Struggling

I've been struggling to find my sew-jo since I last posted.  Those shopping bags are STILL not finished.

In the last week, I just decided to move along to something else and come back to the bags after I get going again.

I saw that Svetlana at s.o.t.a.k handmade had released a new pattern, the Nina Wristlet.  I really love look of the wristlet, so I bought the pattern and ordered the same little swivel snap hooks that she had used, too.  I chose this Kokka cotton/linen fabric that I had in my stash.  The wristlet turned out super cute, if I do say so myself.  The making of the wristlet was not without "problems," user created problems, that is.  I did not read through the entire directions before I started and had the card side of the interior all sewn before I realized that I was supposed to interface each of the pieces before sewing them together.  Well, I just modified and put interfacing behind the sewn piece.  It worked out okay, but the card slots could really use the extra stability, so don't make the same mistake I did.

Yesterday, I made up this baby blanket to send to my cousin and his wife.  They are expecting a new baby any day now.  It's been quite some time since they have had a little one (their two older children are 17 and 13-and this baby was planned), so I wanted to send them something to welcome their baby girl.  I bought some double gauze from Japan in the fall and as soon as I had it in my hands, I knew it wanted to be backed in a pink knit and become a baby blanket.  I just squared up the ends of the double gauze, cut off the selvage, rounded the corners and stitched and flipped it, then top stitched twice.  It's really soft and I kind-of wish that I had an adult sized version for myself.

Next up on my agenda is a pattern test of a baby-sized quilt.  I was picking fabrics tonight.  We'll see how well what I pulled looks in the light of day.  

Hodgepodge of Sewing

These last few days, I am feeling very accomplished!

I managed to finish a UFO, test a pattern, and go to a class at my LQS (and finish my project!).


First up, the UFO.  When it's just my husband and I, I like to have us use cloth napkins.  I made some on a whim a while ago and using them has just sort-of stuck.  A while ago (at least a year), I bought a long length of this fabric on a clearance pile.  I used part of it for a tote bag and then cut up a bunch for cloth napkins... and then never sewed the napkins.  Well, in a recent clean-up of the craft supplies, the cut fabric was un-earthed.   If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you should be able to see the pretty mitered corner on the napkin on the bottom.  I love the mitering and think it makes them look so much more polished.

Over the weekend, I was able to test this pattern for Samantha.  It is The Gentleman's Wallet.  Although, you can see from my photos that I made mine into a feminine version.  I must say that I am always delighted when I am able to test a pattern for Samantha.  I know before I ever look at the pattern that it's going to be well written.  I also know that I love her style of bag/pattern construction. This wallet sews up very quickly, too.  I think all of the testers (and Samantha) agreed that cutting, fusing and sewing can pretty much be done in 3 hours.  I would imagine that you could even get it down to a smaller amount of time once you've made a couple of them.

Just today, I took a class at my LQS to learn how to make these clothesline bowls.  I am completely tickled with how my bowl turned out!  I didn't quite finish it in class, but set up promptly when I got home and finished it right up.  One of our supplies was this book, "It's a Wrap."  

I was glad to have the live instruction on how to start and switch fabrics, and the ending, too.  In the book, the author recommends using a fabric glue stick to secure the fabric when you are transitioning from one to the other.  However, our teacher recommended Aleene's No-Sew Fabric Glue.  It only takes a very small dot of glue to secure the fabric long enough to be able to stitch it together.  I propped up my phone in the second photo to try to give you a little perspective.  When I measured, the diameter of the base of my bowl was about 5 inches and the diameter at the top was about 8 inches.  

Now, I just have to figure out what I want to use this bowl for :)  I can see that these would be nice to make as Christmas gifts, or even to make gift baskets (if you made the bowl just a bit bigger).

My Summer is in Sight!

Friends, summer is in sight!  I can see the light at the end of the 2014-2015 school year tunnel!  I have 3.5 official work days left.  After that, I have to run back in to pick up a couple pieces of equipment.  I'll spare you the details and just say it's because I'm thinking of the students' needs and leave it at that.

