Sewing with the sparrows

Renaissance Garb

2011-10-22T17:27:00.000-07:00

I made this Renaissance Costume for my daughter a few weeks ago. Today we attended the Maryland Renaissance Festival and she got a chance to wear it. I made mine a few years ago. In fact my Renaissance Costume was my very first blog post. It was a perfect fall day for being outside and enjoying all the activities at the festival. It is a great place to people watch and I love seeing every ones outfits. And they have every kind of food on a stick. We had a really good time and watched a few entertaining shows. And it was fun to wear our outfits.

For Rebekah's outfit I used parts of four different patterns. She liked the skirt from Simplicity 3809 view B with the bustled over skirt. However I had bought the pattern in my size and she is very tiny and there were none in her size when the patterns were one sale for $1.99. She also liked the blouse from view A with the ribbon bows on the sleeves. Since the skirt is gathered to a waistband it was easy to adjust to her measurements. I decided to use the waistband from McCall's 4090 and I had the pattern in her size. I liked the way the closure used eyelets and lacing at the back. The fabric I used for the skirt is a burgundy cotton chintz that was given to me. I was trying to use only my stash for this project but I didn't have enough of anything that coordinated well with what I had. So I went to a discount decorator fabric store in my area in hopes of finding something. I got this pretty stripe and the green that I used for the corset.

The corset is Butterick 4669. It has four different corset styles included. I picked view A because it was a very simple style and all the others had a peplum. I thought the simple style would look better with the bustled over skirt. I didn't think a peplum was necessary. I edged the corset with bias trim I made from the same fabric as the underskirt. I thought it tied everything together nicely.

For the top I used the blouse from Butterick 6196. That is the pattern I used for my entire costume. But for Rebekah I only used the blouse because it was in her size. I just added another row of elastic between the cuff and the upper arm so I could get the look of the blouse from the other pattern. The fabric is a cream colored dotted Swiss. I trimmed it with eyelet lace at the cuffs and the neck edge. And I added some ribbon bows to the sleeves.

I think she looks adorable in her new garb and we may have a chance to go back next year and wear our outfits again.

Crocheted Chicken

2011-10-05T09:11:00.001-07:00

I have had this crochet book for a little while. Tasty Crochet. The book is full of all kinds of play food to crochet. I love to crochet useless things. I guess crocheted food isn't totally useless as it is fun for kids to play with. However I don't have any kids around to give it to. I do know of a couple of little girls who would like it. The usefulness to me is that crocheting is relaxing and it makes me feel good to get a cute little project finished quickly. It just brings me pleasure to knit or crochet quirky things.

I decided I wanted to make something from this book and looked around in my yarn stash for some yarn in the right colors. I was still in Stashbuster September when I made these so I didn't want to go out and buy anything. I actually found enough yarn in my stash to make several of the projects in the book. When I get time I will be making some more food. This time I whipped up two chicken drumsticks and a slice of bread. I was planning to make a whole peanut butter and jelly sandwich but I only had enough of the white yarn to make one slice of bread. I tried some green beans but the green yarn I had was more of a Christmas green and just didn't look anything like green beans. I plan to make more as I find time. Even though you can't eat these they are fun to make.

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Fat Quarter Apron

2011-10-05T09:02:00.001-07:00

Several months ago I was the winner of these Fat Quarters from Miss Sews-It-All.
Don't all the colors coordinate nicely? I felt like I should put these to good use as soon as I could because Miss Sews was having the contest in an effort to get rid of some of her stash. So I didn't feel right about just adding it to my stash.

I started looking through my patterns and books to find a good project for these pieces.
I also needed a gift for a friend. I found the perfect pattern in my book Small Stash Sewing by Melissa Averinos. Apron For All used three fat quarters and a half yard of coordinating fabric. Since I only had five fat quarters and no 1/2 yard pieces I thought I could adapt the pattern to use all my fat quarters. I only had to buy some bias binding to match. I was able to make the apron using almost every scrap of the five fat quarters. I think I have enough left over to piece together the top of a pot holder. I had to adjust the size of the straps to make everything fit.

I like the way she suggest making the seams. They are sort of like french seams, they are sewn wrong sides together first and then the bias binding is sewn over the top so everything is enclosed. It is very easy to do and the finish is really nice with no exposed raw seams edges. The pattern was easy to follow with very clear instructions. I think every project in the book is very straightforward and easily accomplished.

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Ruffle Backpack Tutorial

2011-09-07T16:43:00.000-07:00

This is only one box of ruffled lace that was given to me by a friend. She had collected all this lace because she made fabric scrapbook covers. I knew I could think up something to do with all this lace. I have several ideas but the first one I came up with is a ruffled lace backpack. I made a trial one a few weeks ago. There were a few things I wanted to work out differently. So I made two more which I like much better. From the pictures they look about the same. But on these I boxed out the bottoms and I strung the straps so the opening closed more efficiently. And I decided to take some pictures of the process so I could try my hand at writing a tutorial. So here goes.

Supplies:15" X 34" outside fabric (I used a polyester heavyweight twill)

2 pieces 17" X 3" same as outside fabric for strap casings

15" X 34" lining fabric (I used a floral cotton)

4 yards of cording for straps

And an assortment of pre-ruffled laces at least 15 inches long. I used about 14 pieces of varying widths.

Start by sewing the lace in overlapping rows onto the front of the 15"x34" outside fabric. Make a mark at the 17" halfway point of the piece and then make a mark 2 1/4" up from the halfway point. Sew the first piece of lace so the bottom edge meets this mark. Continue adding lace overlapping the row before it slightly. The very top piece of lace should be about 1/4" from the top edge of the fabric. I found it helpful to mark a straight line about every 3 inches on the front to keep everything lined up. I didn't do this on the first backpack I made and my rows got a bit slanted.

Now make the strap casing. Take the two 17"x 3" pieces press under 1 1/2" on each end and top stitch a hem. Then press them in half with wrong sides facing. Sew them to the top edge of the ruffled piece both front and back. Leave a 1/2" on each side.

Now is the time to thread the cording through the casing. Cut the 4 yard piece in half make two 2 yard pieces. Thread one piece into the casing front and back according to the green line in the picture. Thread the second piece according to the red line in the picture.

Even the ends of the cords and pin one set on the left side of the bag and one set on the right side. Pin them at about one inch above the lower edge of the first row of lace. Stitch them in place by back tacking several times as these will get a lot of stress and you want to make sure they don't come undone.

Now turn the bag right sides together and sew the side seams. Starting at the top edge back tack right next to the casing and sew half inch seams all the way to the bottom fold. Catch the straps in the seam where you have back tacked them in place but be sure not to catch them in any other place.

Now box out the bottom. Line the side seam up with the bottom fold. Measure 2" up from the point. Sew across the line. It is the black line in the photo. Be sure not to catch the edge of the lower piece of lace in your stitching. Turn the bag right side out. See how that makes a boxed bottom.

Make the linning by sewing the side seams right sides together with 1/2" seams. Box the bottom of the lining the same way as the outside bag.

To keep the lining from pulling out of the bag insert the lining into the bag and line up both points. Sew point together so they fold to the inside.

Finish off the top of the bag by sewing the linning to the outside bag right sides together. Pin the side seams first and turn the bag inside out. Sew around the top edge leaving a 3" opening at the center back of the bag for turning right side out. Turn the bag through the opening. Topstich the top edge closing the opening left for turning and stitching the top ruffle so it is kept from rolling up.

Ruffled Drawstring Bag

2011-09-04T18:27:00.000-07:00

I came across this tutorial a few days ago and decided to try it out. I have seen similar bags before I think this idea has been around for a long time. She explains the process for making this very well in her tutorial even though English is not her first language. It is a very easy and useful project. She used it to store threads in. I thought it would make a good travel jewelry pouch.

This would be a good project for a beginning seamstress. I think kids would enjoy making it because you can use some of those fancy stitches on your sewing machine. I used a couple of daisy stitches on mine. You could make this elegant or simple just by changing the fabric. I used quilting cottons for mine. I could see it made up in silk or velvet. It would also make a nice travel sewing kit or even a first aid kit. I think this is a great little bag.

Butterfly Apron

2011-09-04T17:13:00.000-07:00

Today I finished my Butterfly Apron from Crochet Adorned . I crocheted the butterfly pocket and the trim yesterday and sewed up the apron today. The directions for the apron are included in the book. It is really a basic gathered half apron so it was a quick project to sew.

I had picked out the main fabric from my stash because I liked it with the pink thread I used for the crochet. So after making the butterfly and the trim I needed to find something in my stash to use for the contrast waistband and lower band. Even though I have a huge stash it proved to be difficult to find anything that looked good with this fabric and trim.

You may ask why didn't I just go out and buy something. Well I joined

Stashbusting September at T-Shirt Diaries.

So I am not allowed to buy any new fabric or craft supplies. After rooting through several bins of unorganized fabric nothing was really looking even remotely right with what I had picked out so far. Finally I found this black and ivory gingham and I thought it gave the apron just the right vintage feel and contrast. I was thinking about giving this as a gift but once it is finished I want to keep it for myself. Maybe I will just make another one for a gift.

I am going to enter this project in the Craft Book Month Linky

Party. I might win some more goodies to add to my stash. I think that is allowed since winning isn't buying anything.

Ruffle Apron

2011-09-03T20:17:00.001-07:00

I have been hearing about Hobby Lobby for a long time now. There has never been one near me. Well about a month ago they opened one in a town about an hours drive from me. So my friend and I went to check out the grand opening. This is my kind of store. I picked up a few things that I didn't know I needed until I saw it.

One thing I purchased was the book Crochet Adorned. I have been eyeing this book for quite some time. It is full of crocheted embellishment for clothing accessories and household item. I have already started a project from the book the Butterfly Apron.

Maybe you can tell I like aprons because one of the other things I picked up was a kit for making an apron. It was a fabric panel for a ruffled apron. It was very easy to sew up. All I had to do was cut out the pieces, hem the edges and attach the waistband and ties. A quick and easy project. This apron has another thing in common with the project from the book. Another favorite of mine butterflies. The very top fabric on this ruffled apron has butterflies on it. And the project from the book is an apron with a crocheted butterfly for a pocket. Both are fun projects. And I think this little ruffled apron will become a gift.

Vintage Potholders With Pattern

2011-09-01T09:05:00.000-07:00

I picked up this vintage crochet book from Out Of The Ashes. She sells all kinds of vintage sewing pattern and a few vintage knitting and crochet books. Mine is The Magic Of Crochet (Gifts). It is copyright 1941 by the Spool Cotton Company. The price was 10 cents originally and it looks like it was resold at some point for 99 cents. I paid $4.00 for it and I thought that was a bargain. It has all kinds of cute accessories for the home and some fashion items too. There are several things I want to make. The instructions are easy to follow but you must convert the thread and needle size to a modern equivalent. This is not critical with things like place mats or pot holders as they don't need to fit anything they just need to be close. There are no gauges in the book so I just tried to find a thread that worked with the size needle suggested. Most of the patterns use a very tiny needle and thread size.

The pattern I tried first was these potholders called Ship Shape in the book. I had everything I needed around the house. I even had some tiny steel crochet hooks. I had just bought a set of vintage steel crochet hooks in a little plastic case at a flea market. This pattern used one of the medium sized hooks in the set. So I thought it was doable. I even found a couple of bone rings in my stash. I think these probably came from my grandmother's stash. I don't really think they are bone but some sort of plastic. They are quite old though. The thread was leftover from another project and it is new crochet thread. I like these a lot. They turned out bigger than I thought they would. Most of the vintage potholder patterns I have tried are a bit to small for my taste. I don't know if woman had tiny hands in the 40's or they were just trying to conserve on thread. They are a bit thin for a pot holder too but I think they would work for a stove top pot handle or a microwave dish. If nothing else they are cute decorations.

I think the copyright has expired by now so I am going to share the pattern. The pattern is for six potholders three in each color combination. I only made two of them.

Materials: J&P Coats Knit-Cro-Sheen 1 ball white or ecru (referred to in directions as "light color") and 2 balls of dark color.
Milward's Steel Crochet Hook No. 7 and 6 bone rings.

This amount is sufficient for entire set of six potholders.

With light color, work sc closely over ring. Join with a sl st to 1st sc made. 1st rnd: Ch 3 (to count as 1st dc), dc in front loop of 6 sc, ch 3, dc in front loop of next 6 sc. Turn, and working in remaining loop of same sc's, make dc in next 6 sc ch 3 dc in 5 sc. Join with sl st to top of first ch 3 made.

2nd Rnd: Ch 3 (dc in each dc across to ch 3 sp make 2 dc ch 3 and 2 dc) twice; dc in each remaining dc. Join.

Repeat last row 15 more times. Fasten off. Attach dark color and repeat 2nd row 2 more times. Fasten off. Attach light color and work 2nd row once again. Working through both thicknesses ( picking up only the center loops), make sc in each stitch and 4 sc over ch across, ch 5, turn, and make edging as follows: * Ch 4, 3 tr in base of ch 4, skip 3 sc, sc in next sc repeat from* across. Fasten off.

Make 2 more pot holders same as this. Make 3 more pot holders same as this only reversing colors.

Vintage Sewing Books

2011-08-22T19:56:00.000-07:00

I love collecting vintage sewing books. I recently picked up two vintage sewing books. Gifts You Can Sew is from 1942 and Gift Bazaar Sewing Suggestions is from 1944.

Gifts You Can Sew has dozens of apron projects in it. They all look very straightforward and easy to make. I want to make them all but some of my favorites are the Pot Holder Apron that has button on pot holder pockets. Then there is a Gardening Apron that has a kneeling pad that snaps or buttons on the apron at the knee. I love the Baby Feeding apron to keep baby clean and safe in his high chair. This little apron has sleeves for baby's arms and ties that tie onto the high chair and the bottom of the apron covers the entire tray of the high chair. I think this would be a great idea for using in a restaurant highchair. Another one that was on the page labeled Presents for tots and children is a knitting apron that conveniently folds into a bag. The knitting apron has a gathered pocket on the front to hold your ball of yarn. There are many toys and accessories as well as a section of gifts for men in the service. As far as I can tell these gifts would be useful for anyone man or woman in or out of the service. Here you will find directions for making a scarf. a money belt and a book cover to name a few. Some knitting and crochet projects are scattered throughout the book too.

The Gift Bazaar Book has some sweet aprons in it too. My favorites in this book are the children's toys. There is a lamb, a Scottie dog and an adorable pig. I love the illustration with the gingham pig. he is standing in a pin made with straight pins and there are some trees made with clothespins and thimbles. There are four handbags that look right in style now, They all look very simple to make too. And I must try the cute pig pot holder and the sweet kitten potholder. They would be fun to make and I can always use a cute potholder. I love making up a quick small project. What shall I make first with so many cute ideas? The shaped patterns must be enlarged but I think I can do that on my scanner printer. I think I would make the potholder slightly larger than suggested because I think most vintage potholders are just a bit to small. I need to look through my stash for just the right fabric for some of these projects.

