Sleepytime Sewing

Sliced Coins Quiltalong

2011-06-06T21:09:00.000-05:00

I finished my version of Don't Call Me Betsy's Sliced Coins Quiltalong a while back, but never posted about it. I cut out all the pieces at home but then didn't bring the instructions with me to the sewing lab, so I just made it up! My machine at home had been acting up and I really wanted to get it done before it's intended recipient was born. So, mine only has three stacks and most in the Flickr Group seem to have 4, but it works! This photo was before I put the binding on, I bound it in the zig zaggy print and it looked really cool! I did manage to get it done before my friend had her baby, but I just gave it to her this weekend.... The baby is 4 months old! Oops!

And the Winner Is.....

2011-05-26T11:56:00.000-05:00

Thank you all SO much for your comments and for playing along! I gained a few new followers, so THANK YOU for that!!!

Our old friend random.org selected #188, Lauria, who said, "Wow, that dark blue fabric is stunning! I may have to go and get it myself if I don't win here! Thanks for offering the giveaway! Email is in my profile. :)"

Lauria hasn't posted to her blog in quite a while but those mitts she made in 2009 are stunning! I'll email you now to get your address! Congratulations!

Giveaway Day is Here!

2011-05-23T04:47:00.009-05:00

Comments are closed, the winner will be announced soon!!!

If you've found your way here via Sew Mama Sew, welcome!!! If you're a regular, welcome back!!!

I love Giveaway Day- It's part of the reason I started blogging and is always good incentive to get me going again when I take a bit of a blogging break. This time around I have a some fabric and pearl cotton for the lucky winner.

A half yard of two different prints from Denyse Schmidt's new line that is being sold at Joann stores, and some coordinating pearl cotton. I know some people had a hard time finding these fabrics, so I hope this is a fun little treat for the winner! These were the last two prints available at my Joann, but they are two of my favorites from the collections.

Just leave a comment on this post to enter. I'd love it if you'd follow this blog, but I'm not offering extra entries- I know you've got LOTS of blogs to visit, so I'll keep it simple. Just one entry per person, any comment you'd like! I'll leave this open until May 25 and then the good old Random Number Generator will choose the winner. Make sure I have a way to reach you- if your account is blocked, please include an email address in your comment. I'll get the prize in the mail right away when I get your address. Thanks for stopping by!

EDITED 5/25: Because there were SO many giveaways this round, I'll leave this open overnight to make sure everyone has time to get their name in! I just finished all the lists myself! I'll draw a name in the morning. Good luck!

Giveaway Day is Coming!

2011-05-22T00:43:00.000-05:00

I've had so much going on lately and haven't posted in ages, but I just couldn't let Giveaway Day pass me by! Come back on Monday, May 23rd and get a chance to win some goodies! See you soon!

Doll Quilt Swap! My turn!

2011-04-13T14:42:00.022-05:00

I received my quilt from the Doll Quilt Swap and I could NOT be happier with it! My partner, Robin of rsislandcrafts, picked up on my many comments about my newfound love for half square triangles (or if she didn't see them, she has magical intuition powers!) and my constant blathering about my love for Kate Spain's Central Park collection, and came up with this!!!

I mean come ON! Could it be anymore perfect? It's in my living room, just above my computer desk so I can gaze at it all the time. The colors go perfectly in my living room- I'm even thinking of painting those walls grey, and it will STILL go perfectly!

Thank you again, Robin, you've really made my first DQS experience wonderful!

ModKid Kyoko Dress

2011-04-12T08:52:00.000-05:00

Oops! It appears I took another too-long blog break! I have been sewing, but my ancient computer was dying a slow and painful death and uploading pictures was difficult. My husband has given me his old laptop so I am back in business and now I can bring the computer down to the sewing area and use all those tutorials I've been bookmarking but that were too long to print out!

My most recent finish is this ModKid Kyoko dress. The solid is a fabric I picked up at a charity sale, I don't think it's all cotton but I'm not sure exactly what it is- But it matches the Ta Dots perfectly, and it's a nice weight. I went out on a limb with the orange Riley Blake accents, not sure how my daughter would feel about the combo, but she loves it! I finished it last night but she was too cold this morning to wear it to school today, so no action pictures yet. Hopefully someday soon Spring will arrive and STAY! We had 80+ degrees on Sunday, and are expecting snow this weekend. I'm told this is my fault because I publicly stated that I was putting away the winter gear and refused to take it out again. Sorry, Midwest! My bad!

I've also finished up a few swaps during my blog absence, I'll post about those soon!

Remember the Fat Quarterly Quiltalong?

2011-03-03T12:58:00.000-06:00

I started the Fat Quarterly Quiltalong way back in September- I had my blocks done and the design laid out... But then Halloween came, and then Christmas, and finally in February I picked this back up! I got it put together and basted last week and finished binding it last night. Washed it and dried it this morning and it's finally done!

As they always are for me, pictures were a challenge- It didn't help that the wind was blowing. Going, going... gone! You can see the vintage sheet I used for the backing in this "action" shot!

February Bag for Style Stitches Challenge!

2011-03-02T08:28:00.002-06:00

I finished this bag WAY back at the beginning of February but never blogged it! It's Amy Butler's Reversible Everyday Shopper from the Style Stitches book. The fabric is from Ikea and the bag has already traveled to Hawaii... sadly, not with me. This was a gift for my friend Joyce who was lucky enough to escape winter for a few days.

The inside is the same fabrics in reverse. I like the nice big pockets, I was thinking she could use it for her larger knitting projects and keep a magazine or pattern book in the pocket!

I made one of these as a Christmas gift as well, for my father in law's wife. She's a 2nd grade teacher- I come from a family of teachers and one thing I know for sure is that teachers make good use of lots of big bags! I love this pattern, the cutting takes a while but it goes together in a snap. One of these days I'll have to make one for myself!

Next up in the Style Stitches Monthly Bag Challenge is the Origami Bag- a collection of zippered pouches in a range of sizes. Fun!

Sew Fresh Fabrics Scrap Quilting Bee

2011-03-01T08:47:00.004-06:00

I finished and mailed off my blocks for the Sew Fresh Fabrics Scrap Quilting Bee! As I mentioned before, the scraps were provided by Sew Fresh Fabrics and we were each to make one block from them- We got to keep the spares! I got two blocks out of my scraps, and I'm pretty happy with them! The completed quilts will be donated to Project Linus. Yay!

My first wonky star:

And not-my-first log cabin:

SewSara's Scrap Swap!

2011-02-28T08:48:00.001-06:00

How cool is this? Sara is hosting a scrap swap, where you send in one (or more!) envelope(s) of scraps and in return you get as many envelopes as you send out! I know my scrap stash could use a shake-up, and this sounds like fun! If you want in, click on the button to sign up by March 4!

Completed Doll Quilt Swap Quilt

2011-02-27T15:54:00.000-06:00

This was a really fun challenge for me. My partner for Doll Quilt Swap 10 likes modern fabric used in traditional designs. I'd never done a true traditional quilt pattern before, so I was excited to try it. I got a Quilt Block-A-Day calendar for Christmas, so I poked through there and found a star pattern I liked. The pattern called for smaller squares to make a small block, but I used charm squares to make it wall-hanging size. It finished up at about 24" square after I put the border on.

I'm really happy with how it turned out and I have quite a crush on half-square triangles now! They're so versatile!

I also used a walking foot for the first time to quilt it. I am in LOVE with that thing and cannot wait until I get a proper machine so I can invest in one of my very own. For now I have to wait anxiously for time in the sewing classroom to use the machines there! This won't go in the mail until March 15th, and I still want to put together a few extras to go with it. Hope you like it, partner!

My New (Old) Etsy Shop!

2011-02-26T07:53:00.000-06:00

Yes, it's true, I've thrown my hat into the Etsy ring. I opened a shop a couple of years ago to sell my hand-embroidered things, mostly baby clothes. I love embroidery but I had a newborn and the custom work stressed me out- I much prefer to just make stock and put it out there.

So, a while ago I made these tooth fairy pockets for my nephews. They're just like the ones my Great Aunt Eunice made for me and my siblings, and I always thought they were just perfect. They are like small blankets with a pocket, so they're very easy for the tooth fairy to slip out from under a sleeping child's head to replace the tooth with a surprise. I posted a picture of my nephews' pockets on Facebook and bunches of friends said they wanted some too. My oldest daughter has lost two teeth now and many of my friends have kids the same age, so I decided to go ahead and make up a few and put them in there and see what happens! I've sold one so far, and I like not worrying about customs- I just make them up with fabric that I like and hope that someone will come along who likes them too!

I'd love it if you'd take a look, and if you know someone approaching tooth-losing age, share the link with their tooth fairy!

Cough... Wheeze... I'm still here!

2011-02-25T00:33:00.000-06:00

Wow, February really was not fun at all! I think I've lived in this frozen tundra long enough to determine that if I could just sleep through February my whole year would be much better. It's dark, it's cold, the snow is brown and gross, and I'm just completely over winter. My whole family has had a cold we just can't shake, and for me it turned into strep throat, a sinus infection, and my first antibiotics prescription in nearly 20 years!

But enough about that, March is coming SOON and even though I know we're in for at least a few more snowfalls, there will also be those few warm days that are just enough to give me hope that it won't be winter forever. It won't, right? Please?

I did do some sewing while I've been away from my poor neglected blog. I completed three mug rugs for the mug rug swap. The first one just didn't turn out quite up to my standards, although I love the idea and will someday do it again. I think that one was just a victim of me not having the right tools- namely a walking foot. The back has some puckers I just couldn't let slide. And I wasn't exactly going for wonky lines, but my persnickety machine was in a wonky mood. I do love the patchwork, it's like an I-Spy of my favorite fabrics.

So that one lives here now, and this is what actually went in the mail to my partner. Two mug rugs and some 5" squares of fabric. I made the rainbow-y one first and then remembered that my partner isn't wild about green! The green was pretty prominent, so I made another just to be safe. The white background one is inspired by the "Little Bits" quilt in Joelle Hoverson's Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts. I hope she likes them!

I also already received my mug rug and goodies from Kandra. She sent a bright and cheery mug (which I've kept filled with sore throat tea), a hair clip for my kiddo and of course a beautiful mug rug! I don't think I said this in my "likes" for the swap, but I have an English degree and am a voracious reader, so the fabric with words on it is so perfect for me! Sorry for the dark pic, it's the darn cloudy Wisconsin weather. But having a rainbow right here by my keyboard is very nice! Thank you Kandra!

Liebster Award

2011-01-19T11:18:00.000-06:00

Awwww! Felicity Quilts gave my blog the Liebster Award! Isn't she sweet? The award is intended to recognize smaller blogs (fewer than 300 followers), and is a way to get the word out about blogs you may not have heard of, but are worth checking out. As part of the award I get to nominate a few other "little" blogs I think you should know about!

The first one isn't a sewing blog, I hope it still counts! My friend Missy just started a blog called Feed the Family, and it's all about, well, feeding the family! She has great ideas about reusing leftovers, loving your slow cooker, making meal plans and more. This is a BRAND new blog and only has a handful of posts so far, but I've known Missy for years and I know there is great stuff to come.

My friend Sarah at Sarah Jane Sews isn't a frequent blogger but the things she makes are gorgeous! She not only sews but knits and cooks and does all sorts of other lovely crafty things, and she's a fellow Wisconsinite.

I have known Joyce of Smudgeville since we were freshmen in college, working together at the food court. Little did I know she was already crafty then- She knits, crochets and sews... A triple threat. Everything she makes is gorgeous and my girls and I have been the lucky recipients of many of her creations.

Thank you Felicity!!!

Quiltalongs, Swaps, and Gifts! Oh my!

2011-01-14T14:09:00.000-06:00

I am definitely starting the new year off with a sewing bang! It's time for another "Put it all in one place before you forget something" list!

Doll Quilt Swap- Waiting on partner info, should have it this weekend!
Mug Rug Swap- I have a potential mug rug pieced and partly basted, if the quilting goes well I might be good to go!
Make Mine Modern- Sign-ups just closed and I'll find out later today if I got a spot!
Pixies- This is a swap among my mommy friends, some crafty, some not. This time we're sending little gifties over a 4 month period rather than one larger package. Fun!

Plus, I'm doing the Style Stitches Monthly Bag Challenge, hosted by JemJam, I'm really intrigued by IronCraft and would love to play along with that. I just joined the group for Don't Call Me Betsy's Sliced Coins Quilt Along. I'm planning to make three (three!) baby boy quilts in that style for three friends who are welcoming new sons in the next few months! I really wanted to do the Modern Quilt Guild's Project Modern Monochromatic Challenge, I even pulled fabric for it, but it's getting pushed pretty low down the priority list!

