What a nice surprise to wake up to Melanie from Above All Fabric’s blog post featuring the drawstring bag I made for my little cousin from the Alexander Henry 2D Zoo and denim from her shop! Thanks Melanie! I just love that fabric, and I need to remember to order the new tiny version! Melanie has a great online fabric store – her shipping is fast and she even has rewards points!

Here is my blog post about the bag and there are more pictures on Flickr!

I’m excited to spend my weekend working on patterns for a zippered hipster, a makeup bag and a different kind of drawstring bag (based on all the lessons I learned making this one!) If you’re new to my blog, thanks for stopping by! I have some exciting stuff coming up soon if you want to check back!

Filed under: Sewing

I sit here eating the yummy new Trader Joe’s cereal…

Finding this at TJ’s this morning brightened my day, after a particularly frustrating trip to the Big Box Craft Store. The BBCS’s are a necessary evil. As much as I believe in shopping small and local, the quilt shops simply don’t have the assortment of interfacing, canvas, elastic and other random supplies that I need. And they certainly don’t have them for 40-50% off. When I’m buying 15 yards of Pellon SF-101, at $3.49 a yard, it sure helps to have that 50% off coupon. No matter how much I like the local quilt shops, saving $25 is a huge deal to me right now. Yes, yes I know buying online is a great alternative, especially if I’m buying in bulk or looking for modern designer fabric that my local quilt shops don’t have… but the problem is that no one online store has everything I need so I end up paying shipping multiple times. Some stores have reasonable shipping (or even cheap shipping!) but it still adds up when you are paying $3 here, $5 there, $8 there, etc. Plus, Laura (my awesome sis-in-law) came over and wanted to make a messenger bag and I’m working on bag patterns, so I needed the interfacing and didn’t want to wait a week for it to ship from California… and I had coupons…

So we braved the cutting counter last Saturday. The line was quick, but we got someone who didn’t know what any of the interfacing was even though I gave her the numbers on the bolt and told her which shelf it was on. At my BBCS they have the interfacing behind the counter. As many times as I BEG to just go back there and select what I want, they won’t let me and I’m stuck describing what fusible fleece is and explaining why it’s not the same as thermolam and why can’t you just find the one I asked for?? UGH. So she found the SF-101 eventually, but couldn’t find me a lightweight non-woven. I don’t know what it’s called because I don’t normally buy it. So I dared to ask for a couple to compare – knowing that it is normally accompanied by significant sighing and eye rolling from behind the counter. So we got the SF101 and moved on.

This stuff was totally defective. The glue dots were raised much more than usual. It felt like sandpaper. I know sometimes Pellon manufacturing is a bit wonky – the fusible fleece different almost every time I buy it, so I thought it would be OK. I tried pre-shrinking as per the instructions and let it hang to dry, and well… the glue dots all fell off! It looked like I spilled salt all over the counter! So, this morning I drove the 20 minutes BACK to the store and asked to exchange it. The girl didn’t understand what I meant by “glue dots” and repeatedly told me she didn’t understand what was wrong with it. She called over a manager and made it very clear she didn’t believe me (why would I lie?). I use this stuff every day and I know what I’m talking about. I even brought a sample from an old batch to show them what it should be like. She opened a new bolt to compare, and the new bolt was just like my little sample and nothing like the defective one. She grilled me about washing it – I showed her the pre-shrink directions on the instructions on the bolt and she just sighed more and looked at me like I was a criminal or something. She called over her manager and he told me that he was in a “good mood” so she could take care of me. Wow, gee, thanks. I’m only trying to exchange 5 yards of SF-101 for…. drumroll… 5 yards of SF-101! So I must absolutely be treated like I’m lying, or stealing, or just completely crazy, right? Of course. So cutting counter lady, I know you don’t like your job, but I was the first customer of the day. I even brought an example to show you what the problem was. You made it much more difficult than it had to be.

At least at checkout I was greeted by my favorite employee at the store. She must be a manager or something because she usually has a walkie on and she knows what she is doing. She is like the only nice person who works there, and she is always helpful – AND she let me apply my coupon to the new 5 yards! (Cutting counter lady wouldn’t let me, because I had originally bought 5 yards and 1 inch… it was the end of the bolt.)  I must find out her name and write a letter to corporate because she is worth more than all of the other employees put together.   Do you think maybe if they paid more than minimum wage they would get someone who knew something about sewing or at least about the products they sell? Maybe in a perfect world… I get that no one wants that job – standing on concrete for 8 hours, dealing with crazed shoppers. But it’s a craft store, generally people are in there to buy FUN things… do you really have to be rude to the first customer who is there at 10am? A good employee would be *concerned* that this happened, take down the info and offer to let someone know so they can alert Pellon, and apologize for the inconvenience. This store definitely has the worst customer service experience of all of the big box stores that I shop at, and the other stores’ employees probably aren’t getting amazing salaries, either. Something is making the difference and I wonder what it is?

