

**Jennifer, who is awesome and if you don't already follow her you should, featured me yesterday for her Follower Friday!!  Go check it out if you want and show her some love.  And p.s.  I completely forgot to fill out the questionnaire until the day before it was due so I answered the questions in about 5 minutes.  Yep, I'm that good...someone wants to let me talk about me and I procrastinate.  WHAT??  ;) **


Awhile back I showed a preview of a baby quilt I was making for a good friend.  And the quilt has been delivered, so I'm finally back to show it off!!

My friend Toni who is really like my long-lost twin added to their family this August with a sweet baby girl and I wanted to show them some love.  I knew Toni had said she was thinking of an orange and pink color scheme for baby Jill's room, so I went with that.

As I was considering ideas, I remembered the string blocks I'd made awhile back that I hadn't used just yet for any particular project and I busted them out.  And the colors were perfect.  Orange, pink, white and yellow.  :)  I had enough to make the whole quilt out of the strings, but I thought it might be a little too busy for a baby quilt, so I decided to just use some of them and then frame them in Toni's beloved orange.

I told Toni that a lot of the fabrics in this quilt came from some of my early sewing projects once I picked up sewing again as a new Momma and some fabric I'd had for some time.  There are fabrics from my bridal shower, Emma's first dance bag, dresses I'd made for her and the orange comes from the crib skirt in Oren's room.  I thought it was fun to share these fabrics from my babies with her baby.

When it came time to quilt, I just went with a meandering loop FMQ which is good in some places and some places need a little work, but we're all friends, right?  So let's just keep a blind eye to those not-so-good places.

I did add a special addition of FMQ Jill's name on the bottom corner.  I'd never done that before and just went with it on a whim.

And then I bound it with some leftover binding strips I had from previous projects in the right colors.  So...it was a WIP that I removed from the list but turned into a greater project by putting it altogether with love.  I hope little Miss Jill gets lots of playtime and love out of it and that Toni feels the love put into it.

This picture made me laugh because Oren looks like he's standing in a jungle!  Actually he's just in my overgrown flower bed...the kids asked me to leave it like that so they could "tunnel" around in there.  And who am I to say no to less gardening chores??  ha

I always say it, but I am so appreciative to have found this online sewing community full of like-minded people.  We  encourage each other to grow and learn in our chosen hobby(ies), but we are also there for each other to encourage each other through life.  Thanks for being a part of my community.  :)

WIP Wednesday

Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of WIP Wednesday.  Today I've been wavering between hard at work and hardly wanting to work...but I'm pulling through with a few projects...

I mentioned yesterday that I'd been working on my do. Good stitches quilt for our Empower group and I'm getting there!  I LOVE how the addition of the navy and green make the framed patchwork blocks pop!  All I have left to do is to add the big navy sections on the right and bottom.  BUT...now I'm not sure I want to.  Help!!

My original plan was to add a 12 inch strip to both the bottom and side of this quilt to add to the dimensions and to the "weight" of the quilt, but I only have enough navy left over for 8.5 inch strips and I'm just not sure that's going to work...  Plus, I'm not sure the quilt needs it visually...What do y'all think?  If I don't add the big strips, I think I might add another border all the way around in navy just to widen it a bit and add the navy back in.  Suggestions??

This was my original design...but imagine the blue sections smaller (like 8 inches instead of 12)  Yes? No?  

I've also been working on my bee blocks for the month.

Shannon asked for Converging Corners in this color palette.

I've got one done and one with strips cut out, so that shouldn't take much longer...  Apparently I need to do some fabric re-stashing because I was woefully low on icy blues and olive greens this time.  That makes some fabric purchases necessary, don't you think??

And for my Nubees blocks this month, I'm going to try out some paper piecing with Lee's Cartwheel Blocks.  (She's got the pattern offered for free right now!!)  I like pp every now and then because it's simple to just follow the directions and have amazing results!  So far, I've got the fabrics picked, now to start whipping them out.  Here's my fabric stacks for now:

Finally--I'm still working on cutting pieces to send off my Weekends fabric for Emma's quilt next month in my Modern Blocks Block Swap Bee.  I think I'm going to go with Kona Ash for the background because I have a bunch of it and because Em's room is already pretty busy with the paint job in there so maybe a light solid would be a little more restful.  I'll have to take a picture to show you later this week.