I have two more Christmas gifts to make, probably a bag and a table runner. And a friend of mine is designing a logo for me for the Madison Modern Quilt Guild, so I am going to make something for him in exchange- Not sure what yet but I've got to keep that on the radar. I am making two little video game totes for my friend Joyce's kiddos. In exchange she made me some AWESOME knitted stuff- There are a couple of sneak previews here. I LOVE chunky yarn and look at those amazing colors!

I've got a couple of other one on one crafty swaps percolating, and I have an inkling of an idea for an Etsy shop that I need to get moving on... I think I should change the name of my blog to "Absolutely NO Sleepytime!" Whew!

I got in!!! Doll Quilt Swap 10 & Mug Rug Swap

2011-01-12T12:12:00.002-06:00

Yay!!! The Doll Quilt swap has gotten so popular that participants are now selected by lottery. I applied for the first time for this round, and I got a spot!!! I don't have my partner info yet, but I am already browsing and plotting and planning!

AND, I also got a spot in the Scrappy Mug Rug Swap for the first time. I've already got my partner info for that one so I've been sketching and planning and pulling fabrics- I'm so excited!!!

Madison Modern Quilt Guild!

2011-01-11T21:49:00.000-06:00

I've decided it's high time Madison, Wisconsin had it's very own branch of the Modern Quilt Guild. So I'm going to start one! Want to help? Know anyone in Madison who should hear about this?

Come on over!

Terri, I'm hoping to hear from you!

My First Bee!

2011-01-08T00:07:00.000-06:00

Sew Fresh Fabrics is hosting a Scrap Bee and I signed up! I've never done a bee before, so I'm really excited- Nervous, but excited! They are sending an assortment of scraps to each participant, we'll all make any block we'd like and send them back- And we get to keep any leftover scraps! The finished quilts will be donated to Project Linus. They got such a great response that they're going to do one boy quilt and one girl quilt- I'm in the girl group. This round is full but follow their blog to watch for the next round.

Style Stitches Monthly Bag Challenge- January

2011-01-03T11:26:00.007-06:00

I posted a few days ago about JemJam's Style Stitches Monthly Bag Challenge. The January bag is the very first bag in the book- The Cosmo Bag. I've chosen my fabrics and have everything cut out and the interfacing fused, so I'm about ready to sew! I actually had this one on my "to do soon" list so I already had fabrics in mind from the stash. Choosing fabrics usually takes me forever, so I was glad to have that step already taken care of!

The orange (Fresh Start in Tangerine from Amy's August Fields line) will be the main body, the grey will be the handles and bands, and the lining will be white. There are options for short or long handles, but I was trying to conserve fabric so when I cut those pieces I ended up with medium handles- Right in the middle between the short and long measurements.

On with the sewing!!!

My Pillow Talk Swap 4 Pillow!

2011-01-02T23:25:00.001-06:00

I received my pillow for the Pillow Talk Swap and I LOVE it! This was my first time participating, and I had so much fun! This is a nice big pillow with the cutest little hand embroidered birdies in the middle.

My partner also sent an embellished dish towel, a pin cushion, and some pearl cotton. Aren't they sweet?

The pillow I made has reached its destination, but the recipient hasn't posted pictures yet... *biting my nails, hoping she liked it!* I didn't get any finished product pictures, but it was based around this block.

I hope everyone had a wonderful time celebrating the New Year, even if that meant snoozing through it! We let the girls stay up, assuming they'd crash long before midnight and they so did not- They were raring to go well past the ball drop! They have not made up for the lost sleep, so the alarm clock signifying the return to the daily grind is going to be very unwelcome tomorrow morning! Good night!

Monthly Bag Challenge!

2010-12-27T09:32:00.005-06:00

Have you seen this? Jemellia over at JemJam has such a cool idea. She's hosting a Monthly Bag Challenge where we'll make a bag every month from Amy Butler's Style Stitches. You can challenge yourself to make just one, or play every month and have a great stock of gifts ready to go throughout the year! She'll have giveaways and there's a Flickr group. Sounds like fun, right? Why not join in?

Merry Christmas! And a City Quilts Quilt.

2010-12-25T21:27:00.001-06:00

I hope everyone had an absolutely wonderful day today. I had a great day with family. I got to watch my girls enjoy the day, and they are nestled all snug in their beds with their new favorite toys. Now I get to head down to the sewing area and put away all my new goodies! I got a thread organizer (the BIG wooden one, I've long since outgrown the smaller one!), some purse hardware, some interfacing, a ribbon organizer, and an adorable button bracelet from Glitter Workshop... Someone who knows me VERY well must've shopped for me!*

*That would be me. But my hubby did a very good job keeping it away from me for the month since I bought it all, so it was like new!

In gifting news, I think I've mentioned before that I planned to make the City Harbor quilt from City Quilts for my husband. He was out of town from Monday through Thursday, and I told him before he left that there was no way the quilt would be done for Christmas, but I'd aim for his birthday in March. He looked like he didn't believe me, so I showed him the purchased but uncut fabric. Then he looked sad. What was I to do?

I cut it out Monday morning, sewed the strips Monday night, sewed the strips together Tuesday morning, made the quilt sandwich Tuesday night, quilted it Wednesday, ALL day, started binding it Wednesday night and finished Thursday morning, just in time to get it washed, dried, and under the tree before hubby's flight got in!

Here it is modeled by my two five-year-old helpers standing on the coffee table.

The backing is a nice charcoal grey flannel, you can sort of see it at the top corner there. Someday I hope to get a decent picture of this, since it's the first quilt I've made from a pattern, the biggest quilt I've ever made, and certainly by far the FASTEST I have ever made a quilt! And I certainly hope to never have to make one that quickly again. I owe it all to my wonderful mother in law who always stays with me when hubby travels and who kept the girls away as much as humanly possible so I could work like a maniac on this thing!

My awesome sister in law got me Elizabeth Harman's Practical Guide to Patchwork for Christmas, and my giveaway prize from Sweet Pea Fabrics arrived, so as soon as the holiday hubbub dies down, I'll be putting those two together to make something for me! A nice girly quilt to curl up under while my hubby is cozy with his manly blue quilt.

Happy Holidays!!!

Ho Ho Holy Cow, I Won!

2010-12-19T22:35:00.001-06:00

What a great Christmas gift to me! I won a $25 gift certificate to Sweet Pea Fabrics!!! I could've spent days browsing and not made a decision, so I ripped off the band-aid and made a fast decision and I am thrilled with it! Can't wait to see this fabric in person and make something beautiful! So what did I choose?

A layer cake of Central Park by Kate Spain for Moda. Just look at some of these gorgeous, fun prints.

And there are so many amazing layer cake patterns on the Moda Bake Shop. Like this, or this, or this! I can't wait!

And the winners are...

2010-12-17T17:11:00.001-06:00

Congratulations to...

#128: Kate of Needle and Spatula

#29: Duff of Bacon Then Eggs

#334: Wendy D.P.

If you see this before I email you, feel free to email me and let me know your first and second choice! As soon as I hear from you all with addresses, I'll get these in the mail! We're off to see Santa, and I'll send emails as soon as I get home!

I saw this on the Moda Bake Shop today and had to share- Another great use for Christmas charm packs!

Extra Giveaway Prize and Procraftination Conquered!

2010-12-17T08:46:00.005-06:00

To enter my Sew Mama Sew Giveaway, click HERE!

I said if I hit 100 followers before the giveaway ended, I'd add a third prize... So here it is! Thank you all so much for following, it's so nice to know my little blog is of interest to people! Since I got so many comments about the button fabrics, I decided to make the third prize a 1/2 yard cut of each of them. They are from Alexander Henry's "Sew Christmas" line, and it comes in a few other colors as well! You can find some of them here, here or here. I think I need to add some of those pink and red buttons to the stash. Be sure to click on the link above to enter if you haven't already!

And you know that project I've been whining about and procraftinating on? I finally tackled it last night and it was easy-peasy! I was so excited! I'm awaiting confirmation/measurements that I made it wide enough, and then I will make two or three more during tonight's Friday Night Sew-In. I'm not sure how well this thing will translate to pictures, but here goes!

This is a cover for my dad's fishing reels, to protect them during transport to the beach.

The inside is lined with heavy duty canvas, and there is some (spectacularly ugly) fleece sandwiched in between for padding. There's an elasticized hole for the bottom part of the pole, and the top has a drawstring so it can get up and over the reel before cinching closed.

The wide part of the sword represents the reel. What? I didn't have a fishing pole handy! Use your imagination.

Pull the cover up over the reel, cinch the cord closed, et voila! Padded, protected reel, ready to travel!

I made this up entirely and I am really pleased with how it turned out! And my Dad will be happy to know that I didn't spend any money (OK, well, maybe $1 on the cinches for the drawstring), the fabric was all from stash (So, I guess I spent money on it at some point, but not for THIS in particular). The canvas was a slipcover that my cats had destroyed, but I cut it into big pieces because it was so much good canvas. Yay for recycling!

And lastly, here's my Dad's sketch of what he thought would work for these. Now that I've looked at it several dozen times, I think I might kind of get what he was going for... but a pattern designer he will never be!

Procraftination and a Pillow

2010-12-16T09:46:00.001-06:00

I have one more Christmas gift to make, and it really needs to be finished soon so I can get it in the mail if I want to have any hope of it reaching its destination in time for Christmas. Last night I headed down to the sewing room fully intending to at least start making a plan. My Dad wants some fabric covers for his fishing reels when he puts them in the back of his truck- They need to be slightly padded, wide enough to fit around the large reel but skinny at the ends to go around the reel without letting sand in. I have a pretty good picture in my mind of how they'll look, all that's left to do is start experimenting. I spent a little more than an hour in the sewing room and came out of there with this:

Am I the only one who always finds some other project to do when something difficult is staring me down? I even came up with a word for it- Procraftination! (I just googled that and clearly I'm not the first to come up with it, but I was pretty amused with myself!) I did need a Christmas pillow, and now you have another idea for what to do with that charm pack if you win! I was inspired by this pillow in the Pillow Talk Swap Flickr pool. I've always wanted to try zig zags but the idea of a whole quilt was too intimidating, so this was perfect. Of course most of my points don't line up and the layout of the prints leaves something to be desired, but for a late night quickie project, I'm happy with it! When my daughter saw it this morning she was very excited and asked if we got to keep this one, so I think she likes it. Yay!

122???!!!

2010-12-15T09:10:00.001-06:00

Here for Giveaway Day? It's just over here.

As of this writing I have 122 followers! Thank you SO much, you guys are aces! I will head down to the sewing cave and come up with a third prize to add to the pot- I'll still use the original pool of comments from the Giveaway Day post to choose the third winner.

I finished another bag but I'm not quite sure what to do with it. It was originally for a friend but after making it I realized it's just not quite her. I think I might give it to my mother in law, but I used this same fabric as an accent on the bag I made her last Christmas! (Pat, if by some chance you see this, Surprise!)

It's the Sweet Pea Hobo Bag and it was so much fun to put together- and FAST! I love the size, it's a perfect not-too-big, not-too-small bag when you don't need to bring the kitchen sink with you, but you need more than just your wallet and keys. There are two pockets inside and the pattern comes with instructions to make the strap adjustable- I didn't do that because I couldn't get to Joann this weekend and I wanted to finish! But it's perfectly lovely with this shoulder strap length, in my humble opinion! I'm excited to try the adjustable strap on the next one though, I've never done that before.

And on a completely unrelated note, how stinkin' cute are my girls decorating their Gingerbread House? Hmm, now that I look closer, the big one has sort of a Mr. Burns, "Eeeexcellent" thing going on. And yes, that is a Mr. T Christmas card on the mantel. Our friends are awesome.

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!

2010-12-13T06:00:00.048-06:00

Giveaway is CLOSED! Winners will be announced shortly!

I'm so excited that it's giveaway time again! Giveaway Day is what got me started blogging in the first place-- Visiting all those blogs and getting so much inspiration made me want to have my own little corner of the internet to archive my projects.

I decided to spread a little holiday cheer with my giveaway this time around. I have two red, white, and green self-assembled charm packs to share with two lucky winners (one each). There are two 5" squares each of seventeen different fabrics from my stash, so 34 squares total. Some are actual Christmas fabrics, most are simply red, green, or white. I think they'd make a lovely table runner or a casserole carrier for holiday get-togethers. Or maybe you could use the greens to make this adorable wall hanging.

Just leave a comment on this post to enter. I'd love it if you'd follow this blog, but I'm not offering extra entries- I know you've got LOTS of blogs to visit, so I'll keep it simple. Just one entry per person, any comment you'd like! If I do reach 100 followers by the end of the giveaway, I'll find something else to giveaway, making 3 winners! I'll leave this open until December 17 and then the good old Random Number Generator will choose the winners. Make sure I have a way to reach you- if your account is blocked, include an email address in your comment! I'll get them in the mail right away when I get your address, so maybe it will arrive in time for Santa to put it in your stocking! Thanks for stopping by!