I have been slowly recovering my sewjo (directly related to the fact that I have summer in my sights) and have been doing a bit of sewing and some other stuff here:



My step-brother got married at the beginning of May, so we snapped a couple photos at the reception.

 I tested a quilt block for a quilt pattern.  Fox Face-Tumbling Foxes pattern available here.  I'm hoping to eventually turn this block into a quilt for my yet-to-be-born nephew (due in July).

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My niece graduated high school.  We don't get to see her too often (long story there) and I was really, really happy that I was able to celebrate this milestone of hers.

An Essential Wristlet that I made for my niece, with some money tucked inside, too.

I just made this blanket today.  It will be for the yet-to-be-born nephew already mentioned above.  I love the Charley Harper fabrics and I managed to catch these on sale.  The large print/owl side is a knit and the feather side is a voile.  It was a pretty simple make.  I also bought the matching quilting cotton with the owls to make a matching Noodlehead Divided Basket.

This year, I have a mile long sewing list that I would love to accomplish over the summer.  So, my current plan is to sew like the WIND!  I hope to be able to share it all here, too.

A Finish!

Whew!  I have been working on this quilt for quite a while.  Never mind, that it was a birthday gift for the past September, and when I missed that deadline, I wanted to have it finished in December.

It's done, now.  Measures approximately 69"x83".

This is a quilt for my 9 year old nephew.  I have been wanting to make him a quilt for quite some time, but just hadn't seemed to think of the right design idea for him.  Finally, it came to me: solid HST's and just let the pieces come together randomly.

After that, I asked him to list his top 4 favorite colors.  He wrote down orange, blue, red, green {Incidentally, I still have the note card where he wrote this info down.  I'm going to save it as a moment.}  Then, I went to my friends house and spent a lot of time staring at her Kona Color Card.

I ended up choosing 3 shades of orange, 3 blue, 2 red, and 2 green.  I think I started with 6 inch squares and sewed and cut them all into HST's.  However, apparently my cutting was a little off and I ended up having to trim the squares down smaller than I thought I would.  So, the quilt ended up being slightly smaller than I anticipated.  It's still a great size, though.  I've been tempted to cuddle up with it all week long.

I really tried to put this whole thing together randomly.  Once I cut the original squares, I put them in a shopping bag and pulled them out randomly to sew together.  Then, once they were cut and ironed open I threw them back in a bag and randomly pulled them out again to sew into strips.  I stacked the strips up and then sewed the strips together in that stacked up order.

As I was working on this quilt, I wasn't quite sure it I was going like it.  It's so bright and lurid.  However, now that it's together, I really like how it all came together.  I really hope my nephew likes it, too!

Some Makes…

 Just to catch up, various things that I have made since I last posted:


A pouch for my friend.  I used this free appliqué pattern, and then just made up the size of the pouch to go what looked good to my eyes.

This bag was a pattern test for Clover and Violet.  The Cecelia Bag.  I believe that the pattern release is today, so I think it's okay to show the photo, I know there were lots of photos on social media of the various testers' bags.  I've attempting to do a lot of using what I have, so I made the front and back pocket panels using scraps from my bin.  The rest of the fabric and supplies all came from my stash, too.  I was lucky to have all of the hardware that I needed without having to purchase anything.

Some reusable shopping bags that I am sending to my SIL in CA.  I made them following this tutorial.  These came together okay, but they ended up being smaller than I anticipated.  Next time I would make them a bit bigger, possibly and do the top edge just a bit differently.  They do roll up very nicely so that they can be carried in your purse.

I also made myself an ear warmer wrap.  I figured that if I was on my second day off of work, due to the cold, it might be a good idea to make something to keep my ears warm.  I used a combination of these two tutorials:  this one and this one.  Each tutorial has you sew a button on for closure, but I just used Velcro on mine.  It came out a bit wide… it looks like a hat in this photo, but it's not.  Next time, I think I would make it just a tiny bit narrower.  I plan to test it out this evening.

