Category Archives: sewing

Have a bad day? Make yourself a bag, it helps!

So I’ve been working on Keyka Lou‘s bracelet bag in a little sew along with my friend.  We only get to it every second Tuesday when we have our night in at my house and we have the kids.  Needless to say we don’t get much sewing done until about 8pm and by then it’s almost time for her to leave.  So this week I had a bad day and in a grumpy moment I decided to just finish my bag to cheer my myself up.  It worked wonders!

I used this cute little button because it looks like the inside of a tree and I figured it went well with the fabric.  I *think* it’s a Heidi Grace print but I’m not sure, can’t seem to find it to prove that, but I’m pretty sure I got it at Joann’s.  It’s a great size, there’s a inside and outside pocket.  I added a button hole to my outside pocket, which was a fantastically easy thing to do with my Babylock!!  I just may have to post a video of that so everyone can marvel, it was insanely easy.

The bag is also awesome for hanging on your wrist so you can still have 2 hands, hence the name bracelet bag.  I tried to take a photo of that in action but I was alone and dashing outside for a minute away from the kids so it’s not the best shot but you get the idea.

Teehee!

Thanks to some linky love from Mollie over at Wild Olive I’ve found some new blogs floating around the net.  Here’s something awesome I stumbled upon the other day over at the Quilted Cupcake.  Isn’t it so fun?!

I just might have to ‘transform’ my Singer now.  It’s my ‘juice pouch’ sewing machine now that I have a fancy pants Babylock.  Might be fun to dress it up a bit.

First Home Ec project!

I’ve been a bit of a slacker lately with my online classes.  Don’t know if my brain just isn’t into it because I’m not in school right now and it’s still vacation or what, but I managed to get my act together and finish the tote project we were assigned in Home Ec.  Actually, not only did I finish it, I finished it twice!!  I decided to make the boys bags for when we go to the library.  I also thought they’d be a good place to keep the library books during their stay in our house so I can find them easily when it’s time to return them.  But now I’m thinking these bags are so cute they’d make great overnight bags too.  I used my cricut to cut out some big letters on cardstock and used those as a template to cut the felt.

I did make this a few days ago, LA included the tutorial from her blog as a bonus in the class, but I’ve been making those for months so it doesn’t really count as part of my ‘homework’.  I added the rick rack to be fun, and cause myself some headache, I still haven’t perfected the use of that stuff!

Another part of my day in Toronto, Mokuba!

While wandering Queen street we spotted some ribbon through a store window and figured, as crafty gals, it might be a fun store. So we went it and couldn’t believe it. Mokuba is an entire store of ribbon!! Lace, trim, ribbon, ruffles, frilly stuff . . . it was crazy. It’s a huge normal store sized store just full of shelves and rolls and bins of ribbon!

Strangely enough I didn’t actually need anything but I did wander through and snap some pictures on my phone.

My first zippered project!

I went downstairs last night to make something that was consuming my brain.  I did the usual, ‘oh I’ll just work through 1 show and then go to bed’ and as usual didn’t go to bed until hours later.  After completing enough to get my creation out of my head inspiration struck while looking at some of my new lovely fabric scraps.  Originally I wanted to attempt the boxy pouch but quickly realized none of my scraps were the right measurements.  So I ventured off on a journey to make a lined pencil case type thingie.  And boy did it turn out to be quite the journey!!

After much stitch ripping, brain scrambling and muttered potty mouth words I have a very sweet and cute Snow White zippered pouch!  I even got fancy and stitched one of my new labels into it.  Shout out to Jennifer for those wonderful little labels by the way.

I only had the one zipper, there was a trip to the fabric store this morning.

Scrap shopping!

Thanks to a post over on Keyka Lou I was enlightened to the fact that people sell scraps on Etsy.  Cute fun little packets of odds and ends of fabric from their stashes.   So off to Etsy I went to do a little search.  I think I got a little carried away.

I went to The Hey Day Shop and couldn’t decide between the 3 stash listings she had for sale, so I bought them all.

There’s even more listed right now . . must . . . resist . . .

I also went to Funky Good Stuff and picked up 2 bundles. It arrived yesterday and it was full of a bunch of cute fairy tale fabrics! Snow White, Little Miss Muffet, Goldilocks and Rapunzel, they’re all so cute.

Finally I picked up some cute bird themed scraps from Starlit Nest who has odds and ends for sale and even offers a subscription program that lasts 6 months of fun scraps arriving in your mail box every month!

Oh AND I had some fun ordering some cute fat quarters from Bytinster. There’s some really adorable stuff there right now! I’m loving these.

Girly Handmade Beginnings pants this time!

I was so happy to get to pick out some fun and girl-ish stuff to make for the lovely baby Samantha.  I also got fancy and appliqued some t-shirts to go with the reversible pants.  Needed a nice thoughtful gift and a break from being a pillow factory.

You can’t really see but there are little brown, pink and white birds on the first pants.  I added some brown with white polka dot fabric to the inside to make rolling up the pant legs more fun.  On the second pair of pants I actually cut the leg shorter and added that bank of green apple fabric so when she grows bigger and can’t roll up the pant legs they’ll still look like they have a fun contrasting cuff.

Now I just have to get her counting book all done! :)

Triple Double Rainbow pillows!

Apparently my double rainbow pillow has been making some rounds on facebook!  Now it’s like domninoes, my etsy store is getting some link love.  I’m getting emails asking me to make more.  As I list them they’re selling!  It’s crazy!

Thanks Facebook, as if you didn’t already steal enough of my time guess what I have to do all weekend!  :)

Need a pin cushion?

I sure don’t!

Thanks to LA‘s tutorial way back when and an addiction that seems to have returned (probably due to a growing pile of fun scraps) I’ve created a few pin cushions. I think I’ll need to go around in September when I’m back at work and find out who sews or crafts and start giving them away!

Vintage sheet fun!

My in laws are doing some renovating and I noticed some old sheets in the basement protecting the wine from all the dust.  So I went ahead and asked for them!  They’re a little beat up, used for painting drop sheets in the past it appears but I’m hoping to find some usable chunks of fabric.

I’m hoping I can get a skirt out of those, or at least one of them.

This one is just awesome!  It was stuffed into a vent in the ceiling and appears to have some moldy spots on it hopefully I can still get some fun use out of it.