Book Bags

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 Platz. 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!!!

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!

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!

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...

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

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

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...

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!

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!

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!