Sewing the Stress Away

Moody Blues Quilting Bee - January Block

2011-01-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

FINALLY! I joined the Moody Blues Bee in October of last year but due to some slight problems I didn't get any blocks to work on until the end of last week.

When my Hunny brought me my package I didn't know what it was, until I opened it. Inside was a pretty robin's egg blue 9 inch square a long with some pretty gray strips of fabric. The instructions said we were going to be making an Asterisk Quilt Block. It looked simple enough and I had never made one before so I jumped right in the same day.

Since this was for someone else I didn't want to make as many "design decisions" that I usually do when putting together quilt blocks. I took my time trying to make sure every cut and every stitch was just right.

I'll be putting it in the mail today and hopefully Miss January will be as happy with it as I am!

Mitered Corners and a Finished Quilt Top

2011-01-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

In April of 2010 I attended a Quilt Show where I purchased a "Nap Time" Quilt Kit from the vendor The Calico Horse. I purchased it with my son in mind and because I loved the colors also I'm a sucker for striped fabric. =) I started said quilt kit right away and got a lot done on it too, rather quickly! However once I came to the borders I was brought to a halt. I had been sewing this at the sewing group I attend and my teacher was planning to teach me how to miter the border. She gave me enough instruction to piece the border strips together but then class ended and I never was able to take this particular quilt back to class.

The other day because of my New Year's Sewing Resolutions I decided to pull this one out and finish it up. Since it is still very hit and miss for me to attend my sewing group I decided to reach out to the online sewing/quilting community I have become a part of for help.

Amy of Amy's Creative Side came through! She makes the most beautiful quilts! She has a wonderful tutorial on her blog if you were ever wondering how to make Mitered Corners.

I am very proud of this corner!! See how the seams match up just beautifully! *Sigh* It makes me happy just to look at it.

With Amy's help I was able to finally put this quilt top on the finished pile! Now it's not a completed WIP until it gets quilted and it's binding put on. One of my favorite things about this kit was that the binding came with it! It will be the striped fabric that's in the border.

Another shot of the "Perfect Corner" (Yes I know I need to press it still)

What about the other corners you ask? Well, they are all just a smidge, an ever so very small smidge, off. After trying to redo 2 of them and coming up with the same results I decided to move on. It's not like my baby boy is gonna say, "Now wait a minute, Momma! These mitered corners don't match up!"

I would like to quilt this one myself. I think the fabric is way too busy for any type of free motion pattern. Any suggestions?

Happy New Year!

2011-01-03T14:09:00.000-08:00

Wow what a Holiday Season! It seemed like nothing but busy, busy, busy all throughout November and December. I was able to get in a little bit of sewing and creating during the last two months but definitely not what I would have liked. So now it's time for a little Show and Tell to catch you up on the projects I did get done.

My big (and only) accomplishment was making these 3 dolls for these sweet little girls! They were much easier to make than I anticipated and I really enjoyed it! Now I am in the process of making them some clothes! lol The dresses they are wearing came with the girls Christmas dresses that my MIL sent.

In their PJ's! Made these out of scrap fabric I had in my stash.

The other project I started working on is my Layer Cake quilt. Last Monday I set a goal to finish 10 quilt blocks and I did it! I'm loving how they are turning out. Only 10 more to make so I can start on the sashing.

And last but definitely not least is some news. I made my first sale on Etsy! Yay! On my to do list is to add more items to the shop.

My New Years Resolution for my sewing is to finish up my WIP quilts before starting a new one. My list of WIP is as follows:

1. Layer Cake Quilt
2. Sister's Quilt
3. Caleb's Quilt
4. Table Topper Quilt
5. Doll Quilt
6. Living Room Quilt
7. Flamingo Quilt

Yeah I think that's all of them. =)

I hope you have had a Happy New Years!!

PS: Thank you for all the well wishes on my last post! I really appreciate the prayers. Sorry I didn't respond to them sooner for some reason the comments weren't getting emailed to me like normal so I didn't see them til today. I've fixed the problem and should be getting my comments when you post them again. My Dad is doing good! The Chemo is working. The tumors on his liver and abdomen are shrinking. The one in his lower intestines they are not able to see if it is shrinking or not but they think it is since the others are. Thank you again for your prayers!

Beauty from Adversity

2010-11-01T18:10:00.000-07:00

Recently I asked the Lord to change me. I wanted to grow. Grow closer to Him, and closer to my family. Grow in my life. Well, He's given me a way to grow if I so choose.

My Dad has been diagnosed with cancer. This has happened really in just the last few months. It really seemed to turn the whole world upside down.

Whenever I ask someone to pray for him I also ask them to pray for my Mom. My Mom is an amazing woman but usually it's her with the health problems and my Dad takes care of everything but now their roles have been reversed.

I wanted to make her something so I dug through my stash and came up with some 4" squares that I bought a long time ago. With them I made her a Mug Rug.

It was very simple to put together. It's dimensions are 6.5" x 12.75". I appliqued some fussy cut pieces from 2 of the charm squares.

After doing a quick stitch in the ditch around the center and messy stitching around the 2 "flowers" I decided to try out some free motion quilting. I free motioned a meandering heart pattern in the center. Then went around the outside with some large hearts.

I do like how it turned out. I'll be sending it off to her tomorrow. I pray it brings a smile to her face whenever she uses it.

Blogger's Quilt Festival - Fall 2010

2010-10-30T21:20:00.000-07:00

I am very excited to be joining in on the Blogger's Quilt Festival hosted by Amy's Creative Side!

Thank you for coming to visit and learn more about my quilt. I hope you enjoy it!

It was very easy for me to choose the quilt I wanted to post about because it's the only quilt larger than a mini that I've finished! lol

It also happens to be the very first quilt I've ever made.

So here it is, Folks!

"The Baby Quilt"

Here's a little more about this quilt:

This quilt is special to me in a couple of ways besides it being the first quilt I've every made. It's the very first thing that I made when learning to sew.

You see I BADLY wanted to learn to sew but alas and alack I had no machine. So the Lord blessed me with a friend who bought me my first sewing machine! I was so thankful for her generosity (especially since the machine was a Bernina!!). She says it was more out of selfishness for herself in buying me my Bernina because she was going to teach me how to sew. She didn't want to worry about the hassle of figuring out a cheapy machine (which I would have bought if left to my own unknowing devices) while teaching me how to create with it.

The very first class I took was a beginner quilting class taught by my friend. For the class she chose a simple quilt pattern made from Charm Packs.

This quilt went with me on my journey in learning about my machine: threading it, bobbins, and seam allowances. And all the things that go along with creating something lovely: pressing, rotary cutters, and let's not forget the seam ripper! I enjoyed every minute and worked on it any chance I could get. Ahhh, memories!

The choice of fabric in my quilt was based on what charm packs were on sale at my local fabric store, Silly Babies by Moda. I thought they were perfect since the purpose of this quilt was to be something for my kids to snuggle under on Family Movie night. Which comes to the 2nd reason this quilt is special.

It's a quilt that will keep my kids warm and it will get a lot of love!

I like this picture of The Baby Quilt best because it's doing what it was made for, being snuggled under!!

Thank you for visiting! Now go see all the other gorgeous quilts that are being shown in the Blogger's Quilt Festival!

Tears and Triumphs (In One Project!)

2010-10-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

It started like a dream turned into a nightmare but it all turned out ok in the end.

I wanted to make myself an Over the Shoulder Bag for our next family trip to Disneyland. I found the perfect tutorial on Noodlehead. I picked out some fabric from my stash and got to work early one Wednesday morning (we were going to Dland on Thursday). All was going well. I had to start and stop numerous times stretching this project out into an all day affair. It even went into the night and early the next morning!

I wanted a bag that would be sturdy so I decided (my first mistake) to line the interior and exterior fabrics with fusible fleece. It sure is sturdy! I didn't realize my mistake until I tried to attatch the straps with grommets as the pattern states. AFTER I cut holes in my strap AND my bag did I discover that grommets don't work on 4 layers of fabric on the seam and 2 layers of fusible fleece and a layer of heavyweight interfacing.

It was 3 AM and I was pounding so hard my grommet tool GOT STUCK!! I tugged and tugged but alas all that came loose was the strap through the hole in my bag. Now what was I supposed to do?! I had worked literally ALL DAY and NIGHT on this bag I didn't want to just toss it aside.

I cut the strap above the 2nd hole and re top stitched it. I then sewed (with much difficulty) the straps onto the bag, covering up the giant holes in the side. I learned why she used grommets to attatch her straps. Sewing them was very tricky.

After that was done and I was admiring my work I discovered that while in my zealous pounding I POUNDED A HOLE IN THE FRONT OF MY BAG! UGH! What else could go wrong!

I covered up the outside hole with some fabric I used Heat N Bond with and cut out a flower but it looked more like a splat. Didn't last long though at Dland. Need to recover it. Any suggestions?

The inside hole I left alone.

I did learn alot in making this bag. It was the first time I made a lining zipper pocket! Should have used a smaller zipper but it works!

On a quicker, happier (and definitely cuter due to the model!) note I quickly and successfully made a Sippy Cup Leash for the baby in between my bag making drama. It worked great! No more sippy cups on the filthy ground a million times a day! Or left behind while walking through crowds when it gets dropped from little hands. It worked great in the car seat too! Gonna make another so this one can stay in the car.

Any sewing disasters happening in your world lately?

My Life Verse

2010-10-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

Isaiah 41:10

Have A Wonderful Sunday!

Quilting Bee

2010-10-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

I joined a quilting bee. It's entitled the Moody Blues Bee because the quilt blocks we'll be making are all about blue! Which is awesome for me because I LOVE BLUE! I am joining in a little late but you can see what the rest of the group has already made by visiting the Moody Blues Bee Flickr Group.

A giveaway!

2010-10-21T19:08:00.000-07:00

Awesome giveaway going on over at Little Blue Bell!

Do you love scarves?

2010-10-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

I sure do!! I didn't really have any to wear but I sure loved how they looked on other people! Especially my sister who is a fashion queen!

Don't you just love this scarf!! Hurry and buy it here before I give in and buy it myself!

In A Round Scarf

And how about this scarf?

Bunchy Scarf

So very cute!

I was able to make my own of each of these! I purchased two ePatterns from Meg of Brassy Apple. Each pattern, the Bunchy Scarves eBook and the Brassy Neck Scarves eBook, contain 10 scarves to make and they were only $6.95/pattern!

I immediately got to work and made myself one scarf from each eBook.

First was the In A Round Scarf.

I didn't even have to cut any fabric! I had a piece of knit that was already the right size (and the right color) for the job! It was super easy to make.

Next I decided I needed a Bunchy Scarf.

Again, super easy to make! (Just don't let innocent looking babies pull on it right after making it. It will break the thread and you'll have to resew it just minutes after finishing it.)

Innocent Looking Baby

The next scarf I would like to make is the Shredded In A Round from the Brassy Neck Scarves ePattern. Sorry I couldn't find a pic to share of it but trust me, it's very cute! (But not as cute as that innocent baby!)

I've gotten compliments each time I've worn one of these scarves out of the house. Yes, I wear them at home when no one will see me but the kids because I like to be as my 7 year old would say, "Ooh! So fashion, Mama!"

These are definitely going on my To Make list for Christmas gifts!

Just wanted to say Thank You to Meg for letting me use her photos in my blog post!

Go! Baby Go!

2010-10-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, corny title I know but how else could I share with you that I WON AN ACCUQUILT GO!

WOOHOO! *kermit arms*

I owe it all to Fabrics N Quilts! They were hosting the giveaway on their blog and it was sponsored by Accuquilt.

It seemed like forever but finally my Go! arrived.

I was so excited! Even though I was in the midst of preparing for dinner guests I tore open the box to show it off to my husband. lol

On a sad note I haven't been able to play with it yet. =( On inspection I discovered that the handle was flush with the cutter and was leaving marks when rotated. I called Accuquilt and they are sending out a replacement handle with instructions on how to replace it. It should be here in a couple of days.

