Last handmade gifts!

I have been on a major French press kick lately. My drip-coffee pot just wasn't giving me as deep a flavor as I wanted. And my mornings are slow and laid back these days, so it is nice to take the time to boil water and steep and press the coffee myself.

And look! My friend Jen made me this adorable sweater cozy for my press! It's made from a thrifted little girl's sweater. Isn't it adorable? And it serves a great function, too, keeping that precious coffee warm while you enjoy your first cup and wait for the second. What a sweet Christmas present!

We had breakfast out yesterday and exchanged our handmade gifts. For her, I made something near and dear to me -- a covered notebook! I love a brand new notebook, as I've said, and especially around the New Year when all sorts of resolutions, reflections and goals are bouncing around your head. You need to write that stuff down.

Now she has a place to do so! And I had to show it all wrapped up, because that donut wrapping paper is my favorite.

Happy New Year everyone! I might be back later to share my favorite photos of 2011. It will be a most self-indulgant post. And I'm not going to apologize for it at all. Cheers!

P.S. Also, I changed my header. Thoughts?

P.S.S. I really love this article: 12 Things Happy People Do Differently. I hope to do all those things more often in 2012. Especially No. 1. And No. 8 -- experience the flow -- that's sewing for me. So more sewing in 2012, too!

2011 retrospective: A year of sewing

Here's a mini look at just about everything I made in 2011. Not every little thing is on here (including my most recent! Forgot the puppet theatre!) But most of it is there.

Looking at this, I'm kind of impressed with the amount I was able to do in a year. Go me! I suppose if you break it down, this is still less than one finished project per week. But I will so take that.

Let's break it down further, shall we?

I made four bags: a roll-up grocery bag, my Going-on-a-Walk bag, and the 241 Tote and the Go Anywhere bag, both from Noodlehead. Also did a clutch.

I made four pillows: a patchwork pillow, a crochet doily pillow, a monogrammed pillow, and an embroidered pillow for Jack's room.

I made a bunch of kid stuff: bibs, burp clothes, a nursing cover, baby shoes, baby blocks, sun hats and more sun hats, super hero capes, appliqued shirts, a bird mobile, a baby blanket and a taggy blanket.

I made clothes! Four different skirts, two dresses, a button-up shirt for Luke, two Halloween costumes, a bow-tie, a shirt for myself and my scarflette!

I made gifts. A baby's first Christmas ornament, a baby gift set, an apron or two, the puppet theatre, coasters, a quilted sunglass case, a dahlia pin (for myself) and a photo necklace.

I have learned this: I rarely want to make the same thing twice. This is why I could never have an etsy store! I am most content when I am learning something and trying something new. The side effect is that I rarely master any one thing. But that's a tradeoff I'm OK with. Wouldn't it be boring to always make... bibs or little kid clothes?

So, what will 2012 bring? Some of the same. But many new things and projects, I'm sure. Maybe my first quilt? Or a dress I make for myself, start to finish? I'm excited to see.

Mostly, I'm just exciting that I know I will always, always find something to be inspired by -- and another good excuse to buy more pretty fabric.

Here's to a happy 2012 all! Cheers!

Olive and S puppet theatre and holiday recap!

Brotherly love on Christmas morning at grandma's house.

Had to share this one because as my husband put it, Luke looks like he is about to poop a turd of happiness. Hahahaha.

Hi everyone! I hope you had a wonderful holiday. We did. It was nice -- and also so very tiring and hectic! We had things going on and people to see Friday, Saturday and all day Sunday, and then we were both back to work on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday was spent sorting through my house, trying to get this disaster area in order. The aftermath of Christmas is always a mess, isn't it? Boxes, wrapping paper, twisty ties, toys everywhere. Thing must be put together. Old toys must be stored. New toys must find new homes. And of course, everything must be played with. It's all intense. I was still wearing my robe and PJs yesterday at 2 p.m. And I was pretty much fine with that.

The hectic-ness of the last two weeks did me in when it came to handmade gifts. I had so many plans for handmade gifts. I accomplished only two of them. The Olive and S puppet theatre for my boys and an apron for my mother-in-law. The apron was finished around midnight on Christmas Eve because I scraped my first totally finished apron and started over from scratch at about 10:30 p.m.. I do not recommend this. Stress! Hello, stress!

I'll share more about the apron fiasco later. For now, can I show you the finished puppet theatre?

