Another Baby Gift

I was hired to make this diaper clutch by a friend at work. The pregnant lady is having a boy and my friend really wanted a boy themed diaper clutch. I used the Grab and Go Diaper Clutch pattern that I've used quite a few times. The fabrics were purchased at Joann's, but I now can't find the selvage pieces to share who the designer is for the fabrics.

The clutch:

The changing pad and clutch:

The lining of the clutch is the same blue/green as the changing pad. Everyone I've made one of these bags for has raved about how much they love it. It's so convenient and much better than dragging a huge diaper bag to the park or on a walk.

Baby, Baby, Baby

At work there are so many ladies pregnant or who have just had babies.

Another baby shower was thrown and I made these bibs for a woman who found out she is having a boy in September. I used a pattern from Bend-the-Rules Sewing by Amy Karol. The fabrics used were in my scraps pile leftover from pj pants and a scarf that have been previously made. I also made a huge receiving blanket, but I forgot to take a picture of it.

Moving Away Gift for a Friend

My daughter's friend is moving a few hours away to live with her mom.  My daughter wanted to give her something as a moving away gift. She decided on a wristlet. Her friend loves John Deere and I found this pink John Deere print in my scraps. I had just enough to make this clutch.

I didn't have enough fabric to centre the John Deere symbol on the back and the front so I had to piece together the back to get two John Deere symbols. She loved this wristlet. My daughter also made her two collages of pictures her friend can hang on her wall in her new bedroom. There will still be lots of visits back home but it's not the same as being able to see one of your best friends nearly every day.

Well Hello!

I know it's been a long time. I'm going to start fresh and post here more frequently. I have been busy with a few sewing projects that I'll share over the next few weeks. Here's some things I've finished up. There was a baby shower for a woman I work with. They really wanted to find out what they were having, but the baby wouldn't cooperate. Here's what I made for the baby shower:

An owl wall-hanging from scrapbook paper. I got the idea from Martha Steward and used her owl template:

A tiny pair of baby pants made from the  baby pants pattern and tutorial on Made by Rae:

And 2 bibs. Again I used the pattern available in the book Bend-the-Rules Sewing by Amy Karol:

Back with more projects later!

Skirts

Both of these skirts were made using Anna Maria Horner's tutorial. I ordered some lawn fabric from Sew, Mama, Sew! specifically for these skirts this past summer and wore them a few times each. I love, love, love, love, love these skirts. They are so comfortable to wear to work, around town and at home. I wouldn't recommend wearing white to garden though! But then I always end up dirty no matter what colour I wear gardening.

Diaper Clutch

This diaper clutch was made for a friend's friend. They knew they were having a boy so I got some great boy fabric from Country Quarter, my local quilting shop. My friend loved the clutch and changing pad and was excited to give this diaper clutch to her friend. This is a great shower gift or a welcoming baby gift. Moms are loving that they only have to grab a diaper and a small package of wipes to go to the park, shopping, etc. and they get to carry it in a great small bag. I wish I had one when my kids were in diapers.

Messenger Bag - Patchwork

Signed up for a bag swap awhile back. You had to list in the comments what type of bag you wanted to receive. My swap partner wanted a bag that had a strap long enough to cross-over the body. I knew I wanted to do a messenger style bag and searched out the fabric. I found this lovely yellow and orange striped fabric in the clearance section of our local Fabricland. I also bought some orange raw silk for lining. I had thought about doing a reverse applique for the flap of the bag, but remembered I had some really nice charm packages in my stash. Once I put the bag fabric with some of the charms I knew the flap would have to be patchwork. I love, love, love, love, love this bag so much and I don't really care for yellow. I asked my daughter for her opinion on what charm squares to use. She mentioned that she would like a patchwork bag too. That makes two of us! One for her is on my list and further down on the list - one for me. This bag would make a great Christmas or birthday gift too.

Christmas Eve Pillows

I can't believe it's taken me so long to post this! We had a wonderful Christmas and really enjoyed the Christmas break together. Usually my husband works during the break between Christmas and New Year's. This year he had the week off so we had lots of family time. We also have a birthday in our family early in the New Year (more on that in a different post). We went back to work/school/daycare on Monday but by Monday night 2 of us came down with the a tummy bug that has been going around. By the end of the week all 3 kids and I had had the bug. We are all back to normal now though.