I guess I'll have to start saving up to buy some more dies to go with my new toy!

Candle Mat Swap

2010-10-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

I joined my first swap and I'm excited about it! The Quilting Gallery is hosting this swap and we are all making a candle mat from the same pattern just using different fabrics according to our partner's wishes.

My partner wasn't very specific just that she wanted to be able to keep it out all the time so I decided on a Fandango Charm Pack.

I found this lovely on sale at Hip Fabric. I loved how they sell Fat Quarters as well! You can choose to buy just a Fat Quarter from the fabrics that they carry! This worked out PERFECTLY for me since I needed a Fat Quarter for the Candle Mat.

I was finally able to start on mine today. After a lot of changing around charms to decide on their placement I started cutting and sewing. Here's my progress so far:

(Oh, you're wondering what that corner of a box possibly could be in the photo? Well, you'll just have to wait 'til tomorrow to find out!)

As you can see my top is almost done. After I got all those little pieces sewn together did the idea hit me, "Wouldn't those look so cute as wonky strips!" I really want to make this over again so I can make them wonky. Oh well, I may have enough to make another. =)

There are some really cute Candle Mats popping up on the Candle Mat Swaps Flickr Group. Stop by and take a look!

What Do You Do With Your Quilt Tops? and A Vote!

2010-09-29T12:43:00.001-07:00

Well, what do you do with those quilt tops that are finished but you just haven't gotten around to quilting yet? Are they folded up neatly on a shelf in your sewing room? Are they up on your design wall? Or are they in some dark corner?

The answer for mine is none of the above.

I make my quilts so that I can have pretty things around my house so when I finish one of my quilt tops I just can't wait to have it quilted to display it.

Here's my most recent quilt. It's actually not finished yet I just need to applique F-A-L-L on it

This is the last quilt top I finished. It will eventually be a wall quilt but until it's quilted it adorns my entryway table.

This was the second quilt top I ever made it actually still needs sashing and borders.

So if you're tired of not being able to enjoy your hard work place some quilt tops in different locations throughout your house! Enjoy them! Oh and get them quilted please! =)

*SHAMELESS PLUG

PS: I am part of the Flickr Friday Vote at Above All Fabric! Please go vote for my voile top! Kay? Thanks!

Fall Quilting

2010-09-28T22:31:00.000-07:00

Fall has started and even though the weather doesn't relay that fact I wanted to get out my Fall decorations this year! After digging through our storage closet I found that the dog had eaten most of my decorations. I put out what I had and decided I needed to get to work on making something more. A Fall Wall Hanging!

Earlier this Summer I won an "Awesome" Charm Pack and I knew that I wanted to make something for the house with it. So I pulled it out and started planning. I came up with this layout:

Once I knew the direction I was going I started piecing. I wanted something fun so I made some wonky blocks. Pretty much just made a 4 patch then wonky cut them and sewed them back together.

I really wanted the middle seam to line up so I pulled out my seam ripper quite a bit for these blocks.

They turned out really well! I trimmed them down to 8 1/4" squares then sewed them together. I wanted to add a sashing to this quilt so I dug around in my stash and came up with some pieces of a very deep and rich purple that goes perfectly with some of the purple accents in the charm pack. After sitting for over an hour trying to calculate how wide my sash strips needed to be I decided to just make them 1 1/2" wide (finished).

I just want to say in advance that I'm sorry. I'm sorry that the quality of this upcoming picture does not do justice to the beautiful colors on this quilt top.

I just could not get a good picture of this. The purple is so rich and pretty that it frames the light wonky blocks perfectly! I'm almost tempted to leave it as is!!

All that's left for this quilt top to be finished are the border squares and to applique F-A-L-L on the front.

Are you making anything for the Fall season?

Swapping and Skirts

2010-09-26T22:31:00.000-07:00

I'm joining in on a Candle Mat Swap with the Quilting Gallery! I know, I know, it's not like I don't have enough projects to keep me busy but I've really been wanting to get involved in a swap. I'm very excited about it 'cause this will be my first one! The candle mat/mini quilt looks very simple to make, we will all be using the same pattern just different fabrics according to our partners wishes.

On another note I got a custom order for a Fun and Comfy Skirt! I'm first making a muslin to make sure it's what the customer would like. She wants something for excercising that will stay modest so I'm making it with sewn in leggings that will be an inch or so shorter than the length of the skirt.

Yes and make sure to avert your eyes to all that surrounds the dress form! ;)

And BTW the Mom loved the ties for her little guy!

Finally Finished Friday!

2010-09-23T22:31:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the second installment of FINALLY FINISHED FRIDAY!! =)

I finally finished off more listings for the shop. I've had these cut out for quite some time just hadn't sewn them together until this week.

First off is the Posh Pillowcase! I love it! It's so pretty! I think 2 of my kids loved it too. When I tried getting a photo of it the baby kept following me around ready to lay down on it whenever he had the chance! lol It has definitely been comfort tested and baby approved. Then while taking the photos my oldest daughter asked, "Does everyone in the world have a pillowcase?". "Why?", I asked. "Well I need a new pillowcase.", she said, as in *hint hint* give this one to me Mom! lol Unbeknownst to her though a Personalized Posh Pillowcase will be under the tree this Christmas.

I also got 3 more Crayon Wallets made for the shop. Actually 2 more because one was giving me such a hard time I decided to keep it and use it for a reward for my oldest (since she's been wanting one of these too) when school starts.

Ok I know this isn't technically 'finished' yet but they'll be done on Friday since I'm writing this post on Thursday night. These are 4 Little Guy Ties that I'll be giving as a bday gift this Saturday for a friends baby who's turning 1. Now for those that are thinking "ties as a birthday present?!" They were Mom requested. She just doesn't know the colors. I asked her what colors she likes on her son and she mentioned green and orange. I thought the black would be a good neutral and since Christmas is coming soon I had to make a red one!

And last but definitely not least is the one I'm most excited about! I finally made myself some labels! I love, love, love how they look! They were so easy to make. Just some cotton twill tape and iron on transfer paper. I was very happy that my printer decided to print in color (it has been giving me fits lately) because I LOVE blue. =) Now if only I could remember to add my labels to my product while I'm making them!

Well, that's about it for this Finally Finished Friday. I'm trying to slowly fill up the shop, now if only someone(s) would start emptying it! lol On my to do list is getting business cards made. I met 2 ladies tonight that were very interested but all I had to give them was scrap paper with my name and web address scribbled out. Nice. =/

Anything you've finally finished?

Finally Finished Friday

2010-09-10T23:52:00.000-07:00

Today on our agenda was prepping the baby's room for painting but inbetween scraping and sanding I was able to sneak in a little sewing time! With a million things on my 'to sew' list I wanted to get something done for my mini quilt wall in the living room. There aren't any mini quilts on it yet that's why I'm so anxious to get something made for it.

Here was my inspiration to start a quilt wall in my living room.

I chose the 1800's Vintage Doll Quilt on the Moda Bake Shop Website because all it called for was one charm pack and some ivory fabric for the sashing(?). I already had an American Primer charm pack that I got 1/2 off at my local fabric shop a long while ago and a bunch of ivory fabric on my shelf. I started on this quilt earlier in the week.

This was very fun and simple to put together! However the instructions are a tad bit off. You need 18 dark light dark strips to make 70 subcuts and 13 light dark light strips for 49 subcuts. Once you're done putting the whole thing together it looks like it was a lot of work piecing all those tiny little squares but following their instructions with chain piecing makes it so easy.

After finishing all of my 9 patches I was ready to pull out my seam ripper to fix some of the patches that weren't lined up correctly. Then I remembered something I read on A Few Scraps "Done is better than perfect." So I said goodbye to my seam ripper and kept on going! (Actually I had to pull out my seam ripper once or twice for more extreme mistakes such as sewing the wrong blocks together).

I pieced the whole top together this evening and with it pressed it looks so lovely! All that's left is to quilt it and bind it. I would really like to quilt this myself and I'm thinking a stippling pattern would be good for this one. I'm gonna have to practice my stippling a bit more though before I attempt it on this one. My stipples aren't smooth at all they look "unnatural". lol If you have an idea for a quilting design for this quilt I'm all ears (or should I say 'eyes' since we're online?).

I already know where this will be hung in the living room but right now it's decorating my entry way table. Now I've got 2 quilt tops decorating my house. lol I need to get them both quilted quickly or quickly quilted. (Ok it's getting late lol)

I hope to start having regular "Finally Finished Friday" posts. We'll see how that goes though. =) I'll have to pull out all the stops for next Friday since we'll be gone (again) at the beginning of the week. This is the last trip until December. It'll be nice to be home for awhile.

Have a great weekend, Everyone!

Patchwork Cards and Quilting

2010-09-09T14:34:00.000-07:00

I made some cards the other day using this tutorial from Pioneer Valley Girl.

They were very simple to make and they are great for gifts!

I also worked on the 1800's Vintage Quilt from the Moda Bake Shop. I'm using an American Primer Charm pack and you don't even need to cut every charm square. I might make some new potholders for my kitchen with the leftover charms and pieces.

I'm starting to think about Christmas gifts for the kids and since they definitely don't need anymore toys or clothing I'm going outside the norm. This year on the gift lists are personalized bath towels, Pretty pillowcases and pillows, and whatever else I can think of to make. lol I need to get started since I've got 4 of them to sew for! Trying to think of what to get my husband for Christmas as well. It's always so hard to shop for him. Any ideas?

Free Motion Quilting

2010-09-05T14:41:00.000-07:00

I finished my extremely ugly quilt top for the Free Motion Quilt Along at A Few Scraps. After I finished it and posted a picture in the flickr group I realized I put it together wrong! lol Oh well, since it's for learning how to free motion quilt I didn't even attempt to pull out my seam ripper.

I also put together a couple of 12"x18" practice quilt sandwiches and did my first attempt at free motion quilting.

I'll mostly be working on quilts and stuff for the shop this month. The kids have been completely outfitted with lots of new clothes from grandparents that there's no need for me to make them anything. =(

What do you have in store to make for this month?

Patterns :: Designer :: Amy Butler :: Sandlewood Jacket - Welcome to Above All Fabric

2010-08-22T17:53:00.000-07:00

I definitely need to get this Sandalwood Jacket by Amy Butler pattern for my next "for me" project! The weather here is never extreme so it would be a great jacket I could wear!

Simplicity 3842 with Upgrades!

2010-08-20T18:05:00.000-07:00

Remember this pattern:
And this fabric:

I combined them to make this top!

Ok, so I wasn't able to use the Diamond Mine fabric but I've got enough of it to make myself a purse to go with this outfit!! WOOHOO! lol That'll be in 2 weeks though.

This was a very easy pattern to follow and make. I did have to make a couple of "upgrades" though. lol The first change was a major one; the sleeves. I mean look at that pattern picture, they look like sausages or something! I envisioned for my top beautiful, flowy sleeves. It took me the better part of an hour learning how to make the changes necessary to the pattern to remove the gathers and change the shape. But they do look lovely! The second change was just not making the inset for the front. Since I had to wear a camisole for this top anyway I thought I might as well skip it.

One change I wish I would have made is the tunic bottom. I should have made it 1 size larger to give me slightly more ease. Other than that the top is perfect!

I decided to add this lace trim to the front after finding it in a large bag of notions I scored from a garage sale. I think it really finishes off the front of the tunic.

Here is a pic of the inside looking oh so lovely with french seams and all! Since this top was unlined I decided it needed a nice inside finish. It was my first time doing them and it does take longer with the extra step but it is so worth it!

You also get a peek at the bias binding that finished off the V neck. I didn't realize I needed it (I should have read the pattern thoroughly) but was lucky to also find this in my big bag of notions.

Working with this fabric was a dream! If you haven't tried sewing with Anna Maria Horner's Voile line I highly recommend you do so especially if you like to make yourself lovely clothes! It was so soft but not slippery. Very easy to sew with.

