Abby or Lena... that is the question.

Some of you know that John and I have settled on naming the baby girl Abilene and I had just assumed we were going to call her Abby for short. Well as I was slouching on the couch the other evening John says to me "what about calling her Lena for short?" I had several thoughts run through my head within seconds. "no, were calling her Abby" " where did you get Lena from oh abiLENE" "huh, I never thought of that...what do I think of that" "well it's sooo different from Abby" "I kind of like it". All that came out of my mouth was "I don't know". Some things come with the baby and nicknames are definitely one of them. But I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. Maybe it's my tendency to plan things in advance or maybe it's just because my brain is on baby stuff. Either way I'd like to know what you think. So share your thoughts...Abby or Lena???

I did put together some things last week for said girl. I made two coordinating sheets for her crib. I use Dana"s pattern from MADE, which you can find here. I love making crib sheets and only wish i had know how simple it was sooner. Buying boring or baby looking sheets is just no fun and so for the same price (or way cheaper if you've got a coupon) you can make you own out of cotton, flannel or knit.

Both of these are cotton and I found the fabric at Joann's. They came together real simply. Just a little udder 2 yds of fabric and 80 inch of 1/4 inch elastic.

I also whipped out (..up...out..??) this gauze blanket, mentioned here. I had gotten some really cute gauze fabric from fabric.com in order to make some gauze swaddle blankets. Here is one of the fabrics I got.

I also love how easy and cost effective this was. It only takes a yard and 1/4, or a 45 inch square to be exact. So at $3.99 a yd it only cost about $5 bucks.

To finish off the edges I just did a double fold hem and straight stitched it. When I got to the corners I just folded one down onto the other so I didn't have to worry about being too fancy.

After I washed it up and was so soft and wrinkly I just love it!!! Can't wait to swaddle the little cutie in this cute blanket... 13 (to 15) weeks left and counting down.

Until next time...

Holly

Lets Hear it for the Girl!!

So last week I found out I was having a girl and I am oh so very excited!!! Besides all of the clothes I want to sew and freezer stencil for her I am also looking forward to sewing everything for her nursery/blanket needs. If you recall last October, Miranda and sold some of our handmade items at Oktoberfest. One of the things I had made on a whim one day was this precious baby "quilt". I put quotations around that because technically a quilt is fabric sandwiching padding and sewn together. Well I sewed my pieced top straight onto fleece with no padding. I wanted to give it a more comfy baby feeling. When I was done I had fallen in love with it and at the time (not pregnant) wanted to keep it for myself on the off chance I ever had another baby and it would be a girl. But that seemed silly. Well no one has purchased said quilt and now pregnant with a girl, it is all mine!!!

The lighting doesn't do the colors justice, but it is shades of green, turquoise and taupe with hints of yellow.

The design is a basic subway pattern but I added fours scattered square blocks throughout of bigger patterns to help break up the straight lines. Some of the fabric came from fat quarters from Joann's, but a few of the other scraps came from a scrap bag I purchased last summer at the Sisters out door quilt show and just to name drop the scrap bag was from Valori Wells' studio (so I was told). I also have some scraps that came from a shirt my mom made last summer and a blanket I made for a friend last year with fabric purchased from the Stitchin Post in Bend, OR. So there are many cool memories linked to this quilt and I think I was just meant to keep it.

Something else I did differently on this quilt, besides the fleece backing, was to use ribbon binding. I typically make my own binding and hand sew it on, but I wanted to try something new and knowing it was a baby blanket I have always like the texture and look of ribbon edging.

Lastly, this is a photo of some flannel from Joann's I randomly picked up several months ago. Flannel was on sale, I saw this, loved it and bought 2 yards...ha ha. Not only is it really cute and has birds... but the greens and blues and taupe match perfectly with the above blanket. I think my nursery is decorating itself. Now what to make with this.. a crib sheet? a self binding flannel blanket? Something else entirely?

What do you think??