UPDATE: I've reached 100 followers!!! 137, actually! Thank you thank you thank you! I got so many comments on the Alexander Henry Sew Christmas button fabrics, so I've added a 1/2 yard cut of each print as the third prize. I'll let the first name selected choose first, then contact the next winners! I will close the contest this evening and contact the first winner right away!

Be sure to check out all the giveaways for Sewing/Knitting Supplies, Handcrafted Items, and Handcrafted items + Supplies!

Friday Night Sew-In!

2010-12-11T07:54:00.034-06:00

I had a productive Sew-In last night! One gift was finished, I got as far as I could on two others, and nearly finished another that should be done today!

I am spending the day today at my sewing teacher's classroom for a holiday sewing open lab. Last night I got started on these two name pennants for a friend's kiddos. My sewing machine doesn't do a pretty satin stitch, so the letters are fused on but not edged yet. I'll satin stitch around them, sew the backs on, then attach the flags to some bias tape! I bought my older daughter one of these before I learned to sew and I love it- Now I just need to make one for my younger daughter. But her name has nine letters in it! What was I thinking???

I also finished this little tote for an eReader. The print panels on the front and back are pockets and there's an elastic loop coming over the top to the fabric covered button. It's lightly padded with fusible fleece. It's meant to just be an easy way to tote the reader around, the recipient already has a more protective cover for the actual reader. I've never seen the kind of reader she has in person, so I hope this will work! I made this up as I went along, and I'm pretty happy with it!

I'm also trying to make iPhone cases for a few friends, but I'm having a hard time with the sizing. I don't have an iPhone but my mother in law does so I've been stealing hers to test out my prototypes. Trouble is, everyone has different protective cases so I'm having a hard time getting it just right. The one on the left fits my mother in law's phone perfectly, but she has a very slim case on hers. I think that one will end up in her stocking, she seemed to really like it! That one has a wrist strap and a snap closure. The other one just barely fit her phone, so I think it will become mine for my regular old non-smart phone. That's got velcro closure and no strap.

So, they're not perfect yet but it was good practice and I'll get it eventually!

Can't wait to check out what all you other Friday Night Sew-In folks accomplished!

A couple of Christmas gifts finished...

2010-12-10T12:28:00.000-06:00

Clearly Blog Posting Month didn't do much for my consistency! I posted every day for a month and then disappeared for a week and a half! I've been doing lots of Christmas sewing, but much of what I've made is unfinished for lack of some simple little piece- A pillow needs filling, a skirt needs hemming... I put together little bags for each to-be-made gift with all the supplies I need for that item so that when I'm ready to start something I have everything I need! Tonight is Friday Night Sew-In so I'm hoping to get lots of those little finishes taken care of.

But I did finish a few things- First is an Amy Butler Birdie Sling Bag that I have fallen in LOVE with! Maybe its intended recipient will just hate it and I'll have to keep it. If not, I think I have enough of both fabrics left to make another! The top is brushed canvas and the body is from Denyse Schmidt's County Fair line.

The other finish is a Buttercup Bag- I love making these for gifts. Everyone needs a small bag sometimes, and I think the bright colorful fabric is perfect for the recipient. I have no idea what the fabric is, it was from the "free to good home" pile at my sewing class. If you love it and must have some, let me know, I've got YARDS of it! It's denim.

Hopefully more to post soon! I hope your holiday crafting is going smoothly!

Our Advent Calendar

2010-11-30T11:15:00.000-06:00

I made this Advent calendar just as I was beginning to learn to sew- For some reason I thought sewing all the little pockets on by machine would be really complicated, so it is all hand-stitched! Even around the edges of the tree itself. I embroidered or embellished each little pocket by hand. It's inspired (read: blatantly copied) from the Telluride Advent Calendar from Pottery Barn (pictured here). The girls LOVE it and can't wait to start checking the pockets tomorrow morning (after I iron it a bit and find a sturdier way to hang it)!

And today is November 30... That means I completed NaBloPoMo!!! I can't believe I found something to say every. single. day! Thanks for reading, and hopefully this will prompt me to continue posting more often... Just maybe not every day!

Incoming!

2010-11-29T09:59:00.007-06:00

Just a little sampling of some of the fabric and patterns that have joined the stash in preparation for Christmas sewing!

Some pajamas, some stockings, some bags, a quilt (sorry hubby, that one's just REALLY unlikely to happen by Christmas!), a dress or two... Ho ho ho!

Make Do and Mend!

2010-11-28T21:49:00.001-06:00

One of my favorite things about learning to sew is that I can now easily fix things that might once have gone in the trash. Last night I made a big list of all the things I need to sew before Christmas, and I decided that before I started I should tidy up the sewing room. While I was doing that I unearthed a basket of "to be mended" clothes and decided to set to work. I fixed a major tear in a pair of my husband's jeans, put an applique over a hole in my daughter's leggings, learned how to use a snap-setter to repair a bib, and made a new insert for a doll stroller!

I'm especially pleased with that last one, and annoyed that I waited so long to do it! The insert that came with it tore within days and has been progressively getting worse. My daughters' poor dolls frequently tumbled right out of the thing.

I salvaged the buckles from the original, used stash fabric, and used bias trim that belonged to my husband's Grandma. The girls were thrilled and immediately put it to work!

Now that those distractions are taken care of and the sewing room is tidy (as tidy as it ever gets!), I can get to work on that Christmas list!

Small Business Saturday

2010-11-27T21:51:00.001-06:00

Since I went on about Black Friday yesterday (and had a rough time this morning at a certain big box sewing store which shall remain nameless), I thought today in honor of Small Business Saturday I would share a bit about some of my favorite independent stores.

Happy Bambino was my home away from home when my oldest daughter was a baby. The store's mission is "Happier families through parental empowerment and community support." They offer parent support groups and classes as well as great locally made or small-business made products for babies, kids, and moms. Cloth diapers, baby carriers, natural and sustainable toys, breastfeeding needs... Truly anything you could need in the early years of parenting. The store is in Madison, WI and online. And hey, my daughter is right there on the front page, grinning in a blue fleece pouch!

Bratsacks Baby is not local to me, but an amazing small business just the same. Owned by a mom who started making kids' backpacks as birthday gifts, Bratsacks has grown into a big name! She makes backpacks for toddlers and big kids as well as messenger style bags for grown-ups. She uses reclaimed materials wherever possible and the work"mom"ship is impeccable.

KnitterKnots is another friend's shop. She makes beautiful longies for babies and toddlers- For the uninitiated, longies are wool pants that can be used as part of a cloth diapering system or just worn as incredibly adorable and cozy pants. If you get lucky you might also catch a custom slot for a tunic or dress! Beautiful stuff. How cute are these monster pants?

StarbrightBaby makes small stuffed giraffes that are hands-down the best teething toy we ever used. And they last long beyond the teething stage! At 3 and 5 my girls still love to play with their giraffes. They are sturdy, beautiful, unique, and are stuffed with eco-friendly filling. She also does customs, so if you have a favorite fabric you can get a giraffe made just for you!

I have many other talented friends I want to share with you, but this post is getting long so I will save some for another day! Remember to think handmade while you're holiday shopping, and support small businesses!

Black Friday!

2010-11-26T14:18:00.001-06:00

So did you get any shopping done? My husband, who has never "done" Black Friday before, was up and out at 4am to get some absolutely necessary piece of technological equipment at Target. He was stunned to realize that Black Friday is, in fact, a huge deal and people take it seriously! I think he thought we were all lying when we said it would be a madhouse. He learned that lesson quickly.

I was out at a much more reasonable 8am to get some very necessary pillow forms, batting and $1.20/yard flannel! The girls will be getting matching Christmas PJs after all! We waited in line for 45 minutes to check out at Joann. It wasn't my usual neighborhood Joann, because we're out of town for the holiday- This one only had TWO registers and while they were working as fast as they could, there were a LOT of shoppers. But a wonderful perk I'm still adjusting to about life in the Midwest is that people are generally just so pleasant! Lots of chatting in line and no grumpies! Of course, there are exceptions to every rule...

What deals did you find?

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T08:00:00.006-06:00

May your day be filled with family, friends and food!

I wish I'd had time to make something pretty for the table- like these!

Fall Table Runner by Knitty Bitties.


By Sewing Geek via Flickr

From Twiddletails

Simplicity 2382- Walker Bag

2010-11-24T08:06:00.021-06:00

After visiting my Grandmother this summer and seeing that all the cool 90-year-olds had nifty bags on their walkers, I promised to make her one. It took me a few months but I've finally gotten around to it. It's View D from Simplicity 2382 and it's made to go over the front bar on a wheeled walker. I suppose it would work on a regular walker too! The construction was very unusual, and I used duck canvas for the lining so it was tough to turn, but I really like the finished product.

I don't have a walker, so a chair will have to suffice for pictures! This one shows the inner pockets which are just about 4" deep. Perfect for a phone, remote, little notepad, whatever! In front of that is a larger pocket for books, magazines, etc. Both sides are identical, so I stuck a magazine in the other side to show the depth.

Here's a straight-on view.

It opens up flat and has a handle to carry it when it's not on the walker.

There's velcro on the inside to hold the panels together when it's over the bar, and a patch of slipper-gripper to keep it from sliding.

I'm going to send this as an early Christmas gift since I promised it to her in July! She turns 91 in December, too, so it will be a birthday gift as well. Happy Birthday, Grandmom!

Indygo Junction Over the Top Tunic

2010-11-23T11:22:00.001-06:00

Here's a slightly better picture of the Over the Top Tunic. It's a little stiff, I'm hoping it will soften up in the wash. And I think I might redo the hem. And oops, I should have re-ironed it after carting it home last night! But here it is! And I think this might be the first picture of me on this blog!

Linked up at

A Thanksgiving Dress

2010-11-22T23:55:00.001-06:00

Today I made myself a dress to wear to Thanksgiving dinner. Unfortunately I forgot my camera when I was at the sewing lab, so all I have is a blurry camera picture. But since I'm participating in NaBloPoMo, I'm posting it anyway! It's Indygo Junction's Over the Top Tunic. I used a cotton sateen with just a tiny bit of stretch, accented with a blue asian floral I've had in the stash forever. I had a love/hate affair with this dress as I was sewing it, but I think the final feeling I have toward it is affection. I don't love it, but I think we will get along fine.

I will, of course, wear a camisole underneath! It hits just above the knee and went together very quickly, barring a few bonehead mistakes that were entirely my fault!

A Beautiful bag

2010-11-21T15:51:00.000-06:00

I got my gifts from that swap I've been secretly sewing for! Yay! My friend Jessi of Bratsacks Baby made me this absolutely beautiful bag. I've had my eye on her bags for years, and my kids each have one of her adorable kids' backpacks. I don't know for sure that she was my swap partner, but I do know she made this bag!

She uses a lot of reclaimed materials, which I love. Seriously, LOOK at that bag! Beautiful! It's got oodles of pockets and those bright colors will be so cheery through the dreary Wisconsin winter. I also got a pack of new blades for my rotary cutter! That's something I always skimp on and it gets really annoying, so that was an absolutely perfect gift! She ALSO sent a beautiful hair stick, some yummy chai, and some adorable fabric- the same print used on this bag. This was such an awesome package to receive after a dreary week of wet weather and sick kids. Thank you!!!!!

Friday Night Sew-In

2010-11-21T00:32:00.000-06:00

My Friday Night Sew-In time was pretty limited. I had to go see the new Harry Potter movie! And then not long after I got home my three year old woke up and would not go back to sleep without Mommy. She's got the sniffles and I couldn't refuse her, and of course I ended up falling asleep too!

So here's what I did manage to get done. I'm making a Kwik Sew robe for my five year old out of this fun rainbow fleece.

I've got an old pattern, but it looks like it's basically the same as the current Kwik Sew 2705. The mornings are getting really chilly and the poor kid has to get up before the sun to get ready for school! This is not a household of morning people, so this has been a big adjustment for all of us! She'll get the robe for Christmas to help make the cold mornings a little more cheerful! I am very nearly finished, I just have to put the trim around the neck and down the front, around the sleeves, and then make the belt! I'll share pictures when it's all finished.

Happy Harry Potter Day!!!

2010-11-19T08:41:00.013-06:00

I had big plans to make myself a nice new Harry Potter themed bag to take to the new movie tonight, but sick kids, cancelled flights for the hubby, and lots of swap sewing to do (some of which I can't post) leaves me with no bag and no sewing to post today. I still have the little tote I made for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, but that was a long time and a few skill levels ago, so I'd really like to make a great new one, maybe with a freezer paper stencil of the Deathly Hallows symbol! Maybe the stars will align and I'll be able to churn something out tomorrow morning. But if not I know I will still enjoy the movie tremendously!