Anyway, on Christmas Eve after we go to mass, we get together with my husband's family for some snacks and togetherness. After we have a snack each child is allowed to open one gift. For the past 3 years I've been making something for my kids for Christmas Eve. This year I made pillows with their names appliqued on them. Two of our kids have unusual names so they will hardly ever have anything with their names on them unless I make something for them.

I searched high and low for some reasonably priced pillows that would be the right size. I really didn't want to spend anywhere near $20 on a pillow that would be used as a pillow form. I got lucky and found 1 pillow at Wal-Mart on clearance for $6 early in December. Then I spent the next 2 weeks searching for 2 more cheap pillows. I finally found some at Sears on clearance for $7 - which is still at least $3 cheaper than the small pillow forms you can buy at Fabricland (I think they are more than $10 but I can't remember). I measured the pillows to determine the size of the pillow cover I wanted and included a zipper in the bottom so the cover can be washed seperately from the pillow. Two kids love blue and one loves orange. I couldn't find any sturdy solid orange fabric so I had to settle for blue for him too - which worked out perfectly anyway since the boys share blue room. I used a cotton canvas since I wanted something very strong and sturdy for the base of the pillow. I thought this would help to secure and support the applique as well.

For my daughter - Caelen (I know the n looks like an r in this picture but the pillow is really full).

For my oldest son - Tyler.
For the youngest - Rhett.

They love these pillows and sleep with them every night.

Christmas Apron

I signed up for a great swap on Swap Bot awhile back. My swap partner received her package so I can share what I made for her now. For this swap we had to make a half apron and the inspiration was peppermint candies – you know those red and white candy mints you get sometimes at restaurants. As soon as I signed up I knew that I could use some of the Christmas fabric I had left over from the Christmas apron I made for a swap awhile ago since it was red and white. It has snowflakes on it and every time I have one of those candy mints I think of snowflakes. I needed to find a striped fabric to go with it for the ruffle and waistband/ties. I looked at a few stores, but just couldn’t find the right stripe. I finally found this one – it reminds me of candycanes. With the narrow green stripe through the fabric I thought this added some richness to it.

I couldn’t find a tutorial on the web for exactly the apron I wanted to make and I didn't have a pattern so I winged it. I knew I wanted the ruffle to be full. Without pictures to show how I made this apron, directions would be little wordy. Of course I didn't even think to take pictures as I went along until I was almost done the apron. I may just have to come up with a tutorial in the New Year - I don't have time before Christmas.


Are you still working on your Christmas gifts too? I still have a pile of sewing to do, a few more gifts to purchase and everything to wrap. Oh and I haven't done any Christmas baking yet either!

Aprons, Aprons

If you are here for the Giveaway Day, please feel free to check out the rest of my blog. The Giveaway Day post is in the next post below.

I recently participated in an apron swap. My partner has received her package so I can share this now. For this swap we could make a half or full apron and we could make requests - like a child's apron, full apron, half apron, certain colours etc. My partner wanted an apron for her son who likes bright blue or one for herself - not too girly. I wanted to make an apron for both my swap partner and her son. I'd never made a child's apron, but looked on the internet to see what sort of ideas I could find. I knew a full apron would probably be the best bet for a 5 year old. I made up my own pattern for this apron. I think it turned out perfectly. My 5 year old modelled it for me so I could see how it fit. All the fabric is from my stash. For the tie around the neck I decided to make it shorter and used velcro so it could be taken off quickly and easily. The tie around the waist is a regular tie.

For my swap partner I had some fabric in my stash that I thought would be perfect - not too girly but still pretty. I decided on a half apron for her. The apron pattern is from the Bend the Rules sewing book again. As I've gone along making aprons from this pattern, I've found a few shortcuts. I love the look of this style of apron.

Both my swap partner and her son really like their aprons. I hope they get a lot of use out of them!

Giveaway Day!!!!!

Thanks to the ladies at Sew, Mama, Sew for organizing this whole Giveaway Day!