Don't forget to stop by Lee's and check out what she and everybody else are working on too, you're bound to find your "next project" there, my to-do list just never seems to get smaller...  ;)

Stargazing and dreaming

Hi everyone!  I have been having trouble with blogger for the last week or so...it doesn't seem to want to load, so I took a few days off instead of fighting with it.

The Fall Festival went great last weekend.  Thanks for all of the well wishes.  I think everyone left happy and that is what's most important.  There were many painted faces, laughing children, teachers dunked in the dunk tank, candies given out, and money made for the classrooms.

Sunday we took the kids to a nearby corn maze with my sister and brother-in-law.  The kids loved it!  For us adults, it can be somewhat hard to enjoy Fall Fun like that when you have sweat rolling down your back and you're dying for a cold drink, but when there are 8 feet of snow up north and I'm wearing a light sweatshirt I will remember that all is right in the world.  ;)

As for sewing projects...I'm finishing up my do.Good stitches top...just have the big navy sections left to sew on (pics tomorrow...) and I'm busy cutting and dreaming of my next quilt.

A few years ago, I decided to make Emma a full-sized quilt for her bed out of Erin McMorris' Weekends line.  Em and I went back and forth on design.  I wanted to make sure she liked the quilt as it was going to be covering her bed (hopefully for some time) but I wanted something that appealed to me and my design aesthetics as well.

In the end, I put the project on the back burner for awhile.  And the time has finally come to get it done.  November is my month in my Modern Blocks Block Swap Bee to host.  And I'm asking the girls to make blocks for Emma's quilt.  :)  I figured it was the perfect way to get a jump start on making it, because once the  blocks start rolling in, I'll want to work on it and I'll have a head start!

Emma and I are still in love with the Weekends fabrics.  She'd forgotten all about them and was so taken with them yesterday afternoon that it made my heart smile.

As far block design, she agreed with me that Stargazing by Angela Pingel would be lovely.  (Found in the book Modern Blocks)  Here's a sample of a finished Stargazing quilt top that I found on flickr...

via Greenleaf Goods

BUT...I am making a full-sized version, so I am going to add in some 12" blocks that are just one big wonky star as well as some sections with just the little or medium-sized stars.  And maybe just for fun, I'll throw in a few Ring of Stars blocks as well:

via Angela herself

Emma seemed overjoyed with the possibilities and I have to admit, this is something that is right up my alley. Stars are some of my most favorite blocks!!

So today I am busy cutting everything out to get it ready to send off to my fellow bee members.  I was thinking I'd go with a white background because I have enough of it...but I'd love to go with a little more color...what do you think?  Light gray?  Khaki?  Or something totally wild like turquoise or a dark plum?  What do you think??  Here's a link to Free Spirit's web site where you can see all of the colors I'm working with.

WIP Wednesday

I am knee deep in mini-aprons for our Fall Festival this Friday night.  As PTO co-chair and the only one who sews, I got elected to whip up as many aprons as I could.  PTO runs the festival as a fundraiser for the grade levels at our school.  People buy tickets from us that they use at the festival booths.  We use the aprons for the teachers to keep their tickets in during the festival and then they turn those tickets into us to receive payment.

So…the aprons need to be sturdy and easy to use, but apparently not overly attractive. haha  My co-chair pal found this cheap and strong denim at Walmart and bought the rest of the bolt for me to use.  She priced out pre-made aprons in town and they were ridiculously expensive for something we use for 3 hours once a year.

We needed between 25-50 aprons (some of the booths like to have 2 aprons) this year and had a total of 22 left over from last year.  So…I’m compromising and working on 12.  J

Yes, all of the binding strips are different because I went back and bought Walmart out of them basically--some are dark denim, some are light denim and some are navy and a cornflower blue polyester...

I’ve got 7 done and have 5 almost done.  I want to give up and call it a day…but I am pressing on with a quick break to blog. 

Wish me luck!

