baby gift!

this is so adorable.

who can you make this set for?

Dish Towel Bag

I'm totally inspired by this idea for a tote made from a dish towel and extra fabric. But have been looking for dish towels for months now and haven't seen what I like. Still, seems like a short cut to a cute tote. Perhaps as a teacher gift or hostess gift?
* * * * *

UPDATE: I finally made this, but have to tell you... it is just a basic tote and a small one at that. IF you find a dish towel that you fall in love with but don't know what to do with it, then YES, this may be the right tutorial. But I really stretched it and ended up using the towel on the inside instead of the outer layer and really would have enjoyed working with 2 fabrics instead of the dish towel.

But, now I know I can do totes! And Jen (in case you are reading this), should this go to Mom, Ann or Ellie? It can only fit about a book, reading glasses and a little more. Let me know!

A quick weekend project...

I had some extra time to sew this weekend - and instead of working on my quilt, or making bags like I should be doing, I made some new curtains for my living room.

My living room has been a cozy place to be, full of warm, rich colors... but suddenly, I want LIGHT! Light, fresh colors.... the golden yellow walls could stay, because they seem lighter yellow when the room is light - but all of the dark pillows and the curtains had to go. I recovered the pillows last month - but they just stood out against everything else. Until now. Now it all makes sense.

The stripes are made of a charm pack of Amy Butler fabrics from her Midwest Modern collection - I just took out all the pink ones (I'm using them for a patchwork bag, and Josh is not a fan of pink. Yes, I'm blaming it on him... heh heh). Total sewing time = approx. 1 hour.


Best part? Total price = $12!!! Can you tell the white fabric is 2 $2.99 sheets from Goodwill? Total college decorating, but I think I classed it up a bit. What do you guys think?

Leigh

Hip Jean Makeover

Erin saw jeans like this for sale at a craft fair and called me asking me if I'd try them. Actually she just said "You can totally do this and sell them for $40 or more!" I'm not ready to sell, but I do love them!! This first pair goes to Amelia since it was her mom's idea. But, I'm ready to add some length to my niece's jeans since she is so tall and outgrows the length before the waist.

I cut off the jean and then used the shape as a general guide for cutting the fabric but adding width for the pleats. I made marks for the pleats and pinned to determine how wide the fabric needed to be. I sewed the new fabric together length wise and then sewed along the bottom 1/4" seam allowance and a top stitch before pinning it around the jean. 1/4" seam allowance all around with right sides together (see photo of folded fabric), press down the new fabric and top stitch ribon or ric rac. YEAH! Would love to have a machine with an arm for this project, but as long as I went slowly, it was fairly easy!

may i have this dance?

don't be fooled.  while it looks like she's offering us her bum, my girl twirls all day long in her new tutu.  a friend gave it to us for a pantie party (yes, we celebrate potty training with a party) gift, and we've since hardly taken it off.  and, of course, because there are two cute bums in this house, we made another one as soon as possible to eliminate quarreling ballerinas.  simple, simple to make! the only sewing is to sew the elastic in to a loop.  then you simply cut the toile in to strips, and tie it in the middle of the piece on to the elastic.  i used three whole 25 ft. rolls, and this makes a nice, generous, full tutu.  wanted to post because this is a great gift for any little girls that like to dress up on an everyday occasion!  our favorite outing so far in the tutus was the trip for m and ac to lowes with daddy. 

ditto.

except, i've got different fabrics.  here's a shot, above, of all of the cuts and the paper/graph ordering system, that is my saving grace on this project.  i've got double the amount of fabric, because i'm making a twin sized quilt, not the lap size.  common' ladies, not too late to join!

Part 1 of my quilt-along with Kelly and the rest of the blog world.

heh heh...

Ok - I'm in love with quilting. I've been obsessed for a little while, but I was busy making bags and stuff. But Kelly's gentle question of "Do you want to do this with me?" let me jump in with both feet. Kelly and I went shopping for fabrics, and then we washed and cut and cut and cut. Last night, we got on the phone and started sewing. Here's what I have...

