Twirly skirts, birthday hats and initial tees

Contrary to popular belief, I don't spend all day crocheting. In fact, I've been on a sewing kick lately. I made this little outfit for Madeline's 2nd birthday. The shirt is just a simple fabric applique with a crochet (okay, so maybe I can't get away from it!) flower and fabric covered button. I used this tutorial for the twirly skirt. It was a LOT of material for such a little skirt, so it was super "twirly" and with the petticoat underneath it stood out like it had a hoop under it.

She loved it.

The fabric birthday hats were another easy project. I loosely used this tutorial, but skipped the interfacing. You could sort of see the hat pattern through some of the lighter fabrics, but not enough to justify me making a special run to the store for interfacing.

Here's another inital tee. These are such a fun, easy way to dress up a plain 'ole t-shirt. In fact, they are so much fun to make, you may see them in the shop soon.

The twirly skirt was a fun project too - so I decided to make another set for Maddie's little cousin. They were born a day (yup, a day!) apart, so her birthday party was right after my little Peanut's. This skirt went much faster. I cut back on some of the material and I think it came out a little better. Of course, she may be a day younger, but she's a foot taller (okay, not a foot, but she's TALL), so that's probably why this one falls better. And this fabric. Oh, how I love this fabric! It's Amy Butler, Water Boquet in Mint, I believe...

The fabric flower was designed by yours truly...and I think I like it better than the crochet one. I'm sure it will wash better, and it's another oppurtunity to use coordinating fabric, which is just plain fun. I think I've said "fun" at least 27 times in this post. I can't help it, sewing and little projects like this are just fun. Anyone want to help me with some synonyms?

If I can't figure out how to make a pattern, I'll post a tutorial for the fabric flower soon.

So that's what I've been up too. Fabric.com just made another delivery yesterday, so I'm excited to carve out a few hours to work on some fun t-shirts for the shop. Wouldn't they be cute with a number for a birthday party?