Lace Ruffle Backpack

2011-08-21T19:00:00.000-07:00

A friend of a friend gave me a huge stash of ruffled lace trims a few months ago. There are yards and yards of all different styles and colors of lace trim mostly white and ecru. As soon as I acquired this stash I began thinking up ways to use it. My first idea was a ruffled apron, and then maybe a ruffled tote bag. But when I saw this Ruffled Backpack idea on Craft Goodies I decided a ruffled lace backpack would be so cute. She even has a mini tutorial.

I used her idea but did my own construction method. This is my trial project and I am going to try and write up a tutorial for it. There are a few things I want to change. So hope fully I can come up with a tutorial in the next couple of weeks. I think this would be perfect for a little girl to carry her treasures in. I do have a couple of little girls in mind to give these to. But I don't have any little girls around to model this for me. So I rigged it up on this chest of drawers.

This really was a quick project because all the lace was pre-ruffled. The other cool this about this project is the fabric I used as the base. It is a polyester gabardine with a nice heavy feel to it and I got it from a friend as part of a huge fabric stash she gave me. So basically this project is from free supplies. The only thing I did buy is the white twill ribbon I used for the drawcord strap. I used three ribbons braided together to give the strap more strength. I bought the ribbon at a salvage store and paid $2.99 for a spool of 500 yards. That is a lot of ribbon!! I have used it for a few other projects. I also used some lilac flowered cotton for the linning of the bag. That was a freebie too.

Baby stuff

2011-08-13T18:01:00.000-07:00

A coworker is having a baby girl

so it was the perfect opportunity to make up this baby quilt. I bought this simple quilt kit at Joann fabric several years ago. The kit had everything needed to make the quilt including the backing. I seem to be on a pink and orange kick lately. I do like that bright color combination. The quilt does not have batting between but I think it is just a nice weight for a simple quilt. The middle patch and the edge strips are orange dotted Minky with a soft cozy feel. The backing fabric is white flannel and the the rest is quilting cotton. This went together quickly and I am only a little happy with it. It will be an OK baby gift. The blanket is about 32" by 40".

There was a small piece of orange Minky leftover and a strip of the flannel backing too. I decided a little taggy blanket would be a nice additional gift. I have recently come across a few tutorial for taggy blankets on some blogs. I wanted to link to the most recent one I found but I can't seem to find it now. They are pretty self explanatory. They are just a tiny quilt with ribbon tags inserted all around the edge. I made mine about 10" by 14". I used various lengths of ribbon but all are small so there is no danger of a baby getting caught in one of the loops. I used what I had on hand with various textures from grosgrain to satin ribbons as well as some Ric-rack and woven brocade trims. I like the little taggy blanket made with scraps much better than the quilt. I think this is a cute little baby gift. I may make more of these when I have another baby gift to give.

Silk Top

2011-08-13T16:31:00.000-07:00

I have had this pretty pink and orange silk chiffon fabric in my stash for a couple of years just waiting for the right project. I decided to sew up Simplicity 2599 view E. The fabric is shear so I wear a cami under it. It has a button and loop opening in the back with a faced neckline. The armhole are bound with a bias binding made out of the same fabric as the top. The ruffle at the neck edge is made with a 2" bias strip with a narrow hem on each side. Hemming the ruffle was probably the most challenging part of the project because of the delicate fabric. And then to top everything off there is a fabric bow added to the neckline.

I love the finished top and it fits great and feels very dressy when I wear it. I will definitely make this pattern again there are several different ruffled views included in the pattern. It sewed up quickly which is a real plus in my book. I think I could eliminate the button and loop closing at the back of the neck because I could easily pull the top on and off without unbuttoning. And I was having a hard time unbuttoning it while wearing it myself anyways. I have about a yard of this fabric leftover maybe I will make a little coordinating cami with it.

Damask Jacket

2011-07-21T19:42:00.000-07:00

Several weeks ago I picked up this vintage damask tablecloth at my local Goodwill Store. I only paid $2.00 for it. It was in pretty good condition with only two tiny holes that were easy to avoid when cutting out my pattern.

The pattern I used is the Damask Jacket from Barb Originals. I bought this pattern several years ago at the Sewing Expo. For some reason I have never sewed it up before. It is a loose fitting swing jacket. As the name suggest it was designed to be made using a Damask Tablecloth. You can use any fabric that has a nice flow to it. Barb also sold some very lovely linen in her booth at the Expo. My tablecloth had a nice drape to it but I didn't want a white jacket. So I tried my first dying project. I followed the directions on the package of Rit Dye and dyed the fabric in my front loading High Efficiency Washing machine. I think it turned out great. The petal pink color shows off the damask pattern better too. It was quite a large tablecloth so I have some leftover. Not sure what I will use it for there is not enough for another jacket. This was a very easy pattern to sew.

Since I was using a vintage tablecloth for my fabric I thought this was a perfect place to use a few of my vintage hankies too. I used two of them, one was added to the peplum at the back and the other at the collar and cuffs. I had a tiny piece of hankie left over from my hankie tops. I decided to make it into a flower pin to add to the lapel. that added just the right finishing touch.

The buttons I used are some vintage buttons someone gave me. I really wanted to use three different large vintage buttons. I had in mind some gold toned buttons with pearly centers. But I could only find one that I liked in my stash. So these gold dome buttons are temporary until I find some better ones. I wanted to wear this jacket to work tomorrow so these buttons are OK for now. It is really hot around here right now but I go from hot to cold with the air conditioning. This is a very lightweight jacket and it will brighten my day. I just have to decide what to wear with it. I love my pretty pink jacket.

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The Catherine Coat

2011-07-06T19:29:00.000-07:00

I have been popping over to Hawthorne Threads from time to time to enter their giveaway contest. Well you know that after a few visits I couldn't resist placing an order for some new fabrics. One of the fabrics that I purchased was this lovely cotton by Micheal Miller called Delilah. I didn't realized until it arrived that is had glittery gold incorporated into the print. I didn't know what I was going to use it for which is often the case when I buy fabric. I decided it would make a nice lightweight jacket I could wear to work in warmer weather. I used The Catherine Coat Pattern by Serendipity Studios. I had some light grey sateen weave cotton leftover from a pair of pants I made last year. There was just enough to make the collar and the faux pocket flaps. I thought it coordinated nicely with the Delilah print. This jacket is unlined and quite simple to put together. I pretty much followed the pattern except for the sleeve. Where the pattern had a separate cuff that the sleeve was gathered into I opted for a 3/4 sleeve with one pleat in the center. I had some vintage gold buttons to complete the look. I used four on the front and one on each sleeve. I like the look of this jacket and it fits very well. The only thing I wish I had done differently is match the print on the front. I never thought about it until the jacket was complete. A bit to late to do anything about. It would have been nice to have those large motifs match at the front. I have worn it several times already. The fabric does shed a lot of glitter for the first few times of wearing. I will probably make this coat again. I already have some fabric picked out for the next coat. I am thinking about incorporating a vintage doily into the design.

Kay Whitt Design for McCall's

2011-07-05T07:58:00.000-07:00

I was pleasantly surprised a few weeks ago

when I discovered several Kay Whitt patterns in the McCall's pattern selection. Since the patterns were on sale for $1.00 I picked up two of them. This one is McCalls's 5882. In Kay's typical style the pattern includes various length options as well as ideas for contrasting design elements such as hem bands and tie belts. There is even an embroidery design included. I chose view B the tunic length top. The pattern has a shorter top and several lengths of dresses.

I had the brown and turquoise floral linen in my stash. It was leftover from a skirt I made a few years ago. I found the embroidered brown linen to coordinate for the bodice. I had the turquoise silk dupioni in my stash that I used for the hem band. I also wanted to show some of that silk at the neck edge. My original plan was to make a bias piping at the neck edge. Well when I tried to make a continues bias strip something went wrong and my strip did not end up on the bias but the straight of grain. Since that would not lay well around a curved neckline I opted for a narrow ruffle. I did make the tie belt included in the pattern but I didn't like the way it looked on this top so I removed it. Overall I like this top and the way it fit. One thing I would alter for the next top or dress I make with this pattern is the neckline in the front. For some reason almost every pattern I use the neckline end up being an inch or so to big in the front. I am still wearing this as it is a minor issue and probably the only one who would notice this is me. But it is an easy change to make the next one better. All in all I like this pattern and this top.

Claire Cami Top

2011-07-04T10:03:00.000-07:00

Ever since I made the Claire Cami Dress for my swap partner I have wanted to use this pattern for myself. I thought the shorter tunic lenght would be a great summer top. And it is dressy enough for me to wear to work. I loved the way the dress fit me so I knew the top would fit well.

For the top I used a black and white floral linen rayon blend I picked up on clearance at JoAnn Fabric. for the coordinating trim I used a quilting panel from my stash that had quarter yard strips of various black and white prints. I love sewing and wearing this patttern. It is quick to sew and easy to wear. I think this top has an oriental look to it. I do want to sew up a dress next. I really liked the one I sent to my swap partner.

I joined these link parties!!

Handkerchief Tops

2011-07-01T17:34:00.000-07:00

I have acquired quite a collection of vintage hankies. Some belonged to family members a few I picked up at antique shops and several I purchased from online auctions at Shop Goodwill . I love looking at my hankie collection and dreaming up ideas to use them. However I have a very hard time actually cutting into one of my vintage hankies. In fact many of my hankies are still folded in their original form and I can hardly bring myself to unfold them. They have been folded in that shape for many years so it is quite easy to refold them. They are so pretty and unique they should be shown off and used for something pretty.

I picked up a copy of Hankie Style by Amy Barickman for Indygo Junction. This book has several apparel and accessory projects all using hanker chiefs. Some use hankie fabric and new and vintage hankies. I do have several new hankies in my collection too. I thought I would be able to cut into the new ones more easily, but they came in such a cute package and were folded so cleverly that I didn't want to disturb them either. I decided to take the plunge and use a few of my hankies to actually make something.

My book has two full size garment patterns included, a cardigan and a tunic. The cap sleeved tunic looked like the perfect project to try first. It only used one hankie and I needed some light weight tops to wear to work. I had recently purchased this sweet Swiss dot fabric at Hancock Fabrics . It is very lightweight and has a nice vintage look. I went through my hankies to find the right ones to match my pink dot fabric and the pretty pink floral dot fabric.

The Cap Sleeved Tunic was very easy to put together. It only took me about an hour and a half to cut and sew my first top. For the first one I used the pink floral with a rose windowpane hankie. I picked this one first because the hankie had a small hole in one side so I didn't feel so bad about cutting it up. I like the finished top except the neckline is slightly to big in the front. I fixed it by stretching a piece of elastic at the very edge of the neck. This gathered it up slightly causing it to fit more closely to my neck. The next top I altered the pattern to make the neck smaller before cutting the fabric. The second top made with the pink dot fabric fit much better. The hankie I picked out for this top had a large bouquet in one corner and I wanted to highlight that feature. I turned the hankie on the bias and let the point float freely beyond the seam. I like the way this one turned out and I wore it to work today. I will probably make more of these tops because they are so quick and easy and really could be made without a hankie. Next project from this book perhaps a scarf or a T-shirt embellishment.

I joined these link parties!! My Repurposed Life and Amy Lou Who Sew-N-Tell.
Sunday Showcase at Under The Table Dreaming.

Ruffle Top

2011-06-30T06:14:00.000-07:00

It has been a really long time since I posted any of my sewing projects. I have been sewing some but just haven't found time to take pictures and write up a post. I have been trying to make some lightweight tops that I can wear to work. This ruffle fabric has been getting a lot of attention around the blogaspear. People are coming up with some adorable projects using this sweet fabric. http://www.rufflefabric.com/ Check out these tutorials,http://www.rufflefabric.com/tutorials-with-ruffle-fabric. I think the Coastal Curtsy Skirt is so pretty. If I were younger and thinner I would make myself one of those. I do have a younger thinner daughter but she doesn't think she would wear that skirt but requested a more basic skirt made out of the ruffle fabric. More http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2011/05/ruffle-skirt-and-ruffles-on-shirt.htmllike this one. I think I will be able to whip one up for her. I am happy to because she so rarely wants anything I sew for her anymore. I don't sew for her unless she asks. Mostly what she ask for is costumes.

I found my ruffle fabric on the clearance rack at Hancock Fabrics yay because it is a bit pricey. But most projects only use a little. I got this pink and some red ruffle fabric. This is slightly shear but the ruffles cover most of the see through factor. I thought it would make a nice T-shirt. I used my old standby pattern New Look 6735. I have made the 3/4 sleeve T-shirt many times. For some reason I have not sewed anything else included in this pattern. This shirt has a seam in the back for a more shaped shirt. I eliminated the seam and just cut the back on the fold. That made it even easier to make. I don't need more shape in my T-shirts as I don't really have a defined waist. I need to loose a few pounds.

This top went together quickly. You don't even need to hem this fabric as you just leave a ruffle edge. It is a bit tricky to cut out and the seams can be tricky to as you must make sure the ruffles are all flat and going in the right direction. The only edge that needed a finish was the neckline. I used some pink fold over elastic for that. I really like this top however I wore it to work and that was not such a good idea. The fabric seems to be a bit delicate and snags easily. I work as a tailor in a men's store and it seems the edged of my tables and presses have tiny burrs on them. And this top seemed to be attracted to them and kept getting snagged. So I will save this top for other occasions when I am not constantly rubbing against a table. I have some leftover fabric so I think I will make my daughter a skirt with it. For a skirt I will have to line it with some kind of knit because the fabric is so shear. But it will make a cute skirt for her.

I added this to this show off your stuff party.

Surf Fishing

2011-06-02T09:32:00.000-07:00

I know this post has nothing to do with sewing or crafting but I wanted to share my fish story. I went surf fishing at Cape Henlopen yesterday. I had such a nice time with my new guy friend and he taught me how to surf fish. I have never been much of a fisherman before. But I found that surf fishing is a very relaxing activity. The beach was beautiful and the weather was nice. I was a bit chilly because the wind was strong. We had a nice picnic of roasted chicken and good conversation. After only about 10 minutes after putting the baited line in the water we had a catch. Greg showed me how to reel him in and we found we had caught a striped bass. Around here they call them rock fish and this one was big enough to keep. But we did throw him back.

I actually did do a bit of crafting while we were fishing. While waiting for something to bite I knitted about half of a new washcloth. I like to take some simple knitting along with me to the beach. Washcloths are perfect knitting for the beach because they are easy and you don't have to worry about getting your project ruined by sand and sea. Because wash cloths are for washing so hey just wash them when you are finished.

All in all it was a very good day. By the way this is the only fish we caught that day. But that doesn't really matter it was all about enjoying time spent together and a fun activity.