See you next week!

Holly

Fat Tuesday's quick projects

Well unfortunately this is another week where I am writing this late monday night with a ton of other things on my plate- so short and sweet it is. 

(Freezer paper stenciled shirts for my kids)

This isn't strictly sewing per-se, but it's crafty and I use it in conjunction with sewing quite a bit. Have you heard of Feezer Paper Stenciling? It's so easy and fun. You just buy freezer paper, cut out the shape you want, iron the paper onto the item you want to paint (with the glossy side of the paper down), paint with fabric paints, and peel off the paper- viola! Don't forget to put a thin cloth over the paint after it's dried and give it a good ironing to seal the paint and keep it from getting so peely in the wash. I have another great example but I'll have to save it because it's a present and I don't want to give away the surprise. 

Next quick project: bed warmers

(a stack of folded warmers after a fit of Christmas sewing)

This one is easy and quick too. Buy some muslin, cut two pieces 7" x 14", sew together on three sides, turn rightside out and fill with 2 1/2 cups of rice, tuck your ends in and sew shut. Pick some cute flannel and cut one long peice 7.5" x 32", fold the ends down (wrong sides together) 1/4" and iron, fold over another 1" and sew. Fold whole piece in half (right sides together) and sew down each side, turn your pocket right side out, insert your warmer into it's washable comfy pocket, put in the microwave for 2-3min and stuff down at the bottom of your bed. Enjoy the cozy. Hurry quick before it gets warm!

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!

Ahoy!

I'm taking a break from my quilts for a bit to tell you about my newest hobby: sailing.

...joking...

One of my favorite movies is What About Bob?.  You HAVE to watch the "I'm Sailing" video clip.  It's one minute long. Do it.  You know you want to.

"Dr. Marvin!  Guess what! Ahoy! I sail!  I'm a sailor! Isn't this a breakthrough?!  Out on a boat...on a lake...way far away from the dock...with the wind, and the wind, and, and the sky and everything??  AHOOOY!"""

No, really, I am taking a break from my quilts (just finished one last week!) (and I have two more to work on!) to sew a couple little ties onto some onesies.  I had a friend special order a tie with a sailboat theme (hence my reference to What About Bob), as she's going to an 80th birthday party for someone in her family, and there is some sailing significance.  

not sewing the little onesie to itself is difficult

 As soon as I finished her order, she called and said her cousin wanted the same thing for HER baby boy, so ...  fabric shopping, onesie buying, and bing bang BOOM!  Two sailing twinsies in onesies will be showing up to the party in STYLE!

corners are difficult

So my question is...when using a zig zag stitch, how do you make the corners identical?  As I'm turning the shirt, sometimes it looks like I went over it twice (like the top left corner) and sometimes it looks like I completely skipped it (like the top right corner)!  Any help on that one? 

Maybe I can get a cute picture of the 2 boys in their shirts and post an update! I'll see what I can do for you, faithful readers...  

Did you watch the video clip?  :)

Full Apron with Pockets Tutorial

Surprise..... Happy Birthday!!! That's what shouted to Tina this past weekend at her surprise birthday party.  Prior to said party, I crafted a really cute pink/grey/yellow apron for her gift.  Here is the tutorial for the apron.  It was really simple to make, so if you're a sewing newbie, this would be a great beginner's project.  You might be like me and practically spend more time picking out the fabric than making the apron itself.


Fabric Needed:
1 yard main fabric
1/2 yard (ish) accent fabric
1 Package Large RicRac


Cut Fabric Pieces
**** Disclaimer: I made this apron by sight & roughly copying the measurements of the starter apron.  Then, I gave the finished product as a gift before I remembered to measure it for this blog.  Oops! So, please use your best judgement and alterations to my measurements below for your apron.  The measurements are a rough guess at best.

