Monday, August 13, 2012

8 month catch-up: Summer projects

I had all kinds of ideas about what I was going to make this summer, and I guess I did start a few things that never got finished (I'll get around to it, I promise!).  The one thing that I did complete is something I am really, really proud of though. I saw this pattern for a beach bag and loved it right away, and when I discovered the Reunion line of fabrics by Moda, I knew it was the perfect fabric to use for this project.
http://mypatchwork.wordpress.com/2011/05/28/beach-bag-using-5-inch-charm-squares/


Again, I've somehow only managed to take a picture with my phone and these pictures do not do the fabric or the bag itself justice. It is so cute! This was a pretty big project for me, and it took me 4 or 5 nights to finish.

The first mistake I made was that I washed the charm pack. I didn't know that most people don't wash precuts (this was my first time buying and using a charm pack), but now I know why. The squares don't shrink evenly, so they don't piece together evenly either. Oh well. I figured it was just quirkier that way. Then I had trouble picking the fabrics to use for the rest of the bag. I'm still not thrilled with the orange for the pocket, but I had limited choices at Hancock's, and limited funds in my wallet. I still love the bag, but that is one thing I might change. I also made two sets of straps, because I ended up really disliking the first ones I made. I love these though!

Making my own bias tape and binding the whole bag was time-consuming, but I'm glad I did it. It was a good learning experience, and I actually really like the fabric I used. My favorite part of the bag is definitely the kite applique on the side. I had an extra charm square left, and decided to add that detail on a whim...I think it really adds something special and kind of whimsical to the bag.

This bag is really quite large, and so far it has come in handy for trips to the pool and for times when I've just needed to grab a few things for the day. Can't wait to take it to the actual beach someday!

8 month catch-up: Joseph's Birthday

Of course, if Felton and Addie had birthdays, that meant that Joseph had one too! I was cruising around on Fabric.com one night a couple of weeks before his birthday and happened across some Yo Gabba Gabba! fabric that I knew he would love. I poked around on the internet some more and found a great pattern for a Yo Gabba Gabba! quilt that looked pretty easy. And a crazy idea was born. I couldn't find (and probably couldn't afford) all of the fabrics that were originally used in the quilt, but luckily, fabric.com has a "design wall" feature that makes it really easy to select coordinating fabrics (sometimes a problem with online fabric shopping). I chose my fabrics and hoped they'd arrive in time for me to make the quilt for his birthday.

Luckily, they arrived two weeks before his birthday, which coincided with a weekend my husband was going out of town. I washed the fabric and cut the pieces on Friday night, sewed the quilt top on Saturday night, and finished the quilting and binding on Sunday before Ryan got home (and all while Joseph slept). Again I did a fold-over binding, but this time it was complicated by the fact that the entire back was a red minky. It was a little trickier, but I am so glad I chose the red minky for this quilt - it looks just like Muno!
Made May 6, 2012

The only picture I've managed to get is this one from my phone - it is not so great, but you get the idea. The flannel and the minky make it a pretty heavy quilt, but Joseph loves it and it will be especially nice when the weather turns cool. When Joseph pulled it out of the bag at his birthday party, the first thing he did was lay down on it and put his thumb in his mouth - a ringing endorsement. I was thrilled.


8 month catch-up: March to May


In March, my Grandmother Bugg celebrated her 90th birthday. Just before her birthday, we found out that she was pretty much going to need a wheelchair to get around and at the last minute, I decided to make her a quilted lap throw that she could use at home or when she was out and about in her wheelchair. I only had a couple of nights, so I didn't want to attempt a pieced quilt. Luckily, I had been eyeing this fabric since before Christmas, and knew I wanted to use it to make a project for her (it just made me think of her for some reason and I love the birds). It was the perfect choice for the quilted throw, because the fabric itself kind of looks like pieced squares.

Made March 11, 2012

I don't have a picture of the back, but it was a coordinating fabric. I just quilted around each of the squares and once again, I did a fold-over binding. Grandmother loves it - she says that the only problem she has is that my Grandaddy wants to use it too.

