Happy Birthday Helen!

Actually, her birthday was October 2nd but I wasn't able to give her her present until a couple of weeks ago. I decided to make a duffle/overnight bag. I just happened to have some decorator weight fabric by Amy Butler on hand. I can't remember where I got the pattern but it was from a sewing/quilting magazine. Anyway, here it is:


There aren't any pockets inside but there is a pocket on each end. The pattern only called for one but hey, you can never have enough pockets.
It came out great and she loved it!

Elaine

Not my usual kind of sewing

Curtains! I don't like home dec kind of sewing and until recently I didn't do home dec sewing. A few months ago my friend Pam and I went to Franklin Mill Store in Franklin, Mass. I was going for my usual decorator quilting cottons and Pam was looking for curtain fabric for her kitchen and dining room. Actually, she's been looking for about 10 years. Anyway, Franklin Mills has a home decorator section with a nice selection of fabric and trimmings. Pam found the perfect fabric and a display window that had a style she liked. No curtain rods. Two L brackets are mounted above each window and a 1x3 board screwed to the brackets. The top of the curtains are stapled to the boards. Sounds easy. Oh yeah, did I mention that she also purchased bead trimming. No problem because she had someone in mind to make these for her. Shirley lives in CT and it wasn't looking good to have these done for Thanksgiving. Pam had already painted the kitchen and the brackets and boards were ready. Pam created a pattern for the curtains. I took the fabric home and sewed the bead trim and lining to the bottoms of the curtains. Once this was done we spent 5 1/2 hours finishing them. I'm really happy with the way they turned out. The pattern in the fabric is nice and lined up and everything looks great.
Here are a few pictures.




It was a challenge and it was fun. I'm not likely to do it again anytime soon but my attitude about home dec sewing has changed...a little bit.
Elaine

Vote now!

Which do you think is cuter?






Just kidding...there really is no contest here.

Elaine

Requested Baby Presents

A woman I work with recently had her first great-grandchild. She asked if I would make something special. Her granddaughter had a little boy. Hmmm, no "boy stuff" in the stash so I started leafing through my magazines and books for ideas. I made a bib and matching burp cloth that I forgot to take a picture of and a cute hat and matching onesie. One thing I know for sure...onesie's are versatile. The hat is a cute little dog face. I wanted to put something on the onesie to make an outfit but couldn't think of anything. I did remember that I had a dog bone shaped cookie cutter so I decided to applique that on the front of the onesie.

The dog ears and bone are black. I hat heartburn over this initially but who says you can't use black on baby things? I think it looks fine.

Now, as promised, block 1 of my new Block of the Month club.


This block came with 5 templates. Are you kidding me? It was a lot of work and there was a mixture of machine and hand stitching. I'm pretty happy with it. Block 2 is in the house and I have started it. Lots of parallelograms. I better get going on it. Block 3 should be here any day.
Elaine

A Onesie Dress

My friend Ann sent me a link to a onesie dress tutorial by Lila Tueller. What a great idea and perfect timing I might add. A co-worker had a baby girl a couple of weeks ago and this would be perfect. The directions are great and this was a breeze to make. Here's my version. Double click on the image for a better view.


You will have to use elastic thread in your bobbin for this project. For those of you that have never done this, don't worry. It's very easy. You must hand wind the elastic thread snugly. The reason you want to use this thread is to maintain some elastisity in the area where the skirt is attatched to the onsie. I used a size 6-9 months onesie. The fabric is Nicey Jane by Heather Bailey. This project is great for those fat quarters you have hanging around. I think this will become a "baby girl present" staple for me.

More photos to come on the new BOM. I started my new Block of the Month and finished the first block. The second is in progress. Jeez, these are a lot of work. The first block came with 5 templates! Till next time.
Elaine

Fuego! Fuego!

Don’t worry.  There isn’t a fire but what I do have to show you is the cutest firefighter ever.  Mind you, she wasn’t all that happy with the fire hat but left it on long enough for me to snap a couple of photos.

Not happy…leave me alone.

  

Still not happy but has figured out that she isn’t getting out of this photo shoot.

Getting a little peeved but can see the end in sight. Amazing what the promise of a treat will get you.

Can you get any freakin cuter than this I ask you?

Her Auntie Pam bought this costume for her but I think we’ll be getting a lot of use out of the slicker.  It’s water proof and Miss L hates getting wet.  I think wearing the hat one night a year will be more than enough for her.

Phew, glad that’s over.  Firefighting is tough stuff.

Now onto some crafting. 

A while back I showed you a couple of jewelry pouches that I made.  Well, I recently got a picture of one in use.

I’m not sure that the tiny skinny ribbon was meant to hold so many baubles but I guess it works for her.  Till next time.

Elaine

Do I look silly in this hat?

 

That seems to be what he is saying.  I think he looks adorable!  I purchased the pattern here.  I’m still waiting for a picture of Brayden in his Spooky Spider Hat.  Stay tuned.

Elaine

Spooky

Yes, that spooky time of year is coming and I’m getting ready.  First up, a scary hat for baby Brayden to help celebrate his first Halloween.

This spider hat is in the September/October 2010 issue of Crochet Today magazine.  I hope to have a picture of Brayden wearing the hat soon. 