Sewing Blogging Anniversary Giveaway: Japanese Edition « The Sew Convert

2011-04-28T08:28:00.000-07:00

Look at this great blog I just found today and she is hosting a great giveaway too. Some cute Japanese fabrics and a copy of a Japanese sewing magazine Cotton Friends. I have been trying to get my hands on a copy of that magazine for a while now. I hope to get back to posting on my blog soon. I have made a few new tops that I want to share but just haven't found the time to get pictures and write up a post.Sewing Blogging Anniversary Giveaway: Japanese Edition « The Sew Convert: "Home > Fabric, Giveaway, Japanese sewing books > Sewing Blogging Anniversary Giveaway: Japanese Edition"

The Polka Dot Chair too: Win a copy of Fresh Fabric Treats & A Fat Quarter Pack

2011-01-22T16:59:00.000-08:00

The Polka Dot Chair too: Win a copy of Fresh Fabric Treats & A Fat Quarter Pack Leave a comment here and you could win the new book Fresh Fabric Treats and a fat quarter pack.

I'm a Fabric Winner

2011-01-17T19:07:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while I will enter some blog contests. Mostly the ones where you just have to leave a comment to enter. Well I won some great fabric from Miss Sews It All. She has been working on clearing out some of her stash and has been giving a set of coordinating fat quarters to someone who comments on her post. I love reading her blog and feel like I have a new friend even though it is just by way of our blogs. She is a really talented sewest and she shares some sweet projects as well as many basic tips. Thanks for picking me and I am looking forward to receiving my new fabric. What shall I make with it?

Book Review

2011-01-02T11:56:00.000-08:00

I confess I am a craft book junkie. For Christmas I received two new craft books. One was Craft Challenge: Dozens of Ways to Repurpose a Tea Towel. This is a cute book with as the title suggest dozens of ways to use a tea towel. While I haven't had a chance to try any project yet they all look quick and easy. And really you could use any type of fabric for any of the projects in the book (like a fat quarter). I have a few of those linen novelty tea towels in my stash. I think the first project I am going to try is the last project in the book a adorable reusable shopping bag with a wooden handle. Also pictured on the front cover.

I just won an auction on Shop Goodwill for a collection of vintage tea towels several of which are those calendar towels. I hope the are in good enough condition to use for the projects in this book. There is a lunch roll that would be handy for putting on my lap while eating my lunch at work. I always seem to get food all over myself as I usually eat in my car when it is cold outside. I think the slippers are a clever use of a print tea towel I may want to try.

Some projects only use small pieces of the towels. Such as the eye glass holder, the tissue case or the stash your cash wallet. Most of the projects use only one tea towel and a few use some other coordinating fabric to finish the project. There are even a few garments made out of tea towels including a halter top for an adult and a few child skirts and aprons. At the beginning of the book you can find information about the history of tea towels and what exactly a tea towel is along with basic sewing information. Since every project was created by a different person as part of the challenge there is a section at the back of the book about the designers. I am looking forward to checking out their web sites and blogs.

My Last Swap of 2010

2010-12-31T17:44:00.000-08:00

I have been so busy since I started my new job I haven't had time to post on my Blog. The last swap I participated in on Craftster was The Chocolate Swap. For this swap we were required to craft one medium and two small projects and send at least $10 worth of chocolate. I think it is fun to get chocolate from another country. And while not mandatory it was encouraged to be open to sending to another country. Since I was unemployed when I joined this swap I thought I would have plenty of time to craft. I got my job shortly after partners were posted and I actually had to send a few days late. I was in such a rush to get my package in the mail that I forgot to take any pictures. This is the picture my partner posted in the gallery.

I sewed her a pair of flannel lounge pants. They are the turquoise with the cookies and milk. I trimmed them with brown flannel and white ric-rac. I made her a scarf that is the sort of stripey thing on top. I crocheted two washcloths and rolled them up to look like a jelly roll. And I wish I had taken some pictures of the Hershey Kiss shopping bag I made. I was really proud of this. My daughter gave me the idea for it and I patterned it after a purchased shopping bag I had that resembled a strawberry. The brown shopping bag folds up inside the Hershey Kiss. I used a silver sequined fabric for the kiss and a piece of white twill tape for the little paper label. I do plan to make another so maybe I can show some better pictures. I also put together a kit for making chocolate pretzels. And I send her some chocolate from a local candy store. Since my partner lived in Canada I thought she probably had access to many of the same chocolates that I do. So I tried to find some that she may not have tried before. She said she had never heard of any of the ones I sent.

For this swap I happened to be in a round robin with three partners. So I sent to a different person that who I received from. However I did receive a great package too. I got a really adorable chocolate cake box that is crocheted. A cute and well made cupcake pot holder and a cute cupcake tote bag. I can always use another tote bag. And inside the cake box was a delightful assortment of chocolate candy and cookies.

I Hope I will have time to join some more swaps in 2011. I have participated in almost 40 swaps since I learned about them on a blog I was reading. They are so much fun and they challenge me to craft things that I wouldn't normally make. I love coming up with ideas to fit my partners personality and the theme of the swap. I have had a chance to be creative in the mediums I am skilled at and I have even tried a few new crafts. And the best thing is I have met many new crafting friends.

Swap Dress

2010-11-20T17:49:00.000-08:00

My partner for the Craft Book Swap posted an action shot of the dress I sewed for her. I think it looks great on her and it even looks like it fits well. I am so glad she likes it. I love the style too and will probably make myself a dress from the same pattern.

Once the Craft Book Swap was complete I decided to join another swap. The Chocolate Swap is in process now. I have had my partner for a few weeks now. I have decided what I am going to make but I haven't had a chance to work on anything yet. Send date is Dec 1 so I still have time. I may be able to finish something tomorrow.

A trio of chickens

2010-11-20T11:15:00.000-08:00

My good friend Mary gave me this Crochet Pot Holder book for my birthday. It has a copyright from 1939. And it is just full of adorable pot holders. Each one has very simple instructions. When I spotted the chicken pot holders I knew I had to make some for Mary. She likes to collect whimsical chickens to decorate her kitchen. Maybe that was her motive in gifting me the book. LOL I don't mind as I love vintage crochet books and I plan to make myself some too.

I went through my yarn stash and found some red, yellow and orange Sugar and Cream cotton yarn. Perfect for some chickens. I also needed some felt for the combs and beaks as well as the underside of the chicken body. I had been holding on to this hideous orange wool coat for a while. I knew it would come in handy at some point. I had already felted it by throwing it into the washing machine in hot water. So now it is a nice heavy felt. I must have used some of it for another project because parts of it had already been used. I just don't remember what project. After adding some turquoise button eyes my chickens were complete. I love things that are practical as well as cute. Next maybe I will try the Three Little Maids pot holders on page 8. They are three multicultural faces with a holder. I am not sure if I feel right about putting a hot pot on a face. But they sure are cute.

I am sharing at this Link party Sunday Showcase

Claire Cami Dress

2010-11-10T07:15:00.000-08:00

My partner for the Craft Book Swap that I recently participated in admired my sewing projects and requested a dress or a skirt as the crafted part of of the swap. I was glad to make her a dress. I was a bit worried about making a garment for someone I had never met who couldn't come for fittings. I felt a bit more confident when I found we had similar measurements. I have a thicker waist and am shorter but I thought I could work with that. I decided on the Claire Cami Dress from Serindipity Studios. I had just purchased this pattern a few weeks before and hadn't sewed it up yet. But I liked the simple pullover styling and it has a high waist with a drawstring. Mainly the drawstring waist is what sold me on this dress, because she could adjust it to her liking.

I looked through her Wist and she had a lot of dresses on there so I got a good sense of her style. I wanted to use what I had on hand. I had this black linen rayon blend enough to make a dress and Trees liked black. I had some small scraps of this yellow, grey and black floral linen left over from a dress I made myself last year. Now I needed one more coordinating fabric to bring it all together. So I used this black and grey dotted fabric from the Authentic collection from Moda.

The pattern was easy to follow and has several design options for you to mix and match. Sometimes pullover dresses without buttons or zippers are a loose fit because you need to be able to pull it on and off easily. All the pictures on Trees Wist showed very fitted styles. This dress fit very well with no gaposis under the arms. And you can adjust the waist drawstring to put the gathers where you need them. I loved the way it fit me. I plan to make more for myself.

I wanted one last thing to tie it all together. As I was looking at the yellow floral scraps I noticed that one of the salvage edges had the print going all the way to the edge and the edge was fringe. Perfect for making a flower broach to pin to the shoulder. That completed the look and I loved it. I really wanted to keep it for myself but it was destined for China. Trees likes the dress too but she hasn't had time to post pictures wearing it. I will share her pictures as soon as she does. In the meantime this is me trying on her dress.

Silk Jacket

2010-11-07T12:06:00.000-08:00

I made up my new silk jacket yesterday from the Sew Serindipity Book. I sewed this to wear with my Ruffled Skirt from the same book. I followed the directions for the Silk and Linen Jacket from page 123. My jacket is made with all silk. I had the raw silk in my stash for a few years waiting for the right project. This silk does look like linen because it has a linen weave to it. And the cream colored silk dupioni is salvaged from a drapery workroom. The silk dupioni ravels like crazy when you cut it. I tried to serge the edges as soon as possible. The raw silk doesn't ravel much. I thought these two fabrics looked nice together. They are similar to the ones in the book. I think it makes a dressy looking jacket.

The jacket itself was easy to construct and went together quickly. It is a raglan sleeve style and I made the hip length. The pattern has three length options. I will wear this jacket but it is not my favorite. I prefer a set in sleeve on a jacket because you can get a better fit. I probably will use the ideas in the book for the other jackets but I don't think I will use this pattern again. I will use the ideas with another pattern with set in sleeves.

As I was sewing the jacket I thought that the neck looked quite small but I just followed the pattern and I didn't have the facing on yet. So the seam would open up the neckline some. While the neck is not really to tight I don't like how high it comes up. With the high neck and the collar I think it looks a bit like a Pilgrim's garb. I was going to wear it for Thanksgiving so maybe the Pilgrim look would work.

The other thing that bothers me about this jacket is the upper sleeves. I don't like the way they wrinkle and bag in the upper arm. This is partially a result of the Raglan sleeve style. I can't really take the sleeves in as that would make it hard to move my arms with this jacket on. Both the neck problem and the sleeve problem could be changed at the cutting stage but not much to do about it at the end stage. I think I would like the neckline if it was about an inch lower. And the sleeves would hang better if the seam didn't taper to the wrist but was a straighter seam. But that would make for a loose bottom edge.

So next jacket I make will have set in sleeves or it will be a very loose swing style jacket. I have several patterns in my stash with set in sleeves. I am still going to try the dress or tunic from the book. I think I will like the dress even though it has raglan sleeves too. I am definitely going to make more of the skirts from the book.

inspire co.: Inspired Ideas, The Christmas Issue...

2010-11-05T11:34:00.000-07:00

inspire co.: Inspired Ideas, The Christmas Issue... Take a look at this beautiful Christmas Craft magazine on Inspire Co. There is a lot of work and talent put into this online magazine. I would like to try the embroidered Christmas trees and a few of the garlands. I better get started.

Serindipity Skirt

2010-11-05T08:37:00.000-07:00

I picked up a copy of Sew Serindipity several weeks ago at the Sewing Expo. I was delighted to find that it was signed by the author Kay Whitt. I love the styles in this book and the way she mixes prints. The book comes with three patterns in an envelope in the back of the book. There is a pattern for a tunic-dress, a jacket and a skirt. I have plans to make at least one of everything. The book shows many variations of the three basic patterns. Even though you use the same pattern every project has a different look.

I decided to make the Ruffled Skirt from page 58. I was able to find three coordinating fabrics in my stash to get started. I thought this brown floral looked like fall. It is actually a decorator fabric but I am always drawn to decorator fabrics for clothing. I love the feel of this fabric. It has a soft feel and a linen weave and the colors are lovely. The silk dupioni I used for the ruffles was a piece I salvaged from a drapery workroom. One side was cut on the bias and it was not a very big piece but just big enough for this project. And it was free which is always a plus. The brown I used for the bottom panel I have had in my stash for a few years. I don't think I had anything in mind when I bought it on the clearance rack. But I loved the satin and velvet ribbons sewn down the length. There is a tiny strip of bias plaid fabric sewn down one of the velvet strips and I liked the way that tied in with the colors of the floral fabric.

I am quite happy with the way this skirt turned out and maybe I will have time to make a jacket to wear with it before Thanksgiving. I think I may have to take in the waist a bit because while it feels fine when just trying it on I fear it will do one of those twisting dances when I wear it. That happens to me when my skirt is just a bit to loose and I look down and discover that my skirt is about 6" off center. I always wonder how long I have been walking around like that. Tightening it up a bit should solve that problem.

A New Knit Dress

2010-11-02T17:45:00.000-07:00

My good friend Mary took me to this great fabric store near her home called A Fabric Place. I don't think they have a web site. They have all kinds of beautiful fabrics from silks and wools that I never see at my chain fabric stores. While I was there I only bought one piece of fabric. It was this lovely slinky jersey knit. I got it with thoughts of making this dress from Butterick 5484. The pattern has three views with the only changes being the length. There is a short top length, a tunic length and a below the knee dress. The dress has a cross over top that passes through a buckle. I had a bit of a challenge finding the right kind of buckle, but I found one in the perfect color at Hancock Fabric.

The dress is a pretty easy and quick project to sew. There are only two pattern pieces. I have made crossover tops before and I always get confused about which seam to sew first and how to make the crossover in the front. I usually do it wrong at least one time before I get it right. This dress was no exception. I had to take one seam out because I sewed the wrong seam before putting the buckle on. The dress was easy to sew but the fabric was very soft and slinky so that made it trickier to sew. Because the fabric was so thin and stretchy it wanted to get sucked down into the throat plate. This happened several times during construction but I was able to catch it before it made a hole in the fabric. Also I think because of how stretchy the fabric was it was quite large under the arms but it was easy to take in before I sewed the hem on the sleeves.

The fabric is very clingy so it shows every figure flaw. I decided I need to wear one of those suck it in slips with this dress. I do like the finished dress though and I think I will make another in the tunic length. But I will probably use a sturdier knit next time.

I am not really very good at taking pictures and I have this photographic disorder. It manifest itself when a camera flash goes off I get a weird expression on my face. It happens nearly every time anyone takes my picture. So I decided to cut my head off in this picture to take care of that problem. I would prefer to sew than spending all afternoon taking pictures of myself. Even if I spent all day there is no guarantee that any of the pictures would have a decent expression on my face.

Book Review

2010-10-30T19:42:00.000-07:00

I love sewing and craft books and I am always getting a new one. My newest book is SEW U Home Stretch The Built By Wendy Guide to Sewing Knit Fabrics. This is a great book for a beginner sewer who wants to start sewing knits or an advanced sewest who just wants to expand a bit on designs. The first part of the book is a guide to choosing knit fabrics patterns and equipment for sewing knits. And then a guide to various techniques for finishing a knit garment. After that is a very detailed guide to sewing a basic crew neck t-shirt.

