Happy Harry Potter Day!!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Green Grocery Bag Challenge

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!