24
Jan

Knit Dress Pattern Review

Knit Dress Pattern Review from The Cottage Mama. www.thecottagemama.com

I don’t know about you, but it seems as though as my girls are getting older, they are really wanting to make sure their clothes are nice and comfy. And since Miss Savannah has started full-day Kindergarten this year and she has informed me that she ‘doesn’t need to dress fancy for school everyday.’ What? Yes, of course you do! No, I’m just kidding. As much as I love to dress her up in all my fun creations, and she still loves wearing them for special occasions, she is wanting to make sure that she fits in at school. We also live in the Midwest and I think the way people dress their children a little more casual than where I moved from in Texas (insert sad face). So alas, in order to still sew for Savannah, I am gravitating towards more knits for her lately for school clothes.

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22
Jan

Baby Doll Pouch Blanket Tutorial

Baby Doll Pouch Blanket Tutorial from The Cottage Mama. www.thecottagemama.com

In case you missed my Baby Doll Pouch Blanket Tutorial over at Riley Blake Designs, I’m bringing this one back to The Cottage Mama.

Several years ago I made a baby doll pouch blanket for my girls when we were expecting our baby boy, Caspian Finn. I meant to blog about it and it just never happened. Ironically, it was made from some of my favorite boy car themed fabric called ‘Wheels’ from Riley Blake Designs since both the girls wanted baby boy dolls (with the excitement of the impending arrival of their new baby brother). Now that the girls are into baby girl dolls, I thought I would make another one in more girly fabric and share a tutorial so you all could make one as well!

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20
Jan

Classic Little Lady Coat: Stylo Magazine

Classic Little Lady Coat. Stylo Magazine. www.thecottagemama.com

I’ve been saving these pictures for months now waiting for the new STYLO Magazine to be released. Well, the day is finally here and I can share them with you all! STYLO is is the first fashion forward eMagazine centered around children’s sewing patterns and style. The focus is on modern patterns, trends, fabrics, and clothes that kids will love and I’m so thrilled to be part of it!

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14
Jan

Power of Prayer Quilt and a Giveaway

Today we have a special treat, a post from my mom (also known as Grandma Jane). This is not something I really talked about on the blog here because…..well, sometimes when you are really nervous about the outcome of something, it’s just too hard to share. Through many prayers and love, I thank the Lord that Mom is here to talk about it……….

Power of Prayer Quilt by Grandma Jane for The Cottage Mama. www.thecottagemama.com

It’s been eight weeks since I underwent open heart surgery to replace the aortic valve in my heart. Unbeknownst to me until early in 2013, I had a congenital defect in the valve that caused it to wear out more quickly than normal and it was time to replace it before it caused any more damage to my heart.  Life does throw us some curveballs we are not expecting!

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13
Jan

Lessons from a Restaurant Chef: Hand Rolled Gnocchi

Today I am so pleased to have my very own brother, chef Ben Ashworth, guest blogging here at The Cottage Mama. Ben does not blog, but he is an extremely talented chef and I convinced him to share some of his cooking knowledge here with everyone. So here is the first ‘Lesson from a Restaurant Chef’ with Ben’s recipe for “Hand-Rolled Gnocchi with Brown Butter, Brussel Sprouts and Apples.” Please give my little brother a warm welcome. Take it away, Ben…….

Lessons from a Restaurant Chef. Hand Rolled Gnocchi. www.thecottagemama.com

Hi, I’m Lindsay’s younger brother, Ben. I’m the sous chef at a farm-to-table restaurant in Boulder, CO called The Kitchen. At our restaurant, we make hand rolled potato gnocchi every day for our dinner menu. The concept is really simple and the technique of rolling the gnocchi by hand can be mastered after a little bit of practice. The dish I’m going to show you how to make is “Hand Rolled Potato Gnocchi with Brown Butter, Brussel Sprouts and Apple.” Let’s get started!

