Thar She Sews!

Bedroom redecorating planning begins!

2012-02-26T11:10:00.000-05:00

Happy weekend, everyone!

We were sick yesterday. JJ and I. He threw up every meal, including one all over me. Lovely! And I left my workout class mid-way through it because I felt nauseous, and then spent the rest of the day laying around in bed or on the couch. I hate wasting a Satruday like that. (How come the 24-hour flu always has to fit on a day off, amIright?)

One thing on my to-do list: get my bedroom in order so I can take photos of it and send them to our painter. I'm fairly certain we will be redecorating the bedroom next month, and we're getting ready now. I've been furiously pinning fabrics I like for curtains, paint colors, inspiring bedroom photos, cute bedding options, etc. But it's getting close to decision-making time. I thought I'd share a few of the things I am weighing and I'd love to hear your feedback. Oh and I'll upload some "before" pictures of the room this week, so you can see what we're working with.

We have two closets that are door-less and use a curtain to hide all the stuff shoved within them. I'm approaching the whole redecorating process by trying to start with an inspiring fabric for new closet curtains, which I'll make. I figure I'll find that fabric and then base my paint and even flooring on it, as well as new accessories. So finding just the right fabric is No. 1 on the priority list! Here are some of the favorites I've collected so far.

We have dark wood trim in the room that I'm a little confused about. Paint it white? Leave it? I'm not sure. But I do think this fabric would pick up the richness of it well. We want to have three colors on the walls -- a neautral, a pop of color on one accent wall, and potentially a light-color on the ceiling.

Sherwin-Williams has a great tool called "Chip It!" that allows you to put a picture into it and find a bunch of matching paint colors. Amazing, right? So you can see some of the paint options for each fabric.

I am leaning toward a blue-green-yellow color scheme. I love decorating with blue and figure, eh, why not, even if I already have two other blue rooms in my house. That's the kind of thing that ties a house together, right? This is an Anna Maria Horner print, and I'm really loving all of her fabrics right now. They're so playful and bright.

Here are some paint options for that one!

The third option I'm looking at. I really love the richness of this print. I think with a white wall it would really pop. And I could see a really dark accent wall playing nicely with this.

What do you like of these options? I'd love to hear! And I'll post some "before" bedroom pictures hopefully in the next couple of days.

Deep thoughts while sitting in my quiet dining room all by myself

2012-02-21T17:17:00.000-05:00

I am in my house in the middle of the day -- alone! It is the most amazing thing. My kids will be returning here at any moment though, but I thought I'd attempt to steal a moment to share a couple of interesting reading links for you.

This post on Maybe Matilda said a lot of what I've been fighting internally when it comes to my blog. I know it is a cop out to just point to her post and say, more or less, "Ditto!" But that's what I'm doing. You understand. I think going through a blogging identity-and-time-suck crisis happens to most bloggers at some point. So I really do feel like in this case, she said what I -- and probably a lot of other people -- are thinking. And then the bottom line: just blog you. Write about what you want to write, when you want to write about it. It's your blog. She summed up that realization here -- and also shared a tutorial for a super-easy infinity scarf, which I plan to make the next time I sit down at my machine.

Here's another "deep thoughts" type post that spoke to me. Rachel at Stitched in Color wrote about the issue of "too much inspiration." I suffer from this as well. Can I blame Pinterest? OK? Good. Well, Pinterest as well as the vast internet sea of amazing talent. It's all so much, and while I love reading and soaking it all up... I can spend so much time doing so, that I am then all spent up. I have no time for writing, for sewing, or for thinking. You must give your creativity space. That's a big part of what my hiatus has been about. We all need a break sometimes. Rachel said all this more eloquently than I, and then there were oodles of comments where the discussion continued. Fine reading (if you have the space and time to read it, of course). :)

Finally: I wrote this article for my day job about three lovely craft rooms. It was a wonderful project and I loved seeing each room. There's a photo gallery, so you can see them as well. As much as I need the mental space to find creativity, my physical space also needs work. Organization, attention, cleanliness, all of that. I need to make getting my space there -- and keeping it there -- a priority if my sewing is ever going to get back on track.

Oh, and one final thing! I have a goal of sharing more interviews for The Sewing Circle Series. There are many bloggers out there I know I'd love to interview. But I'd love to hear your suggestions as well. Who would you like to know more about? And it is OK to nominate yourself. Drop me a comment or an email at tharshesews@gmail.com.

That's all! I am going to go enjoy my last moments of blissful silence before my two sweets come back to tear the place apart with their beautiful noise.

The Sewing Circle: Jeni from In Color Order

2012-02-18T09:34:00.000-05:00

I started the series The Sewing Circle last year, meaning for it to be a regular feature of my blog. I got off track from it a bit but am hoping to revive it now. The idea is simple: I send my favorite sewing bloggers questions through email, they respond and we all get to learn more about the talented people in the online sewing community. You can read past interviews with Anna from Noodlehead and Marigold from Hideous! Dreadful! Stinky!

Jeni, today's interviewee, writes one of my most favorite sewing blogs, In Color Order. Her blog is inspiring, educational and very approachable. Jeni seems like the kind of girl most anyone would want to be friends with -- warm, smart and easygoing. Her blog is positive and encouraging without making you feel like there isn't a real person there behind all the sunshine and rainbows. And her sewing, that speaks for itself. She produces more finished projects than almost any other blogger I read, and everything she makes is so well-constructed and eye-catching. Her sense of color is outstanding, a fact that led her to write an entire series helping sewers and quilters pick the right colors for their projects. She alone inspired my own desire to start a vintage sheet collection, as she has an Etsy shop devoted to them.

With that bit of background, let's get to Jeni, who lives in Wisconsin. You can find her on her blog, on Facebook, on Twitter, on Flickr, on Pinterest and on Instagram. Oh, and she has a pattern shop here.

When did you start your blog and what was your original planfor it?

I started my blog just over 3 years ago in February2009. However, I started journaling online way back in 2001, so I was nostranger to blogging! When I started my blog I had planned for it to bea blog to document my sewing projects, products I liked, and decor,which has stayed pretty much the same!

How has it changed over the years?

The biggest change in my blog over the years is the amount Ipost! I'm blogging about a lot of the same topics, but on a regularbasis! I've also focused more on tutorials and informational series inthe last year or so, which I really have come to enjoy!

If you have one, what's your day job?

This is a tricky question for me! I just graduated with adegree in marketing and studio art this past May and am still tryingto find my niche in the world. For now, I run my etsy shop selling vintage sheets and teach sewing classes part time at The SewcialLounge in Madison, WI.

Who taught you to sew?

My Mother taught me the basics of using the sewing machine,helped me with my first few projects and answered my early questions,but I mostly learned from trial and error. I was never one for reading the directions or asking for a lot of help, I just liked to diveright in and try my strength at things! Sewing was no different!

Do you typically pick fabric first or a project first?

Almost always the fabric first! I joke sometimes that I sewin order to have an excuse to collect fabric. I draw most of my inspiration from the fabric itself and figure out a design based aroundthe fabric. When I do it the other way around, I tend to struggleabout making a final decision.

How do you find time to sew? I'm constantly amazed at theamount you accomplish in a week!

Do you want to know the real secret? I don't have afull-time job, and I don't have any children! This helps a lot! I also don'tsleep a whole lot! Believe me, there are weeks I don't feel likeI've gotten a lot done. I keep lots of lists and set deadlines for myself,which helps me stay on track.

How did your vintage sheet business begin and how much timedo you devote to it during a typical week?

I first started collecting vintage sheets in 2010, when Iparticipated in a fat quarter swap on Flickr. I soon got hooked, but realized that I was quickly going to be eaten out of house and home by my collection! In order to grow my stash without amassing toomany sheets, I started selling the "leftovers" ofsheets that I didn't need

for my collection. This continues to be a main driver in why I run my shop! In the winter I don't spend as much time on the shop,as I thrift less and sell less because of the cold andgloom. During the summer though, I'm often going thrifting twice a week andbetween washing sheets, cutting and packing orders, 20-25 hours aweek.

How do you avoid burnout (or deal with it) when it come tosewing and blogging about it?

I let myself have days where I don't do much of anything I'm"supposed to do". I mix in projects that I do just for fun, andonly blog when I truly want to. Sometimes this means a few days betweenblogging, but in the long run it's healthier for me than blogging when I'mnot up to it.

A recent picture of Jeni's bunny George.

I love the way you post a weekly wrap-up post including "goodthings about today" and "today I love." You hit all thesenses. And of course, there's always a cute picture of George the rabbit. How did that feature of your blog evolve?

Years and years ago I saw a photo online of acalender/journal that had something similar and saved it to my computer. Unfortunately I don't even have the photo anymore, let alone know whomanufactured it. It stuck with me andin an attempt to find the good in everyday, it wound up on my blog! I added the "good things"soon after, simply to remind myself that no matter how bad the day, I can stillfind a few happy moments!

I've never sewn a single quilt block. I'm a bit intimidated.I'm not the most accurate sewer. What advice do you have for someonelike me (besides, just do it already!)? Also, if you want torecommend a couple easy blocks to try as a first block, that'd befantastic.

Just practice! Grab some scraps and play around. And, Ithink start off with simple patchwork. It becomes easy to see whereyou're going wrong (seam allowance? cutting? etc), and so easier tofix. I'd also recommend giving half-square triangles a try! Once youmaster them, you can make so, so many different blocks!

Also, in almost all quilt blocks (and many other projects),when instructions say 1/4" seam allowance, what that reallymeans is a scant 1/4". This means that if you measure your seam,it measures just inside the 1/4" line. You'd be amazing how much that can mess up your projects!

What's the one sewing tool you couldn't live without,besides the obvious (machine, scissors, etc.)

Definitely my thread snippers. I use them more than anyother tool in my sewing room! Having a good pair that are sharp and easyto use make my life much, much easier!

Your sense of color is so spot on. I love your "Art ofChoosing" series. Did you study this stuff or just gain anunderstanding through trial and error and practice?

It seems to be the type of thing that you either havenaturally, or develop, and I got lucky! A lot of my color sense isinstinct, although I have improved through practice for sure! I didminor in Studio Art, but wasn't able to take color theory.

What's your favorite palette to work with? Your favoritefabric line ever? Favorite designer?

My current favorite palette includes Eggplant, Mustard andFuschia. Can't get enough of it! It also happens to be a palettefound in my favorite fabric line, Mendocino by Heather Ross! Favoritefabric designer is a little more difficult for me! I think it's avery close tie between Lizzy House and Erin McMorris. Although I can't say no to Aneela Hoey's fabrics either!

You can eat one sweet for the rest of your life -- what doyou choose?

Only one?! I have a major sweet tooth! If it's for the restof my life, I'd have to say regular milk chocolate! The goodEuropean stuff though! :)

The lined drawstring bag is one of Jeni's free tutorials!

Thanks so much to Jeni for taking the time to answer my questions. Hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did!

A Viking's take on Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T20:52:00.001-05:00

Ah, Valentine's Day. The day to stress out about what box of chocolate best says I-am-so-not-buying-this-at-the-last-minute-really! How's it going for you? Around here, my husband and I are working opposite shifts and won't be seeing one another at all, outside of passing in the hallways at work. So to make up for our lack of actual Valentine's Day romance, we went out on Sunday afternoon.

We had a fine lunch out at this place, then we drove to this antique store. It's MASSIVE. Room after room, two floors. Doodads up the wazoo. We are not antiquers, but we thought it would be fun (and ever so romantic) to wander around with a mission: find a Valentine's Day gift for the other with a $10 budget.

Can I show you what he found me after nearly an hour of searching (and a stern warning that I did not under any circumstances want anything in the "figurine" category)?

I have to say, I was impressed. This is right up my alley, of course. And why wouldn't it be? Written and published in the early 1960s, it's a 16-chapter Bible of sewing. And of course, there are many lessons the McCall's editors want to pass on to me to make sure I am as prim and well-put together as I should be in my hand-sewn duds.

Let's take a look!

Here I get to learn about the appropriate attire for different functions. If I'm going to a "Club Activity," I should wear "Dressmaker suits, simple dresses, such as the sheath, shirtwaist and coast dress are always appropriate. They may have soft touches, but avoid fussy styles." Luckily for the McCall's editors, I almost always avoid the fussy styles, so no issue there!

I also get to learn how to dress myself according to my body type. Like if I'm the "Tall and Heavy" type, I'm told: "Lines for the 'viking' type are a problem." Wow, McCall's, really? A Viking? Seems very unladylike of you.

