Still Sewing

I'm working on a couple backpacks right now. As you know from a former post I bucked up and put a few things on Etsy. My problem, which really isn't a problem, is that key items don't stay on there long. I posted a backpack and it sold in 24 hours. My other problem is that I must sew for the fun of it. Sure I could knock out a backpack in a day, but it would burn me out to do so. When sewing is no longer something I do to keep my hands busy or for fun then it will probably be something I give up. I sure don't want to fully burn out. I know last fall was hard for me. I felt like I needed to do it, but got to the point where I didn't care to touch it.

On a non-sewing note, I was talking to mom about diaper cakes. I tried making one for a baby shower once and it wasn't coming out so I went to plan B. Or was it plan A and the diaper cake was my rabbit trail? Maybe. I ended up making a diaper baby. Anyway, I told mom I want to tackle a diaper cake just to prove to myself I can do it. She doesn't see a point in doing so. A difference between mom and myself when it comes to crafts is that I'm driven to tackle those I find to be a challenge just to see if I can do them. Although it's been forever I even tried knitting. I just wanted to know how to do it. If I actually wanted to knit something I would have to pull out the how-to instructions again. So... a diaper cake. I need to learn how. I have an idea and really want to try it. I think my idea might work and actually make it pretty easy.

Sewing, Sewing, Sewing

I'm doing a big push to get all my sewing done, okay everything that MUST be done before we leave for my parents house. A little after 3am this morning I finished my mother-in-law's present. I've been working on it for a couple months so it was good to get it done. I really didn't think it would take this long. I would have finished my mom's gift, but I needed to run to the store and pick up a couple things. I had thought about sending Neal for them however he had a better plan of holding the couch down. He can be just like my dad. Only my dad leaves for work a couple hours before Neal even wakes up.

I need to go search through the craft room and see if I can find the tie pattern piece to Kaitlyn's apron. Because I cut the apron front as one piece I really only have to iron under the edges making small seams, add the ties and neck strap, add a ruffle, then I'm done. The pattern called for me to piece the front together from three pieces. Why go to all that work and have two seams up the front if I don't have to?

I have a shirt I embellished for Kaitlyn that I still need to satin stitch around everything. Because there's so many little pieces it's really a crazy amount to sew. The only straight front (not flared under the arm pits) shirt I could find without something painted on was the bow shirts at Walmart. Have you seen them? Honestly I'm not a fan of the ugly bow. I had made Kaitlyn some bright green and pink Boutique Bottoms and needed a pink shirt to go with it. After cutting the bow off I had a big area to cover. I cut several flowers out of the pants fabric and put them all over the top.

Besides those projects I do have another quick embellishment project that hopefully won't take long.

Christmas Crafts

I'm running late and it's my own fault. I really need to get my Christmas crafting underway. Well I've started I just need to hurry and get farther along. I've finished one gift, started on another when I realized I needed one more thing to put it together. While out buying the "one more thing" I picked up the bulk of what I needed to complete three other gifts. My plan for today is to put gift #2 together and then cut out #3. I can't say what the items are because there are to many eyes around her that would learn what they are getting for Christmas.

Here's my Christmas gift rule this year... If you get a handcrafted item from us and it was hand delivered (by us not USPS) then you can't use it until we are gone. Why you may ask? I don't want anyone to feel they have to use the item whether they like it or not. This way if you hate it I don't have to know and there's no pressure on you.

Here was item one in the making.

I like the blue fabric

Finished!

Present #2

Oh my is that zebra fabric?!!! LOL... You only live once so why not try out a little zebra? Don't worry it won't be that bad... I hope. I couldn't find a fabric to match the green so I decided "why not be bold?"

Craft Hope Project 4

Craft Hope has just announced their forth project. They are asking for sock monkeys for the Firefighters Burn Institutes Little Heroes Preschool Burn Camp. The camp is for young burn victims and their families. It will be held September 25th-27th.

If you want to sign up to send a sock monkey or two just pop on over to Craft Hope's Website and sign up.

I've never made a sock monkey, but after looking at their pattern there doesn't look to be much to it. Each monkey is made up of one sock.

Craft Hope

I just came across a great ministry that finds out needs of organizations then asks people to craft specific items that will be sent around the world. Their last project was handmade dolls going to orphanages in Nicaragua. Before that it was pillowcase dresses that went to Mexico. This time they are requesting everyone make booties, caps, and light weight blankets to keep newborns warm in India. Miracle Foundation will be taking all the handcrafted items with them on their trip to India.

If you want to know more about Craft Hope, would like to contribute or know someone who would you can check out their website.

I'm currently crocheting some booties to send in. BTW, booties are so quick to make, but with Kaitlyn and Neal around... it takes forever to make one. Last night I counted and recounted my stitches, but (grrrrr) if Neal didn't have to keep rattling off numbers over the phone. I finally gave up.

Pillowcase Dress & Boutique Bottoms

I thought I would add my second project from today on here. I made Boutique Bottoms by Sew Sensible to go with a pillowcase dress I made. Both of these are for a baby gift. Kaitlyn was a bad model hence her head being cut out of the picture and it being blurry. It's hard to snap before they do sometimes. =) I made the pants a little different then the pattern calls for. Usually you don't put elastic or the cuff on the bottom; I did so it would match the pillowcase dress. If you look through my blog a little bit you will see maybe five other pairs of Boutique Bottoms, but made with a ruffle and no elastic.

