I Won, I Won

I always enter Sew, Mama, Sew's Free Fabric Friday giveaway. I won 1 yard of fabric ($9.18 and under per yard). I've looked at the fabric on the website and have narrowed it down to 7 or 8 choices. I'll have to think about which one to get. I'm so excited! I love their blog and they have tons of free tutorials!

Another Bag

This totebag was made for my daughter's friend's birthday. The pink fabric is from Fabricland and was on the clearance table last November. I had already made my daughter and my niece beach bags for Christmas last year from it. I still have a little bit left! The inside lining fabric is a green print that I found on sale at Wilton Creek Fabrics last December. I had used some of it to line my niece's beach bag and had just enough left to line this bag. I can't remember where the stripe fabric for the handles came from but I do know it was on clearance. And the green ribbon with the brown polkadots is from the packages of ribbon I found at Target.

My daughter's friend loved the bag and thanked me profusely for making the bag for her.

We are starting to plan the handmade Christmas items to give this year. Every year my daughter has given everyone we exchange gifts with something hand/homemade. We have decided this year that instead of buying for each other (in our little family/household) we will be making something. At first this was met with great apprehension from the oldest. After all what great thing can a four year old and two year old make her? I have reassured her that I will be lending a helping hand on this front. I have also reassured her that it is the thought that counts and that she will be surprised at how much more a handmade item is treasured.

I am also planning to give hand/homemade gifts to everyone this year, even if I am buying something there will be something hand/homemade with it.

Do you plan on giving hand/homemade items this year? If yes, what are you planning?

Finds and Bugs

I know I promised to come back with some pictures of projects I've been working on. And now I'm ready to share the few things I've acutally completed. We have been busy with summer parties, birthdays and birthday parties and just having fun!

Found these spools of ribbon at Target - each package was $1! There is only 18 inches on each spool. I don't have a plan yet for these but I just couldn't resist the great deal. My daughter is thinking about switching bedrooms and moving downstairs. Of course that means redecorating, so she may want to use a few of these for decorative trim on new pillows.

Found this funky print at my local Fabricland on the clearance table. It was $2/metre! I picked up 2 metres and am thinking of using it to make a top for next spring/summer. Fabricland also had denim on their clearance table for $2/metre. I had to pick up 5 metres, but have been kicking myself for not getting more. I'm hoping the next time I'm there they'll still have some.

These are the shorts and pants I made for my boys. They are so cute with the frogs and snakes and so boyish. They love them! I got the fabric at Fabricland (in May?) on sale for $2.99/metre. The pattern is one I've used many times before, but really you don't need a pattern if you use a pair of pants that fit right for your template. I have a pattern that is for kids, youths and adults that way I can make bigger sizes for the kids to grow into (for next summer).

These shorts were made for my daughter. Made from a knit found at a yard sale. The lady was retiring from her sewing business and had tons of fabric and great deals. The piece I got was a little over 1 metre and was $1. I still have a little bit left and have it in my scrap pile now.

Overall, not a lot of sewing got done over the summer. But the kids and I did do a lot of crafts, colouring and gardening. We did manage to get a way for a few days as a family.

Hope you had an incredible summer!

Now that school is back, it feels more like we have routine here. The bedtimes are a little earlier and the days are more structured. Although we did start the school year of with a case of headlice. This is the second year in a row we have had lice the first week of school. So far only 2 out of 3 kids have it, but how do you keep it that way? I've been cleaning, vacuuming and doing laundry in hot water. I've taken all pillows away and everyone gets a blanket rolled up and stuffed into a pillowcase. It's easier to wash a blanket than washing pillow everyday for at least a week. I'm getting new pillows for everyone just for my own piece of mind. I know it's kind of wasteful, but what if there is one still alive even after being washed in hot water and run through the hot dryer twice and not being used for a week?

The lice got passed on to the youngest (2 years old). The poor little guy ended up with a 1/4" long brush cut because he can't sit still to get his hair combed to get rid of the nits. I do have to say that that worked though because so far (fingers crossed) there hasn't been any sign of any more. The one that brought the lice home had a Nix treatment, but I was still finding live little buggers in her hair 4 days later. So I went and got a new product called Resultz. That stuff work wonders! It can only be used on 4 year olds and up. It takes the protective coating off the lice and the nits and makes them dehydrate. I know what I will use the first time around if anyone 4+ get it again here.

Last year I tried the more natural remedies of mineral oil and vinegar and picking the nits out of the hair (which you have to do no matter what). That did not work for us. Maybe because she has long hair, but I ended up doing 2 Nix treatments and 1 other treatment (I can't remember what the product was called now) before we ended up getting rid of the bugs altogether.

So hopefully all the lice is gone now. I'm still washing everything in hot water and using the hot dryer for a few more days until the final treatments are done, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. And I have bought tea tree oil to mix in with the shampoo as a preventative, but I think some are using a little too much all they need is 1 or 2 drops, but I think they end up with more. So I'm going to get some tea tree shampoo. Hopefully that will keep the lice away for good!

Hope you don't end up with lice at your house!

Long Break

Wow - that was a long unintended break!
Been busy with summer fun, gardening, vacation etc.
Back soon with some photos of projects I've been working on!

Giveaway at Lila Tueller's blog!

You have to check out this giveaway

You can win a purse made from some of her fabric and second place giveaway his a copy of her Peasant Blouse pattern and a copy of her Bohemian Bag pattern

What a great giveaway!

Pattern Review - Simplicity 3546

Pattern: Simplicity 3546 (Project Runway)

Pattern Rating: Difficult (this pattern is for Advanced Sewers)

Pattern Description: Girls' dress or mini dress

Pattern Sizing: 8-16 (also available in plus sizes 81/2 - 161/2)

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope when finished? Yes.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes, however the pattern pieces were difficult to pick out. But once you have the correct pattern pieces the instructions were easy to follow. There were lots of pictures as well to help clarify the instructions.

What did you particularly like/dislike about this pattern? I liked that there were lots of pictures to follow as sometimes the explanations were confusing. Also I liked that there were many different variations of the dress to choose from. I disliked that finding the pattern pieces was so difficult as they didn't seem to be clearly labelled. As well the facing around the neckline doesn't sit as flat as it should despite several attempts to do so (as well as multiple pressings). Next time I will line the entire bodice to avoid this.

Fabric used: Cotton - from Fabricland (on sale) and velvet ribbon trim from WalMart.

Pattern alterations/design changes made: I made the mini dress, but my daughter wanted more of a top so I cut 6-8 inches off the bottom to make a top. I also had a hard time finding ribbon trim for the midriff that was wide enough and that my daughter liked. So I just sewed ribbon trim on the top and bottom of the midriff, which I think looks nice.

Would you sew it again? Recommend it to others? Yes I would sew this pattern again, as there are many ways to make different looks with this pattern. I would recommend this pattern to advanced sewers, as it may be difficult for beginner sewers to choose the correct pieces and there are some curves to manipulate. As you can see from my picture above I do have some wonkyness going on on the neckline.

Conclusion: Overall an easy pattern to use that took 2-3 hours to complete (including seam finishing).

Strawberries & Jam

Instead of sewing I've been picking these.....

and making this.......

At first I was quite intimidated to make jam. But it really is easy and doesn't take nearly the amount of time I thought it would. We don't really eat that much jam. Maybe 3 jars a year, so I've arranged to trade some jam for pickles and we'll give some away.