Here's a handy guide to female body types. It seems back in 1960, the top size --a misses' -- was for a woman 5-foot-5 or 5-foot-6 and "average" waist and bust. A size 6 would be a 22-inch waist. Me, with my size 30-waist, which fits me into a size 6 or 8 in today's clothes? According to McCall's, I'd be a size 16 or 18, the largest size on their chart. (In other words, Vikingesque!) I guess this just shows the pattern-makers have been crazy all along.

But all kidding aside, I think this book is great reference material. It covers everything from how to read a pattern to how to construct full garments. I'll use it, of that I'm sure. I'd still really like to make myself a dress someday. So, to my wonderful husband, a big thanks. I love my Valentine's Day sewing book, even if it is a teensy bit insulting in some sections. You clearly get me. And makes a girl feel good.

Happy Valentine's Day friends!

An afternoon sewing for Africa

2012-02-11T15:23:00.000-05:00

I broke out of my sewing funk this afternoon and attended a sewing event for the non-profit Little Dresses for Africa. It was held through my friend Jen's church, Mercy Road.

Our sewing station. Jen and I are so cute with our matching sewing machines.

They were so lovely to have this food spread for all the volunteers.

The workspace, everyone hard at work.

They had all sorts of ribbon and other embellishments for us to play with.

A pile of completed dresses.

Here's me hard at work!

This was Charity, who led the event.

There were all different stations around the room. Here they're cutting.

Even some men came to help! You can see the plaid shirt of one on the right.

The busy ironing station.

My friend Jen's friend Kendal works my very best friend, the seam ripper.

We embellished this one with a fabric yo-yo flower. The first fabric yo-yos I made in my life! I finished them last week and brought them with.

My friend Jen and me. We never have photos together, so now at least there's this one of me looking rather rough. :)

It felt good! Really good. Good to sew again, good to make something and not worry about it being perfect. Nice to just focus on one thing and not the entire scope of a project (finding a pattern, finding the fabric, cutting, pinning, ironing, etc.). At my station, all we did was attach the bias tape, which finished the pillow case dresses. They came to us with everything else done, and the bias tape even pinned into place. On a few, we did add some cute finishing touches, too.

A lovely Saturday afternoon, I'd say! What are you up to today?

A brief message about broken hearts

2012-02-07T11:15:00.000-05:00

Interrupting my hiatus for a public service announcement!

Today through Feb. 14, it's CHD Awareness week. My son, Luke, has a CHD story, so I wanted to do my part and spread a little awareness. I hope you don't mind.

CHD stands for congenital heart defect. It is a problem with your heart present at birth. They're the most common birth defect, effecting about 1 in 100 live births. There are 35 known CHDs, and sometimes kids are born with two or three or four. Luke had three -- a ventricular septal defect, an atrial septal defect and coarctation of the aorta. The first two -- the septal defects -- are a fancy way of saying a hole in the ways of the heart chambers. They're the most common type of defect, and sometimes they close on their own. Others need surgery to fix. Luke also had the "coarc," which means his aorta, the part of the heart that feeds blood to the left and bottom half of your body, was kinked like a big garden hose. Depending on the severity, this can require open-heart surgery or a cath procedure to fix.

Luke at about four days old, in the NICU before his surgery.

Luke needed open heart surgery, and he had his when he was 6-days-old. We have a fantastic pediatric heart hospital near us, routinely ranked in the top three in the country. So everything for Luke went just splendid. He was in the hospital for 14 days and by his 1-month birthday, you would never know what he went through. To this day, he's an active, healthy, completely "healthy-hearted" little boy. His CHD is really not a part of our day-to-day lives, and I'm so blessed to say that. I really don't want to make a big deal about it -- his scar down his chest is not his identity. But he did go through some tough times, and I do want to honor that.

Me holding Luke for the first time in five days. He was 6-days-old and about to go into open-heart surgery at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor.

Luke following his surgery.

Luke at one-month-old, home and healthy!

Another reason I want to post this, is that lots of kids with more severe CHDs have it way worse than Luke. Some CHDs require multiple surgeries and result in many complications and side effects. Kids don't eat, they don't grow, they turn blue, they get tired, they have stomach issues, they need heart transplants, etc. And the sad reality is that some kids die. CHDs kill more children each year than all forms of pediatric cancer combined. Isn't that an astonishing fact? And while cancer is terrible, just terrible -- I would be so much more frightened if my child had cancer -- heart issues are no picnic either, and they deserve a little more awareness than they have. Most people seem to have never heard of CHDs, or no little about them. I know that was me before Luke was born.

Lastly, if your child is at the beginning of a CHD journey, perhaps still in growing inside you, please have hope. CHDs are far from a death sentence. My Luke is a great example of that. There are a lot of amazing surgeons out there doing amazing things every single day. Take a look at this Pinterest board: The Faces of CHD. You'll see a lot of stories that involve scary times, and yes, some children don't make it. But the majority of the stories you'll see kids who wind up being described as energetic, healthy, happy, and "normal." There's hope.

Hiatus

2012-02-01T09:35:00.000-05:00

I've been thinking about taking a bit of a blogging and sewing break. A short hiatus. How short, I'm not sure.

My sewing nook got disassembled a bit for JJ's birthday party. It's all there behind that curtain.

Not too be all deep, but I feel like packing it up and putting it all behind a curtain is what I need at the moment. A refresher, a step away.

Part of it is because: My work schedule is changing for the month of February. I'm adding a fourth day, and I'm switching form afternoon/evenings to very early mornings. Like, I'll have to get up at least two hours earlier than I'm used to. It's going to be a big switch for our family, as my husband will now have the kids alone all morning and then will work all afternoon/evening, and I'll be doing the opposite. For those four days of the week, we really won't see one another or have any time together as a family. I know I'm going to be extra tired and stressed, and I don't want to put too much on my plate and stress about completing sewing project or blogging. This is a fun, inspirational outlet for me, and I don't want to give it up, at all. I just want the pressure off. I want to only go sit and create or sit and write because I feel inspired. And if/when that happens, I will indeed update here!

I've debated whether to post about this at all. I'm so grateful for the little outlet I've built here, and I don't want to shoot myself in the foot. But I'm trying to be honest with myself (and you) and do what's best for everyone here. I hope you understand!

So my posting might be a bit sporadic -- or non-existant -- this month. I hope you'll bear with me and keep checking back, because as soon as things calm down, or my sewing mo-jo returns, I'll be back. Maybe in a week, I don't know. Maybe sooner. Maybe later.

Until then.... happy sewing!

A first birthday party for JJ

2012-01-30T09:34:00.000-05:00

JJ's first birthday party was Saturday. I did not sew a stitch for it. I had big plans to make him a shirt, or a softie or... something. But you know, it didn't happen, and I am OK with that. He had a perfectly cute party without something hand-sewn by Mama. I did a few crafty touches, made a lot of food, cleaned my house (with a huge huge helping hand from my mother-in-law) and called it a day. Parties are a lot of work. Yes? We can agree on this? Every time we have one, a couple hours before the party, I think to myself, I am never doing this again. But then once everything comes together, and all the people are there, of course, it all seems worth it.

I was a lovely time. I'm just having issues lately about what's too much. Don't mind me.

Anyway, thought I'd share a few photos.

I found the "My First Birthday" shirt at Marshall's a few days before the party, and for $5, I was sold. It was cute. It took one thing off my to-do list. Check, check.

I did a photo timeline, strung on twine, around the basement, where we held the party. I found the mini colored clothespins at Jo-Anns, and they were really cute. I used about 45 photos -- almost all of the clothespins! I loved how this looked, and at the end of the party, I told everyone they could take a photo or two as a party favor.

I made the cake the day before, using the recipe from my inspiration post. I made two layer cakes, so the cake ended up pretty enormous. But he really only ate the little section right on the top of one side. I really wanted to make him a cake from scratch and really REALLY wanted to see him make a mess with it. Mission accomplished there.

For the adults, we got a chocolate peanut-butter cake from Pinwheel Bakery in Ferndale, and it was so delicious. I highly recommend. This thing was gone in an instant!

One fun thing we did was have everyone complete a time capsule for JJ to open on his 18th birthday. This was a big hit. Now the only issue... keeping track of the responses for 17 years!

For the door, I did a fairly simple wreath. Yarn wrapped a wreath form and then stuck these adorable mini-pinwheels into one side to make a cute arrangement. I stuck a "Happy Birthday" sticker on top because I ran out of time to do what I really wanted, which was make a little flag banner that said those words. Ah well. I think it's pretty cute.

I am a bit in disbelief that my baby is one. It's bittersweet. Babyhood is the best. And this little guy... he is the sweetest, most cuddly little one. It's been a most fabulous year with him, it really has.

First birthday party inspiration and ideas

2012-01-25T10:06:00.000-05:00

I work a 3-day workweek these days. I go to the office Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Those three days are a whirlwind. My work tunnel. I emerge from that tunnel each Wednesday with many things needing my attention on the home front and in my personal life, and of course, in my sewing nook. I spend the next days digging out, getting things back in order and attempting to rediscover my creativity and balance... And then I do it all again.

And so, here I am, emerging from my tunnel this week with a big deadline headed my way. JJ's first birthday party is Saturday.

Here's what I've actually accomplished: I've been dutifully collecting ideas on Pinterest. And I ordered the cake for the adults. Now it's on to finalizing plans and getting things done! First, I thought I'd show you some of the things I found that I want to try. Don't know that I'll get to all of these, but they're my inspiration for the party, for sure. Wanna see?

Original source: etsy.

I can't decide what kind of applique shirt to make, or whether to make one at all. This one, with the "O-N-E" spelled out in nice big letters, is cute. I'd love it to say "JJ" somewhere. And another idea we had was to make one that says, "Cake, please!" That's be cute, but maybe too many letters to deal with in applique.

Original source.

I want to keep the decorations simple. (Ha. Famous last words.) I love the ballons tied onto the highchair here. Sweet. Simple.

Maybe something cute like this for the door. Probably the last priority though.

Original source.

Cute banner with month-by-month photos of the first year, marked with clothespins. This I really want to do. I've been taking his photo each month, and I've printed out a bunch of them to display. So this one should be on the to-do list for sure.

Original source.

I die of cuteness with this one. Definitely doing this. Who comes up with these ideas? Thank you internet for being so awesome!

Original source.

For food, these ham and cheese sliders with poppy-seed sauce looked so mouth-watering, I decided I must try them. They're something you can assemble before the party and then cook once guests arrive. So they'll be nice and warm and won't make my kitchen a big mess. Yay! I will do some turkey and provolone too, for the swiss-haters (i.e.: myself.)

Original source.

Both sets of grandparents are bringing a side-dish to pass. So my only other worry are some nibbles. Pita and hummus, cheese and crackers and I think these cute fruit kabobs. Kid-friendly, you know?

Original source.

As for JJ's smash cake, I want to do something simple. Small chocolate layer cake with a little confetti sounds about right.

Original source.

All I really want.... is this photo opp! Luke didn't really tear into his smash cake. He just gingerly touched its sides and then got weirded-out by the feeling of frosting on his finger tips. He's still a dainty eater, so I guess this was just our first clue. But JJ has a much more, um, voracious appetite. I have high hopes, little one! Please. give mama that messy show she craves!

Oh, and look! The first project is underway!

1-2-3 Sew Craft Tote

2012-01-23T11:15:00.002-05:00

My best friend turns 32 today. We've known each other since we were 18. That's 14 years, apparently. Fourteen years! We've seen one another grow up, fall in love, get married and start careers. We've supported one another spiritually. We've run half-marathons together. We've done a lot of laughing together. And I've received too many hand-made gifts from her to count. She's a knitter, and a fine one, and at least once a year for the last seven or eight years, she's gifted me some wonderfully hand-knit item. It was about time I returned the favor!

I saw this craft tote tutorial in the book 1-2-3 Sew and decided it'd be great for her to carry her knitting supplies around. The fabrics are from Amy Butler's new "Lark" line of fabric. They're home dec weight. The tutorial calls for canvas, so right away, I had a problem. But it was not too hard to solve. I lined all the outer pieces, the inside bottom piece and the compartment dividers all with fusible fleece. That seemed to do the trick, and the bag sits up nicely and holds its shape.

I did have to go back and readjust my seams on the lining pieces multiply times, because when I went to fit it inside the shell, it was bunching up. I don't know why -- I swear I cut accurately this time. But what can you do? Taking the seams in a bit here and there worked well, and for the most part, the inside lays nicely in the shell. I love all the divided areas, perfect for stashing different crafting tools!

It also has three divided pockets in the front, for extra storage options. And while the tutorial called for straps made out of webbing, I decided to make my own from the fabric. They also have a bit of fleece inside. Saved me a trip to the store more than anything, but I think they're cute, too.

This bag took me about a week to make, but only because my sewing time is so limited to little bursts here and there. It was a very straight-forward project. A great first project to try from his new book!