And don’t forget to head over to Lee’s to see what fun projects other people are working on.  It’s not all drudgery elsewhere.  ;)

Ready for bed

**The winner of the fall skirt giveaway has been chosen and it's Needle and Nest!  I've emailed you to get sizing information.**

I mentioned yesterday that I’d been pattern testing for Jenny  again.  Well, I actually tested out 2 patterns this weekend for her.  The girl is on a roll!

Sunday afternoon I tested her newest pattern—the Sadie Grace Nightgown.  It’s a basic peasant-style nightgown with long sleeves.  The pattern called for any woven or flannel fabric, but I think it would be super comfy in a knit as well.

I went through my stash to see what I had that was at least a yard and a half long.  I often buy smaller pieces since most of my sewing is quilting, so I wasn’t sure what I’d find.  But, lo and behold I came up with a lavender damask print I’d bought for an Easter dress a few years back.  So a nightgown it became…  ;)

This pattern, like all of Jenny’s, is written for a beginning sewer/sewist/person with a sewing machine.  The directions are simple and clear.  The steps are minimal.  And it never takes long to get from an idea to a finished product.

She included directions in this pattern for both a bias binding neckline and simple directions for a fold-over hem along the neckline.  I went for the binding obviously.  To me, its actually easier and it adds such a nice touch. 

I wasn’t sure how this one would fit Emma or if she would really like it.  I mean, half the time she thinks she’s fully grown anymore, so would a simple nightgown be to “baby” for her?  Plus, she’s a tall 8-year old and 8 is as high as the sizing goes.

She LOVED it!  I don’t know if it’s the color, the fact that I made it for her, the cuteness of the design, or simply that I caught her on a good day with it, but she didn’t want to take it off!  She posed for a few pictures and then wore it for most of the afternoon.  That night she put it right back on at bedtime. 

This is another pattern that I would highly recommend.  Jenny does a great job of making projects seem simple.  I told her I thought this one would be cute with a monogram or holiday appliqué on the center front.  Or, I thought it’d be fun to make a bunch for a sleepover and embroider the girls’ names on them.

I bet this would also be cute to make for a little girl out of one of Daddy’s old t-shirts.  You could just use the shirt to cut your pattern pieces from.  What little girl wouldn’t love that??

Disclaimer—I received no monetary or other benefit for this post.  I did receive the pattern free as payment for testing it for errors in either sizing or directions.  I only wish people were lining up to give me free fabrics, patterns, or other monetary benefits!

Yoga Pants Completed!

I finished the yoga pants!  I have to give a major shout out to my friend Jenny of Seamingly Smitten.  She does such a great job of taking popular, fashionable pieces and finding easy ways to make them at home.

Yes, this pattern did require using knits.  But I had ABSOLUTELY no problem with them.  Knits have a bad reputation for being hard to work with, but if you buy quality fabric and take your time (and actually use pins...), they can be as easy as quilting weights.

I made the size medium with a cropped length because I love cropped knit pants to run in.  Meaning I like my pants tight and fitted close when I’m running.  I was right on the borderline of a medium/large (which is the case usually.  I run between a 10 and 12) so I made the mediums this time. 

And the fit is great.  If was wearing these for comfort and lounging, I’d probably make the large, but the medium fits really well.

The directions were incredibly clear.  There are only like six steps once you’ve got your fabrics and pattern cut out.  And, because it’s an e-pattern you print out your pattern pieces and tape them together meaning you can make as many size alterations or cuts as you want because if you want another size you can just reprint it.

I bought this knit at JoAnn last week and I’d say It’s a medium-weight.  I meant to write down what it was for y’all but totally forgot.  I THINK it was a poly/rayon/spandex blend but that could have been the black I was looking at instead of this gray…

This pattern comes in XS-XL and there are actually 4 hem-lengths to choose from.  Jenny really thought this one out.  Next time I think I will make the large in a black, but when I was at JoAnn I found this cool abstract zebra print that I’m thinking I should definitely get too…haha!  When I told Chris that he laughed and said “Only at home!” 

So, while I don’t work for Jenny and I’m getting no reward (other than the pattern and that was simply for trying it out for mistakes for her) for sharing it with y’all, I would definitely recommend it.  Definitely.  You will LOVE it!  Now, get over any fear of knits you had quickly because this pattern will be out soon! 

