"During construction" photos :D

During construction ...

Almost finished (this is the lining side).  Both fabrics are from Joanns :)

Here's a project I worked on yesterday (free tutorial here) - I haven't taken a picture of the finished item, but will soon.  I'm almost finished another one as well, in a different colour range :D  Actually I have quite a few little finishes downstairs but I haven't felt like getting the camera out and blogging! 

Sewing away in my dreary little dungeon studio :D

In this dreary grey weather, my sewing studio is dreary as well, since it's the room in the basement with no window :D  Work still manages to get done, though :)  Some of it can't be posted until after Christmas, but here are a few little finishes that won't ruin any surprises :D

Use-up-scraps tall zippered pouch :)

Christmas gift bag (In Color Order pattern)

Christmas bibs :)

Drawstring gift bag :)

Cute lil 'phib!

Lil 'phib :)

I finished this little guy today - he's a Christmas present :D  When I sent his picture to [relative of recipient] their response was ... "Cute lil 'phib!" -- LOL!!!  Sure put a smile on MY face!

The pattern is from fleecefun.com - they have a LOT of fun patterns there - and about a dozen fun hats, sized from baby to adult!  Pattern for Lil 'phib is here :D

RANT: "Sponsored posts" - GRRRR!

Rant #1:  earlier this week I unsubscribed from a crafty blog I had been following --- I'm not highly bothered by appropriately themed sponsored posts - cooking supply ads on cooking blogs, online quilt shop ads on quilty blogs, or even, blog-related giveaways provided by a sponsor.  The other day I stumbled upon a sponsored ad for TARGET. The store. On a personal craft blog. The sponsored post relayed a clothing shopping trip to the store. Power of the veto - exercised by using the unsubscribe button. 

Rant #2:  I've started unfollowing pinners who consistently repin without checking links - I'm tired of having to hunt and search for specific posts when people take the easy way out and just repin, instead of following the link to make sure it's a proper link instead of a keyword search on a blog, or the main page of a blog.  Today I came across a pin with a yummy photo of a cake - the pin read ... "Greatest cheesecake recipe in the world!". It lead to a picture on a (weird) site, with no information or clickable link to get to the recipe.  ARGHHHH!!

Now - just so you don't think I'm a total curmudgeon (yes, I think this post will ruffle a few feathers, lol) - here's some eye candy - g-nephew Shawn (2!) wearing the Oliver and S bucket hat I made him for his birthday :)  WHAT A DOLL!!!

ETA clarification:  I'm referring to blog posts where the blogger is PAID to recommend or mention products that have nothing to do with their blog - i.e. clothing shopping @ a specific store on a craft blog, car parts on a cooking blog - etc.etc. :D

Flexing my ... frames :)

Christmas sewing - YAY!!!

Small flex frame bags (4" x 6.5")

Jeni/In Color Order drawstring gift bag :)

Last finishes for October :D

2 sets of fabric airplanes - Christmas gifts

Jeni drawstring bags - 3 Everything bags and 1 Project bag (tutorial here, but I bought the pattern for the extra sizes)

5 large Christmas bags - the ones in front are upcycled from a thrift store tablecloth (NIP) :)

Christmas ladybug taggy, based on this tutorial

Try something new - stocking zippy inspired by a pattern I saw on Etsy - this is just a trial run to test out the sizing and stocking shape

Drawstring gift bag

Birthday gift done - To Do list gets shorter :D

I finished this birthday gift today - the centre block is a Loralie design - isn't it cute? And it certainly suits the recipient, lol!

Loralie pouch - front :)

Loralie pouch - back :)

Zipper pull :)

Lining and Handmade tag inside :)

The bag measures about 10" x 12", and is quilted.  I did the decorative stitches on my POS Babylock - it was repaired in the spring and hubby asked me if I've been using it.  I haven't, because it's a *cue drama* horrid machine and I hate it ;)   He made me feel guilty about getting it repaired and then ignoring it, lol.  It did just fine with the little job I gave it (unlike it's normal behaviour!) but I do NOT trust that stupid machine - I just KNOW it's waiting to give me heartache again - BAD BABYLOCK.  BAD!!! 

Oh my, oh my oh my - THE CUTE!

Such a handsome model he is!

Here's LL in his Halloween onesie - I could (DID!) squeal from the cute!  Remember the old days where we had to get pictures processed in a store, and then had to snail mail them - there was no seeing them immediately like we can now!  Thanks, Al Gore (snicker)! 

Halloween Lleyton :D

Here are some Halloween craft pics of and for g-nephew Lleyton (10 months old) ... a few things old Aunt Sandra made him for his first Halloween :D

Halloween bib, embellished with spinach and peas ;)

Hallowen onesie, sans baby -- I'm sure I'll get a photo of onesie *avec* baby :D

Bat stuffy for LL :D

Little trick or treat bag for LL :)

I can't wait to see him in his Halloween costume, lol!

A few bags for Grammie :D

 This is a Project Bag by Jeni of In Color Order - I liked her freebie tutorial so I bought the pattern with extra sizes (yay for not having to do math, LOL).  This bag measures 11" x 13" x 4" - it's for Grammie to use when she's giving gifties to grandson LL (Lleyton) :)

Here's a plain lined drawstring bag - he's a big boy - 19" x 23" --- almost pillowcase sized :D  I'm sure Grammie will have something large enough to fit in him!!  ;) 

Our sons' job sites!