Happy birthday, Kelly! Hope you love it!

Linked up at....

Reporting in from my pre-birthday Pinterest-induced coma

2012-01-19T09:15:00.000-05:00

Sorry I've been a bad blogger this week. I'm having some sort of blogging block. I have a few things that have not been blogged about, but I'm not sure I want to blog them because I'm sort of unhappy with how they turned out. Two tutorials I want to write up, but I need to tweak both of them and re-make the item to work out the kinks. Le sigh!

I also have one work-in-progress that I can't show until it's totally done because it's a gift. So next week, hopefully.

While making it, I sewed through my finger nail. OW.

I've also been busy getting ready for JJ's first birthday. Admittedly, I am way behind. I feel like a bad mama. I did an Evite instead of a regular invitation (horror of horrors), and the party so far is relatively unplanned. I went on Pinterest for some inspiration, and of course, found plenty. But is it just me, or is Pinterest and blog-land almost coma-inducing in its creativity and inspiration? It's easy to get caught up in it and think your party just can't go on without a clever theme and coordinating color scheme, 12 different handmade decorations, tons of mouth-watering home-cooked food, of course a perfectly executed and personalized smash cake, a hand-sewn birthday outfit (which you better photograph as you make step-by-step and then write up a tutorial!), a crafty birthday wreath for the front door, a cupcake tower with personalized toppers and cake pops in the shape of your baby's head.... And on and on. And if you don't do all that, you don't really love your baby, do you. DO YOU?!?!?!

I'm trying to sort through what I actually want to do and what is realistic to do and what is just too much.

The party is in nine days.

So far... I'm pretty sure I'm making ham and cheese sliders. And that's all I've got.

Gah.

Anyway, just wanted to check in. Thanks for reading and hopefully I'll be back with something prettier to look at and read about soon!

A potholder for a friend

2012-01-13T09:27:00.000-05:00

I made this extra-large potholder for a friend this week. On New Year's Day, hanging at her house, she brought out a Calaphon Dutch oven and an indoor grill pan, both of which she was no longer using. She said I could have them. I was thrilled because those are two pans missing from own kitchen. Score!

I decided to make her something to thank her and landed on this potholder thanks to a new email rolling into my inbox each day. It's called the Sew Can She Newsletter. They deliver one sewing tutorial to you each day. Free! Not bad, right? The tutorials come from all over blog land, and you can submit your own to be considered. It's just another easy way to find inspiration and tutorials you might otherwise miss. So last week, the email include a potholder tutorial that used this exact same coffee cup fabric! I had it in my stash awaiting some sort of inspiration, so I took it as a sign and whipped this up. I didn't use fusible thread, as the tutorial calls for, but that's a good idea I'll have to look into. And I just did some straight-line quilting with a zig-zag stitch thrown in.

Hope my friend loves it! The finished size is about a 10-inch square, which is really large. Nice for use as a counter-top hot pad, too!

Oh and hop over to the blog Boy Oh Boy Oh Boy! Stacey is gearing up for a year-long Sewing for Boys sew along! Fun! They featured one of my Henry Shirt posts this week. Thanks for the invite, Stacey!

Swimming in wonderful new things

2012-01-12T09:50:00.000-05:00

I've been a lucky girl this week when it comes to getting awesomeness in my mailbox or on my doorstep.

First, this.

These four books came as a Christmas present from my friend Kim. Is she way too generous or what? I could not believe it! So many projects to contemplate, my head is about to explode. Do you have any of these books? Where should I begin?! (And I should say, I do have the One Yard Wonders book already. Contemplating exchanging it, maybe for the new One Yard Wonders book, or hosting a giveaway with it. Decisions, decisions.... :) )

Then this came yesterday.

New fabric! Some solid fat quarters, because I never have enough solids in my stash, and two yard-cuts of fabric from Amy Butler's Lark collection in home-dec weight. I have a plan for that! And the top is a fat quarter collection with various fabrics. I have something in mind for those too, and it just might involve a baby girl headed my family's way in the spring. Meaning, I'm going to be an aunt! So excited!

I'm struggling to find/make the time to actually sew right now. But hopefully, all these new goodies will be a nice kick in the pants.

Has the mailman brought you anything this lovely recently?

Happy Thursday all!

The saga of the apron. And I do mean saga.

2012-01-10T22:56:00.003-05:00

Is there an award for being the last one on Earth to finish a handmade Christmas present? If so, I win! I win!

This is the finished apron I finally gifted by mother-in-law today. Months and months ago, she mentioned that she'd like if I made her a holiday apron. We're always struggling to come up with good gifts to give her, so I was happy to have the inspiration handed to me. I knew from that point on -- maybe sometime in October -- that I'd make her her holiday apron for Christmas.

I started thinking about fabric and patterns. At Jo-Ann's one day, I put this in my cart, 40% off. McCalls 6177.

I thought that third look was it. Cute, right? Then I read the instructions and sort of freaked out. I began to worry that it was too difficult a pattern in the time I had. And then I noticed that I bought sizes 18 wide and larger. Rookie mistake. My mother-in-law is basically the same size as me. So I had to go another route.

At that point, I opened up the book One Yard Wonders for inspiration, and I decided to make the Cottage Apron.

Kind of cute, right? Kind of.... sexy? I liked this a lot, I just felt like.... Is a woman in her 60s really going to like this? It didn't seem like her. I also started questioning having straps made out of ribbons. Is that really going to hold up in the wash?

As you can see, I was second-guessing everything.

On Christmas Eve, at 10:30 p.m., my mind scrambled in a haze of last-minute present wrapping, I decided there was no way I could give her Apron A. So I set out to make another.

I had a yard of fabric in a festive print. I had red linen. I quickly cut out an apron, using another I had as a pattern. I cut straps, including one very wide and long strap to go across the middle. I hemmed all the sides, made some straps, and voila, before you could say Merry Christmas, I had a new apron!

But wait!

So I gave it to her. She said she loved it. It was all fine. Except I put the sash on way too low, so it hit around the hips, and so the sides of the back hung in a sad droopy manner. I had stitched the strap right to the top of the apron, so I told her it would be no biggie for me to take it home and move it up higher. I was disappointed that it wasn't perfect, but hey, I still think I made the right call and made an apron more suited to her. And I could fix it.

And then. And THEN.

Do you feel the drama building?

If you're squeamish... Maybe you will want to skip this next photo. Because I am sure I am about to break all sorts of blogger rules in posting this photo.

What happened AND THEN is that I brought the apron home, and when all the holiday fun cooled down, I un-stitched that baby. And then the next morning I laid it out on the floor to pin the sash back on. The clock was ticking. She was coming to babysit soon.

I walked upstairs to get more coffee. And when I came back.... I saw this.

I won't enlarge it more than that, because ew, gross! Ladies and gentlemen, that's what it looks like when your cat decides your unfinished sewing project -- a project for your mother-in-law -- looks like a great place to barf.

My husband was all: "Just wash that spot off!" Oh darling. No. That sucker had to go in the wash. Which meant it wasn't done by 11:30, when she came over to babysit. Which meant it was another week before I'd see her again to have a chance to give her her apron.

So finally finally this week, I finished her up. And presented a fully finished, non-barfy, non-teeny-bopper apron to my mother-in-law. On Jan. 10! Only 16 days after Christmas!

I had to make my husband model after his wipe-the-barf-off-the-corner comment.

Hahaha.

Here it is on me, looking ladylike in my pajamas.

Moral of the story: don't leave your sewing projects near a barfy cat? Don't wait unitl 10:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve to attempt a sewing project that is actually a good fit for your recipient?

That's for you to decide. All I know is this: my mother-in-law seems pleased enough with her new apron (and yes, she knows about its sordid past) and bonus, my friend Evelyn was so taken with my first apron, she bought it from me! I am now contemplating what to make her to thank her. Irony! Whatever I decide, I'll try not to let my cat near it.

Linked at...

2012 resolutions

2012-01-04T09:04:00.000-05:00

From Etsy.com seller grey square.

I can go a little crazy with my New Year's resolutions. (I even used to have a blog about completing 20 of them!)

This year, I'm trying to keep it a bit more simple. The other day, I tweeted a short list of resolutions, and it covers the basics. I wrote: "2012 resolutions: Focus on gratitude. Make my kids laugh really hard every day. Run outside more. Take it slow. Create as much as possible."

When I say, "Create as much as possible," I mean a few things. Sewing, of course! Taking photos I love. Writing. And whatever else inspires me.... Embroidery? Yes, I think embroidery, too. I'd like to do more of that in 2012.

From my Pinterest page, original source here.

When it comes to the sewing part, there are a few other bullet points to note. I want to work on my skills. Hone the ones I have and add some new ones. I'd like to take some sort of class (whether online or in person). I'd like to have at least one sewing lock-down day or weekend with a friend, where we hang out together with our sewing machines. (Hint hint, Jen.) I'd like to try new types of projects, which shouldn't be a problem with me. Yup, I have 77 projects on my Pinterest board!

Mini quilt by Jeni at In Color Order.

And maybe one of the new things I try would be a quilt. Even just a small, mini quilt. Come on, Krista! Quilts aren't that scary! And I'd like to try sewing more with fabrics besides quilting cotton, especially knits for myself.

Inspiring sewing space. Originally found here.

Finally, I'd also like to make my sewing nook a more inspiring place. It's sort of a wild mess most of the time, and it could use more art work or sources of inspiration. So that's something to work on.

But the biggest thing, bigger than the individual sewing desires, is the gratitude. I want to bask in the gratitude this year. It's easy to get away from it. To think about what I don't have. To wish for grander things. It's a bad habit, and I want to be much more mindful of it this year. I'm going to start a gratitude journal. A place to write down my thanks, because writing things down always helps. And I'm open to any advice you have on how you stay thankful and away from negative comparisons.

Do you make resolutions? What are your resolutions, and especially what are those that will shape your creative life this year?

2012 Sewing Inspiration

2012-01-03T09:30:00.000-05:00

I trekked to the book store yesterday to return a book I received for Christmas. I hightailed it right to the sewing books, pulled five or six off the shelves and sat in a chair for 30 minutes thumbing through them, trying to decide which one to buy. They all had great looking projects in them; how I wish I had $100 or more to just drop on new sewing books. But I finally decided on this one:

1-2-3 Sew, by Ellen Luckett Baker of the great blog The Long Thread. I like the progression of projects and the way they help you build your skills. I could use some work on my skills. There are a few projects inside I'm particularly excited about.

The Circle Floor pillow, Pleated Satchel, Yo-yo Scarf and Initial Blanket are tops on my list. Aren't these all so cute? And each project would expand on my skills since I've never done reverse applique, a heavily pleated projects, any fabric yo-yos or even a basic blanket stitch. I have lots to learn!

Did you get a new source of sewing inspiration over the holidays? There are so many great books out there, do share which one is topping your list right now!

My 2011

2012-01-01T12:41:00.002-05:00

I know this is totally self-indulgant and get that probably no one wants to see this but me. But here it is anyway, my favorite moments of 2011. It was a truly fabulous year. I hope 2012 can top it!

Happy New Year everyone!

Last handmade gifts!

2011-12-31T09:40:00.000-05:00

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

2011-12-30T07:00:00.000-05:00

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!

2011-12-29T08:43:00.001-05:00

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

2011-12-18T09:35:00.001-05:00

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

2011-12-13T07:59:00.003-05:00

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!

2011-12-12T10:05:00.000-05:00

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

2011-12-09T09:18:00.002-05:00

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

2011-12-07T08:20:00.000-05:00

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.

2011-12-02T09:42:00.000-05:00

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!

Detroit Urban Craft Fair and kickoff to Handmade Ornament Event

2011-12-01T09:35:00.000-05:00

I'm so geeked for this weekend. It's a big weekend.

Why?

It's Detroit Urban Craft Fair weekend!

Also known as one of the reasons I fell in love with the handmade community. One of the biggest inspirations that led me to explore my own creative side and take up sewing. I owe a lot to this event, truly!

If you're in Detroit, you going? You should! There are 60 vendors and I swear, something at each and every table will strike your fancy. You'll be blown away at the collective creative energy and talent you see. And the friendliness. That too.

I'm extra excited this year, because I've turned my annual trek to the craft fair into a Day O'Detroit Shopping. My mom and aunt are coming with me. We're going to fit up many wonderful shopping places in downtown Detroit. The biggest problem will probably be remembering to buy for Christmas gifts and not just for me me me!

I really cannot wait. I'm going to take a lot of pictures this year and will recap the day o'shopping fun next week.

Also next week (on Friday, to be exact), I'll be sharing a handmade Christmas ornament tutorial over at the 12 Days of Handmade Ornaments event at Sew Woodsy. It kicks off today, so click on over there when you get a chance. The first ornament is up, and it's cute. And really easy, too.

