happy halloween!

 Happy Halloween!

I've been spending every spare moment I have sewing sequins on LM's costume and as of now I still need to start on Lark's. Husband went out of town this weekend so I could only work on them a little during nap times, plus, our Saturday was spent with my sister-in-law and her little boy at another pumpkin patch. It was our first time taking a hayride out to the patch and picking our pumpkins straight off the vine, totally legit and way more fun!

Since I was towing two kids around by myself I only took pictures with my phone, so if you follow me on instagram (stacyhartsew) you may have already seen most of  these... 

It has been a fun few days, but super busy and I am so glad Husband is back. It's hard not getting a break from the kids, and it makes me really appreciate all he does to help our little family function.

Can't wait to go trick-or-treating as a family tonight! I better get back to costume making, wish me and my sore sequin sewing fingers luck...

And, if you haven't seen yet, my blog has a brand new look thanks to Kelly Ann and Freckled Nest Design. I am so happy with it and couldn't recommend working with them more. If you are in a reader, click through to check it out!

little vintage style v.28

Welcome to Little Vintage Style, a place to show off your sweet little ones wearing vintage! Link up every Wednesday, and make sure to click around and say 'hello!' to all of the other vintage lovin' mamas like you!

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We spent Saturday afternoon getting lost in a corn maze and finding the perfect pumpkin for each of us to take home. I look forward to this Halloween tradition each year.

It turned out to be a beautiful sunny day, so we shed our sweaters for maybe the last time this year to soak in the warmth. LM is wearing a little green and brown gingham pinafore dress I found at the thirft last week. The colors are perfect for this time of year, and even though it is a size 2 it still fits her as a top. 

When I asked her to smile for a picture she promptly turned and ran away. I don't blame her, who could resist running down that long shaded stretch? She bravely led the way and we followed!

How priceless is Lark's little face peeking through the bat? She tried to lick the pumpkins too, silly girl.

Carving our pumpkins is on this week's to-do list, as well as finishing up the girl's costumes. I hope I can get them done in time! Are you ready for Halloween?

LM wore: vintage pinafore dress (worn as top), thirfted//pants, Ross//shoes, Saltwater sandals

If you'd like, link up below!

lark// 7 months

I missed taking Lark's seven month pictures and eight months is already coming up fast, so these will have to do... This month she entered a fun new stage - she is mobile! Which means she is everywhere, getting into everything and loving it. Instead of it being harder, I think this stage is actually easier. Now I can put her down on the floor with LM and they can 'play' together and she is content being able to grab the toys she wants and move around to follow her sister. I love watching them play together - it most often involves LM pretending they are having a picnic while Lark chews on a plate.

She also said her first word. Kinda. We were at Grann's house and I needed to get something out of the car so I handed her off to my mom and went outside. Both my mom and niece said that when I left the house she burst into tears and said, "Moooooommm!!!" Of course she hasn't done it again, but she gives me a knowing smile when I try to get her to say it. I'm claiming it.

And... she's off!

shop update: pretty frocks!

Currently working on a shop update... They are going fast, so I thought I'd pop in and let you know. If you want to take a closer look head on over.

As always, for real time updates you can follow me on twitter. Thanks!

an interview

I was honored to be a part of Ohdeedoh's Big Blog Family series this week. You can take a look at my interview here.

Thanks Roni and Ohdeedoh!

And, welcome to anyone who found their way here from it.

little vintage style v.27

Welcome to Little Vintage Style, a place to show off your sweet little ones wearing vintage! Link up every Wednesday, and make sure to click around and say 'hello!' to all of the other vintage lovin' mamas like you!

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Around here clothes are more than just something to keep us warm - they help us play! At some point everyday LM is either in a princess dress, her ballet leotard, cowboy boots, a super hero cape... and the list goes on... this girl loves to dress the part. So, when she wore this cute vintage sailor top, we were inspired to set out and sail the seven seas!

LM wore: sailor top, vintage//pants, thrifted//pirate eye patch and head scarf, our costume box!

Do you play dress up almost every day too? We love it!

If you'd like, grab a button and link up below...

life lately

We've been...

washing pretty dresses

making big messes

crafting tiny rooms

watching ballerina performances...

