Enjoying Memorial Day

I've been playing with these for a while and haven't quite decided yet.  Most of these fabrics are from Tina Givens and Anna Maria Horner.  The brilliant red (second from the right) would make an amazing kaleidoscope quilt, but also a cute skirt for me and I don't have enough for both.  

My boys and I made a book of all the fun things we would like to do this summer (Thanks Robin for the great idea!)  We decorated a page for each activity.  I plan to put a photo on each page once we accomplish that thing.  Some of the ideas include the zoo, the pool, Kaleidoscope (free crafty place here in KC), Oceans of Fun, camping, riding bikes.  

We have three baby robins in the nest that was built after mama robin picked out my flowers.  That's ok, it was worth it to have such cute visitors.  We also found a baby turtle in the yard today.  We are really enjoying the outdoors right now.  Unfortunately, the turtle won't be for a while.  We put him in a tank in the boy's room.  

Gardening - A new obsession

Spring is quickly becoming my favorite season because it has the promise of flowers and vegetables that are on the way.  It seems that every year the first green of my tulips pop up on March 1st exactly.  And then about every day after that some other bulb pops up or I see green appear on my hydrangea, lilacs, ect.  Each day the promise of good things to come!

I am relatively new to gardening, actually.  I can't say that I ever planted anything until about 5 years ago when we bought our current house.  Our last house was landscaped and ready to go, but this house was very neglected outside.  Also, Nate and I have had an increased interested in eating organic, locally grown food, and you can't get much more local than your backyard.

Back Yard Graveyard

Before

After 

(I had planted impatiens in the top and bottom of this old fountain, but I robin picked out the flowers on top and built himself a nest!)

Empty Side Yard 

Before..

This was an empty never used side yard.  One of the few places in our yard that gets any sun, so we made a raised bed vegetable garden.

Then with stones installed...

And Now.  (My husband installed rain barrels, as well)

Potatoes and Peas

Rose Bush

This was a sweet surprise.  After living in the house for two years, this rose bush appeared!  I almost pulled it as a weed when it first sprung up, but I saw that it had thorns and decided to see what transpired and...

Now..Wow!

The Yield

I have to be honest, the garden looks nice, but isn't all that fruitful (probably due to the fact that it is shaded part of the day).  We get excited just to get this much.  Mostly I think it is great to grow things with the kids so they can put the seeds in the ground, pick the veges right off the plant, and throw it in the pot for dinner. 

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Last weekend we got some rhubarb from our farmer's market in Spring Hill.  I enjoy having to be creative with what is in season locally.  The rhubarb was a different variety that is green, but it still tasted great!  Here's to lots more great flowers, vegetables, and fruit to come this summer!

Thrift Store Redo

Here is my latest creation for Sophia.  I have to admit her closet is plenty full of dresses, but I couldn't resist making this dress from a circle skirt I got at a thrift store.  This is how I started sewing.  In high school I bought things from thrift stores and tweaked them.

Here is the one hiccup I encountered.  I didn't plan to have the back open, so I realized as I was sewing it that it wasn't going to fit over her head.  At 11:00 last night it seemed like a good idea to do do buttons to attach the straps.  (The buttons face the inside)  You could see the button holes a little.  I put bows on to cover the button holes.  But the front is now a little floppy and doesn't lay flat like I would like.  I will probably mess with it tonight.

Here I flipped the dress around so the bows are in back.

Before

This is how I laid the pattern out to cut.

Making the straps was surprisingly easy.  

I just ironed the excess fabric under the lace and topstitched.

Baby Craddle

Before...

$5 Garage Sale find.  Not bad, we can do better.....

Just a little paint and fabric.  In our home there is a constant battle of the sexes between natural wood and painted items.  I love the look of distressed paint and was tempted to distress this.  I may still. 

Order a custom made girls dress, woman's dress, or quilt!

If you are interested in ordering something similar to what you have seen on my blog, please contact me 

katewilhoft@cebridge.net

(913)488-4967

Approximate Pricing:

Girl's dresses......................$50-$75

Woman's Dresses...........$150-$200

Quilts.............................$150-$300

I do all my sales via Etsy.  Also check out my "For sale" section to the left.  If you would like to purchase any for sale items, I will list them on Etsy for you.

Navy Halter

I had this cute striped skirt from Target.  Got it on clearance and I love it, but nothing goes with it.  So... I just made this little halter to go with it.  It is Flower Fields from Joel Dewberry's Modern Meadow collection.  I lined the bodice with Bubble burst in turquoise from Anna Maria Horner's Innocent Crush collection.  No one will ever see it, but I know it's there!