The book comes with three patterns for basic knit garments. A crew neck t-shirt, a raglan shirt and basic knit dress patterns are found in an envelope at the back of the book. The patterns come in XS to L. There is a chapter covering construction for each of the three looks. But my favorite feature of the book is that each chapter expands on the basic garment to show how you can change the basic look by altering the pattern. It first shows construction and cutting for the basic garment and then shows six variations that you can achieve by changing the neckline, length or other parts of the basic look.

The last chapter covers recycling or using old t-shirts to make new garments with. I love sewing with knits. And as Wendy comments in the book sewing with knits is easy and most of the time easier that sewing a garment with woven fabrics. This is because knit lend themselves well to basic styles with few seams. And most of the time you don't need zippers or buttons because of the stretch of knits. You can make a fitted top without a zipper and still be able to get it on and off.

I can usually sew a t-shirt in an hour or so and I love that kind of quick results. I have several knits in my stash and I could use some new shirts. I think I will be making some up in the next week or so. And I am going to try getting a bit creative and changing the basic pattern. I like to wear tank tops layered under jackets or sweaters in the winter. I could use some of those in every color. And a new knit dress to wear with tights or leggings when the weather gets cold. I can't wait to get started.

One Dozen Pumpkins

2010-10-15T10:06:00.000-07:00

I have been seeing a lot of fabric pumpkins around blog land lately. After viewing several tutorials I came up with my own version. I didn't really have any clear rules I just sort of made them up as I went along. For fabric I used decorator samples in shades of orange and tan. A friend gave me a huge pile of samples. I went through them looking for anything that would make a good pumpkin. My favorites are the none traditional colors. I love the tan dotted one and the tapestry pumpkin. Some of them are a red orange and they look more like apples to me. But apples are a good fall decoration too.

I further up cycled by using my collection of plastic grocery bags waiting for the recycle bin in my garage. It took a lot of plastic bags to fill up a pumpkin even though the largest one are only about 10 inches tall. I also used marbles to give some weight to the bottoms so they would stand up. Each pumpkin is a bit different because I just cut the curves as I went along and used whatever shape fabric I had. Some are short and squat, some are tall and thin, and some are just nice and round. I did keep them fairly symmetrical by cutting both side curves at the same time. I didn't want my pumpkins to be lopsided. I like them all grouped together. I think I will use them to decorate my mantle. Sunday Showcase

Black Cat Greeter

2010-10-13T09:12:00.000-07:00

This is from the same pattern as my ghost McCall's 3313. And this was oh so easy to make too. He is made of black felt with felt applique eyes and mouth and button teeth. There is a loop formed in his tail that you hang him up with. In the same pattern there is a standing witch and a pumpkin draft dodger. All quick and easy projects.

Holloween Ghost

2010-10-13T08:46:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to make these ghost for about six years now. I picked up McCall's 3313 because I thought the ghost were so cute. I wanted to make a display for my front porch. Every year time just got away from me before Holloween. And I just don't feel right about making Holloween decorations after the fact. Anyhow by then I am getting ready for Christmas. Last year I even purchased the felt I needed for this project.

This year I was determined to get these things made. They were actually a very simple project to sew. Just the shapes pancaked together. The faces are appliqued with fusible web. And they have button teeth and eyes. I even sewed the buttons on by machine. My machine has a built in stitch and a special presser foot for that purpose. I never tried it before but it worked great and it even ties the stitch off at the end.

The pattern called for using tomato cages for the inside form. But I didn't have any tomato cages and it was the wrong time of year to find them anywhere. So I improvised and used what I had on hand. I made a sort of tee-pee with three wooden garden stakes held together with duct tape. And then I padded out the top with plastic grocery bags. Wrapped the lights around and pulled the ghost over. I used upside down pots as a sort of stand to keep them from falling over. I am glad I finally got these done even though I don't get any trick-or-treaters at my house. I will enjoy my ghost.

Under The Table and Dreaming: The Anniversary Rose WINNER and Sunday Showcases

2010-10-12T18:58:00.000-07:00

Under The Table and Dreaming: The Anniversary Rose WINNER and Sunday Showcases I got featured on Under The Table And Dreaming Sunday Showcase.

My Strip Skirt got a lot of attention. Even Kay Whitt the creator of the Strip Skirt Pattern commented on my post. She has many more adorable patterns available at http://www.sewserendipity.com/. I picked up a signed copy of her new book Sew Serendipity. I want to make one of everything in the book. I have plans to make the skirt on the cover first. Of course I am using different fabric but I love the scrappy look of that skirt. There is a jacket that I want to try and I think I have the perfect fabric already in my stash. I also purchased a The Claire Cami Dress Pattern while I was at the Sewing Expo. I am thinking about making something for my latest swap partner from either the book or the dress pattern. I am looking through my stash to see if I have any fabric I could use. I am looking forward to using these patterns a lot.

A New Top

2010-10-09T16:50:00.000-07:00

I needed a new top to wear with my Strip Skirt I shared a few post ago. My inspiration was a white knit top I had in my closet. It had a ruffled band around the neckline in the same knit as the shirt. I had this brown jersey knit fabric in my stash. And I used New Look 6735. I have had this pattern in my stash for quite a while so I am not sure if it is still available. There is a short sleeve and a three quarter sleeve t-shirt, a skirt, pants and a cardigan in the envelope. All are sized for stretch knits. I have sewed the t-shirt many times before. I like the way it fits and it is a good basic style.

This is the first time I have sewed this style with embellishment. I decided to use some of the scrap strips I had left over from my Strip Skirt. I cut them into five or six inch pieces and sewed them together to make a long strip. I wanted a variety at my neckline. I gathered both edges and arranged them around the neckline. Then I used strips of the knit to cover the raw edges.

I did run into a bit of a problem on the top neck edge. Even though I tried it on after sewing the ruffle on to make sure it was laying flat. Everything looked good. But it looked horrible after I sewed the knit neckband on. I think this was because the knit was very soft and stretchy and the gathered band was quite bulky compared to the weight of the knit. I was able to fix this by running a piece of narrow elastic through the neckband.

This knit was very stretchy and lightweight so I suspected that I would have trouble with the hems. I could have used my serger cover stitch but I didn't feel like setting it up for that. And I wasn't sure I had enough thread either. I tested a scrap of the knit using a knit stitch on my regular sewing matching and it looked like it would work without a lot of stretching. Well after sewing a few inches on the real hem my soft stretchy fabric got sucked down into the throat plate and I couldn't pull it out. I had to remove the throat plate and cut the ball of thread that formed and caused it to lodge in there. Now I had a hole in my hem. I didn't want to make my hem three inches shorter which would have been one way to fix it. I just sewed the hole up with a straight stitch and finished the hem. First I put some tear away stabilizer under it to prevent the fabric from being sucked down again. I should have thought of that in the first place. In the end the hems turned out nice. I don't think I have ever used that stitch on my machine but it is really nice for knits. It is a slight zig-zag that goes back on itself every stitch. On the top it looks like a straight stitch and underneath you can see a small zig-zag. And the hems are stretchy without looking stretched out. If this worked on this very slinky hard to handle knit I think it should be great for a more stable knit. I see myself using this stitch more in the future. That is if I remember.

Craft Book Swap

2010-10-07T20:44:00.000-07:00

I joined a Craft Book Swap and we got our partners the other day. My partner lives in Taiwan so I am excited about getting something from Taiwan. For the swap we are required to send a craft book that our partner is interested in along with supplies to complete at least one project from the book. We also need to send one medium or two small crafted items of our own choosing. I am excited to be getting a Chinese craft book. I can't wait to see what she sends me.

Right now I am deciding what I should send monkey_girl. She likes wearing dresses and I like to sew dresses. But I'm not sure about getting a dress to fit someone I have never seen. And she has no way of coming over for a fitting. I may think about making a dress that has some adjustments build into it like a drawstring waist or something so she could adjust it to her liking. I am still in the early stages of this swap and I don't have any solid ideas yet. I have until November first to send and I am sure I will come up with something by then. She has several things on her wist that I could make for her. I will ask her some more questions and usually once I come up with one good idea my mind keeps going with more ideas than I can use. I don't think finding the right book will be a problem. I think this will be a fun swap.

Strip Skirt

2010-10-06T12:57:00.000-07:00

Some of the things I picked up at The Sewing Expo this past Saturday were this Jelly Roll and The Stella Strip Skirt Pattern. The skirt is made entirely of 2 1/2 inch strips making it a real time saver if you use Jelly Rolls. The skirt can be made with any fabric that you cut into 2 1/2 inch strips. The pattern is from Serendipity Studios. I picked out this Marcus Brothers Fabrics Jelly Roll because I thought I had some olive cotton satin fabric in my stash at home. At first I thought the olive was a bit off from the colors in the strips. But when I put them out together I liked the look and to me everything blended well.

The pattern said it was a quick and easy design. I thought it did look easy but I was sceptical about the quick part. To me a quick project is less than 2 hour to finish and this skirt took much longer than that. I didn't really time myself but I worked on it the better part of two days. And I didn't run into any of my usual snags. The pattern was easy to follow and there are several options for finishing the hem edge. I decided to make a ruffle hem edge using four of the strips that were the same fabric. My original idea was to piece together random sizes of the leftover strips I used in the skirt to make the ruffle. But at this point I was so close to being done I didn't want to spend the time piecing and arranging. I love the finished skirt. I am not usually attracted to greens so I don't have any tops in my wardrobe that match this skirt. I did have a light brown jersey knit in my stash I could make a t-shirt out of. I am trying to decide how I could embellish the t-shirt to bring the look all together. I am thinking of making some of those fabric rosettes I have been seeing all over blog land. Or maybe some ruffles out of the leftover strips. Perhaps I should just leave it plain least it look to frumpy and home made.

I will be sharing this at Amylouwho Sew-n-Tell Friday. Check out all the great projects there.

Petite Purse

2010-10-04T15:21:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday I attended Original Sewing & Quilt Expo. I had a great time and was able to pick up some lovely fabrics and new patterns. I was attracted to this booth that had adorable bag patterns and unique purse hardware. I got leather handles, cute zippers with charms on them and the pattern for the Petite Purse. They have and online store Quilt Plus.
The Japanese fabrics on the left are from a booth called Some Art Fabric
. I used the patchwork looking fabric for my little purse. The gold handles and the brown zipper I got to go with the Eiffel Tower fabric. I fell in love with just about every fabric they had in Some Art Fabric. I did purchase a few other pieces. I will save those for another post.

So today I made up my little Petite Purse. This pattern was super easy. It took me longer to hand sew the handles on than it did to cut out and sew up the entire purse. The handle could only be sewed by hand. They were not difficult to sew but they did take a bit of time. I plan to make another purse with a few changes to the directions. The pattern does have three size options and I made the smallest one. I am happy with the results although I am not sure if I can use it myself. I think the purse may be better suited for someone younger. My daughter may get this one. Also the fabric looks very summery and the fall season is upon us. But there is always next summer.

Monogram Napkins

2010-10-01T08:49:00.000-07:00

My daughter has a few friends who have been getting married lately. She is a recent college graduate who hasn't found a real job yet, so she is on a tight budget. She still wants to give her friend a nice gift. She wasn't able to attend the wedding so she needs to mail the gift. She picked out this set of four Melamine Plates and a set of four matching Cocktail Spreaders at a Tuesday Morning. These would not break during shipping and even though they were not the dishes on her registry they matched nicely. We felt like it needed something else.

I had these nice restaurant style white napkins in my stash. I had picked several packages of twelve a few years ago when I first bought my sewing embroidery machine. I knew they would make great gifts. We picked out a monogram that was close to the one on the plates and a close embroidery thread color. The napkins still needed something to make them more modern. So I added the black jumbo Ric-Rack around the edge. I sewed the Ric-Rack on in a zig-zag that I had to turn manually at every point. I could have just sewed right down the middle but the points of the Ric-Rack would have curled up every time they were washed. They would have to be carefully pressed each time they were used. I know I would hate doing that so I sewed from point to point to keep all the Ric-Rack from curling. This took a lot more time to sew that way but I think it is worth saving much frustration in the future. I wanted the bride to be able to use these napkins. I know I would never use them if I had to press all those points. I think they turned out nice I hope the bride and groom like them.

A Poodle Skirt

2010-09-25T17:10:00.001-07:00

I attended a Relay For Life event On Friday night. These are held all over the country as a fund raising effort for The American Cancer Society. Teams are formed and team members walk a course throughout the night. I went to support my good friend Patti who lost her husband to cancer just three weeks ago. I can relate to her so much because I too lost my husband to cancer twelve years ago. I have been a team leader in the past for my local Relay For Life event.

The theme for Patti's team was 50's and she ask me to make her a Poodle skirt. Since I am still in the Stashbusting September I had to find everything I needed in my stash. I knew I had everything I needed I just had to find it. I have been in a sort of putting away mode for a while now. And for some strange reason I can't remember where I put things. When everything was in a mess I seemed to know where everything was.

I had a pattern for the poodle skirt but it was a child's size 8 and while Patti is tiny that size was way to small. However this is a pretty basic pattern for a circle skirt with only two seams and elastic waistband. It would be easy to enlarge. I added six inches to it by cutting the sides 1 1/2 inches larger. When this is multiplied by the four edges it gives the size I needed. I also added 6 inches to the waistband piece. I used a heavy polyester satin that I had in my stash for several years. My original idea for the poodle was to use an applique from a dance costume my daughter wore when she was little. I started to remove the poodle and thought it would probably be faster to just make the poodle out of some pink fur I had in my stash. But now I had to find the pink fur. The skirt itself only took about an hour and a half to make but I spent way more time than that looking for the fabrics. As I was sewing I spotted some pink scalloped trim in my sewing room. I decided to use it in the hem. I think it added just the right touch and it also made it easier to finish the hem as quickly as possible. I was in kind of a time crunch for this project. I finished it at 2:30 and left the house at 3:00 to meet Patti and go to the Relay. The skirt fit her nice and she looked cute in it.

A new top.

2010-09-22T18:06:00.000-07:00

I made this top a few weeks ago from fabric in my stash. I joined Stashbusting September and I am supposed to be using up my stash and not buying new. I have done well at not buying anything to add to my already large stash. But I have been so busy with other things that I haven't had much time to spend in my sewing room. So far I have only sewed two items from my stash. One was the pink dress from a few post ago. The other is this top. And actually both fabrics are relatively new to my stash. The pink fabric I bought last year at the Sewing Expo. This dotted jersey I got at Jo-Ann Fabric at the beginning of the summer. The pattern I used was Simplicity 2345 view A. I was about 2 inches short on my fabric. But I was able to make it work by shortening the front facing a bit. This is not noticeable at all in the finished top. All in all I like this top.