...complete with tiny top knot

playing outside, now with added tights

starting to crawl

organizing records at the thrift

throwing away the play-doh, finally

(it had it's day. it needed to go. it's not my favorite mess to clean up.)

Lately, I feel like I am able to get a lot of things started, but not much finished. This week I hope to change that... Happy Monday, let's get things done this week, shall we?

little vintage style v.26

With the cool weather rolling in this past week I feel all out of sorts when it comes to dressing the girls. Currently their room is covered with a giant heap of warm and cold weather clothing all mixed up that I need to sort through badly. Every day I've just been grabbing whatever I know (or hope) is clean to put on them whether it matches or not, and I've just been satisfied that they are clothed. So, my goal today is to tackle the laundry, donate or store the summer clothes, and get organized for winter!

 In the mean time we have been thinking a lot about what to be for Halloween, as I'm sure you have too. LM is very firm in her decision that she wants to be a butterfly, so I am thinking about dressing up Lark as a caterpillar. I can't seem to get it out of my head that our costumes need to be themed though, so where that leaves Husband and I is uncertain... I'm pretty sure he won't let me wrap him up to look like a cocoon. But, regardless of what we end up wearing I know it will include vintage since it's perfect for costumes! Here is what we've done the past couple of years...

When LM was one I made her a wind-up doll costume. It was so simple - a vintage dress, black patent leather 'doll' shoes, a key made from cardboard and a toilet paper roll, and rosy cheeks!

Last year when she was two I sewed her a Little Red Riding Hood costume using vintage and new fabrics.

Husband and I were the woodsman and the wolf disguised as Grandma. I wore my Great-Grandmother's shawl that she knitted herself - it was perfect since it was brown and furry! Granny glasses and a thrifted muumuu topped it off (I was about 5 months pregnant with Lark at the time so comfort was key). Husband let his beard grow out and wore a vintage plaid shirt.

Have you decided what you are going to be, and will it include any vintage?

...if you'd like, link up below!

all cut out

This morning I found some time to cut out the dress pattern pieces. You can see the fabric I chose above, it has little arrows (or at least they look sort of like arrows) between the diamonds, all pointing in the same direction. I decided I wanted the arrows to point up, simply because it seemed more positive, so that meant I had to lay out the pattern pieces according to the layout for 'with nap' since the fabric has a one way design.

A lot of very old vintage patterns like this one will have layouts for fabric in widths that aren't generally sold anymore, and this was the case here: 

The only layout 'with nap' was for a 35" width fabric and I had a 45" fabric. This also was the only width on the back of the pattern 'with nap' to tell me how much yardage to buy in the first place. It told me to get 2 yards of 35" fabric, so I got 1 3/4 yards of 45" fabric (it was all that was left on the bolt, so that helped me decide), and after it was all laid out I ended up with just a little left over. I also didn't lay the pieces out exactly like the pattern showed because I could fit them better in a different way on my wider fabric.   

All of this would have been much easier if my fabric wasn't one directional (since it did have yardage and layouts for 44" fabric without the nap), but it didn't take too long to think it all out. I checked all the pieces twice to make sure they were right before I cut, since I have made mistakes with one way prints before, and this is where I am at now...

When sewing with vintage patterns, just remember that the fabric widths available today are different from what they were then, so what makes the best sense isn't necessarily what the pattern tells you... but don't let this intimidate you, you are smart and can figure it out!

Now time to get sewing...

hello fall, snowfall

Some pictures from our recent family outing up the canyon to see the Fall leaves.

We held onto the warm weather as long as we could, but decided it was high time to embrace Fall and welcome all of the beautiful colors it brings. LM had fun collecting a leaf in every pretty shade.

And, it's a good thing we came out of our season denial on our own, because we would have had a rude awakening yesterday since it SNOWED for the first time.
In one week we went from carefree driveway longboarding and hopscotch lessons...

...to bundling up, and refusing to even come out on the driveway:

Hello Fall. Nice to see you are as unpredictable as ever.

I added more patterns and clothes to the shop if you'd like to take a look.
Have a lovely weekend!