Category Archives: sewing

Juice totes and my son’s counting book in progress . . . . finally.

Although it feels like I haven’t been very crafty lately somehow I’ve managed to create things.  I finally assembled my German juice pouches, from Spain, into a cute little tote that I now use as my work bag.  If work is at a school is it a ‘school bag’?

When I came upstairs with it my husband said, ‘Oh cool, are you going to sell that one?’.  I nearly died, after all that drinking and saving and trying to explain with gestures to the maid at the resort the pouches weren’t garbage . . . AND packing them to fly to England and then back to Canada!  No way.  This bag is mine!  Plus they say ‘kirsch’!  How cool is that?

I’m going to visit my cousin tomorrow for the night, I’m packing the cover and some pages for Nate’s counting book.  Some embroidery is needed so perhaps I can get that done while the gaggle of our 5 children play.  Here’s a shot of the #1 page, there’s a robot on it.

I’m taking her daughters some crayon cozies gone wrong, I cut them a tad too short and they only hold 15 crayons instead of 16.  They’ll still like them and I figured rather than waste fabric I’d make them anyway.  I also made them  some little juice pouch totes as well.  Lately some of students in my class have been bringing them for lunch so the lunch lady has been saving them for me.

A brilliant idea for lost lonely single socks.

As if losing my own socks wasn’t enough, then there was a husband’s socks for me to lose.  Now there’s 2 little ones and more socks I have to keep tracks of!!  So I’ve been keeping this little pile of lonely socks lying around for months ‘just in case’ the other sock reappears.  Then I had an idea.  Wednesday I brought home a paper box from work and started my project.

I cut off part of the box to make it angled to sit on the floor nicely.  With a Sharpie I drew some big circles on it, I was going to make flowers but then I figured two boys would probably go for something a little less girly.  So I turned the circles into mouth of goofy looking aliens.  They’re sort of our family, a big daddy alien, a eyelashed mommy alien, a boy alien and a little baby alien.

Cut out the holes with a blade or sharp knife.  Then I painted them in, while watching LOST.  I just used craft paints, nothing special.

Back to the pile of socks, pictured here.  I also used a lonely single scratch mitten since we don’t need those anymore.

Since, coincidentally, I had been researching bean bag fillings I decided to use rice.  You can rinse them and air dry, if it breaks open it’s pretty easy to clean and if Nate did try to eat it no big deal.  The socks were pretty easy to fill, I just used a spoon and sewed them shut with the machine since it was fast, hand sewing would work.  Cut off the excess sock and you’re ready to go.

I hoped for an action shot today but it was harder to get than I thought.  Wesley turned the game box into a machine and was driving it around the house while stacking the ‘bubbles’ (aka the socks) in a pile in a corner of the kitchen.  Oh well, the point was for them to have fun and they did.

Friday’s productivity.

This was my pile of crafts and related to dos that I brought up to the kitchen table figuring I could get more done upstairs while home with the kids.

Considering we spent the morning at a drop in play, stopped at Staples, came home for Nate’s nap, and I took the kids to indoor play for about 1 1/2 this evening I had a pretty productive  creative day!  They didn’t have baths like I planned but a load of laundry got done, the dishwasher was unloaded and reloaded and dinner was made . . . wait! I even swept and mopped the floors!

I finished this Style School project from way back when.  I found the clip board while poking around in a drawer and it was perfect for what I wanted.

I got a start on the bean bags I’ve been wanting to make for the kids.  Had the letters cut out for a while, so I was able to stick them to my Steam-a-Seam and line them up on the fabric.  Didn’t actually get to the iron yet, which is in the basement.  See I get things done upstairs!

I’m still unsure about what to use as a filling.  I suppose taking things too literally, I assumed I would just go to Bulk Barn and get beans.  Then I did some reading online and now I’m unsure.  Rice was suggested on one site, even going far enough to say you can wash rice and just air dry it and all will be fine.  Not too sure about that one.  So I’ll research more before the actual filling of the bags.

Didn’t actually mail my Happy Mail envelopes yet but they’re mostly ready to go.  I did send off the little card/note that is to go first.  Put them in a mailbox and everything!  Went to Fabricland and got some interfacing and minky stuff for more baby blankies.  I bought sticker paper at Staples and printed the fun free designs Elsie gave us at the end of Style School.  I jazzed up the binder I used for that class and updated it since I’m going to use it for Indie 2.0.  I tracked down a tote bag I’ve been looking for.  I didn’t get to embroidering my thrift store cardigan, carving more stamps or embroidering the cover for Nate’s counting book but I’d say I had a pretty darn good day!

OH! and this is my second post today!

