Ruffle Pants for Back to School

It has been a LONG time since I was able to sit down, sew something, take pictures of it, and blog about it. With kids, graduate school, and work, my opportunities to sew and create are rare these days. But I did want to share two outfits I made for baby girl for her back to school wardrobe.

When I created the Meghan Ruffle Pants pattern two years ago, I had to bribe baby girl to put them on for me to take pictures. I was certain she would love them, and she hated them. Fast-forward to kindergarten, when all of her friends are wearing LOTS of ruffles. Now, she wants the pants. So what's a sewing mama to do??? Of course, sew up some ruffle pants and make matching shirts!

Her first look is perfect for football season, with our precious orange and purple to help us cheer on our Clemson Tigers! I shortened the length of these pants from the original pattern, because she likes them a little more capri-length than touching the floor.

These pants sew up in less than an hour, and with only about a yard of fabric per pair, they are inexpensive to make! If ya'll have been reading Grits and Giggles for a while, you know I don't like outfits that you can only wear once, or with one other item. Hence, my reversible patterns such as the Bradshaw romper and Kaileigh Knot Dress. So although both of these pants match her new shirts, they also match other tops in her closet as well, so she can mix and match for the weather and her mood that day.

So head over to the shop and grab your ruffle pants pattern. Your baby girl will have a closet full of ruffly goodness in no time!

While you're here, I want to send a HUGE thank you to all of my customers. Grits & Giggles Pattern Shop has sold thousands of patterns on Etsy and Craftsy since opening just a few short years ago. 

Prepping for Football

It's getting close to football season, and if you've been here a while you know that's my FAVORITE season of all! We are Clemson Tigers fans in this house, and we cheer loudly, every week, from the stands or at home.

Here are some things that get our house ready for the season....

DIY Garden Flag

Game Day Quilt

No-Sew Blanket

Mini Cornhole Boards

We love football season no only for the games, but for tailgating and time with family. It's a tradition in our family to spend our Saturdays together eating, laughing, and enjoying each other. What does your family do for football season??

Forgotten Football

I cannot believe I forgot to post football pictures last winter. I always do a football recap and it totally slipped my mind! I know I have lots of CLEMSON fans reading, so I love hearing about their games and tailgates, and sharing mine.

Some games were super cold (The Carolina Game!!), but with blankets and our gas heater, the tailgate was still toasty. 

Before the Ga. State Purple out game. Somehow in her closet of pink, Goldilocks doesn't own any purple!!

Oh how I love this picture. Gray could not look more like my Mama. 

Yay for family pictures! We're all smiling because this was after our WIN against USC. Such a good day.

Girl shot! 

You know you shop the same places when you don't even kind of plan to match...and match perfectly with your sister-in-law.

Two of my favorite people in the whole world.

 And my first true love...I have two more boys I love now...but he was my first!

Baby boy's favorite thing is football...and it makes Papa proud!

And of course...makes Daddy proud too. 

We have so much fun at our tailgate and at the games. It's a family tradition that I hope we can continue for years to come.

Mesh Wreath Update

You know, sometimes you can absolutely LOVE a project, but after staring at it for a while, you want to make some changes.

I have always loved our Clemson Mesh Wreath (Tutorial Here)

But after it hanging on our door for a while, I decided it needed to be a little fuller. 

A friend gave me a roll of purple burlap ribbon that she didn't know what to do with. TaaaDaaa!! I knew exactly what my wreath needed now.

The burlap added just enough volume to the wreath to make it appear much fuller, while still providing the pops of purple I love.

Add the burlap just as you would add the deco mesh. Just alternate your poofs, and tie them off with floral wire. Easy and fast!

I love a good update to an old favorite.

How about you??

Prepping for Football

Around here, football is a big deal. College football that is. We pull for our Clemson Tigers from August until December...and get sad and anxious when that last game of the season is played. I love football, but most of all, I love the family time we share because of football. Our family doesn't lack for time together, but tailgating on Saurdays just adds a few more hours to valuable time spent with parents, grandparents, and babies. 

As football season rolls around, we have to make sure we have all of the accessories we need: for tailgating, home, and ourselves. 