Oh, the Cuteness!

These pillows turned out so cute!  I can barely stand to think of giving them away, but I will.  They are a Christmas gift for a friend.  We had to postpone our get together because I was sick with the flu, so I haven't gifted them yet.

I hope she really likes them.  I know the combo of fabrics seems a bit odd, but I chose them based on the colors of the four kitties that she has had pass away (a couple of them passed away quite suddenly). All of the supplies for the pillows came from my stash, minus the pillow forms, so that was a big win, too.  Anyway, I can't wait to give them to her!

The cat pattern is from Oh, Fransson! Catvent Quilt Along - Basic Cat Block.  The little cats come together really quickly.  I spent more time quilting the fronts than sewing the pieces, but I LOVE how the quilting turned out.

Oh, I used this zipper tutorial from Sew, Mama, Sew.  The zippers came out perfectly!  I will definitely do all of my pillow backs this way from now on.

Retro Flower Photo Shoot

I made a smaller version of the Retro Flower Quilt pattern to give to my friend as her baby shower gift, along with the fabric baskets that you saw in this post.

I have to admit, I love how this quilt turned out and I want to keep it for myself!

 

 

I will definitely keep this pattern on the back burner in the hopes that I will find the time to make a larger version for myself!

 

I even went the extra "yard" and made bias binding and hand stitched it down in the back.  I told myself that I was just going to cut the bias on the straight-of-grain and machine stitch it down on the back, but when the time came, I couldn't do it.  I admit I like my stitching to be very straight when possible, and I just didn't think the machine stitching down of the binding would leave the stitching as straight as I would have liked.  The good news is, I'm getting a *little* quicker at hand stitching the binding down!

P.S. In case you are wondering, the fabric is Lilly Belle by Bari J Ackerman for Art Gallery Fabrics.  I bought a fat quarter bundle from Hawthorne Threads and then supplemented a couple of Art Gallery solids, also.  And no, neither of these companies is paying me to mention them... they're both just great!  When Art Gallery says, "Feel the Difference", they mean it... and you can. 

I'm linking up to Sew Many Ways Crafty Linky Party, too.

Catching Up...

There are so many things I need have wanted to blog about and just haven't managed to make the time.  So, in no particular order....

I made these baskets for my friend as part of her baby shower gift:

they doubled as centerpieces:

I'm still working on finishing the quilt that matches these baskets.  It's pieced and the back is sewn together, I just haven't managed to get it quilted yet. 

We took a trip to Las Vegas for my husband's birthday (not that we really need any excuses to visit Las Vegas):

I participated in a RATZ (Rapid And Tiny Zakka) swap.  This the first sewing swap I have participated in.  We made needlebooks.  The one I made turned out a bit wonky zakka :) 

I also participated in a modern art challenge with the Chicago Modern Quilt Guild. Each participant chose a small print of modern-ish art that they liked/represented them and also included a small (FQ or smaller) piece of fabric that represented their style. Then, we threw them in a clothes basket and drew another out.

This is the quilt that I made for my partner, inspired by this Charley Harper print.

This is the quilt that I received. You can see my inspiration art piece (Van Gogh) in the photo, although the print is upside down.

I love this quilt that Emily (no blog, but here is her flickr )made for me.  Don't mind the other quilts above that I didn't crop out, even though they are beautiful, too.

I think this pretty much catches me up on stuff that I wanted to say/show! 



Done and Done

Photographic evidence of two completed projects.

First, the faux chenille blanket: (I really follwed a combination of two tutorials, so here is the second)

This blanket turned out great and I'm a little bit sad to be sending if off to the recipient.  The backing is so soft.  This time, I used 3 layers of flannel, but the next time I am going to use 4 layers so that the chenille will be just a tiny bit more dense.

