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!

Two more Not a Hot Pad Zipper Pouches :D

Christmas sewing continues - these two pouches are for my sweetie little neighbour girls (5 & 8) :)  There will be goodies tucked inside these pouches - can you say ... lipstick pens?! ... and other fripperies - girls are a lot of fun to sew and shop for :D  The tutorial and pattern are available here - it's in hot pad format, but her hot pads always looked like zipper pouches to me, so there was simple hacking involved :D  Staci thanks again for such a cute pattern (and the whole hot pad of the month THEME, which is providing me with many zipper pouch ideas, LOL!) :)

Up next - some housework (boo hiss), some mending (boo hiss) and then [working on a poop pillow] or [getting ready for dinner out with DS1's girlfriend] - I'm not sure in which order those last two things will happen as it depends on timing :D There will be fun - I just don't know which fun is coming first, lol!  If you're wondering about the poop pillow ... you ARE wondering about that, aren't you??!! ... this is a topic a bloggy buddy and I have been discussing for a month or more - she beat me to the toilet punch!  Check out her version here :D  Hi Bay Leaf!  :D

Posted to Ho Ho Ho and On We Sew for December :)

I'm Bagging It! again :)

Last week I posted some projects I had finished for the Bag It! challenge that Patty is hosting over @ Elm Street Quilts :)  I've finished several more bags to add to the challenge, and I'm not done yet, LOL.

Up first are a couple of sets of Double Zip Pouches that I finished - these were actually all made with fat quarters I got on sale recently @ The Quilt Store, and with zippers I won on Ebay :)  The pattern is really easy to do!  Just be careful if you use directional prints - they're not the best thing to use for this design, LOL.  I didn't take a picture of the back, but let's just say that on the back, my airplanes are headed for a crash landing ;)

And last (for today), but not least - a Lazy Girl Designs Bendy Bag, and a flex frame bag made  with the leftovers :)

Pom pom photo embellishment idea shamelessly stolen from my friend and fellow Canadian Katherine, who blogs all the way from Alberta :)  Her poms are nicer than mine - they must be Alberta Clipper poms or something - maybe mine are Maple Leafs poms!  *groan* :D

I notice today that Patty posted links to bags that have been entered in her challenge, so I'm headed there now for some "baggy" inspiration :)

Oh yes, I bagged it :D

A couple of days ago I posted about a challenge I recently found, called Bag It!  Patty from Elm Street Quilts is running it - basically, we create and share bags that we've made (between Nov. 2 and Dec. 14).  This one definitely has my name written all over it, LOL.

Here are several of the bags I've made since November 2 - my first entries for Bag It! :)  I've actually finished several more but I try to do them in sets so when the set is finished, I'll take pictures :D

This is the one I started on Saturday - I like to call it my "I'm not a  hot pad! birdy pouch", as this is Crafty Staci's August hot pad of the month, in zippy form :D  This was a new to me project, and I'm very pleased with how she turned out :)

Here's beaded butterfly pouch #2 - I posted the first one on November 3, and got this one finished a couple of days ago.  I wish I was able to get close-up photos of the beading, but I don't have a great camera.  I used clear and turquoise beads on some of the butterfly spots - it does look sweet, IIDSSM!

 Here are the two bags, side by side - both are Christmas gifts :)

This is a pattern I did once or twice a while ago, and decided to revisit for this challenge.   I forgot that this is a bag better suited to non-directional fabrics - my scotties on the back are upside-down, and then, while that goof was fresh in my mind, I cut out two more bags ...with directional fabrics as well, lol.  Hopefully I won't make that mistake a 4th time :D

 And here are the bags I worked up this morning - they were inspired by this post, and I've already made one (that I can recall!) :D  I thought it was a good one to do for the challenge!

Here's the back of the bags :)   6 bags so far - the counselling center is going to score big-time after this challenge!






The hot pad zipper bag will be posted to Celtic Thistle Stitches' [hi, Fiona - Novelty Pouch Factory signing in, LOL!!] New New To Me linky party for November  :)

Bag It!

A few days ago I came across the Elm Street Quilts blog post that mentioned a fun project Patty is hosting in November (and into December) - she calls it Bag It!  Of course I had to investigate further - I think I could be persuaded to make a zipper bag or two (or twenty!) to celebrate Bag It :D  I've put her button on my sidebar so you can go take a peek at the latest posts about this fun series :)

I've already completed a few bags this month to post - hopefully the sun is out tomorrow so I can get some pics.  In the interim, here's something I started today that I hope will finish into a worthy entry ;)  I'm planning on trying some new and fun bags for this - if I don't post some new goodies, please feel free to give me a figurative kick in the a$$!  ;)