My Christmas sewing wish list

2011-11-29T09:42:00.000-05:00

Did you have a nice holiday?

I did! Family time, some friend time, a little decorating and lots of eating.

Not much sewing, I'm sad to report. I have a super long list of items to make for Christmas, and I think the amount of work ahead of me is mentally holding me back. Where to start... where to start.

Hmmm.

Maybe with making my own Christmas sewing wish list?

Yes, why not?

I'd love to get a few new sewing books. Last year, I received the Martha Stewart Sewing and Craft Encyclopedia. It was awesome. And it was mine... for like two days. I somehow lost it, in my own home, immediately after Christmas. So sad! I've searched high and low, and nothing. I can't find it. So maybe one of these could take its place this year?

Dana from Made wrote a book all about fabric. It'd be a nice resource for a sewing library.

As would the Burda Style Sewing Handbook. I haven't made many articles of clothing for myself yet, but I want to learn how to do more.

Speaking of clothing.... I'd love to try a few patterns, but hate paying for them. (I'm cheap.) I like the Anna Tunic from Amy Butler.

And I still love the Collette Macaron dress pattern. Still afraid of it, too!

Of course, for all these projects, I'll need new fabric. I'd love the full Echo collection. Who wouldn't, right?

And I love so many of the prints in the Amy Butler Lark collection, too.

I really need some basic tools. It might seem silly. But I don't have things like.... a loop turner. Or more bobbins! I have two bobbins. Silly, right?

Really, I think almost any gift that includes something that supports my sewing obsession would be delightful. Anything that says.... "Sure honey, go ahead and sew the day away." That'd be all right with me.

What would you love to get under the Christmas tree for your sewing habit?

Thankful

2011-11-24T13:29:00.000-05:00

If you need a Thanskgiving-y dessert for anytime soon.... try this one. Paula Deen's Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle. Oh boooooooy. So good!

I am so thankful today, For online recipe Web sites. And Paula Deen.

Oh, and for online fabric stores. Those too! Look what came in the mail yesterday.

New fabric! Mostly for Christmas presents.Yay!

Thankful for all the pretty fabric, and all the awesome inspiration in the online sewing community.

Oh and for these two snotty-nosed friends of mine, too.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Baby blanket for Rhonda

2011-11-22T08:42:00.000-05:00

I made my cousin this blanket and gave it to her at her baby shower last weekend. She's due to have a baby on Jan. 31 -- the day JJ was born last year! I'm hoping the second cousins can share a birthday. Wouldn't that be fun?

I used a tutorial from the book Simple Sewing for Baby as my inspiration, but didn't make the pocket. It's meant to be a play quilt for the floor, and it could be used as that for sure. But look how perfectly it fits in a crib, too! (And although I use sleep sacks for six months or so, here's my dirty little secret -- we're totally using a blanket in the crib these days. Shhhh. I think it is OK.) The front fabrics mostly came from an Erin McMorris fat quarter bundle, from the line Summersault. Aren't they happy? I mixed in a solid green from a sheet I thrifted as well as that green-and-pink dot fabric, which I had in my stash and matched really well.

The back is minky.

I thought it turned out well, but the next baby shower, I won't gift a blanket again. I think my cousin literally received 20 blankets from a shower with 23 people at it. There were at least four other handmade blankets. Ug! And mine was opened last. So that was it for me and baby blankets, unless someone asks for one. There are so many cute ideas out there for baby gifts, for really practical things... Changing pad, diaper and wipe holders, bibs, snugglers, etc. I'm sticking to those from now on!

Announcements and what have yous

2011-11-16T15:48:00.002-05:00

I was really excited to see how many others are loving the vintage sheet trend. Always nice to know you're not alone. I'm definitely going to be sewing with my sheets in the near future. So stay tuned for that!

OK, two quick announcements. I joined Google+ yesterday. Is anyone actually using this social network? Seems like, mostly, no. But I had training at work and was encouraged (ahem) to join, so I'm there. If you're on there, leave me a note and I'll add you to my circles. Or whatever the lingo is. :)

And finally! Guess what? I'm taking part in a fun event in December. Katie from the blog Sew Woodsy is having a 12 Days of Christmas handmade ornament event and asked me to participate. Today she announced the event and the full line up of bloggers. I'd really honored to be included and will be checking out all the other participants' blogs soon! Look for all the handmade ornament goodness starting on Dec. 1. Yeehaw!

And because every post needs a good photo or two.... Check out these finds from an antique store I was in last week or so. I didn't get anything -- not the fabric or the vintage buttons. Mistake?!?

I seriously might go back for the fabric. If only the antique store wasn't a good 45 minutes away....

My newest obsession: Vintage sheets

2011-11-14T07:48:00.001-05:00

I'm becoming a bit obsessed. With what you see above. Fun, colorful vintage sheets. I first bought one in the spring, to make the spring wreath from In Color Order. I made the wreath, loved it, and then used some of the remaining sheet to make a spring skirt.

Jen's blog, by the way, is almost solely to blame for my obsession. Every week or so, Jeni will post a photo of the new sheets she has rounded up to sell in her etsy shop. Every week, I marvel at how awesome her finds are. I started to wonder whether the same awesome sheets lurked in thrift stores near me. Huge pieces of cute fabric for one or two dollars? Then I read her guide to finding the sheets. The desire to conduct a hunt of my own grew. Even though I have no real reason for it. She's got a shop to stock. I have nothing so practical. But I was a goner. I wanted those sheets.

So my hunt has begun. It's really not very hard to find them. And they make me so happy. It's absurd, really. This one above is my favorite find so far. Scroll back to the very top and you can see a bunch I found this week in one Salvation Army.

I've been rounded up projects on Pinterest that use vintage sheets. I get that you can replace any standard fabric in whatever project you want with a vintage sheet. But I like seeing the projects that are made with these gems in mind. It's my favorite pin board right now. Here are some of the standouts.

1.Mobile 2. Market tote 3. Snap pouch. 4. Bunting. 5. Vintage sheet quilt. 6. Owl Pillow

Are you feeling inspired yet? Have you crafted with vintage sheets? And how much luck do you have when hunting for them in your local thrift shops?

Linking at...

Simplicity 2226, all done!

2011-11-12T11:53:00.004-05:00

Here's my Simplicity skirt, all done!

So glad to have the Sew Along for this. It helped me have the confidence to tackle a "real" pattern pattern. Thanks, Anna!

And the finished result makes me so proud. It really is a garment. And I made it. Hard to believe!

Still need to insert the hook and eye closure. Other than that, she's all done!

Next time.... I'll make a smaller size. According to the package, I should have been a size 16. I made a size 14. In real life, I wear a 6 or 8. The skirt isn't falling off, but it isn't sitting as high as it should. Not as flattering as it could be. Next time, I'll try a 12.

That's it. Have a great weekend!

Linked up at...

Skirt update and a fabric question

2011-11-10T21:51:00.000-05:00

What do you think of this fabric? It was in the remnant bin at Haberman's and I snatched it up for less than $10 for a 1 2/3 yards. I thought at the store that it might also make a good Simplicity 2666 skirt. Now that I have the fabric home, I'm not so sure. I'm even thinking.... is this fugly and I'm just really tired? I keep squinting and cocking my head. I don't know. What do you think? Cute skirt? Or would be better as maybe some sort of scarf?

I fought my way through the zipper today. Well, actually first I undid some stitching from yesterday where I'd made a mistake. Then I bumbled my way through the zipper instructions. This photo above is actually when I thought I was done. I was not. I stitched up the wrong side, on the right of the zipper. I figured this out later and re-did it. Now it's looking better. It's a zipper -- that zips! Magical! Can't wait to finish the skirt up tomorrow! My only worry: thinking it's just a tad too big. Bummer, right?

Simplicity Sew Along progress

2011-11-09T14:14:00.000-05:00

I am on a sewing high at the moment. Just finished Day 3 of the Simplicity 2226 Sew Along, hosted over on Noodlehead. My skirt is looking, dare I say, pretty polished so far. Did my first ever French seam, and I'm sold. That's a really nice seam. I love how professional it looks without all the dang threads everywhere inside the garment. I can't wait to have it all finished. I'll be wearing it to work next week, I hope.

Here's a sneak peak (from my camera phone, not the best):

Just wanted to pop in with that!

Oh and: Also to say thank you to those who left comments on my question about whether you like reading the personal bits on the blogs you follow. I've thought about it some more and my conclusion is this: a blog belongs to its author and it's a reflection of that author, and I'm not into absolute formulas that say "yes" it's OK to do this on your blog or "no" it's not OK to do that. This place has to be what I want it to be. It's got to be authentically "me." The blogs I really love do give me a glimpse of the writer's life beyond their craftiness. I like a nice mix. Anyway, whatever moment of insecurity I was having seems to have passed. I'm just going to do what feels right here from now on and not worry too much about it. Sound good?

Saturday ramblings and more sew alongs

2011-11-05T09:26:00.000-04:00

I'm been so focused here on the Henry Shirt sew along that I feel a backlog of things I want to share. So prepare for a very random post!

I'll at least start on topic. There are a few more sew alongs happening in the next few weeks that I want to take part in. And maybe you do, too!

Over at Noode-head, the lovely Anna is hosting a sew along for Simplicity pattern 2226. It's a basic skirt, with a zipper. I am really excited to give it a whirl. Her sew along series begins Monday!

I've been watching from afar the sew along for the book Little Things to Sew over on A Little Gray. I want to jump into the fray this month! The pick for November is this adorable puppet theatre. I want to make it for Luke for Christmas. This is a month-long sew-along, so it's leisurely. Isn't that theatre adorable?

Finally, Marigold over on Hideous, Dreadful, Stinky is doing a sew along this month for colorful coats or cardigans. No specific pattern. The idea is to sew along together but interpret that theme however you choose. Basically, make something to keep you warn this winter that isn't boring grey or black or brown. You can refashion something, too, which is what I think I might do.

All fun ideas, right? I already have my fabric and pattern for Anna's. I'll show you on Monday!

What else have I been up to?

JJ turned 9 months old on Halloween. This is such a wonderful age. Love him.

We went to the cider mill two weeks ago. Old news, I know. But it is one of my favorite things about the fall. I must share. We went to Yates Cider Mill, which we also hit up when Luke was a baby. I am finding it astonishing that three years have passed between those two photos.

The other big thing happening around here is I'm starting my new work schedule tomorrow. I'll be working Sundays from now on. It will be an adjustment, but there are a lot of pros to my new schedule and my new job. Things are looking up.

Other than that.... I miss my friend Kim.

I thought about doing a whole posts about some of this personal stuff, but it's tough. This is a sewing blog, right? I've read some posts recently about what people hate about other people's blogs, and it makes me second guess myself. I don't like it because the truth is this is my space, my creative outlet, and my virtual scrapbook of my sewing life -- but also the rest of it. I shoudln't second guess myself. If you blog, do you struggle with this? How much do you deviate from whatever the "thing' your blog is about and into your personal life? And if you're just a reader, how much do you want to know about my personal life or other bloggers you follow? Do you get annoyed at personal posts and think, can we just talk about sewing/crafting/whatever? Be honest.

One more Henry Shirt post: Pictures and resources

2011-11-04T08:58:00.000-04:00

There it is! My Henry Shirt in action. Isn't it cute? I really do love it. I'm so thankful for this Sew Along because I don't know I would have tackled this project without it.

Two notes about those photos: isn't that dogwood a wonderful red? I love it in the fall. And yes, my kid is wearing his pants backward. You're not crazy.

Back to the Sew Along wrap-up: I learned so much. I know next time the results will be even better. I want to jot down a quick list, for my reference and anyone else's. Here are some things I would do differently next time:

Take more time cutting. I think my cutting was not 100% as accurate as it could be.
Use 3/8 inch -- or maybe even 1/2 inch -- seams. This is because I make such skinny little children. (Like, my 3-year-old weighs less than 30 pounds.) The shirt doesn't fit too badly honestly, but a slimmer cut would work well, too.
Try a fabric besides cotton. I love cotton for the ease in sewing and the fabulous patterns and for being the fabric I'm most comfortable working with. But I think it might be good to try a different textile for this shirt, especially for the main body pieces.
I'd follow Leila's lead and cut the shirt a little longer. I believe she did that by adding two inches or so to the main front panels, the side panels and the back. This would help not just to lengthen the shirt but to make my hemming issue a non-issue.
I'd add some top-stitching to the pockets and the collar.
I'd like to try buttons next time, if only because these snaps just aren't working for me! (And I realize the issue there is probably me.) After I took these photos, they all basically popped off.
My collar skills need work. This one is a little messy.

If you want to make your own shirt and follow along with this Sew Along at some later point, here are all the posts you need.