In the meantime, here are some adorable videos of the film's cast. Sorry the edges are cut off, but they're really about the audio anyway!

My Creative Space

2010-11-18T09:22:00.000-06:00

My creative space is a MESS this week! So many projects going on, so many starts and stops. I can share this, a few auditions of fabric combinations for my Pillow Swap partner. Fortunately, my partner has similar taste to me, so whichever pillow I end up deciding is just right for her, the other(s) will have a happy home here with me!

Check out some other creative space at Kootoyoo.

Butterick 5125- Apron

2010-11-17T08:01:00.000-06:00

This apron was part of a swap-- But not for my swap partner! It's a "Pamper Our Mama Friends" type swap, so it doesn't have to be handmade, but lots of crafters and lovers of all things handmade are participating. So I did a trade with a friend, she's making something for my partner and I made this for hers! It's Amy Butler's Memento in Burgundy from Love. The pattern is Butterick 5125, view A. I left off the bow and added a pocket. This is the third time I've made it and I really like it! One of these days I'll have to make one for myself!

And just to clarify, that is not my machine in the background, nor is it my dress form. They're in the sewing classroom I go to every week. It's really hard to get a picture of an apron without a form, I think I'm going to have to keep an eye out for one, just for display purposes!

A dress becomes a skirt

2010-11-16T08:29:00.000-06:00

This adorable t-shirt dress was a gift to Lizzie when she was about a year and a half old. It includes some of my favorite-ever fabrics, and she has worn it way beyond what's reasonable- it had basically become a mini dress when I decided something needed to be done.

So last week I took action. I cut off the top, leaving about two inches of the knit fabric. I sewed it to the inside to make a casing, threaded in some 1/2" elastic and voila! A skirt that will get at least another year or two of wear!

I'm adding this to Fabric Tuesday over at Quilt Story!

Amy Butler Yoga Bag

2010-11-15T09:04:00.000-06:00

I am certainly on an Amy Butler kick this month! I've finished the Reversible Everyday Shopper and the Gum Drop Pillow, I made an apron with fabric from her Love collection (which I'll share as soon as I can get some decent pictures-- Taking pictures of an apron without a dress form is tough!), and I started cutting out a Cosmo Bag from Style Stitches. And last night I finished a Nigella Yoga Bag, which is one of the free PDF patterns available on the Amy Butler website.

The body is cotton duck and the pocket is from Melissa Saylor's Linden collection. I wish I could go back in time and buy bolts of this stuff, I love it so! This is another fabric from the "before I could sew" stash. I wish I had some in the blue, too. SO pretty. It's lined with a neutral batik with touches of purple and green. One of those random thrift store finds that I knew would be perfect for something someday. This is another gift, and it will be on its way to its new owner soon!

Books Books Books

2010-11-14T10:04:00.025-06:00

So many fantastic sewing and quilting books have come out in the last few months, and so many more are coming out soon! Here are just a few I've got my eye on. Got any suggestions for others I need to add to the list?

The Practical Guide to Patchwork: New Basics for the Modern Quiltmaker from Elizabeth Hartman of Oh, Fransson is at the very tippy top of my list. Amazon has an extensive "look inside" option for this book and I want to make EVERYTHING in it! Reviews are beginning to pop up in blog land, and it has all 5-star reviews on Amazon. And if you've seen Elizabeth's work, this is not surprising at all, she is amazing. I cannot WAIT to get my hands on this one!

Amy Ellis' Modern Basics: Easy Quilts to Fit Your Budget, Space, and Style is due out in February. The words modern, easy, and budget put this one on my list before I even made the connection that it's by the Amy's Creative Side Amy, host of the Blogger's Quilt Festival! She does beautiful work, and this book looks to be chock full of fun, easy quilts that will be great for skill-building and gift-making!

Fresh Quilting: Fearless Color, Design, and Inspiration by Malka Dubawsky is due out in just a few weeks. This is another one that just grabbed me with it's fun projects, gorgeous pictures and an author with a fantastic blog- A Stitch in Dye. I love that this one goes beyond quilt patterns to include a neck warmer, sewing machine cover, pillows, totes and lots of others. Beautiful!

And while you're working on holiday gift lists, check out this adorable and handy wish list printable from allsorts!

Amy Butler Gum Drop Pillow

2010-11-13T08:07:00.017-06:00

Here's another project that's been in the "almost done" phase for quite a while and I finally finished!

It's Amy Butler's Gum Drop Pillow, in the 24" size. It was a cinch to make and really fun. The hold up on finishing it was that it takes an INCREDIBLE amount of stuffing! I probably could've gotten another bag in there and made it really nice and firm. As it is it has a good amount of give and the girls love it for rolling, lounging and jumping. The pattern calls for 10 bags of fiberfil- I'm not sure exactly how much I used because I had a few grocery bags full of remnants of other bags, some throw pillows that had torn that I'd saved the stuffing from, etc.

The fabric was a clearance fabric shower curtain from Target-- Trolling those clearance end caps in the home furnishings department often pays off big time! I get sheet sets for under $5, shower curtains for around $3... Just think of the yardage in a full size sheet set!

Fat Quarterly Quiltalong

2010-11-12T08:37:00.000-06:00

I am not a fan of UFOs. And yet somehow they seem to be a necessary part of sewing, at least for me! I joined the Fat Quarterly Quiltalong, got my blocks all cut and pieced, laid them out just right.... and then Halloween came along. And now I'm getting mired in Christmas sewing. And those poor little blocks still sit in a pile, waiting to become a quilt. It's extra frustrating because it's getting downright chilly here and I'd love to have this quilt all ready to curl up under with a cup of tea and a good book. I thought the least I could do for these neglected squares was to share them in their current state. Maybe I'll surprise myself and finish up the holiday sewing early and I'll get to work on a little Christmas gift to me!

(See that orange spot on the carpet at the top left-- That's where we dropped the paint roller while painting the den. Yep, we really like orange! And we still haven't replaced the terrible terrible carpet. Sigh.)

Spotted on Clearance at Joann

2010-11-11T08:30:00.000-06:00

I can't imagine why the star-lettered sign on the right is on clearance. Can you?

Green Grocery Bag Challenge

2010-11-10T08:00:00.000-06:00

Have you heard about Sew, Mama, Sew's Green Grocery Bag Challenge? The idea is to make some pretty bags, use them to wrap your holiday gifts, and they become a bonus gift! The recipient can use them as grocery bags, totes, gym bags, whatever! More and more stores are giving discounts for or even mandating using reusable bags. American consumers generate 4 million tons of wrapping paper and shopping bag waste during the holiday season alone, and we go through 100 billion single-use plastic grocery bags every year. You can make a difference!

You can join in on Facebook or on their blog. There will be free bag patterns, tutorials, videos and more. What a great way to use up some stash fabric and help the Earth!

I-Spy Quilt!

2010-11-09T08:13:00.001-06:00

It's finished! I got most of these squares through a swap hosted by Care at Obsessively Stitching. I had so much fun choosing my fabrics to send in, and then browsing what I got back from the other participants. I've had the top finished for a while now, but finally got it quilted and bound this week. I wanted to get this done in time for fall, so I opted to do a really basic patchwork rather than any of the other really cool things people have done with their squares. You can see some of them at the Flickr group. I hand quilted it at each seam with a rainbow of pearl cotton, and the backing is from a pale yellow sheet. I plan on this being used as a picnic blanket, car entertainment, fort building material, and other hard-living stuff, so I went simple. I'm really pleased with it, even if it is a "double espresso for your eyes" as another swapper's husband described hers!

I'm adding this to QuiltStory's Fabric Tuesday. It's my first time participating, so if you found me through that link up, welcome! Thanks for stopping by!

Belly Button Pillow

2010-11-08T06:16:00.019-06:00

As lots of us crafty types do, I like to give hand made gifts for the holidays. I have a list as long as my arm of plans and ideas, but very little actual work done! I also have a couple of swaps going on, and some sewing I'm doing for my local animal shelter. On Friday night the girls went to bed easily, hubby fell asleep early so we weren't able to catch up on our DVR'd shows and suddenly I found myself with the whole night ahead of me to sew without interruption! So what did I do? I started a completely new project, unrelated to any of the sewing I "need" to work on!

Here's the new project and I am SO in love with it!

The tutorial is from Alexandra at a-squared(w) and I stumbled upon it while doing research for the Pillow Talk {Swap}. I dug through the scrap bins for fall colors, cut it out and had it together in no time! I stuffed it and closed it while watching football on Sunday and now it's in its place on the couch. I really love it! I needed a fun project like this to get my sewing mojo back, so thank you Alexandra!

I'm adding this to Amy's "Sew and Tell" for this week!

A quilt for the new kid on the block

2010-11-07T08:25:00.017-06:00

My husband's brother and his wife welcomed their second child just over a week ago, and he is ridiculously cute (if I do say so myself). A sweet boy needs a sweet quilt, so of course I had to oblige! He was kind enough to arrive a few days past his due date so I had time to get the quilt completely finished before he was born.

It's a stacked quilt with straight line quilting (my standby... someday I'll branch out!). The darker blue fabric has little fishies on it, which matches his nursery theme. I love that fabric and I've had it in my stash since long before I started sewing. Yes, I was building a stash before I knew what to do with it. I think that must be high on the list of symptoms of a true fabric addict, don't you?

Friday Night Sew-In

2010-11-06T12:20:00.000-05:00

Have you heard of the Friday Night Sew-In? Once a month, Heidi at Handmade by Heidi and Bobbi at Crafty Vegas Mom sponsor a night for YOU to commit to put on your comfy PJs, tune out the world, and focus on sewing, knitting, or any other crafting you want to focus on for a night. Everyone shares what they worked on and get this- You can win prizes! This is my first time playing, and I'm already brewing ideas of what I want to work on. So what are you doing on November 19? Join us, won't you?

Happy Birthday to my Sweet Girl

2010-11-05T06:00:00.005-05:00

Today is my daughter Lizzie's 3rd birthday. Time flies when you're having fun, I can't believe she's three already. She's sweet and hilariously funny and I am so lucky to be her mommy!

Born at home at 8:30am on her due date! A very punctual gal. Not sure where she got that trait...

Amy Butler's Reversible Everyday Shopper

2010-11-04T12:01:00.000-05:00

Did you ever notice that when people post about meeting Amy Butler, they always comment on how tall she is? Every year when all those lucky shop owners go to Quilt Market and share their wonderful pictures, there she is looking statuesque and glamorous. So maybe that's why many of her bags are SO BIG! I've made the Modern Diaper Bag and my 5 year old could sit inside! I love this, because I like knowing the bags can take anything I throw at them. So when I started cutting out the Reversible Everyday Shopper from the new Style Stitches book, I knew I was headed for another mega-bag. Yes, I could have learned this by reading the measurements first, but doesn't that take away some of the fun?

This bag is destined to be a Christmas gift, but I won't say who it's for so it can still be a bit of a surprise!

Blogger's Quilt Festival!

2010-11-03T10:30:00.000-05:00

This is my first entry in the Blogger's Quilt Festival. I've followed along for the last few and all the entries are so inspiring! Since I'm still new to quilting, I'm going to share my very very first quilt, to remind myself how far I've come.

Here's the top:

And here it is "finished."

The fabrics came from a charm square swap I did with friends- This was very early in my stash-building days! In fact, I think this was one of the first ten things I ever sewed. I used the "Make It Up As You Go Quilt" tutorial at You Can Make This. It was super easy to follow and I was so happy with the top (still am!). But then I kind of fell apart with the quilting and binding. I used pre-made binding and I'm pretty sure I used it incorrectly. I didn't baste nearly enough, so the quilting process was frustrating and I stopped with it very minimally quilted. But I was still so proud, my girls love it, and one of these days I'll take off the yucky binding and do a proper one! For now this one lives in the car where it's the perfect size for Allison to cuddle under on chilly morning drives to school.

Thanks for stopping by, be sure to check out the other (vastly more skillfully made!) entries in the Blogger's Quilt Festival by clicking here.

Our Halloween Costumes!!!

2010-11-02T09:00:00.040-05:00

I am so proud of the girls' Halloween costumes this year. Allison was Astrid from "How to Train Your Dragon" and Lizzie was a dragon! (Great movie! Have you seen it?)

I probably should have made Lizzie's costume one size bigger, but for the few hours she wore it, it was fine. She was in love with the sparkly blue fabric I found, and I think it looks like scales. I was a little worried about using such a dark fabric again (after last year's poorly planned black cat costume- a little tough for drivers to see in the dark), but the sparkles made it reflective, so it worked out. The pattern is Simplicity 2506.

Allison was so thrilled with her costume, and I actually got a huge hug and a "Thank you, Mom" when I gave her the last piece- the headband- so that made all the work worth it. The top is adapted from the ModKid Nina pattern and I used the basic A-line skirt directions from Sew What Skirts. I had a ton of fun with those spikes, and I find myself thinking of other ways to use screw-on embellishments! They came from StudsandSpikes.com.