Here are a few items that make football season a little more festive, and some have tutorials too!!

As the colder months set in, it's nice to have a snuggly warm blanket to cuddle underneath. This No-sew version is so easy, and perfect for kids to help too!

Stadium Throw Tutorial

We LOVE our giant orange and purple wreath. These are easier to make than you may think too! Check out the tutorial!

Mesh Wreath Tutorial

Our new garden flag is a sweet colorful reminder of our favorite team.

Personalized coozies make keeping up with drinks easy! You can buy blank coozies online and monogram them yourself, or find a great Etsy shop to do it for you.

Use the Bradshaw Reversible Jon Jon Pattern to make game-day ready apparel for your little boy. The jon jon is lightweight, comfortable, and has snaps for easy diaper changes!

Use the Zoey Bow Dress pattern to make ANY combination of school spirit dresses! Little girls love these dresses, and they are such a quick and easy sew!

Cornhole Boards complete the tailgating package with something fun to play! Hubby made these a couple of years ago and we still love to get them out!

I hope some of these projects can help you prep for a fun and festive college football season...no matter who you pull for!

Go Tigers!

Clemson Garden Flag

It's no secret that we are hardcore Clemson Tiger fans. Our house is decorated appropriately during football season, and our cars are decorated year-round. But we needed something extra. A sweet little pop of orange.

I updated our garden flag.

Using my embroidery machine, and some leftover burlap, I got to sewing. 

I left the edges of the burlap raw, stitching around the edges to keep it from fraying too much. I like the distressed look of burlap outside.

To keep the flag neat, I sewed another piece of burlap to the back, to add weight and hide the stitching from all sides. I think it gives it a more finished look, and the wind doesn't flip it over so easily.

Sweet and perfect. Always saying "Go Tigers!"

The Clemson Quilt

I've had this little baby in the back of my mind for a while, and I'm so happy it's DONE!

 

I took a little break from my scrapbusting crusade, and made a quilt for us to enjoy.

 

A nod to our favorite family tradition: The Clemson Quilt

 

 

 

This quilt actually took a lot of planning, from the math to actually putting the paw together, to the fabrics I wanted to use.

 

I used Riley Blake's Ombre in Orange for the paw. I wanted the paw to have some dimension, so I didn't want just solid orange. The ombre gives it a sweet mosaic look.

 

I had an IMPOSSIBLE time finding orange and white striped fabric for the binding, but finally ran across this 2" stripe by Riley Blake. I was worried it would be too wide, but now I love the dramatic "dashes" of color it adds to the border.

 

The quilting was an overall meandering pattern on the paw and white background.

 

And for a little contrast, I threw some straight lines on the border pieces.

 

The backing is this really cool tree bark pattern in Gray. It's from Hobby Lobby. I wanted the back to be pretty neutral, so this worked out great.

 

This quilt is pretty large, perfect for snuggling with BOTH babies on the couch (if I can get them to sit together).

 

I love love love it and can't wait to take it tailgating this year. It will keep us warm, and be a great picnic blanket for the kids to eat on too!

The Game Day Skirt

Once I saw that Hobby Lobby had stocked some brand spanking new ORANGE chevron, I of course, bought a lot. I needed a skirt, Gray needed a dress, her baby cousin needed a dress, and so on. I may have stashed some too! You can't live this close to Clemson and not have a good stash of orange fabric.

 

Football games are notoriously hot. It can be 50 degrees the week before, but somehow, on game day, it will be 90 degrees and sunny. I needed something a little nicer than my usual shorts and t-shirts. I wanted to class it up a bit, but still be really comfortable. A nice skirt was in order!

 

It came together in a snap. It's lined, has a hidden side-zip, and a BIG bow to tie it all together. And it's a nice, conservative length, so no oopsies going up the steps in the stadium.

 

Some of my tiger-loving friends must have liked it too, because I've got a few orders lined up already! Yay!

 

It received a test drive at the first game of the season versus Georgia. Quite an exciting game!!The girls were decked out in their chevron, while the boys just sported their tiger paws.

 

Gray loved that we matched! Her dress was made using the Zoey Bow Dress pattern.

 

 

Now...what to do with the rest of my stash of orange chevron....