So I’m off to pre-wash my interfacing, the same way I did before and have always done, and I bet the glue won’t fall off this time! Then I’m continuing with writing my patterns. The Sammy Bag is about 20% complete, and the Zip Hipster will follow along shortly. Not sure what I’ll do with them yet – An Etsy store wouldn’t be my first choice, but it’s fast and easy.  I better get them written first…

Filed under: Sewing

I got two fun new things made. For whatever reason Apple has decided the new phone doesn’t need a screen protector. Well, mine is already scratched. Just a tiny scratch, but annoying on such a beautiful device. I can’t help putting in my purse (where else am I supposed to put it?) so I made a sleeve for it so the face doesn’t get scratched. Since I have my amazing Feather case from Incipio the back is protected without adding any bulk to it and it fits right in the sleeve just like the phone would without a case. I added a little tab on the top and made a lanyard, so i can throw it around my neck when I walk the dogs. This idea came after trying to make an armband. While the concept would work well for a nano, the iPhone is way too wide to wear on an armband. In the end, I’m happier with this and it turned out really cute!

I was going to post a tutorial for this, but really all I did was cut 2 pieces of fabric 4″x10.5″ and a piece of batting, sew them together and then fold in half and sew up the sides. If anyone is interested (does anyone even read my blog?) I’ll post the instructions with pictures… let me know

Then I made another zippered bag. This one isn’t for me – well, it isn’t for anyone. I was just playing around. I made the zippered buttercup a while back, and noted what I would do differently. I changed some of the measurements for installing the zipper and I’m quite happy with it! I am very seriously considering making a pattern for this. I made this small size because I had some scrap fabric and a shorter zipper. I will definitely make a larger one with a brighter color that is easier to see. This isn’t difficult to make, but there are a couple tricks to it so that you can open the zipper up all the way. I know there are a lot of zipper patterns/tutorials out there, but I haven’t found anything that opens this wide. They always have tabs on the ends or sew the zipper into the sides that restrict the amount that the bag can open. It’s difficult to describe, so I was also considering borrowing Ken’s podcasting equipment to create a video tutorial that shows exactly how to do it.

It is really difficult to photograph the black fabric. I played with the brightness and contrast levels so you can actually see the design, but the fabric looks washed out. Oh well! I had confidence in this design, so I took the time to QUILT the outside!

I read something the other day by an “expert” that said it simply wasn’t possible to put a zipper in a purse with a small opening of this style. What can I say? I always got in trouble at school for challenging authority!

Anyway, I really had fun playing with this and after one almost-success (the buttercup) and then several in the garbage, it’s nice to get this right! I’ve realized that the fun part of sewing for me is figuring these things out. Making the same thing over and over gets so boring. Making something new is pure satisfaction, and another mark off the to-do list!

Filed under: Sewing

My mom’s computer is an odd shape so she wanted me to make her a laptop bag. I spent forever trying to figure out how to make the expandable pocket for her giant power cord, and I think it turned out pretty neat! Since I didn’t have a pattern for it, it was quite a process trying to figure out how to factor in the size and the seam allowances and I also didn’t actually have the laptop so that made it even more of a challenge. I’m glad I finished it, and now that I figured it out I think I might try to make one for myself with a zipper. The only problem is the webbing handles catching on the velcro, so I might try to cover the handles some how…

Filed under: Sewing

My cousin recently flew in with her family to celebrate her son’s first birthday.  Since they live far away, I didn’t want to get him a big toy they would have to ship back home, so I decided to make him some cute stuff from the Alexander Henry 2D Zoo fabric and denim I got from Above All Fabric.

I made the towel bibs first. A friend with a toddler said these are the best!

Then, of course, I had to do applique!

I used this cute free tutorial to make a sun hat.

Then I decided that rather than go buy a gift bag, I would make one! I’m so happy I figured out how to do the drawstring part – I will absolutely make more drawstring bags!

Here’s the whole set:

Filed under: Sewing

Yes, I took my sewing machine on vacation. Why not?

The morning before we left, Michelle’s new pattern came out and I couldn’t wait to try it!

This bag is the perfect size. It can hold all my day-to-day stuff plus my stainless water bottle and my big camera.

I used fusible interfacing on both the outside and lining and sandwiched a piece of sew-in interfacing. I also added a layer of Peltex to the bottom, which I fused to the sew-in and then basted to the bottom. I struggled a little bit with the bottom, but I made it work. I will try it again and if it still doesn’t turn out right I can always just cut an oval for the bottom. I also added regular pockets and a zippered pocket on the inside and a key hook. Overall, this bag really went together quickly. The most time consuming part was cutting and fusing.  (Don’t you love the sailboat ironing board cover? Too funny!)

See the whole set on Flickr!