Main body: roughly 24 inches wide (at the widest point) & roughly 36 inches long
Neck strap: 27 inches long & 4 inches wide
Side tie straps: 25 inches long & 3 inches wide
Big pocket: 11 inches tall & 19 inches wide
Small pocket: 4 inches tall & 4 inches wide
Top Trim: width of the top of the main body piece plus 1 inch & 2 inches tall
RicRac: Cut pieces as needed to cover the width, plus a little extra for around the edge (photo below shows this better than I explain it)


First, here's my inspiration - a homemade apron that I saw hanging in Melody's kitchen.  Her grandma made it (I think).

The neck strap is not adjustable.  The side ties are adjustable.  The original had a single pocket off to the right side.  You'll see (farther below) that I expanded it to be a full pocket, divided into 2 halves.  Plus I added a small pocket up top just for cuteness' sake.  Remember: Fashion first; function later. :-)

Cut out all pieces using the measurements above (by far the most time consuming and boring part of the process).
Main body: Fold the main body fabric in half length-wise.  That way, when you cut out the shape, it's symetrical. The curved part is about 8 inches tall and  cuts in about 8 inches on each side.  I recommend you measure yourself as you may be much smaller or much larger than I.  Luckily, this is an apron, not a formal gown, so measurements and sizing are not as critical.

Big Pocket: Fold over the top of the big pocket piece about 1/4 inch.  Fold over the sides and bottom about 1/4 also.  Press all.  Then, fold over the top again another 1 inch (at least) - it should be on top of the side fold.  Sew (straight stitch) the top fold only 1/4 inch from the edge of the original fold.

Small Pocket: Fold over the top of the big pocket piece about 1/4 inch.  Fold over the sides and bottom about 1/4 also.  Press all.  Then, fold over the top again another 1/2 inch - it should be on top of the side fold.  Sew (straight stitch) the top fold only 1/4 inch from the edge of the original fold.

RicRac Pocket Detailing: You'll have stitching going across the big & small pockets at this point.  Pin the RicRac to the pocket so it covers said stitch, and fold over the side edges.  Stitch the RicRac in place.

Side Ties: Fold the side tie pieces in half, length wise, right sides togeth.  Press.  Sew (1/4 inch seam allowance) along the long edge and one of the short edges.  Clip the corner. Flip right side out.  Press. Repeat steps for the second side tie.

Neck Strap: Fold the neck strap piece in half, length wise, right sides togeth.  Press.  Sew (1/4 inch seam allowance) along the long edge.  Flip right side out.  Press.

Main Body: Fold over edge of curved sides of the main body piece about 1/4 inch.  Press. Sew in place.

Top of Main Body & Top Edge: Lay main body piece right side DOWN. Lay down the neck tie so that the open short edges line up with the top edge of the main body and the outside edges of the nect stap lines up with the side edges of the main body.  IMPORTANT: Make sure your neck strap isn't twisted wrong.  Lay the top edge piece right side DOWN on top, lining the top edge with the main body piece & neck tie.  Fold the sides of the top edge piece in so the width lines up with the width of the main body piece & outer edges of neck strap.

Flip the top edge piece over the top of the main body piece.  Press the top edge.  Fold under the exposed bottom edge of the top piece.  Press & pin.  Stitch across.

RicRac Detailing: Follow the same steps as above for sewing the RicRac on the top edge piece.
Big Pocket:  Fold the big pocket in half so the fold is vertical.  You should still have the center fold of the main body piece from when you cut it out.  If not, refold the main body piece so there's a center vertical fold.  Align the folds of the main body piece & big pocket.  Pin and sew the two side edges and bottom edge of the pocket. Next, sew a vertical line up the center of the big pocket to divide it into two pockets.

Small Pocket: At this point, you have you neck strap finished and big pocket in place.  I recommend trying on the apron as-is to find a good placement for the small pocket.  Roughly pin in place while wearing the apron. Take it off and adjust your pinned small pocket as needed.  Pin and sew the two side edges and bottom edge of the small pocket. 
Side Ties: On the main body piece, fold over edge about 1/2 inch. Take the unfinished end of the side tie and place it inside the folded side edge.  Then fold the side tie towards the outside so that the fold lines up with the inside edge of the side of the main body.  Sew down the entire side of the main body.  Repeat on the other side of the main body.