Teehee

I’ve been having way to much fun lately. The online crafty/creative community is so fun and I’ve been discovering fun and neat things everyday. Because of RVA I found Peptogirl, only to be paired up with her for Style School buddies. So of course I ended up ordering some of her fun embroidery patterns. Then I created with them, then I ordered a kit too . . . I’ve discovered FreckledNest and besides being a dork and reading it from the beginning, which took a loooong time, I participated in the super neat pincushion swap. I also found NieNie’s blog poking around LA’s and I can’t believe what a remarkable woman, wife and mother Stephanie is. If you have time her blog is worth the read, especially if you go back to read her struggles recovering from the plane crash they were in.

I secretly mailed my Style School buddy a pin cushion, even though she got a really cool one in the swap. She got this really cute little toadstool mushroom thingie and I was lame and followed the pattern pretty much exactly. Then I had an ‘incident’ while trying to use rick rack (I swear that stuff is out to get me) and discovered it’s wonkiness when I turned it right side out. But I figured ‘oh well’ it was still made with her in mind and I put thought into it so I’d send it off anyway. She emailed me yesterday, it got there, she likes it.

My newest idea, and a thrift find!

I was struck with an idea last night while in the kitchen with the kids.   I think it might have been inspired by my sewing machine cover on my chair.  I had the idea to make a little pouch thingie for the back of the kitchen chairs to store some creative supplies within arms reach of my son when he’s sitting down.  I also figured it would come in handy once he’s at school for completing homework, we can keep pencils and other supplies right there and not have to worry and fumble around looking for things.  So I went to my trusty sewing machine once the kiddies were in bed and whipped this up,

I still need to play with the design a bit, I’d like it to roll up and be portable so you could grab it and go, in the van, to Grandma’s off to the park, whatever. I’m hoping to make it fairly universal so it would fit almost any kitchen or dining room chair. It attached with ribbon that I just tied, thought that was more universal than sewing loops. The fabric is from IKEA, I wanted something kid friendly but not too loud and obnoxious for the kitchen. I have no idea how one is supposed to make a pattern but I relied on my trusty chart graph paper and sketched and cut a template out yesterday while the kiddies ran about.

It’s a very high tech process. Hopefully I can get to making a second one tomorrow.

In unrelated news, every other Tuesday I have my ‘night out’ with my bff! Lately I’ve taken to dragging her to thrift stores. Last Tuesday I found this and loved it!

It reminds me of my Nanny and all my summers spent at the trailer at the lake. Trailers and cottages always seem to have random vintage/retro stuff in them like this. Plus my Nanny, like most Grandparents, was happy to keep things around as long as they still worked, even if they were older than me. My favourite was the avocado green electric knife she had that didn’t actually turn off unless you unplugged it from the wall . . . because that’s safe!! I miss you Nanny, thanks for teaching me to knit and showing me how to cook a turkey, love you.

Another project from the other night.

The night I managed to get 4 projects done this was the second one, a baby lap taggie blanket.  I made these for my son about 4 years ago before he was born and I’ve been making them since to give as baby gifts.  They’re the perfect size for in the stroller or car seat.  Something to keep their legs a little bit warm, or out of the sun, and it has fun tags to play with.

I really like the cute little marbel print on this one.  In the past I’ve used fleece for the inside, this was the first time I tried that super soft minky stuff.  It was a bit of a pain to work with but it is waaay nicer to touch.

I was at a baby shower yesterday and along with the adorably cute baby girl clothes I shopped for I added in a pink taggie blankie I had made.  I was flattered when it was the only gift passed around the room and everyone ‘ooohhh’ed and ‘ahhhh’ed over it.

Sewing machine cover, courtesy of One Yard Wonders.

I made a promise to myself the other day to complete some projects from the various sewing books I have purchased recently.  So the other night I sat down to create a sewing machine cover.  Behold.

I cracked open my trusty copy of One Yard Wonders and decided to play.

I just happened to have a piece of fabric nearly the perfect size, 1 inch less, and some of my fun wood grain print left over from some Style School projects.  I used plain brown fabric on the inside of the pocket to conserve what little wood grain print I have left.  It’s just too fun to use on the *inside* of something.

The pattern called for these little box corner thingies, which I have never done and I must say I was quite nervous about cutting into my perfectly well sewn project to make new corners.  It all turned out well in the end of course.

I added some rick rack to the pocket, just because.  I resisted adding buttons as well since I thought that might make it all little too much like my Style School notebook cover.  Not sure exactly what one puts in a pocket on the front of a sewing machine but I’m sure I’ll find something.

This was my first project of my 4 project evening a few days ago, so of course, once I finished this lovely cover I had to take it off to sew the next thing on my list.  I wasn’t sure where to put it while the machine was in use.  Then I had a brilliant idea . . . it makes a great chair topper, complete with pocket!

Fun mail!