Day 1: Preparing your fabric and getting ready. Krista /Leila
Day 2: Cutting. Krista//Leila
Day 3: Preparing to sew. Krista ///// Leila
Day 4: Assembling the shirt body. Krista/Leila
Day 5: Assembling and attaching the yoke and sleeves. Krista/Leila
Day 6: Assembling and attaching the collar.. Krista/Leila
Day 7: Finishing touches(snaps and hem) and reveal. Krista / Leila

Also, here are a few links to some other relevant Web sites and resources.

Sewing for Boys: Official Web site
One Girl Circus: Blog of book author Karen LePage
Patterns by Figgy
Sewing for Boys Flickr Group

That's it! Thanks to anyone who followed along. :) I can't wait to try something else from this book. What should we do next?!

Henry Shirt Sew-Along - Day Seven, We're done!

2011-11-03T12:54:00.000-04:00

There it is! My finished Henry Shirt!

I'm quite proud of myself, and very happy to see this bright little shirt. It is far from perfect. The hem doesn't match in the front, and the collar can be a little wonky. The snaps keep popping off. But you know what? It's the most advanced garment I have ever sewn by far, and I think it turned out pretty well considering that. What a cute little pattern.

I have more to say about this, but this morning has been packed and busy and I don't have time now. I'll try to get some pictures of the kid wearing it and share more tomorrow, officially wrapping up the Sew Along. Thanks for much if you followed along here or on Leila's blog. See her finished shirt here! It looks so professional! Thanks, Leila, for pushing to get this sew along started! I would not have a finished shirt today without it!

Henry Shirt Sew-Along, Day Six

2011-11-02T10:00:00.001-04:00

Little known fact about me: I am terrible at finishing projects. Like, I very jazzed about the idea and the starting and say jazzed all the way up until I am about 90 percent of the way in. Then those last few steps somehow feel like torture. Tomorrow will be brutal. How will I ever possibly hem a shirt and put on some snaps without melting into a puddle on my floor?

But that's tomorrow. Today, we're still good. We're in the 90 percent. Occupy the Henry Shirt!

OK, I'm off my rocker right now. Let's get to it.

Today we form and attach the collar.

Start with a simple 3/8 inch press on the bottom of your outer collar piece. Make sure you've got the right bottom! I referred back to the pattern paper just to make sure.

When you line up the under collar to the main collar, you'll notice something. It's smaller! This was a scary moment for me, because I often cut things a little wonky. But in this case, the pieces are meant to be different, because you cut the under collar on the bias. Which is a fancy way of saying, this piece of fabric will stretch, and so it is OK that it is a tad smaller.

Here they are with one side sewn together. See? Stretchy!

I should have said this earlier in this process, but a good iron and a lot of pressing is so helpful. You've got to iron the hell out of all your seams after each step of the process to make things really lay properly. It's a life-saver! I especially went wild with my iron after this step above, where I sewed the two short ends together.

Then you attach the collar to lining to the shirt, leaving the main piece floating free. That gets sewn together first.

And that's the last good photo I have of the process!

You'll flip the collar over and line that folded edge up, covering the unsightly seam bits on the inside of the shirt. Then you edge-stitch it down.

And then look at that....

Your shirt is really now a shirt!

Check out my Sew-Along partner Leila's nearly finished project on her blog, Bilingual Baby. We're almost done, which means I must summon all my will-power to not rest happy with what I've done so far. Cause I'm really happy with that. Like, I just want to put the shirt under my pillow for safe-keeping. But I won't. I'll finish it, I promise. Check back tomorrow to see!

Henry Shirt Sew-Along, Day Five -- here she goes

2011-11-01T21:37:00.000-04:00

Day Five, Henry Shirt Sew Along. This was a tough day for me! Tough but ultimately really satisfying, because everything works out. And by the end of this, your shirt is really allllmost a shirt. Miracle of mircales!

The agenda today is sewing together the yoke and sleeves. Ladies and gentlemen, can I say, until this day a "yoke" to me was always the pretty yellow inside part of an egg. Apparently, it also is what you call the upper back (and front?) part of a shirt, the part that connects the two sleeves. I figured that out a while ago, but I'd never sewn one before, and I'm just throwing it out there for anyone who is nearly as clueless as me. You're welcome.

So yoke and sleeves. I took many photos of the various steps (Steps 14 through 25 in the rad book Sewing for Boys) but the problem is this: I made a major mistake in this sewing round. I misread the diagram that shows how to pin and sew the yoke pieces to the bod. I actually misread the directions as well. My problem was I stopped stitching things together when I hit the seam on the underside of the arm.

Let me show you.

SEE?!?! This is where I stopped, leaving my front panels flapping in the breeze.

I don't know why I didn't get this. When rereading, I see that the diagram is really very clear, as are the directions. I guess it just comes down to never having made a garment like this, and to sewing at night or with kids running around. Distracted and clueless -- this is the result!

It wouldn't have been such a big deal, but I moved forward and stitched my arm holes together.

Then I took these photos, all proud of myself.

But yeah, the yoke front is still not attached. I thought that was happening at the same time that the collar would be sewn on.

It wasn't until I started work on that that I realized DUH I was supposed to stitch the whole yoke together. HAHAHA! And I could no longer turn the shirt inside-out properly, because I'd closed up the arm holes.

Thank God for ye old seam ripper, my truest of true friends.

Ah, there. That's better.

Come back tomorrow when we'll attach the collar. And things don't go nearly as wrong there as you'd expect after this!

Don't forget to check in on Leila at Bilingual Baby. Her shirt is looking killer!

Henry Shirt Sew-Along, Day Five -- not quite yet

2011-10-31T23:33:00.000-04:00

Oooooo boy. Today is supposed to be my post for Day Five of the Henry Shirt Sew Along... And it's not ready! Halloween mostly is what did me in. I am done with the sewing for Day Five, which includes attaching the yoke and sleeve. But I did have a rather major issue this time. Everything was going so well, and then I misread one diagram and I had to backtrack and undo some stitching. In the end, it all worked out, but it put me behind a bit. But eh, that's life, right??

Check out Leila's blog for her progress, or hey, start at the beginning and catch up and join us! Or check back tonight. I'll be back then with my full report on Day Five!

Henry Shirt Sew-Along, Day four

2011-10-31T08:55:00.001-04:00

Today the shirt really starts to come together. Exciting! So let's dive in, shall we? We're doing the section of the Henry Shirt from the book Sewing for Boys titled, "Assembling the Shirt Body," steps 9 to 13.

I think a lot of the sewing today is what elevates this project to "advanced" status. At least, that's my guess, because there are a few curved seams. Curved seams can seem very confounding when you're trying them for the first time.

You'll line your pattern pieces up to see how they'll fit together like this.

But then when you flip to put them right-sides together, the way they'll be when you stitch them together, you find this:

They don't line up anymore, of course, since the curved parts are going different ways.

Sewing them together really feels a little like magic. It just takes some practice. This is the tutorial I used when I learned. You can also Google if you need more help and you'll find more tutorials and even YouTube videos that walk you through it. Bottom line, it's really not that hard.

There's a good diagram in the book and the authors advise not to over pin. That's good advice. Just a few pins will do it. Start from the top point and let the fabric roll and curve a bit as you maneuver the fabric together.

Then stitch it together slowly, smoothing out little bubbles that form. They'll stay bubbly away from the seam area, but there, where it goes through the presser foot, it should be nice and smooth.

You'll do this four times, attaching the sides to the front and back panels.

The instructions each time say to then "finish the seam allowance." I actually skipped right over it the first time around and top-stitched my seam down without finishing. I think those four words are easy to miss! But what it's saying is to be sure to first finish the seam allowance by either sergering, cutting with pinking shears, or doing what I did -- using a zig-zag stitch. This ensures the fabric won't unravel when you wash and wear the shirt!

There's my finished seam.

I made one other mistake, too! It came when it was time to attach a closure strip.

First you line it up, right sides together, and pin. And stitch this edge together.

Then you sort of re-press it into place, with the crease down the middle and the other long-end ironed under a quarter inch.

I didn't do a great job of accurately pressing this the first time around. You want it so when folded in place, the fabric under the shirt just crosses over the edge of the front of the closure strip. Because when you edgestitch it in place, you want to just grab all layers of the strip.

The first time, I didn't. I missed some of the places where it was folded under. See? That wasn't going to do.

So out came my very best friend, my seam ripper! Not a big deal. It happens, right? Just rip the seam out slowly and carefully so you don't accidentally cut a hole in your fabric.

I did this, re-ironed and made sure everything was better lined up.

And that was it!

You can really see the shirt starting to come together. Isn't it fun?? My only worry right now is that it is a little boxy. My guy is SO skinny. I would not know where to begin to make it skinnier, and I wonder whether I have been using the wrong seam allowances. I'm careless at time with my seam allowances, figuring as long as I keep them all standard, it's fine. But I think I've been using 1/4 inch, not 3/8 inch. That would have helped to make things a little tighter, eh?

Be sure to check in on Leila and see how things are going for her shirt.

And if you're sewing along, please be sure to leave us a comment! We'd love to hear how things are going for you.

Oh and Happy Halloween, from my little matador and bull!

Henry Shirt Sew-Along, Day Three

2011-10-30T11:49:00.000-04:00

Anyone out there sewing along with Leila and I? (We're making the Henry Shirt from the book Sewing for Boys.) I'd love to hear from you! Or, if you come across this at a later date, I'd love to hear that, too.

Onto day three!

Today is all about getting prepared for the major sewing. It's the section titled "Prepare the details" and includes steps No. 1-8.

If you do this section with a sense of focus, it shouldn't take long at all. If you do it like me -- while drinking wine, watching reruns of Sex and the City and Seinfeld, and using a needle meant for knits for quite a while before realizing that's why your thread keeps going all bonkers -- than, yeah, it might take a bit longer.

First on the list is ironing on your fusible interfacing. I used a Pellon light-weight fusible web found everywhere. Follow the instructions. Easy peasy.

First you iron it to the closure strips.

Which you will then iron in half length-wise with wrong sides together. Then unfold and iron the non-interfaced length down, wrong sides together, a quarter inch. I had to be really mindful of that quarter inch, because if you have ever made your own bias tape, the instinct is to fold it all the way to the crease and then iron. Nope! Just a quarter inch.

Then you iron it onto the back of the upper collar.

Next, you're going to make an inverted box pleat on the back. This is where I got nervous and re-read the instructions 25 times. Because "inverted box pleat" is not something I do every day. First, I put the markings on my fabric. You can do this during the cutting stage, but I often do it like this. Once my fabric is cut, I lay it right on top of the pattern paper and use a water-erasing marker, folding the fabric down to make the line line up. Does that make sense?

Here you can see the full box where the pleat will form drawn on.

Next, following the diagram in the book, I pinched the fabric together, bringing the two sides of the box together. With right sides together.

Then I sort of flattened it down.

I flipped the fabric over to see how it was looking on the right side. This matched the diagram in the book fairly well, so I am hoping I got it right. Gulp!

I pinned it and pressed it.

Then put a few basting stitches (a stitch set to your longest stitch-length with no back sewing at the beginning or end) across the top and down two inches into the pleat.

So it looks like this. And I hope that's right!

Moving on, you'll press the pockets to form the top (make sure you have your fabric going the right direction if that's an issue for you!) Then you'll sew the bottom edge, right sides together.

Finally, you'll add the pockets to the side panels. One note: the instructions don't call for a top-stitch along the top of the pockets. I didn't add one, but I think it might look nice if you did! The pockets first get basted along the sides (stay inside the seam allowance!)

Then the bottom is edge-stitched in place. Edge stitching is just what it sounds like -- stitching that runs right along the edge.

And that's it for today!

Hope you're having fun! The shirt is really going to come together in the next day or two. Exciting, isn't it?

Henry Shirt Sew Along, Day Two: Cutting

2011-10-29T09:03:00.002-04:00

Yesterday we started our Sew Along by talking about what fabric we're using and looking ahead at the week.

Today, we cut.

Cutting is not my favorite step of the sewing process. OK, that's probably true for 90% of sewists. But yes, like most, I dread the cutting and wish I could get right to the sewing.

I will say though, that if you know ahead of time that all you are going to do is cut, that the sewing won't begin until the next day, it makes the chore of cutting less offensive. You know you're not sewing today anyway. You're just getting things ready. And it's one part of the sewing process I find you can do with kids running around. When I sit at the sewing machine, suddenly the kids need me for 45 things, and I feel guilty if I'm not being attentive to them. But when I cut, they just play around me. Not so bad!

Keeping it real! Here's the mess that is my dining room when I'm cutting fabric.

Or they sit in their highchairs and smash peas into their face.