I am pretty happy with how it turned out. Of course, I know every little thing that is wrong with it (uneven bottom anyone?). But overall, I think it looks cute, and it's completely functional, and Luke took right to it.

If you plan to make this project, know that the instructions are great, but there are many many steps and this is something that takes hours. I'd guess I put at least 10 hours into this. Not a quick turnaround by any means. But I have a feeling we will be playing with this for years and years.

Did you give any handmade gifts this year? Did they get the reaction you hoped for?

What I write about in my new patchwork notebook

I love notebooks. I buy them all the time. Cute notebooks to fill with lists and reminders, quotes I love, prayers, inspirations and in my most well-intentioned moment, actual writing. That rarely happens. But I buy them anyway and proceed to use them very haphazardly and sporadically. They help me be a tiny bit more organized, although that word still doesn't really apply to me. At least not most of the time. But just holding one in my hands makes me feel inspired. So it's worth it.

I bought this black-white-and-yellow cutie at the Detroit Urban Craft Fair earlier this month from a booth called Hip to Piece Squares. I wanted to buy just about everything on her table. She had a snappy purse that I keep thinking about and it's not in her shop. Lesson learned: when you fall in love with something at a craft show, buy it!

I've been busy not really writing in my notebook but carting it around with me everywhere anyway. One day, my husband and I had a lunch date.  (Metro Detroiters: it was at Due Venti in Clawson. You should go! Northern Italian yumminess.) I had my notebook with me. And we made this list:

A little tough to read. But that's the dream list of everything we want to do to our house, you know, if money was no object. Money IS an object though, so haha, this will never happen. Not all of it anyway. But I do think in 2012, a few of these things might get checked off this list. It's a weird time for homeowners right now. We look at houses online (our friends call this real estate porn, and it's so true!) and swoon at how much house you can get now for the money. But would we ever be able to sell our house, purchased in 2006, just before the floor fell out? Not for a profit, that's for sure.

So we're a little stuck, unless we want to lose a bunch of money, which we don't. So I am trying to focus on gratitude for what I have. And I do have gratitude for my home. There is a lot to love about my place. I want to add a few more from this list though. That's OK, I think.

Long ramble! Not really sewing related. Sorry. But this is what's on my mind these days. I'll leave you with one more house-related thought, this one of the sewn variety. Check out the little detail I added to the puppet theatre house, which is still coming, slowly. (My threading problem has been solved, by the way. Thanks for your advice! I put in a new needle, re-threaded and upped my tension a little bit and that worked.) Can you tell what that thing by the doorstep is?

Leave me your guesses in the comment, and tell me, if you could do one thing to your house in 2012, what would it be? Give me either your money-is-no-object answer or your realistic view. Or both!

Baby's First Christmas Ornament

Here's the tutorial I shared last week on Sew Woodsy for the 12 Days of Christmas ornament event.

My inspiration for this ornament came from a few places. I wanted to make my 10-month-old son a "Baby's 1st Christmas" ornament. But I also wanted this to be an ornament anyone could customize by simply changing the word to something like "Peace."  I also wanted to play on two of my loves. Patchwork! And I love old vintage ornaments, the whimsical shapes and bright colors. So this is what I came up with!

 

Supplies: 

2 pieces of fabric about 5 inches by 7 inches. You have two options. You can simply cut two solid pieces. Or if you want a patchwork back, you'll need to piece together a square this size. I used about seven stripes of fabric 1.5 inches by 5 inches to get there.
Small scrap of linen or muslin.
Fabric marker. 
7-inches of ribbon or rickrack
Small amount of stuffing
Vintage ornament pattern. You can make your own pattern or download mine here.
Optional: other trims to decorate. 
Sewing essentials: machine, scissors, thread, pins, iron, etc. 

In a few of my pictures, you'll notice the measurements I give you aren't the same as what's pictured. I made this ornament three times, working out the kinks. The info I wrote up might not always match my photos, but I did my best!

One more word about the materials. If you are making a baby's first Christmas ornament, one way to make this special is to use pieces of fabrics that your baby wore or had on his baby blanket. I cut up one of my absolute favorite baby outfits for this. (You can see him wearing it here.) It was tough, believe me! I held it and sniffed it for a good five minutes before slicing into it. But if I keep the outfit in a bin in my basement for the rest of my life, I can't enjoy it as much as I can this way, when I'll see that little piece of fabric each Christmas and remember JJ in that outfit.

I use a 1/4 inch seam allowance throughout.