Main Body (Bottm Edge): Fold over the bottom edge of the main body piece about 2 inches.  Fold it again.  Sew across (1/4 inch seam allowance).  This will create a thicker/heavier bottom of the apron, which will help it hang better when wearing and moving around in it. 

Voila!!  I chose not to RicRac the bottom, though you can take this simple tutorial and run wild it, adding all the RicRac, bling, and countless pieces of flare as your heart may desire.

All finished and folded pretty ~ time to wrap it up before the birthday party!

So, how was my first attempt at a tutorial?? If I didn't explain something well enough, ask!  I'll make updates and answer as needed.  If you make the apron using this tutorial, please pin/link back to this blog.  Thanks!

Cheers,

Nina

unnamed quilt...finished.

Meet ______________.

 I have yet to name her.  She's a surprise gift for a friend, whose husband asked me to "make her a purple quilt....and grey.....king size...."  We later nixed the king size for a throw size that she could still "throw" on to her "king size" bed if she wanted to.

My proudest accomplishment on this one:  four awesome corners.  I've never had all four corners look...well, like corners.  I'm going to go ahead and pat myself on the back for this one!

I had a wonderful lady that I met at a quilting class last year do the quilting on her long-arm quilting machine, and she did it for a great price!  It makes me want to get started on my next quilt!  She has made a loyal customer out of me...look at those awesome flowers/leaves/squiggles...  Love it.

Oh, and my handsome husband is already testing out its comfy rating before we give it to the recipient. Verdict:  8.5 out of 10.  And that's pre-washing!  

Here's the big picture of the quilt, where you can see the pattern.  I used the Seville pattern  by one of my favorite quilter/bloggers, Cluck Cluck Sew.

Any suggestions on names?

Finishings

Happy Day-After-Fat-Tuesday aka the start of Lent aka 40 days til Easter! Whoa, time flies.


Last week, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I had Presidents Day off from work.  So, I took full advantage of that 3 day weekend opportunity to sew, and finish my projects I had been lagging on finishing lately.  Are any of you like me?  Here's how I go...  1. Get excited for a new piece of fabric or a new project started. 2.  After putting in significant time on said project, lose interest and/or get stuck on a difficult step in the process. 3.  Find another exciting new piece of fabric and/or project to start.  4.  Oops, now I have multiple almost-done projects that I just can't get motivated to finish.  Just me or can you relate?


Well here are some updates and final products that I kicked in gear this past holiday weekend.


The thread board that my honey designed and made for me.  OK, actually, HE finished the project.  I really had no hand in it and can take NO credit.  Great job babe!!!.  He painted it a vibrant turquoise color.  Now I just need to buy more thread to fill all the available places for the spools!

The Christmas (yes, that's right CHRISTMAS) dish towels that I hadn't finished yet for my Grandmother.  I had finished one for her by Christmas, and wrote an IOU note for the rest.  I bought the dishtowels at Target, and sewed in 2 strips of matching Christmas fabric on each.  My beverage of choice that easy-going afternoon was a delish brown ale, Newcastle.  Yum.

Here's the progression of the birthday tote bag that I started on a Sew-Day with my girlfriend, Catherine a while back.  It is a good Spring time bag - big & sturdy, definitely able to hold the kids' towels and toys for a beach adventure day.  I found the blog with the tutorial via my friend via TipNut (Tote Bag Tutorial).  Here's the free tutorial and PDF pattern, should you want to make this cute and useful bag.  Be forewarned - if you're not a quilter (which I'm not), be aware that the bag calls for a significant amount of binding, which can be difficult and time consuming.  Overall, the bag turned out really well, and I'm glad I made it.