This top is going to be perfect for my trip to the hot and humid midwest next week.

Voiles are Heavenly

2010-08-19T13:00:00.000-07:00

Little Folks Voiles
Coloring Garden - Sea
Diamond Mine - Ink

Isn't this picture just beautiful? And it's even more beautiful in person when you actually get to touch it! My new acquisition has been so fun to work with! It has even made pressing after the wash a pleasure just for a chance to handle it. I'm going to start cutting into it today and work on my new top.

IT'S OPEN!!

2010-08-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

I've started listing in my Etsy shop Grace, Faith & Glory!

To find out great deals and special discounts become a fan of my Facebook Page!

90 Minute Shirt

2010-08-16T07:39:00.000-07:00

Made Caleb a 90 Minute Shirt last night. Since it was my first time it definitely didn't take 90 minutes but the next one will be faster. =) I used an old long sleeved tshirt I found at a garage sale. The binding is from another tshirt that was super soft.

I really liked how easy it was to make. My pattern needs a little tweaking though. The front neck is too high but it is still wearable.

Isn't he too cute! This is him just woken up. lol I couldn't wait to try it on him this morning. (And for the record I did not wake him up; he was already up.)

I was finally able to use my "P.S. I Love You" tags that I bought at the Quilt Show I went to in the Spring. I think it's too cute!

More of these shirts will definitely be popping up. They are so easy to make! (Did I mention that already?)

Definitely Spoiled!

2010-08-15T13:15:00.000-07:00

Last night I was browsing an online fabric sale and I was able to purchase some beautiful fabric to make a top for myself. My husband definitely spoils me. When he first saw me browsing, he mentioned that he thought I had enough things to make right now but he still said ok to buying the fabric!

What I bought was some of Anna Maria Horner's Little Folks voile fabric. I've been dying to see this fabric in person and be able to touch it but none of the local fabric stores carry it.

Coloring Garden - Sea (Main Fabric)

Diamond Mine - Ink (Accent Fabric)

Melanie at Above All Fabric was helping me out last night via Twitter figure out my yardage. At first I wanted to get the Torii Tunic pattern from her shop then I remembered I had this pattern:

Simplicity 3842 - Bias Tunic Top

I wanted to make a very "flowy" tunic top and this fits the bill! I'm not keen on those sleeves though. I'll be changing them to bell sleeves.

I've been wanting to fill up my closet with clothes that I've made for myself and this will be a nice addition to that.

Why Do I Create?

2010-08-11T20:59:00.000-07:00

That question was posed to me by Candice at Made With Love. I answered her question this way:

I create because it does de-stress me (at least from my daily life stress lol). I love using something I've made or being able to give something I've made to a friend or family member. Each item that I make seems to have a little part of me with it. So when I put it out there as a gift or (soon) to sell I pray it brings a smile to the face of the person on the receiving end and that it makes them happy to have it and use it.

I'll continue Candice's question.

Why do you create?

DIY - Not as Easy as It Looks

2010-08-10T21:41:00.000-07:00

Design It Yourself - Not as easy as it looks.

After our last trip to Disneyland (we go quite frequently) I felt the need for a small yet hold it all wallet. Something my ID, cellphone, change, chapstick, and season passes could all fit in AND it could go on my Disney Pin Lanyard.

No big deal right?

I spent the better half of an evening measuring, drawing, and planning exactly how my wallet would look. The next morning first thing I started to actually make it.

It was exciting seeing my ideas come into reality while working on it!

The coin pouch even had a zipper (the first one I've ever done!)

Once I was done I was very pleased with my work but I could see some flaws and problems already.

I forgot to allow width for the folding the wallet does. The coin pouch is too small to hold the large chapstick I like to use. The cellphone pocket and the ID pocket should be reversed. And I can't for the life of me get the fusible velcro to fuse because that part of the wallet is too thick.

A Wallet of My Own Design

All these problems are fixable. I'm going to make changes where necessary and this time use some muslin so I don't use up the rest of my chosen fabric until I know I've got it right.

In the meantime I'm using my wallet and it works fine except for it's flaws and I'll enjoy having my flawless one made. =) Once I get it right I may start selling them in the shop.

On other designing notes I pulled out some blank cards so my daughters and I could make some special cards to send to grandparents. They made thank you cards for the recent visit and spoiling my mom and dad did this weekend. I made a get well soon card for my grandma who recently had surgery.

We had fun with rick rack on our cards!

I get my sewing talent from my Grandma. She always made us fun stuff. I remember when she made my sister and I matching Snow White costumes for Halloween. She also was the one who made our baby blankets. I still have mine, it's in pretty bad shape though. (I have a sibling who still actively uses their baby blanket.)

I got to play with my fabric today! However, while I was pressing the dryer wrinkles out I discovered 4 pieces were cut to the wrong length. =( Boo! Which put me 3 Origami Handbags short of my goal. Oh well.

Ok, I've got a question for any that have made it this far in my ramblings. Should I wait to list things once I've got a lot made or list as I make it?

Thanks for your opinions!

Pretty Fabric!

2010-08-09T21:52:00.001-07:00

It sure was a good thing there was so much beautiful fabric that I was able to bring home today because otherwise this shopping adventure would have been a shopping nightmare!

The fabric stores I frequent are in the next town 20 minutes away (there are no fabric stores where I live besides Walmart which has a woefully lacking fabric department).

I received mailers recently for sales that were going on at both stores! I was excited to check them out. I loaded up my 4 children and we were off! I went to Beverly's first where they had all their print knits on sale for $2.44 a yard. After going through them all for an hour I was finally able to whittle my selection down and went up to the counter. (During this hour my children were behaving less than stellar. Plus there was a very grumpy grandma behind the cutting counter who didn't seem to like children that made any noise.)

I made my way to the registers where there was a nice lady ahead of me that thought my children's antics were very cute. She let me go ahead of her in line so that I could corral my wayward bunch out the door. Upon reaching into my purse I discovered that I had left my method of payment at home. I was not happy. The nice lady behind the counter offered to hold my fabric for me so I loaded the children into the van and we drove the 20 minutes home. I grabbed my forgotten items from off the counter and we drove 20 minutes back to the fabric store. At least the kids got in a nap during that 40 minute wait in the van.

The fruits of my labor from Beverly's:

Once we made our purchase at Beverly's we went next store to Betty's! Where the woven cottons that were on sale for $5/yard were now on sale for $4/yard.

The kids were better behaved in Betty's (I think the nap helped) except for a very embarrassing episode with my 3 year old by the register. There were so many beautiful fabrics that I spent WAY TOO MUCH time making my selections. I had wanted to be home at 5pm to start dinner, we didn't get home til 6:20.

My haul from Betty's:

2 Selections for the Pretty Pillowcases

A Stack of 5/8's for the Origami Handbags

5 yards of loveliness for the Phoebe Bags

I also wanted to find some boy fabric for some boy themed Crayon Wallets but there wasn't much boy stuff that I liked (in the sale section that is).

Unless I'm able to sweet talk my husband into letting me buy this Pirate Cove Bundle from Above All Fabric. There won't be much in the way of boy Crayon Wallets in the shop until I'm able to sell some of what I've purchased today.

Have a great day everyone and have you been to a great fabric sale lately?

COMING SOON

2010-07-31T04:00:00.000-07:00

I've finally set up shop at Etsy! My store "Grace, Faith, and Glory" will be opening soon. I'm currently working on getting goodies ready for the shelves.

I've been wanting to put my sewing to good use and honor the Lord Who gave me this talent. Our church is going through a building project and I'll be donating 75% of the profits of every sale to the building fund.

What happens when the project is over? Well, we'll see what the Lord has in store when that time comes.

What kind of things will I be selling? I hope to load the shop with my Fun and Comfy Skirts from yesterday's post as well as Crayon Wallets, the Origami Handbags, and any other fun thing I may be making at the time. I'll post an announcement when the Grand Opening is officially scheduled.

Comfy and Easy Skirts

2010-07-30T04:00:00.000-07:00

If you haven't made yourself a circle skirt yet I highly recommend it! After seeing how cute my daughter's skirts were I wanted one for myself. This morning I set about it and made myself my very own. It is sooooo comfortable and so easy to make. You don't even need to buy a pattern!! It's very easy to make yourself and here are 2 great links to tutorials on making them:

Rosie's Whimsy Circle Skirt Tutorial

Whitney Sews - Tshirt Resize and Tshirt Circle Skirt Video

I foresee many of these making it into my closet and many more trips to the thrift shop and garage sales for graphic tees.

Keep on Sewing

2010-07-29T04:00:00.000-07:00

WOW! Has it really been 2 months since I posted last! Goodness. Well, I certainly did not put my sewing machine away. It did sit dormant for a few weeks due to life in general and surprises that the Lord had for us but I've sewn a few things here and there.

I've made 2 crayon wallets one for a birthday present and one as an order. The mother of the girl I gave the 1st one to wanted one to give as a birthday present for her daughter's friend. She wanted a little purse to go with it so I made a matching Origami Handbag to go with it.

Next I made a pillow case for a girlfriend's birthday. It wasn't just any old pillow case though. My friend is a flamingo fanatic! And I wanted it to be special for her as her husband is on deployment.

I had so much fun making this pillow! I had so many ideas and the design changed a million times before I finally settled on what you see here.

I was going to embellish both sides but opted to leave a side plain so that she wouldn't wake up with unsightly stitching lines on her face. lol

Then on Monday I wanted to get out and make my daughter a circle skirt out of knit fabric but after looking at the state of my garage/sewing area I decide to clean instead. I was able to unload 2 large black bags, 2 large boxes, and 1 small box full of fabric that I didn't need/like from my garage. Most had come from a buy sight unseen selection of fabric I picked up at a garage sale. There was plenty for me to keep but a lot I didn't want that was cluttering up the area.

Now that the area was decluttered the creative juices were flowing freely! I picked up my scissors and ~~attacked~~ repurposed a Hersheys Milk Chocolate T-shirt into a circle skirt for my daughter.

I always make things so hard on myself. Instead of a simple 1 hour to make skirt this skirt with it's bits of this and pieces of that took W-A-Y too long. But it sure is fun!

This entire skirt was made from repurposed fabric. Three t-shirts and some leftover floral fabric from an earlier project went into this skirt. There are white shorts sewn in as well to keep her modest when playing. =)

After the Hershey's Skirt was complete I whipped out this pink skirt in one hour. Oh if only I had made this one first like she wanted. lol My little girl loves all things pink and when given her choice she'd pick this skirt over the one mommy spent so much time ~~slaving over~~ making for her. ;)

This one also has shorts sewn in.

Now that she has 2 new skirts I may make one for myself tomorrow! They are sooooo easy to make! I've got to keep repeating to myself "Keep it simple! Keep it simple!" I tend to go overboard with the design of my little creations that I don't get done nearly what I should.

To anyone who actually read this and made it all the way to the bottom, Thank you! Thanks for sticking with it and waiting for me to finally post again.

Happy 5th Birthday/My 1st Sienna Dress

2010-05-23T23:13:00.000-07:00

It's finished! And it came out PERFECTLY!! Well, at least as perfect as I can tell before seeing it on her. But that will have to wait until morning it's after 11pm right now. Sorry for the bad lighting in the pics. I took many but these were the best two.

This was a very fun project and would have been quicker but I just had to complicate things. lol I used the Sienna Dress Pattern from Lil Blue Boo (as I said in my last post). I decided to go with the short sleeves and I had to add an inch on to the bottom, I like their dresses to last through a growth spurt.

I had a lot of fun using Lil Blue Boo's Freezer Paper Stenciling Tutorial (except I used Tulips Spray Fabric Paint, didn't have to mix my own) and trying out her Reverse Applique Tutorial as well! Then at the end my little birthday princess wanted ruffles on it so I decided to lettuce edge the hem and the sleeves. I can't wait to try it on her tomorrow! Good Night!