My Block A's...



And my Block B's...

I love these colors together. I am using them everywhere - and I love the fabrics that I got for this quilt. It just makes me so happy. I can't WAIT to see it done!

Next time - maybe more quilt blocks? If not, I'll show some bags that I've been making. And Kelly - I stocked up on some PINKS!

Leigh

Luck of the Irish!

Jen-- this post is for you!! Now YOUR blanket is done!! And instead of for Logan, we can give it to Brother's son. YEAH!
****
My sister, Jen, picked out this fleece and satin binding. I loved the simplicity of this blanket and thought it turned out very cute. The fleece was a little stretchy, but looked fine at the end. I've never used binding tape and learned to make a mitred corner from this video. However, I need to pay attention to how she did the last corner!

Another tip is after making the diagonal angle, put your finger under the angle to smooth the silk binding and push it all the way to the opposite corner which will give it more of a 45 degree angle. This makes more sense if you are doing it than reading it. Last note: if you need more binding, I read that you should join 2 pieces at an angle to prevent fraying and it looked nice, too!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

quilt along

leigh and i are going to make this.
there's a quilt-along on this gals blog.
we're about a week or two behind, but think
we can play catch up, since she's just at the cutting part.
ha.
i've got a two year old who is outgrowing her crib.
i'm sizing this up to a fit her new big girl daybed.
leigh is making the lap-size one so that
she has something to snuggle up to when
she watches american idol and so you think you can dance.
ha again.
do you ladies want to join us in the fun?
who doesn't need a mod quilt in the house somewhere, SERIOUSLY?

Mail Sack Bag

Happiness is a new mail sack! I bought this pattern online - made by Pink Chalk Studio. I installed my first zipper! Its a little wonky but it works. Ben continues to shake his head as my bag choices get bigger and bigger. Love it though!

Dresses and tunics

This dress was a DIY kit I bought off Etsy as an intro to getting used to a pattern (I still haven't tried one!). I loved the Amy Butler prints and it is a style that I had seen a woman selling at the Farmer's Market. The beauty of this design is that it is a dress first but then can become a shirt to wear like a tunic for when the girl gets a bit older.

Meghan's pillowcase dresses (please share, Meghan!) are very similar and that is my next dress to try. But for now, just sharing a finished product!

6 years later!

My sister just gave me a blanket that I cut and pinned almost 6 years ago-- ready to hand sew and give my friend when she had her baby! Well, it was a good idea, but my friend's baby is now in Kindergarten and has 2 younger siblings. Obviously this fabric sat in a bag for a while until I gave it to my sister who was going to take up sewing. That didn't happen (YET, Jen!) so it came back to me this week. Less than 1/2 hour after starting, I finally have my baby blanket!! I love it-- even the uneven border that a woman on a boardwalk surrey would not notice. See how far I've come since my last post?


Question for you advanced sewers: Others would "quilt" a blanket this size to keep the lining from slipping, etc. It is sewed into the border. I don't know how to "quilt" the blanket. Would you do anything else to it to help it last longer? If so, what?

aaww yeah, that's phat!

a whole assortment of fat quarter tutorials!

check them out here.

Minky Binky Lovey-Boo Woobie

I finally made a woobie/ lovey blanket!! Instead of the 30x30 that Meghan has made (beautiful ones!) and that Quilting Adventures has nicely cut out (FYI-- all cut and ready to sew... great last minute baby gift), I wanted a slightly smaller 20x20 blanket that would be a lovey. I'm finally meeting my friend's 3 month old baby this week!!! I used minky fabric my friend gave me mixed with some new flannel. I love both of these, although I don't understand how simple math and squares can end up a little lopsided. I think I need to get more comfortable with that aspect of "homemade with love." I added Logan to a photo for perspective although you don't necessarily need it for this simple project!

Notes for future lovies: I would leave the lining out for a true lovie vs using lining for a blanket. I would also add the satin binding around the edges.