Let's get started!

 

 1. Cut your fabric and ornament pattern out. I provided a pattern you can print out, or you can do what I did: look at Google images of vintage ornaments and freehand your own pattern. Make sure to add in the seam allowance if you freehand. First draw the shape you want for your finished project, then add a the seam allowance.

2. Write your chosen word on the scrap of linen using a fabric marker. If it's for a baby, a name and the year work well. Or pick a nice, Christmasy word, like "Peace" or "Hope."

3. Using the ornament pattern, estimate where you want the word, and then pin it to the fabric. Then stitch on using a straight stitch or zig-zag stitch.

4. Piece together your back, if doing patchwork. Place two strips right sides together and stitch together. Continue until all strips are sewn together.

5. Press all the seams in one direction.

 

 6. Trace the ornament pattern on the wrong side of both the front and back pieces. Cut out.

7. If you want to add any additional trims, add them now. I added a little rick-rack to one ornament, sewing it on with a straight stitch.

8. Baste the ribbon or rick-rack to the top of the right side of either the front or back. Pin it down in the middle of the ornament so it stays out of the way when you sew the two sides together.

9. Place right sides together and pin carefully, matching the points at the top and bottom. Then sew together, leaving a 3-inch hole on one side for turning. Lift the presser foot with the needle down on the tight curves to turn your fabric.

10. Clip the curves and points and trim seam allowance (except at turning hole). Then turn right-side out. Press. When pressing, make sure to press the seam allowance down at the turning hole.

12. Fill with batting, stuffing it into the small crevices carefully with a chopstick or pencil.

13. Pin the turning hole close and hand-stitch it shut.

All done!














Thanks so much Katie for having me!

Oliver + S Puppet Theatre help needed!

First off, it's Sew Mama Sew giveaway day! It's an event where tons of different sewing blogs host giveaways of handmade items and supplies. Go explore, find new blogs and enter to win prizes. I will be!

Now, I need your help.

I am trying like hell to get my Oliver + S puppet theatre done in time for Christmas. I've been slowed once again! This time because my machine is acting super weird. I'm applying the ribbon frames around the windows. It's such a darling effect. But it's driving me mad. My thread unthreads itself on basically each and every pass through a ribbon. It is slowing me down so much, and I can't figure out what's going on. Something with the tension? Wrong needle? Why would the thread unthread itself from the needle? How is that possible??

Please help! I have two windows left to finish, and I'd love to solve this problem and fly through them. Any ideas what might be wrong?

Random bits of sewing updates

Made this gift set for a friend who had a baby three weeks ago! I did the ornament for Sew Woodsy's Christmas ornament event, but wanted to use up more of this pretty Erin McMorris fabric on baby Sophia. So I made an over-sized burp cloth and bib, a taggy wash cloth and a little pacifier pouch. Fun, easy sewing that was completed in one morning/afternoon. I just kept going and going. I know there are a million people selling their handmade goods out there, but there is a piece of me that wants to sell these sets. I hold myself back though out of I don't know what. Fear of failure? Lack of focus? Desire to only sew for myself and not turn my hobby into an obligation? Maybe a little of all of it. We'll see what 2012 holds in store.

Also, the green and white striped fabric is my latest vintage sheet find! I already have a plan for this one, too.

I snagged this McCall's pattern at 40% off at Jo-Anns yesterday. My mother-in-law wants a holiday apron for Christmas, and I really want her to love it so I thought it might be smart to go with a pattern. I'm planning to make view D, the one with the contrast top (yellow in the photo). I'm already anxious after reading through the instructions. They're a bit mystifying. But I already had my first question answered promptly when I took it to Twitter. Don't you love social media for this purpose? I asked how to do a narrow hem and within minutes, two different people were walking me through it. The internet rules!



Last night my sewing output was disappointing. The reason? Like an idiot, I ironed directly on a piece of fusible web. I had never used this kind of web before. I was thinking of it like interfacing. So when I placed it on the fabric, all I need to do to make it stick was press it down with my fingers. But I ran my iron over it. The result was a huge mess. I had to wait for the iron to cool and then pick little nubs of fried web off it. Then I broke out the Motsenbockers. Have you heard of it? It worked like a charm!

My progress on my Oliver + S Little Things to Sew Puppet Theatre wasn't as much as I wanted because of the iron debacle. I wanted to have the windows all done. But here's a progress picture anyway. Coming along! This is a Christmas present from both boys. I hope they love it.