There are a bunch of steps in the process that I forgot to capture on my camera - oops!

These two are of Catherine's bag in progress.  She and I made the same bag.  I love her color and pattern choices!



Happy days to all!

Cheers ~ Nina

Happy Heart Day!

Well, I know it's not earth shattering- but it is simple, and sweet, and inexpensive, and above all- fast! And fast is what I needed this rainy day before Valentines Day, so this fit the bill. Grab some cardstock, cut to a size that fits into any envelopes you may have laying around, snip out a few hearts, (I used a light weight canvas and it worked great), and stich those babies into place. Just a quick but heartfelt note jotted across the bottom and VOILA! Valentine card that are cuter (and cheaper)  than storebought but don't take hours away from your loved ones.

Love & Gifts & Red Hearts

It's Valentine's week, and the world's a flutter with hearts, cheesy love poems, balloons, and flowers... lots and lots of flowers!!!  I enjoy lovey-dovey stuff with the best of 'em, but I must say, I'd rather have my boyfriend surprise me with flowers, a card, or a sweet dessert on a random Tuesday just-because (which he does - I'm a lucky gal) rather than because-he's-supposed-to on February 14th.  

And this makes me think about gift giving in general.  Receiving a gift feels so good when it's just-because, whether it be a physical present, a special note, an unexpected personal piece of mail from a friend, or even a kind voicemail left on someone's machine.  Now that I've tapped into my sewy side, I am trying to make a lot more of the gifts I give rather than store bought.  I love it; they love it. It's a win-win!! I put my heart into the presents and I get so much joy seeing my friends and family open their gifts.

So here are a few of my favorite gifts that I gave this past Christmas...

I made a matching sets of makeup brush rolls that tie and zipper pouch makeup bags for many of my girl cousins and aunts.  The most fabulous part is the vintage lace with which I trimmed each of the zippered pouches.  The lace is from my Great Grandmother's house.  When she passed away, my Grandmother collected it and has had it sitting in her closet for many years.  When I shared my new love of sewing, she gave me the lace to use in my projects.  Now, as it has been gifted, in part, back to many of the women of the family, we all have a piece of my Great Grandmother to carry with us.

I made this dog bed for my dad and his new puppy, Tilly.  Tilly is an Blue Heeler Australian Cattle Dog.  She's the cutest thing, but tends to tear apart pretty much anything in her path.  My parents were leary when my dad opened his gift, knowing how sad we'd all be if Tilly were to destroy in mere minutes what I spent many hours putting together.  I didn't have a pattern or tutorial.  Instead, I started with giant (36" x36") psuedo quilt block of three diff fabrics.  There's a 4" wide stripe connecting the bottom and top pieces. The bottom was a sturdier denim fabric, with a buttoned opening that allows the inside liner pillow to be taken out and the outside cover piece can be washed.  Turns out, I have new love and respect for Tilly. She hasn't so much as layed a mischevious paw on her bed, except to sleep on it.  She sometimes even prefers to jump off my parents' bed at night to enjoy the coziness of her own Tilly Bed.  So sweet!!

(sorry for the blurry shot)

I purchased a bunch of extra fabric for this cute apron that I made for my mom, with the full intentions of making one for myself too.  So cute ~ matchy match!  I'm super close with my mom and that's just the cheesy fun stuff we love! Well, my half of the matchy hasn't happened yet.  I love this scalloped edge reversible apron! I found the tutorial here: Apron Tutorial).  I even made a matching little pot holder.  That's me modeling it to make sure it was done correctly, then my mom wearing it on Christmas morning for her "fashion show".

That old phrase "it's the thought that counts" is tried and true.  Show someone you love that you're thinking about them - in a gesture big or small.  Do it tomorrow on Valentine's Day.  Do it next Thursday because it's Thursday.  Do it as often as you can.  The smiles you'll start are contagious and easily shared!

Love love love ~ I'm such a romantic.

Cheers!

Nina