Linked up to:

Random Thursday Ramblings

**Don't forget the skirt giveaway is still going with only a few entries.  It's open till Monday, October 8.**

Gotta love a Random Thursday, huh?  It's not quite the weekend, there's no big news, but I still wanted to share some things with y'all...

1.  I'm making progress on my do. Good Stitches quilt.  I've got all of the rows sewn together and the sashing strips cut.  Only 32 more steps to go...  ;)

2.  I've got my knits washed, dried and cut for my yoga pants.  I can't wait to get these made, because if the pattern fits good, I'm redoing my whole wardrobe--yoga pants for every day!  Who's with me??

3.  I am very interested in seeing what Jennifer does with her Scrappy Stash Quilt-Along.  Monochromatic improv log cabins???  I'll be following along...

4.  My sewing room looks like a fabric monster threw up in here...it is even too much for me.  I wonder if I could hire a little elf to come and clean it for me each night...I wonder what the going rate for a cleaning elf is...and if he'd do the rest of the house too...

5.  I am stalling on making those 30 mini-aprons for the Fall Festival next Friday because I really don't want to deal with it.  Wonder if cleaning elves sew things for you too...

6.  I am stalling on doing my yoga for the day because I just ate a bowl of broccoli and cheese soup and it was so awesome that I'm full and want to lay down and watch TV instead.

7.  Next month I am in charge of both my bee and my do. Good stitches group again and I haven't narrowed down any choices for either one.  I've got ideas for both, but nothing narrowed down.

8.  Oren wants to be a ghost for Halloween and it's so easy I almost said no.  What is wrong with me?  I bought Emma's costume.  I HATE buying costumes, but after the rockstar fiasco, I have found it's easier to let her buy one at the store than fight over a costume that will be worn for an hour.

9.  I met this old woman in JoAnn fabrics yesterday that had a mouth like a sailor, I mean really.  I think my face was red from blushing over if anyone else could hear our conversation.  When I told her that I liked to sew quilts over clothing because "Quilts are flat and don't have to fit anyone," she started laughing and then later said it.  I have a feeling it's going to be her new quote.  She'll probably get famous for it...

10.  While at JoAnn's yesterday I found that they are STILL out of the basic solid that I need like maybe 1/2 a yard of to finish my sister's Christmas present from last year!!!  I am very frustrated but after telling Chris about it, he offered a so-simple I hadn't thought of it solution that I think is what I'm going to go with instead.

11.  I am learning as I get older that I care less and less about being popular and more and more about being me and standing up for what "me" thinks.  I sometimes think about closing down my fb page because I get so tired of listening to people whine about their current situation without ever taking a look in the mirror.

12.  And that is one reason I love this blogging community so much.  For the most part, people here in this virtual world are kind and considerate of others.  There is so much sharing and encouragement that we log off feeling better about ourselves than before we logged on.  Or I usually do anyway...

13.  I think I need a lifestyle coach to come in and keep me on track.  There would be much less stalling that way...

Okay, I'm off to do the yoga before I go and pick the kids up, come home to do homework and chores before heading back to town for ballet.  Emma's ballet, not mine.  I don't think me in a leotard trying to be graceful is going to happen anytime soon.  I'll probably get those darn aprons made before that... haha

Hope your Thursday is going well and there is much less stalling on your end.  If you have extra motivation--please send it my way!

WIP Wednesday

**Don't forget about the skirt giveaway found here.  It's open until Monday, October 8.**

First off, thanks so much to everyone who commented last week with my layout issues.  After reading all of the comments and discussing some of the ideas with several of you, an idea that I had floating around in my head anyway was suggested by  Debbie.  And I couldn't stop thinking about it.

One of her ideas was to just row up all of the framed patchwork blocks in a traditional style and then offset them with some large solid sections to give it a more modern look.  I'm not sure I described that well...did that make sense??  Well--here's a mockup I made in EQ5 for you...

