Photos - Virginia in Autumn

Some photos of my recent trip, including Williamsburg, the Shenandoah National Park, and Chesapeake Bay.

Pumpkin Patch

We always look forward to visiting our "somewhat local" pumpkin patch every autumn!

Autumn Pennant Banners

So, I volunteered to help decorate for the school's pumpkin patch. I thought, I love banners - I can make those. Of course, 42 of anything takes a while! I'm about half-way done and I've run out of the right color circles - off to cut more. And I still have to laminate - won't that be fun!

My how-to:

-I cut out triangles the size I wanted.-Found the only leaf die-cut at the school and cut out tons of leaves.
-Decided polka dots are always fun and cut out some of those.
-Layered and glued (glue-stick).
-After I laminate, I will either punch holes and string or use packing tape to attach to ribbon.

-If I were using scrapbook paper (which is usually thicker than school paper) I would probably add those cute little eyelets/grommets for stringing the ribbon through.

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This would be a fun project to give to your kids for when they get out of school that week of Thanksgiving. Make sure you have tons of leaves, or have them trace and cut their own. They could even attach real leaves! Although, it might get kind of messy when they get all dry and crumbly. (Our oak trees should just be starting to turn and will be just right!)

SweetHeart Dress Ornaments

Coming to CottageInTheSun on Wednesday, October 14!

I have wanted to include more girly-girl ornaments in my shop for some time and have been "trying on" dresses without finding the right style - until now!


Y'all know how much I adore hearts - so I made a small heart template and maneuvered it to create my own sweetheart neckline (and hem) dresses!

Each ornament is about 4 1/2" tall without the attached ribbon.

Autumn Twirl Skirt and Top

I purchased these beautifully colored fabrics from a lovely shop, TheQuiltShoppe, on
Etsy!

I only have photos of one, but made two - one for us and one for our cousin.

I was planning on making ours more patterned, and the other more "halloween-ish" since we don't celebrate, but ran out of fabric so both skirts are the same.

I love how the twirl skirt is so full - and it was easier to make than I thought it was going to be. I used 8 different fabrics. I cut 8 rectangles and 8 "1/4 pie pieces" (triangles with curves on the bottom). The rectangles are longer so they can taper and meet at the waist. I used a plate to trace the triangles.

Her top has all the fabrics, our top is without the "animals!"

My SKIRT how-to:
~I laid out design, alternating fabrics.
~I sewed one triangle to the side of one rectangle on the lower edge (8 times), making sure that I sewed each set together the same way. I zigzag-finished each seam after this step.
~Using pins (which I hardly ever use), I lined up one rectangle side to the desired triangle side. It was a bit tricky at the top of the triangle, but I pinned as straight as I could. I sewed the seam and zigzagged, and then did the same for the remaining pieces.
~I finished the bottom with a tiny zigzag.
~I folded over fabric the top of skirt and made a casing for an elastic waist.


My SHIRT how-t0:
~I cut the pieces and laid out the fabrics on a piece of interfacing and pinned them down.
~I sewed a tight zigzag on all the seams and around the outer edge, too, since my machine is really picky.
~I ironed the square to the shirt and sewed a straight stitch around the edges to hold it in place.
~I added a little bow to top - it just made it look more balanced.
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I'm not used to explaining my patterns, so if you have any questions, I will be happy to answer them!