NaBloPoMo

2010-11-01T12:00:00.018-05:00

KarrieLyne over at Freckled Whimsy posted today about NaBloPoMo. I've really been wanting to post more, so I thought I'd give it a try! There will be lots of Christmas sewing going on, so that will take care of some posts. I still need to share the girls' Halloween costumes. Going from 3-4 posts a month to posting every day will be a challenge, but it's one I'm up for! See, I've already got day one taken care of!

There are prizes, there's a community of bloggers with advice, encouragement, and great new blogs to discover! I noticed a big list of crafting blogs, so I can't wait to go check them all out.

Are you up for the challenge? Click on over!

Pillow Talk Swap!

2010-10-18T01:19:00.001-05:00

After following this swap for a while and just absolutely DROOLING over the amazing creations, I've decided to dive in. I hope I can keep up. I seem to have loved every single pillow I've seen produced by this group, so I know my taste is right in line. I just hope my skill level is! Here's my inspiration mosaic to give my partner some ideas...

A New Friend for Halloween

2010-09-28T16:07:00.001-05:00

I LOVE Halloween, and love decorating for it. I saw a few tutorials for an awesome monster wreath and decided to give it a try! This video uses less fabric and is definitely just for a wreath, but this tutorial could also make a cute throw pillow. Here's my take:

We only put on two eyes because Allison thought more eyes would be "too scary for the little kids." I didn't use any hot glue, just lots of pins! Instead of ping pong balls I cut a styrofoam ball in half for the eyes and just pinned them to the styrofoam wreath form. Then I stretched the eye slits around the balls and pinned those down. I suppose if someone looked really closely they could see the pins, but I'm not sweating it.

I love him, and I think he needs a name. He reminds me of these guys, who were always a favorite!

I won!!

2010-09-23T17:00:00.000-05:00

What a great birthday surprise!!! I just won two charm packs of City Weekend by Oliver + S. I won them from the Talk About Fabric forum- You should check it out. They compile all the fabric giveaways they find in the blogosphere and host giveaways of their own, too! This week's giveaway is for five fat quarters of Castle Peeps.

Image from http://www.oliverands.com/

How to Train Your Dragon

2010-09-20T13:10:00.001-05:00

Looks like I'm going to be venturing into sewing with vinyl and spikes this Halloween! Allison wants to be Astrid from How to Train Your Dragon. I think this one will be fun!

And Lizzie? She'll be the dragon, of course!

McCall's 2335

Forgotten Bags

2010-09-19T23:14:00.000-05:00

Here's a bag I made for my mom last Christmas that I somehow never posted! It's the Melly & Me Black Forest bag.

And here's one I made for my friend Carrie. This one is the Phoebe bag, a free tutorial from ArtsyCraftyBabe. I sized it up by a few inches all around and left off the closure tab. I also made her daughter a matching Buttercup bag, but I didn't get a picture of that one.

Can you tell I love Denyse Schmidt's County Fair line?

Happy Birthday to ME!!!

2010-09-19T10:38:00.000-05:00

My birthday is coming up soon, and I think my sewing habit has really made an impression on my husband's family! My father in law and his wife got me a gift card to Joann, my mother in law is giving me money for fabric, and my husband's aunt got me... THESE!

The peeking girls weren't part of the gift.

The New Handmade by Cassie Barden

City Quilts by Cherri House

Carefree Clothes for Girls by Junko Okawa

Fit for Real People by Pati Palmer (Cannot BELIEVE it has taken me so long to add this to my library!)

Amy Butler's Style Stitches

AND the Oliver + S School Days Jacket pattern!!!

I can't wait to get started!!!

Mini Table Topper Quilt

2010-09-16T12:19:00.011-05:00

I've spent the last few days working on my blocks for the Fat Quarterly Quilt Along. It's coming along nicely, but boy is it repetitive! So yesterday I decided to work on something different for a while. I have a cheapo little lime green side table that has seen better days. The top is chipped, and without something to break it up, the color is a little bit retina-searing. So I decided to use a few pieces from my Park Slope charm pack and I threw this little topper together! I got it cut, pieced, basted, quilted and bound in a total of maybe two hours, tops. Lots of skill-practice and almost-instant gratification. I can definitely see the appeal of mini quilts!

Butterick 5319- A dress for me!

2010-09-15T15:40:00.001-05:00

I finished this dress a few months ago, and kept waiting for a chance to get decent pictures of it before I posted. Well, that's just not going to happen! And soon it will be WAY too cold here in Wisconsin to put this dress on, even for a moment for pictures. So I'm just going to go with what I've got!

It's Butterick 5319 in a linen blend. I wore it to my cousin's wedding and it was cool and comfy all night, even while chasing my wild girls all over the dance floor!

Here's most of the dress, you can see I added a band to the bottom to add some length. I left off the pockets and I wish I'd bitten the bullet and made them work, it would have been handy to have a place for my camera.

If you want to see more, I've got a horribly lit, fingerprints on the lens thanks to my kids picture here.

Speaking of my girls, I just cannot resist sharing these pictures. I didn't make these dresses (I ran out of time after making my own dress!), and I didn't take these pictures (my cousin did, aren't they great??).

Nana's Quilt- Finished!

2010-09-13T13:56:00.000-05:00

I ended up just doing straight line quilting. I was just too scared to venture into quilting in and around the flags or anything too complicated. This is my second finished quilt and I made my own binding this time- It was not as scary as I thought it would be, and I bound the whole thing while watching football this weekend!

The back is green with large white polka dots. You can see a bit of that here.

I'm going to mail it off today, only about a month after her 91st birthday! Hope she likes it!

A Quilt for Nana

2010-09-08T23:48:00.006-05:00

After finding out that my awesome Nana might be a little bit jealous of Pop Pop's Sweden quilt, I set to work making one celebrating her Irish and Italian heritage. Here's the front, the back will be green with large white polka dots. The layout was inspired by Amy's amazing Ireland quilt at Diary of a Quilter.

Now I need some help. This will only be the second quilt I've completed, and I'm stumped! I'm not sure how I should quilt this and what color thread I should quilt it with. On Pop Pop's I just did straight line quilting horizontally and vertically, but I don't think that will work here since the flags aren't in even rows/columns. Help! Please keep in mind I am VERY new at quilting and working with a temperamental machine, so fancy stuff like stippling or pebbles are probably beyond my skill set at this point!

Yes, I know the flags are upside down here! But if I rotate the picture the perspective is all screwy.

Here's a closer picture so you can see the fabrics better. The red, white, green and orange have white pin dots, and the beige is sort of a tiny cobblestone print.

A Quilt for Pop Pop

2010-08-14T22:08:00.004-05:00

We're home! The trip went very well, we all had a blast, and I even managed to do a little sewing. I made a little skirt and appliqued shirt for my cousin's daughter's first birthday. I made it on my Mom's machine she uses for scrapbooking! It's a basic little Kenmore but I actually really liked it! If I ever have need for a small traveling machine, I'll be keeping it in mind.
The big project was that Sweden quilt I was making for my Pop Pop. I finished the binding and I am so glad I'm over that "first time" hurdle. It wasn't really as bad as I had built it up to be, and I finished it in a couple of nights. I think Pop Pop is really happy with it. I had it ready just in time for him to return from a visit to Sweden.

I didn't do a lot of quilting on it, and I like the look- If you click on the picture you can see where I quilted, they are basically straight lines horizontally and vertically just inside the yellow stripes and on the edges and middles of the white parts. It's all Kona cotton, and the back is a blue and yellow stripe.

In other news, I picked up (another) vintage sewing machine at a garage sale today! It's super cool, a Universal Zig Zag, and with a little sprucing up I think it will be a great machine. It came with a few extra feet, it's in a table, it has its original instruction manual as well as the cutest little hand drawn threading instructions. It needs a new belt for sure, and a good oiling and cleaning, but get this... It was FIVE DOLLARS! A bargain, I'd say! Once I get her cleaned up I'll post some pictures.

I came home with a to-sew list a mile long, so hopefully I'll have lots to share in the coming weeks. Hope you're having a lovely summer (or winter for my Southern Hemisphere friends!)

Last Minute Sewing... Goodbye Machine!

2010-07-14T15:41:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow morning we're embarking on a month-long trip, starting off with a 16 hour drive. With a five year old and a two year old! Yep, we're a little bit crazy. Now that a month with no sewing machine is upon me, I am thinking of tons of little projects I "need" to finish before we leave.

This morning I whipped up these two travel pillows for my daughters. We're firmly in the "that's not fair" phase, so everything must be identical! The fabric was from the stash, and the girls chose it together. One side is flannel so it will be nice and soft while they (hopefully!) snooze in the car.

We had a surprise this morning when my 5yo announced that her tooth hurt. She was eating an apple and I thought she must have a piece of peel stuck or something. I checked and she has a loose tooth!!! I thought I had at least a few months before we started down this path! Since we're going to be away from home for so long, I'm assuming the tooth will be out before we come back, so of course I had to make a tooth fairy pillow to bring along. I modeled these after some that my Aunt Eunice made for me and my siblings. They are basically a mini blanket with a little pocket on the front. Here's hoping the tooth fairy can find us wherever we happen to be when the tooth comes out!
The pink is from my Momo Wonderland layer cake, and the back is Michael Miller Sea Beauties, which is also on the pocket. Allison LOVES that fabric, and I scoured the internet for enough yardage to make her a duvet cover. We haven't gotten around to that yet, but we did make her a pillowcase with it.

In addition to these little projects, I recently finished what ended up being a MAJOR project, a Butterick 5319 that I'm planning to wear to a wedding in August. Hopefully I'll get some decent pictures at the wedding that I can share here. It was quite an undertaking!!!

I also drafted a quilt top for my grandfather. I was pretty proud of myself on this one, I used graph paper and did math and everything! Just like most other quilt tops I've made, this one is still just a top, but I'm hoping to get it pin basted tonight so I can hand quilt it on the trip!

Here's a bad cell phone pic of my design. Those are Swedish flags.

And here's the finished top- Sorry for another cell phone pic. These are all Kona solids. The blue is too dark for the Swedish flag, but it's not as dark as it looks here.

I'll be bringing my hexagons with me, so hopefully that will take care of my crafty needs for the next month!!!

On my honor, I will do my best...

2010-06-30T23:33:00.003-05:00

... To not let myself get too down when multiple sewing projects in a row don't go as planned! Is there a Sewist's Oath? There should be.

I've had a string of less-than-thrilling sewing glitches lately, and I decided I needed a break from those projects. So I made this pillow.

Don't look too closely, it is not without glitches of its own, but I am really happy with it. This pillow is in honor of my husband's grandfather, Norm. When he died in Fall of 2008, he left his home to his daughters, my mother in law and her sister. His home is a lake cabin in a tiny town in northern Wisconsin. He and my husband's grandmother Beth built the house themselves and it holds a lot of memories for my husband and his family.

When he died we began the monumental task of sorting through YEARS of memorabilia, notes, clothing, tools, fishing gear... Among his things we found a pile of old neck kerchiefs. Norm spent much of his career working for the Boy Scouts of America, and these kerchiefs were part of his uniform at camp. I chose four of the most interesting and made this pillow to keep on the couch at Grampie's House. I believe these are from the mid to late 1960s.

It's wonderful to have the cabin in the family, and we go up as often as we can. My daughters absolutely love visiting, and my older daughter has fond memories of singing around the campfire with Grampie. I hope little touches like this will keep Grampie with us when we're there.

4th of July 2008
L to R: My husband holding our younger daughter, Grampie, and my brother in law and niece.

Skirt Week at Crafter Hours!

2010-06-18T19:39:00.005-05:00

Skirt week entries at Crafter Hours end tonight, so like the last-minute gal I am, here's my entry! I decide a while ago (after Top Week at Made by Rae) that I was going to enter the next such challenge. I love looking at all the entries and getting inspired, but it made me sad that I never saw any big girls in the running. Why don't we big girls enter more of these things? For me, a lot of the reason I got into sewing was so that I could get cute, well-made clothes that fit MY body.

So, I have had this skirt in my mind for a while, after seeing this one at Anthropologie. My version is more mommy-friendly, and I must admit, not nearly as cute. But I committed myself to entering, so while there are MUCH cuter skirts in the running, I have to follow through!

My favorite thing about this skirt is that it cost me ZERO dollars! The main fabric is a charcoal double knit that Joyce sent me in a big box of fabric and notions she found while destashing. It was perfect! Stretchy but still firm enough to hold up the weight of the ruffles. The ruffles are cut from worn out t-shirts that would have been destined for Goodwill, but since I started sewing, most things get put in the "restyle" bin instead! The drawstring was from a box of my husband's grandmother's old trims.

