My Next Project

So I bought fabric for my next project.

I plan to make the Amy Butler Barcelona Skirt pattern. 

Who knows when I will get around to actually starting this project. . . but it is on queue!

Baby Quilt #?

I have been working on a baby quilt for quite some time now. I finished it weeks ago, and haven't gotten around to blogging about it.  I seem to have slowed WAY down on the crafting since starting my 9-5 job in January... and have  been even worse about posting projects here when they are done. Here goes for trying to fix that.

I normally don't post gift projects until they have made it to their rightful owner, however I have time now to blog, so will post before it is sent. Recipient, if you see this, you'll probably know it's for you, and just pretend you didn't see it here. Act surprised when you get it in the mail!

This baby quilt is for a great friend who is due any day now. (I took the photos with my phone and not my camera, so apologize for the low quality)

I 

I didn't follow a pattern for this one. Just drew it out on graph paper and went with it. I think it turned out pretty well!

When I get some extra time and batteries for my camera I will be sure to post higher quality photos.

Hedgehog!

Look what I made!!!

Isn't it cute!?

 

You too can make one of these, the How To is at Matsutake.

My nephew is coming to visit next week. Perhaps this guy will be of interest, we'll have to see!

Baby Quilt #2

I made another baby quilt for another friend who is pregnant. This one is for a baby who's gender is a secret until birth, so I went for the gender neutral colors. It is bright and fun.

I didn't have the best light for taking photos, but here they are anyways.

 As you can see I did a diagonal stripped pattern.

 I used a very soft minky fabric for the back. Yes it is bright orange. It matches some of the orange in the top of the quilt, and this baby has parents that both went to the University of Illinois, an orange school.

I added a little tag on the corner that says the quilt is made by me!

I kind of put these two tutorials together, found here and here, and pieced a quilt top instead of using a solid piece of fabric for the results above.

Baby Quilt

One of my childhood friends had a baby a few weeks ago, and I decided to make the baby a quilt. The only other real quilting I've done was when I made a table runner, so this was exciting. I choose fabrics, which was not so easy. At first I wanted them to be baby fabrics, but later decided that wasn't the look I was going for, so I ended up picking other fabrics. I watched a very helpful YouTube video on how to make this 'disappearing nine patch' pattern, and off I went cutting, sewing, piecing etc. A disappearing nine patch is when you make a square made up of nine squares (3x3), and then cut it into quarters rotating them, so the seams do not line up.

 I ended up with a quilt top that looked like this:

I then added a border, layered the back batting and front, quilted it with ties, added the binding with mitered corners, and I was done!

Doesn't it look so nice on my couch and little chair?! I am tempted to make one for myself.

I hope little Lainey enjoys it for many years to come.

Bow Tie Ben

My big brother Ben is a bow tie wearer. I don't think he wears long ties, I think he's pretty much exclusively a bow tie man. Just like my dad wears a handle bar mustache, my brother wears a bow tie.  Even for my wedding, all the guys wore matching long ties but I knew Ben needed his own matching bow tie so he'd feel like himself, so that's what he wore.


Ben was visiting and handed me a small strip of fabric and a bow tie that he likes wearing. He asked if I could make him a bow tie out of the fabric he gave me. It was kind of thick, almost a home decor weight fabric, which I wasn't sure how it would work up for such a small item, but it ended up being just fine. I guess this fabric is for a friends wedding and he wanted a bow tie to match the decor.


I traced half the bow tie that fit him onto the fabric he provided. I left enough fabric to make seams etc...  I made 4 matching pieces, so that I would have front left & right, and back left & right.  I added some light weight fusible interfacing (so it would hold its shape) to half of the bow tie, and sewed it together.  Did a little flip inside out (with the thicker fabric was not an easy maneuver) ironed it and BOOM ready to go.

I realize I haven't been quite up with taking the photos in action lately. I will try to be more aware of this, but once I get crafting, I like the freedom of just doing it and not documenting the whole thing. . . SO here are the photos I do have.

Quilted Table Runner

Every time Pete and I go to visit his family in Seattle I seem to come back with a new craft project! This time was no different, my mother in law, Nancy, showed me how to quilt. I have a new found appreciation for quilts and quilters, knowing the time and patience it takes to make everything line up.

Nancy first handed me a book called Block Party and gave me a few choices of what would be a good first quilting project from this book. We decided on a table runner. The cool thing about this book is that it has patterns for what seems like a gazillion different quilt squares that are all the same size so they can be put together easily.  I sat, studied the squares and came up with three that I liked and thought went well together.

Nancy then sent me into her sewing room to find fabric from her stash. I first saw this awesome orange colored one and started pulling fabric from her different boxes (organized by color) and ended up with 4 fabrics, not including that first one I liked, but something even better. The primary colors!  Once I decided on fabric, I had to choose how to organize them in the three squares to make them all unique... I wanted them all to be different but corresponding.

I cut pieces out very carefully and followed the explicit directions in the book and from Nancy (she sat with me for the first one!). Who knew there was so much pressing with the iron and lining up of seams to make these things work out, but magically it turned out!  Once I had one square done, I was on my own running out to the garden, where Nancy was working, when I had a question. I ended up with three pretty sweet quilt squares. We then decided to put on the corresponding border, a muslin outline, and then came the batting, backing and the trim. I even learned how to make mitered corners on the trim!

This is what turned out:

Deciding on backing & trim fabrics.

Completed front.

The back. This fabric has the look of being a quilt, but it's really one piece.

I hand quilted a few ties on it, to hold the layers together.

Mitered corners! I hand sewed the trim on the back side while on the plane.

Not bad for a first quilting project if I do say so myself!