Making something special and close to my heart

2010-05-21T08:39:00.000-07:00

I'm working on something special in true "Jennifer fashion", at the last minute! Tuesday is my middle girl's 5th birthday and even though she is afraid of all animals big or small she thinks she is a cowgirl! For Christmas she wanted a cowgirl outfit, horse toys, etc. When she plays it usually will involve cowgirls or horses. So for her birthday I had the idea to make her a cowgirl themed dress.

I bought the Sienna Dress pattern a long time ago after reading Lil Blue Boo's blog. She is amazing and her stuff is so cute! So I thought this would be the perfect one to make this outfit with. Lil Blue Boo also gives great tutorials on freezer paper stenciling and embellishing your fabric which I will be doing to this dress.

The fabric is a load of pink knit fabric I scored at a garage sale for less than 50cents! (SWEET!) When I went to the craft store to get some paint and spray bottle (per Lil Blue Boo's instructions) I found that Tulip now makes spray fabric paint. Nice!

So I'm up to the point where I have all my pieces cut out. Now I'm embellishing each of my pieces. I've put a cowgirl on a running horse on the front and she didn't turn out too bad for my first try at stenciling. I probably should have practiced on a scrap piece first but I'm impatient and I'm on a time crunch. =) Now that she is dry I've found that the Tulip paint will make your fabric a little hard but I'm waiting to see if it'll soften when washed.

Next is to add special things to the bottom three layers of the dress. I'm thinking on the first layer a large star with a 5 in it with smaller stars, second layer horseshoe prints, last layer either boots or vertical stripes. I was thinking of putting Cowgirl Madison somewhere on the dress but have heard you shouldn't put your kids name on things like that for safety. What do you think?

(Oh and getting back to the "close to my heart" in the title, I love horses. Don't own one, yet! But it's the main decoration in my house. lol)

Scrap Happy Goodness

2010-05-05T22:19:00.000-07:00

Started working on a crocheted rag rug today.
Why?
Just because I felt like it. lol
So instead of painting my stairs or cleaning something I grabbed a long thin strip of fabric from my scrap pile and found my stash of crochet hooks (I choose the N hook) and just started to chain stitch.
I think I'll be using this rug in my kitchen (depending on how it turns out) so I wanted a nice length for under my feet while I do dishes.
I'm running out of long scraps fairly quickly so I posted a few Want Ads on my local Freecycle and Craigslist.

If any of you have any long scraps you'd like to get rid of I'll be happy to take them off of your hands! =)

Still waiting to see if my top made the top 60. Fingers crossed!

Not Easy Being Green

2010-04-30T14:35:00.000-07:00

I finished!! I made my top for the Spring Top Week event!

As I mentioned before I had a top that I loved but was shaped like a tent. Since I've no plans to become expecting any time soon I did a little reconstruction and took the sides in a little. I really loved the finished product! So much so that I decided to make my top for Spring Top Week just like it!

I really challenged myself in making this top (besides doing it at the last possible minute). Since I had no pattern to go on I had to make my own using the old top. However, I still want to wear said top and didn't want to take it apart so there was a lot of stretching and maneuvering to get the right size.

I already knew the fabric I wanted to use, some pretty white and green floral cotton knit I got on sale at Beverly's. And as an accent fabric I decided to upcycle my favorite green maternity shirt my sister bought me that was no longer stylish since the puppy decided to put some holes in it.

The most difficult thing about this project was designing the shape of the sleeves. I've never done sleeves like these before so was doing some guess work but they turned out great. This is also the first time I've done any shirring but I found it so easy and very fun to do. You should try it out some time! =)

I took a bajillion pictures to try to get a nice pic to enter into the flickr pool. I hope what I ended up with will be alright. Not sure if I'll win any prizes with this shirt (I hope so!) but I sure loved making this top!

Just under the wire for Spring Top Week

2010-04-30T01:05:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow (ok today actually since I'm writing this at 1:00am) is the deadline for the Spring Top Week hosted by Made by Rae. As one of my Pattern Challenge goals I wanted to make myself a top for this event. Well, I believe I'll get it done just on time. lol I had my fabric picked out for quite some time, some knit fabric I bought at Beverly's. I was just waiting on inspiration for a shirt style. I finally picked out a top that I already own. I love how it fits me (especially since I did a little reconstruction to it). I've cut out all the pieces and in the morning (when the sun comes up morning) I'll sew it all together and cross my fingers that it comes out right. I'm having to do some new and daring things that I've never done before with this one. Experimentation! I love it! Especially when it works. Wish me luck! Deadline is 8pm EST. I'll of course post pics of the top when it is done.

Seven Sisters Quilt Show Goodies

2010-04-26T14:02:00.000-07:00

Spending the day at a quilt show is so much fun! So many beautiful quilts and some of the beautiful stories behind them were just fantastic. I wasn't able to take many pictures or good quality ones because my camera was lost. I found it when I got home.

It was such a gorgeous day outside in SLO at the Madonna Inn but every time I stepped outside I started to sneeze and my eyes started to itch. *sigh* allergy season

Ok on to the show. When we first got off the trolley bus that took us up the hill there was a tent filled with vendors selling oh so many beautiful things! We browsed a little then went into the main building each going our different ways. (Oh didn't I mention I went with 2 friends) I decided to look at the quilts on display first.

There were so many beautiful quilts but the one above was my favorite and that for any know me you can guess why. The horses of course! lol The company that makes this pattern I have discovered also sells a few different horse ones so I need to get myself one right away and start making it. It would go perfect in my living room.

This one had to be the funniest quilt! The lady who made it used baby clothes for the clothing on the men. It could have been a snapshot of that day! I saw so many men walking around holding their wives goodies as she ooed and ahhhed over the quilts.

This quilt is a mini that was made as part of a competition. It was the one I voted for. My husband loves this pic and I'll have to see about making a similar one for his office.

Now for the goodies!! This is all the loot I brought home from the quilt show:

Starting in the upper left and working my way around. The first is a Nap Time quilt kit. I bought it to make for Caleb. It was too cute to pass up and I loved those colors! To top it all off the binding and the pattern was included in the kit and they had already cut pieces of fabric for the backing selling right next to it. I loved it! I started working on it last night at the Monday Night Mavens Sewing group and have 1/2 of the top complete.

Next to it are 2 pieces of fabric that were only $4 a yard. I thought they would make a cute shirt for Caleb.

The clear bag was filled with a purple needle threader, a spool of thread, 100 paper pieces for making 1" hexagons, a pack of needles, easier instructions to make those 1" hexagons. At the last quilt show I went to someone handed out samples of paper piecing and I thought I'd give it a try. LOL Trying to follow the manufacturers instructions was a nightmare. After making one I gave up on it. This was not for me! But at the Seven Sisters Quilt show a lady was there demonstrating how to make them and boy was it a lot simpler and faster. I'm gonna use this as a car trip project and make a bunch using one of my charm packs that has been sitting around forever. After I get a bunch made I'll figure out something to make with them.

Moving on down the pattern is an embroidery piece I thought would be perfect for my mom's birthday.

On the opposite end is another quilt kit for a large table topper, binding and pattern included as well.

Well, that's all the goodies! If anyone actually made it to the end of this post there are a few more pics of quilts and up close shots of the goodies on my flickr page.

It's Friday Already?!

2010-04-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

Yes it is and I haven't gotten one single thing done on any of my projects. Yuck!!

I've been a bit under the weather due to allergies and by the time the kids get in bed (my sewing time came around) I was so tired that I just got in bed as well. I have gotten some things done. I moved my sewing area out into the garage. It makes for a much cleaner bedroom and I don't have to worry about keeping my husband up when I sew late.

All my projects are at the cutting stage and I think that's also why I've not started any. I hate cutting but it is needed if you want to actually sew something.

Pray for us this weekend as we are having a special Ladies & Girls Spring Event for the ladies and girls of our church. We have a special speaker (one of our missionary wives), food, and a lot of fun planned. (This has also kept me very busy this week.)

I had a wonderful birthday and received many lovely cards and gifts inside the cards (WOOHOO fabric store here I come!) but with all the busyness haven't yet sent out (or purchased) my thank you cards. I think I'll try making them using this blog post as inspiration:

Bernina: Make a Greeting Card on Your Sewing Machine.

And did any of you see this oh so cute tutorial?
Mother Huddle: Hanging Fabric Baskets
I can think of a few places where these would be handy!

So I've been busy....

2010-04-11T15:05:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a ~~little~~ ok a long while since I've posted but I've been busy! First there were those Easter dresses to make and 1 Easter tie (my husband wanted one too but I didn't have a pattern to make one for him). And they all turned out just lovely and just a few days before Easter. The tie was actually made the night before Easter but it's a simple project.

(And in the middle of all this Easter sewing mayhem I had to quickly make 5 red scarves for a ladies activity we had the Wednesday night before Easter)

Once those Easter dresses were done I breathed a big sigh of relief

*SIGH*

Now for the fun to really begin!! On the Monday after Easter was my littlest girl's birthday and I wanted to make her a special birthday dress with fabric I had purchased long ago.
And on Monday we were leaving for a family vacation to Disneyland! After Sunday Evening service I went to work washing clothes and getting things ready to pack. While waiting to switch loads of wash (I live with a constant Mount Washmore so having things already clean is silly) I started on her dress. By 3am it was complete!! I love how it all turned out. (Sorry no pic of the back of the dress) I bought just enough of the red heart lace peeking out at the bottom. Whew! Making the skirt full was fun with the tulle (I cut just enough as well!).

Needless to say she loved it! When she saw it in the morning she gave me a hug and said, "I love it, Mommy." in her sweet little 3 year old voice. =)

Completing all these projects has let me cross some things off on my Pattern Challenge Goals list:

~~finish the jumper planned for Glory.~~
make matching skirts for the girls.
~~make a Sunday dress for each of the girls.~~
repurpose 2 shirts for Caleb.
~~make a tie for each special Sunday for Caleb. (Easter, birthday, etc.)~~
finish the planned shirt and skirt for myself.
And to do this all before Summer.

We are now settled and back from vacation. Even the bags and van are all unpacked (and clothes washed!). The next projects I want to tackle are the shirt and skirt for myself as well as a dress, repurpose some of Travis' old khaki pants for Caleb, make 2 Pencil Rolls. And that should do it for now. =)

So much to do in so little time.

Happy Birthday to....

2010-03-26T00:24:00.000-07:00

ME!!!!

Hey if I can't celebrate my own birthday on my blog then where can I celebrate?

I thought about doing a giveaway to celebrate but then thought better of it (sorry) because I have a TON of things I'm trying to get done and just adding one more thing is not very smart. (Especially adding one more thing that I thought of at 10pm on the previous day)

Maybe next year...

...or maybe I'll celebrate one of my unbirthdays sometime soon!
You'll just have to be paying attention to which one. =)

On the Edge FINISHED!

2010-03-22T14:13:00.000-07:00

I deviated from Cassie's pattern just a little. I wanted to copy the look of this pillow she made.

Don't think I quite got it but I like mine too. =)

This was a very fun play along and if you would like to make a super cute and super easy gift for someone special (or just for yourself!) then I highly recommend this project!

On the Edge...

2010-03-21T14:02:00.000-07:00

Finished pillow case...✓
Cotton, washable matching yarn...✓
Yarn darning needle...✓

Down to the wire but I finished it! I was able to get my foundation blanket stitch onto my posh pillowcase.

It was a rough start due to the extreme length of the yarn. A lot of twisty looking stitches but it's all done.

Hey! It looks really good in the photo!

Work in Progress

2010-03-18T20:12:00.000-07:00

I'm busy working on my Easter dresses right now. I've got 1 cut out and will be cutting out the other 2 hopefully tonight. I need to visit the next town to pick up some matching thread and some more bobbins for each of the dresses and the tie.