My Swap Apron Arrived

2010-09-20T09:35:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I have been able to post a blog. I received my apron from The Super Simple Apron Swap. My partner sent an adorable apron with one of my favorite themes (cupcakes). She also sent a couple of extras, some dish scrubbies and a bar of lovely homemade soap. I have participated in several apron swaps and all were such fun and I received some nice aprons. I have really started wearing aprons around the house for cooking and cleaning and sometimes for just eating. I tend to be a messy eater too. I want to wear an apron to protect my clothes but at the same time I don't want to mess up my pretty apron. I guess I need to make some out of leather or something practical. I wore one of my older aprons the other month for making funnel cakes at a local fair and it got really yucky from all the oil splatters. My clothes stayed nice but my apron wouldn't come clean. Oh well I guess that is what aprons are for.

A Wrap Dress

2010-09-05T11:17:00.000-07:00

When I received my package from Goodwill Online a few weeks ago this New Look Pattern 6861 was among the goodies inside. Wrap dresses seem to be in style right now. Even though this pattern is probably out of print (I think it may be from somewhere in the 90's) I decided if I shortened the length it would be just about right. I purchased this pink rayon circle fabric at the Sewing Expo I went to last year. I love the feel and drape of this fabric as well as the colors. This pattern seemed like it would be a good use of this fabric. I spent yesterday putting it together.

This was actually a very easy to make dress. But of course I seem to complicate things by discovering fitting problems when the dress is almost complete. I plan to adjust my pattern now just in case I ever make this one again. As I mentioned I knew that the length was way to long for the look of today's wrap dresses. So I shortened the length of the pattern by 10 inches. Also the pattern was one size to small so I added a bit to the sides as well. There is nothing worse than going to all the trouble of making a dress to discover that you can't get your big toe into it. And normally in the big four pattern companies you wear a few sizes larger than ready to wear. You just need to go by your body measurements for the size you wear and ignore the size you wear in ready to wear. I know for most of us women we don't want to admit to wearing several sizes larger. But it is just a number and no one is going to know what size you made unless you tell them. When you make it yourself you don't even need to put a size anywhere on the garment. Enough said about that.

Well since I joined Stashbusting September over at T-Shirt Diaries I am not supposed to buy any new stash and just use what I already have. I had everything I needed except for the perfect color of thread. Even though there are many shades of pink in my fabric the two shades of pink thread I had were a bit off. I had one that was to light a shade and the other was a smokey pink while all the pinks in my fabric were bright. The smokey pink blended well enough and I even had enough matching serger thread to go with it.

All was going well and I was trying the dress on as I sewed to make sure it was fitting as I wanted. My main concern was the neckline. Those crossover necklines can be fitting problems by being to gaping and floppy. And they tend to be very low cut. Since I am fairly short this seems to be something I run into quite often. At every stage of trying on I thought the neckline was lying smooth and covering well. But when I tried it on after sewing the facing on it turned out to fit terribly floppy and ill fitting. I am also a bit short waisted and this flaw showed up after I had the dress all finished except for the hem. And for some unknown reason I decided to sew the sleeves on before sewing the front facing on. I knew I could get the dress to fit me but it was going to take some time.

I have worked in clothing alterations most of my life so I was determined to get this dress right. I had to reduce the front neck edge by about 2 inches. To do this I had to remove the sleeves and take the shoulders apart and remove enough of the facing to make room for the new seam. When I had that all done every thing fit smooth and even the waist line was brought up to where it belonged. Now I felt like I could wear this dress in public. Now I need to work on altering my waist line as these wrap dresses would look so much better on a thinner frame. But that is something that will take much more work than making this dress.

The T-Shirt Diaries: Stashbusting September Blogs - Link Up Time

2010-09-01T07:27:00.000-07:00

The T-Shirt Diaries: Stashbusting September Blogs - Link Up Time
I joined The T-Shirt Diaries Stashbusting September. This means that I have promissed to craft only from my stash for the whole month. I am not allowed to buy any new supplies or even any old supplies from a thrift store. I realized that I have enough stash to last me for several years but suddenly I feel the urge to go to JoAnn's and use my latest coupon. It is sort of like being on a diet and craving cheesecake.

Last night while watching TV I cut out several patterns and looked through some of my stash in an effort to actually use the stash I have. I have several garments in mind to stitch up. I also have several projects that I have started so this may be a good opportunity to finish what I have started. I have been wanting to crochet a rug for my kitchen using all my ugly fabrics. You know the ones you look at and think why in the world did I ever buy that. I knitted a huge rug last year from many of my uglies and it turned out quite cute. The fabrics get muted and you can no longer see the patterns and it seems like everything blends together even though some of the fabrics would look horrible together in a quilt or garment. I want a long runner for my kitchen.

OK now that I have this plan in writing I may be able to stick with it. Wish me luck!!

I got featured.

2010-08-31T09:58:00.000-07:00

I am so excited that I got featured on Creative Itch. I have never been featured before and I don't know what the proper etiquette is. She featured my upcycled denim apron. I really enjoyed making this project and it is something I plan to keep for myself. But I am keeping an eye out for more denim jumpers I can turn into aprons.http://thecreativeitchboutique.blogspot.com/2010/08/sew-cute-tuesday-83110.html

Apron Swap Complete

2010-08-31T07:58:00.000-07:00

I am participating in The Super Simple Apron Swap and I finished every thing and I am ready to send it off. My partners favorite color was green so I started by looking through my stash to see if I had anything in green. Green is not my favorite color so I don't usually buy green. I have many small fat quarters because I often need a small piece of green for details in an applique or something. But nothing big enough to make an apron with. I have a huge stash and lately I have been trying to use up some of it. Like I said in an earlier post friends often give me fabrics when they are cleaning out their closets. I had just received a bag of free fabric shortly after I joined this swap. The purple and pink flowered fabric was in that bag and there was about 5 yards of it. More than enough to make an apron. The green fabric I used came from a bag of free gift fabric someone gave me last year. It coordinated perfectly with the flowered fabric.

I decided to make Butterick 5474 view E. The lower skirt is made up of two aprons layered. The green one is slightly smaller than the flowered one so the flowered fabric peeks out all around. The top is lined in the same fabric making for easy construction. There is a round collar and three buttons down the center front. I like the way the collar makes the apron easy to put on because you don't have to mess with tying the neck. You can just slip it over your head. I would love to make myself this style. I already had the vintage style buttons in my stash that matched the fabrics nicely.

We decided to send small extras, (the swap only required one apron). I trimmed a hand towel with a ruffle and green band. And I made some micro oven mitts. These micro oven mitts are great for taking thing out of the microwave. I had made some several years ago and had almost forgot about them. I think I need to make myself some more of these too. I love joining swaps because it challenges me to make things I would not normally make. Even though I have found a new love for making and wearing aprons in the last few years, it wasn't until I joined my first apron swap that I really discovered my love for aprons.

Another Quick Top

2010-08-27T08:38:00.000-07:00

I whipped up another top from Butterick 5216. This time I made view B however I made mine a bit shorter. I used some free fabric that a friend had given me. It is sort of a novelty satin in white. This is a super easy top to sew up. There are only three pattern pieces, the front, the back and the shoulder strap tie. I made the large according to my measurements but it turned out huge on me. But it was very easy to take in the sides to fit better. I think I will make another one in a more drapey fabric. It is a good thing this top is so easy to sew because summer is almost over. I still have a month or so that it will be hot where I live.

A quick top

2010-08-25T09:28:00.000-07:00

I made a quick and easy top the other day, Butterick 5216. There were four views on the pattern. Really slightly different versions of two tops. I made view C. View D is the same except it has sleeves. This top would have been a very quick project except I had to complicate it by using this creased fabric. The fabric made it difficult to cut out because I had to try and stretch out the fabric on the crosswise grain to get the right size. The lengthwise grain had no creases so that could be cut as it was. There are tiny sequins and rows of decorative stitching on the fabric too. The decorations were not a problem when cutting or sewing.

I must not have flattened the crosswise grain enough because when I tried on the top one armhole was about two inches bigger than the other. It was easy enough to alter. I still think I need to make one more adjustment to the back neck. After wearing the top for a few hours I don't like how floppy the neck edge is. I think this will be an easy fix of putting a pleat at the center back neck. Because of the texture of this fabric the pleat will barely be noticeable. This will make the neck fit more closely. I was also thinking about shortening the length a bit. I haven't decided yet if this length is a bit to long for my short stature. I will probably wear it a few times and then decide how I like it. The top is very low cut but I plan to wear a cami under it always. With the fabric being a bit shear and the neckline ending below the bust it must be worn with something under, even though the pattern envelope shows the top being worn alone.

Apron Swap

2010-08-23T20:18:00.000-07:00

I joined an Apron Swap on Craftster. I finished an adorable apron for my partner today. I am not sure if she reads my blog or not. I don't want to post a picture yet just in case. However I made another apron using the same pattern different view. I used Butterick 5474. For fabric I upcycled a couple of denim jumpers I purchased at the thrift shop for $2.00 each. I adapted the pattern from view A.

Since one of the jumpers had this cute birdhouse applique I knew I wanted to use it for the bib of my apron. The fringe fabric around the applique inspired the fringed binding. So instead of binding the edge with bias tape as the pattern suggested I cut 2 inch wide fabric strips and attached them around the unfinished edge of the apron. Then I sewed the jumbo chenille Ric-rac down the middle. Then I clipped the both edges of the strip at intervals about 1/2 inch apart. After attaching the pockets which came from the lower band on the jumper I threw the apron into the washing machine. The washing and drying helped to make the fabric fringe and ravel which was the look I was going for.

When I saw these jumpers in the thrift store I knew I was going to use them for another project. The birdhouse jumper said apron to me. Once I decided what I wanted to make I had to finish it right away because I was anxious to see the results. It was a quick project and I love the results. Even though I was in the apron swap on Craftster I didn't think this apron was my partners style. I wanted to make her one with new fabric. Actually her apron is made from free fabric that friends had given me. When people know that sew I they often clean out their closets and offer fabric to me. I usually take whatever is offered and give away what I don't want. It is all good.

A giveaway

2010-08-11T20:02:00.000-07:00

I just discovered this blog Craft, Sew, Create. She is having a giveaway of a Hunky Dory Jelly Roll. I hope I win. I have entered several giveaways and I haven't won any yet maybe it will be my turn this time.

Thrift Store Finds

2010-07-31T18:18:00.000-07:00

I did a little shopping the other day at my local thrift stores. I picked up a few lambswool sweaters. I washed them and felted them as soon as I got home. Now they are ready to go when I decide on a project for them. I like the way the lambswool feels even after it is felted it is still nice and soft. The pink sweater is lambswool and angora so it is fuzzy but still nice and soft.

I got these two denim dresses for $2.00 each. I think I will upcycle them into an apron and a couple of tote bags. I will save the buttons on the sunflower dress for another project. I like the birdhouse applique and the sunflower embroideries. I am sure I will be able to use them in an apron. I have some pink jumbo ric rac that would make cute trim if I made an apron using the chenille birdhouse somewhere. I have several ideas in my head about what to do with these two dresses. I have been seeing so many cute ideas while searching around on craft and sewing blogs I was in an upcycled mood.

This is a complete kit that I found at Goodwill for making what the kit calls a memory quilt. One of those quilts made out of your collection of t-shirts. Everything was included in the kit except the batting and the t-shirts. I didn't want a t-shirt quilt. So I had another idea. I had bought a couple of drapery samples packs several years ago at a discount home dec fabric store. I think I paid about $2.00 for 10 samples that were about 24 inches square. I have made several projects with them in the past. I started on a quilted throw today using my samples and some old crocheted doilies. The kit has tan minky fabric for the boarders and the backing. I got the kit for $8.00 and the tan color goes nicely with the old fashioned look of the samples and the vintage doilies.

In the bottom of the quilt kit box if found this adorable necklace. It looks like it has a dictionary page under a glass dome. With the words friendship on it. My daughter wanted to keep this so it is hers now. It was a lovely surprise to find.

Stash Manicure: Say Goodbye to July and Hello Giveaway!

2010-07-31T09:27:00.000-07:00

Stash Manicure: Say Goodbye to July and Hello Giveaway! Check out this givaway. I love the Moda Charm pack solids. This is a nice site with good ideas for using your stash.

Sewstylish

2010-07-29T15:09:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I bought a package of two Sewstylish magazines packaged together in a plastic bag from JoAnn Fabrics. A week or two later I bought another set of different issues at a different JoAnn's. One of the covers pictured one pattern:11outfits! I liked the looks of several ideas in the magazine so I decided to pick up the Simplicity pattern. I waited for four days when Simplicity patterns went on sale for $1.99. I was surprised when I couldn't find the pattern at the store. I decided maybe they hadn't released the pattern yet.

So this afternoon I was looking through my new magazines and saw an advertisement for a special Sewstylish issue to be release Jan 2009. At first I thought this must be a typo. But after looking through the other three I discovered that none of the magazines I just bought were current issues. They were from 2007 and 2008. Well that was why I couldn't find either of the two Simplicity Patterns I was hoping to buy. They have been discontinued.

I am not really disappointed about the old issues as they still have many good ideas in them. I am just a bit surprised because I have never seen anything but current issues of magazines on the stands at JoAnn Fabric's. I couldn't see the date on them because they were packaged together inside a plastic bag and a sticker saying Prepacked Set Issues not sold separately was covering up the date and bar code. I probably would not have noticed the date anyways. The good thing about this is I am pretty sure I did not already own any of the four magazines. I do buy a lot of sewing and craft magazines including Sewstylish. So I ended up with one issue of Quick Stuff To Sew and three Sewstylish winter 2007, fall 2007, and spring 2008. And I guess I don't keep up on current fashions because I didn't notice that the styles were three years old.

A gift for the cat.

2010-07-28T06:29:00.000-07:00

I picked up Nicky Epstein Knitting A Kiss In Every Stitch a few weeks ago. This book has some adorable knitting projects that would make great gifts for family and friends. There are many darling hats for all ages from infants to teen and beyond. I want to try the Pampering Spa Cloths. They have a beautiful organic look to them. The sweet sock have a cute lace cuff that I would love to try. I love making socks but I get all happy making the first one and never get the second one finished. I have several sock projects in progress around this house I supose I should finish those before starting on another.

Well I spotted a project that would be quick to finish and I already had everything I needed in my stash. The Knitty Kitty Play Mat was something I knew my cat would love. Well my cat is kind of lazy and mostly sleeps so a play mat is not something she would play with. However I knew she would love to sleep on it. This mat is easy to knit and then it is felted in the washing machine to make it nice and thick. And Chloe my large cat does enjoy sleeping on it.