Wheee! Got this in the mail yesterday. (this is a picture stolen from the listing, we tried to take pics and add my face to my blog but I got the giggles after the first picture when I said “make sure to get more of the bag in” and my dear hubby had to say “that’s what she said”)

It’s my cute new bag I ordered from Hot Butter. I’m pretty sure I ran into her blog as a result of Style School, but I can’t be 100 % positive anymore. The interwebs takes me on click filled adventures daily. All I know is I saw it in her etsy store and there were many things that appealed to me – cute bag, sale, and a shipping deal at the time! Right now of course she’s got more things that appeal to me, a giveaway and items newly added to her clearance section . . . *sigh*

I’ve been busy, last night I completed 4 projects! 4!!! And I had a great night tonight, was in the city, wandered around a bit. Bought 2 sewing magazines and a neat book as well. I’ll post something about one of those many things tomorrow, so sleepy right now.

I might be addicted,

and it’s LA’s fault! Thanks to her tutorial, and such a cute little idea, not only have I made one to send to my swap buddy but I’ve also made these other 2.

I’m sure there will be more. I’m already compiling a list of family and friends who sew so I’ll have homes for all of them!

I also found a supper cute bag for my Style School vintage bag embroidery type project. I’m a little worried about how tough it’s going to be trying to sew through the bag. But I did buy some strong needles and a thimble to help me get through it. Hopefully a movie on the couch will help too.

Valentine craftiness! Conversation heart pillow tutorial.

Finally I finished my Valentine inspired quote pillow!  Once again putting me crafting late at night when I probably should be heading off to bed.  Instead I will make the world a better place and tell you how I made it in case you’d like to brighten your space with this cute little throw pillow.  Not only is it a pillow it’s a cute little message for my family since my husband or kids are welcome to follow the instructions anytime they like!

Sooooo first you need some hearts.  I cut 4 hearts out of pink, red and brown felt.  I just used the trick of folding the felt in half and cutting half a heart.  You could get fancy and use Google images to find a heart template to trace if you’re afraid to free hand it.  Then I embroidered the sayings onto the hearts with different colours, pink on red, fuchsia on pink, cream on brown.  I was sort of basing the sayings on a little thing my dad and me used to say so I needed 4.  You could have more of less hearts, bigger or smaller ones,  just depends on what you want on your pillow.  But you can still follow this horizontal stripe idea even if you change it up a bit.

Gather some heart/love themed fabric (part of why it’s taken me so long to complete this project) and fuss about which ones to use and how (another reason it took so long).

I decided to use the Timeless Treasures fabric again since this pillow will go on my bed with my “Sew in Love” and “Oh” pillows.  Wow, I can’t believe I have 3 decorative pillows on my bed . . . and they have names . . . ok, back to the turorial . . .

Pin the conversation hearts onto the backing fabric you want and get a feel for the placement.  I cut a piece for the back from brown fabric and decided on 20 x 13.  Think about how big you want your pillow and cut backing for that size.  Because I was going with a length of 20 inches I trimmed the swirly heart fabric to 20 inches and then just cut under the conversation hearts where I thought seemed nice and even with the top.  Then I added a band of brown to the top, bottom and the red swirly Timeless Treasures.

Once again, I was very scientific – I just added fabric until it was the same size as the back, trimmed it down so they matched and carried on.  The 2 pieces were basically 20 x 12.  There was some loss in the trimming.  So add horizontal stripes of fabric until your front is the same size as the back.  I had 4 stripes in total, yours is up to you.  I had gotten some piping for along the perimeter of the pillow to jazz it up a bit.  I wanted it to be different from the other 2 on the bed so I went with the piping and rectangular shape.

I was going to hand sew the hearts onto the backing fabric using contrasting colours but in the end I decided to have the stitching be nearly invisible.  So there I was changing my thread and bobbin a few times to get the right coloured thread, but it was worth it in the end.

I have never used piping before and the lady at the fabric store suggested sewing the piping to one side before putting the right sides together.  I followed her advice but I’m not sure it made things any easier.  It was finicky work and since you can’t really see how close to the piping the stitching is I found it annoying.  I stitched it to the front piece first thinking that would make a nicer edge on that side.

Lay the backing on with right sides together and stitch around leaving an opening for turning and stuffing of course.   Trim the corners so you’ll have a nice crisp edge when you turn it rightside out.  I turned the pillow, pushed out the corners with my trusting stuffing tool (aka chopstick), use what you’ve got.  Then stuff your pillow through the opening.  Once it has reached it’s desired fluffiness you’re ready to sew it closed.  I did this part by hand just to make sure the front was kept nice and clean looking.  The backing only has to be stitched to the piping part, I was a bit picky about mine but I wanted to keep the stitches virtually invisible so I probably fussed more than I needed too.