Sorry the picture isn't better. It's dark outside when I leave home to go to work and it's dark when I get home and to tell the truth I just decided when I got home tonight exactly what I was going to giveaway.


I'm giving away a half yard of the black fabric with the red, yellow and pink flowers on it and a fat quarter of the green fabric. The green is actually more of a lime green than it shows in the picture. The black fabric has been previously washed and dried in the dryer. The green fabric quarter has not been laundered. I wanted to throw some buttons in that went with the fabrics, so I sorted through my button collection. There is 1 red button and two yellow buttons to go with the black fabric. To go with the green fabric I found a cute blue flower button, a green heart, and 3 other blue buttons (2 small buttons and 1 larger one). I'm also giving away a little box of bobbins - there are 12 in the box. I'm also throwing in a little handmade something. I haven't decided what it is yet - so it will be a surprise.

This giveaway is open until December 6 at 9 pm eastern. I will randomly pick a winner shortly after. To enter, please leave a comment telling me your favourite thing about the holiday season. It could be a favourite recipe (please share - I like to try out new recipes), an activity etc. Please ensure you leave an email address so I can email you if you win. Any anonymous comments without an email address will not be entered. The winner will have until December 9th at 9 pm eastern to claim their prize. If the prize is unclaimed I will announce another winner. Good luck! And go check out the other giveaways at the Sew, Mama, Sew blog!

Edited to add - This Giveaway is open to international entries as well.

Addicted to Making Bags?

If you are a regular reader of my blog it comes as no surprise that I love bags. I love making bags. When I have a few minutes I find myself thinking about what bag I want to make next and envision the fabric(s) I would use or find for the bag. I have ton of tutorials I've found on the internet to try out for bags - small, medium and large. When I need a pick me up, I look at the patterns and tutorials I have or look for new bag patterns and tutorials. I also check out my stash or go shopping for new fabric for bags. (My fabric addiction is a whole other post!)

My daughter's friend had her birthday party and I made her a Buttercup Bag. I love this pattern and it's just the right size for taking shopping. My daughter selected this fabric that was on the clearance decorator/drapery fabric table at Fabricland. The gift was well received and all the girls at the birthday party have requested a bag for their birthdays.
My daughter loves this fabric and has hinted around that she would like a bag made out of this fabric. Maybe she'll get one for Christmas or her birthday, or maybe I'll just have to make her one just because. Either way it will be a surprise. I think she might be a bagaholic in the making!

Tote Bag

I've been doing some swaps on Swap-Bot. This tote was made for one of the swaps. My swap partner likes blue. I thought this fabric was perfect for a tote. We had to include some items in the tote we thought our swap partner would like. I included some note cards, sticky notes, recipe cards and some scrapbooking items. I love tote bags and don't think you can ever have enough, especially handmade ones!

Is it too early for Christmas posts?

04I've been doing some swaps on Swap-Bot. One of the swaps was Chirstmas in July. These are some of the ornaments I made for this swap. I love felt ornaments.

The sewing thread spool is Santa's list. I put names on a piece of paper and hot glue gunned the list to the thread spool. Then I tied a Christmasy ribbon around the spool. I have a few more ornament swaps coming up and I've been thinking about what I want to do for these. One is for an angel and the other is for a snowman ornament.

Grab 'N Go Diaper Clutch

I’ve started pattern testing for SewFun. The first pattern I tested is the ‘Grab ‘n Go Diaper Clutch’. The pattern and instructions are for the clutch and a changing pad. The changing pad folds up so you can tuck it in the clutch. Add a couple of diapers and a travel container of baby wipes and you're ready to go. I used some fabric and a button from my ever growing stash for this one. I’ll be giving this diaper clutch to a friend at work, as she is having a baby in December. I sure wish I had one when my kids were still in diapers. It would be so handy to just grab it on the way out the door and it looks pretty too. The pattern is available now at the Sew Fun website. Go check it out!

