Addie Cat

Miss Addie Cat is 5 !

Marci took these sweet pictures of Addie 

in the little dress I made for her.

So cute how much she loves SweetHeart.

FROM A SWEATER ....TO A CAT

Sweet Heart.... The Sweater Cat

Awhile ago I did this post of all these fun ideas for 

repurposing sweaters.

This is one of those sweaters I decided to hang on to.

Out of the Goodwill box and into the Repurpose box it went.

I love the variegated yarn!

What to do with it?

I know ....

a cat for Addie!

The sweater had a rolled hem.  

It was perfect for the Sweater Cat’s tail!

meet

Sweet Heart

(Lovingly named by Addie)

The Repurposed Skirt

When its time to organize and declutter, I  fill bags to donate for charities or pass down to friends with younger kids.  
I have one separate bag where I place those items that have something about them I just can't part with.  Sometimes it might be for sentimental reasons or sometimes there is just something unique or appealing about it and it seems to sing out, 
"please repurpose me!" 
While sifting through one such bag looking for project ideas I came across an old (really old) skirt of Kayley's and immediately thought Ella would love these colors.  

When she was here for her "Nana Sleepover"
(our summer tradition) 

I showed it to her and asked if she'd like me to make a skirt for her out of it. 

Ella eagerly answered "yes"

so I couldn't wait to get started.

I loved the little pintucks in the original skirt.
(probably the reason it made it to the "special bag")  

I just made a casing for an elastic waist band 

and a tulle under slip for an extra layer underneath to hang just below the hemline giving the skirt a little fullness.

I found a white tee to embellish. 

 I added some lace and rolled roses and sewed a couple of rows of elastic thread at the waist to give a new look.

 Now she'll have an outfit.

… and  she would need a hair clip too .... of course.

and here's the little cutie wearing it.

Sweet Ella

She's growing up!

The Fixer

Over the years I've worn lots of different hats.

Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker .....

I now have a new hat to add to my collection.

I really do adore my new hat.

An appropriate nick-name might be

♥ The Hero ♥

I get to wear my new hat almost every week.

I fix zippers, glue pearls on flower clips, sharpen pencils, untangle necklaces and "find things".

I always feel so appreciated when I wear "The Fixer" hat!

One of my latest "missions" was particularly challenging.

 Ella adopted Marci's blanket from her childhood.

A sweet little lady in our ward in San Diego made it for my baby shower.

She, by the way, was the only one that thought I was having a girl!

It was a cute white blanket with tiny pink rosebuds. 

(That was VERY popular at the time.)

It was soft and plush, as she used quilted fabric as the top layer and then tied it with white yarn.  I loved it and when Marci arrived, so did she!

Needless to say after "lots" of years with the original owner and now 7 years with the new owner, Ella ... 

the pretty, plush blanket was no longer pretty and plush. 

Marci brought it to me and pleaded .... 

is there something you can do to salvage this?

"For Ella "  ?♥? ....  Of Course

Once again on with my New Hat ! ♥ !

The top fabric is very worn and the little flowers have completely faded away.  The fabric is so very soft though and Ella wanted to change the blanket as little as possible.

The back of the blanket showed the most wear and tear.

I decided to keep the top fabric and replace the back.

The poor ole' batting was holding on for dear life around the edges but the middle had come away completely .

I decided to replace it with a  batting  that is 50% organic cotton and 50% bamboo.

I used a thick flannel for the new back piece.

Ella approved the job! 

Faces like this are why I love my new hat! 

Finished Finally

I had all of these bright fun fabric pieces so I decided to
make Ella and Addie some summer skirts.

I used this pattern again

One of the things I love about it 
is it easily adapts to different sizes.

Remember these skirts from a couple of years ago?

I can't believe how much these two little girls have grown :(


I thought it would be fun to make the tops this time too...
and we couldn't leave out "the little man"
so a bow tie for Preston completed the ensemble.

Thanks for the CUTE pictures Marci!

  

 
and the beautiful setting is Diane's house....don't you just love it!