Rush rush rush!

Hubby and I are headed Stateside for a wee vacation tomorrow, and I've been running around like a madwoman trying to get things organized and ready :D  My Ho Ho Ho and New to Me post will be short and sweet for July - I have laundry and packing to get done (along with printing off Joanns coupons, LOL) and I still need to finish my USA Shopping List (yes, it has capitals - it's an Important List to me!) :D


First up is my New to Me project for July -- tutorial here :)  This worked out pretty well, but next time around I won't add quilting to the pockets (back and front) AND the bag body - it's too thick, and sinks in to itself a tiny little bit.  I'll quilt the front and back, but not the pockets - that should solve the problem.  It's an easy make, and I have an extra set of strap hardware (that sounds rather fancy, but it's just a D ring and a plastic tri-glide thingy, bought on sale @ Fabricland, lol) and will make another bag when I get back :) This counts as #21 in my 52 in 16 efforts - I need to step up my pace!  21 in 7 months means I still need to do 31 in 5 months - yikes!

Here's a quick finish I threw together yesterday - it's part of a Christmas gift - I sized it for the item that's inside :D  I managed to calculate the right height for adding the name applique - that doesn't always work for me, lol.  

OK gotta run - I have a million things to do!   We're going on a boat tour on Sunday and my brother and sister-in-law are driving down from Osgoode, Ontario to meet us in Alexandria Bay, NY - we're all going on the tour together :)  Mickie and dear sweet Seamus - I'm so sorry that we won't be able to see you this trip - I hope Shayme feels better soon, and we'll come down another time :)


Posting to New to Me for July ... and Ho Ho Ho and On We Sew, also for July (OMG check out Heidi's rug tutorial - totally awesome!) :)

Photography for no particular reason :D

... I'm working on a zipper bag (SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!!) today - I got it prepped (up to the 'zipper is installed' stage) and will take it upstairs for some beadwork, which I hope to do tonight.  I thought I'd take a couple of pictures of how I get things packaged to go upstairs - aka process pics :D  Keep in mind I'm in my dungeon sewing room, so lighting is a challenge!

Here are the beads I'm using to embellish the bag.   The glass butterfly bead middle bottom has sharp edges around the holes so I worried that they would shred my thread.  The seed beads (directly above) will go on either end (I have extras there in case I drop a few in the couch, haha) to protect the thread.

 I use tiny little organza bags to keep my little bits and bobs together for sewing projects - I threw the beads in here for their long travel by air up to my first floor :D  Corralled, they are  ;)

I miscut the lining fabrics and had to piece one to make it big enough I made a Design Decision and pieced the lining to include the front fabric - for fun :)  You can also see, top left, a little Japanese cotton ribbon that I stitched on for extra kick :D

 It's a sewing themed ribbon - I think it came from Quilt a Bag in Markham :)

This is my carry case for beading projects - you can see my beads, beading needles, embroidery scissors and thread tucked safely inside :)  

This is the outside of the case - it's an eyeglass case given to me years ago by a friend - it's perfect for crafting projects.  Nothing in it is going to fall out or get lost, and it's cute to boot :)  Thanks, No Blog Chris B :D


I hope that when the recipients get their bags and notice the beading (which is usually very minimal), they're surprised and pleased!

Have a great day - I have aquafit tonight with a friend (hi, Miss Amanda) and her husband (hi, Mr. Tony) ... and I'm trying a new recipe for supper - Black Beans and Rice - wish me luck :D

More finishes - it's going to be a stash-bustery July :)

First up - Retreat type zipper pouch, made with scraps of basketball fabric a sewy no-blog friend gave me :D  Hey Chris - I used up every inch of the fabric!

Close-up of the zipper pull - a basketball net :D

I really like making these Retreat bags (I prefer them without the frame, even though I have lots of frames!) - this one, although you can't see it, has tiny seed beads stitched into the center of a bunch of those flower patches :)

You've seen me make a pineapple bag before (well, you didn't see me MAKE it, but you did see the finished version, LOL) - when I made the first one it worked out so well that I gave it away as a gift, and kitted 2 more to stitch up.  And now - the 2 more are stitched up, ready to be gifted as well :)  Tutorial here, pattern here :)  What do you think - pink next ... or purple, maybe?


And one last finish to post for now - I follow a site called SewCanShe - each month Caroline's readers pick an "untutorial" that we would like Caroline to write an actual tutorial for - she lets us vote, then when the decision is made, she -- writes up a tutorial!   June's project was a Peek-a-Boo pouch with two vinyl pockets (one with a zipper closure.   I took some liberty with the closure, changing it to a magnetic snap ... which then necessitated me fixing a rather glaring booboo - the ugly back of the magnetic snap was dead center on the outside, HAHA.  A few stitches on a crocheted flower I had in stash - and booboo is hidden :)  See the little Eiffel Tower in the last picture?  That was my first booboo - I cut the holes for the magnetic snap ... in the wrong spot, so had to cover up the hole.  I stitched a little tag over top, and now it's a Design Decision :D  My first new to me for July, and #20 of 52 in my "52 in 16" quest :D

Have a great day - I'm headed to a friend's house for a get-together - I met the two ladies online, in a chatroom!!!, back in '97 for one of them, and '99 for the other.  We've been friends since then, and we try to get together every couple of months :D  Actually we'd get together more often than that, but with 3 couples, 10 children and some greats between us, scheduling is somewhat difficult, LOL!

