Mr. Banana has surgery.

A few weeks ago, there was a small banana surgery inside The Wind and The Sail studio. Dr. Laura was on duty to repair a small fracture in the rattle bone. The whole procedure was set to take less than an hour with a small incision, a removal of the cracked rattle bone and a new one inserted into its place.

The incision was made with a small x-acto scalpel. The broken bit was carefully removed, then a new prosthetic was inserted. Mr. Banana was stitched up without incident or too much stuffing being lost. 

He is now back home with a happy baby Isabell who loves her banana to pieces! Literally.

A small note: Baby Izzy is my newest niece and had quite a night a few months ago. She had a small seizure at home and due to the type of seizure that occurred, she was sent to Riley Children's Hospital. It was a worrisome couple of days, but when I met my sister and her fiance at the hospital, I brought her a banana so that she could have something in the bed with her to play with. She has latched onto Mr. Banana. It's so touching to be able to make something with my own hands that can comfort someone I love to the ends of the earth. Being a plush maker is worth every effort, 80 hour work week and sleepless night ever. I love my job.

all for the love of a dress.

I have this very wonderful dress that I've worn for seven years. Yes, seven years. The worst part is that I bought this perfectly comfortable dress secondhand. So really, this dress is on its fifth or sixth life. Last week, as I pulled it out of the dryer, I noticed how thin the fabric is getting. What will I wear on mega production days where I sit in front of the sewing machine of 18 hours? I turned it inside out and looked at the seams and said to my cat Hal, "oh yeah. I can make one!" I decided to spend my saturday making a new version of my absolute favorite dress.  

Materials: Jersey fabric, pins, pencil, scissors, wrapping paper and my seven year old dress.

I like to put left over wrapping paper to use because most of it comes with a one inch graph on the back. It makes it easier to lengthen things and make small adjustments and keep lines straight.

I laid each section of the dress, starting with the arms, onto the paper and simply traced around them. I added a quarter inch to each side that would have a seam to allow for a seam allowance. I added an entire inch on each side that would need a hem, i.e, the neckline, the sleeves and the bottom.

After each piece was traced, I cut the pieces out of the wrapping paper and pinned it onto the fabric, just like you would a real paper pattern. Pin and cut, pin and cut, pin and cut.

All of the pieces have been cut! If you decide to try this yourself, you can look at the seams inside your dress to find out how they put it together. Look to see which seams have been sewn over twice, which seam has been sewn over by another seam. A tip is most dresses are put together from top to bottom. 

And LOOK! A finished dress for me to romp around my garden in! I'm laughing because my neighbors caught me taking a picture of myself in my new dress! I'm a total dork. 

Happy Sewing!

Aqua Hippo Mailbox Hood Ornament

Spring is rushing to my doorstep and it just makes me want to be outside making the world bright. After cleaning the winter ick off my porch and sweeping away some errant fall leaves, I noticed how terribly bland my mailbox was looking. I decided it needed a hood ornament.

Being the kind of person I am, there was a perfect plastic hippo sitting on my craft room shelf. I decided to spray paint him aqua...

add a little E-6000...

and stick him to my mailbox! Now every time you step up to my front door, you are greeted by a roaring hippo. I think it's rather perfect! Happy Spring!