I feel certain that I didn't go for the entire month of April without sewing anything, but I don't have any pictures to show and I honestly can't remember. In May, I had several important birthdays to prepare for, so I did make a few things.

First came this car caddy for Joseph's little friend in our neighborhood (he is the one who got the pillow at Christmas). This little guy is only three days older than Joseph, and loves, loves, loves cars! When we go out to dinner with his family, his mom is always pulling matchbox cars out of her purse for him. I thought this travel carrier by Homemade by Jill was the perfect gift for him!


I once again amazed myself by getting most of this project completed during one (very long) naptime, including picking out the fabrics from my stash! This was my first time doing applique and I thought it was really fun. I decided to use one of my handy snaps leftover from the backpacks, which I like even better than a velcro closure. By the time Joseph woke up, I had completed everything except for adding the snap and doing the freezer paper stenciling for the road and the numbers. This was also my first time with freezer paper stenciling, but I know I will do it again - it's awesome!

After this, I decided that I wanted to make something cute for my niece who is just 10 days older than Joseph. I already had a coloring book for her, so I decided to make her a little crayon carrier to go along with it.


I didn't really use a pattern for this one...just looked at a bunch of different tutorials and went for it with my own measurements. I like this style where the crayons point inwards the best - there is less of a chance of losing crayons in your bag. This was a good chance to use some of the fabric leftover from the aprons I made at Christmas.

8 month catch-up - December to February

So my good friend Anne finally got inspired enough to buy a sewing machine for herself last week, and now she is going through the beginning sewer excitement and growing pains that I went through about 10 short months ago.  We have been on the phone quite a bit lately as I share her excitement and encourage her new endeavors.  It is so fun to have another friend interested in sewing!

Tonight I directed her here to see one of the projects that I worked on last year, and it made me realize that I have just done a terrible job of logging my projects here.  The whole purpose of this blog was to keep a record for myself, and now I will have to piece together the last, oh, 8 months or so.  Oh well.  I'll do my best! I think I'll try to split this into months to help break it up a bit.

After Christmas, I did indeed finish my mom's casserole carrier, and it was received with much excitement.  Of course, I did not take a photo. =)  Then I got excited about making a tiny toddler back-pack for Joseph.  This was actually a really fun and fulfilling project.  I poked around and found a lot of different patterns and tutorials, but none of them were exactly what I was looking for, so I used what I had found, and then pieced together my own pattern.  I amaze(d) myself!

It is really hard to take a picture of a toddler wearing a backpack.

Made December 30, 2011

I know it's a pretty simple design, but it was fun and I did learn how to do a gusset on a bag and I also had my first chance to install snaps. Snaps are awesome!  I ended up making another one of these in February for my co-workers daughter and that one turned out even better. Sarah loves "Cars" so the outside was brown corduroy and the inside was Cars flannel.  I also added a pocket on the front from the same Cars fabric and a velcro closure on the top. No picture of course.

In January, I sewed my mom a pouch to replace the original pouch I sewed her and then gave my Grandma for Christmas. =)  I'm actually really glad it went down that way, because the replacement pouch is about a thousand times cuter than the original.

Made January 23, 2012

This is the same fabric that I made my sister-in-law's purse and my step-mom's casserole carrier with (as well as the kitchen curtains, coming up). I used this tutorial from Noodle-head:
You can see the detail so well in my photos, but it looks pretty much like the pouches she made.  The gathers are really cute and just add a little extra something.  My mom loved it.


In February, I finally sewed the new curtains for my kitchen window.  Unfortunately, the lighting in my kitchen is REALLY awful, but you can at least get an idea and see the fabric.


They are very cheery.  I need to get a ribbon or make a tie to tie them back with, but having them down like this is nice to hide the mess in the window from the people in our house, and also to hide my amazing dishwashing dance moves from the neighbors.  I did not really use a tutorial or a pattern for these...just measured and sewed.