Loving the Zwergenverpackung

I seem to have not gotten any good, plain shots of this first shirt-turned dress... but there's more later.. first, I will lure you in with cute pictures!

Daughters 3 and 4 (age 4 and 2.5 months) doing an excellent job of posing...

And now for more! And more words!

Turquoise and red is one of my favorite color combinations. There's something so sweet and vibrant about it!

So I used them on a baby outfit. I took the Farbenmix "Zwergenverpackung" pattern for the lap shirt and made the sleeves short and added a little skirt at the bottom to make a dress! I was quite pleased to actually remember to attach the Farbenmix tag that comes with every pattern -- and it matches so well!

Modeled by sweet Hazel Jane along with a matching pilot cap from the Ottobre 05/06 issue. (I did make the background quilt too... for daughter #3 about three years ago or so).

First Communion! and more!

First... a baby picture to draw you all in.... Here's Hazel Jane in some sweet pajamas I made her. She's *gasp* already two months old! Where does the time go!? (for those curious, the top is from the New Conceptions Baby Essentials patterns and the pants are Little Comet Tails Cresent Moon Yoga Pants)
Next, I have a baby shower to attend tonight for a dear friend I've known since the fifth grade. She has a little boy and just had a little girl, so of course, pink was well in order....
First, an outfit made of a shirt from the Zwergenverpackung pattern complete with pants from the Little Comet Tails Cresent Moon Yoga Pants pattern. I love these two patterns DEARLY!

Next, I took the Zwergenverpackung shirt pattern and lengthened it (as I have done many times thus far!) to make a sweet sleep sack. I love NO SNAPS, especially for the bazillions of diaper changes newborns require!

And now... First Communion! My oldest made her First Holy Communion on May 2nd and I had promised long, long ago to make her dress, though I'm certain I didn't think of the logistics of a tiny baby and sewing... and that made things a little tricky, but I got it done!

I chose to use the Manhattan pattern from the "Sewing Clothes Kids Love" book (I don't have it right by me but I think it's by Nancy Langdon and Sabine Pollehn). I had never sewn this pattern before and.. oh my... the sheer number of pieces (44 in total) was enough to nearly make me faint! But I knew it would be beautiful and perfect, so I did it! The dress really is amazing and it's fully lined too, which is why there are so many darn pieces. Some pictures pick up the detail of the white-on-white fabric I used and I think the butterflies are just perfect.

One of my favorite parts was the back detail...

Full back shot...

My model, fanning out the fullness of the dress (note, it wasn't quite finished here.. I hadn't added the lace around the bottom hem, but she was so eager to try it on that I had to let her!)

All decked out with veil and all... the lace trim on the hem IS here now!

And for all the fanciness, this is a much more accurate portrayal of my sweet, oldest daughter!