Wee one is on a serious Olivia kick right now. She loves the Olivia shows and the Olivia books. She calls her "Live-ya", as in "watch Live-ya now?" or "read Live-ya book again?" So naturally, I have to make her a "Live-ya" dress!

click to see all the big things Olivia can do

There are a couple of different Olivia fabric lines out there, all in the awesome bright red and white colors that Olivia typically wears. My favorite is this fab dotted print with big bubbles showing all the things Olivia can do. She's very versatile, you know. And in her own mind, she can do anything. She's always reminded me a little of my own wee one - maybe that's why. That and all the dresses.

And speaking of dresses, this one will be from Oliver & S's Bubble Dress pattern. This was one of the first Oliver & S patterns and I've always wanted to make it (check out an early review of the pattern, with a cutie patootie sample, at Sew Mama Sew). I wasn't entirely sure that the big pattern would look good in this style, but I took a chance and after cutting out the above pieces and laying them out next to one another, I'm convinced. Convinced, ecstatic, tickled, everything. I love it and can't wait to sew it up and see it on her!

Wee finally got to wear her Oliver & S Jump Rope Dress today! I had promised her it'd be all done for Tuesday and I did finish the sewing Monday night, but then I realized I had neglected to buy any buttons! I picked some up at the store on Tuesday, sewed them on and then decided on Wednesday that they looked so good, I needed two more for the pockets. This morning when she saw the dress hanging up, she said "that my mushroom dress? with the pockets? is all done?" Yes, yes, and yes!

It's a great fit - mostly because I made the 4 year size for my giant 2 1/2 year-old. I like long dresses on her and there's more length in those cuffed sleeves, so I'm hoping she'll be able to wear it next year too.

And I can't even tell you how much she loves the pockets. By the time it was finished, she'd already come up with plans for exactly what she was going to keep in them (her tiny glow in the dark fairies and two of her big brothers' favorite erasers). I was telling her about the next dress I'm going to make her - a dress with Olivia, her latest cartoon obsession, on it - and she looked super excited and asked, "with pockets on it?!" Okay, with pockets on it.

Next up in the Oliver & S sew-a-thon, the 2+2 blouse.

Alexander Henry's birds have been waiting a while in the stash to become something beautiful and, let me tell you, Oliver & S don't do anything but beautiful.

Okay, I admit it: being the mom of two third graders is exhausting! I feel like I spent the whole of last week rushing from one thing to another: school, playdates, home for homework, off to swimming, and then little league, little league and, after that, a little more little league. In my few free waking hours, I kept myself busy, jump roping.

Wee one's jump rope dress (Oliver & S pattern) is almost done! The subtle a-line dress pattern is filled with all the usual fine detailing and tailoring that I've come to expect from the Oliver & S patterns. They take more time and care to put together, but, man, are they worth it. Check out the snazzy collar and placket on this one.

That took like three pages of directions. The placket is pretty darn clever and not too difficult. The collar, however, was tricksy. I didn't do it exactly right, but it'll pass once it gets its edgestitching. I got mega lucky with the mushroom print on the placket though. Two tiny mushrooms fell perfectly at the bottom and in the center of the top-stitching detail.

Cool, huh?

While I was sewing up her jump rope dress, wee one was jump roping too.

she tends to jump at the wrong time - you can see her mii face-down next to the word "miss"

The boys have introduced her to our new favorite wii games, Active Life Outdoor Challenge, including her favorites: jump rope and log jumping. As long as she can jump!

Wee's request to be a blue butterfly has got me on a bit of a blue kick. When I first asked her what color butterfly she wanted to be, I waited a beat then suggested, expectantly, "pink?" She thought for another few seconds and answered, "no, blue!"

So I picked out some sparkly blue satin for the butterfly jumpsuit, some fabulous sequined sheers for the wings, and sequins and lace for trim. Having only really sewn boy costumes so far, I've never worked with fabrics and embellishments like these before. It's a whole new world for me. It'll be a little "tricksy," as wee one says, but it'll be beautiful and blue in the end.

Continuing the trend, the fabric for wee's soon-to-be-sewn jump rope dress (pattern from Oliver & S) is also blue. I've loved this fabric line from Project Runway winner, Jay McCarroll, for a long time and am so excited to have found a good project for it. The colors in the line are a little psychedelic for a whole quilt, but I think this one print in this simple dress could be classy and fun at the same time. Those funky shrooms are a riot but, overall, the dress will of course be beautiful and blue.

And what buttons, too! When it came time to finish wee one's Sunday Brunch Jacket, I couldn't resist the bright orange buttons and the cheery color they bring to the jacket.

I can't say enough good things about this Sunday Brunch Jacket pattern from Oliver & S. It is such a classy, finished looking garment, but was really very straight-forward to put together. I spent a mere three nights actually sewing it up, all without a single hitch (until I discovered that the sleeves were too narrow for me to hem them on the machine, but they were easily blindstitched by hand). In fact, I found this pattern easier to make than the much simpler looking swingset tunic that I made last year.

I honestly cannot believe that I made this thing! Either one of these things, for that matter. (I apologize for the excess number of pictures, but I simply can't get enough of the jacket or the model.)

what's next, mommy?

I can't wait until May to see the flowers. I must have them now! So I've started a flowery Sunday Brunch Jacket (pattern from Oliver & S) for wee one. I first saw this adorable little jacket last year on the purl bee blog and immediately bought the pattern. I chose this lovely Joel Dewberry Ginseng print and cut everything out months ago. I put it aside when Winter hit hard, but now, with the slow onset of Spring and ever so slight increase in temperatures, I've decided it's time for flowers. And if I can't grow 'em, at least I can sew 'em!

I'm loving this pattern so far. Just like the Swingset Tunic I made last year, this Oliver & S pattern is excellently constructed with high quality pattern pieces and clear instructions. I was worried that after a several month break from sewing, I'd have some problems getting back into it, but this has come together easily thus far. I still have the sleeves, the hems, and the buttons to do, but I'm excited by the results so far. Perhaps wee one can have her Sunday Brunch jacket done by Easter Sunday. Maybe it'll even stop raining by then!

This is the one I'm most proud of. A sweet little top (from Oliver & S's Swingset Tunic pattern) for Shannon's baby girl.

main fabric is "heat wave" from Marcus Brothers fabrics

This is an awesome pattern. Seriously, I can't imagine being disappointed by anything made from one of these Oliver & S patterns. I'm still pretty much of a novice garment sewer, so this one took some serious time for me, but even when I couldn't quite get my head around how something was supposed to work (like the lining and placket in this top, which are very cleverly constructed), I just followed the instructions and it came out looking perfect.

back button placket

I can't wait to make wee one some of these for the summer. And I can't wait to see it on baby Annabelle!

And since it is new year's eve, it seems fitting to reflect back on the crafting year just coming to an end. I began this year's craftiness with a baby hat for a wee cousin and am ending it with this precious baby dress. It was a year that included less sweater knitting, lots of hat knitting, more quilting classes and projects begun, and a surprising new passion, inspired by my girly girl, for sewing ruffly little girl clothes.

Here's to another year of making what you love and loving to make. Happy new year to you all!