I tried something new ... and duffle-y :)

I tried a new to me tutorial this week - while it's made from the tutorial for a Ruffle Duffle, mine is, as you can see, ruffle-less.  I modeled mine after this one that I found on Pinterest.  Hers does have ruffles, but it's more structured and streamlined than the original Ruffle Duffle, and the quilting is rather a star in her show :)  It's exactly what I wanted mine to look like, and I think I came pretty close!  Mine measures 13.5" wide X 7.5" tall x 8.5" deep - definitely bigger than a boxy :D

My favourite aspect of the Ruffle Duffle is the fact that it's made like a boxy bag, only larger, and with straps.  Most duffle bags, including the Cargo Duffle from Anna/Noodlehead, are made with a side pieces with a zippered gusset, or they're the kind with round ends.  I like making boxy bags, and have made many of them, so when I realized that the R.D. is made in a similar manner, I knew I would give it a whirl.  The size (much larger than any boxy I've made) was difficult to maneuver through my machine to quilt and to stitch.  It was hard to move a bulky firm piece of fabric around - mine is made with outer + batting + mid-weight interfacing + lining, so it got pretty awkward :)  Not undoable - just a bit difficultly doable ;)

While quilting sandwiches of those 4 layers - one for the front, one for the back, I didn't think to spray baste - I figured that once I got the first row of quilting done, the pieces would stay in place.  NOT SO.  They shifted, and I didn't notice until I had done the 4th row of quilting - the layers skewed by several inches, LOL.   Lesson learned :D

Two things I will change next time - I used 6" pieces of webbing for the tabs, when the instructions called for 3" tabs, HAHA *brain fart #1*  Mine are awkwardly long :)   Secondly, I won't forget to bind the bottom middle seam like I did on this bag *brain fart #2* - you can see it in the picture where someone with old hands broke into my sewing dungeon to hold the bag open :D  Tomorrow I'll make a fabric covered plastic canvas base for the bag - that'll give the bottom some extra stability, and cover my bewbew ;)

I love this bag, and I love the tutorial, and I already have a 2nd R.D. planned for a birthday coming later this month.  I showed this one to my husband and told him I was making one for ****** for his birthday - he got very quiet and said ... "But you'll use different fabric, right?", LOL.  Dennis, I promise I won't make it in pink for a young man who is soon to turn 9!!

Here are a few more photos I took during construction - when I realized that things were going quite well for me, I decided to document the progress a bit :D

The lining side of the bag during zipper install.

Apparently I thought the lining during construction, was very photograph-worthy!  ;)

OOH!  Finished bag - viewed from the side to show off it's lovely large boxy shape!

This side view shows off the pocket (there's one on both sides) and the kitty zipper pull I found in stash :D

Hello Kitty ribbon used to embellish the pockets :)

A close-up of the kitty zipper pull - notice the fish hanging from the bottom, hehe.

Posting to Celtic Thistle Stitches New to Me for February :)

TR ... tr ... tr ... TRIA :)

A few January finishes:

"Use up scraps and extra ribbon" zippies ;)

Orange and pink zipper pouch

A close-up of the cute bird zipper pull :)

Construction wallet :)

Batman wallet :)

My first new project of the year - a TRIA Coin Purse - pattern from AppleGreen Cottage on Craftsy.com - link to pattern here :)  It's a very simple pattern, but it's very small, and my fiddly arthritic fingers struggled with it.  It finished to 5" wide X 4.5" tall - I posed it with a can of nectar of the gods Diet Dr. Pepper to show that it's rather itty bitty :D  I totally forgot to install the little tab that it's supposed to have - I even MADE the tab, but forgot to stitch it on - oops!  I won't make another one that small - I upsized the pattern by 25% to make it easier for me to work on, and will try it out.  The problem was not the pattern - it's rated for Intermediate sewers and that's very accurate.  The problem is mine, but I think it'll be a very easy fix, so I give it 2 thumbs up :)  No raw edges - YAY - and she designed the pattern so that the lining fits perfectly into the outside without bunching and scrunching - I like that Damjana went the extra mile to give us a pattern for such a nicely finished bag :)