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7
Jan

Reindeer Thumb Print Ornament Tutorial

Reindeer Thumb Print Ornament by Lindsay Wilkes from The Cottage Mama. www.thecottagemama.com

So I know it’s after Christmas, but if you follow along over on The Cottage Mama Facebook Page, then you already know, but I was in charge of Savannah’s Kindergarten Holiday party this year. I was really excited about getting involved in the classroom and especially getting to spend some time with all these new little friends Savannah has made this year during school.

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6
Jan

The Cottage Mama Facebook Pattern Group

The Cottage Mama Facebook Pattern Group. www.thecottagemama.com

 

I just wanted to write a quick post to let you know that I’ve started a new The Cottage Mama Facebook Pattern Group. This is a group dedicated to discussing The Cottage Mama Sewing Patterns as well as my new book, ‘Sew Classic Clothes for Girls’. This is a place where you can go to ask questions about any patterns you are working on, share pictures of your beautiful creations made from The Cottage Mama Patterns, connect with other women who have a passion for sewing, talk about fabrics and trims and so much more. I am the admin. of the group so I am in there to help answer any questions you may have, give advice and just better connect with all of you.

The Cottage Mama Fan Page is still the same and will continue to operate in the same manner, but I’m hoping this group will open up greater dialogue between all of us. I love you guys so much and I am excited to get to know you even better! The group is marked as ‘closed’ but if you apply, I will approve you. I just don’t want to have it open because many of you are sharing pictures of your children and I want a little safety from weirdos that might try to join.

I can’t wait to meet you and I hope you’ll join us over in The Cottage Mama Facebook Pattern Group!

UPDATE (8/17/16): As of today, we have almost 20,000 women as part of the group. Come on over and join this wonderful group of supportive, encouraging women who love to sew!

30
Dec

The Cottage Mama Best Project Posts of 2013

The Cottage Mama Best Projects of 2013. www.thecottagemama.com

Ok, so I know I said I wasn’t going to post until the first of the year, but I thought I would share one last post with you to round out 2013. These are my top 13 favorite project posts from 2013 (you can also check out 2012, 2011 and 2010). It’s always so fun to go back through and look at what I’ve created or cooked over the last year. Thank you all so much for visiting the site and interacting with me via social media. You all are a blessing in my life and I am so excited to see what 2014 has in store for me, my family and The Cottage Mama.

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23
Dec

Merry Christmas and Christmas Trees

Christmas Trees at The Cottage Mama

I just wanted to pop in here and wish you all a very Merry Christmas. I’m taking the rest of the year off to spend with my family. Every year we cut down our Christmas tree at a local tree farm the day or two after Thanksgiving. They don’t have the biggest or most perfect selection, but part of the fun is the hunt. My husband and I have been going here since the year we got married, so it’s definitely become a family tradition. Before I leave you here for the next few weeks, I thought I would share some pictures of our tree hunting adventure.

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22
Dec

Sew Classic Clothes for Girls Book Tour: Final Stop

Very Shannon: Sew Classic Clothes for Girls Book Tour

The final stop on the “Sew Classic Clothes for Girls” blog book tour in on my dear friend, Shannon’s blog, Very Shannon. I feel like I have known Shannon for forever, but really it’s just been about four years. I absolutely love this girl. She has been nothing but supportive of me since I started blogging. I emailed Shannon when I first started out asking for her help and advice and she was so lovely and helpful. I will never forget her kindness and it’s something I try to pay forward to others starting out who might need my help these days. Shannon was one of the very first people I called and told about my book deal because I knew she would be just as excited for me as I was…….don’t you love people like that? Since then, Shannon has self published a gorgeous knitting book with Jane Richmond called “Journey” a collaboration.

You can head over to Very Shannon to read Shannon’s review of ‘Sew Classic Clothes for Girls’. Click HERE.

Sew Classic Clothes for Girls: 20 Girls' Dresses, Outfits and Accessories from The Cottage Mama. www.thecottagemama.com/book

Thank you so much for following along the “Sew Classic Clothes for Girls” Blog Book Tour. It was so much fun getting to read everyone’s reviews and share more about the book. If you haven’t purchased the book, you can buy it HERE. But hopefully lots of you will receive the book as a holiday gift!

Have a great day!