The Greenpoint Cardigan (and a winner)

First things first the winner of the Narita Dress Pattern giveaway is:

atabanana29

Congratulations! An email will be sent your way shortly. It was so fun to hear about all the fun projects you guys are working on or getting ready to work on. It's not too late to snag a copy of your own you can find the pattern in the Hey June Shop. 

 I mentioned when I shared the Narita Dress that I made a Greenpoint Cardigan as well. I made this back in November? I don't know it was a LONG time ago and I got lazy and forgot to share it. But it is still a much loved cardigan. I made one for Abbey and for Jude. Abbey's I just followed the pattern and it's pink and she loves it. For Jude I wanted to make it like a Jcrew one I had been eyeing but unwilling to part with the chunk of change to buy it. So with a few simple changes I made the greenpoint cardigan into the boys shawl cardigan of my dreams.

 The greenpoint cardigan is another amazing pattern. Seriously Adrianna knows hot to write a pattern. It comes together easily it makes working with knits easy, and the fit is great. She even adds tips for how to have a more "fitted" look or the loose relaxed look. I made the 6 for Jude. He is a 5/6 currently and the fit is great, the sleeves were a tad long which is perfect to grow in, he wore it all fall and it should (cross my fingers) fit him next fall as well.

 I just love the pattern, and with a few easy changes the cardigan took on a whole new look. I will walk you through the simple changes I made.

 To make the toggles, I cut scraps of pleather and used some braided rope and some awesome buttons.

 Another change to make the shawl neck I made the front band piece twice as wide as the pattern suggested then I folded it over. I tacked it in place along the bottom and left the top part to just be folded.

 Then I stitched the pleather scraps down.

 There you have it a nice toggled shawl collar cardigan, following a really great pattern. 

 It turned out perfectly just as I had hoped.

Jude loves it and he wears it all the time. So go ahead and grab your own copy of the pattern, you won't be sorry, and your kids closets will soon be full of awesome cardigans!

The Narita Dress {and giveaway}

A little while back I got to test out a new pattern from Hey June (Adrianna from Crafterhours) The Narita Dress. Maybe it was because it was right after Penny was born, so it was the first time I sat down at the sewing machine in a few weeks but seriously sewing this dress was amazing! Ok that sounded dramatic, you know how sometimes you are sewing a project and everything just goes perfectly? This was one of those moments.

It was like a delicate waltz with my machine. Everything was flowing perfectly and I am pretty sure it has to do with how Adrianna puts together a pattern. If you have not had the pleasure of working with one of her patterns yet then you are missing out on a beautifully written pattern with technical drawings you can actually follow.

This was my second time working with one of her patterns and I have to say I am just dancing in my seat to see what she comes up with next. Her style is lovely, and leaves plenty open for you to add your own flair. (I made some Greenpoint Cardigans I am dying to share as well)

The Narita Dress was a quick and easy project so I am already itching to make more and see what other combinations I can come up with, and shrinking the pattern so I can make some for Penny as well, because it's too cute not to :)

Guess what you lucky readers you, Adrianna has offered to giveaway one of her Narita Dress Patterns! So one of you will have the lucky opportunity to make one as well, don't worry if you don't win you can still have the chance to make one you can hop over to her shop and snag your own copy.

I want the giveaway to be simple, so it will be open until Monday the 25th.
To enter all you have to do is leave a comment telling me whats on your sewing table right now.

A winner will be announced Tuesday the 26th Good Luck!

The All Stars!

Are you all wondering what in the world is going on over here? Well the cat was let out of the bag a while ago and I never shared the amazing news on here. I am participating in Project Run and Play All Stars! What? I know it's kind of an amazing honor. I participated in the first ever season of Project Run and Play and honestly it made me improve a ton! I was totally stressed, I was on vacation in the midst of it, and I was running Project Toddler Runway here on this blog. It was crazy. Well the amazing girls over at Simple Simon have been busy putting together an All Stars edition. It's so exciting and I am playing along with some great gals who have become friends, and they are all amazing so it should be a great time. So what have I been doing? Besides working on the 5 new spring patterns (coming out soon) I have been sewing for Project Run and Play All Stars and guess what? You can follow along on the fun! On instagram all the girls from the All Stars are using the hashtag #PRAPALLSTARS so you can follow along on the behind the scenes and get sneak peeks like the one above, from what will be the first weeks look. (the striped jacket is not part of the look but covering it up :) Feel free to follow me as well @shwinpics

Oh and things will get back to the new normal around here soon :)

Spring Pattern line sneak peek

I have been a little MIA lately, besides a newborn with colic and two other kids requiring a little extra loving lately I finally got my act together and finished the Spring Patterns (the ones I have been teasing about for a month or so) You may still have time to hop over to facebook and sign up to be a tester... otherwise they will be released soon! Also I am making some changes to the shop coming up, so there will be a fun sale coming up :)

Wax hearts & Heart Paper Chains {kids craft week}

Looking for some easy ways to decorate for Valentines days? Get your kids to help! The tissue paper heart chains look great strung across a window, or as a garland to use anywhere. How fun would it be to hang them across the doorway for when your kids wake up they can break through the chains. My kids would love that. Also the wax hearts are so pretty and fun to make, we went old school on them :) Check out the posts here:
Wax Hearts
Heart Paper Chain

Warm Fuzzies & Butterfly Hearts {Valentines craft week}

Today's short and sweet post are two heart crafts. Because there is nothing easier than cutting out a heart and glueing stuff to it. My kids particularly liked these ones. You can find them here:
Warm Fuzzies
Butterfly Hearts

Heart Shaped Sandwiches {Kids crafts week}

Valentines day is this week. Confession, not my favorite holiday, in fact it may be my least favorite holiday. For kids however I think every holiday is magical in their little worlds and my job as a parent is to fuel that magic instead of kill it. For that reason we have been doing a lot of Valentine crafting. I have been sharing them all over at The Studio, where I am a contributor, but I thought I would share the links here so you can have quick access to Valentines Crafts just for kids. 

First up have a little fun with your food. What is more fun than regular food cut out into fun shapes? And it is so quick and easy to do. 

Click on over to the Studio to check out the details including the Heart Picks which is a great craft to keep kids busy while you make food. 

Neutral Lovin' Valentines {Guest post}

Hi friends! Today I am over at Delia Creates! Delia and the girls over at KOJO Designs are in the midst of a great little series "Winter Whites"  They have had some amazing guests and projects already and today is my turn. So hop on over to check out these handmade kid friendly valentines that are just a little different than the standard valentine. See you there!