My daughter, Natalie, turned 13 this week. It seemed like such a big thing for her to turn 13! A teenager! I can hardly believe it. She was only 3 years old when I started this blog if you can believe that. She had a great day of celebrating. We had such a fun day. When I had asked her what she wanted for her birthday, she requested a dress amongst a few other things. I waited until the last minute and ended up staying up late sewing the night before her birthday, but I got it done!

She had specifically requested the Southport Dress by True Bias. I had made Emily one a few years ago and now Natalie wanted one, too. Size wise it was a bit of hard time figuring out what to do. She’s out of the size range for the Mini Southport and a bit too small for the adult Southport. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out which way would be best, sizing the mini up or sizing the regular adult size down. After looking at the style lines and details, I figured the adult version would be harder to modify to fit her. So I sized up the Mini Southport and crossed my fingers it would fit! Luckily it is fairly straightforward, so I did a quick baste fitting after school to double check and it worked! I was so relieved.

I usually don’t sew at night much anymore if I can help it. It’s funny how things change! That’s the only time I used to sew. I felt a little rushed, so the buttonholes could have turned out a little better, but you can’t really see them when it’s buttoned. I hung it in her room right after I finished it, so she woke up to it on her birthday. It was really rewarding to see her wear it, plus she looks so pretty in it! I’m glad she picked the Printmaking lawn by Lizzy House for it. It’s the perfect summer dress!

Pattern: Mini Southport Dress by True Bias (sized up to approximately a size 14)

Fabric: Printmaking lawn by Lizzy House for Andover Fabrics

As promised I’m so happy to show some of the tester versions of my new Redwood Tote and Crescent Tote patterns. I had such a great time seeing what everyone made (sometimes more than one!) and am so grateful for their keen eyes and attention to detail. It’s always so helpful to hear another person’s perspective, and they help make the pattern the best it can be!

Hope you enjoy seeing these!

Alexandra’s Crescent Tote featuring Jen Hewett’s Imagine Landscapes canvas

Angeline’s Crescent Tote featuring Kokka canvas

Christa’s beautiful Neutral and stripe Crescent Tote

Kristine’s Crescent Tote featuring Nate Berkus Fabric

Natasha’s Crescent Tote featuring Alexia Abegg’s canvas

Sarah’s Crescent Tote featuring Birch Organics Whale canvas

Christa’s natural canvas and spring green Redwood Tote

Kathryn’s Redwood Tote featuring Balboa by Erin Dollar

Katie’s Mulberry waxed canvas Redwood Tote

Loni’s classic Navy Redwood Tote

Sheila’s red Redwood Tote!

Sheila’s second Redwood Tote

Sheila’s blue Redwood Tote

Hillary’s Redwood Tote featuring Melody Miller Poolside canvas

Have a great weekend. Thanks always for stopping by.

So this was the Redwood Tote I made for myself. I’ve been using it since February (so a few months now) and I really have loved having it and using it! I go in streaks with using certain bags and over the winter I only carried my mini Minimalist Wallet with me. In the winter I’m always wearing something with pockets, so it’s easy to go simple and do the wallet-only route and skip anything extra. I put my wallet and phone in one coat pocket and my keys in the other. It’s great for the time being, but now that Spring is here (minus this Saturday’s predicted snowfall) I really have liked having my Redwood! If I don’t have an outfit on with pockets it doesn’t matter!

I did go with leather handles and crossbody strap. I like using leather especially when I’m testing new designs because it’s one less step of sewing! I do have a stash of fabric handles, too, so it’s great having options. I also didn’t do an adjustable strap. Since I know what length I usually like, it’s easy for me to cut it to length, plus I can always swap it out if I want a different length.

Back View/Slip Pocket

It fits perfectly in the basket on my bike, which is really nice considering it’ll be my main mode of transportation during the summer. I’ll have to get another pic of it in action and show it!

Pattern: Redwood Tote
Hardware Kits available here, 6″ zips and 12″ zips, leather handles (15″ for the short handles (3/4″-wide), 56″ for the crossbody strap (1″-wide)), too!
Fabric: Waxed canvas from AL Frances Textiles, Carkai by Carolyn Friedlander (Carkai) for the lining

I’m going to showcase my testers in my next post for both the Redwood Tote and Crescent Tote. They all did such an amazing job and I know you love seeing each pattern in different fabrics, too! I’m so blown away by all of your excitement over both the new patterns. It really inspires me to see you inspired!!