The next thing up… these really cute treat bags.  You can make 4 of them using only 2 fat quarters! It works best if you have 1 fat quarter in a light fabric and the other in a dark.  Of course these would look good in any fabric to be used any time of year.

The pattern for this bag is in the latest  issue of Quilts and More magazine. 

Elaine

A little more crochet

Whenever I sit down to update my blog I’m always surprised by the amount of time that has past since my last entry.  I really don’t know how people post daily.  Oh well.  I have been crafting a lot but mostly for gift giving.  I can’t post until the person has received it.  Believe it or not I’ve already started making Christmas presents.  Anyone that does any kind of craft knows that you can never start too early.  Now for 2 very cute crochet items.

Both have found good homes and can now show themselves here. 

Update…the jelly roll quilt along quilt top is done! It is patiently waiting to be quilted.  I hope to drop it off at the machine quilters in the next week or so.  Pictures soon I hope. 

Elaine

Baby Blanket in the Round

A neighbor’s daughter is having a baby this month.  Problem…we won’t know if it’s a boy or a girl until he/she is here.  I love it when we get to know in advance.  It makes it ssooo much easier when trying to pick out a project to make.  I had this little pamphlet that had crocheted baby blankets…round ones.

All of the blankets were cute but some reminded me of giant doilies.  I think my favorite was this one:

I really like the colors in the sample however it’s way too girly.  I went to my local yarn store and found some yummy Egyptian cotton yarn.   I found 3 beautiful colors.  Here is my version:

I absolutely love it.  Please tell me this doesn’t look too girly.

Elaine

You know what started today?

 

Training camp!

Elaine

Bad hair day?

I have a solution.  I saw the cutest knitted hat with built-in pig tails in a knitting book by Nicky Epstein.  This book has a lot of great projects and well worth having in your library.  Anyway, posting pictures of hats without a model or a even a doll can be difficult.  It’s tough to get excited about hat that’s lying flat on a table.

Wait! I think I just saw a cute head go by.   Stop.  Sit. I’ll give you a great treat if you stay for one minute.

Do you think she’d look better as a blonde?

Elaine

I Spy Bags

I saw a pattern for I Spy bags and thought the idea was great.  I’ve since made 4 and I plan on making more.

First you’ll start gathering various little objects around the house and outside.  My I Spy bags have Q-Tips, buttons, candles, balloons, pom poms, rocks, twigs… you get the idea.  List every item on a piece of paper and laminate the sheet.  The object is to find all of the items you’ve hidden in the bag.  Awesome game for kids.  Want to make one?  Here's how.

Elaine

Bath Towel Redo

Don’t you hate when then the edges of  perfectly good towels completely fall apart?

They make a mess in the wash…threads everywhere and tangled on everything.  I have 2 like this and I decided to do a little fix up.

First, cut the frayed edges right off.

Next, cut 2 4x45 in strips of a matching (I chose fabric from Anna Maria Horner’s  Good Folks collection)  fabric and make a binding.

Lastly, sew the binding to each end of your towel and enjoy.

Elaine

3 More Finished Blocks

AAHHHHH.  3 more blocks done in the jelly roll quilt along.

I’ve lost track but I think there are 5 more to go.  It’s starting to grow on me.  I’ll post a photo album when they are all done.

Elaine

Fabric Baskets

I saw these beautiful  fabric baskets in an issue of Sew News a couple of months ago.  The basket pattern came in 2 sizes.  Oh boy, these were some cute.  Some projects just grab a hold of my brain and I can’t stop thinking about making them.  This was such a project.  The only thing to ease the obsessive crafting thoughts was to actually dig through my stash, pick out some fun fabric and make the damn basket. 

Ah, that feels better but still having “basket” thoughts so I made another.

Whew,  all set for now.

Elaine

My Wisteria is finally blooming!

My daughter bought me a Wisteria for my birthday in June of 2007.  Of course it didn’t bloom that year.  I got excited as spring of 2008 rolled around but no flowers for me.  I figured 2009 would be my year but…no damn flowers!  Imagine my delight when I saw the beautiful flowers dangling from my Wisteria.

Speaking of birthdays…my daughter turned 34 last week.  I decided to applique a beach towel for her.  How about a penguin at the beach.  Seemed like a good idea at the time.   I planned on doing machine applique but the towel I bought was so large that I had a tough time manipulating it while trying to applique.  I ended up doing most of it by hand.  I’ll keep that in mind next time I decide to do something like that.

Happy Birthday A!

Elaine

Crochet Frenzy

I can’t stop.  That’s how it goes with my crafts…round and round.  I’ll get in the mood for one and then delve into all kinds of projects.  The only one that I never get tired of is sewing.  Back to crochet.  I had some bamboo yarn that was the right weight for this:

I had just enough to make this cute little number.  It’s from the Spring 2010 Issue of Interweave Crochet.  The bottom half of the dress is very open and is lined with fabric.  Here’s my “not quite completed” version:

I’ve narrowed the fabric for the lining down to 2.  Which do you like best? I’m favoring the one on the right.

View Full Album

Next on my hook is a cute tank top from the same issue of Interweave Crochet.

Sewing updates next time.

Elaine