The Hexagon Wedding (completed!):

I didn't take a photo of the fabric I used for backing, but if you look really closely, you can see the design of it shining through.  It is a black piece of fabric with white swirls...It is from Michael Miller fabrics and is called Ebony Ironwork.  I even went so far as to cut the binding on the actual bias and hand stitch the binding on, as is proper (even though it takes me f.o.r.e.v.e.r.).

I'm linking up to:

Christine's Bag

At the beginning of June, our niece graduated from high school.  Last year, I had made our two graduating nieces each a travel bag.  Since this niece, Christine, is also my husband's goddaughter, I wanted to switch it up a bit and give her a choice of fabrics, etc.  (We also gave her a gift of money.)

Well, Christine had just been given a travel bag as a Christmas gift, so she didn't really need another travel bag (although I'm sure mine would have been way better).  So, we went surfing around looking at patterns and settled on this one.  It's a nice roomy bag and it has lots of pockets (8, I think) inside, for containing whatever might need to be contained. 

Christine also picked out the main fabric.  It is the Modern Meadow line designed by Joel Dewberry.  I really like this fabric, too.  If I weren't on a fabric diet, I would be ordering some of it for myself right now.

Regarding the pattern...  It really wasn't a difficult bag to sew.  That being said, I think that anyone sewing this pattern might need a basic knowledge of what I would consider more "big-box" commercially based patterns to do this.  I say this because the pattern does not list out all of the little details like marking the fabric from the pattern on the matching dots, etc. Would you still be able to sew this pattern?  Sure, it just isn't as completely detailed as some of the other newer "designer" patterns out there. 

I didn't think the pattern was all that difficult and it didn't take all that much time either.  I think it took just as much time to cut all of the pieces out (I really do not enjoy the cutting out of the pieces!).  Plus, I think I'll be able to use this pattern again... one of my cousins is having a baby and has requested a John Deere diaper bag.  Now, this might not be the style she's wanting, but since it is technically a diaper bag pattern, this is what she'll be getting.

I really like this bag and I'm going to have a hard time shipping it out this week!

A Sort-of Quilt

Today, I finished up this quilt of sorts.  It is just one piece of fabric for the front, a different fabric for the back, batting in the middle and a third fabric for the binding.  I got lucky and managed to purchase all of the fabrics for $5.00 or $5.50  a yard.  I thought that was a great deal.  It  means I only spent about $15 on the materials. 

I quilted around the flower medallions in a circle-ish pattern.  At first, I was going to try to go around each one in an equalish smooth pattern.  That wasn't going so well, I have having a hard time keeping the lines from squiggling, so I just decided to go with the flow.  I wouldn't want any quilters to look to closely at the stitching because some of it got kind-of wonky...but it works for this blanket. 

I stitched the binding on by machine.  I figured that would make it more durable for a baby.  I think the finished size is about 35in x 42 in.  I didn't wash it, so I'm sure it will shrink a bit when it goes through the wash the first time.  I think the quilting will stand out more after washing, also.

This quilted blanket (?) is destined to belong to my step-brother's baby.  He and his long-time girlfriend are having a baby in March.  I meant to have this ready to give as a gift at the baby shower (which was last week), but that didn't happen.  I gave them some other gifts that I already had made, instead.  Now, I'll just give them this gift when the baby actually arrives.

To My Dad...

I was able to celebrate Christmas with my family yesterday.  We spent the lunch/afternoon hours at my brother's house, celebrating with my mom (and my brothers).  Then, in the evening we went to my dad's for dinner and gifts.

I made this throw blanket for my dad.  I just finished it up on Christmas day and didn't have a good way to take a photo.  So, I had to wait for it to be gifted.  The fabric I used is the Diggers and Dozers by Clothworks Fabric. 

I chose this fabric because my dad has his own business doing farm drainage work and has/uses different diggers and dozers.  I backed it with a fuzzy, brown, minky type fabric.  I think he really liked it, especially when he saw the images on the fabric.