Pillow Rescue

My mom and dad have this pillow that's been around for many many years. It finally bit the dust, and my mom asked me to rescue the beautiful tapestry on the front... so I did!

I carefully removed the front panel which was in fine condition (other than being dirty from couch use for probably 15 years). I used my seam ripper to remove the front.  I tossed the back fabric and the stuffing which I am sure had dust mites out the wazoo.  I then washed the tapestry part with some woolite, and BOY did it need washing!  I hung it up to dry and went to the fabric store.  I got some dec weight black fabric and some cool cord for the trim.

I never have sewn using a trim before so I looked at some projects on some of my favorite DIY blogs, and figured it couldn't be that hard! I then used the old noggin and figured why not use the zipper foot. I recently have been convinced that sewing can't be that hard, so why not give things a try that I've never done before!  The zipper foot for my sewing machine in theory is used for zippers, but is also perfect for getting right up against the edge of something. (Not sure if this is a conventional way to do trim, but it made sense in my head!)

I first basted the trim to the front, so it would be easier in the long run, I did this on my machine using the longest stitch length. Then I pinned all around right sides together, and sewed right up against the trim which was sandwiched between the front and back. I flipped it inside out and POOF it worked!

I then got Pete to help me stuff the new pillow form into the cover. Then I sewed up the hole and it looks great (if I do say so myself). Then I took pictures and realized that the colors in the tapestry magically match MY couch just perfectly... BUT  ho hum, I did re-do the pillow for my parents so I will give it back to them.

Throw Pillow Covers

I have had the same futon and throw pillows since college.  I used to use a nice tablecloth/flat sheet to cover the futon. No matter how well I tucked it, it would fall off, or get into a bunch. The two mismatched throw pillows have been around just as long as the sheet cover.  One is bright blue fleece, and the other a blue/green/purple plaid chenille.

Pete and I just moved and decided that it was time to buy a proper futon cover that zipped around. We bought a nice solid lavender colored cover. I then decided that I would make matching covers for the pillows, so that we would have pillows that matched the futon.

I made them out of three pieces of fabric, front, and two back pieces so I could slide the pillow in, yet have the back look finished. 

This is what turned out:

 

 

Sun Hat

So the 2nd try I tweaked a few things, and poof it actually worked!  In my last post I mentioned that sewing is not my strong suit. I also mentioned that every time I have messed with a sewing pattern, I have ruined the project... well this time the changes worked! WOO HOO!!!

I've been obsessing over this cute hat for days now.  I enlarged the pattern to 130%, and added an extra inch in length. (I continued the flared line one inch longer and drew a straight line across the bottom) This worked perfectly!  This pattern is made with two fabrics so it can be flipped inside out for two different looks. The best part is that it took me less than an hour, except if you count blogging time I went over ;-)

Here are the results:

1st Try = Not Quite Right

SO as I said before there is a sweet project post that I will post about probably on Sunday...

In the mean time I have been obsessing over the cutest hat on Prudent Baby!!! As many of you know,  I am not much of a sewer. Most of my projects are paper based, but I figured I would give this hat a go. I went to the fabric store, hemed and hawed over what fabric to get and finally chose some. I got cute fabric to make my nephew a hat, and I also got fabric to make myself a hat.

I then looked at the pattern and saw that people were having sizing issues. I know my nephew has a 19.5" circumference head. I measured the pattern, did some math and choose to make the pattern at 120%.That was my first mistake!  I think its going to be too big. The hat fits me in a funny kind of a way. BUT I think  I will pop the hat in the mail to see if it fits him or not. He will probably just pull it off his head anyways!

I have a 22" head. I think I might make the pattern for me the same size, but add a few inches in the length. (This is where I get myself into trouble! Sewing isn't my strongest suite, and making changes to a pattern on a whim never turns out well for me, but I might give it a go anyways.)

So here are some pictures of me wearing this hat...pattern at 120% for my nephew...

Childhood Crafts

I've been visiting my parents the past few days, and have tried to document the millions of crafts that some how have turned into permanent fixtures in their house. Not much explaining is needed, these are things I've made that have stuck around, some for probably close to 20 years (look for the blue bird). I might come to a max on photos for this one, hope the blog can handle it!

I made this bird in elementary school out of clay. 

This is a coaster I made at Nobles Day Camp, I was probably in elementary or middle school.

This recipe holder I made in shop class either at camp or in middle school. 

I used to make TONS of little clay creatures!

This is a paperweight. I saved up stamps that came on mail, got them off the envelopes and covered a rock, I have to say it's held up well! 

I once made this cake stand out of a wooden candle stick and a plate. I don't think we ever used it. It sits on a shelf now way up high, I almost missed it up there. Mom, no hard feelings if you want to get rid of it!

When I was in high school I worked in a paint your own pottery studio. I painted this tile and many other things which I know I missed around the house. 

This plate was an experiment with soap bubbles!  It worked, but then the plate broke... I wonder if I could find another place to make another one. If I could only remember what kind of soap it was to not make the kiln blow up!

When my brother was in 9th grade he was an apprentice in a glass blowing studio. I went to visit and got to make a paperweight. This was with a TON of help but I did pick the colors AND they are still my favorites, purple and lime green!

A painting. 

 This is a datebook I made my mom, I have to remember to make her a new one. She asked a while ago, OOPS!

An origami ball, yep I made it. What do you do with one of those? Well you let it collect dust!

A great crane mobile if I do say so myself! It is made out of silver wire, beads and some interesting papers. 

A thing of what looks like lucky charm marshmallows. They are actually little paper stars. I got really into making these in high school. They are fun and quick. 

Some cranes on the light. The middle one is tiny.

 Strings of origami cranes in my bed room at my parents house.

There is MUCH more, but for now that is all.

SO - That's about it for the Sara Museum that is my parents house.