A Doll Blanket for My Niece

A few weeks ago it was my niece's 2nd birthday. I always buy my niece and nephew a book and some clothes and one toy. She loves pink and horses. I had picked up a pair of pink rainboots at the local Hatley outlet for her. I'd also found some pj shorts that were pink with horses on them at the same store so I got her a size 2 and a size 3 so she has a pair for now and a pair for next summer. I also had an outfit for her for next summer. That took care of the clothes (all that for under $20 - I love bargains!). I looked at every store in the area for a cute stuffed horse but couldn't find one. I did find a My Little Pony baby. I was pretty sure she would like that so I got that for her. The only thing was her baby needed a blankie. I've had some charm sqaures for awhile and knew I wanted to make her a doll blanket. I just sewed the charms together and used some really soft pink minky that I had bought a year or so ago . I sewed them right sides together leaving an opening for turning. Once I'd turned it right sides out I top stitched around the edges. I decided to leave it and not quilt it since I was running out of time and the minky was quite hard to sew to the pieced top. Even while I was topstiching around the edges it was hard to keep it from slipping around.

Another Skirt

I decided I needed another skirt for summer. I knew I wanted an A-line skirt with a zipper (no elastic). So I went shopping for some fabric at a local quilting shop. I found the green patterned fabric and fell in love with it right away. I purchased 1 metre. After looking at the fabric several times over the course of a few days I realized I would want to have a solid strip of fabric at the bottom of my skirt because the brightness was a little much for me. I found some broadcloth and decided to use it. I decided not to buy a pattern and used a few tutorials I found on the web to get a clearer idea of how to go about this (mostly from Sew, Mama, Sew). It came together pretty fast and love this skirt! Please pardon the wrinkles - I had to wear this skirt the next day to work, I loved it that much.

And the best part is I still have some fabric left - not sure what I'll do with it, but I'm sure it will come to me!

Summer Skirt

This skirt is perfect for summer. It's light weight and pretty. It can be worn to work, out for dinner (not that that happens much here anymore), shopping, around town etc. The fabric was purchased last year (or maybe the year before). It was a little see through so I lined it with a light pink broadcloth. I made up a pattern based on a few tutorials over at Sew, Mama, Sew. This skirt was cut out, sewn together, hemmed and completed in under an hour. I love fast skirts!

I signed up for a Celebrate Summer Swap that was on Inspired Mama Musings blog. We had to send a summer decoration, a recipe and share how we celebrate summer.

I made this apron from the Bend-the-Rules Sewing book (Another project from that book!) The fabric is some fabric I won from Sew, Mama, Sew. I'd been holding on to it waiting for the perfect project and this was it.

I also made my swap partner these appliqued tea towels. I used my flip-flop template from for one tea towel. For the other one I had some fabric that had various sized flowers on it and I cut out a bunch of the flowers and figured out placement. Then I sewed a line on the towel for each stem and appliqued the flowers on the towel. I decided I needed leaves for some of the stems and found some green paisley scraps in my scrap stash. I just drew up a leaf shape and cut the shapes out of the fabric and appliqued on the towel. I love these how these towels turned out. Now I need to make some for myself!

My partner for this swap made me the most beautiful cards. They are so pretty I just want keep them to look at! She also sent me some gorgeous fabric and a recipe for Eggplant Parmesan. It sounds yummy - now to trick the family into thinking it's something else so they will at least try it!

I really enjoyed this swap and there will be an Autumn round of this swap too.

Quilted Table Runner

I've been wanting to try quilting for a long time. I finally decided to get my courage up and decided a small project would be best. I found a tutorial for this table runner on the Moda Bakeshop blog. I have a ton of scrap fabric and some fabric squares from a swap and decided to use it rather than buy a charm pack for this. It went together pretty easily. The tutorial tells you can stipple or stitch in the ditch to quilt. I really love the look of stippling and wanted to try it, but I knew I would be better off to stitch in the ditch for my first project. Since I tend to want perfection in my projects I told myself that unless something went really wonky, I was not going to be ripping it out. I stuck to that too, even though the corners of my binding aren't quite right. I really like this table runner and it is on my kitchen table now. My kids have made quite a few comments about how much they like it - which must be true, because we all know how honest kids are.

I found the thick ric-rack at Fabricland and it was on sale for $0.50/metre. I bought lots of it in four different colours. I can 't wait to find other projects to add the ric-rack to. I just love the way it finishes off this project.