Certainly, my niece and nephew did not waste any time trying to cuddle up under it with their Papa:

I also made a scarf for my dad's wife, using the Summer Scarf tutorial.  Unfortunately, I did not take a photo of it.  The scarf did turn out nicely.  I used some voile from the AMH Little Folks line  (which I see is currently on sale 50% off at Above All Fabrics!).  It took me a bit of time to sort out how to sew with the elastic thread on my sewing machine.  (Probably the most frustrating of all of my gifts I made this year!)  However, once I sorted it all out....it was awesome the way the elastic thread worked!  I think I might even make a scarf for myself!

For My Mom...

If you have been hanging around here long enough, you have already seen several versions of this bag.  It is the (pattern) My Paris Traveler's Bag by Fig Tree & Co.  This is the bag I made with the fabrics that I chose for my mom.  I should have gone ahead and made it this summer when I actually bought the fabric.

On this third trial, I made one modification to the pattern...I cut the gusset (bottom/end) piece a bit shorter ...I should have written it down because I do plan to make more of these.  When I cut it the length that the pattern specifies, it is too long.  I think I might have cut it about 3/4 of an inch shorter which worked out perfectly.

Anyway, I know my mom will love it because she saw the others I made and said she wanted one...she will especially love the hummingbird fabric, I think. 

I do have a few more gifts to finish, so off I go... 

Wrapping Gifts

...in vintage wallpaper! 

Okay, I know this is the crummiest photo ever...dark and shiny...but can you get a look at this paper?  I am just in love with it!  I thought I would wrap bunches of gifts with it, but now I'm not sure that I want to use it all up right away.

I found this wallpaper over the summer when I went to the Great American Yard Sale.  I think it was pretty much the whole roll...we also bought some used tennis balls and something else...all for $5.  How can a person go wrong?? 

I didn't even know what I would do with the wallpaper when I bought it.  Then, it struck me...wrap some gifts!!

Can you imagine wallpapering a whole room with this stuff?  I'm not sure you'd be able to turn any lights on because they would just reflect off of the paper.  Maybe I'll be able to get a better photo tomorrow, because it really is so pretty.

Gathered Clutch...Finished!

Of course, I would probably get a lot more accomplished if I didn't keep stopping to update my blog.  However, it gives me a chance to take a little break.

This is destined for a teenage niece.  They only ever want money or gift cards and that just rubs me the wrong way.  So, if I stick money or a gift card inside a little clutch or pouch, I don't feel quite so bad.

The clutch is made following Noodlehead's Gathered Clutch Tutorial.  If you have spent any time at all surfing around crafty blogs, then surely you have seen this before. The clutch went together very easily.  I did not add the pockets inside.

As you can see from the photo, my strip down the middle is a tiny bit crooked.  It's not nearly as noticeable in real life.  Next time, I will take lots of care to make sure that I line it up exactly.

A Gift Finish

Just a quick post while I take a break from my sewing.  I managed to finish up a pair of pajamas for my nephew.

It is really bright outside, cold, and a bit windy, so I didn't try to stand around too long trying to get a "perfect" photo.  The pattern is Bedtime Story Pajamas by Oliver + S.  The fabric is some Cosmo Cricket that I got on sale for $5 a yard.  The only thing left to do is put the elastic in the waistband of the pants...and I might wait to do that until after my nephew opens them. 

The pattern went together very easily and quickly.  It really didn't take much time at all.  I spent more time tracing all of the pattern pieces, since I was making a size 6 and wanted to be able to make a larger size later if I wanted.  Oliver + S rates their pattern difficulty by number of scissors and this pattern is only a one scissor pattern.  I find that the directions to the patterns are very well written and clear.