So, the framed patchworks (which I got tired of making all different in the mockup so most of them look exactly the same...haha) will be sashed with Kona Grass and a Connecting Threads Navy solid that I bought awhile back and then will be offset with a big section of navy on the right and bottom.  I thought it would be different and I've had the idea of offsetting something for awhile now.  This seems like the right time.  Oh, and the top and left borders--the green will go all the way to the edge of the patchwork, but EQ didn't want to do that for me and I didn't care enough to fight it...

So, that's the main project that I'm working on today.  BUT, I've also got some knits in the wash because I'm trying out another pattern from my awesome friend Jenny.  Her latest pattern is for yoga pants!  I was so excited to test this pattern out because I could honestly live in yoga pants.  And here is the opportunity to make my own in any colors and length/fit I want???  I'll let you know how it goes.

These are Jenny's yoga pants.  Isn't she cute?  I picked a dark gray for the pants and a darker pink for the waistband without realizing we'd be almost twins!  funny

Oh, and did I mention the 30 mini-aprons I've got to make by next Friday for our Fall Festival to do too?  You know how sometimes because you know how to sew and other people don't, they assume it will be easy and quick for you to just whip something out...yeah, me too.  I am crossing my fingers and hoping that they will actually be quick and easy to whip out.  Cross your fingers for me too, will you??

I'm linking up with Lee again today, and am glad to see my friend Debbie is hosting it this time!  Good for you, girl!

Fall color

  Down here in Florida, we don't get much fall color.  There are no spectacular color tours where you drive around to see the leaves changing colors.  There are no pumpkin or apple-picking adventures.  There is slightly cooler in the mornings and evenings and hot summer-like days for awhile longer and then we'll have a brief fall before winter starts.

So...we have to make our own fall color sometimes!  As I mentioned on Saturday, the kids had some fall pictures taken on Friday by a friend who set up her own fall-like environment.  All we had to do was dress our kiddos in fall colors and clothing and find a happy medium between fall apparel and summer temperatures!

I ended up putting both of my two in jeans, but I whipped up a skirt for Emma as an alternative in perfect-for-fall colors.  I knew I wanted Oren in the shirt he ended up wearing--it was a plaid featuring dark turquoise, navy, orange and green.  And I decided that the accent color I'd pick out of his shirt was turquoise for Emma--it's one of my favorite colors and I hoped it would stand out from the fall decorations while still coordinating with them.   Even in Em's jeans, she wore a turquoise headband and earrings.

But for the skirt I picked this lovely fabric I bought from Connecting Threads last fall to make a simple elastic-waisted skirt.  I believe it's called Golden Afternoon, but is all sold out.  The colors all matched the colors found in Oren's shirt and the brown matched her boots well.  Plus, can you get more fall than this?

I just cut a rectangle of fabric 16 inches long by the width of the fabric (~44 inches).  Then I sewed the selvages together (with turquoise thread!) and folded the top down to make an elastic casing.  Inserted a strip of elastic 1 inch smaller than Emma's waist, sewed the waistband shut and hemmed.  Done.  The entire thing took me maybe 20 minutes.

She tried it on with this turquoise shirt and I loved it, but she said for the pictures she felt more comfortable in the jeans.  Another way I know she's growing up--this kid has been a skirt and dress fanatic since she was old enough to point to what she wanted to wear.  Who let her grow up into a preteen so soon???

I didn't mind, because I knew going into it the skirt was a backup plan. Plus, it's not like she won't wear it ever.

So...since I didn't get professional shots of her in it Friday night, I decided to do a little mini-photo shoot at our house yesterday.  She loves to model, so she didn't mind too much.  ;)

AND...when I was cutting out this skirt panel--I accidentally cut two!  So...I've got another one ready to whip up and I thought I'd share!  So, let's have a giveaway!  Comment here if you'd like to win a skirt just like Emma's.  I can shorten the length if your little girl is smaller.  And because I am so thankful to all of you who come back repeatedly and keep me company, I'm going to give 2 entries to followers.

All you have to do is comment with your favorite fall color.  And then comment again to tell me that you follow if you do.  **Edited to add--this giveaway will be open for 1 week--you've got until Monday, October 8 at 11:59 p.m. to enter!  I'll chose a winner Tuesday morning.**

Thanks for making my fall brighter just by visiting and going on this journey with me!