Posting to Celtic Thistle Stitches January New to Me linky :)

Conquered - a new-to-me pattern :D

Conquered! I bought this pattern a few days ago, and made my first one yesterday. I'll make a few minor changes the next time around (maybe a snap instead of velcro for the closure?) but it worked out pretty good for a first try - this is a great pattern (NAYY!) :D The instructions are well written, and she included a LOT of photographs in the tutorial - to me, that's the sign of a good designer. Drawings are OK, but actual photographs are more helpful, imho :D 

Front view Two in One pouch - each pouch measures about 8.25"w x 4.75"tall.  The overall height unfolded is 9.5". 

Back view

Double zippers

More of these will be made - I won some fabrics from the November Ho Ho Ho and On We Sew linky party that would be *perfect* for this project :D  Will get a picture later - right now I need to get dressed for Aquafit :D

P.S.  Pattern is available here on Etsy - NAYY - I bought the pattern on my own and really like it :)  The designer doesn't know me from Adam, lol.

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

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!

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! 

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

A quicky! :D

I just found out from hubby that we're going on a last minute Buffalo run tomorrow (YAY!) - since we leave @ 6:00 a.m. that means an early bedtime, but I wanted to get these 2 pics posted before June turns into July :)

 I'm quite enjoying appliquing these upcycled (from DS2's worn out work jeans) zipper pouches - here are some girl ones - a gecko, a whale, a croc and some sharks :)  It may be obvious that I'm also enjoying playing with the evil eye beads, LOL :)  These are all about 8.5" tall x 6.5" wide :) 

This project is being posted to 2 linky parties -  it's a toddler messenger bag that will be a Christmas gift - I made it using a new-to-me tutorial :)   I changed up the tute a bit - it worked out perfectly, and I already have another one cut out, lol!   This one actually falls under the Pinned and Then Made category as well, as I pinned it quite a while ago!

Linked to:
New to Me in June and Ho Ho Ho and On We Sew :)

My peony is blooming right on time, despite the horrid winter :)

Rainy peony - June 11/14 :)

Here's my lovely peony bush earlier this week - it bloomed the very next day, and is in full bloom right now.   And here it is on June 12 last year - despite our really harsh winter this year, it bloomed at the same time as last year - much to my surprise!  I was at our oldest son's house today with him - he has several peony bushes there, and they're blooming beautifully as well.  He doesn't appreciate them as much as I do though, lol!

I've been working on my pink/orange D9P quilt this month - it's almost finished so that's taken up a lot of my time.  I did manage to complete a few small projects though, including some new-to-me designs :)

Patchwork scrap zipper bags (9.5x9.5 and 9.5x7) made with leftovers from quilts I've made over the last few years :)  Zipper pulls are polymer clay rockets.  I showed them to hubby and he said they look like penguins, lol.  So they're penguin rockets :D

Dinosaur bibs for a great-nephew :)

A new to me project - a fox zippy from this tutorial.  I added the tab because I always do - this bag doesn't need one.  Will leave it off next time.  It measures about 5" x 5" :)  This one was made with fabrics from my scrap bin - next time I'll use foxy-er colours :D

Drawstring gift bag (13x17) - using up the tail end of the pink fabric :)

HAHA I'm rather partial to this bag - it measures 10" X 17", and is lined with white.  The monster applique is from Adorable Animal Applique :)  His hair is ricrac - it's 3D!