Some Gifts

Any itinerant teacher worth her salt knows the one person in a school that it is most important to be nice to/know the name of/have on her side....drum roll.....   Would anyone like to hazard a guess???  The SECRETARY!  She (there aren't any he's...at least not at the schools I go to) is the one who will call when a student is absent.  She is the one that will find a quiet place with a table so that an itinerant teacher can work with her student(s).  She is the one that will help with anything else that is needed.  So, it is best to be as nice to them as possible. 

Of course, this involves the occasional small gift ♥

My friend and I got together on Friday night, at her request (because she needed help and remembered I had given her one of these before), to make gifts to pass out at the different schools we travel to.

A functional gift:

You can't see this in the photo, but there are little 3x5 in. pads of notepaper inside these little "jackets".  My friend has a Cricut machine, so I cut out the little snowmen with that.  Then, I used some Spellbinders Nestabilities dies in order to cut the green and blue ovals.  I made 12, but decided to give one to my hair lady when I got my hair cut today.  So, I have 11 to pass out at the schools I go to. 

As I was finishing these up tonight, (and thinking that they are so cute) I was wondering how much buyers might pay for a little notepad like this.  I wonder if it would be worth the time that it took to stick all of the little parts together....not difficult, but takes a bit of time.  Would you guys something like this?  If so, how much would you pay/think it was reasonable to pay?   Just curious.....

Other Things

These are a few of the other things that I have been working on:

On the spur of the moment, I made myself a Halloween table runner.  Unfortunately,  by the time I had it finished, there wasn't much time to enjoy it.  I'll just put it up and wait for next year to bring it out.



I've also made some dishtowels that have a fabric strip on the front.  In the past, I have made these and pieced the fabric strip.  This time around I am feeling a bit lazy.  So, I decided to just cut one strip of fabric (6" wide) and then press each edge under 1/2".  I think it's a great idea, especially for fabrics with a wonderful pattern. 

This first set is for my dad's wife.  I bought these fabrics with her in mind, but that was over a year ago. I think that she recently painted their kitchen a light blue, so it will work out well. 

I just loved this fabric, and I got a great deal at the fabric store ($5 a yard, I think).  I have no particular person in mind as a recipient for these.

Again, I just loved this fabric.  Not sure who will end up with them.

Today, I bought some Christmas fabric that might look cute on some towels,  too.  I sort-of wish that these were the only things I needed to make...so simple.  *sigh*  I have much to accomplish before the holidays!

Tiny Treat Bags!

I made these tiny treat bags from a pattern that was in the Fall 2010 Quilts and More magazine.  When I was just hunting up the link for the magazine I realized that there is a free download for the instructions for the treat bags, so I have linked you up to that, also.

The fabric I used is Riley Blake...the fabric line is called Boo! To You!  I thought it was really cute. 

Anyway, these treat bags went together quickly and pretty painlessly.  The only issue I had was with the "ribbon" that I chose for the handles (which is not really ribbon, but more like twill tape, but not that finely woven)....on one of the bags the end of the "ribbon" unraveled and came loose from the stitching.  The pattern calls for 3/8" ribbon, but this stuff is also wider.

These cute bags are for my niece and nephew and I stuffed a variety of treats down in them.  I know my niece and nephew will love them!

Scrappy Bibs

I always have my gifty eyes open for new things/patterns to make for gifts...birthdays, babies, etc.  I saw this post (okay, I'm actually just linking you to the whole blog because there are two posts that are most recent and involve bibs) the other day that linked to this pattern.  I knew I had to purchase the pattern, no doubt about it.

This is what I have made so far (and somewhat willingly modeled by our dog and our nephew-dog):

Of course, these are really for babies...I'm sure you know that...although, I guess if you had a dog that drooled a lot, it might come in handy!  The bib in the photo at the top is bigger than the bib in the bottom photo.  I made the smaller one first (which is the perfect size for a smaller baby) and then decided that it would be nice to have a bigger size, too, so I just enlarged the pattern on our little copier.

I don't even have a recipient in mind yet for these, just love the fact that they are quick and easy.  I will put them in my box of things to be gifted.