I thought she need something for this basket that she took over. I had used this basket for holding crafts at Bible School and had emptied it out and sat it on the floor. Chloe imediately decided to take a nap in it. Now it was covered in cat hair so it now belonged to her. I didn't really mind because it was an old stained basket not much use to me anymore. As you can see Chloe like her new mat.

A New Top

2010-07-27T07:19:00.000-07:00

I have had this fabric in my stash for about a year. It is a swim suit knit that I purchased from the clearance table at Hancock's. I was never planning to make a swim suit from it. I have been in the mood to make knit shirts for a while now. This kind of knit is so easy to sew and knit tops are usually a very quick project to complete. I used Simplicity 2852. This pattern has six views. But really just two basic necklines with various sleeves and hem lengths. I used view C without the elastic at the hem.

This top was so easy and quick. I started cutting it out at 3:00pm and finished in time for a date I had at 6:00pm. That is my kind of project. I used my serger along with my regular sewing machine. Actually you don't really need a serger for most knits especially these real stable knits. You just have to know when to stretch and when to let the fabric relax while sewing. You should stretch a bit while sewing the side seams but the shoulder seams need a piece of twill tape to stabilize and keep it from stretching. For the hem I just did a top stitched hem on my sewing machine. The hem is another place where you don't want to stretch to much but just let the fabric feed trough the machine at a normal pace. However this knit springs back quickly. It was very hot when I wore this top but I was very comfortable in this lose fitting top.

Quilted Table Runner

2010-07-26T19:10:00.000-07:00

I bought this batch of quilt squares last week from Goodwill Online. There were eight of these quilt blocks. I added the blue, pink and yellow sashing strips and made a table runner out of four of them. I added the sashing strips because I didn't really like the yellow at the outside edge of the squares. So I tried the blue, pink and yellow dotted fabric I had in my stash. I thought it had a vintage look to it and it matched the other colors in the blocks. After adding the sashing strips I liked the look of the blocks much better.

The quilt blocks were hand sewn together. A few of them were a bit stretched out in the center but I was able to fix them by taking a few of the seams in just a bit. Since the blocks were already sewn together I decided to do a quick project with them. I had enough to make two table runners one for me and one to give away. So far I have only finished the one for me. It is actually quite long so I may make the next one with only three squares. I didn't want to hand quilt it so I used a quilting stitch on my machine. I used a dark pink embroidery thread to do the stitching because I thought it tied everything together.

I don't do much quilting I think because it always takes longer than I would like it to. I prefer garment sewing. I do enjoy picking out fabric combinations for quilts and seeing how everything looks together. But most quilts seem like they take forever to finish and that is the part I don't like. This is not the best sewing I have done but I like it and I like the vintage feel of it. Maybe the next one will turn out better.

Some crochet

2010-07-18T14:18:00.000-07:00

I took a little break from sewing and did some crocheting. I love crochet I taught myself when I was about 13 from a Woman's Day magazine. Well a friends mom taught me how to do the chain stitch when I was younger. But I believe I would have been able to pick that up easily by the pictures. I followed the diagrams and read what all the abbreviations meant and very soon I was able to follow a pattern. Really crochet is a variation of the same stitch (the chain stitch).

I like using cotton wash cloths and hand towels. I like making them because they are quick to finish and you can try a new stitch and make something useful. This hand towel is not a new stitch or anything fancy. It is simply single crochet with a single crochet border. I added the scalloped edge because I just thought it needed a little something. I got the pattern for the towel and the dish cloth from an older book I have called Crocheted Gifts in a Weekend. The daisy dishcloth was what the book called a pot holder. I am going to use it as a dishcloth it is not thick just one layer and a good size for a dishcloth. The pattern for the bag was a freebie I picked up in the yarn aisle at Jo-Ann. You can probably find the pattern on their web site. I used Sugar and Cream yarn for everything. All was completed in a weekend just like the book said.

I made another bag.

2010-07-09T12:43:00.000-07:00

I liked the Weekender Bag so much I decided to make another one. I had another decorator sample books of suede cloth samples. These samples were all about the same size so I was able to match up a six by three grid of rectangles. I used the double sided buttonhole stitch to add a decorative touch to the seams. It made it look like laced together leather. I like to find opportunities to use one of the 400 decorative stitches on my machine. Most of the time using a decorative stitch just makes projects look homemade but every once in a while it adds the perfect touch.

I had a piece of rust colored suede cloth that was just big enough to make the bottom, gussets and handle. I added some pockets to the inside of this bag. The lining and the rust suede were both salvaged from a drapery workroom. These would have been thrown away as scraps but they worked perfectly for my bag. I even used this ugly fabric someone gave me as the interfacing. I needed something to give the bag a bit more body and this was a great way to use this fabric that I would never use in a place where you could see it. This fabric was to ugly to even use for lining.

The plum colored zipper I had in my stash. It was a two way zipper which was nice. But for a bag the sliders were going the wrong way. I had to change the direction from opening from the sides to the middle to opening from the middle out to the sides. I just cut off the stops and moved one of the sliders to the other side. Since my zipper was longer than I needed I was able to keep the excess in the seam so I didn't need to find another stop to keep the slider from coming off the end. So here is another bag from almost free supplies. I think the only thing I bought was the zipper and some Peltex for the bottom. The zipper came in a grab bag of 30 zippers for $7.00. If I see a deal like that I will usually buy it because I only have to use 2 zippers to save and I always have a collection of zippers for small projects. Sometimes the zipper color is not that important. I actually put zippers in the inside pockets and I had none that matched. So I used one pink zipper and one cream zipper but I am the only one who will ever see this.

A New Bag

2010-07-07T06:59:00.000-07:00

While I could have been doing many other things yesterday such as cleaning my house. I decided I wanted to make something. I started looking through my collection of books and found The Perfect Handmade Bag by Clare Young. I love making bags and I use them all the time. I have several around the house with UFO's in them or stuff that needs to be put away or yarn or fabric. Sometimes I put all the things I need for a particular project in a bag so it is all ready to get started. I am trying to remember to take my shopping bags into the store with me when I go. I usually have them in the car.

My latest bag is The Patchwork Weekender. I used what I had in my stash and was able to whip it up in just a few hours. I had this decorator fabric swatch book I think someone gave me a long time ago. I think it is from the 70's or 80's. According to my book Sew Retro that is retro fabric. All the strips were the same width but they were different lengths. I used every scrap of fabric and I had just enough to piece together the front and back of my bag. The bottom, side gussets and handles are made with a soft suede like decorator fabric. And there is a zipper closing the top.

This bag is quite large about 18' by 22'. It sort of reminds me of the old fashioned carpet bags. It is definitely big enough to carry what I may need for a weekend trip. I think I may use it for an all day shopping trip as well. The handles are so soft that it would be a delight to hold over my shoulder. And it will hold a lot of shopping.

I love making projects that are so quick to finish. And I had forgotten that I bought this book about a month ago. There are several more bags that I want to try. I think the Owl Pocket Bag is adorable. The Ruffle-Top Purse is so cute and feminine it would be perfect for summer. The Fold Up Shopper would be so handy to keep in my purse. And I love the idea of The Packaging Tote. Actually there are so many adorable bags in this book. And another great thing about this book is that every bag uses recycled materials or scraps.

I posted this on Tea Rose Home link party. There is a button on the side bar.

Happy Independence Day

2010-07-04T11:01:00.000-07:00

I found this adorable flag tutorial At Second Street. I wanted to get in the spirit of The Forth of July and I had everything I needed so I tried my hand at it. I used a piece of Styrofoam from a packing box that held a piano. I still had some left from making the hieroglyphics for VBS. The Styrofoam was about an inch and half thick so I covered the sides as well as the front with fabric. The tutorial used burlap. I had some cream colored burlap looking drapery fabric and I used that for the background. I found some blue and red cotton in my stash for the stripes and the blue background.

I already had a bottle of Mod Podge. I tend to call it Modge Podge and I really don't know why. My daughter and I had a long discussion about that because she always called Modge Podge too. I have actually never used Mod Podge before. My daughter had used it in art class. I plan to do some more Mod Podging as it was really fun and so easy.

I will probably leave this flag up in my family room because I like it and it goes with rest of the room. I am already thinking about what other kind of art I can make with Mod Podge.

New Book

2010-07-03T11:55:00.000-07:00

I received my latest book Sew Retro the other day. I love all the retro sewing projects beginning in the 1800's and ending with projects from the 1980's. The book contains a good history of sewing and fashion as well as general history which is quite informative. Although I could have done without the feminist slant to it. There are many biographies of historic figures as well as current designers. Several projects I want to try are the Sweet Sewing Basket, The Flapper Apron, Tea party Tablecloth and The Handkerchief Bag. It has that spiral stay flat binding that is so helpful to keep the book flat while following a project instructions. As well as a pattern envelope in the back.

Cupcake swap package arrived

2010-06-25T18:14:00.000-07:00

I received my swap package for The Cupcake Swap I recently participated in. This was a really good swap experience the gallery looks great. I love the package that my partner Kellilee sent me. She put together some quality crafts for me.

She made me a lovely tote bag decorated with this cross stitched cupcake done in linen floss. It has a pretty muted tone to it. I love knitted wash cloths see the cupcake knitted into this one. And you can't really see the cupcake in the bottle cap necklace but it is really cute. And she made me a cute felt cupcake magnet.

My partner sent me lots of extras too. I never expected to receive a bottle of Chardonnay in a cupcake swap but I did. It is from Cupcake Vineyards how cool is that. She included a postcard from her town which I thought was a great idea. Unfortunately I have never seen a postcard from the tiny town I live in. But maybe I could use a postcard from a nearby attraction.

I also got some candy jewelry and other candy. A cupcake cookbook, some herbal soap, some cupcake scented body lotion, a tiny candle in a tin and all the makings for Funfetti Cupcakes were included in my box. Oh and the other fun thing I got were three fat quarters of cupcake fabrics. I love them all and surprisingly I don't have any of these in my stash already.

Since I sent my package out early because of the work I was doing to prepare for VBS I had almost forgot about this swap. So it was extra special to get my package. It was kind of like a treat because it arrived the last day of vacation bible school.

More VBS

2010-06-24T21:18:00.000-07:00

I got some better pictures of my Vacation Bible School decorations today. Our theme was Egypt Joseph's Journey From Prison To Palace. My daughter and I made a lot of the decorations and costumes too. We made two life size sarcophagus out of a piano box. I carved several pieces of Styrofoam that was padding in the piano box into hieroglyphics. I painted them with acrylic craft paint. We made the cat statues with empty 2 liter soda bottles and a Styrofoam ball head. We covered it all with masking tape and spray painted it all black. Then we painted the details with white paint.

This lower picture is of Joseph room in the palace. I mostly used things I already had to get this look. The columns I saved from last years VBS. They are corrugated vinyl roofing rolled into a tube and taped together with clear packing tape. The bigger grain bags are real bags of grain that a man in my church brought over from his mill. One of the activities at Joseph's place was for the kids to pretend to be donkeys and get loaded up with grain sacks on their backs. I didn't want to crush any of the kids by putting 50 lbs of grain on their backs. So I made some lighter ones with pillows from my couch and some fabric from my stash.

Even though VBS was a lot of work we had a lot of fun too. It went well for the most part and I had many helpers for which I am very grateful. I am also glad it is over. I just need to take everything down now. I hope to do most of the taking down tomorrow.

Egypt VBS

2010-06-24T08:34:00.000-07:00

Tonight is our last night of Egypt Vacation Bible School. We are having a great time and I have been very busy getting everything together for each night. I thought my few readers may enjoy seeing some pictures of the decorations. I will have to get

some better pictures from my daughters camera. I realized I didn't take any clear pictures of the decorations. Most of mine are of the people.

100th post blogstravaganza giveaway « kusine.com

2010-06-20T19:03:00.000-07:00

100th post blogstravaganza giveaway « kusine.com Look at all the goodies you could win over on Kusine. A friend recently told me about this site and I love it from first site. An it is her 100th post anniversary and you could get the gifts. How cool is that?

Egypt VBS

2010-06-14T07:30:00.000-07:00

I have been working on items for my churches upcoming Vacation Bible School. This year we are doing Egypt Joseph's Journey From Prison To Palace. One of the things I made for the toy shop is this Senet Board Game. This was actually one of the crafts the program recommended for the kids to make. It was a tiny cardboard game the kids were to punch out and do a bit of coloring on. I thought it was to pricey for something the kids would take home and throw away. But I did think they would enjoy playing the game at VBS. So I created two larger wooden versions that kids can play during their time in the marketplace. I used a piece of balsa wood for the game board and some Popsicle sticks for the space counters. And a package of wooden disk for the markers. This was pretty easy to make I just hope it is not to hard to learn to play. The rules look easy to me.

Some other things I have been working on are costumes pieces and some decorating items. I will be sharing some of these with you with hopefully a tutorial for one or two things. I have been taking pictures of my progress.

A Cupcake Water Bottle Sling

2010-06-13T18:46:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share one more thing I made for The Cupcake Swap I recently participated in. I sewed two of these water bottle slings. I sent one to my swap partner and kept one for myself. This is definitely a quick project from my new book Sewing Bits and Pieces. I made one for my partner from the Frugal Living Swap. I really intended to make only one sling to send to my partner. However I managed to cut two of the same side so I had to cut two more of the opposite side. I thought the sling would be handy to have so I really didn't mind making myself one too. This project can be finished in less than an hour.

More Cupcake Swap

2010-06-09T07:09:00.000-07:00

My partner got to open the package I sent her this morning. She posted her pictures in the gallery. For some reason the pictures that I took of the towels I sent her didn't show up on my camera. I thought the towels turned out so cute that I wanted some for myself. These are the towels I made for Kelli. I got the idea from one of my hew books Sewing Bits and Pieces. I used the cupcake pattern and the basic idea but I added the hankerchief. My partner liked to collect vintage hankies. These are not vintage hankies but they do have a vintage look to them. For the towels I used 100% cotton Home Dec fabric. It had a nice heavy weave to it. When I spotted the fabric on the clearance table at JoAnn Fabrics I knew it would be perfect for hand towels. And at only $3.00 a yard even better. I washed it first to remove all the sizing and make the fabric softer and more absorbent for towels. I decided to fringe the top and bottom edges.

I was glad I had enough fabric left to make myself some cupcake tea towels. I actually have enough to make two more towels. And I am keeping my eye out for more fabric. This lower picture are the towels I made for myself. They are pretty much the same as the ones I made for Kelli. I just used some different hankies. I love these kind of cute towels but I do have trouble using them. I need to get over that and just use them if they get all messed up or worn I can just make some more. I do enjoy making these things.

Knitting Necklace

2010-06-07T12:39:00.000-07:00

This is the first thing I made for my partner in the Cupcake Swap. I got the idea while visiting a yarn store while on vacation a few years ago. I wish I had taken a picture of the necklaces they had, but I have kept the idea tucked away in my head for a while. I wanted to buy one but the $65.00 price tag told me I couldn't. I'm not sure mine is anything like the knitting necklace they had.

