Thursday, August 28, 2014

I forgot how to math :D

Here's the shark zipper pouch I finished up today - a new to me project :)  When I saw this shark applique pillow tutorial it occurred to me that the applique would be great on a zipper bag as well :D  Other than the bad math that had me cutting the denim too small (and the fact that I forgot to give him eyes!) it worked out pretty well :)  I didn't applique any of the fins down - they're attached to the body, but flapping in the wind (a nice touch, if I do say so myself) :)  I'm not going to give this one as a Christmas gift because it's not quite as nice as I would like ... plus he's occularly challenged - the next one will be properly scaled and eyed ;)

And another new-to-me project - I tried this pattern a few days ago - it worked out rather well, however it came with a side order of gumminess due to a problem with my iron, LOL.  I put on my big girl panties and tried again ... and again .... and again and again and again and again and again.  With much success ;)  I use the tutorial pattern, but I don't really follow her directions - I do it my own way.  Each one has a different charm - great way to bust charm and zipper stash, hehe.  These will be Christmas gifts, and I'll tuck a box of crayons or a box of pencil crayons into each :)   Not sure if I'm supposed to use these as I don't tweet or FB, so I'll just copy and paste  @CrazyLittleProjects #SewCrazyChallenge :)

One last photo - a couple of Michelle Patterns Zip Pocket Pouches (phone pouch size) I finished earlier this month - I love this pattern, and have put these two in the Christmas gift box :)

Posting these to linky parties:

New to Me in August 
Ho Ho Ho and On We Sew
Sew Crazy Challenge:  Back to School


Wednesday, August 27, 2014

My son is a very good sport :)

I've been working on one of my Monday Makers! projects - a set of 3 superhero capes (a birthday gift for neighbour's 3 squirtles).  My friend Wendy asked if my son Nick would be modelling them, and I thought it was a brilliant idea, so I mentioned it to him in an email.  Guess who showed up on my doorstep tonight, straight from work?  Yep, my ginger-haired electrician, ready to model for mom and Auntie Wendy - he's such a good kid (yep, 25 is still a kid to old mom :D)!

Fabric = Lloyds and Barton for Timeless Treasures Fabrics, Inc. - Pattern # BART-C 7504, purchased from Fat Quarter Shop (1+ years ago)

Monkeys cape - size 4

No fabric name or info on selvage - purchased from Joanns 1+ years ago

Dinosaurs cape - size 4

No fabric info on selvage other than the name "Doodles".  Fabric is from Joanns (purchased 1+ years ago).

Construction vehicle cape (size 6)

He's hamming it up in the pictures - he's not actually mad, nor is he downtrodden, LOL.  He's just a good sport :) 


Monday, August 25, 2014

Monday Makers #1

My bloggy friend Vera posted today about a linky party that has just started today - it's called Monday Makers!, and basically, we get off of our duffs and start something creative on Mondays - in my house that would be housework.  NOT!!  Of course it would be SEWING, lol!  So I hunkered down in my dungeon sewing room and picked some projects to work on during the next week.

Future D9P quilt :D
 First up is a strawberry D9P (disappearing 9 patch) quilt that I've been planning for a while to work on.  The blocks will be made from those 3 prints, and the backing is the pink gingham.  I started cutting out the squares, and will work on this one slowly over the next month or so.


Next up are some superhero capes for some kidlets I know - these are planned as Christmas gifts :)  The orange fabric will be the backing for all 3 of them.  I got monkeys cut out today. 


I decided late tonight that I needed another project, as hubby and I are headed Stateside this weekend and I need a project to work on in the car.  This will be a zipper pouch with a tiny little fox cross-stitched on the outside using waste canvas.  The fox is only about an inch square on 14 count cloth - I should certainly be able to complete it in the car on the drive to Niagara Falls :)

Posting to:  Monday Makers! #1 :)  Vera, I hope you'll be participating next week!  ;)

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Not a good start for the tart!

When I unrolled the puff pastry package, this is what I found - uh oh!  I sprinkled it with parmesan and pressed it together as much as I could :D 

Here's Mr. Tart ready to go into the oven -- I gave it a little rim around the outside edges in case the tomatoes got juicy in the oven :D



After baking for 25 minutes :)  The tears that I sealed, came apart in the oven - I guess I didn't press them firmly enough.  The tart looks fantastic though - hard to believe it was so easy to make something that looks that cool!

I obviously had to taste it before serving it to my family - just in case!  ;)  It.  Is.  Delicious.  3 ingredients - under 10 minutes prep - pretty enough to serve to company - this just went onto my favourites Pinterest board, lol!


