Lots-o-pics of lots-o-projects :D

Happily, much sewing has been accomplished in the last couple of weeks :)  I wanted to get some pictures outside but the weather wasn't very co-operative - it was either really cold, or grey and overcast, or I wasn't ready to take pics when it was the perfect weather, lol.  Basement dungeon photograph studio it is!

First up we have some simple drawstring gift bags for Christmas - the size of each was determined by the fact that I wanted to use up some Christmas prints I had hanging about ;)  These (boxed bottom) bags were all made using this tutorial, but in varying sizes.

Next up - some zipper bags based on Crafty Staci tutorials :D  I call these my not-a-hotpad zipper bags, as the original pattern was for a hotpad, but I hax0red them into zipper pouches :D  First up are my pink birdies from the Bluebird pattern :)

She published a new pattern this month for a mitten hotpad, so out came the sewing machine :D  I made it about an inch narrower than the pattern - it worked better with the zipper I was using.  This one is a new-to-me project and counts as one of my 52 in 16 (52 new bags in 2016) projects :)



I started these polar bear hand puppets several years ago - I don't even remember why I didn't complete them then, but I thought it would be nice to get them done and into the gift box :)  The tutorial is here - I used washcloths from Costco :D

This bag worked out really well so it's going in my gift box :)  I was making a Retreat Bag for a friend, using some of her fabric.  I hadn't made one in a while and I was a bit nervous about using her special fabrics, so I warmed up by making this one first, LOL.  Both of them worked out very well, so I don't know why I worried :D  And now that I'm thinking about it, I forgot to get a picture of hers - oh well!  It was gorgeous, IIDSSM ;)

This next bag also counts as one of my new 52 in 16 bags, but it didn't work out quite as well as I would like.  The tutorial is here - I bought a pair of kids jeans @ the thrift store so I could cut off the legs for this, lol.  Next time around I'll stitch the bottom seam from the inside instead of the outside - I'm also going to box the bottom to give it a nicer shape.  I couldn't get fabric paint when I was making it so the acrylic paint I used cracked a bit on the fabric - I thought I could get away with it but nope!  This is a cute project - it's a great way to upcycle worn out jeans - I even bought more jeans for - the bag is very quick and easy to make :)

Mickie!  Another 52 in 16 project - my last for the month (5 done in January - I'm impressed with myself, lol) - I'll make one minor change the next time around - I added quilt batting to this one, and it made the project thick enough that I couldn't get it pressed completely pucker-free.  You can see tiny little puckers at each side of the ears - I pressed and pressed but couldn't get rid of them.  Next time I'll just interface all the layers and I bet I'll be able to press it better :)  Tutorial here :)

I'm very pleased with these next new to me items - I got 2 sets of 3 hand puppets completed - one set is for a birthday gift in February, the other set goes into the gift box :) The pattern is Woodland Animals Felt Hand Puppets, a $ pattern from Craftsy here - I haven't made the badger yet (there are 4 critters in the pattern - fox, hedgehog, badger and raccoon) but I will eventually :)  

How's this for cute? LOL!  Reindeer stuffy - new to me, and a Christmas gift - he's a bit bigger than I would like so next time around I'm going to shrink him by 25 or 30% - I want him sized more like a beanbag than a stuffy :D   Tutorial here :)

One last project, then that's it for tonight - it's past my bedtime, lol.   This is my favourite of my finishes - it's just a simple notebook cover, but I love how it turned out :)  I'm not sure if you can see from the photo (and sorry about the different background colours - that's the problem with photographing in the basement dungeon) - the raindrops are little seed beads in different colours :)  I was out with hubby today doing running around, and I took the project with me and beaded most of it in the car!  New to me, and right into the gift box it went :)  (Here's a post from Jennifer @ Ellison Lane - she's the designer!) 

Outside - front cover :)

Inside - there are pockets (trimmed with ribbon) on each side, and a piece of elastic (on the right) holds the pages :)

Outside back - a rainbow without rain :D

WHEW!  That was a lot of photography and typing and link finding - I'm going to get this post uploaded to my favourite linky parties - both from Celtic Thistle Stitches - New to Me in 2016 and Ho Ho Ho and On We Sew - brand spanking new for 2016!

This little zippy went adventuring ...

I dashed outside today to check the mail, and it was so sunny and bright that I thought I should get a picture of my new bag, out there in the wild :D  She couldn't decide which spot she liked best - my garage door ...

... or tucked onto my neighbour's Christmas tree (outside ready for town pick-up) :D

This was a new to me project - as I mentioned in my last blog post I'm trying to make NEW designs of bags this year - I'm aiming for 1 new bag a week (aka 52 in 16) to finally get to some of the tutorials and patterns I've been hoarding for so long :D  This tutorial is from Sew Can She, and is called a 2 Sided Zip.  The tutorial is VERY well written and photographed - I was nervous about making it because of the curved zipper but it was no problem - the bag was very easy to make.  Next time around I'll add an inch in length and in height to make it a bit bigger (and of course will use a longer zipper).   I'll definitely be making more of these - thank you to Caroline for a wonderful tute!  And this counts in as 2/52/16 ... HA!

P.S.  Sheila Perl - I can't reply to your comments as I can't find your email address - could you leave it for me in a reply (I'll delete it before publishing) or email me through my About Me link - I'm dying to check out your Pinterest boards (and your blog, too, if you have one?) - thank you!  :)

A new year, and a new monster :)

I hope everyone had a good Christmas and a happy (and safe!) New Year :)  We spent time with hubby's family, and had a big luncheon on New Years Day - there were glitches, but it went fairly well, nobody went home hungry, and we now have folding tables, extra plates, silverware and glassware for 24 people - massive shopping was involved :D  And on to 2016!

I didn't specifically make "resolutions" because they never work for me, but I did make a decision to try to improve a few things - eat less, move more, shop less, sew more - those are the main ones.  Along the sewing front, I want to try making new designs of bags (zipper, drawstring etc.),  from the thousands of pins I have, the (hundreds) (dozens) (tens) ones of patterns I've bought over the years, and the dozens of tutorials I've saved to my computer :D  One a week would be fabulous, since I certainly have the fabric and notions to do that - kind of a 52 in '16 goal, if you will :D  I don't know if I'm up to it, and as we all know - stuff comes up - but at least it's something I'm aiming *towards* :)

Here's the my first new-to-me bag for the year - I spotted the original for sale in someone's Etsy store, and thought he was sweet :D  I wish I'd made his legs smaller and spaced his horns and eyes closer together, but overall he still came out pretty cute!  He's wearing his New Years 2016 border from Pizap, and it's possible he might still be a bit hung over ;)  He counts as 1/52/16 :D