Isn't this the cutest little top for Spring/Summer?
Yes, add this to my growing list of things to make before the end of the month. LOL 4 of them AND make the pattern as well. This top I saw on LL Bean the Garden Party Pullover. So I need to pick up some elastic thread to make the waist band. Wish me luck! ;)

Pattern Challenge Update

2010-03-15T20:44:00.000-07:00

finish the jumper planned for Glory.
make matching skirts for the girls.
make a Sunday dress for each of the girls.
repurpose 2 shirts for Caleb.
make a tie for each special Sunday for Caleb. (Easter, birthday, etc.)
finish the planned shirt and skirt for myself.
And to do this all before Summer.

Getting to work on my Pattern Challenge. Remember my goal is to finish it all before Summer. =) Well, some things are coinciding with this Pattern Challenge so I'll be able to kill 2 birds with 1 stone. Right now my major project is Easter!

For Easter I want to make the girls semi-matching outfits and Caleb a matching tie (possibly even one for Daddy to match Caleb's!). I'll be using the Frida pattern from Modkid. I bought the whole lot as a kit from Above All Fabric. That will take care of #3 and part of #5.

And guess what? It's coming again....
I wasn't able to get involved last year (too new to sewing and too scared to try and make a top for myself). But this year, especially with goal #6, I'll be putting in an entry. Made By Rae
makes the cutest things and has a really cute Spring Top pattern I may try out. But then again I have the Funked Out Peasant Blouse that I've been meaning to make as well.

Hmmmm....decisions, decisions.

The skirt I want to make is not from a pattern but from a picture.

Isn't that such a cute skirt?! I saw it online at a shop that I'm kicking myself now for not saving the name of the website. ARGH! Oh well, maybe I'll find it again. It'll be fun figuring out how they made it and trying to duplicate it. Now to find the perfect fabric for it! =)
*Found it! ModCloth

We will be going to Disneyland very soon and I'd like to make the girls (and Caleb) some cute outfits or skirts (the girls) for the trip. Which should take care of goal #1, #2 and #4. A while ago I bought some Mickey Mouse fabric that was on sale and wanted to make Glory something with it (she loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse "It's her FAVORITE!" lol as she tells me everytime she watches it). Since we'll be at Disney on her b-day and she wanted a Mickey Mouse/Princess party I thought I'd try to make her a frilly princessy jumper with the fabric.

Hmmm...that got me thinking...maybe I'll use this new pattern I bought from Olabelhe for the jumper!

The only problem with some of these lofty goals is that I want them all done at the same time. lol (Not the summer deadline but much sooner) We'll see how it goes. =)

Just wanted to give praise where praise is due...

2010-03-15T12:51:00.001-07:00

Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD
~Psalm 150:6

This morning during my quiet time I realized that I had been letting the slightest bit (ok maybe it was more than that) of pride creep into my work and posts.

I LOVE sewing. I love making beautiful things for my family (and myself) and my friends. It is fun. I love sharing the work I've done with people. Lately I've caught myself 'showing off' my work rather than just sharing it.

I want to publicly thank my LORD for the wonderful gift He has given to me. He provided me with a beautiful machine to get me started. He also put people in my life that I could learn from in my new found talent.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father
~James 1:17a

Thank you, LORD, for the gift You have given to me. May I use it for Your glory and honor and praise.

Phoebe Bag with Pants-style Front Pockets

2010-03-14T22:28:00.000-07:00

TA DA!

The Phoebe Bag (pattern from Rebekah of Artsy-Crafty Babe).

This bag is so cute if I do say so myself!! The pattern was very easy to follow and would not have taken long however....

....I have been seeing some very cute bags people have been making online with pants-style front pockets. I very much wanted to make my very own bag with those pockets! After searching and searching and searching and asking about how to make pants-style pockets on a purse and coming up empty. =( (Oh there were a couple of really cute patterns for sale that showed you how to do it but that takes $$$) I decided to strike out on my own and figure out how to do it myself.

As you can see I figured it out! It wasn't hard just very time consuming. There were so many pieces of fabric to cut out. Plus I wanted the bag to hold it's shape so there was also interfacing and thin batting to cut out.

AND to top it all off I wanted all the fabric pieces to line up. Both fabrics have the same design just different colors and I wanted it all to match up. Even the bag flap matches up.

There are only 2 things I would change on this bag. I would be more careful of my magnetic snap placement (it's a little too low so the bag can't be closed while brimming with stuff). And I would make the pants-style pockets a little bigger. The pockets just fit my hand going in but if you had a bigger hand you wouldn't be able to reach in.

The pattern called for a matching fabric strap that you make yourself. Since almost all purses you make yourself have those kind of straps I wanted something different. I found my cute silver link belt that I really don't wear much or at all and attached it to D rings on the purse. I can take it on or off. So if I wanted I could still make a fabric strap and add snaps to make the fabric strap removable as well so I can change the strap according to how I'm feeling that day. =)

I had a lot of fun making this bag! Let me know what you think of it.
Since I couldn't find a "how-to" for the Pants-style pockets I may post a tutorial in the future depending on interest. Let me know. =) Have a great day!! Go make something!

Join in the fun!

2010-03-11T23:44:00.000-08:00

I'm having fun since I joined in on the Pillowcase Crochet Along hosted by Cassie at You Go, Girl!

I finally was able to get my supplies (most of them anyway) today and start on this project. I already had the fabric, appropriately from Pillow and Maxfield for Michael Miller.

This isn't the finished product of course but I am looking forward to giving it a test drive tonight. =)

Looking forward to getting to next week's step. Adding the crochet trim.

A Finished Gift

2010-03-10T00:04:00.000-08:00

I wanted to make a journal cover as a gift for a friend of mine and found a very simple tutorial on Bloom. I wanted to make it more personal so I added some embroidery.

I love how the whole thing turned out! I want to make one for myself. Soon.

I thought this font was perfect for her beautiful name!

This journal was going to be used in our discipleship meetings so I wanted a verse just for her on it and my husband thought of Romans 15:4.

I added a pocket for the pen, a ribbon for a page holder, and elastic to hold it closed when carrying it around.

I added fabric to this pen to make a matching set.

Embroidery and Gifts

2010-02-21T05:00:00.000-08:00

I started working on a journal cover Thursday night using this tutorial from Bloom. I found it using Google and I'm glad I did. She has some great follow up posts for the tutorial with some cute ideas. I had to tweak it a little to fit the notebook I bought but it's working so far. =) I would love to share pics but I can't yet because it is a gift and even though I believe the intendee doesn't read this blog I don't want to take a chance.

I'm keeping roughly to the same design that Bloom uses but I'm spicing it up with some embroidery. I've put the intendee's first name on the front and I'll be putting a Scripture verse my husband thought would be good for this person on the inside back cover.

It took me quite a while to get the verse laid out just like I wanted it but I like it. And while you're scratching your head wondering if I've lost it our something I just want to say, "Yes, I know it's backwards." lol I don't have the proper tracing tools for embroidery so I used a light pen and traced it on the backside of the project. After finishing the embroidery I just need to add a pocket on the inside front for a pen then finish the last steps in sewing it up.

I can't wait until it's finished! After I'm done I'll be making one for myself (sans embroidery, maybe).

Pattern Challenge and Double Layer Twirly Skirt

2010-02-08T09:00:00.000-08:00

To keep myself on track for sewing this season I joined a pattern challenge at Come and See the Seitz. Here are the goals I've laid at for myself:

finish the jumper planned for Glory.
make matching skirts for the girls.
make a Sunday dress for each of the girls.
repurpose 2 shirts for Caleb.
make a tie for each special Sunday for Caleb. (Easter, birthday, etc.)
finish the planned shirt and skirt for myself.
And to do this all before Summer.

Ok now I can keep going on and on here but I better stop. There are so many other things I have on my mind to make but one of the things that Sarah states is to make these attainable. So I can't put too many things on this list or else I'd never get them all done.

One of the things that I wanted for this list was this Double Layer Twirly Skirt but I finished it before I was able to post about the pattern Challenge. I made this skirt sans pattern and I'm happy with how it turned out for the most part. I made the waistband too wide so I'll be fixing that later. I like how my gathers turned out. (I don't like gathering!)

I don't claim to be the genius who designed this skirt. I saw the Modkid Julia pattern pics by Patty Young and thought it was so cute but too impatient to wait to order a copy so I thought I'd try it out on my own. It's not exactly like the Julia skirt (remember, no pattern) but what do you think of it anyway?

A Project A Day

2010-02-03T20:00:00.001-08:00

I've had a very productive week! And it isn't even over yet!!

On Monday I was finally (after being absent for quite a few months) able to visit the sewing class I love to attend. I took 2 different projects with me to work on but of course I had to browse the fabrics at the quilt shop the class is held at and came away with this project instead:

I finished almost the whole thing during the class and all I needed to purchase was 1 charm pack and 1/2 yard of backing. It now sits on our kitchen table. All that's left to do on it is to quilt it but I want to get some variegated (sp?) thread for that.

To continue on the fabric shopping spree I bought some pretty fabric from an online shop last night to make a skirt for my oldest. She's growing so fast and I've only made her 1 skirt and she's about out of it now so I thought it was time for another. However, waiting for the fabric to come in to make the skirt is another thing completely. Since I got the idea in my head I was itching to get started so I pulled out some beautiful fabric that I had gotten on sale last year. It was already washed and ready to go.

I didn't want to mess with ruffles and tons and tons of fabric that some of the twirly skirts call for plus she's getting older and she's so tall that I'm not keen on that style for her. So I went with a simple A-line. Used my Sew What Skirts book and made myself a pattern for her.

I thought it needed something extra though so I added some pretty bead trim that I got at Walmart on sale.

My only mistake was my bottom tier. I wanted it to be 4 inches but I forgot to factor in taking away for the hem. So instead of the 1" hem I wanted I had to make it a 3/8" hem so that my bottom tier wouldn't completely disappear. Other than that I love how it turned out. I can't wait to see it on her!

Next I want to make a red tutu with rose petals inside for a little girl's birthday present this Saturday.

Quilting Spree

2010-01-26T23:42:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I posted last but then it's been a very busy winter. I didn't stop my sewing activity though. There were some weeks of inactivity but I've been able to complete some projects that I just love.

At the end of last year I was able to purchase a tie pattern that is super easy to make and so cute. I've made 2 ties so far for my little guy one for Thanksgiving and another for Christmas.

And speaking of Christmas, one of my gifts was a walking foot! I used it to finish quilting my Petit Fours table runner! I love how it turned out! I specifically made it for the dining table but it ended up looking great on my piano so I guess I'll have to make another one for my table. lol

I loved how the table runner made the piano and items on it look so much better I decided I needed something for my coffee table. I found this mini in an All People Quilt magazine. It was very fun to make since it was my first time doing these kinds of quilt blocks, very labor intensive, lots of pressing and cutting. I made a lot of "design decisions" with this one but I love how it came out.

"A Little Star Struck"

Finally, last but definitely not least, I finished my first large quilt! This was the quilt I started to make in the quilting class I took in January of '09 to learn how to sew. At the end of last summer I finally took the top to my teacher for her to quilt. She got it back to me in no time and I finally got around to putting on the binding. I finished it last week just in time for the purpose I wanted it to be used for....Family Movie Night!!

Refashioned Tshirt Hoodie Dress

2009-10-30T09:58:00.000-07:00

After reading the very neat blog Lil Blue Boo and all of her super cute ideas I wanted to make my very own tshirt hoodie dress. (Not for me of course for my 2y/o).

So I made a quick stop at a thrift store and found this really cute top for $1.50.

I knew that was the one! When I got it home I found a shirt with a hoodie that I knew fit my little girl and used it as my pattern for the top of the dress.

I know some people just cut out around but I like to use chalk but will probably stop doing so the more I do this.

(Insert pause for me running up and down the stairs to help with schooling)

I cut off the bottom of the shirt where my lines stopped then cut out the rest of the top, front and back. Sewed it right sides together and then moved on to the sleeves.