Two oopsies - one easily solved, but the other ... I'm not sure yet :D

 My lovely neighbour has shared some more of her tomatoes with us :)  The larger ones in the back will be used for in Tomato Parmesan Tart I'm trying out this afternoon.  The cherry tomatoes are for snacking purposes :D  Unfortunately, after she handed me the bowl of 'maters over our shared fence, I slipped on the wet grass and fell a$$ over teacup in the front yard (in front of a passing car, no less) and they fell into the grass :D  It turns out that grass is the equivalent of bubble wrap to a bowl of cherry tomatoes, and they were unharmed, although probably permanently scarred from the sight of my fat butt flying through the air so gracelessly :D  If my tart works out I'll post a picture later :)   See the water bottle in the top right corner?  It may or may not be the actual water bottle-gate bottle !!  ;)


On a less flying-tomatoes note, here's a new-to-me zipper bag I completed this morning ... sadly, a major oopsie with my iron made a right mess on the FRONT of the bag.  I had been so careful during construction and all was going perfectly, until my iron left a dark smudgey mark on the centre panel of the bag when I was pressing it.  I covered it with a paper towel to finish pressing (so the iron wouldn't leave more of a mark) and the iron MELTED the paper towel right into the bag.  UGGHHHH!  I brought it upstairs and tried to scrub the bits and pieces out - I got most of it, but I don't know how it'll look once it's dry.  Will find out later tonight - fingers crossed :D   It really is a cute zipper bag (despite it's flaw!) - I already have another 2 cut out ready to stitch :D  Tutorial is here - check it out!

Thursday, August 14, 2014

My version of a "Lollipop Bag" :)

On one of the Yahoo groups I belong to, a recent discussion involved a Lollipop Bag designed by Atkinson Designs.  I thought the bag was adorable - the contrast band in the base was just lovely, and the shape of the base - WOW!   In the online version of a hen party, some sewy friends discussed how we could do a similar bag, and this link was shared - the base looks pretty much the same as the one from the pattern!  I tried the bag today - with great success :)  If you can believe it, it folds flat, but the base can be poked out so the bag stands on it's own - it's amazing :D  Simple technique but great effect!

My version of a Lollipop Bag :)

The original bag apparently has raw edges inside - I came up with a way to do it without raw edges.  I give my attempt an 8/10 - the lining doesn't fit snugly inside my bag - it's kinda bunchy.  It loses a point for that :D  I suspect that the lining in an "official" Lollipop would be somewhat bunchy as well.  I'll be thinking about this and trying to figure out a work-around.  I also gave myself a -1 for not doing the quilting differently on the contrast base - I should have quilted the base lengthwise instead of width-wise - it would look better, I think.  That's an easy enough fix the next time around.  I also need to find a way to press that bottom seams during construction - it would make the base look crisper.  Overall, though, I'm mighty pleased with my attempt! 

Monday, August 11, 2014

Bugs, fish, robots and a shark - so many fun fabrics and patterns :)

This was a nature walk bag set I posted last month ...

...and here's the drawstring bag I made to hold the set - it measures 13.5w x 16t x 3.5d :)  Gift ready for Christmas - check!

I pinned a cute bag a while ago from mostracci.com, and decided to try my own version - this is the result :D  Now that I have a template drafted, I can make this in nice fabric instead of "use up the last bits of this stuff" fabric :D  It measures about 5.5w x 13.5t :)

Quilted notebook cover - check out the quilting design on the front!  I did QAYG matchstick quilting, then decided to colour outside of the lines ;)  LOVE how it turned out!

My first bedbuggs shark stuffy - he was supposed to be part of a Christmas gift but I got a little aggressive with my iron and left an iron mark around the back fin - oops!  Will make another one for the gift, and consider this guy as my trial run, lol.  He measures about 14w x 9t (including fins) :)

My (almost) 6 year old neighbour is very happy :)

Squirtle (my nickname for the neighbour lad :D) popped over yesterday to ask if I could make him a blanket and pillow for his new teddy bear bed.  His dad made him a beautiful wood bed as a birthday gift, and suggested to Squirtle that I might be willing to sew a blanket for it :D  I told him I'd be happy to make him something, and took him down to my basement so he could pick out fabric.  As he was leaving, his dad told him to ask me "How much will this cost?" - I priced it at 3 hugs :)  Fair, I think!

He picked it up tonight and he beamed the whole time he was here :)  He was one very happy little squirtle ... which of course made ME a very happy "auntie" squirtle, LOL!  I made a mattress, and a quilt, and a pillow, and a pillowcase, all sized for the bed :)  I hope some of the other kids in the family are or will be in need of dolly/teddy bedding - this was a fun set to make!

P.S.  In the middle picture, bottom row, you can - just barely - make out the wonky heart I stitched onto the center of the quilt.  I quilted the top layer to 2 layers of  flannel, then birthed the quilt with backing.  I added the quilted heart to attach the two outer layers together - I've been doing that on bibs as well, as an added embellishment and to quilt the fabrics :D

Friday, August 1, 2014

This is why I love my neighbour :D

One Pot Chili Mac & Cheese
My neighbour emailed me a link to this recipe this afternoon - holy macaroni chili Batman, that's my kind of meal!    10 minutes later she called me on the phone and told me to meet her at our shared fence :D  I ran outside and she handed me the bowl over the fence, lol.  Believe me - it's as good as it looks - it gets thumbs up from the 3 of us!  I'll make a pot of it this weekend so I can send some home with DS1 the next time he comes over - thank you Maria!!

Here are a few finishes from the last couple of days - first up is a denim zippy, made using a pair of hubby's worn out work jeans :D  The stitching on the back is something I've started doing on some of my zippies - very random and organic :D


 Here's a tall zip pocket pouch from Michelle Patterns - I love this pattern (it comes in 3 sizes) - it's quick to make up, and very useful :D   I've made quite a few of these :)


I don't know why the background of this picture is so yellow - the other basement pics I took are different - very strange :D  This is a 10" x 16" lined drawstring gift bag I made using some seersucker fabric that was given to me by a friend :)


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