Filed under: Sewing

Last week we packed up and headed north. The weather was beautiful and we really didn’t want to come home. It was about 65-75 each day and we did get a little rain but mostly at night. It was a quick trip but it was nice to get up there for 6 days since we rarely get to go for more than a weekend. We mostly stuck close to home, but we did find our way to some of our favorites!

Here’s the thing about Door County. There are about three radio stations, two television stations and cell phone and internet service varies from sketchy to non-existant depending on where you stand. It’s one of those places where you have to hold your phone over your head and hop on one leg to get 3 bars. (Especially if you hold your new phone “wrong”.) It’s worth it though, for a seemingly unending supply of gourmet food and this view:

Here are all of the pics in a set on Flickr!

Filed under: Random

This is my first quilt! I’ve done patchwork, binding and quilting, but never all in the same project like this. The closest I’ve gotten was the “quilt” I made with Minky for Lucy’s big sister, Zoey, but it didn’t have any quilting. I hope the girls don’t mind me practicing on them!

Lucy’s room is Safari themed so when I saw a bundle of this fabric at Tammy Tadd‘s in Sycamore, I couldn’t wait to make this. The fabric line is “Jolly Jungle” from Andover. I used TT’s pre-cut bundle of 11″ squares and I chose the panel for the back, the black for the sashing and the zebra stripe for the binding. I figured it would hide any mistakes and be so much cuter than a plain black binding. I used the Charm Squares Baby Quilt pattern from Sew Mama Sew and copied Elizabeth’s straight line quilting. (Can I just say I love my walking foot?) I pre-washed EVERYTHING (even batting) on HOT, hoping to minimize shrinkage and making sure the fabrics could take it since this is going to get drooled on, or worse! It was too darn cute to wash again before gifting, so I will have to make another one to see how it wrinkly it gets when you wash it. (I know many people like the wrinkles, I prefer to minimize them.) I used craft sized Warm & Natural batting and cotton Mettler thread.

The pattern says you can finish this in an afternoon. I’m not so sure that includes hours of me choosing which fabrics should go where and keeping them lined up properly while I sew. I also took the time to make sure the grains were all going to same way which really helped to make sure the patchwork lined up. Overall the quilt top took about five hours to cut and sew. Taping down and pinning the backing, lining and quilt top took another hour and straight line quilting took another hour (not including going to the quilt shop for more thread!). Sewing the binding on by hand took me about three hours, and I used the tutorials from Heather Bailey and Splityarn.

(Yes, that’s my refrigerator – how on earth do you take a picture of something this big? I wanted a pic of the entire quilt top!)

Looking back, the only thing I did “wrong” was I didn’t join the binding strips at an angle. So at least I have something to improve on for next time, because seriously I don’t think anything will ever top the cuteness of this quilt. I had a blast making it and even more fun getting to meet my new little cousin!

Filed under: Sewing

Last week (OK, two weeks ago!) I made some business cards and I thought someone might be interested in how I did it. I already had card stock so I didn’t need to buy any supplies and by making smaller cards, I got twice as many as I would with standard 10-per-sheet business cards. Extra points for being budget friendly!

Here’s how I did it:
I made the card layout and saved it as a PDF, then dropped the PDF into Pages (iWork on the Mac) and copy & pasted the images and put them into the layout I wanted. I printed three pages onto heavy card stock.

Using my *old* rotary blade (not one I use for fabric) and ruler, I lined up the cuts. I tried to make sure the columns would all be the same size. My cards were going to be 2.75″ x 1.25″, so I cut 2.75″ from the left side.

Then I cut 2.75″ from the right side.

My middle column was too wide, so I chopped it down to 2.75″

Then, I stacked them up *carefully* so they didn’t shift and sliced 1.25″ cards using the ruler and mat to keep them as consistent as possible. I was most successful stacking only three of them. They won’t be perfect, but they are free so I’m OK with “really close”.

I found it was much easier to keep the ruler on the side of the stack that I wasn’t slicing off.

Finish slicing…

Not perfect, but pretty good, right?

That’s a pretty tall stack for minimal effort (if I don’t count the magenta toner exploding all over me!) Now I always have cards to hand out when someone asks about my bag!

Filed under: Tutorials

This is my new favorite pattern!

It took me just a couple hours to cut out and sew, and her tips for making the square corners are perfect. Of course, it’s been rainy and gloomy outside, so I didn’t get very many good pics. The only changes I made were the strap (of course, i can’t have anything without a strap) and I made it about 1/2″ wider to make sure it would fit my iPhone. I probably didn’t need to do this, but it was close and I was using my favorite fabric so I wanted to make sure it would fit. I also added a tiny pocket for my debit card and cash so they are easy to find.

I might have to make a bunch of these for the Farmer’s Market. We’ll see how I do with the rest of my to-do list sewing!

Filed under: Uncategorized