Cat In The Hat dress

Bea named this dress herself. We watch Cat in the Hat quite a lot at the moment and as soon as she saw the dress she said 'my cat in the hat dress!' I can kind of see why...

Please excuse the crazed expression in this photo - its what you get when you ask for a smile. And excuse the bluriness - I was laughing at the expression.

I made this little dress for Bea to wear for a wedding following the Junebug dress tutorial from Craftiness Is Not Optional.

I fell in love with the button detailing on the front and simple shape. I decided to make mine sleeveless as I thought with the stripes it would be a bit much so I had to construct my bodice differently from how she describes.

The tutorial was easy to follow and I'm really pleased with the way it came out, even if I couldn't get the model to cooperate!

Beautiful!

I love this hand drawn type by illustrator Sasha Prood. Its so delicate and intricate.

ABC

I have a new item in my new shop.

These are handmade alphabet blocks with my illustrations and hand drawn type on.

Each block is hand cut and painted, then the images are applied before the whole thing is given several coats of non toxic varnish.

They also come in a handmade calico drawstring bag to keep them safe.

I really love these blocks. They are so much fun to work on I am now doing the whole alphabet so it will be possible to order a personalised set. Great for nursery decor!

New shop news!

So I've had my Etsy shop Little Green Button for a while now selling bits and bobs that I make, but I decided that I needed to have a separate shop for my illustrated work. That means I can now introduce to you Julia Staite (imaginative name I know but it tells you what you are getting!)

In this shop I will be selling prints of my work as well as other illustrated items.

Currently I have three prints available:

Highwire Girl

Circus Horse

And this Little Red Riding Hood one is based on an illustration from my little book but I have adapted it to make a lovely print.

I also have the note books I used to sell in my other shop:

Sleepy Elephant note book

Bird Girl note book

I will also be adding a new item shortly - its something a bit different that I have been working very hard on lately so watch this space!

More red knitting

I am knitting a little top for Bea in the hope of finishing it by the autumn. Its a while since I knitted anything as I have been so busy making dresses on the sewing machine. Its another Tora Froseth design and another lovely, easy to read pattern. It can be found here on Ravelry.

The only thing that will stand in my way of finishing this before September is my Alicia Paulson Daisychain ABC sampler which arrived this morning and is already calling to me...

Gingham dress

Bea has almost already grown out of this pillowcase dress but I really love the style of it so I made her another in the hope that some more good weather might turn up before the end of the summer.

I made a few changes this time - I didn't line it, made the armholes a bit smaller and added pockets. I also changed the ties for a single bow.

I edged the pockets with this lovely floral fabric. Unfortunately I have no idea what it is as it was in a bundle of quilting squares.

This is such a great dress to make as I can pretty much get it done during one nap!

Lovely drawings

I love the work of illustrator Kelsey Garrity-Riley, recently discovered via Kickcan and Conkers.

Her characters and colour palette are lovely.

Practical sewing

Since the summer has begun (sort of) poor old Bea has been suffering with getting very sweaty in her car seat. Luckily I have found a solution.

I used an old baby towel (the square ones with the hood) to make a car seat liner. I just took some measurements from the seat, cut out the shape and bound the raw edges.

She certainly seems more comfortable and I can just whip it out and wash it when needed. Has to be the most practical thing I have sewn yet!

Bea's 'playing with pegs' top

I made this little top for Bea from a bit of curtain fabric, using McCalls 5353. The pattern is for a dress and bloomers but I made it as a top instead. Here she is modelling it whilst playing with a basket of pegs.

I love the red apple buttons, they go so nicely with the blue.

I also love the cross over back. Such an easy pattern but really lovely.

The girl's got style

Couldn't resist sharing this photo of Bea. It was taken at 6.30am which explains the pyjamas. The rest is inexplicable.

And please excuse all the mess in the background, she likes to play with everything she owns at once.