 

Finally, aren't these pillows cute? Made of felt. Ripe for a knock-off, wouldn't you say?

Have a great weekend everyone!

Merry and bright... and really really busy

Sorry I have been a bit MIA. It's that time of year. I'm sure you're feeling it, too. So many things to do during the holidays. Does anyone else wonder why we try to cram so much into a few short weeks?

The last few years, I've taken a week off in early December to try and get all my shopping, decorating, mailing and baking done. I am now working just part-time, but decided to keep the tradition alive. It's nice to have so much out of the way early in the month. So I have been off for an entire week now and don't work again until Sunday. I wish I had more sewing done in this time to show you, but mostly, I've just been checking other holiday stuff of my to-do list.

Here's a big ol catch up post to show you what I've been up to. 

We got the tree up yesterday! We get a real tree. I love it but man, it's a lot of work. Getting the tree is truly an all-day affair, and we're not chopping it down or anything. Just picking it up in nearby parking lot. But anyway, it's up and I love it.

 I made this wreath yesterday. Super easy. We can't do a green wreath anymore since we painted the door green this summer. So I thought red might be nice. All I did was wrap a wreath form in red yarn, hot glue some small ornaments in one corner, and attach a wreath bow in the other. I plopped that twig of silver balls in for the last touch. Super fast to make and cost about $12 for all the supplies (I already had the wreath form.)

On Saturday, my Mom and Aunt and I went shopping in Detroit. It was a great day. I'm still planning to show off the stuff I bought at the Detroit Urban Craft Fair!  I forgot to take photos all day though, except for this festive light display in a store front downtown. So I need to snap some shots of what I bought, then I'll post!

On Sunday night, we took the kids to the Wayne County Lightfest. Which mostly, they slept through. But it was something I've been wanting to see for years. It's a 5-mile long road with more than a million Christmas lights set up in elaborate displays. It's about a 30-minute drive for us, but worth it. I hope when the kids get older they enjoy it more.

 On Monday, we hit up the mall to see Santa. If you want a professional photo with Santa, it's $30 at our mall. Or it's $5 if you want to take your own. An easy decision, if you ask me!

I also made our Christmas cards. I feel like a flipping genius this year, because I made this custom photo card and printed 75 of them -- for $5! I just used Picasa to make a collage and Snapfish to order .09 cent prints, which I might stick to a piece of cardstock. Or not. I am pretty excited about this though. $5?? I feel like an idiot for ordering such expensive cards in past years!

I've been working on a tutorial for the Scarflette! I hope to have it finished next week, which still leaves some time to make one or two or five for your friends for Christmas. Stay tuned!


And tomorrow, my ornament will be featured in the Sew Woodsy 12 Days of Christmas event! I thought I was Friday, but nope, it's tomorrow. This is actually the back of my ornament. Just wanted to give you a sneak peak.

So that's what I've been up to. How about you? Are you ready for Christmas?

Handmade, quilted Christmas stockings.

Last year, this was a big, milestone project for me. The very first thing I quilted. Our Christmas stockings! So even though the project is a year old, I want to share it here.

I know, I know. Where's the green and red, right? Well, I fell in love with the cheeky blue print and bought it online. I had just redecorated the living room/dining room with a blue and orange color palette. I didn't think red and green would go with it, so I searched for holiday prints that used blue. Then I matched the flowery print with it, simple because I like it and it coordinates. My husband thinks it looks like how they'd do Christmas in Hawaii. I can live with that. 

We don't have a holder for the cat's stocking, so Luke volunteered. I think I'll leave him there all month, ha.

The inspiration for these came from Prudent Baby. 

I saw this tutorial and became instantly obsessed. Does this happen to you? I HAD to make them. (In my defense, I was about seven-months pregnant and totally in that nesting phase.) I stayed boarded up one Saturday or Sunday and sewed the entire day away. It was worth it. I love these. I felt so proud that I had quilted something.

It was sweet having J.J's up last year, even though he was just on the way. So hard to believe how time has flown by. Look at my little guy now.

He turned 10 months old this week. 

Crazy. 




So we're doing a lot of this these days. Getting into everything. Especially things we shouldn't get into.

He's been going up and down the stairs now for more than a month. He's pretty adept now. But definitely keeping me on my toes.

I'm feeling blessed right now. Feeling thankful. It's nice to have four big stockings to fill.

Happy weekend everyone!