OK, brief cute-baby interruption over. Back to cutting!

For the Henry Shirt, you'll be cutting out 14 pieces from your two fabrics and a few pieces of interfacing. The nice thing about Sewing for Boys is that all the pattern pieces you need for a project come on one piece of paper, and everything is spread out. No crazy overlapping pattern lines or searching for the other parts of the pattern, like I've seen in some books.

Unless you are using the biggest size and will never need a smaller one AND you don't care to ever use the pattern on the back, you'll need to trace the pattern pieces and cut them out of something else.

There are official tracing papers out there, but I tend to use what I have on hand. Freezer paper is a good choice, because you can iron it right onto your fabric and then peel it off. I have also used tissue paper in the past. This day, I had neither on hand, so I used the thing I had handy -- wax paper.

I traced the pieces onto the wax paper, labeled them with all of the notes from the pattern and cut them out. Then you lay it on the fabric and pin and either cut or trace with an air erasing marker. (Or if you're like me, just use the wrong side and faintly trace in pen.)

I so did not have enough of this plaid! But the solution, I think, will be easy enough. I'll make the sleeves/yoke part that will go inside the sleeve out of the white fabric. (Or maybe something different, I might change that up.)

One thing to note: be sure to pay attention to what pieces need to be cut on the bias. If you mark the arrows down from the pattern onto your pieces, you'll be able to find the right way to lay them out very easily. And won't forget!

Also be sure to pay attention to the direction of your fabric, if it has one. Both my plaid and the robots have a direction. So I had to make sure that my pieces would match.

And last thing to remember! For the front pieces, be sure to cut one and then flip the pattern over to cut the other. Or fold the fabric right sides together and cut two, so they'll be mirror images.

Another way to trace your fabric is to use drawing paper. This is a large roll of drawing paper from Ikea. It's barely transparent, but if you smooth the paper down in a sunny room, you'll be able to see through it. This creates sturdy, durable pattern pieces you'll be able to use over and over.

My customer approves.

Here are all my pieces cut and ready to go (except for those white inner sleeve parts.)

Can't wait to get sewing tomorrow!

Don't forget to drop a link in the comments if you are participating so we can come and visit. And check out Leila's take on cutting at her blog, Bilingual Baby!

Day one: Henry Shirt Sew Along!

2011-10-28T08:28:00.003-04:00

Welcome to the Henry Shirt Sew Along! Through the next week, Leila from the blog Bilingual Baby and I will be slowly but surely sewing together the cute Henry Shirt from the new book Sewing for Boys. We've split the work up into very manageable segments, so you should be able to sew along with us if you have an hour to spare each night. (Or for advanced sewers, probably far less!)

Are you ready to get started?

Today we're just going to talk about the patten and our fabric choices. Tomorrow, we'll cut the fabric. So you want to get it ready today -- meaning, prewashed and ironed.

Leila and I are both making the size 2/3 shirt, which calls for about a yard of fabric in two contrasting colors or patterns. The book says it recommends a variety of fabric, including quilting cotton.

Here's what I've decided to work with:

What's that? Oh yes, you're right. These are actually three fabrics! Well, let me explain. The first fabric I decided to work with was this baby-blue robot print organic cotton from Robert Kaufman. (Full name is Caleb Gray Robot Factory Mini Robots Blue.) I ordered it from Pink Chalk Fabrics.

Aren't the little robots cute? It's a really nice soft cotton.

Finding a coordinating fabric became an issue though. I had nothing in my stash that worked, and a trip to the local quilt shop, usually overflowing with stuff I want to buy, was totally fruitless. The blue is a hard blue to match. But then, I remembered this Joel Dewberry plaid I used in Luke's sun hat!

Same blue! I paired them together, and really loved it. The robot print reads almost like a solid from far away, so I don't think it will be "too much."

The only issue was that I had only maybe half a yard of the plaid left. Maybe less.

My hope is that I can find a way to make it work by using a plain white cotton in some places. I am thinking under the collar and inside the sleeve, and perhaps for the snap strip that goes up the front. I hope the plaid will be plentiful enough to be used for the man contrasting bits -- the side panels. We'll see. I'm also a bit nervous because if you look at the book photo, the Henry Shirt there has the louder pattern as the main and a solid one for the contrasting parts. I'll be working it opposite of that. But I think it could work and am willing to give it a try.

What else to do today? Gather the other materials -- five snaps or buttons, some light-weight interfacing and the usual thread, etc. You'll need to know what size you're planning to make. My 3-year-old is way on the small side, so I am going with the smallest size.

I've also read through the instructions once, but today I'll do so again. You know what word in this project scares me? The one right at the top of the first page -- "advanced." I hope I didn't bite off more than I can chew! The thing that worries me is that perhaps instructions that might seem obvious to the advanced sewist might not be so obvious to me, an intermediate one. It's different in a book, where there is limited room for words and photos, versus an online tutorial, that can go on forever. But that's why we're in this together, right? So when he hit those snags, we can work through it with a little help from our friends.

On that note, if you're planning to sew along with us, please drop a comment in here or on Leila's blog! We'll be sure to come and visit you, and at the end of this week, we'll have a Link Party to see everyone's creations. I'll be tweeting out links to various participants as well, and I'd love to feature a nice round-up of Henry Shirts at the end of the week!

If you're participating, tell me, have you ever sewn anything this advanced before?

Linked at...

Henry Shirt Sew Along starting Friday!

2011-10-25T21:41:00.001-04:00

Are you joining in the Henry Shirt Sew Along that's coming later this week? I hope so! Here are some details to get you prepared.

Leila from the blog Bilingual Baby and I will be tackling The Henry Shirt from the recently published book Sewing for Boys, starting on Friday! There's still time to join us. The book is available on Amazon.com, and it has great reviews, beautiful photos and many, many unique and detailed projects for a little boy's wardrobe. Plus, one of the authors is a metro Detroiter, so I gotta put that out there.

Order the book, grab a couple yards of coordinating fabric, a little interfacing, and some snaps. Then you'll be good to go. Here's the (loose) schedule if you want to join! I'm going to do my best to stick with it, but you know how it is. Mommy life with a baby and a 3-year-old and a new position at work and a holiday next week -- there are all sorts of ways I could get off-track. But it's casual, right? Right.

Day 1: Getting started and talking fabric choices. Leila's also going to write about fit and adjusting for your child’s body. I will probably talk about how I'm intimidated. Yeah, I've never really sewn a nice, detailed garment for my kid before. It's going to be new for me.
Day 2: Cutting
Day 3: Prepping details and any catch-up.
Day 4: Assemble the body.
Day 5: Attach yoke and sleeves.
Day 6: Collar
Day 7: Finishing! And showing off your final shirt!

See? Very doable! I think you'd be able to participate if you have an hour to spare a day, and some days likely much less. So please join us! We'll have a link party ready to go for Friday where you can drop a link to your blog or flickr page if you're participating.

Anyone in?

Matador costume hits the Halloween party circuit

2011-10-23T21:51:00.000-04:00

We went to a big old party for kids with congenital heart defects on Saturday. It was quite the shebang.

That was just the dessert and decor. There was also a lunch buffet, a DJ and dance floor and a spooky trick-or-treat trail.

It was such a nice party, and totally free, put on by Hearts of Hope Michigan for its members. And of course, it meant our first run-through in the Halloween costume. Introducing, el Matador Luke!

Witness: the ribbon ripping out of his cape within the first hour of the party. I guess it's back to the sewing table with that one!

The costume came from a book called Cute and Easy Halloween Costumes for Kids. I snagged it from Border's going-out-of-business sale for $11. It was magic: I pulled it off the shelf and flipped it open and landed on the matador page. We'd been planning on having Luke be a matador since the spring -- and there was a blueprint for me! Magic!

Most of the work went into this little bedazzled vest. I had some major issues with it, mostly due to rushing. I didn't take my time measuring and cutting correctly. That's always a really stupid thing to do. When I started to put the vest together, it was too short and funky, things weren't lining up. I added length to it, and that's why the rick-rack doesn't go all the way to the bottom.

But it works, right? I had to add "Ole" to the back, just for fun.

A felt hat and tie -- super easy -- were the only other pieces I made. Well, and the satin cape. The black leggings and pink socks came from a Mom2Mom sale. Did you know matadors wear pink socks? They do! I'm sure everyone looks at his costumes and wonders why our little boy is wearing pink socks, but you have to be authentic as possible about these things.

This little guy? I'm not done with his costume. He'll be the bull, eventually. This weekend, he was a hot-dog. A hand-me-down from Luke.

I really want to eat this hotdog right up.

I guess I'll still make his bull costume. Because it'll make more sense when it's a matador and a bull, rather than a matador and his friend, the hotdog. Right?

My new love: my scarflette

2011-10-21T23:08:00.002-04:00

What's a scarflette you ask?

Yeah, it's just some word I made up.

Kinda cheesey. I know.

But I love my little scarflette, which is, as you guessed, a shorter, sassier version of the plain old scarf. One that just crosses around your neck. You really need some sort of closure for this.... I didn't add one myself, but might go back and add velcro. For now, I just pin it from underneath, which is fine, because it is so cute and cozy that I typically want to leave it there all day.

Ir's still comforting and warm, but not as bulky as a long scarf. Don't get me wrong, I love long scarves, too. But I thought this could be a nice change of pace.

I had some fun making this little fabric flower. Every time I make a fabric flower, I hear Michael Kors complaining about things looking like craft projects on Project Runway. But whatever, I'm not on Project Runway, I'm not trying to make Fashion, and this is indeed a craft project. So fabric flowers it is. Mine is made of fabric and felt scraps and is stitched in place.

I have had this splattery-grey, mensware-looking fabric in my stash for more than a year. I picked it up at Arts and Scraps. I don't know what kind of fabric it is, but it had a bit of stretch in it. Then I picked up the old-man, red-and-black plaid flannel from the remnant bin at Jo-Ann's. I got home and decided they were destined to go together.

Altogether the fabric for this little project probably cost me about three bucks, at most. Yay. Love that.

We had a really glorious early October, with many days in the 70s. Well, those days are gone. Now, it's blustery, gray and chilly.

Why yes.... it's scarflette weather.

I'm going to enter this in the Stitched in Color, Celebrate Color contest. Fun times!

Also linked up at....

Sewing for Boys Sew Alongs!

2011-10-18T08:06:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, I ran a 5K, one I do each year as a fundraiser for the hospital that performed my son's open-heart surgery. It's a big day.

It was bigger this year. Because it coincided with an indie craft fair! I was in things-I-love-about-life heaven. I dragged my husband there, me still wearing my sweaty running clothes -- except I took my tights off and put on a skirt. So I was really wearing a sweaty tank, two different colored sports bras, a flowy skirt and wait for it..... tennis shoes! Kind of embarrassing to look at cute artist wares looking like that sort of hot mess.

And of course, I happened to meet cool people. Of course.

First I met Emily from the blog EmmmyLizzzie! She was wandering outside waiting to go in; so were we. She noticed my 241 tote, and KNEW it was a 241 tote. Then she said, "I love Heather Ross fabric!" And that's when I was like, wow, she is my people. Then I was blown away to realize I recognized HER bag, the Showoff Bag from Made by Rae. Not just any bag -- this one! Because she was a pattern tester. I am such a sewing nerd, that this was like meeting a movie star or something. Her bag was famous!

We proceeded inside and I dragged my husband through three floors of cuteness. I really wanted many things, but wow, shopping with your ahem frugal husband really puts a damper on things. But there was one thing I just had to get -- the Sewing for Boys book by Karen LePage and Shelly Figueroa. I'd wanted it anyway and was thinking of asking for it for Christmas, but then I had my second total-sewing-nerd moment when I realized Karen was there, selling the books herself! How much cooler is it to buy the book from the author, talk to her about it and thumb through the rack of clothes she's selling from the book than to buy it from Amazon.com? Um, so cool! And she signed it for me.

I will indeed keep rocking the crafty goodness, Karen!

All of this is the lead-up to this: Karen is hosting a sew-along from the book over on her blog, One Girl Circus. The Treasure Pants! (Anna just made them here.) I really want to take part but am unprepared. And staring down a Halloween-costume deadline. But I wanted to spread the word in case you didn't know!

And guess what else?

I will be co-hosting another sew along from the book next week! Leila from the blog Three Dresses and I decided over on Twitter to make The Henry Shirt. It's adorbs. (Here's one cute one I found via Google.) I have my fabric, the main fabric anyway. We're ready to go, but will wait for you to get ready to join us. The Sew Along should begin middle of next week! I have never attempted a shirt for my kids. I have never even made a button hole! But it's OK, we can figure it out together.

Care to join us?

