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

Singer Circa 1973

It was a great effort on his part.  Christmas, a gift for his wife, something that would be the catalyst for a new hobby, a way to connect with other women who sew...

Who knew when he went to pick up the Singer sewing machine bought via craigslist that it would be older than her???

Well, we had a Beginners 1-2-3 Sewing Night tonight, incorporating some friends that have sewing machines and admittedly are baffled by them, and good ol' 1973 was there in all her glory.  I wasn't too worried.  We had two non-newbie sewers ready to teach some basics: winding the bobbin, threading the needle, sewing a straight stitch.  Surely we could tackle a bit of history between the two of us.

Correction: we did not tackle Singer '73.  She tackled us.  

We tried the manual.  It was baffling.  All these illustrations of women sewing without a care in the world; housewives in clearly uncomfortable outfits that made it obvious that we were definitely doing something wrong.  Maybe I needed to do my hair before starting to sew.  Maybe I need to be in high heels.  Or have my angelic children sitting at my feet reading a book.

The bobbin is what did us in.  Apparently you wind it while it's still in the bottom of the machine.  We got it wound, we pulled the thread up, we were ready to sew, and then we heard the sound of OLD metal parts scratching together.  This machine had not been used in years (conservative estimate ... decades is more like it). I gave up before inevitably getting a piece of flying shrapnel in my eye.

Our friend's husband is to be commended for the gesture.  Truly, he is.  And, it's nothing personal against Singer '73.  But for a new sewer, I really think it's worth the investment to get some current (in the last 10 years?) technology.  At the very least, you know you'd be able to find some extra bobbins at the local JoAnns.

Ah....a fun night was had by.....well, by Singer '73, who was returned smugly to her carrying case, knotted threads, crazy bobbins, misleading manual and all.

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

Fat Tuesday does feet

              Adorbs right? And they finally fit! I made these from Anna Maria Horner's book Handmade Beginnings way back when I was pregnant with Missy, (who turned 16 months today- sad and wonderful at the same time),   and didn't know if she was a Miss or a Mister, (pay no attention to the large pink polka dot- good thing she was a girl eh?). They are super charming and easy. It probably took me three hours to make these and that was waaaay back two years ago when I was considerably slower. Cozy flannel on the inside and cotton on the outside- I should have used some sweet "Little Folks" fabric but sadly I didn't know where to buy it at the time. (Which, incidentally, if you live in the San Diego area go by Maisonette for fabric- great selection and darling girls to buy it from. I love them). If I made these again I might cut down the pattern for a newborn and spring for some colored elastic. Go over here and see where I blogged about them before, (or go over there because you can see them on cute baby feet).
           
                  (A word on covered buttons because Melody asked me to share- they're easy and fun, you can buy them over here. They don't take a big fancy machine, just a simple rubber knob that usually comes with the bottons. I like to put a hair elastic thru the loop of the button and use them as last minute presents for little girls or just on any clothing project- they definitely take take handmade up a notch).

Reminiscing About Oktoberfest

I confess that I have have not sewn a thing this week. Between being pregnant, having a slight cold and just the busyness of life, the week quickly passed by.

My computer is my TV, or my TV is my computer, whichever way you look at it when my screen saver goes on it scrolls through all of the pics on my iphoto. I was watching it the other day and a few photos from this past October's Oktoberfest came up and I was able to reminisce about my experience. I decided to go ahead and share some of that with you.

Here is an inside view of out both:

Here is an outside view of our both:

Sorry the pictures aren't that great, but it's what I had. Miranda and I decided, after some encouragement from our spouses and some friends, to try and sell some of our hand made goods at our local La Mesa Oktoberfest. So doing little to no research we sent in our money and committed to a spot for 3 days. The months leading up to it were an emotional roller coaster with thoughts of "what if we sell out on the first day?" to "what if we don't sell anything?" and every thought in between. I don't think either of us has ever sewn, or thought we would ever sew, so much on our lifetime. And for the first time in my short sewing career I started to not enjoy myself very much. Well the weekend came, we worked our little booties off, we learned more about each other than most ever get the opportunity to, and we broke even. Which let's face it, is all you can really ever ask for. I think after we were done we decided that if we were to ever do it again we would do our research and sign up for something that costs us way less and is way less of a time commitment. But in the end it was a huge learning opportunity.

Well, come back next Thursday... I promise to have some sewing to show you and possibly even a completed project.

Holly

Show & Tell Time - My First Projects

Hello friends! 

When it comes to my humble sewing roots, I'm pretty much still a sewing newbie by most regards.  I first set my hands on a sewing machine back in April of 2011, thanks to Melody teaching me how to sew and to Holly for selling me her old machine.  My original goal was to be able to make my own costumes and creative attire for parties, events, and trips.  I have many artistic friends through the Burning Man community who are performers and skilled costume-putting-together-ers, and they inspire me every time I see their clothing & costume creations. In the truest sense, I had to learn to crawl before dance, so I started making some household creations before I ventured into clothing and costumes.  Once I got the hang of it, I soon realized that there's a whole world of things that can be sewn or crafted ~ who knew?!? 

The rest of tonight's post will be mostly visual.  Admit it, you know you like flipping through a magazine to peruse the pictures and skim the captions.  It's ok, me too. 

So, without further ado, here are some fun fotografias.

My first project ever.  A set of placemats with matching cloth napkins that fit inside the convenient placemat pocket.
Oh la la!



2nd project was the matching apron ~ it's reversible!

These plain white dish towels are plain no more!!
 

My first bag!! A bunch of your SUTI (Sewing Under the Influence  - get it???) bloggers all took a quilting class and made the same type of bag. 
I totally fooled some of my coworkers and friends ~ they thought it was a "crafty - looking" purse from a chic boutique. 

The Sewing Mat bag - to carry all my sewing supplies as I travel to Monday Night Sew In gatherings.  It holds  so much stuff and is very sturdy.



 These placemats & matching coasters ended up as a gift to my mother.

Burp Cloths for my coworker ~ she had a little boy with a monkey themed nursery.... I expanded and went with monkeys and other jungle animals

Matching Bib and Placemat for a friend's new baby girl, Maddy


Much love & sunshine!

Nina