Sadly, I do not have any great pictures of this skirt. Some are poorly lit hanging-up photos, and others were taken by my five year old daughter. She has many wonderful skills, but photography is not one of them.

This one just cracked me up. Little Sister wanted to be in the picture, and I think Big Sister wanted to secretly get her newly created stepping stones into the picture.

P.S. Little Sister was NOT naked, she did have a diaper on!

Craft Hope Project 8: Helping Wildlife

2010-06-08T13:11:00.004-05:00

Craft Hope project 8 is an important one, and an EASY one. The beneficiaries don't have preferences for colors, they don't care if your cutting or stitching is a little wonky, and you will literally be saving their lives.

Countless animals have died, countless more are suffering. Rescuers are working as fast as they can to try to salvage some life amid this devastation, but they need help.

Craft Hope is gathering wash rags to help The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies, the Audubon Nature Institute, and the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge. They need washcloth and dish cloth size pieces. They can be as simple as knit fabric cut into squares and rectangles, or cotton, flannel, terry with finished edges. You could also knit or crochet cotton rags. This is a great project to get your kids involved with.

Check out Craft Hope for all the details on exactly what they need and where to send it. Use that ugly cotton fabric you picked up at a garage sale or inherited from Aunt Sally. The animals won't mind.

(Images courtesy of Huffington Post)

Look what I won!!!

2010-05-22T18:40:00.002-05:00

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day is the gift that keeps on giving! Not only did I get to "meet" lots of great new bloggers, and share some love from this little blog of mine, but I WON something too!!!

I won a set of four patterns from Foot Loose and Fancy Free Boutiq ue. Her shop is here. I won the Crochet Cloche hat pattern, along with the pattern for that pretty ribbon flower attached to it. The hat pattern will be sent along to my buddy Joyce, because as she well knows, crochet is not my strong suit! So not only do I get prizes, but I get to share too!

I also won patterns for the Sew Stylish Pillowcase dress and the Sew Adorable Under Slip. That slip can totally stand alone as a dress, too!

Thank you, Sandra! I can't wait to get started with these!!!

Winners!!!

2010-05-20T22:09:00.002-05:00

Thank you all SO much for joining in! I ended up with a total of 215 comments and gained a few new followers- It's so exciting that folks are interested in what I'm doing!!! Such a welcome change from my husband's usual, "Hm, that's neat" response to my sewing chatter!

HUGE huge thanks to Sew, Mama, Sew for taking on this massive undertaking!

I was SO tickled to read the comments that corresponded to the random number generator-- I love making people happy!

Without further ado, the envelope please...

The winner of the table runner kit was #106, "O My Word!?!" who said "I gotta have this! Thanks for the giveaway!"

The winner of the bias tape maker was #82, Jennifer Ladd, who said, "Great giveaway! I've been wanting to try one of those bias tape makers!" And hey, she's a fellow Wisconsinite! Hi from Madison!

And the winner of the vintage fabric squares was #188, pinsandneedles, who said, "Another awesome giveaway! My favorite is the fabric squares. Thanks!" And she's a midwesterner too!

Ladies, I'll be emailing you shortly, but if you see this before then, send me your mailing addresses and I'll get your prizes out ASAP!!!

For everyone else, I'm sorry I didn't have something for everyone, but thank you SO much for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed Giveaway Day- I'd love to see/hear about what everyone won from other blogs!!!

I have now reached the internet capacity for exclamation point use, so I must end here. Thanks again for stopping by!!! (snuck in three more- HA!)

Book Bags

2010-05-18T03:14:00.006-05:00

Did you know it was already mid-May? And that preschool ends before Memorial Day? Yeah, somehow that slipped my mind. I now have four teacher gifts to make in the next week, as well as a birthday gift for a little girl friend of my daughter's. We didn't get the teachers anything for Christmas or Teacher Appreciation Week, oops! Allison has loved her first year of school and I wanted to make something useful for the teachers. My mom was a teacher and I remember her coming home at the end of the year with dozens of mugs. So, mugs are out! I figure everyone can use a good tote bag, especially teachers, so that's what I'm going to do.

I love this Drawing Room print from Anna Maria Horner, and it's such a nice smooth sateen. I snapped some up when it was on clearance at fabric.com (it still is! Just this colorway for some reason, only $4.54/yard!), intending to make myself a library bag with it. I also thought if I had enough I'd do something like this pillow from Parrish Pl atz. To link where linking is due, she was inspired by Amy a la Mode.How totally cool is that? I'll have to start thinking which book titles I'd use.

But back to the case at hand. Bags for teachers! The pattern repeats four times across the 54" width of the fabric, and I wanted to get as much bag for my buck as possible. My first thought was to just use one column per bag so that I didn't have edges of the next column peeking in. I did french seams, trying to keep it nice and simple. But then I ended up with this sad little 9" x 12" bag. I didn't even bother putting handles on, it wasn't worth it. I guess this one can be that library bag I wanted! After I fix that crooked top hem, that is! Yikes!

So I went back to the drawing board and decided to go wide. I had this teal canvasy fabric that was a close match to one of the "books" so I added that to the sides, boxed the bottom, lined it in a cute ivory and teal polka dot print, and had a much more serviceable teacher bag! I did cut it straight with the grain, by the way, the print is kinda slanty like that.

So do you think it would be odd to give all four teachers the exact same bag? I thought maybe I could use different lining so they'd know whose was whose?

Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway Day!!!

2010-05-17T05:00:00.013-05:00

Comments are closed!!! Winners are listed here!

It's here! It's here! It's finally here!!!

This is my second time participating in Sew, Mama, Sew's Giveaway Day. Hundreds of awesome blogs participate, giving away supplies for sewing, knitting, crafting, quilting as well as handmade items- bags, skirts, kiddo clothes, dolls, jewelry... You name it!!! You get to "meet" lots of new bloggers and maybe win prizes! What's not to love? Just like last time, I have three prizes up for grabs today.

First up I have this adorable table runner kit.

I bought this at Nancy's Notions annual warehouse sale (the first photo is theirs). It was so cute and I knew Giveaway Day was coming, so I grabbed two. It includes the pattern and all the fabric you need to make this cute table runner for Spring! And hey, if a Posie table runner isn't your thing, gift the pattern to a quilting friend, and it's free fabric for you! The second picture shows the fabric, but not the pattern or the big purple ric rac that's included!

Next up, a Clover 1" bias tape maker. I bought myself one a few months ago and it's so much fun. I liked it so much that I bought myself a multi-pack with lots of different sizes, so I expect I'll be using lots more bias trim in the near future! I wanted to share the fun with you- create your own bias tape to match any project! No more "close enough" colors for your trim!

And last, a lovely little stack of vintage 2.5" fabric squares. This is another set of the squares I mentioned in my hexagons post. There are over 100 squares, all of them different! You have so many options with these- make hexagons, try out the quick-piece squares, make fabric baby blocks, cover buttons, or use them for all kinds of quilt patterns! Here are just a few of my favorite prints:
And here's the whole stack:

To win, just comment on this post! I'll draw three names using the random number generator, and the prizes will be awarded in that order: First name wins the table runner kit, second wins the bias tape maker, and third wins the squares. I'd be ever so happy if you'd follow my little corner of the blogosphere, but it's not a requirement for entry and won't get you an extra entry. Equal chances for all! I'll close the giveaway late at night on Thursday, May 20 and will announce the winners then! Good luck and have fun visiting all the fabulous Giveaways today!

Heaps of Hexagons!

2010-05-16T22:08:00.005-05:00

After seeing so many blogs about hexagons, I decided to give it a try. I'd been looking for a project that was all hand sewing, since we spend a lot of time in the summers at a lake cabin in northern Wisconsin. We spend the days fishing and rowing around in our little boat, spotting birds, turtles, all sorts of woodland creatures, and generally having a blast. But once night falls and the girls are asleep, my fingers get itchin' to DO something! We have no internet and no cable (ahhhh... peace!).

So last time we went up I brought a stack of pink scraps of fabric and made a bunch of hexagons. The piece on the left is the result of that trip. I think they'll be the front of a throw pillow for my older daughter's bed.

The pile on the right are the hexagons I made this past weekend. The new ones are 1" hexies, and they are being made from a fabric jackpot I hit at a garage sale recently. Hundreds and hundreds of 2.5" squares, mostly adorable vintage florals mixed with some stripes, checks and polka dots. I sorted them all out and made a stack containing one of every print- I think there are over 200 different prints! I'll add some from my stash and eventually they will all become a lap quilt to keep Up North.

Texas Freckles' blog has played a HUGE part in setting me down this hexagonal path. She warned that they're addictive, and she's right!!! When I started I didn't think I'd get hooked and I just wanted to finish those pink hexies and move on. But then I found those squares, continued reading her blog and picking up tips, and now it's going SO much faster and I'm loving it! I keep all my supplies in one little case so I can bring it with me easily, anytime I think I'm going to be sitting and waiting somewhere. Love it! Thank you Melanie!!!

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T21:51:00.004-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mommies, Grandmas, Great Grandmas, Aunts, Godmothers, sisters, Daddies who are Mommy too, daughters, social workers, teachers, and anyone else who fills the role of Mother.

Fabric flowers tutorial available at Going Sew Crazy. The photo is hers. Isn't it gorgeous???

Percolating...

2010-05-08T21:30:00.004-05:00

I am not a big coffee drinker- When I do drink it it's usually an icy frothy creamy confection from Starbucks that barely qualifies as coffee. But I have this great old percolator coffee maker that belonged to my grandparents. It makes THE best coffee, but my favorite part is when it's brewing, you can see the coffee bubbling and dancing in the little glass knob on top. It sounds so cheerful!!!
So that has absolutely nothing to do with sewing, but that percolatin' feeling is how my sewing life has been lately! I have lots of things going, lots of fun smaller projects finished up, and I'm feeling excited about all of it!

I made two more ModKid Emma skirts for my friend Joyce. I used wooly nylon in the serger for the first time and I absolutely LOVE how it looks in the rolled hem on the skirts' "petals." And I grabbed that knitting book for her at a garage sale for ONE dollar! Joyce is an amazing knitter, I swear she has magical knitting needles.

I also made this Tabitha bag from Flossie Teacakes' pattern for my sister. I bought the pattern from the CraftHope Etsy shop. It was a lot of fun to make, and some of the instructions have become trademark sayings with my sewing group- Such as, "This is a precision moment!" Love it! This was fun for me because I have very different taste from my sis-- This wasn't one I could make from stash fabric, as I had NO solid black fabric at all! Nor zebra. And she sent me pics of Juicy Couture bags because she wanted a bow. Apparently bows on bags are a "thing" now. I had no idea. Hope she likes it!

I have a couple of dresses for myself underway, and even have one almost finished! It's the Prairie Girl dress from Favorite Things, in Amy Butler's Memento fabric. I've got a few tweaks to make to the fitting, and then I'll post pics.

Lastly, I had a fun shopping day today! I went to the annual warehouse sale at Nancy's Notions. I think their demographic skews a little older than my taste (lots of converted sweatshirts and more traditional quilt patterns), but there is still lots to find at great prices! I got a few patterns, this nifty bobbin tower, and loads of fabric. And I picked up two kits to make this Posie Pots table runner:
And guess what? I bought two. I certainly don't need two. Guess what else? Sew, Mama, Sew's Giveaway Day is coming up on May 17! Watch this space!!!

Crafting with Kids

2010-04-16T18:00:00.001-05:00

Let me just say right from the start, this is not one of those feel good "Mom of the Year" type posts about all the wonderful creative things that can be done with empty yogurt cups and glitter. This is a post about what happens when you work really really hard on a project and one of your beloved, wonderful children decides to "improve" upon your work and you see the results and you want to walk right out the front door and hop the next flight to Tahiti.

I can laugh about this now... a little. OK, no, I still can't laugh about it, but I can think about it without my face turning purple. That's an improvement, right?

I made these buttons for the swap over at Feeling Stitchy. My partner was SunnySidey and she sent me the cutest package of buttons with Australian animals embroidered on them. You can see much better pictures than I could take of all the goodies she sent on her blog. The little button pouch is the cutest thing ever, and the candy was YUMMO!

She said she likes Japanese Zakka style, so I tried to do some designs I thought you might find on Zakka fabric. I browsed through her Flickr account and found a few pictures of her cute kitties, so I stitched them too. I learned that she is a fan of Kaffe Fassett so I picked up a couple of fat quarters of his fabric, some locally hand dyed embroidery thread, and sewed up a Buttercup Bag made with Ikea fabric.