(Insert pause to run up the stairs and get 2 dinners started one for us and one for a family that just had twins!! They are sooo cute!)

Since it is now getting to be cooler weather I wanted long sleeves. So I found another top that had sleeves that fit her arm length. And used it to cut off the ends of sleeves off of a black long sleeved tshirt that I also found for $1.5o.

When it came time for me to attach the sleeves I had no idea what I was doing. I've never attached sleeves before. So I quickly ran upstairs to find how to attach sleeves. Thank you, Sew, Mama, Sew!

(Insert break for doing more meal prep and schooling help)

I ran back downstairs and lined up the sleeve and top right sides together, sewed, and....

WALLAH!!

A top with sleeves!

(Insert break to make some elbow macaroni here)

Now for the skirt part of the dress. I cut the bottom off of the black formerly long sleeved tshirt. It had some cute pockets already and wanted to utilize those because my little girl loves putting her hands in her pockets.

(Insert long break to finish dinner. Deliver to the said family. Get lost on the way to their house and go in a BIG circle. What should have taken 2 minutes now took 20. Ooo and Aaah over the oh so cute twin boy and girl. Come home and eat dinner with family. Then try and put together a super confusing puzzle with husband and oldest daughter until bed time. Get everyone to bed for some peace and quiet.)

I then gathered (I hate gathering never turns out like it should for me) and sewed the skirt onto the bottom of the top.

And to make the bottom not so dull I added a rose using this tutorial from Happy Together.
So easy to do and I think super cute!!

Finally it was time to make the hoodie.
I took out the top from the beginning and use it's hood as a pattern. I originally wanted the hood to be the blue striped material but didn't have enough of it for the stripes to match in direction so I went with the same black tshirt.

Sewed the back part of the hood together then made a hem for the front. And attached the hood to the dress and...

It is finished!!

(Realize it is now 2am and I need to go to bed)

And the next day...

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2009-10-28T15:58:00.001-07:00

Yes, yes, yes...it is that time of year again. "Christmas?", you ask. No, Christmas shopping!! (and crafting and sewing and whatever else you may do).

After finding out that we will be seeing my in-laws earlier than expected I thought I'd better get to work on all those gift ideas floating around in my head.

Here is one of the gifts:

These blocks will be turned into pot holders. A pair of them will be tied with twine onto a jar filled with cookie mix whose lid will also be decorated with some cute fabric.

The blocks were made with a Charm Pack "Let It Snow" and I was going to hit the fabric store for some backing but then found the Christmas Candy piece in a box of fabric that was given to me. It doesn't match perfectly but it's cute. My only problem will be finding a binding to match both sides.

Any ideas?

What are you making for gifts this Christmas?

I am a Refashionista!! (sort of)

2009-10-27T22:24:00.000-07:00

lol I love reading all those blogs that give you such great little tutorials and show you how they amazingly re-purposed or refashioned an old article of clothing into something super cute. So awhile back while doing some laundry I came across this dress that belonged to my 6y/o:

It was a very cute dress with one problem. Stains. After multiple tries at trying to remove the stains (front and back) with no luck I usually would have just thrown this dress away. (It's not nice to give away a dress with stains on it.)

But, "AHA!", I said to myself, "I can re-purpose this into a cute skirt for my 4y/o!!"

So about 3+ months later I finally took it upon myself to finish this project and WALLAH!! the finished product:

Every piece of this outfit was re-purposed from something else. The skirt and all pink trim from the dress and the leggings were made from an old black maternity t-shirt.

I used a pair of shorts as the pattern for the leggings. I wanted them fitted so I had my 4y/o put on the shorts then pinned them so they were fitted. Then I when I cut out the pattern I cut 1/2 inch from the pin instead of the edge of the shorts.

The crotch area is a little too long but I'm not worried cause it gives her room to grow. I'll just know better next time.

This will be perfect as the weather is starting to get cooler even in sunny California.

I am still planning on adding a reverse applique pink heart to the bottom right of the skirt. Hopefully it will get done tomorrow. Too tired to finish it up right now. =)

Thank you Make It and Love It for the tutorial on making girl's pants. It gave me the idea to make the leggings instead of just shorts.

Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think!

I Love Surprises! - CarryAll Clutch

2009-10-21T10:47:00.000-07:00

I love surprises! And when I found out that I won a contest at Joy's Hope I was excited! The prize was my choice of a Sketcher Wallet or Carryall Clutch from Terri of Sew Fantastic's etsy shop, GetSassed.

I chose the Carryall Clutch and not long after it arrived in the mail. It hasn't left my side since. ☺

This cute notebook is so handy! Plus it comes with a notepad and matching pen (mine also came with a cute little thank you note). The pockets hold so many items. I like to carry around some blank note cards for writing notes to people when it comes to mind, my Starbucks giftcard which my husband got me, and tracts from our Church. I also stash my receipts in the pockets and this has saved me from finding them wadded up in my purse.

I use the notepad for E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-H-I-N-G. From grocery and shopping lists to prayer requests or just something or some idea I want to remember.

My Carryall Clutch has the cutest little bird applique on the inside but some of them have different items depending on the pattern of the fabric she uses.

These Carryall Clutches come in many different super cute fabrics. It was very hard for me to pick the one I did.

Want one of these cuties for yourself? Terri is having a Mix and Match Sale where you can, I quote,

"BUY ANY ITEM IN THE SHOP AND GET ANOTHER AT HALF PRICE."

Perfect for Christmas which is just around the corner! Please visit her shop for more details if you are interested.

*The photos above are from the GetSassed Etsy shop. Used by permission.

Sewing in the Rough (and some Baby Shower Gifts!)

2009-09-24T21:45:00.000-07:00

I finally blew the dust off of my machine and got to work. With a baby shower only 1 day away I needed to get cracking! My goal was to have a matching Nursing cover, 2 spit up cloths (one for each baby, she's having twins!!), and a diaper clutch ready by tonight. Well, I got 2 out of 3 done. The nursing cover and the spit up cloths. I had enough material to do the diaper clutch just not enough time.

I still didn't get my sewing area cleaned up I just worked around, on, and through it. I finally braved up and will show you a pic of what I worked through.

Everything I need an arm's length away! You just have to dig for it. lol My stash of mini-Snickers I think are the most important thing on this table. I learned this from Cassie at You Go Girl! just read her Pencil Roll Tutorial and No Snit Binding Tutorial and you'll see why. ☺

No really, I don't like working with my table like this. Usually I would have cleaned it all off before starting but there was no time.

So now to the sewing! I finished up the nursing cover in good time. I still have one more to make for a friend of mine.

She loved the colors! YAY! I always try to ask about favorite colors and since her wedding colors were red and green (in July not a Christmas wedding) I thought she would like this fabric. Carnival Bloom by Michael Miller.

This time I added pockets on the inside bottom corners of the cover. I wanted to use a knit fabric but there were no white knit remnants at the fabric store so I re-purposed a onesie that Glory had outgrown.

I then moved on to the spit up cloths. I got my inspiration from this one:

It was a gift given to my sister-in-law's sister from her Sunday School class. The snag was that the lady who made them has a machine that does embroidery, hence the lovely lettering.

I do not.

When an amateur seamstress tries to copy above artwork on her own machine, freehand you get this:

Not Pretty.

I had already sewn on the fabric onto the bottom so after wasting time doing the above work I had to pull out Mr. Seam Ripper to take off the fabric and add it to another cloth.

See all the thread still hanging onto the ruined cloth.

Then I decided to use my lettering that my machine can do but thinking I had to enter in the letters a certain way I came up with this:

Luckily, I used a scrap piece of fabric to see how it would come out instead of wasting another cloth.

After correcting my mistakes my finished product finally came to this:

I really like how they turned out and I loved how everything matched!!

I usually don't give cards at baby showers. Since I'm right there when they open it I can let them know it's from me! =) But I thought I'd use a piece of scrap fabric to make a matching card as well.

Too pretty to wrap up! This fabric is awesome!

The diaper clutch never made it even to the cutting board but since I have enough fabric for it I'll still be finishing it up and getting it to the Mommy to be.

It has been awhile since I was sewing last and I really enjoyed getting back to it. The Lord has really blessed me with a wonderful way to create lovely things for my friends and family (and for myself ☺).

As the Dust Piles Higher...

2009-09-20T22:32:00.000-07:00

...on my machine and craft table I sigh, *sigh*.

I would share a picture of the natural disaster that is my craft/family room (the other half of my bedroom) but I am way too embarrassed to do so. It is in such a state that I can't DO anything!! I've got a lot of projects that need to be worked on but alas there is no room to do it. So this week on my to do list is to put back in order my craft/family room (the other half of my bedroom).

So to keep you entertained since I have no amazing WIP or just finished project to share with you I'll leave you with this. A video I made using Animoto. A very cool way to make your photos into a fabulous slide show/video. It's the first one I've every done and I think I'll be making more of them.

Collins' Family Adventure

Sorry, I couldn't figure out how to get the video directly on my post so I had to use a link.

In Between Getting Things Done....or Learning to Applique

2009-09-10T16:56:00.000-07:00

I decided to do a little embellishment work today in between loading the dishwasher and laundry.

It started with folding a pink long-sleeved t-shirt that has a permanent stain on the front.

"I can cover that with a charm square!"

"Let's make it a heart so it's really cute."

(Putting my chores aside to get on the computer again to look up how to applique a t-shirt)

"Yes I have everything!"

The Finished Product!!

It turned out so cute (I thought so at least and so did Madison).

She's not used to posing though. =) I don't know what's up with those hands!! lol

I finally posed her myself.

But did I stop there? NO!!

"I've been wanting to do something cute with one of Caleb's onesies."

"Here's a onesie that could use something!"

"I have some cute fabric from another onesie he's outgrown already!"

"Let's use some of my new embroidery talents."

TA DA!!

And even better is this picture!!

Ok, so he looks a little like a Sneech but the star didn't look that low when the onesie wasn't on him. lol Next time I'll know to put it a little higher. =)

I'm very pleased with how it all turned out so I'll definitely be looking for more things to be adding special touches to.

Have you tried applique yet? If not you really must it's a lot of fun!!

I Spy with My Little Eye.....................

2009-09-09T16:08:00.000-07:00

PUPPETS!

lol (yes that is my hand in the puppet named "Mama")

I finally had a lightbulb moment the other day. I've been wanting to make some "I Spy" bags for my girls but I always bemoaned the fact that I didn't have any of that clear plastic for the window and didn't know where to get any. (Actually I did but didn't know it, hence the lightbulb moment)

While reading the blog Make it and Love it I had my...

...moment. It's just plastic vinyl like the kind bedding comes in when you buy it en masse from Walmart. I've always got one of those bags somewhere in this house (plus it helps that the night before we bought loads of bedding for our 3 girls). So I set about making my own "I Spy" bags.

(If I had more time I would have added "TA DA!" over the top of those bags in Gimp2)

Actually these bags cost me nothing but some time (if you don't include the original price of all the stuff I used to make them) since I just used stuff I had laying around the house.

The fabric is fleece from my youngests outgrown pj's.

A whole new look on "Holey Pajamas" These would get lots of ventilation in summer time. ;)

The purple pj's had some cute appliqued flowers on front so I cut that out first for the back of one of the bags.

My middle child wanted hers cut out of the brown pj's but there wasn't enough left to make the size of bag needed so I made her a special M applique for her bag. It was my first time doing applique too. I need to do it more.

There are 30 items in each bag then I filled each with 8-10 oz. of rice. The kids love them (I love them, once you start playing they are hard to put down!) These are gonna be great on our road trip to the Bay Area next week. =)

Now I know you've been wondering, "But what about the puppets?" And I won't leave you hanging. Today we made sock puppets. (I shouldn't even be mentioning them because there was no sewing involved) I attached everything by Hot Glue Gun and raided my scrap fabric stash for their hair and any clothing.