For the Knitting necklace I made has stitch markers hanging from a large hook. I made the stitch markers using Shrink-its. At first I was just going to make cupcake stitch markers for my partner. Then I remembered the necklaces I saw on vacation and I have been wanting to make one for a long time. I had already collected the items I needed to make one. Even though the yarn cutter doesn't match the cupcake theme, I already had it and the necklace need a yarn cutter I think. Then I added 2 row counters. Now my partner will have everything she needs at hand to keep track of her knitting.

I find the stitch markers to be very handy even for simple designs. You especially need them for more complicated designs. But I often forget to change my row counter after every row. I really don't know of a better way. Do they make automatic row counters for knitting that change themselves after every row. As usual I want to make one of these for myself. I have some really cute cupcake stitch markers that I got in the last cupcake swap I was in. I just love them and have used them many times.

Cupcake Apron

2010-06-06T10:16:00.000-07:00

I thought I would show another one of the projects I did for my latest swap. I decided to make my partner an apron. She said she would wear one if she had one. And I love making aprons. An apron is a garment you can use all those fun novelty prints with and no one is going to laugh at you for wear something with huge cupcakes all over.

I had all the fabrics already in my stash. I used Aunt Emma's Apron Pattern from Indygo Junction. I liked the hanging pockets in this version. My partner collected vintage handkerchiefs so I thought she would like the half handkerchief I added to the bib. Mine is not really vintage but it does have a vintage feel to it. A while ago I found handkerchiefs at the Dollar Tree a package of 3 for $1.00. I picked up a few packages and have been looking for more ever since. I have never seen them again. They are perfect for craft projects. I usually don't like to cut up any of my vintage handkerchiefs. I used some others for some tea towels I made. For some reason my camera did not save the pictures I took of those. I will have to wait until my partner post her pictures in the gallery to show them here. I really loved the way the towels turned out so I do think I will make myself some. In fact I already have some started.

Cupcakes

2010-06-02T20:20:00.000-07:00

I sent my cupcake swap package out today. I was afraid if I waited any longer I would keep making things. I have some things going on in the next few weeks that are going to take up much of my time. So I wanted to get the cupcake package done well in advance of the sending deadline. My partner said she would not have access to the internet for the next week or so. I think it may be safe to show what I made. I think I will only share a little at a time.

These cupcake place mats were the second thing I made. They were quick and easy to make. I used some chenille fabric that I had in my stash. I did spend much more time than necessary to enlarge the pattern to the size I wanted. I am sure I could have done it much faster the old fashioned way by drawing it out on a grid. But for some reason I wanted to conquer my lack of technical savvy. I am really technically challenged. I found the pattern in a old craft book. It was about 2 1/2 inches on a 1/2 inch grid. My first attempt yielded a very large cupcake more suitable for a rug maybe. Then next try made more of a potholder size. So the third try was a charm and that is the size I used for my place mats.

I love the way these turned out and I so wanted to keep them for myself. I think I will make myself some.

Cupcake Swap

2010-05-27T08:07:00.001-07:00

I joined another swap on Craftster. This time the Cupcake Swap. I find is so easy to come up with ideas for this swap. Cupcakes are cute and easy to draw out and I don't have to be a fabulous artist. And cupcake designs seem to be all the rage right now so you see ideas everywhere. I finished one item for my partner yesterday and it started out as a small quickly finished project. However I kept thinking what if I added this or did this and I ended up making what Craftster would consider a large project. But I love the way it turned out. I know my partner reads my blog so I don't want to spoil anything for her with pictures yet. Lets just say it invoves Shrink-It and beads. I don't think that will give to much away but just get you wondering what it is. I have something else in the plans for today.

Swap Angel Package Finished

2010-05-23T20:27:00.000-07:00

I finished the package for my angel partner for the Frugal Living Swap. I wanted to make her a nice package because I know how it feels to get flaked on. If you join a swap on Craftster and your partner doesn't send you anything in return the organizer tries to find an angel for you. So I volunteered and was glad when I got to be her angel.

I just wanted to share what I made for her. My partner likes to hitchhike and wanted some things that would be good for traveling. This lingerie laundry bag was something I made for her.

The royal blue bag in the back is a bag for her toilet paper. She asked for something to carry toilet paper in her questionnaire. So I came up with this. The front part that you can see in the picture is a little zippered bag for some hand sanitizer or something like that. There is a drawstring at the top so you can easily get the tissue inside. There is also a zipper on the back side so that you can pull the paper out when needed without having to take anything out of the bag. She said she likes pretty things that are useful so I prettied it up by adding some lace.

The patchwork head scarf is made from a patchwork piece I made from drapery samples about 20 years ago or more. I found this in the back of a closet during a recent closet cleaning. The piece was a bout 36 inches square so I could make a few more head scarves with it. I plan to make myself one I think it would be good for working in the yard. With the eyelet ruffle around the edge it sort of look like something Laura Ingals would wear on the prairie.

I made her a water bottle sling and two reusable sandwich bags. The sandwich bags are lined with recycled potato chip bags. The fabric I used this was something I have had for a long time. It has several of her favorite colors in it. I also knitted her a cotton wash cloth.

The last thing I made were two linen tea towels. I used eyelet lace trim and some patchwork strips along the top and bottom edges. I realized that I used a lot of patchwork in this package. My partner didn't really say she liked patchwork so I hope she likes it. I didn't really plan to make a lot of patchwork things for her but that is the way things turned out.

Some Vintage Patterns

2010-05-21T14:47:00.000-07:00

I recently scored a bunch of vintage patterns from Shop Goodwill. They didn't show much of what I was bidding on in the pictures. But I saw a glimpse of some old hot iron transfers so I thought I would take a change and bid on them. I'm so glad I did because I got some adorable and unique patterns and a few hot iron transfers too. They are from the late 40's and early 50's. Most of them are Anne Adams patterns. I got patterns for women's dresses and some cute little girls dresses and a few toys.

My favorites are the apron patterns and this swim suit. and it is even in my size. There are a few patterns that are cut out of news paper that I am not sure what they are. Most don't have anything written on them to identify them. One did identify it as an apron but there are really no directions except to cut 14 pieces. I think it looks like the one where you use a stripe fabric and cut the fabric on the diagonal so when you sew them together it forms a herringbone pattern. I found the perfect stripe in my stash so I may have to try this out.

This Butterick has 3 apron views. The full coverage one view A is truly full coverage. It has a zipper in the front and it is fitted and covers both front and back. It is more like a jumper than an apron. The pattern also suggest that you use the waistband from the half aprons as a sash around the waist.

View B is a gardening apron with a padded pocket on the front that can be a kneeling pad for working in the garden. I think this is very clever. However I am not sure how it is attached or how it forms a pocket as the guide sheet is missing. I may play around with it sometime and see if I can figure it out. View C is a traditional gathered waistband apron. The picture looks like it has two rows of ribbons attached to the front with some bows.

Isn't this swim suit cute. I know now it would be considered a dress. There is even a zipper in the back. The pattern envelope suggest using wool jersey for what they call the under-trunks and the lining of the bra. I think that sounds a bit hot and itchy. I love the style though and I may try making it with swim suit knit and eliminate the zipper in the back. Or maybe I will make it with seersucker and wear it as a sun dress. I will be sharing the results if I ever get any finished.

Latest Project

2010-05-14T07:44:00.000-07:00

I picked the latest issue of Stitch Magazine the other day. I was able to use a 50% off coupon from JoAnn Fabrics. There are several projects inside that I want to try out. I volunteered to be a swap angel for this Frugal Swap over on Craftster. So when I saw this Travel Lingerie Bag I knew it would be perfect for my partner. She asked for a wet bag to put her unmentionables in while traveling. While I like the project I made a few changes to the idea in the magazine. Because I wanted to make it a wet bag I used waterproof fabric for the lining and ripstop nylon for the cover because I wanted it to be lightweight. For some reason I had both of these fabrics in my stash it just took me a while to remember where I put them.

The bag has a side for the clean things and a side for the dirty things. And it folds in the middle between the two sides and closes with Velcro. You could put your slippers in this center section. I love the way this turned out so I hope my partner does too.

I didn't want to do the hand embroidery that the pattern called for so I used a machine satin stitch for the clothesline and the words. After using fusible web to position the cloths appliques I just top stitched them around with a strait stitch to secure them. This was a fun project and not meant to be an heirloom or anything. It is meant to be used and functional. My partner said she liked useful thing that are pretty too. I like that philosophy although I love to make things that are just pretty as well. And I know I make plenty of things that I don't need. But I do need to make them. I guess you could say crafting is a kind of therapy for me.

Frugal Swap

2010-05-08T11:51:00.000-07:00

I recently took part in The Frugal Living Swap. I received my package a few days ago. My partner was Jodi from Texas. She sent me 3 shopping bags made out of vintage pillowcases and ribbon handles, a sturdy fabric basket, and a utensel roll. For her I designed a couple of green projects that I tried to write a tutorial for. One was the sewn washcloth from a few post ago. The other tutorial I am working on is for what I call Snap on Kitchen Towels on a Roll. I am going to make myself some and finish up a tutorial for a post in the future. Now I am committed to it since I wrote about it here.

Mizuhiki Jewelry

2010-05-02T17:04:00.000-07:00

I stop by my local Goodwill Store from time to time just to see if they have anything I can't live without. LOL Well the last time I was there I found this product I had never seen or heard of before. Mizuhiki Colorful Paper Cords. They are tiny cords made out of paper. They don't really look or feel like paper. They feel kind of like they are some kind of pliable metal. I was intrigued so I bought them. The directions for three project are on the back of the package.

I decided to try the Josephine Knot Bracelet. It looked simple enough. I did a lot of macrame years ago so it didn't take long to reaquaint myself with a few knots. They only tricky part was the bracelet used ten strands of this cord so it was hard to keep everything in the right order while making the knots. This cord was very forgiving though. It didn't kink up but stayed smooth even if I had to redo a knot.

After making the bracelet with the instructions on the back I decided to make a pair of earring to match. I was able to figure out the knot for the earrings by looking at the picture on the front of the package. The back didn't have instructions for this project. I ended up making two pairs of earrings with the cord that was leftover from making the bracelet. I have enough cords leftover to make the coil necklace so I may try that next. Since I have never seen this product before I doubt that I would be able to find any more. It is easy and fun to work with and I do like my new jewelry.

A Sewn Dishcloth Tutorial

2010-04-29T17:18:00.000-07:00

I love making a using knitted and crocheted cotton dishcloths. I also love to sew. I have had this idea rolling around in my head for a sewn dishcloth. I wanted something different than a hemmed piece of terry cloth. This is what I came up with. It is quick and easy to make and I think very useful too.

To make it I cut 4 pieces of cotton flannel 9"x12" and 2 pieces of nylon netting 9"x12". Really you could use any size you feel comfortable with. I picked this size because it is what I had leftover from another project.

Next layer 2 pieces of nylon netting followed by a piece of flannel right side facing the nylon netting. And then the last 3 pieces of flannel right side facing up.

Mark a diagonal line on the true bias. The true bias is the diagonal line crossing the grain at a 45 degree angel. Sew all layers across this line and at 1/2 inch intervals until the whole piece is sewn together.

Trim the edges to even things up if necessary.

Then cut the top three layers of fabric between the stitching. Be careful not to cut through the bottom layer of flannel or any of the netting.

Next sew along the edge 1/2 inch from the edge.

The last step is to machine wash and dry the washcloth. This will make the fabric edges fluff up making a soft washcloth or chenille top.

This make a washcloth with a soft absorbent top. The nylon netting on the back makes a good pot scrubber but it is still not going to scratch anything. I designed this as a dishcloth but I think it would also make a good bath cloth too. The netting side would be a good exfoliating scrub.

A New Book

2010-04-27T09:48:00.000-07:00

I received Sewing Bits & Pieces the other day. I'm so glad I bought this book as it has several projects I want to try. All of the projects are adorable and easy to sew and there are plenty of pictures and illustrations to help you complete a project. I love Sandi Henderson's style. I think the Picnic Quilt is such a clever design. Maybe I will be able to make one this summer. I think it would be perfect for some of those Moda layer cakes I have. I may have to make a few of the Ruffled Head Scarves to wear in the sun. I need something to protect my hair now that I color it. If I get to much sun it bleaches my hair to blond. I am brunette with some blond highlights so I would like to keep it that way if I can.

There is a cute Forest Owl and a Woodland Bunny toy. Even though I don't have any kids to make it for I may just make myself one or just make one for a gift if the occasion presents itself. I can see myself using many of the ideas in this book.

Tiny Aprons

2010-04-27T07:14:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in about a month and I am not sure if anyone noticed except my friend Mary. She has told me that she wanted me to post something new.

Mary made me these tiny aprons as a thank you gift. She picked up these bottles at a secondhand store. I don't remember if they are Aunt Jemima or Mrs Butterworth. But they sure are adorable. The small one is my hand soap bottle. I love these tiny aprons and they are even reversable.

Mary had to adapt the pattern a bit because Mrs Butterworth was a bit plump for some of the aprons. But the three of them have been proudly keeping watch over my kitchen. And they love their adorable aprons. I love them too and the good friend who gave them to me.

~Ruffles And Stuff~: "MAKE" Giveaway!

2010-03-23T18:33:00.000-07:00

~Ruffles And Stuff~: "MAKE" Giveaway! You can win a new sewing book at Disneys blog. And she does have a lovely blog and she makes so many pretty things.

My partner got her package.

2010-03-22T20:25:00.001-07:00

I was waiting for my partner to receive before I put pictures up on my blog. I wasn't sure if she read it or not. I was really happy with the way everything turn out. I made her a quilted messenger bag. I first sewed up a quilted zipper bag because it was a smaller project and I thought it would be good to test out my idea on. Then I made the bag. It has lots of pockets, a zippered one on the flap and a large pocket on the back and a group of pockets inside too. I thought I was ready to send after making those two, but then I decided to cover a composition book and sew up a square pincushion too. All of the fabrics were already in my stash. I love the bright colors and the batik fabrics. The bag took much longer to make than I expected. But I enjoyed making it and I got to use some of the fancy quilting stitches on my sewing machine too. The little zipper bag took a bit long too. Mainly because I decided to quilt it with that squiggle stitch. If I had just made it plain I would have finished it in under an hour. The composition book cover was quick and easy and so was the pincushion.

Although the jelly roll was a recent purchase. For this swap we had to send some small sewing notions and at least 2 yards of fabric of several different pieces, as well as a pattern or a book of things to sew. I sent a couple of books from my stash. Some notions I included were buttons, snaps, and several zippers. I was able to fit everything into the bag and the whole thing fit perfectly in a medium flat rate box.