I was right up to the deadline to get them in the mail, I had them all laid out ready to pack up, I just needed to buy some candy and off they would go, on their way Down Under. And just as I went to pack them in the box, I saw it. Purple marker scribbles, all over every single button. Lovely swirling squiggles, over through and around each design. I had never before understood the saying, "I saw red." But I did. I think I might have blacked out for a minute. Did I mention that I had already had to layout all the fabric and trace all the designs twice because Allison, my five year old, saw me drawing on the fabric and decided to "help" when I wasn't looking. I was calm and reasonable that time, because how was she to know that she couldn't draw on the fabric when she'd seen me doing it? So I explained that she could never ever do that, gave her some fabric scraps of her own to draw on, and I got the lightbox back out and traced all the designs over again and started stitching.

So anyway- it was disappearing ink, and it did finally eventually all fade away-- You can see the ghosts of some of the squiggles in the picture above. So the package went out late, Sam was very sweet and patient, and the box has now arrived safely at its destination!

But I still can't look at that purple marker without shuddering.

A Pair of Diaper Bags

2010-04-15T20:48:00.005-05:00

Yes, it's been over a month since my last post- Spring has sprung and my children want to be outside all. the. time. All that sunshine and pollen makes me a sleepy Mama and while I have been sewing, the step of taking pictures and posting them just seems insurmountable by the end of the day! But I'm finally adjusting and I've got a few projects to share over the next few days.

Remember those burp cloths I made for my friend Julie and her twins? We decided she needed a nice big diaper bag for carrying all those baby necessities times two. So we browsed patterns and fabrics for days and days- I don't think she knew what she was in for when she asked me to help her choose fabric!

At last, after I showed her WAY too many options, she chose the Modern Diaper Bag from Amy Butler's Little Stitches book and the Melly & Me Flower Garden bag, which I've made before.

For the Modern Diaper Bag, Julie chose Amy Butler fabrics. This bag is HUGE. I mean HUGE. There were some challenges, but overall it was a lot of fun to make. The inside has lots of pockets, and I thought they would be difficult but that part was actually pretty simple, and I can see myself adapting the pocket style in smaller bags.

See what I mean? Huge. This is my five year old sitting inside the bag.

The interior pockets, with a crayon for size reference.

And here it is hanging with the Flower Garden Bag:

The Flower Garden bag is one of my favorite patterns. It's a really great size, the pockets are nice and big, and it's so cute! I altered the pattern a bit and did the exterior pocket panel on both sides- Plenty of room for double the diapers and wipes in the beginning, and for sippy cups and snacks later on! I love the little covered button, too. I still get such a kick out of making them!

Here's the interior- I was so excited about this idea my sewing class buddies and I came up with. I wanted a nice light fabric for most of the lining, so that things don't get lost in the depths. But I didn't want the different fabric to clash with the exterior fabrics, since there's already a lot going on there. I pieced some of the pocket fabric to the top of the lining when I cut it out, so the top few inches of the lining match the exterior, but the rest is nice and neutral! Plus, it adds some structure to the top of the bag so it stays open while you're holding two babies and hunting for that elusive pacifier! Yet another one of those little tricks that is probably common sense to most of the sewing world, but seemed like a huge revelation to me!

And last but not least, I made a couple of dipes & wipes pouches to match the bags. Just the right size for one of those little hard plastic wipes cases (or a Ziploc baggie of wipes!) and a couple of diapers.
That's all for now!

We have a winner! And she has...

2010-03-11T16:55:00.003-06:00

We have a winner! And she has...

Pneumonia!!!

The winner of the T-Fal iron from CSNStores is Julia of NuggleMama and NuggleMe. I checked out her Twitter feed and her husband posted that she's in the hospital battling pneumonia! Hopefully this news will cheer her up when she gets home. If you're a Twitterer, why not hop over and send some get well wishes her way, I know she'd appreciate it!

This post is steamy!!! Giveaway!

2010-03-04T23:44:00.010-06:00

Comments are closed, winner is posted here.

It's a little known fact that sewing is a steamy activity... Hot hot hot!

Of course I'm talking about ironing, what did you think I meant?

A few months ago I got a new iron, and I can't believe what a difference it makes to have a clean, reliable iron. A nice big water reservoir so you're not refilling constantly, a non-stick plate that just glides over the fabric, adjustable steam... Sounds great doesn't it? Want one for yourself?

Here's your chance! You can win THIS IRON, courtesy of CSNstores.com! It's just like my beloved iron, except BETTER! This model is a "step up" from mine, and I'm just a little jealous of you!

Ooooh! Green! Ahhhh! Comfort grip handle!

CSNstores is a parent site for hundreds of specialty stores. There are furniture stores, toy stores, kids bedding, housewares, home decor, luggage, SEWING MACHINES, school and office supplies... Seriously, an endless variety! They also have the cutest little sewing machine ornament that is going on my wishlist!

Want to win this fabulous new iron? Here's what you do. Leave a separate comment for each item, pretty please. Make sure your blogger profile is public, or include an email address so I can reach you if you win!

1. Comment on this post. Any comment is fine, but I'd love it if you'd tell me something funny!
2. Become a follower of this blog, or if you already are, let me know that you are!
3. Blog, Tweet, or post on Facebook with a link to this post.

The giveaway will be open until the afternoon of March 11. CSNstores will ship to a winner in the US or Canada only- sorry to my international readers, I'll have another giveaway soon! I'll post here when the giveaway closes, I'll contact the winner to get their info, and the iron will ship directly from csnstores! Easy peasy. Good luck!!!

The Big 5-0!

2010-03-01T23:23:00.002-06:00

I just reached 50 followers, so I think a giveaway is in order... Watch this space in the next few days!

In the meantime, I wanted to share a few cool links I've stumbled across recently.

Dolly Donations for Haiti. Sarah started this wonderful program to send dolls to less fortunate children all around the world. Her current project will send 181 (or more!) dolls to children in Haiti through the Abundant Ground Foundation. Her site provides a free patterns and tutorials. She's shipping the dolls to Haiti on March 31, so if you want to help out, get cracking! I'm planning to make one or two and have my daughters pick out their clothes.

This tutorial for binding a quilt, by Amy at Diary of a Quilter is one of the best and clearest I've seen (and I've looked at a LOT of them!). I still haven't attempted it, because I'm a big fat chicken, but when I do, this is the tutorial I'll use!

Here's a nifty trick for making a pillowcase! I can't find a blog for the maker, but her YouTube name is scruplesanddrams.

So there's your random assortment of cool links for the day! Keep an eye out for the giveaway, it will appear in the next couple of days!

The Bag Lady

2010-02-26T08:01:00.000-06:00

That's what my sewing teacher calls me! I do love making bags- They are useful, you can use funkier fabrics that might be too much to wear but that are too pretty to pass up. And best of all they don't have to FIT anyone!

Here are a couple of my most recent efforts. First is McCall's 6 045, view A. I love the size of the bag, and I'm pretty pleased with how the zipper turned out- It's my first bag with a zipper top. The inside has exposed seams that you are supposed to hide with bias binding... I tried and got angry, so I am using it just the way it is, exposed seams and all. And I am OK with that! I also got a little creative with the handle placement.

Second is a pattern that's been in my collection for ages, and it took a reorganization of the fabric stash for me to finally get moving on it! It's the Amy Butler Birdie Sling bag, and I used an Amy Butler print for the body. I LOVE how it turned out though I was shocked at how big it was! I guess I'd have known if I'd looked at the pictures more closely, but I just somehow wasn't expecting such a roomy bag. I love the curved gussets, I don't know why I've never seen that done before! I think I'll be doing that on some of my basic totes, too. I added a button and loop to the top so that things don't topple out when this is rolling around the floor of my car, as all my bags eventually do.

(I should just add an apology for the poor pictures to my default signature.)

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T23:23:00.003-06:00

I hope you had a great day with your loved ones and that there was plenty of chocolate involved! I had a lot of fun with my hubby, my girls, and my in-laws and adorable niece. I even got some sewing time in. My husband conquered his fear of fabric stores and bought me a gift card to Joann... Even though we said we weren't getting each other gifts and I had nothing but a little bag of candy for him! I'm making a list of Simplicity patterns so I can catch the last day of the $1 sale tomorrow- Have a favorite bag, skirt, or little girl pattern? I'd love to hear about it.

Today I made eight pillowcases for the One Million Pillowcase Challenge. I used one of the free patterns on the challenge website, and I figured out after the first few that it was much faster to go in assembly line fashion. I got it down to about 15 minutes per pillowcase. I have to admit, all the straight lines and repetition got a little boring, but it's a good cause and I think the cases are really cute! I'll drop them off at Stitcher's Crossing tomorrow. Last time I was there they had just gotten Denyse Schmidt's Hope Valley in stock, so maybe I'll pick myself up a little reward while I'm there!

A Skirt for My Valentine

2010-02-10T21:45:00.003-06:00

Allison (my five year old) had her first school Valentine's Day party today. I always loved Valentine exchanges, in school and later at work, so I was as excited as she was! I let her choose her own valentines, and offered to help her make some handmade ones, but she chose the little cardboard Princess Tiana cards with a pencil attached. I can't blame her, I always loved those little cards. I try to limit licensed characters for the girls, but the Disney princesses seem to have somehow become exempt from that goal.

I'm a big fan of dressing for holidays- not dressing up necessarily, just in keeping with the theme of the day. I always wore pink or red on Valentine's Day, green on Saint Patrick's Day, pastels on Easter... So now, while they're still young enough to wear what I want them to wear, my girls dress for holidays too!

I made the Easy Peasy Skirt that comes with the ModKid Nina pattern. I really need to make that shirt, I love it, just haven't found the "just right" fabric yet.

So here is Allison's Valentine skirt. It really is easy peasy and I made it in about 15 minutes.

Unfortunately I could not get a picture of it on her because she would not stop spinning and twirling. Did you know that Valentine's Day in preschool now involves a LARGE quantity of candy? When I was a kid I remember a stack of little cards and envelopes- Apparently that has evolved into a massive pile of cookies, lollipops and m&m's... Hence, the spinning and twirling. As I write this she is tossing and turning in bed, wide awake.

Did you make something special for Valentine's Day? I'd love to see it!

Baby gifts, pillowcases, and embroidered buttons!

2010-02-06T23:30:00.004-06:00

I seem to be in an unfinished project zone right now- That shirt I mentioned the other day is still not fixed, but at least now I have a plan. This week I started a skirt that needs some fine tuning- some darts, finishing the hem and side slits... simple little things. So what did I work on tonight? A completely unrelated (but much more rewarding!) pair of projects.

My friend Julie has the sweetest little brand new twins- a boy and a girl. I hear that baby boy is quite the spitter, and Julie mentioned a favorite type of burp cloth. She showed me a picture and I took it from there- I made five in "boyish" flannel and two for the girly-babe.

I also pulled out a bunch of fabric to make pillowcases for the One M illion Pillowcase Challenge sponsored by American Patchwork and Quilting. The pillowcases will be donated to children's hospitals, women's shelters, nursing homes- Anywhere a little something special might be needed. My local quilt shop is a drop-off location, so I won't even have to mail them! As I understand it, the participating shops donate the pillowcases locally, so I'm helping right here in my community! Love that.

Here's some of the fabric that I pulled from the stash for potential pillowcases:

And tonight I signed up for the Embroidered Button Swap at Feeling Stitchy. I haven't posted about embroidery here, but before I started sewing I was way into hand embroidery- It was really my gateway into sewing! I used to buy plain boring bags so I could embroider them, and I had to learn a bit about bag construction to take them apart enough to embroider. Then I decided I should just learn to make bags myself, and off I went! But I digress... The swap looks like a lot of fun and I can't wait to see who my swap partner is!

Quick-Piece Squares Pillow Cover

2010-02-01T23:47:00.004-06:00

Ever since my friend Julia mentioned this awesome Quick Piece Squares tutorial, I've been wanting to try it. After a disappointing finish on a shirt (I'll share more about that later, after I make an attempt to salvage it), I needed a fun, relatively simple project- And it needed to be something that didn't need to FIT anyone! So I decided to try this patchwork and see what it became. I let my five year old daughter (She turned 5 last week! Happy Birthday Allison!) pick out the squares, and I think she did a good job! This didn't make much of a dent in scrap mountain (and oh, how it's grown since that picture!), but it was a lot of fun! They started out as 3" squares, and the trim is more of that awesome shot cotton, in Ginger.

Now, for some reason, pillow covers never go very well for me. I never get that nice tight fitted look. I started out making this for an 18" pillow insert and it was just floppy and weird. I happened to have a 20" insert as well, so I stuck that in there and it's a little better but... Meh, I just don't know. I am in a sewing slump and I need something to come out really really well, soon!

Here's the pillow, I'm happy with it, since I know it will primarily be used to break the fall when my girls launch themselves off the couch, or as a headrest for the pampered pup who rarely sleeps without her head on a pillow. And it's a bright spot of color, which is desperately needed as we head into the, "OMG is it STILL winter???" phase of the year.