The girls played with them for all of 1/2 a second right when they were done. =) Ahhh, the joys of Motherhood.

Rolled Rose

2009-09-06T17:31:00.001-07:00

When I first came into the world of sewing I started reading everything I could find on the web and I came across Sandi Henderson's Blog Portabellopixie.
She has a Rolled Roses tutorial on her blog for download and I've had it saved on my computer for months. I finally got it out and made one. I used some pink batik from my stash and a bead that was rolling around on the floor (my eldest wanted marbles and cut apart one of her play necklaces).
It did take me 2 tries to get it together but once I figured it out and got it going it was easy. I used a safety pin and wore it with my outfit for the Sunday PM service. This little flower is so cute I'm definitely gonna make myself some more for pins, hair clips for my girls, and bag and clothing embellishments. Have some free time or got nothing in your hands while watching tv? Then I suggest making a few of these!

Did you hear the one about....

2009-08-29T20:24:00.000-07:00

....

Actually, there is no joke. I have a hard time with titles they all seem to be pretty boring after I post them.

Just checking back in here to keep you up to date on what I'm working on. Yesterday I wanted to get out my embroidery again and I don't like all the time it takes to trace out a pattern so I decided to wing it. Sort of.

I pictured in my head what fall leaves should look like then I drew one on my linen. After I stitched it I drew two more on either side of it. They didn't turn out exactly as I was hoping (I have a graphic I wanted to use but my husband had the computer and I couldn't get a look at it) but I'm liking it. It's something that I made.

After the leaves were done I wanted to add something for the border in a nice color. However after I finished it up it made the acquaintance of Mr. Seam Ripper. I then put it away to get a fresh idea of what to do in the morning.

So today I figured what I wanted and now it's almost done. I've paused to write this post about it before I finish the last bit of stitching. Then I'll find some coordinating fabric in my stash to make it a nice fabric frame (something I saw at a friends house gave me the idea).

Sorry in advance about the pic quality. I used the webcam on my laptop. The colors are brown, gold and dark red. The border is brown and the curly cues are dark red. (Yes I know they aren't quite real to life looking leaves but hey I said I was doing it off the top of my head. My husband called the gold one a holly leaf.)

Hand-stitched Binding and Sports

2009-08-26T00:22:00.001-07:00

I enjoyed working on these pot holders. I've needed new ones for quite some time so I finally decided to make myself some. I used fabric from the Fresh Squeezed charm pack by Moda.

It was my first time hand-stitching a binding and I found this ladder stitch tutorial at "Turning Turning" to be a big help. Surprisingly I liked how my first one turned out better than my second one. I stitched the binding while watching multiple sports channels with my husband. It's something I can sew while sitting with him instead of at the machine.

I got the grommet idea from Cassie at You Go, Girl!. She also has a great tutorial for binding. I didn't use it though because I lack a walking foot.

Here is an upclose view of the stitching I used.

I've Been Tagged

2009-08-25T09:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Glenna at Your Fabric Place sent an email telling me I had been tagged & given a blog award.
The award states that you give 7 facts about yourself and “tag” 7 fellow bloggers.

So here goes with the 7 things about me!

I am a naturally shy person. Most people don't know this b/c of the "job" I have as a Pastor's wife. "The ministry is people!"

I mix white rice with tartar sauce! (Don't knock it 'til you try it!)

I have loved horses and have wanted one since I was a kid but my mother always told me, "You can get one when you get married!" Well, now that I'm married and 4 kids later I realize it will be quite a few more years before I can look into it. So I content myself with decorating my house with horses. =)

I have a violin that I have not touched in 2+ years! (That looks awful!) I want to pick it up again soon and take lessons again.

I love Disneyland more when I take my kids with me. The wonder on their faces is priceless!

My most favorite meal in the whole world is Chicken-stuffed dumplings. My mom would make it for me on my birthday. Now I make it for myself from time to time. Which reminds me that I need to put it on our menu soon.

I realized I was a sinner and couldn't get to Heaven on my own good works. And at the age of 16 I asked Jesus Christ to forgive me of my sins. Now I'm apart of God's family and that brings joy and peace into my life like nothing else can bring.

Now for the 7 bloggers I need to pass this on to. These are all blogs I love to read and hope you'll enjoy them as well!

You Go, Girl!
Tammy's Times
My Spare Time
Making More with Less
Joy's Hope
By Grace
Amazing Mae

Just a Peek...

2009-08-24T16:53:00.001-07:00

...at my current WIP. It's not on any of my lists at left because I add projects (in my head) to my to do list faster than I can add them on here. lol

Since I'll have to miss another sewing class (this time due to a sick husband) I'm having my own sewing class with me, myself, and I in between taking care of 3 little girls and an adorable baby boy.

By the way have you seen him lately?

Here he is before his first introduction to solid foods (rice cereal) and during the procedure.

He did good and finished everything. Now I need to make him some very cute bibs! Yet another item to add to my to do list!

Adding To My List....

2009-08-22T22:00:00.000-07:00

of things I need to make!

I bought this pattern the other day hoping to use it with this fabric until I read the fine print and discovered it was a BIAS tunic/top pattern. I was a little disappointed b/c I don't think this fabric will look good cut on the bias. Oh well, I liked the pattern still so I decided to hang on to it and find some fabric to make a top with.

Well, this morning a friend of mine came over to visit my daughter (she's her Sunday School teacher) and I invited her down to ask her opinion on something completely unrelated to sewing (she's awesome at interior design). Then we got talking about sewing since my machine is out and there are boxes of fabric around. She pulled out one piece to ask me about it and as I explained I remembered this beautiful off white satiny piece I had in the same box (another friend went through her stash to destash it and gave me 2 boxes full of fabric and this piece was in it).

When I first had seen this piece I thought it would make a beautiful top and now I had the perfect pattern to go with it! There is slightly over 3 yards of material so I have plenty to make the tunic version. I've never worked with this kind of fabric before so it will be a challenge. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. I'm planning on making a muslin one first to make sure I get the measurements and all the directions right.

Simple Baby Blankie

2009-08-22T09:50:00.001-07:00

Wow I started and finished a project in one day! (Well, sort of lol) Over at My Spare Time she has a great tutorial for a simple baby blankie. I finally got my material on Monday and made it last night while my husband had to stay late at the church.

It wasn't too hard just lots and lots and lots of pinning! This was also my first time using blanket binding and while it would have been easier to use a walking foot, I don't have one, I just used a lot of pins. (I'll take one if you want to give one to me!!) I'll be adding a walking foot to my Christmas list this year.

I may still add something to this blanket by way of applique in the future. Our son, Caleb, was given his name by his dad b/c Caleb is his favorite Bible character. I would like to do an embroidered scene of his favorite verse about Caleb then applique it to the blanket in one of the corners.

Speaking of the "one day project" I started this right before the kids went to bed at 7:30 and finished up about 30 minutes or so after my husband came home at 3:00AM!! So technically I worked on it 2 days and yes I stayed up way too late but I hate leaving projects unfinished. (Even thought I still have many WIP's in my craft pile.)

Recent Acquistions and More Repurposing

2009-08-17T23:07:00.001-07:00

Well, after getting dinner done early, packing up my machine and a project to work on, I had to miss sewing class. =( I couldn't find my notebook with the instructions for my project that I wanted to work on. I was very stressed out in not being able to find it. My husband even helped me to look for it. It wasn't until I decided not to go and I unloaded my machine from the van that I found my notebook.

Such is life.

So instead my husband took me out shopping to my favorite fabric stores (well really the only fabric stores in our area) and I had a great time!!

There were a lot of nice fabrics in the 1/2 off bin at Beverly's! They even had some Michael Miller's at 25% off but I didn't grab any of that (I may go back though! lol)

I grabbed some new needles for my machine, just universal. I need to learn more about needles and the different types and what's the best brand. If anyone has any pointers I'd be happy to learn!
I've been wanting to make myself some new hot pads and I've had this Fresh Squeezed charm pack for awhile but didn't have any coordinating fabric so I found that orange striped in the 1/2 off bin and it was perfect for it!

But even better is that I thought it would make a cute baby blanket for my little guy! I've been wanting to make one ever since My Spare Time posted her tutorial. So I got the binding, thread, and blue camo flannel for the entire project. I just need to wash the fabric now so I can start on it.

I'm not sure what I'm going to make with this piece yet but I bought 2 yards of it. It was also in the 1/2 off bin! I may make a skirt or perhaps a top for myself. Just not sure yet. But it sure is pretty!

This piece is t-shirt fabric and I've not worked with anything yet except 100% cotton. Not sure what I'm gonna do with it yet either but it is pretty!

Here is the last piece of fabric that I acquired. It was in the sale section at Betty's Fabrics and my youngest daughter LOVES Mickey Mouse. Not sure yet what I'll make her. Maybe I'll try a jumper and a bag. Any suggestions?

While putting away laundry today I came across this dress which belonged to my eldest. But if you can see them there are many stains on it. And it has gone through the wash many times and they have still not come out.

See them now?

Well, there are even blue stains on the back right shoulder due to laundry problems (husband was doing it) so instead of throwing it out like I normally would I'm going to repurpose it! I've started ripping out the stitching that connects the ribbed top from the plaid skirt. I'm going to use some of the unstained ribbing to make a waistband and make a skirt for my middle daughter. It should turn out really cute and I like being able to keep using it instead of just tossing it.

Well, here is the last picture. It is of the skirt I repurposed and my daughter actually wearing it. When I finish projects and take pics of them it is usually very late at night so no one gets to model them. I wanted to show that it actually fits her. lol

Until the next project!

Feeling Lonely

2009-08-17T11:30:00.000-07:00

Ok, my sewing/craft table does not look like this right now but it's the most recent photo I have of it.

Under that red cover is my beautiful Bernina. Maybe I'll call it Bernie. Hmmm... or how about a name my machine contest. Nah, probably get too little response since this blog is so new still. Anyway, I need to get making things again, finishing up my WIP's and starting new projects that I really want to make. (Fabric store here I come!)

I also want to make some mini quilts to use as wall hangings around my house. The walls are very bare and after a visit to my quilt teacher's house I want to get busy! Well, off to create (or finish) something today.

Repurposing

2009-08-14T00:32:00.001-07:00

Quite a few months ago I found 2 pairs of very large jeans for 99Cents each. My mind was whirling with the possibilities that these jeans could be made into. I've finally repurposed one pair into a peasant skirt for my oldest.

I love how it turned out!! I used a peasant skirt she already has to make the denim one. It should have been done a long time ago but that last layer with all the gathers looked so daunting. I buckled down to get it done tonight and it's finished!

What are some things you've repurposed?

Happy Birthday, Beth!

2009-08-13T12:32:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that my first born is already 6 years old!! Time flies so fast.
For her birthday we are doing just small things this year (since her 5 y/o blow out party was at Disneyland last year). So for her gifts we are keeping it simple. I made this glasses case for her new glasses that she started wearing this past year. I found the tutorial at Amazing Mae. The ones she has made are so cute!

I believe there are things on every sewing project that once you're done you would like to redo and so it is with this project but I like how it turned out.

Now on to finish her denim peasant skirt that I've been putting off forever. =)

The Finished Product!

2009-08-10T18:37:00.001-07:00

The photo is courtesy of my 5 y/o (soon to be 6 in a few days I better start sewing some presents that I had in mind.)

I love how it turned out! Especially the pocket from Made By Rae. If you get a chance go visit her blog and wish her congrats, she just had an adorable little girl!

I really liked being able to make my own skirt with being able to make the length I like and have it sit where I like. The only thing I need to change is to take 1" off the ease that I put in.

I'm planning to make many more skirts so now I need some fabric to do it with!! Ahhhh, I see shopping in my future!

Progress!!

2009-08-07T00:42:00.000-07:00

Tonight I made progress on my skirt! I finished sewing the seams together and finishing them. I added the pleated pocket and I did my first buttonhole and made my casing for the drawstrings.