Spring Flowers

2010-03-21T11:36:00.000-07:00

I have all kinds of daffodils blooming in my yard. I decided to go out and cut a few to decorate my table. Keeping with the daffodil theme I crocheted a new dish scrubbie. I really have several knitting and crocheting projects in the works right now. I wanted to make something quick and easy. This project came from one of my new books Big Book of Dishcloths Potholders & Scrubbies . There are several other adorable flower scrubbies in there and some cute dishcloths too. I love using the cotton knit and crochet dishcloths. They are really quick to make and I can practice a new stitch on a small useful project. I know I will be making many more projects from this book. I like projects that can be finished in a short amount of time.

Some of the other projects in the works are much more time consuming. I am working on a crocheted sweater and some knitted knee socks. The sweater is actually going together pretty quickly. But the knitted knee socks are going to take a while to finish. I also have a blanket I have been working on for about a year. I haven't worked on that in quite a while. Even though I have several projects in the works I do manage to finish some of them from time to time. I guess my favorite part is starting something. I will be letting you know when I finish something else.

More Books

2010-03-19T09:29:00.000-07:00

I had a $100 gift card from Amazon.com which was so easy to spend. I love all kinds of craft books my favorite being sewing books. Knitting and crochet books are right up there too. I love the really old ones and the new ones too. I preordered a couple that are yet to be released. First is in the new category from Sandi Henderson . If you would like to try one of the projects from the book you she is sharing The Saturday Market Skirt. The other one is a new book too but the ideas are all vintage from different eras Sew Retro. I ordered 8 books with my $100 and I just paid for shipping. I will share the other books when I receive them which is hopefully today.

The Domesticated Skirt

2010-03-16T08:46:00.000-07:00

The Domesticated Skirt I love it when people come up with these clever ideas. This skirt looks simple to sew even for a beginner. I could see myself wearing this around this summer.

I love to Sew Swap

2010-03-14T20:49:00.000-07:00

Now I am working on This Swap. I am almost finished with the main part of this swap. Now I just have to put together the little extras. We are required to sew a medium project, send a sewing book or pattern, and three small sewing notions that can be crafted or purchased. Also including at least 2 yards of fabric. The fabric must be several different pieces not just one 2 yard piece. I should be able to shop from my stash. Everything I used to make the the medium project was from my stash. Ofcouse I have enough stash to last many lifetimes. I know I am a fabric junky and I don't want to be cured.

I got my swap package

2010-03-14T19:54:00.000-07:00

I received my package from the

Scrapbook Cookbook Swap Round 3 . My partner made me an adorable scrapbook-cookbook. It is all decorated with owls. And has some tasty looking recipes inside. Her three year old daughter decorated one page for me. The page has a recipes for Banana Nut Bread. She sent me a purchased cookbook Healthy Heart Cookbook. I had told her I am trying to eat healthier. I also got some nice dishcloths and a magnetic shopping list and a adorable owl shaped chocolate.

The requirements were to craft a medium kitchen related item so My partner crocheted me this hanging basket and another small blue basket. It seems that any kind of container that comes into my house gets filled up with stuff immediately. But I do love containers. And I have this fantasy that containers will help me to be more organized. Mostly they help me to collect more stuff.

With this swap completed I am ready to work on the next one. I finished the main part for this one today. So I should be ready to send in the next few days.

Swap package received

2010-03-12T08:23:00.000-08:00

My partner received her package for the Scrapbook Cookbook Swap Ro und 3 on Craftster. I wasn't sure if my partner looked at my blog so I didn't post as I completed much. I did post a picture of the Apron I made for her.

The requirements were to craft one medium kitchen related item and craft a scrapbook-cookbook with at least 10 recipes and send a purchased cookbook or kitchen gadget.

Since I am not real good at paper crafting(I just dabble a bit) I decided to sew my scrapbook. I used various silks and lace to match the apron I already made. My partner liked nature themes so I picked out some fabrics that had embroidered leaves and nice warm nature colors of green and tans and gold. I made clear pockets

with transparency film for printers. It is what I had around. I bound the edges with different trims or fabric bindings. Each one is a bit different. I just

printed the recipes on regular printer paper and

glued them to scrapbook paper. I did very little embellishing of the pages because I had already spent a great deal of time crafting the fabric book. She can use the book for pictures or whatever if she doesn't want to use it as a cookbook because the recipes can just slip out and be replaced.

My partner likes cooking with herbs so I sent her a herb and craft cookbook from my stash. I found the Deceptively Delicious Cookbook at The Goodwill Store for $2.00. I had been wanting to look through it but didn't want to pay full price for it. It is about how to sneak vegetables into food. I loved the vintage look of the book and I probably wasn't going to use it as my kids are all grown now and eat their vegetables straight up. My partner loved both books. I am happy that she seemed to love everything I sent her.

She told me she felt like she should hold a wooden spoon and wear red lipstick when wearing a pretty apron. So I sent her a red lipstick and a wooden spoon so she can try that. I also send a tea towel and a few kitchen utensils all wrapped up with a piece of leftover fabric from the apron. I also sent some Chai Tea Mix. I finally found a good recipe for instant Chai Tea and I make it all the time now and love to have some on hand. It does make a very good gift too. The hardest thing about making it is finding the plain unsweetened and no lemon instant tea mix. So when I find that I buy a few jars to have ready to make more. Oh I think I need to go and have myself a cup of tea.

I love to sew swap

2010-02-21T18:15:00.000-08:00

http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=338168.0 I joined another swap on Craftster the I Love to Sew Swap Round 3. I did round 2 last year and I really enjoyed this swap. Now that I think of it I was part of round 1 also. Sewing is probably my favorite craft and so I love getting to know others who love to sew too. I even decided to sew a scrapbook for the other swap I am in on Craftster the Scrapbook-cookbook swap. We get our partners for the Love to sew swap on Friday or earlier if all the slots fill up first. I already did a bit of stalking from the people already signed up. But really I will just have to wait for partners to get started on this. I still have some parts of the Cookbook swap to get finished. I would like to try and send early if I can.

A Silk Apron

2010-02-17T15:08:00.001-08:00

I made this apron today from my stash fabric. I just love it. I got the silk fabric for free from a friend who works in a drapery workroom. I probably wouldn't have made an apron out of this pricey silk fabric but it was scraps that would have been thrown away. The lace around the edge of the skirt is some vintage lace that a friend gave to me. It looks like it was cut off a garment or something it already had sort of a rounded shape. So it worked well around the rounded edge of my apron skirt. The only thing I bought for this project was the doily topping on the skirt. I got that in a lot of embroidered and crocheted linens from Goodwill online.

http://www.shopgoodwill.com/

I joined a Cookbook-Scrapbook swap on http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=335316.0 . In this swap I have to make a cookbook-scrapbook with at least 10 recipes and send a purchased cookbook and craft a kitchen related item. I made this apron with the intentions of sending it to my swap partner. I think she is going to love it. She likes nature themes and sage green. That's why I picked out the leaf embroidered silk for the skirt. I think this is a fun and flirty apron and maybe a bit impractical. Although silk can be washed even when most care labels say to have it dry cleaned. I wash silk all the time. I just wash in cold water and hang to dry and I may have to iron it a bit. I like this apron so much I may have to make another one for myself. I have been enjoying making aprons lately but this is the first one I have made of silk and this is probably the fanciest one I have made too.

A New Dress

2010-02-15T06:35:00.000-08:00

I got this embroidered boarder fabric at JoAnn's on the clearance table. It is a wool blend and it has a flower embroidery with little free standing butterflies on it. I used Simplicity 2846. I wanted a pattern with few seams at the edge because it would show off the boarder to the best advantage. By using this kind of fabric I needed to decide on the length before cutting it out as the finished edge of the fabric is the finished edge of the garment. Well I guess I was not careful enough in my measurements because my dress turned out to short for my taste and figure.

The pattern also called for a slit in the back and I realized that that was unnecessary too and it really became to short in the back and revealed to much of me to the public. I had to think of someway to salvage the dress so I could wear it. I really liked the fabric and I didn't have enough left over to make anything else out of. I decided to add a band of the same fabric to the middle of the dress. That gave me the length I wanted. No one would ever know that that wasn't

the original design of this dress. I also closed up the slit I made as I didn't need that and it was still to revealing even with the longer length. Now I can wear the dress. I would have preferred cutting it out right in the first place but I am glad I came up with a solution that I could live with. The other idea I had was to cut off the top part of the dress and just turn it into a skirt. Or I could have pitched the whole project but I really didn't want to do that.

Kitty Pouch

2010-02-10T18:29:00.000-08:00

My latest small project is this zippered Kitty Pouch. I bought a kit with everything I needed at the sewing expo I attended in August. The booth was http://www.quiltplus.net/ The had all kinds of adorable things for purse making. This little pouch was pretty quick and easy to make. The direction called for a lot of hand sewing. Like hand quilting the layers together and even hand sewing the zipper in. I saw no need to hand sew those things especially the zipper so I did it by machine. The only hand sewing I did was to applique the cat head in place and embroidering the face. I like the size ans shape of the pouch and I would like to make more. It would be easily adapted to other designs on the front anything that would fit in the same space would work. A novelty fabric would be a cute and simple alternative to the applique.

craft eNVy: Tie Headband

2010-02-09T20:20:00.000-08:00

I should make one of these necktie headbands to match the necktie skirt I made for my daughter. She like to accessorize her outfits but for some reason she doesn't like headbands. I may make one anyways. I probably couldn't get away with wearing a tie skirt but I could wear a headband. This one looks adorable on this baby.craft eNVy: Tie Headband

Necktie Skirt

2010-02-03T16:10:00.000-08:00

I got a collections of neckties a few months ago at a yard sale. My daughter had mentioned that she saw a skirt made of ties and thought it was cute. This actually surprised me because she usually doesn't like things like this. But she is older now and her tastes are changing. I whipped up this skirt today. To make it I used 14 ties to fit around my thin daughters waist. I sewed them together by butting them next to each other and sewing them with a multiple zigzag stitch. I used red thread as that seemed to be the predominate color in my ties. I cut all the ties to a 17 inch length. This was a good length for my daughter. I also choose this length because most of my ties were clip on ties and when I took them off the clips they had holes in them where they attached to the clips. I put a lapped zipper in the side and I used the narrow part of a tie for the waistband. I just need to add a snap to the waistband and the skirt will be all done. I think I will have it dry cleaned too as some of the ties may have been a bit dirty. This is how to make a silk skirt out of a pile of old neckties.

Valentine Garland

2010-02-01T08:11:00.000-08:00

I finished my heart garland last night. This was
really a quick and easy project. A good project to pass the time on a cold snowy day when you just want to stay snug inside. The pattern came from http://www.skiptomylou.org/2009/01/28/crochet-heart-garland/ . Maybe I will make some more hearts to scatter around the house.

Some Dish Scrubbies

2010-01-31T15:08:00.000-08:00

I decided I would make something to decorate for Valentines Day. I came across this crochet heart garland and thought it would be cute on my mantle. http://www.skiptomylou.org/2009/01/28 /crochet-heart-garland/ Since it was cold and snowy today staying in the house was the thing to do. I started working on the hearts for the garland with yarn from my stash. The yarn is Bernat Handicrafter Holiday Sparkle. It is a Christmas yarn but it is cotton with a silver thread in it. So I think it is nice for this project. Here are the hearts I have completed so far. Since I get distracted easily I started thinking about making a new dish scrubby because the one I have is getting very worn and doesn't even work that well any more. I got it in a package of 3 along with some pink measuring cups from JoAnn's. I like those scrubbies from JoAnn's but I really don't need any more measuring cups. I have been wanting to make some scrubbies out of nylon tulle for some time now. I have had these various colors of tulle on a spool in my stash for a while now. I may as well use them. I got 20 yds by 6 inches for $.97 on the clearance rack, with the intention of making dish scrubbies.

I found this lovely bright pink tulle spool and a Pattern for Rosebud Dish Scrubbies in the book MaryJane's Stiching Room by MaryJane Butters. This book has all kinds of old fashioned crafty things inside. I have tried a few of them. So with the pink tulle and the pattern I whipped up a Rosebud Dish Scrubby in no time at all. Since the pattern called for 3 inch wide pieces of tulle I cut the whole roll in half before starting on my scrubby.

After making the rosebud I still had enough to make another one. I had this brilliant idea to make a heart shaped scrubby. I used the same pattern from Skip To My Lou for the hearts. I just used tulle strips instead of yarn. I made two hearts and crocheted them together with single crochet all the way around the hearts but only going through the back loops on each heart to join. Before stitching the last few stitches closed I stuffed the heart with the remaining tulle and finished closing it up. Now I have a cute new Valentine Dish Scrubby. And even the Rosebud Dish Scrubby will be decorating my kitchen sink for Valentines Day.

Wild Olive: seeing shadows...

2010-01-30T17:26:00.000-08:00

Wouldn't this be adorable to make up for groundhog day, Yes we all need something special to commemorate Ground Hog Day. You still have time to craft this up by Tuesday February 2. Wild Olive: seeing shadows...: "seeing shadows...

We're just around the corner from a major holiday. OK, yes, Valentine's Day...but before that, Groundhog Day. For those of us in cold climates, the arrival of a small furry creature can be key. I'm still a few days early, but I wanted to give you time to be making something fun for this amazing weather prediction holiday."

Vintage Sewing Books

2010-01-30T16:37:00.001-08:00

I have been thinking about writing a tutorial for some time now.

I really like this basket apron idea from this sewing book I picked up at a local antiques mall. It is called Sewing Made Easy. I can't find an exact date of when it was published but it does say that the first edition was published in 1950 and has shown almost 200,000 women that the fine art of sewing is as valuable today as it was in their grandmothers' day. I love it when I find an old sewing book while shopping. I always look for them at Goodwill or any antique mall. Usually they are not very costly either.

I have one called The New Encyclopedia Of Modern Sewing from 1946. This one has several adorable aprons in it too along with several items for organizing your closet that I would like to try.

My oldest sewing book is from 1930 called Whites Schools of Costume Art by White Sewing Machine Company. Cleveland Ohio. It has several guides to drafting different patterns. These seem to be missing important information such as what part of the pattern goes with what measurement. But I may be able to figure some of it out with some trial and error. There is a pattern that says it is for a slip. There is only a few lines of explanation and a diagram. It tells how wide your fabric should be if you have 40 inch hips but I see nothing on the diagram that refers to these measurements. I may try a bit of fiddling with this maybe I can come up with a workable slip. Maybe this book was a guide that went along with some hands on classes. I feel like it came with a sewing machine because it has many references to special feet and attachments. But there is a lot of hand sewing in this book too.

Most of these old sewing books have very little in the way of directions. They seem to assume that everyone already knows how to put something together. I think I can handle figuring out an apron or a slip. And really I have no desire to draft a dress pattern from scratch I can get a lovely pattern for about $2.00 on sale at JoAnn's. Actually I have plenty of patterns I can play with. But I would also love to try making something from my old sewing books.