Feeding my obsession

2011-10-15T20:42:00.000-04:00

I'm procrastinating from working on Halloween costumes. I made a good jump on Luke's this morning, and I should work on it tonight. He'll be wearing it a week from now to a party. Eek!! But, ug. I'm distracting myself instead. Where else? Pinterest!

Can I follow you? I want to add some new boards to my latest obsession. It's really been such a source of inspiration. I need more. Drop me a comment with your username, and I'll check out your board and see if we've got similar tastes.

Just for fun, in your comment, I'd love if you'd tell me one project on your boards that you're planning to make soon or one you've made recently.

Changes are coming

2011-10-12T12:01:00.000-04:00

I know I've blabbed on more than once here about how much my work set-up since returning to work has, well, worked for me. As moms, we're all looking for that mythical work-life balance, and I had seriously discovered it. Working part-time, almost all from home, doing things I loved to do. I could work hard all morning, yes, in my pajamas, drinking my favorite coffee out of my favorite mug. Then two seconds after my work was done for the day, I could wander downstairs and make my kids lunch. I even staved off most of the chore that is pumping, since I could grab the baby and nurse him while sitting at my computer, and then hand him back to Dada (or whichever other caretaker we had that day). Our childcare was totally free, and I didn't feel like I was asking too much of family, just one afternoon a week for each side, an amount they were happy to accept. I was feeling oh-so-lucky. I kept reminding myself to enjoy it why it lasted.

I'm glad I did.

Because it will be over by the end of this month.

Forces out of my control have led to me being reassigned at work. The job I was fulfilling is no longer needed, and it was the ONLY position for which my company offered the kind of flexibility I enjoyed. So by the end of the month, it will be back to commuting and being out of the house. As for what my job will actually be and whether it will be something I will enjoy, I don't know. I'm hopeful, but I don't know.

All of this is stressful. I am happy to be employed. It could be worse. But I'm also mourning the balance we've enjoyed. It's been wonderful in a way I couldn't have imagined. I feel seriously grief that it will be a memory come November.

I hope whatever comes, I'll still find time for sewing and creating, because it does feed my soul in a way I've decided I must have. It's funny, but this recent job news has made me more aware of how stress-reducing sewing is for me, and I wonder if that explains why it's become so important to me at this juncture of my life. Besides the stress of becoming a parent, we've had lots of job-related angst -- our company has had job cuts, furloughs, pay freezes, pay reductions, and heightened workloads for the last few years. The morale is bad. Good news has been minimal, and the outlook for the future is no better. It's been scary, negative, and stressful conditions for work. People sometimes ask how I can find time to sew, and thinking about it in this light makes me think the right response is really, How can I afford not to? Sewing -- and writing -- are my happy places, the things that keep my soul buoyed. Those things are essential, especially when stress creeps in.

I've said before that I will keep sewing and blogging despite schedule changes that make it tough. I suppose I'm saying that once again. I really probably don't need to. If you sew or create, you get it, right? Leave me a comment and tell me, I'd love to hear you take.

Easy DIY Halloween costume, take two

2011-10-11T10:30:00.000-04:00

Are you ready for the easiest DIY Halloween costume ever?

And dare I say, one of the cutest?

Here it is!

Charlie Brown!

This was Luke's costume when he was 1. I can't even remember him being this small. Crazy. But wasn't he a doll? Let me tell you, if you have a smallish boy, you should really consider Charlie Brown. It's just so nostalgic and cute. Tons of compliments will flow your way, believe me. And it's very simple.

Step one: find a yellow T-shirt. I got mine at a thrift store.

Step two: Use a Sharpie to draw a big zig-zag along the bottom of the shirt. Or if you want to be a little extra crafty, cut a zigzag out of felt and sew it on. I didn't know how to sew back then, so I took the easy route.

Step three: Use an eyebrow pencil to draw a curlicue on his forehead.

Step four: Pair this with dark pants, a football and whatever under-the-T layers you need to keep your kid warm.

Done!

Super fast, super cheap, super cute and memorable.

Handmade Halloween, no sewing required!

2011-10-08T09:36:00.002-04:00

The last two years, I've made Luke's Halloween costumes, and I really haven't sewn a thing. By strategically picking what he was going to be and then combing thrift and resale shops, I was able to make cute, unique costumes that didn't require much stitching at all.

Wanna see? First up, last year's costume.

Last year, Luke went as a Mounty. I assume most people know what a Mounty is, but perhaps it is more known to us Michiganders and others who border Canada.

Here's a real Mounty -- also known as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

To make this costume work, the biggest thing I needed was the red coat. I totally lucked out. I found the red coat at a Mom2Mom sale for $8. I really thought it was perfect. I had to look at a few sales before finding it. So worth it!

After that, the most important piece was the right hat. I wound up finding this hat at a thrift store. It was a ladies hat and had a band of leapord print fabric around it. I snipped that off and used a black hair thingy to make it look more Mounty-ish. Then I added a fabric strip to the inside to make it fit on Luke's small head better, because it's really a full-sized adult hat. I simple stapled the strip, which was smaller than the actual hat depth, to this flappy piece of lining inside. Then it would then sit perched on his head and not fall into his eyes.

It's tough to see, but the Mounty pant is a black pant with a yellow stripe running down the side. Which, I just happened to have a pair like that! So that was easy.

The boot gave me trouble. I looked everywhere for a boy's brown boot. Nothing. Seriously, nothing. Not at the Mom2Mom sales, the thrift stores, Target, the Halloween stores, nothing, anywhere. Apparently brown boots are a girl thing. So I wound up buying a used girls' pair for $4 and covered the flowers on the side with an old sock. I just cut the toes off the sock.

A leather belt went around his waist and then I cut a brown canvas strap off an old bag to make the strap that goes across his chest.

I added some yellow fabric circles to the top of the coat, trying to mimic some details from the real Mounty coat.

Ug, my camera was messed up last year and all my photos are blurry!

I did sew him that small Canadian flag to carry around, just to reinforce the idea. I think it helped. I used a chopstick for the handle. And a friend gave me that toy horse! What's a Mounty without his royal stead?

Cute, right?

This has gotten long, so I'll save the other costume for a new post. It's a really, really simple costume that got TONS of compliments. And it's great for last minute.

Linked at...

Nursing cover and patchwork burp cloth

2011-10-06T08:54:00.000-04:00

Did some present sewing last week. A black and white nursing cover for a friend of mine down in Florida. She's having a baby any day now! I waited until the last minute on this one. Sorry girl! But the package should be arriving there today at the latest, so I figured I could share with you all. Nursing covers are so easy to make, and they are incredible useful. I made one for myself that I use every single day. Or at least every single day I leave my house or have company over. It's just so nice to be able to nurse wherever, whenever. I'm a big proponent of that, never one to want to go to some other room unless the baby just really needs quiet. So my nursing cover gets tons of use.

This one is a black and white fabric I found at Jo-Anns. Nishba requested black and white. I followed the Prudent Baby tutorial. I did make one change. Instead of using the thinner boning, I bought 1-inch belting for the top, where the nursing cover poofs out so you can peer in at baby. I think it had a bit more structure this way.

I also did a patchwork burp cloth that matches, sorta.

This was just fun for me. I wanted to do something patchy ever since I saw these patchy bibs on A Little Gray. Her patchwork is so perfect, it's impressive. Mine, a little less so. But it's OK. Tried to keep the colors very boyish, since I hear that's what she is having! Can't wait to see the little guy!

Enjoy, Nishba!

My new green door

2011-10-01T08:47:00.001-04:00

Thanks to all who voted for me in the Stitched in Color Celebrate Color contest! I did not win, but I can't begrudge the two winners. They were both really fabulous, and if I wasn't totally all about winning fabric for myself, I probably would have voted for one of them as well. So congrats!

Also, a few people have emailed me asking how to make the rosettes. I followed this tutorial. You basically cut a circle out of felt -- the bigger the circle, the bigger your finished flower will be. Then cut the circle into a spiral. Roll the spiral up from one end and glue it at the end. That's it! If you cut the circle with scallops or points (like a sun) you wind up with some different types of petals and variations in your look. It's fun to experiment, and see what you end up with. I hot glued my rosettes to pieces of scrap felt, and then hot glued those right to the wreath form. That's it! Here's my original post.

By the way, the wreath is looking lovely these days on my new green door. Yup, I listened to you! I wanted to paint the door orange or yellow... But you said, no Krista, no. Green. Green is it. I think you were right.

Here she is!

The color is Saguaro by Sherwin-Williams. It took one goat of grey primer and three coats of paint to get a nice, even color. I did the first two coats last weekend, including one Sunday, a day I had 50 people over for a party. Ha ha ha! I am so smart.

Here's the before pic, and then the after.

I love it. Especially with the pumpkins and mums! Thanks for pointing me to green, friends!

One of those, "Please vote for me!" posts!

2011-09-29T07:55:00.000-04:00

I entered my Fall Felt Rosette Wreath into the Celebrate Color contest on the wonderful blog Stitched in Color. It was sort of on a whim. I didn't expect much. But gah! I'm a finalist!

Now there are five finalists, and the ultimate winner is decided through a public vote. Which means... will you vote for me? I'd be so delighted. You can do that right here. My wreath is in the first category, home decor. And you don't have to join anything or even leave a comment. Just click the button by my wreath and hit vote.

It's open until midnight tonight. So excited! The winners gets an AWESOME stack of 21 fat quarter solids. I would die. Die!

I have money to spend!

2011-09-28T15:43:00.000-04:00

A month or so ago, I was delighted to sign into flickr one day and see a two-week old message from Pink Chalk Fabric Studio. They liked my Outside Oslo pillow, which I'd uploaded to their photo gallery, and wanted to include it in their newsletter. They wanted my permission. There was one decision I didn't need to think about long -- especially because when you're featured, you get a $20 shop gift certificate to use! Score!

So I have $20 of fabric money burning a hole in my virtual pocket. It's hard enough for me to pick fabric when I'm somewhere like Jo-Anns. Online is so much tougher! The shops are so well stocked with everything cute ever made, ever ever ever. Or so it seems.

I pinned a few of my favorites. Please tell me what you like. (All can be purchased, obviously, at PinkChalkFabrics.com) What would you spend $20 on?

My mother-in-law wants a Christmas apron. Here are a few fabrics I could snag for that project.

Dena Designs Kumari Garden Holiday Sanjay

Kate Spain Flurry Snowfall Red Ribbon


Michael Miller Holiday Calico Trees Multi

Or I could hit up the sale fabric. I do love sales. These are all on sale.

Alexander Henry Rivoli Floral Salmon

Not sure what I'd do with that one. Maybe another Go Anywhere bag?

Anna Maria Horner Little Folks Coloring Garden Sea -- Voile

Or this one. Voile is not something I'm familiar with. Maybe sleep shorts?

I am also a tad ga-ga for this new listing.

Dena Designs London Somerset Blue

So, what would you buys?

Of course, I could always be really practical and get something solid. Or a pattern to use again and again.

Help a girl out! What's your favorite?

Presents for Kim Kim

2011-09-26T22:29:00.002-04:00

I said good-bye to a dear friend last week. My friend Kim. She moved to China, and she'll be there at least three years. Maybe five.

She's very dear to me. She's the kind of friend who brings you flowers for no reason. She did this for me at least five times. She's the kind of friend who comes over when you are feeling like shit and plays with your kids and brings fresh squeezed orange juice that cost $7 for a half-gallon AND the most delicious chicken pot pie you can ever imagine. She's the kind of friend who listens when you cry about your kids, your job, your mother, you husband, whatever, and then somehow makes you realize that you're silly because your life is really, really blessed. She's a kind soul, one of the best I've ever met. She's amazingly kind-hearted, nice to everyone, always giving of her time, her things, her talents. She's always wanted to live abroad and this is an amazing opportunity for her and her husband. I'm happy for her. And I'm going to miss her so, so much.

She hates having her picture taken. So I have hardly any to share.

Here's one from our last girls' night out.

Me, Aimee, Kim and Kelly

I fretted for months about what to get her before she left. I wanted to give her some parting gift. She's a fabulous, thoughtful gift giver, so this makes it tougher. Right?

I settled on two things. First, when Anna of Noodlehead came out with her new bag patterns, I immediately thought of Kim. Kim loves handbags and accessories of all kinds, and she has been super encouraging about my sewing habit. And it's called the Go Anywhere bag. I figure, hey, she can go to China with it!

Used a nice heavyweight houndstooth, a yellow patterned Olive and S fabric, and some of my Jessica Jones Outside Oslo home decor fabric, too. Inside is a purple Joel Dewberry wood print. I love it and have been hording it for months now, trying to figure out where to use it. I love these colors -- yellow, black and white, and then the pop of purple inside.

There are tons of details in this bag. A pocket inside, a pleated front with three pockets and a large pocket with a magnetic closure in the back.