Tomorrow evening I will finish the hem and make the drawstrings, press, then voila! It will be ready for wear on our ladies outing on Saturday!

I placed the pocket at an angle and I'm really liking how everything is turning out. I hope it looks good on me. lol

My First WIWOW

2009-08-05T09:57:00.000-07:00

One of my current projects (I've got many WIPs sitting around my craft area) that I'm working on is a summer skirt with the Summer Skirt Sew Along at Sew, Mama, Sew!
I'm using the new sew what! Skirts book that I bought recently and I've got the main pieces cut out. Today I want to get a pocket cut out for it but not the one in the book I want to use Made By Rae's Pleated Pocket with some cute fabric I found at Michael's that would be cute with my linen skirt.
I should have finished this skirt in no time yesterday but I've been busy with our Ladies Night Out at our church. So instead I was making these yesterday:

They are little purses (our theme is Purse-onality) with styrofoam inside. They will be used as table card holders. When I have a completely finished one I'll take a photo of it. =) I've got 6 made as of right now and have 6 more to make.

Hopefully, next WIWOW I'll have a finished skirt to right about.

Sew What! Skirts

2009-08-04T10:18:00.000-07:00

I bought this book yesterday and I'm excited to start making skirts from it. Since skirts are the main staple in my wardrobe I figured it would be a good investment. To quote the book:

This book is for the risk-taker who bucks authority and doesn't like being hemmed in by rigid rules, sewing patterns, and instructions.

That is so me. lol Even in high school when my teacher gave instructions on how to do a report I wanted to do it differently in my own unique way.

I've read through this book twice now and I've got a simple piece of linen I'm going to start with to make my first skirt then move on to some great pieces of fabric for others. Hopefully I'll be posting again soon with pics on the progress.

Card Doodle Stitching

2009-07-29T08:35:00.001-07:00

(Sorry about the blurry photo it was taken with my phone)

I've been wanting to try some things out of Aimee Ray's book "Doodle-Stitching" and yesterday I finally did. It's not actually one of the projects, I just copied one of the photos that she had in her book. It turned out so cute! I love it!

I turned a plain Thank You card into a cute one-of-a-kind card. I'm looking forward to making more of these to give as thank you's to the wonderful ladies who are working so hard at putting together our Ladies Night Out. We've got 90+ women coming and it's all coming together wonderfully! The Lord has really blessed us with some talented women.

Sewing with a Delay

2009-07-27T08:01:00.001-07:00

A little over 2 weeks ago I cut apart a pair of supersized jeans I bought at Kmart for 99cents to repurpose them into a skirt for my 5y/o. I finally started sewing the pieces together on Friday and was hoping to finish it up on Sunday afternoon between services. (What's taking so long you ask, well I'm copying a skirt that she has and it's a peasant skirt so a lot of gathering.) I was hoping to add the last and bottom layer Sunday afternoon and add the elastic to the waist then, "Wallah!" It would be finished. . . .
but. . . .
instead I spent my Sunday afternoon using a shop vac in my bedroom sucking up the water in the carpet that leaked into the house after I had left the water on in my hydrangeas all through the morning service. So no project was completed. =( The carpet is still wet. Our bed sits right on top of it so today we will be moving it hopefully.
Once it's all dry I can pick up with sewing again because my bedroom floor is my craft table. It's where I cut my fabric, piece it, pin it, etc. I so wanted to get done with this skirt because I joined a sew along at Sew, Mama, Sew and I wanted to start making my own summer skirt. It would be my first piece of clothing made for myself. I am anxious to get started on it. Well, see you all again when my floor is dry.

Finally! Embellished Tote and a Pleated Pocket

2009-07-11T12:25:00.000-07:00

After a month of no camera I didn't want to be posting and not have pics to go with it. No I didn't find the charging cord for my camera I just pulled out my old camera and went with that. (Still looking for the cord though, I really like my new camera)

So now I have pics to go with my post. I've done some sewing this past month but now I have to go back and take pics so I can post about them. I finished a project I was rushing to get done late last night (or early this morning). I've taken up hand embroidery or doodle-stitching after being inspired to start by You Go Girl! and her beautiful little creations. So I've got about 3 projects together ready for my road trip next week but I needed something to carry them in so I bought a plain black tote from Michael's. The tote needed some sprucing up so I pulled out a fat quarter from my small stash and turned it into this:

The straps were so rough (remember cheap little tote) I removed them and covered them up so they'd be softer.

I added some a pocket to the inside and separated it into 3 pockets. One small one for my scissors and two others to carry other odds and ends that I'd decide to carry with me.

This is my favorite part! I added a pocket to the outside to carry things and for decorative purposes and I love how it turned out! I followed this simple Pleated Pocket tutorial from Made by Rae. I want to make some more of these pockets and add them to some of my girls clothing.

I love how this tote turned out and I'm looking forward to carrying it around next week! My next project is making a peasant skirt for my 5 year old. I've got all the pieces cut out I just have to start sewing it together. A friend of mine is loaning me her gatherer so let's see if it makes it any easier. =)

It Came!!

2009-06-10T19:00:00.000-07:00

I ordered "Doodle Stitching" by Aimee Ray after hearing about her book from You Go Girl. It came today! I quickly devoured it in one sitting and tonight I'll go back for a more in-depth read. I'm itching to get to the store to get some supplies now. lol

Back in the Game

2009-06-10T10:16:00.000-07:00

I've got too much sewing to do to be letting a whole week go by without sitting at my machine or picking up my rotary cutter. Today I plan on finishing up the top of my Petit Fours table runner. I found some fabric to finish off the border. Then I want to get back to working on my long list of WIP's. I need to take measurements of my 4 yr old so I can start working on the three-way dress from the 3/2009 issue of Ottobre.

Busy day ahead so no more computer time!

Crazy Quilt Shop Bonanza!

2009-06-05T20:09:00.000-07:00

Today from 8am to 3pm I was on the Central Coast Quilt Shops Tour with 2 other ladies. We had a blast and visited 9 shops in that time! We have 2 shops left to visit on our tour and we'll be hitting those two tomorrow afternoon. I didn't buy too much (my camera needs recharging or else there would be pics) but I did get some fabric for backing of my Charmed and Dangerous Quilt done in Funny Babies by Amy Bradley as well as some pieces of home dec fabric to make some bags with as well as a couple of fat quarters. (Remember I have 2 stores to visit tomorrow still!) I'll be looking for specific items tomorrow fabric to finish off some of my WIPs.

At one of the shops I was able to meet Shelley from Snips and Bits from Shelley's Studio. I loved seeing her quilts in person rather than just online. They are lovely!

I am interested in learning more about embroidery. I was about to buy a beginner's book for it but then I ~~chickened out~~ changed my mind. I may go back and pick up a book on tomorrow's tour. I've been inspired to learn about it from Cassie of You Go Girl!. She makes beautiful things and sells them in her shop on Etsy You Go Girl Designs.

Have a great weekend! And go support your local fabric store! lol =)

Happy Birthday, Mom!

2009-06-02T08:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my Mom's birthday and she received her gift in the mail so now I'm able to post it. I wanted to make my mom something with my new skill so I found this pattern online from Made By Rae the Buttercup Bag.

This was my first attempt at making a purse and doing pleats. It turned out very nice! I was really pleased (and so was my mom yay!). It is a very simple pattern to follow and I'm looking forward to making one for myself as well.

Sewing Machine Meme

2009-06-01T21:46:00.000-07:00

This meme was an idea of Sew, Mama, Sew. Go to their site for more Sewing Machine Memes!

What brand and model do you have?
Bernina Activa 220

How long have you had it?
6 Months

How much does that machine cost (approximately)?
I'm not sure because mine was a gift

What types of things do you sew (i.e. quilting, clothing, handbags, home dec projects, etc.)?
Anything and Everything!

How much do you sew? How much wear and tear does the machine get?
I use it about every other day but I'm working up to every day.

Do you like/love/hate your machine? Are you ambivalent? Passionate? Does she have a name?
I love my machine. It is such a beautiful machine and one that I never thought that I would ever have. But sorry no name.

What features does your machine have that work well for you?
There are so many things that make it so easy to use for a beginner like me.

Is there anything that drives you nuts about your machine?
No

Do you have a great story to share about your machine (i.e., Found it under the Christmas tree? Dropped it on the kitchen floor? Sewed your fingernail to your zipper?, Got it from your Great Grandma?, etc.!)? We want to hear it!
Sorry, no great stories yet. Still too new.

Would you recommend the machine to others? Why?
Definitely! It is such an easy machine to use and to learn on.

What factors do you think are important to consider when looking for a new machine?
What you will mainly be creating on the machine.

Do you have a dream machine?
Right now this is my dream machine but I'm sure as I sew more and as time passes I'll be wanting an upgrade.

Getting things done...

2009-05-30T21:35:00.000-07:00

I finished one of the nursing covers for our church nursery today. I had to spend some time with my seam ripper though. =/ I messed up on the order on which I hem the sides in turn placing the top straps in the wrong place. I had to rip out and do over but it went pretty fast after that. I placed it in the van tonight because I just know that if I waited 'til tomorrow I would forget it. (It's not fun trying to get 4 children ready and out the door ~~and on time~~ to church by yourself.) So trying to remember extra details is out of the question.

There is one more to finish for the nursery then the one for a wife of one of our Missionaries, also a friend of mine. I'm looking forward to making her's because I think the fabric is gorgeous and I hope she loves it as well. Finally, the new one for myself to be made from a beautiful batik I found. That comes to a total of three nursing covers.

I found some beautiful solid curtains on a great sale at the store the other day and I'm going to use some of them to make myself some new potholders as well as a host of other ideas I have for them. I've not gotten new potholders since I got married and the ones I have need to be retired. I'm going to make them and use this No-snit binding tutorial from You Go Girl.

Got some quilting done tonight. Finished 8 squares for my Charmed and Dangerous Quilt, 12 more to go! I've mixed up the squares a little so it won't turn out exactly like the Charmed and Dangerous Funny Babies quilt top that I have. I need to get it done and off of my makeshift design wall (a vinyl tablecloth with the fuzzy back, tacked up in my room) so I can move on to other quilting projects.

In the making...

2009-05-27T01:07:00.000-07:00

I worked on my Mom's birthday gift today and it's almost done! It's very doubtful that my Mom would see this blog post but I'm not taking any chances so I won't post a pic of it or say what it is until she gets it.

I really am pleased with how it's turning out and the instructions are very easy to follow especially for a beginner like myself. I'm gonna be making myself one as well in the near future.

I need to get started on a couple of projects that I've been putting off. Last week (or was it 2 weeks ago) I made a nursing cover as a baby shower gift for a friend and our Church Nursery Director asked me to make a couple more to have in the nursery. I found a great deal on some pretty fabric and I've had both covers cut out and ready to sew for about a week now. I'll do some work on one of them tomorrow and hopefully get one done by the time Sunday rolls around.

This is the first one I made for my friend. It turned out great and I LOVE that fabric!

Starting Out

2009-05-23T10:19:00.000-07:00

In December I was given this beautiful machine! I started to learn how to use it in January and I've not stopped using it (ok, I know it's only been 5 months but hey I love it!). My first experience in sewing was to take a quilting class taught by a wonderful lady and friend of mine. We made as our first project these Origami Bags:

Then our next project was a quilt. I loved making it! I haven't quite finished it yet. I finished the quilt top in good time it's the backing that's been slowing me up. I need to just go specifically to the fabric store for the fabric for the backing so I can finish it up. Since then I've made a few other items venturing out on my own into the world of sewing. Three skirts (one for each of my girls), a crayon wallet for Sissy's birthday this Monday, a couple of aprons that I've given away, a phone cozy, and a nursing cover. I've got many projects now in the works and many others that I want to get started.

I wanted to start a blog dedicated to my progress as a new and novice seamstress. I hope you enjoy!