June happenings and a sneak peak

June has certainly been a month of busyness. My boys have had swimming lessons for the past two weeks which have eaten up every morning. By the time I drive the 45 minutes to the swim academy, wait around in the heat for the lessons to wrap up, run an errand or two, serve lunch and get everyone into bed for naps/quiet time, I'm completely bushed. Whew! Being pregnant in the summer is kicking my behind!

Also in the month of June, both my boys have a birthday. And a birthday party. Thankfully they mostly have the same friends, so I can get away with throwing only one party. This year each had a specific request for a fancy birthday cake. Nathan - turning 6 - wanted a CARS cake, and Daniel - turning 4 - wanted a "Cookie Dog" cake. (Cookie Dog is his much beloved and somewhat mangy stuffed dog that he carries around everywhere. Don't ask me why he named it Cookie Dog. My kids went through a faze where they named stuffed animals after food.)

Here are my cake creations. I used Wilton cake pans with directions, which were invaluable. They were both A LOT of work, but my boys were so happy that it was definitely worth the effort.


In between all this activity I have managed to squeeze in a wee bit of sewing time. Here is a sneak peak at my latest project, Simplicity 2724. I borrowed the actual buttoning shirtdress idea from Trena's review, so it looks slightly different than the envelope picture. The top fits great, the skirt only needs a small fitting tweak at the side hip. But there is a lot more work to be done, as I'm lining the skirt, making the collar/collar stand view, and modifying the sleeve to be long with french cuffs.

Wondering whatever happened to my Burda 4-2010-125 red wool skirt? I ended up making a very dumb rookie mistake and cutting the back off grain. I couldn't figure out why the side seams were pulling toward the back and the waist area had stretched out even though I stay-stitched it. Upon closer inspection I detected my error, but unfortunately do not have enough fabric to re-cut. What a bummer! I'll remake it sometime in the future, when I find more red wool or order again from Fabric.com.

Yikes! It's already June 20th and I still have a lined jacket to crank out for this month after I finish the above dress. Why do I always leave that project for the very end?!