Diaper Clutch

Tell me why it's so hard to measure sometimes? It's as if my mommy brain takes over and suddenly I'm unable to think clearly. I was trying to make a diaper clutch out of two flat quarters and wouldn't you know even with using a cutting mat, large ruler and rotary cutter I still didn't get the measurement right. I really don't know what my problem was. I didn't have any other fabric to match what I just messed up so I went for other scrap fabric. I had found some I was wanting to use on a diaper clutch for a young mother. I figured it was "cool" enough a 19 year old would like to carry it around. Since I couldn't decide on a back up plan (read "fabric choice") for my diaper clutch I decided to tackle Stephanie's. It came out really well. I followed the tutorial from Blessed Roots. Once I finally decided I do know how to cut fabric it came right together. I didn't put a button on it. I'm still doing a bit of a debate, but I think I will use Velcro. Being a mom of a rambunctious 18 month old I know how important it is to change a diaper then chase down your child. Fighting a button is just out of the question. With Velcro you could change the diaper and have the clutch back together and ready to go before your child has the chance to bolt. The picture above is the one Blessed Roots made. I only used two colors on mine; the interfacing is all that's different.

It's Easy Being Green

Last night I tackled the task of making a cloth grocery bag. We really hate using plastic bags because you can't recycle them. Sure you could re-use them once or twice yourself, but when your done with the bag, it's done. I heard someone say once when you throw something away it really doesn't go away. Your trash gets buried somewhere.

A while back we started requesting paper bags. Sure they are not as easy to handle and they take up more room in your car, but they can be recycled. Instead of being such a selfish, "right now", always easy, nation we need to really think how our actions may be effecting our environment.

We've done the cloth diapers so why not try using cloth grocery bags??? Almost five years ago I needed some sturdy fabric to cover something with so I searched the clearance fabric at Walmart. I walked away with some pale green fabric for $1 a yard. I bought more fabric then I thought I needed and was surprised when the project took even less then expected. For almost five years about four yards of the fabric as been stowed away until yesterday. For the body of the bag I used this tutorial by Wisdom Of The Moon. I didn't feel the bag handles in the tutorial were the best choice; they were not made to be strong being simply tacked onto the top. I decided to use this tutorial from Making Something. The bag turned out great. I love how the bottom of the bag turned out. Because it's all one piece it should hold up better. I made the handles out of the same fabric. I cut two 4"x22" strips. I folded them in half, ironed, opened it up and folded each side into the fold, then folded it back in half and ironed. It made the handles 1" wide. I then sewed four seams down each handle 1/8" apart. I did the same thing to the top of the bag. Oh, give me a moment I'll see if I can get a good picture of it.

I didn't take a picture of the bottom corners, but you can kind of see they are folded up just like the instructions said they would.

Here you can see the four seams I put in the top and handles of the bag.

Here you can see how generous the size is. Maybe I should have loaded it up for a better idea. I really see now why Sara said she wanted to make some smaller bags for canned goods. Maybe I'll stitch that one with red thread or put a strip of random fabric on it so the baggers at the commissary will know it's for cans. By the way you all should really check out Sara's blog. She has a lot of helpful tutorials on there. I've had a lot of fun clicking through all the blogs she has linked from her site.

Now I'm off to make another bag. Another project I recently made was a diaper clutch for a baby gift. I'll have to show that one to you later.

Socks and Easter oufit

Not only can she say sock, but she can now take them off. Several times yesterday Kaitlyn walked up to me saying something like sock while holding a sock up for me to see. I would put the sock back on her foot and a little bit later she would do it again. My one sock wonder has done it twice today and currently only has one sock on.

Kaitlyn has a dry cough right now. I'm not sure what brought it on, but I wish it would quickly go away. I could hear her coughing off and on last night.

I finished Kaitlyn's Easter outfit over the weekend. I know I was cutting it close, but the ribbon just arrived in the mail Friday I believe. I was a bit disappointed the ribbon wasn't the pink/peach color I had hoped it to be. I really didn't have time to reorder so I used it anyway. It does match the flowers, but seeing how they aren't the predominate color well... yeah, grrr. I was worried about buying green, but now I'm thinking I probably should have.

These are her SewSensible Boutique Bottoms. They came out great. Because she wears cloth diapers I had to redo the waistband casing to give a little bit more room for her big tall diapers. You can see it a little bit in the picture above, but it's not as bad as it first was. I've made her a second pair of these and added a little extra fabric to the top so they will be higher.

She wasn't being a good model. This was the best front view I could capture of the Stripwork top from Dainty Designs. I wish you could see how well the top goes with the bottoms. Maybe we can get a better picture Sunday.

I actually made her another outfit over the weekend. I used Wizard of Oz fabric and my SewSensible Dress Top and Boutique Bottoms pattern.

Kaitlyn knew just what to do with the purse. She smiled when I showed it to her and stuck out her arm. She is really into purses right now which makes scraps a good thing. I've seen her several times with her other two purses on her arm and around her neck. She likes filling them up with Little People.

I'm not sure I've said this on here before, but for those who are just learning to sew or would like to tackle your first pattern SewSensible is a great place to start. She give wonderful directions complete with pictures. Personally, I can't just read directions and do something I need pictures. The pictures in the two SewSensible patterns I have are excellent. I would highly recommend trying them out. You can find her patterns at You Can Make This. Check out the links above.