Anthems and Nonsense

Do you ever hear a song that sounds sort of like an anthem and even though the lyrics may be terrible it's catchy enough that the chorus kicks in and you shout it at the top of your lungs?? Well I do. There is something therapeutic about it. Almost like, no matter what it is I'm saying right now, it expresses a certain emotion, usually not at all related to the lyrics (at least for me). This week the song is We Are Young by Fun and of course they are playing it like every 5 minutes on the radio. Don't judge. If you are having trouble trying to conjure up a song you may have felt this way about a popular one is Here I Go Again on My Own by Whitesnake... although this whole tangent might apply more to those who secretly have always wanted to be a singer in a band and don't have the vocal abilities (me).

So that is not at all related to sewing but it was on my mind so I decided to share. In my sewing world this week I had some frustrations with my machine. I got all geared up to try and make this bag, The Weekender, that I pinned on Pinterest a while ago.

I got out my materials which included this brown and white decorator fabric, costume pleather, and some scraps for a possible liner which is not included in the original tutorial.

I started cutting and even though I read through the directions at least 4 times, of course I cut it wrong. 5 inches to short and not enough fabric left over to do it again :(

So I decided I would just modify it a bit. I usually count on my first try at any one pattern as being a prototype so this doesn't bother me too much. Then as I continued to read through the instructions I just felt really confused and there were no pictures to really show certain things and I like to see it not just read it, it's how I teach myself new techniques. So I just decided I would do it the best way I thought and take lots of pictures and make my own tutorial inspired by the bag.

Fast forward to me starting to sew and I can't get my tension right. ARGH! I fiddle with it for awhile, but I was also sewing at Miranda's and didn't have all of my stuff with me. So I decided the best thing for my sanity was to pack it in and finish it at home.

So tune in next week for my first ever (inspired) tutorial...

Holly

Fat Tuesday sewed a pattern

(and she kicked and screamed and only did it one more time ever)...

Easter is coming y'all! Remembrance of the greatest gift ever given, the annual Smith egg hunt.....and new dresses! Well here is my first attempt, (two years ago), at an Easter dress to get you in the mood to sew something for the little one's in your life...

This was my second sewing project ever. It's a "See & Sew" pattern #B5198. It was a bear to sew. I'm not sure if it was the pattern or just that I was so new to sewing in general but it seemed excessively hard at the time.

(PS- check out that wrist chub- she slays me. I'm so in love)

 It's supposed to have a zipper but I fell for these buttons so I adjusted it a bit for elastic loops and buttons instead...

In retrospect I should have used a solid fabric, it turned out way too busy for my taste even with the seemingly simple pattern. I like the bright springiness of it, but it seems a bit overwhelming.

So there you have it- dress, bag, and headband (way too scrunchy- live and learn) all made by Mama for my first girl on her second easter. (And for the record the things she's double fisting are grapes and strawberries- a treat but not one to make a kid go crazy in church, just one to make Mama stress about the dress and strawberry juice...).

I'll be back next week with last years dresses for both my girls (and a pair of pants for the boy!), and the week after that with this years skirts.  Happy dress making folks- 

Fat Tuesday's (one) original idea

Well I'm on the run today, (no, not from anything), a million things to do and only 24 hours to do them in. Hrm, tricky. So I'm just popping in to show you a quick something.

They're powder bags in case you were wondering. What is a powder bag you ask? It's my one lone original idea. Here in San Diego any day is can pretty much be a beach day if you want it bad enough. My trouble after I had kids was the whole question of how to not bring the whole beach home with us, and how to time the beach day so that I could arrive home in time to give the kids a bath before naps.

This is the answer to that. Someone told me that a little baby powder sprinkled on the hands and feet, (and arms and legs and everywhere else), and then dusted off again would take off beach sand and leave your little ones clean enough to skip the bath, at least for nap time that is. I tried it and they were right- it's magic, the sand falls right off. But why carry around a bottle of baby powder when you could have pretty fabric instead- and why dust all your children yourself when you could just hand them a powder bag and they could do it (willingly!) themselves as you pack up?

The interior pouch is filled with baby powder and sewn shut (yes, this means some day it will run out- I've had mine for two years and it's still fairly full- I'm not worried) to make a little pouch that you simply rub over your skin to remove the sand. The powder comes thru the fabric just enough to be useful without getting used up immediatly. The exterior pouch is vinyl and velcro to keep a perfect seal on the baby powder pouch and keep your car/diaper bag clean. Now how fun is that? I sell these for $10 apiece, (or $15 for custom fabric), plus shipping and I'd love to say that they are in my etsy shop and to go take a look- but alas, it's not true. I haven't posted any recently. If you are interested though I'd love to make you one- just write my a note in the comments with your email and we'll chat okay?

Spring is in the air folks- enjoy it!

Florence and the Diaper Bag

As promised, I not only bring you sewing but a completed project as well. First thing I have completed since before Christmas. This past week or so I have been listening to the Ceremonials album by Florence and the Machine. Let me tell you the album is A-MAH-ZING and totally inspiring. So much so I went ahead and named my bag after it.

Way back in November I bartered for these darling crocheted animal hats for my kids from a friend, Niki, and in return I offered to make her a diaper bag. On a side note let me just tell you how awesome bartering is and I think we should do it way more often... trading your services/skills for someone elses, it just makes sense! Anyhow, my friend didn't find out what she was having until January. It was a girl (after having 4 boys how stoked was she!) and her request was a smallish pink and gray diaper bag that could hold diapers, wipes, clothes and a blanket. I have not felt much like creating lately and while making several purses last summer/fall for Oktoberfest I learned I much prefer making up my own pattern. Well as I mentioned above I have found great inspiration from the Florence and the Machine album, so, I give you the Florence Diaper Bag (tutorial to follow in the months to come):

The front has two pockets and each side has a bottle (or phone) sized pocket. I went ahead and used interfacing on both the outside and the lining (typically I only do the outside) so that way the bag was nice and sturdy and would hold it's shape with nothing in it. ( I like to say it has integrity and will stand up even when no ones watching it.. ha ha. lame joke I know)

On the inside I thought it might be nice if the pockets had some give so you could fit a few diapers or whatever in them. I made the pocket 3 inches larger than the lining piece and then used 1/4 inch elastic encased in the top and a gathering stitch on the bottom before I sewed the lining together.

I hope you like it... I am very happy with how it turned and will probably make one for myself once I find out the gender of number 4.

See ya next week!

Holly