ModKid Emma and... Another Buttercup Bag!!!

2010-01-28T14:34:00.007-06:00

Pink Day is coming up at my big girl's preschool, so I wanted to make something cute for her to wear (since I totally spaced out on Red Day. Bad Mama.) I have a backlog of ModKid patterns that I want to make, and I LOVE the Julia skirt I made for her a while back, so I decided to give Emma a try.

I used quilter's cotton for all the pieces. It's cute, but would definitely be cuter with something floofier. The pattern suggests making only 6 or 7 petals if you're using cotton for the whole thing. I made 6 petals for this one. If you don't have a serger, I think this would be a fairly frustrating project-- Hemming all those petals would not be my idea of a good time. But a rolled hem on a serger is a cute and quick finish for the petals. I made this from stash fabrics and threads so I was limited on serger thread colors. I used white on the pink petals and pale pink on the butterfly petals. It would be really neat with contrasting colors on the edges! I think I'm going to make a shirt to go with this skirt by appliqueing a butterfly onto a store bought t-shirt.

So... I might be a little bit addicted to these Buttercup Bags! They are just so fast and easy and endlessly customizable and use so little fabric. A perfect instant satisfaction project. Here's my latest. I think I'm going to add a nice wooden button to it.

Another Buttercup Bag and I won!

2010-01-26T01:06:00.006-06:00

I love the blog over at Sew, Mama, Sew. They have awesome tutorials, pattern reviews, and giveaways- I almost always enter the giveaways and today I won a yard of free fabric!!! Yay!

Tonight I sneaked away from the cranky teething two year old and made another Buttercup Bag. This one is also a refashion! I picked up two placemats at Goodwill (a fantastic fabric resource). I also got an awesome vintage sheet with orange flowers, two yards of neutral batik, and two incredibly soft flannel pillowcases with the cutest blue flowers- The pillowcases will soon become skirts for the girls!

But I digress- back to the bag. The placemats were woven like Kaffe Fassett shot cotton (another fave of mine!), the warp was one color and the weft another. In this case the colors were dark turquoise and wheat. When I first assembled the bag I topstitched the band with a contrasting thread. I decided I didn't like it after I'd already sewn the two sides together. So rather than take it all apart, I decided to hide it with my first attempt at decorative trim! I think it looks really cute- Far from perfect, but I don't know why I shied away from trims for so long!

This blog is called Sleepytime Sewing, so you'll have to excuse the fact that all of my pictures are wonky and dark. We get so little sunlight here anyway, that even if I could sew before 10pm, the pictures wouldn't be much better!

I love the crafting community!

2010-01-21T17:41:00.007-06:00

First of all, I have to send out MAJOR kudos to the folks at Craft Hope. As of this morning, the Craft Hope for Haiti shop has raised... are you ready for this? More than $20,000. All through donations. In less than 4 days. That is incredible. More than 1300 items have been donated, ranging from soap to clothing to bags to quilts to jewelry and everything in between. Absolutely incredible. There's still lots to choose from, check it out by clicking the Craft Hope button over there ------->

I love how the crafting community feels so small. Looking through the Craft Hope donations I saw so many crafters I recognized because I follow their blog or have admired their work somewhere. And today, while feeling all warm and fuzzy about this small world, a prize I won in a giveaway arrived! Confessions of a Sewing Dork offered up this adorable dress a couple of weeks ago- It's so cute and would fit both of my girls, so I entered and I won! It arrived today and looks incredibly cute on my big girl. The little girl hasn't tried it yet but I know it will be lovely on her, too!

I also wanted to share something I made for ME this week. It's the Sew Liberated Schoolhouse Tunic in a linen blend. I made the shirt version and I LOVE it! I am debating whether it needs some trim or something to jazz it up, but I think I need something simple like this in my wardrobe- I can jazz it up with jewelry and a fun skirt! It has two pleats in the front and one in back and is so comfy! It's obviously made to wear a camisole or tank underneath- Which is great for me because I always layer my shirts and I have TONS of tanks in every color imaginable.

I am planning to make another one with my hoarded stash of Amy Butler's pink coriander. It looks better on a person than it does on a hanger, but I hate having my picture taken. So for now, this will have to do!

My big girl turns 5 this Saturday, so we are off to order a birthday cake! Have a great weekend!

Craft Hope for Haiti

2010-01-18T11:11:00.006-06:00

Last night I completed a bag to donate to the Craft Hope for Haiti Etsy shop. They are getting so many wonderful submissions, and lots of great crafters are working hard behind the scenes to keep up with listing everything. As of this posting they have already had 406 sales and there are currently 104 items for sale and they have raised over $7,000 for Doctors without Borders. In TWO DAYS!!!

Here's my little contribution- A Buttercup Bag, using the awesome free pattern from Made by Rae. She wrote back so quickly when I wrote to ask permission to use the pattern for this donation! Edited: It's up!!! (edited again) and it's sold!!!

Lots of great raffles and other giving opportunities are still going on!

Helping Haiti

2010-01-14T22:58:00.010-06:00

Like so many people around the world, I have looked at pictures, watched videos, and read reports coming out of Haiti over the last couple of days. The feeling of helplessness is unbearable and I have donated what money I can (Here's a reputable list of charities you can donate to- If you know of others, please link to them in the comments.)

But as a crafter, the urge to DO something is so strong. I can't go to Haiti myself, so I've been searching for ways I can do something more concrete than sending off a few dollars. Here are a few things I've found, and I thought I'd share them in case you'd like to do something too. Granted, most of the funds raised through these efforts will be going to the same places as your $5 or $10 dollar text message donations, but these support the crafting community at the same time. I will add more options as I find them.

Donate something hand made to the Craft Hope Etsy shop. "The Craft Hope Etsy shop will allow crafters to donate products and allow folks to purchase them. With 100% of the proceeds going to charity." Not a crafter yourself? Check out the shop and buy something.

Shop at Indie Fixx's Haiti Relief Fundraiser Auction.

If you happen to be in the NYC area and can be in Brooklyn on Monday, here's an event you could help out with. "Volunteers will learn to sew to create wrap skirts for women and children who have been devastated by the earthquake... Volunteers who can sew, cut, fold fabric, pack boxes and enjoy working together should come to our studio!"

AP Photo/Gerald Herbert - A Spanish rescuer carries two-year-old Redjeson Hausteen after he was rescued from a home that collapsed during Tuesday's earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010. © All rights reserved.

As I've mentioned before, I loved babywearing my girls. I'm a huge advocate of the benefits of babywearing, and I love to support the babywearing community. Many vendors have put together raffles to raise funds for Haiti. If you win and don't have a child to wear, you could donate the sling to a local babywearing or breastfeeding advocacy group, or to a women's shelter, thus doubling your giving!

Sleeping Baby Productions is raffling off three ring slings. All proceeds will go to the International Red Cross.

Piece of Cloth has three wraps and one custom dye job up for their raffle.

Sweet Pickles is donating 5% of profits from all January sales. They are also researching ways to get babywearing and breastfeeding information into Haiti.

McKinley Kidz is raffling off a $100 gift card. Proceeds will be split between UNICEF and Partners in Health.

QuirkyBaby is raffling off a $100 gift card with proceeds going to Doctors Without Borders.

I will add to this list as I find more options, please share any reputable charitable opportunities you know of in the comments.

ADDED 1/15
Here are some adorable tie dyed onesies by Frugal Adeline- Kindred Crafters is paying the shipping, so 100% of the proceeds will go to Haiti.

Zerberts is currently donating 10% of their profits to disaster relief.

Hotslings will be donating 50% of all online retail sales MONDAY January 18 to The Red Cross for Haiti.

Mama by Design: For every Calyx baby carrier ordered between Monday Jan.11 through Monday, Jan. 18, $5 will go to Mercy Corps for their Haiti relief effort.

Anna Maria Horner's Multi-Tasker Tote

2010-01-10T21:43:00.006-06:00

Trick or treat? When I was waaay too far into this project to turn back, it occurred to me that this might be a little too orange and black... I asked my hubby and he said it did look a little Halloween-ish. But I plowed through and it's growing on me! This is the Anna Maria Horner Multi-Tasker Tote, and I used Ikea home decorator weight fabric for the exterior and pocket panels.

This was one of the first patterns I've made that I really had to just trust in the directions and sort of sew blind at some points. Usually I can see the "why" of a given step in a project, but at times, with this bag, I was sure something was going to go terribly wrong. But it never did, and I kept having light bulb moments when I saw how each step came together. That actually made this project a lot of fun, it felt like lots of little victories! I wouldn't necessarily say it's a difficult pattern, but if I'd attempted it as a complete beginner I think I would have gotten frustrated. The directions are clear and well-written, but you can't make any assumptions about what comes next, there were some definite construction differences here from the average bag.

I debated whether I needed to use interfacing since I was using a heavier fabric (and since I didn't have enough interfacing in one piece and I'd have to scrap it together!). I remembered that my friend Becky made this bag last year, so I asked her what she thought and she recommended using it. I'm glad I did, it does make for a more structured bag, although if you like slouchy or want a bag that scrunches up small you could do without if you're using a fabric with any stiffness to it.

Inside the bag.

The straps act as drawstrings on the sides of the bag, so when it's all the way open it's VERY roomy! There's a nice big pocket on the inside with a key loop. The bottom is structured with fusible heavyweight/very firm interfacing, and I think I'll really like that feature. The pattern recommends sewing some sections into the pocket and I didn't do that. It's a wide pocket and if I put my phone in there it would likely tumble out. But I'm planning to use it for my wallet and it's just the right size for that. Plus, I fussy-cut the pocket piece to show the bird and I didn't want to sew through his head! I'm odd like that. But you could sew in pen slots, a just-right-size pocket for your phone, iPod, whatever!

My favorite feature of this bag are the four deep pockets on the outside. They are the perfect size for drinks- For size reference, the picture shows a 27 oz. Klean Kanteen and a Thermos Funtainer. I could easily get two more in the other side. The pockets wrap around and have a seam down the middle. This will be perfect for the farmer's market when everyone has their own drink!

The only thing I'd change about this pattern is adding a magnetic snap or maybe a button and loop at the top. It's such a nice big bag that I'm worried it will gape when I start to fill it up. But then again, it's a tote and should be easy to toss things into! So, I'll use it for a bit and report back.

(I don't know why my pictures appear blurry here- If you click them to see the full-size version, they are clear!)

Dear Santa: A Haiku

2009-12-17T19:12:00.002-06:00

Dearest Santa Claus
You've always been kind to me
Even though I'm old.

For Christmas this year
Some new fabric would be "Swell."
Yes, I've been Nicey!

Maybe I could sew
Something nice for Mrs. Claus?
You've been working late.

A nice springy bag
To bring on the vacation
She so much deserves

It's hard for Mama
When Daddy works extra hours
(Assuming you've kids?)

A fat quarter pack
Of lovely Swell Nicey Jane
From Heather Bailey

Wrapped under my tree
Would be the most perfect gift
For this sleepy Mom!

Wondering why I wrote a rambling haiku?? Check out the Fat Quarter Shop's awesome Dear Santa Giveaway!!!

Holiday Gifts... so far!

2009-12-15T13:58:00.005-06:00

I am so excited to be hand-making lots of Christmas gifts this year. Last year at Christmas I had just started sewing and my confidence level only extended to rice bags- Which were nowhere near as fancy as the ones in that link! But this year I am feeling more confident and am making bags, an apron, a wall quilt, some capes, oven mitts, a kid-sized Snuggie (Yes, really!), a hat/mittens/scarf set... And I am sure there's more I'm forgetting. Not exactly sure how I'm going to get all of this done, but I'll figure it out somehow!

Here are a few things I've finished or nearly finished so far! All of these are for a handmade gift swap. I don't think my swap partner reads this blog, but if she does... Um, act surprised Serena!

Oven mitts from Lotta Jansdotter's book Simple Sewing. One is for the swap and one is for ME! The fabric is an Alexander Henry Christmas print from a few years ago, "Merry Modernica." I only had a fat quarter and it was just enough, and now I wish I had more! I love the colors.

A "Little Forest" quilted wall hanging. I got the instructions from The Purl Bee and it was so fun to make! I copied their layout but did only 6 rows instead of their 8, simply because I didn't have any more green scraps I liked enough! I think it still looks nice this way. It's about 15" by 22", and it went together fairly quickly, even for a beginner like me.

So far I've only pieced the top, and I think I am going to wimp out and finish it by turning, topstitching and tying. I just can't get quilting and binding to look nice. Anyone have a favorite tutorial?

I made an apron using Butterick/See & Sew B5125. For the life of me I cannot get a good picture of it! This picture at least shows the fabrics, but I really need a dress form to get better pictures of things like this. The red is the body and the other print is the ruffle at the bottom and the ties. It's really cute, I hope she likes it!