I love how these zippies (7"w x 6.5") turned out - they're made from upcycled denim from our youngest lad's work jeans - the croc applique was inspired by this pattern (NAYY), and the shark was a picture I downloaded from somewhere online.  The zipper pulls are inexpensive charms purchased from Ebay :D

Hey Sittin' at the Dock of the Baye - no blue balls here!  ;)

Tried something new, but it wasn't exactly successful, lol

 This was my first attempt at a boxy bag where the top box was a different width than the bottom one.  Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat, you ask?  LOL this was the tutorial I meant to follow, but after I studied her instructions, I went ahead and tried things on my own without referring back to them.  Consequently, my scale is way off (so is my bathroom scale - it LIES!).  You can't tell from the photo but my sizing just didn't work.  As well, I should have put a tab on both sides of the top boxes like she did - if I had checked her page before sewing, I would have caught that :)  The bag certainly isn't horrid or unusable as I made it, but it's not quite what I wanted, so I'll be trying again :) 

Sorry about the yellowish background on this picture - both were taken at the same time in the basement, but ... ???!!!!








Linking this project up to Celtic Thistle Stitches' "New to Me in 2014" May linky party :) 

Peony monster :D

A few days ago I posted a sneak peek of the project I was working on - I finished him last night, and today he hopped onto my peony bush for his photography session.  Rather cheeky of him, I'd say!  ;)  His name is Steve - he's named after my neighbour's budgie :)  He was copied from inspired by this post at Mostracci Handmade :)  The denim background is worn out jeans I've upcycled from DS2's worn out work pants - Steve is a green zippy!  ;)  The zipper and lining are royal blue, and he measures 9"w x 6"t - I'm very happy with him, and a girlfriend is forthcoming to keep Steve company :D

Speaking of peony bushes - here's mine - it's late blooming this year due to the dastardly winter we had :D  Another week or two and we'll have beautiful flowers, I'm sure :) 

I'm a terrible photographer I don't have a great camera so I couldn't get a really good close-up of this little guy - this picture of a peony ant is dedicated to Sally and her bumblebee photo :D  She has a better camera than mine, plus she bakes cookies.  Hi Sally!  ;)


Linking this project up to Celtic Thistle Stitches' "New to Me in 2014" May linky party :) 

Anagram time :)

Playing with the beanbags ...

I had fun playing with the online anagram generator, lol.  I'm easily entertained :D  Here's the completed set - a new project for me :)

Drawstring bag (to hold the beanbags) is about 16" x 18", and the beanbags are about 5 1/2" square :)  They have some plastic poly pellets in them for weight, and are stuffed with poly filling.  The letters are from the recipient's name  :)  Did you know our last name is Yolk?   Just kidding!  ;)

Here's a cute little Corvette basket I made to finish up the last of that fabric.  It measures about 8.5" x 4" x 4" :)

I bought some "fancy" carabiners from Ebay - these were about a buck each, IIRC - they're the perfect finishing touch :)  This is going to Blue Hills :)

April sewing - several finishes :)

Drawstring gift bag - 10" x 17" - birdy applique from Shiny Happy World :D  The pink gingham seersucker was from remnants given to me from someone's auntie's sewing room clean-out :D  I have enough to make another 4 or 6 bags :)

Co-ordinating aprons for 2 x 3 year old BFFs - these are the largest size from this tutorial, and are part of a Christmas gift set.

Ladybug superhero capes (the gingham print is the lining).  These are size 4 in the pattern from this Etsy store - both are gifts :)

Christmas gift tiaras from this tutorial - note the Santa jingle bell embellishment, along with the "jewel" bling :)

Tall pouch made with floral fabric from the auntie's fabric clean-out :D 11"w x 9.5"t x 3.5"d

A rocket zippy!  A ROCKET! LOL!  My first attempt at this new-to-me pattern - it didn't work out completely perfectly (I cut the vinyl window too small and then I accidentally melted the seam allowance with my iron, oops) - my next ones will be better :)  Fun pattern!  Including fins, it measures 9"w x 6.5"t :)

Handled boxy bag (10"l x 4"w x 3"t) made with sushi fabric :D  I took a closeup picture of the zipper pull - it's an owl jingle bell so it doesn't match the sushi theme, but it was the right colour for the bag, so I added it for fun - I don't think anyone will complain :)

ETA:  Rocket zipper bag uploaded to the "New to Me in 2014" linky party @ Celtic Stitches - here :)