Going to the State Fair 2014

One day in the recent past I was looking on the state fair website to see what I could sew for which categories. Yeah, that was a bad idea. I found 7-8 categories, and there was no way I was about to make 7-8 things. Maybe one year, but not this year.

I am happy to say that I was able to make four things to enter into the competitive exhibits for the SC State Fair. This will be my third year entering things into the fair. The first year I entered one item, a hat. The second year I entered two items, a hat and a peasant dress. This year I am entering a dress, a hat, a baby bonnet, and some baby shoes. I guess I got a little ambitious for my third year. 

Wanna see what I made? :)

Of course you do, that is why you are here. 
Great!

The bonnet is not pictured because I had already put this montage together before deciding to make one.

Here is a photo of all four items ready to go!

I made this bright flowered seersucker First Day dress in a size 5. 

It's so bright and pretty and beautiful. I love it.

For the hat I used a free pattern from Martha Stewart to make some berets. I added the brim to make it more like a floppy newsie cap for the girl. I used some extra gray corduroy from her pea coat I made her last year.

For the lining I used some gray with little light gray polka dots. This hat is adorable, and adorable on her.

*squeal* Soooo cute! I love that it goes with her french bubble skirt.

I also decided to try to make a bonnet. I used a free pattern and instructions from Delia Creates. I love the fabric combo I chose and the end result was pretty good. There are some sewing errors in the finished product, but overall, not too shabby for me.

Excuse the bear for the photo shoot, I don't have infants in my house any more and I finished it after the girl was in bed. She wasn't asleep so I did try it on her head, but I wasn't about the get her out of bed for a photo shoot. And since she is 4 years old and this bonnet is made for kids under 2, it works better on the bear.

I also made some little baby shoes from a book I got from the library a while back. I copied the patterns and instructions I needed, and this one has been sitting around for a bit. I figured now was as good a time as any to try it out.

Tiny shoes are hard to sew. I have got to work on getting the lining right for stuff like this. I always end up with a wave making it seem that the lining is too big. But they are super cute booties.

So that is what is going to state fair this year. Stay tuned to see how they do.

More First Day Swing Dresses and an A-line Dress

Here are a few more First Day dresses that I made. I couldn't stop at just one! Check out the first post here.

I'm pretty sure this cute pink fabric with sweet flowers on it came from the remnant bin at JoAnn's. It was only a yard so I had to carefully cut it out to make the size four pattern of the First Day Dress and Top pattern for it to work.

I couldn't decide between the purple or blue button for the back closure. Some fb friends said purple, and I figured that that is what the girl would chose, because pink and purple are her favorite colors, you know. The blue would have been a fun pop of color, too.

In the end she chose purple, so purple it was. I ended up having to piece two corners of the bottom part of the skirt together, but you can't tell once it was all together that it is not one piece. And even if you did notice, it looks great anyway.

She looks adorable in it. It was getting dark outside so these are not the best photos, but I just love her poses and her sassiness in them. Ha! :) I love the flowiness of this pattern. It suits her well.


Now this fabric was made for this pattern. I love it so much! So bright and summery.

This fabric is from JoAnn's. Seersucker Tutti Frutti. I think I bought two yards because I definitely wanted to make sure I had enough for this pattern, even before it was released, and some extra for another project later on, like maybe a skirt.

I took extra time making sure I sewed everything smoothly, including the lining, and was very pleased with the outcome. So much so that this dress will be an entry into the SC state fair competitive exhibits. This one is a size 4 as well.

More twirling! So beautiful.

I found this fabric at Hobby Lobby in NC. It's cute! I knew it would be absolutely perfect for the A-line dress part of the First Day Pattern. This one is a size 5.

I left the cap off of the sleeve to give the dress a more tank top look, and so that she could wear it in the fall/winter with a long sleeve tee and leggings for a cleaner arm look.

When I finished the dress I noticed that the fabric had a flaw in it during manufacturing. Some of the dots colors run to the next dot and up a bit. :( You can't really tell unless you are close to the dress and look for it, but it is noticeable. 

The next one I make I will double check the fabric for flaws, and follow the pattern instructions more closely. I didn't get the full and crisp A-line look that I was hoping for. An error on my part. The dress is still cute, though.

She's part flamingo, you know. :)

I have one more Swing dress to make. This one will be the size 5 and it will be adorable as well.

Here is the last Swing dress (size 5) I have made. I LOVE it!

I got this awesome fabric from JoAnn's online as part of my black Friday fabric shipment a while back. 

I noticed that I left off the cap sleeve. I was pretty sure I cut one out for this dress, but I couldn't remember. I did end up finding the cap sleeve. It was buried under something else on my sewing table. Of course.

I attached it later, and here is the result.

Ha! So adorable!

I found this fabulous button in my stash. I think it came from a lot I got at an antique store, or from a building co-worker. I don't remember, but it works for this project.

She loves the swishiness of this dress and so do I. Twirly and swishy...dress perfection!

I enjoyed sewing these dresses for my girl, since she loves wearing dresses. I am looking forward to Fall projects, but no so much the season. Don't get me wrong, I love Fall, but I am not ready to let go of Summer just yet.

So, enjoy your last bits of summer, and I will be getting ready for Fall projects.

State Fair 2013

It's Thursday.

Judgment day.

No worries. It's judging day at the State Fair for the Fancy Work category, and several other categories, but I didn't enter those.

The Fancy Work category is the main heading and then it is divided into smaller categories which includes all of the sewing entries.

I mentioned the Fedora hat here. I was able to finish the second item to put in the fair. Another peasant dress with pocket and ruffle. It's bright and colorful, and a dress which means it's perfect for my girl.

I am pleased with how it turned out. I didn't get one of the chevron ruffle panels to match up, so it doesn't look like one continuous piece of fabric. We'll have to wait and see how it does.

I am sure the Girls Wear category for ages 3-5 has more entries and more competition versus the hat category so I am kind of anxious to see if it places or not.

The Fedora:

Both items:

They made their way to the State Fair via my wonderful husband who works close to the drop off location.

Previous State Fair photos: (the last two are from last year)

You can almost here the excitement of half-scared kids riding some of the rides. The smell of fried everything. The sounds of the carousel, and kids begging their parents to buy them candy apples or cotton candy.

I promise that she had a good time last year, even if it doesn't show.

She was hanging on to dear life on the carousel, and it hadn't even started to move yet. She did have a good time though.

I think the fair opens next week. The first day of the fair has a $1 entry fee...a good time to go without having to spend a lot. This year kids 5 and under get in free. Yea!! I can take the kids with me and only have to pay $1 for the three of us. They might even get to ride some rides again. And if the girl doesn't look happy in the photos I can almost guarantee that she will have a good time anyway.

Good luck to all of the participants who are getting judged today. Looking forward to the results.