Pleats are a little scary. Mine turned out only so-so. But this is a great pattern, and I'm excited to make another one. This is a big, roomy bag that can hold a ton. Very useful!

I hope she loves it! (And she said she does. :) )

So that was part of the gift. I also wanted something that had more of my boys in it. Because Kim is amazing with them. She's as much a part of their lives as she is a part of mine. Luke is going to miss her like crazy, as much as a three-year-old is capable of missing someone.

I stumbled one night onto the etsy shop called FlashyFish and found a vintage glass locket that was just perfect. Here's the listing.

I wanted one side to be pretty, and the other to have a picture of the boys. So I took this painting that Luke did:

I scanned it into my computer and scaled it way down, then printed it out. I also printed out a cute photos of the boys taken this summer. Popped them in the locket, and seriously, why are lockets so dang sentimental. I wanted to cry just looking at it!

I must get one for myself. I really loved it. Kim opened it and didn't say anything, and I think that was because it choked her up a bit. Either that or she hated it. But I'm pretty sure it was the first thing. I really hope she loves it. Cause I love her. :)

If you want to follow Kim on her adventure, she has a blog!

Linked at...

Felt flower fall wreath

2011-09-22T10:12:00.000-04:00

First off all, thanks for those who commented in the sewing confessional! It's so nice to know that you're also ignoring your tension and totally forgetting about what needle you're using. And not caring about which needle size is right to use anyway! That's another one I am very bad at. I just use the same needles for everything.
Glad to know I'm not alone!

I had some fun with my sewing machine, wrong needles and all, last weekend. I'll show you my project shortly! But first:

Another project completed inspired by something found on Pinterest!

I'm loving Pinterest. You? I really don't want to just pin pin pin and never make the things I pin. So I'm trying to be diligent about that. This weekend, I carved out some time to turn some of the inspiration from my wreath pin board into a new fall wreath for my door.

The board had lots of good inspiration, but I honed in on this one.

Isn't it pretty? I thought those rosettes were orange, but the blogger says they're mustard. I had orange in my head though, and went to the store for orange felt. The only orange felt I saw had a distinct I'm-about-to-go-hunting vibe though. So I skipped it and went with mustard (probably the same mustard?), two shades of brown and a mossy green.

Then I made many rosettes, some small. Some big. At least half were yellow because I thought that would pop best. I still really wish I'd found some way to get some orange in there. But oh well. I like the results as they are!

Not too "country," is it? At one point I had some fake berries stuck in it, but my friend pointed out it looked a little less Martha and a little more country that way. I think she was right.

What's on your door for the fall?

PS. I just might enter this into the Stitched in Color Celebrate Color contest. Go check it out here!

Come enter the sewing confessional!

2011-09-19T21:55:00.000-04:00

I think some people think to sew -- especially to sew well, or at least to sew well enough to make things you love -- that you need to be near perfect. Every seam must be straight, you must follow every rule.

Not so.

I break 'em all the time. And half the time, I don't even realize I'm breaking them. And the results turn out fine. Maybe not perfect. Maybe I won't open my Etsy shop tomorrow. But I enjoy myself and make things cute enough to at least use myself with some degree of pride.

Here are two I have broken recently.

I sewed about five minutes the other night with the wrong needle. I forgot I'd been using a ballpoint needle. My seams were looking a little wonky and then finally my needle just broke. And that's when it dawned on me -- wrong needle.

The second is a really bad one. Tension. I forget to adjust it all. the time. Actually, I think I've made my last 2-3 projects without giving it a second thought. I'm sure that was stupid of me. But you know, both things turned out fine. Shrug!

So, what's your sewing confessional? What mistake do you make, even if you know better? And how did it affect your finished project?

I made a circle skirt, I am sewing genius

2011-09-16T13:45:00.002-04:00

So, I was at Joanns. (How many posts could begin that way? Many.) I ran in for one thing, but thought I'd just peak at the apparel fabric. Thanks to some recent blogging series about working with knits, I'd been thinking I wanted to give them a try. Also, I had this skirt pinned on my Pinterest board.

It came from the Ice Cream Social Skirt tutorial at the blog icandy handmade. Cute, isn't it? She made it based on the tutorial for the circle skirt at Made. Really, a circle skirt doesn't belong to anyone. It's as basic as it gets, as one of the contestants on Project Runway said last night. But in any case, I learned to make it from those two sources, and I plan to make many more. It's fast, it's cute, it makes you want to twirl. What more could you ask for?

So knowing this, I grabbed some striped purple kint fabric, a polyester, from Joanns. I thought it was $3 a yard but got confused by the signage. It was really $7 a yard. So I paid $14 and should have enough left over for some other sort of project (maybe a circle scarf?).

It's really something I think you could dress up or down.

I really like how comfy it is, and how easy it is to pair with flats and wear around the house or to the park. I tried to take a picture of me in my yellow flats wearing it....

But this kept happening.

Oh, and here's how the waistband looks. I made mine four inches tall. I also chose not to embellish the bottom, because I had no cute trim. And I'm lazy. Made this way, the whole shebang takes like 30 minutes. (Especially considering I totally forgot to wash my fabric first. Whoops).

Hopefully it doesn't shrink! Cause me likey.

Linked at...

There has been sewing!

2011-09-15T21:06:00.000-04:00

I swear!

I finished a skirt inspired by something I found on Pinterest. (Follow me!)

Oh, and am putting the finishing touches on a present for a pregnant friend.

Very soon, I will have cute sewing projects to show off.

Just.... not yet.

The thing about having a sewing blog is that first you must find time for the sewing, then you must find time to photograph your cute sewing project, then you must upload the photos and edit them, then put it all to words. Don't forget before you get started you might need to spend time drafting a pattern or finding an online tutorial or buying a store-bought pattern, as well as shop for fabric -- assuming it isn't coming from your fabric stash.

When I was on maternity leave, I could crank out a few projects a week. And find time to blog about them! I made the time for it because I love it. I love the sewing. I love blogging about it and connecting with others who share my passion. All of that is still true, but finding the time is much more difficult, even if I am only working part time. My three year old doesn't nap anymore, and that's been a huge factor. There is no 2-3 hour break built into my day anymore. So last week, when we had a family wedding, I found little time for anything extra. This week, I've found a little time for sewing, but no time for photography.

I'm a big believer that you must embrace the stage you're at in life. Right now, I'm in a stage where I can sew 1-2 times a week for any length of time, and completing one project a week is about all I can expect of myself. Blogging about it might or might not happen right away. I have to be OK with that or I will drive myself crazy.

The other part of this is that because I'm busier, I have less time to become inspired. That's a bummer. I find myself often thinking... what do I even want to make? I was not like that on my maternity leave.

So one thing I plan to do with my blog here is build a little inspiration well for myself. I will be pointing a little more often to inspiration sources. Tutorials I want to try. Fabric I covet. Finished projects that are to die. That sort of thing.

If you follow me on Pinterest, I'm sure it will be a bit of an overlap. But that's OK.

I want to keep my little home here thriving and active, so that's my plan to help me do so. I hope you'll stick with me!

And just to make this post prettier, because ever post needs a photo, my little guy started preschool this week. How that can be, I don't know.

But it be. Sniff!

Painting my front door.... yellow?

2011-09-07T23:11:00.000-04:00

First off...

Say whaaaaaa? Seven months old? Meeeeee?!

Isn't that the cute?

I thought so. Had to share. I can't believe I got him holding his own sign AND looking my way.

OK, onto other things. I've been a busy little social bee for the last week. We had a huge event here in town called Arts, Beats and Eats. We had friends in from out of town. Family, too. I had a girl's night out with my dear friend who is deserting me following her dreams and moving to China. And we have a wedding coming on Friday night! My brother-in-law is getting hitched! All this is to say: in my sewing nook, the only noise you'll hear these days is crickets. And spiders. Do spiders make noise? Anyway, I have nothing to show you and that's a bummer!

But I do need your opinions. I've been thinking about painting my front door. It's white. I want to jazz it up. My first thought was orange. I pinned a bunch of orange doors, and I love them. The problem is, my house is about half orange brick. So there is a clashing issue, as well as a that's-just-too-much-orange issue.

So then I thought yellow? Maybe? Then I just told my husband to grab whatever paint chips inspired him the last time he was at Home Depot.

Take a look and tell me what you think.

I think it would need to be dark. Like, the bottom of any of those chips. And I'm leaning toward yellow. (Or blue, but my husband has vetoed blue.) Although if it wasn't for the brick, I'd truly still want orange.

What do you like?

A summer tradition I'll miss

2011-09-03T11:20:00.000-04:00

Many of our Saturdays in the summer start like this. A walk downtown to the Farmer's Market.

We always stop to throw a few pennies in the fountain.

Then it's onto the market. I love this building. It's big, airy, kind of dark, and always bustling.

And the variety of foods and plants you'll find inside is pretty impressive.

There's also antiques and vintage do-dads.

I buy veggies, herbs, meats, cheese, bread, flowers and more at the market. I love going without a list, just buying whatever inspires me that week. Once this summer it was homemade gnocchi one week. Last week, we brought home a locally produced spicy chorizo that I used this week to make delicious egg and chorizo tacos. I also bought a pint of cherry tomatoes that were so sweet, they were like candy. I snacked on them all week and am now daydreaming about them, they were that flavorful. And we bought basil to make pesto. So tasty.

Sigh. I can't believe this is the last weekend of summer. Where did it go? I know the market stays open through some of the fall, but it's really a summer thing in my mind.

What summer things are you going to miss as the fall comes? And did you shop your local farmer's market this summer?

Easy taggy blanket carry-along

2011-09-02T11:56:00.001-04:00

Continuing with my theme of making JJ items that he's really too old to care about, I whipped him up a simple mini taggy "blanket" last weekend.

Oh sure, it looks like he's loving life with his taggy blanket in that first photo. Lies! I mean, he might be loving life but it has little to do with his taggy blanket. I guess he is beyond the age of caring about tags sticking out of things. They grow up so fast! Sniff!

He spent most of the photo shoot like this, ignoring the taggy friend and trying desperately to inch himself to the edge of the blanket, where he could shove fistfuls of grass into his mouth.

Babies. What can you do?

I appliqued it with his initials, since that's what we call him. You could do one initial or something else. (I really want to make a moustache version. Wouldn't it be awesome?) I sized mine like this so it's something the baby can play with in a car seat, and it's easily thrown into a diaper bag. Usually, you see full-sized blankets, and those are great, too. I just thought it'd be nice to have something small and portable.

If you'd like to make your own, I didn't take photos for a full tutorial, but I can walk you through. It's really easy. Takes about 30 minutes and is great for a beginner. And I think it'd make a nice baby gift.

You need:

      2 large scraps of fabric. I used cotton on one side and minky on the other.       8-10 pieces of ribbon or other trim cut into 4-5 inch pieces
      General sewing stuff: thread, sewing machine, scissors, pins, etc.
       If you want to applique like I did, you'll also need a scrap of fabric for that and some iron-on interfacing.

Step 1: First, cut everything out. For the circle, I traced a large bowl with an air-erasing marker onto the wrong sides of the fabric. Cut one circle for the front and one for the back.

Step. 2: Iron your iron-on backing to your scrap fabric. Then draw your applique shape right onto it. For letters, print a letter in the font and size you like from a word processing system, then cut it out and flip it over to trace backward. Once you've got it iron on and traced, cut your shape out. Then iron it onto the middle of the right side of your circle. I then secured around the edges by sewing with a zig-zag stitch. The key to a zig-zag stitch is to play with your width and length on a piece of scrap fabric to get the size you want. I used a fairly big and long zig-zag.

Step 3: Pin all the ribbons into place. First fold them in half, then pin on the right side pointing toward the middle of the circle with the ends sticking over the end of the fabric. Once all the ribbons are pinned into place, pin the second circle, right sides facing, on top.

Step 4: Sew around the edge with a 3/8 inch seam. Leave a three inch hole for turning. Trim seam allowance, notching so the curve lays nicely. Leave the turning hole untrimmed.

Step. 5. Turn rightside out. Remove pins. Iron well, folding the fabric where you turned under. Then top stitch around the outside close to the edge.

Donzo!

Behold baby, you are mesmerized by the wonderful, portable taggy goodness! Or maybe not. But it's still cute.

Linked at...

New header, whaddaya think?

2011-09-01T09:15:00.001-04:00

I'm no Web designer. Far from it. But I was sick of my banner, so I played around and came up with something new. I would really love the feedback, especially because my husband's immediate reaction was that the words are too small. Agree? Disagree?

Thanks!

Edited to add.... Oh, and yes, I made a new button, too. You can grab it if you like. Right over there on my side rail. :)