Last weekend we had a nice long weekend too. Ryan went to San Diego for a conference (do I wish I had gone with him? yes, but my classes started while he was gone.) and my Mom came to visit and help out while he was gone. And, of course, in true crafty mom and daughter fashion, we had to have a couple of projects to keep us busy. One of those projects was making eight dresses! I needed a birthday present for one of Peter and Ned's little friends and suddenly it turned into making a dress for every girl I knew who was having a birthday or being born (I'm getting a new niece here any day now - can't wait to see her!) in the next few months. This will be great as I'm sure when the time comes, I'll be busy with school and not have much time for making things and I'll just be able to pull out the dress I made last weekend. Hooray for planning and making ahead!
This was also my first chance to use Sandi's Claire Pattern. Everything went together pretty smoothly - thanks for a great pattern Sandi! My mom had brought her serger down, so that was a big part of why we were able to whip this out so quickly. We used cookie trays during the sewing process to keep the pieces of the different sizes together. I did the ruffling and the rolled hems. My mom put the pieces together and did the elastic. And suddenly, in less than 12 hours total, we had eight dresses. Like I said, I hadn't planned on making eight - I went to the fabric store without the pattern and found a piece of fabric I thought would work. It was on a really great sale ($1.50 a yard), so I bought extra, "just in case". I bought a little bit of some other pieces to go with it and when we were cutting out, we were able to get eight dresses out of them. I did have to find a few pieces in my stash for sleeves and ruffles, but not much.
So, this brings me to the giveaway. All of the dresses have a home, except for this one. Help me give it a home by signing up for the giveaway. This one was made in the size four, but it would really probably fit a girl up to a size 6 or so. Just leave a comment and you're entered. International entries are welcome. Also, if you mention the giveaway on your blog, I will enter you a second time - just send me an e-mail to jjumpupanddown at gmail dot com (yes that is two j's at the beginning -think (j)essi (j)umpupanddown) with the link where you mentioned the giveaway. Feel free to use my not so great photo in your post (I thought about having the only 4 year old I have handy modeling it for me, but I don't think he would've gone for it. Remember all the trouble I had getting him to wear his apron the first time?) I'll leave this open until next Friday, January 23 at 5 pm or so my time. Good luck!
Oh, Jess! Those dresses are darling! I would love to win the one for Little Peep. I'll put it on my blog too. If not, maybe I can get the pattern and make her one myself. That would be awesome. How fun to have a day of sewing with your mom.
Posted by: Cayenne | January 17, 2009 at 09:32 AM
Wow, eight dresses, I wish I could make even one. They are very cute.
Posted by: Mearaid | January 17, 2009 at 10:23 AM
Wow..I was just checking this pattern out and wondering if I should tackle it for my two little ones. Pick me, that will be one less dress I'll have to make! =)
Posted by: Christy | January 17, 2009 at 11:48 AM
Lovely dresses. I lucked up and got all of my classes online this semester!!
My daughter is facinated with wearing dresses(I hope this lasts long) and she would love to add this one to her collection.
-Andre'a
Posted by: Andrea | January 17, 2009 at 12:04 PM
Oooooo! I think those dresses are so cute! As the mom of 7 daughters and 1 son, you can never have enough dresses.
Posted by: Tammy | January 17, 2009 at 12:19 PM
Oh, I wish I had a girl to put in that dress! It is so darling! And you are totally amazing...I am so impressed that you and your mom made eight dresses in such a short amount of time--wow!
Posted by: Lani | January 17, 2009 at 01:11 PM
That is very adorable. I love the ruffle around the neck.
Posted by: lera | January 17, 2009 at 01:50 PM
Gorgeous! I have a couple little girls that would look so darling in that dress!!!
Posted by: Jessi | January 17, 2009 at 02:12 PM
what a great dress!! how adorable!
Posted by: nicole | January 17, 2009 at 02:22 PM
How beautiful, I absolutely adore the color combinations. And my 3 year old's favorite color just happens to be purple...
Posted by: Michelle | January 17, 2009 at 03:51 PM
Hey! I'm Emily Mitchell's sister. I have two little girls and she told me about your drawing! I love the dress and it would be great to win it! I'll post a link to this post on my blog since mine is private. Thanks,Leslie Wilson!
Posted by: Leslie Wilson | January 17, 2009 at 05:16 PM
I would love the dress for my almost 4 year old! She would love the purple!
Posted by: Sheri Blaisdell | January 17, 2009 at 05:54 PM
This is the cutest dress ever!
Posted by: Lana | January 17, 2009 at 06:33 PM
Such a great dress! Fun blog.
Posted by: Emily | January 17, 2009 at 07:10 PM
Perfect! Great work!
I am looking forward to using that pattern soon. I just need some free time!
Posted by: randi | January 17, 2009 at 07:26 PM
The dresses are adorable, thanks Jessi the girls love them :)
Posted by: Kellie | January 17, 2009 at 07:30 PM
I have this darling granddaughter who would love to wear that adorable dress. Can I enter the contest, too?
Posted by: Kathleen Dalton-Woodbury | January 17, 2009 at 08:32 PM
I have twin girls and either of them would look adorable in this. Thanks so much for the fun giveaway. :)
Posted by: Kristi | January 18, 2009 at 04:56 AM
I have the perfect little girl for that dress - My little valentine "baby" that will be 4 this year - I am going to take some time to check out your blog - I serendipitously was referred to your site from the the Kids Craft Weekly Newsletter-
Posted by: Megan | January 18, 2009 at 04:57 AM
That is a really cute pattern and a really cute dress--it looks fancy, yet roomy enough to play in, and I love your color choices.
Posted by: Pumpkinbear | January 18, 2009 at 06:18 AM
I stumbled upon your site through Kids Craft Weekly. The dress is adorable...I'll have to check out the rest of your blog...
Posted by: Kristin | January 18, 2009 at 07:28 AM
You are so talented--I am not a seamstress at all. I would love this dress for my daughter.
Posted by: Leslie Gosney | January 18, 2009 at 08:31 AM
Gorgeous dress! My daughter would go crazy for it!
Posted by: brooke | January 18, 2009 at 10:03 AM
Adorable dresses! thanks for the giveaway! Saw you on the Kids Craft Monthly newsletter so this is my first time here!
Posted by: sharna | January 18, 2009 at 10:46 AM
Beautiful! My 3 year old would love it! :)
[email protected]
Posted by: Lisa | January 18, 2009 at 10:58 AM