Planning Ahead…

I have been very uninspired about making Christmas presents. It seems that every other year this happens. One year it will be gangbusters sewing, the next…not so much.

I am however, planning ahead. I have a project I want to work on in January…when I can’t feel guilty for not using my crafting time to make presents.

I have found the cutest little free block of the month here at “With Needle and Thread.” Here are just a couple of images of the blocks:

 

Aren’t these darling? And since I apparently have a purse fetish (you should see how many I’ve made!) this will make the best little wall hanging for my sewing area! I’ll print them out as is (minus the dotted lines) and embroider all the details. I also plan to use only fabrics from my stash…I have way too much fabric!!!

So what do you think? Anybody want to join me?

A Moth and Some Links...

Last Christmas I got a grow light system. I grew the things that came with it, then after they were harvested, I used it for some cute little pots filled with bulbs. This one had a visitor today:
Isn't he cute! He's going to be going back outside to live, but I had to snap some pictures because I thought he was so pretty.
I told a friend that I would give her the links to the things I made for my purse so I thought I would share with everyone just in case you want to make some of them yourself. Some are for pay, some are for free.

My purse is a pattern that I purchased from In Stitches. I love this purse, it's the second one I have made and it goes together pretty easily. Good instructions!


For my makeup bag I used a pattern by Elizabeth at oh, fransson! It is from a trio of patterns that I won in a lovely giveaway she had. If you are interested in it you can find her patterns for sale here. There are lots of tutorials out there for free as well. Here is a link to Sew, Mama, Sew for a couple others, although I highly recommend Elizabeths patterns, very well written and you turn out with a wonderful product!




My receipt wallet is super simple and I got the pattern from Eye Candy Designs. She posted the pattern for free on craftster. I sewed together leftover pieces to make it a scrappy one. Super easy!

The card wallet is from a tutorial by A Soonful of Sugar. I made it out of solid pieces of material but, it is super cute done scrappy too!

My change purse (and really my favorite accessory) came from Lisa over at U-handblog. I had a different top. Mine has holes in it for sewing it to your purse so I just stitched in and out through the holes and the outer and inner material. A little akward, but not hard.

I hope you will all give some of these a try. There are so many free tutorials out there for so many wonderful things. I appreciate all the hard work that went into writing all of them!

A Day to Move a Yard...

...a yard of material that is!

I used two fat quarters of Swanky by Moda, one fat quarter of lime swiss dot by Lakehouse and a random melon colored fat quarter from Joann's. I couldn't be happier with my new, totally coordinated set!!! I made: a purse with ton's of pockets, a change purse, a credit card pocket, a makeup bag and a random flat wallet that I will use to contain my receipts. Here are a couple of close-ups:

Here's a close up of the front pockets, side pockets and you can just my pen peeking up from it's pen holder inside.

My change purse with the lime dot inside:

Isn't this flower the cutest!!! I had picked up a piece of remnant wired ribbon with no purpose in mind. It has blue and purple on the side that is hidden but fortunately, when I got the flower made up, they don't show. The flower center is a vintage brass button from my Grandmother's jar and is just the perfect touch to go with the soft brown accents in the material.

I have never had a complete matching set before, so I am over the moon with my creation!

Much Ado About Nothing...

I haven't been posting much lately because, well, frankly, I haven't been completing anything.

Last weekend Spartan received his Masters Diploma from Lawrence Technological Institute. He is now officially a Structural Engineer.

Runner and Boy Genius had the last concert of the year. As soon as I get my video camera uploaded, I will show you some of the pieces the Symphony band played. These kids are absolutely amazing! One song in particular called "Traffic" was cool beyond belief! That should be up in the next day or two.

Here are pictures of what is on my hoop/sewing table/craft tables:

This is one of the blocks from Jenny over at ELEFANTZ. If you want to get the first three blocks then you better hurry! They will be coming down soon!

This is a purse that I have cut out, but haven't yet sewn together. I don't know why...

This is a table runner I am doing along with Cindy from Quilt Campus . It is English paper piecing, therefore completely hand sewn. I think I like making the hex's more than I like sewing them all together. I just love to see the rainbow of colors stacked all neatly together.

This is a baby quilt that I am making for Baby Girl's teacher who just had a baby girl (...gee...I bet you couldn't tell...being pink and all...) I had to find more material for the border. I'll post a better picture when I get it done.

Have you seen the new issue of Haute Handbags? Normally I wouldn't spend $15 on a magazine, but there are some really cute bags in here! One in particular I am pretty excited about (or as excited as I get lately) making. I just have to find the right pair of Baby Girl's old jeans to use. (Being a pack rat comes in handy sometimes!)

This is the front of the purse.


This is the back of the purse.

These are some of the goodies I am tentatively planning on using for this project.

close up.

Sorry for the crappy pictures...a photographer I'm not.

So...what's on you work table?

Some Wonderful Giveaways!

There a some wonderful giveaways that you all must check out and sign up for:

Elizabeth over at Pigtails and Snails has a gorgeous, sunshiney quilt that she is giving away. It is her own pattern, so the first prize is the quilt and she is also giving away a second and third prize of the quilt pattern. Incredibly generous!

Laurie from My Home For the Holidays is giving away one of her Placemat Pocketbook Purses in celebration of her 100th post! Darling!

Dani at Olde Homestead Peddler is having a giveaway to celebrate starting to blog! She is giving away her own handmade darling candles and linen/room spray sets. There will be two lucky winners!

Farmchick over at Fresh from the Farm is giving away a soy candle, soy tarts and a sunflower stake all handmade by her (well, except for the stake)! Really cute!

Don't miss out on all this giveaway goodness!

My New Purse and Wallet

Thanks to the people who commented on my "Ode to Binding" post! The pictures were from a new wallet that I made. The binding on my corners came out just fine...but the rounded corners...not so good! Oh well, I'm happy with it anyways! The pattern came from one by Pat-e-Patterns that I picked up at my local quilt shop. It was very well explained and I would definately use thier patterns again!





Also free for your perusal is my lame attempt at adding decorative edges to my pictures! When I saved them, I thought they looked better! Oh well.

Here is my purse:

Nothing fancy, but I think the material and the trim really give it a nice personality. It was amazing the difference the braided trim made in the overall appearance of the purse! Next time I make one, I think I will make it just a little smaller and I will use a stiffer interfacing as this one is really quite slouchy. I made the button with a do -it-yourself button thingy (yes, that is a technical term). It was a little fiddly, but I figured it out without too much trouble.

I also finished an order for a cute little bucket tote done in cowboy material that I got from Jane's giveaway (see earlier post). I think it turned out really cute too!

It's kind of hard to tell from the picture, but the brown closure button I found in my Grandma's button jar is just perfect with it! Although made of some type of plastic, it has the look and feel of leather.

Well, enough for today! I have been doing lot's of sewing, so I will have more to share with you soon!