Bug scraps - be GONE!

Late last month I grabbed a small container of scraps from my craftroom and decided to use them all up in July.  They were all bug/critter fabrics - mostly just bits and pieces, and I thought that using upcycled denim from thrift store jeans and heavy duty canvas from hubby's work pants, would be the perfect statement to go along with the use of the scraps :)  I got them all finished rather quickly - it's almost as if I've made zipper bags before!  ;)  The last bag is my favourite - I don't like the product samples my dentist gives me after each check-up so I donate them :D  The goodies have now been tucked inside the tall denim zipper bag, and hopefully, someone will make good use of them :)

... and this is just ONE reason why I love my neighbour :)

Our kitchen - 5:00 p.m. (ish).  I was making supper (aka taking containers of leftovers out of the fridge :D).  Phone rings, hubby answers it, then I hear ... "OK, I'll tell her."  "Hey Sandra - that was Maria - she says that if you grab a plate and go to her fence ..." - at which point I grabbed a plate and ran like the wind. not listening to anything else he had to say :D   I knew what she was baking today, so I knew what was coming!  Two minutes later I'm in her kitchen (after receiving kisses from Xena the dobie, who greeted me at the fence), and she's carving us off a hunk of homemade zucchini cinnamon cake, freshly baked, and frosted by her son Stelio.  LOOK AT THIS CAKE!   I put the butter in the photo to give you an idea of how big these pieces are - that's a dinner sized plate - not a little dessert plate!  I've already eaten my piece, LOL.  Hubby got called out on a service call before he could eat dessert - his piece may be in mortal danger, IYKWIM :D  I love my neighbour - and not just because she bakes us treats :D  She's rather ... ummm ... raunchy ... ummmm ... dirty ... saucy ... - it's like seeing a younger ME over the fence - one that's a better cook, lol!  We get along very well - I'm so so lucky!

I'm on my touch screen laptop and can't figure out how  to move this photo up so it's beside the text instead of below it.  I also can't figure out how to get rid of the stupid pop-up keyboard that keeps showing up - this is a laptop, not a tablet, and I have a full keyboard, but for the life of me I cannot figure out how to get rid of it!  Annoying beyond belief - especially since it just started showing up a couple of months ago out of nowhere, and none of the solutions I find online, work to elininate it. Sometimes, technology is a royal PITA!   But then I eat cake and forget my problems :D  Problem solved, finally - so NOW I can eat cake :D

Red Riding Hood and superheroes :)

Here's a Red Riding Hood gift set that I finished this morning - a simple zipper pouch with a themed drawstring bag to hold it :)  All supplies from stash, yay!

Red Riding Hood drawstring gift bag ...

Red Riding Hood gift set - zipper pouch and drawstring bag :D

Here's a closer picture of the bag (from my dreary basement, lol) :)

Close-up of the Lecien RRH print :)

And another finish - a Superhero (fabric from Joanns) bag - this, along with the RRH set ^^, is being donated for an upcoming fundraiser :)

Retreat bag - lined with royal blue TOT fabric :)

Close-up of the zipper pull - I'm not sure if this is an actual superhero design (I got it on Ebay), but it looks pretty hero-ish! :)

Last of the June finishes :D

Some of these are projects that were finished in May but I didn't get around to getting pictures for my "Completed" file :D  I used up, at a rough estimate, 37 zippers in June (along with 12m fabric, 10m ribbon and 10m rattail).  However, my final "zipper out" tally was closer to 18, as I ended up buying 19 during the month :D  Hey - a girl who loves zippers can't turn down a 50% off sale ... especially when the fabric store has increased the price of zippers substantially (30% on some - OUCH!) and I was snatching up stock that was still priced at the old, lower price :D

It's no wonder I spend so much time in the basement - we had a lot of hot days in June, and the furnace and air conditioner are in my sewing dungeon, so it's way cooler down here than it is upstairs.  So much so, in fact, that I frequently have to put on a sweatshirt and socks to be able to spend time in here, haha!

Happy Canada day to my Canadian friends ... and Happy 4th of July to my American buds!  It's funny that we're sharing a long weekend to celebrate our countries' birthdays, but they're on opposite ends of the weekend - Friday - Sunday ... and Saturday - Monday :)  Stay safe!

(photo source)