Photo source

Our oldest son was doing something upstairs and called down for me to Google something --- hubby and both kids are electricians (well, DS2 is a 4th [almost 5th] term apprentice) so their job sites are normally construction sites :D  This is what he showed me!

This is where DS1 is working right now - Aura - it's a current photo of the site --- he actually works on top of that roof - HOLY CRAP!!   As it turns out, both boys worked yesterday, and that's where they were - on top of that roof.  I told the older one to start wearing a pink hard hat so I can spot him on pictures, LOL! 

Source

And here's where DS2 is working!  That was when the job was up to 10 floors - now they're up to 18.  This is the RMCI Residence (condo) - it'll be 42 floors when it's finished :)

Can you tell I'm a proud momma? LOL!! 

I've been sewing :D

Here are a couple of baskets I made for the little girls next door - I'll put their Halloween candy in them and tuck them into cello bags for trick or treat night :)  The tutorial is from Pink Penguin, and the sizes are 4 x 3.5 x 5.5" and 3.5 x 3 x 5 :)  You can't tell in the photo, but I added glitter bling "beads" to the bags - the kind you attach with a heating wand - it's the perfect touch for this particular fabric!

 These little bug taggies are for Christmas gifts - they're based on this tutorial :)

 4 flex frame cases (about 4" x 7") and a zipper bag the same size (I ran out of flex frames, lol). 

An owly-licious gift bag for a grammie to use for gifts for the sweetest grandson in the world :)  Tutorial is here and the bag measures 12.5" x 11.5" x 5" :)  This was my first attempt at this bag - I like it!

Ultimate dog tease :D

Post Thanksgiving ... post :D

Our entire family (hubby and I and our 2 boys) went to visit my family for Thanksgiving last weekend.  Oh MY it was wonderful - we had such a good time :) Will post some pictures in a few days - I'm busy right now trying to get some stuff done for a visit from hubby's side of the family on Sunday.

In the interim, here's one of my favourite pictures from the weekend - great nephew Lleyton (9 1/2 months old in this photo) wearing the onesie that old Aunt Sandra made him for Thanksgiving.  IS HE PERFECT OR WHAT!!!  And charming!  And contented!  And happy to be passed around - what a doll!  And if you think that hair looks red - it DOES -- in some lighting, he looks like a ginger - like MOI :)  *happy grin* :D

One little project I got done this week - a ladybug(ish) taggy based on this one - I did do a few modifications.  My trial run wasn't very nice, but the second try worked much better - I'm very happy with it :)  It's a gift for the granddaughter of friends of ours :)

Needed: larger gift bags!

I have lots of handmade fabric gift bags stashed away for use as needed, but they're all on the small side.  With Christmas coming up I needed a few larger ones :D  I made a couple of Christmas ones yesterday - will get a picture later, when I finish the other 2 in the same fabric (I upcycled a fabric tablecloth!).  Here are the 2 I made today, specifically sized to fit [mystery gift A] and [mystery gift B] :D

And now I'm off for a few days - going to visit my family for Thanksgiving, YAY!!!  I hope all my Canadian friends have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving with their families and loved ones - eat lots of turkey!  I'm going to have to be REALLY careful to eat properly and not pig out on desserts - I don't want to regain any of the weight I've been losing - wish me luck!  ;)

It's finished, YAY!

 Here's the inside pocket of the library tote I just finished ...

 ... and here's the bag - it's so cute!  I modified a pattern from this lovely seller to make the bag - I love how it turned out, and have another one ready to sew :)   The bag measures 13" wide x 14" tall x 3.5" deep, and has a covered plastic canvas base to keep it nice and boxy :)   



Here are a couple of little bags I finished in the last few days - mainly to use up bits and pieces of those fabrics!  The flex frames (blue/green owl print) came from Portugal, from this seller :)  I quite enjoy making these little guys, and will be making more - they're quick and easy!  The large bag on the left is 5x7.5, the zipper bag in the middle is 4x7, and the bag on the right is 4x6 :)

A couple more fabric airplanes - these are for the neighbour's son - I already made 2 for their daughter, so the kids can have an airplane fight, lol.

2 ready to fly, one not quite ready to read :D

Some of what I worked on today:

These two fabric airplanes are a Christmas gift - I have 2 more cut out for the recipient's brother :)

Here's the READ library tote I'm working on - it's another Christmas gift.  I've modified and simplified the pattern a bit - I love that sock monkey fabric from Joanns!  Hopefully I can finish this tomorrow, if all goes well! 

Inspired by Janine ...

A month ago I spotted a sweet bag on this blog -- I pinned it, then made the bag a few weeks ago.  The denim is from the 2 meter piece I got at a thrift store a few months ago for a buck, and the other fabrics and lace are from stash :)

I wanted to get some plastic to make a base for the bottom, to give it some more body.  I got a couple of pieces of plastic canvas @ Michaels this past weekend - it's a bit more flexible than I would like, but it's not bad.  I cut one piece into 3 layers and wrapped it in the outer fabric.  Ta da!!!!!!!!!!!!  (I guess I should have ironed the lining before taking the pictures, lol!)

Thanks Janine, for the inspiration!

My flex frames came in ...

The frames I ordered from Etsy came in today, so I'll be working on some flex frame bags this week :D

Here are a few more Halloween pencil cases I got finished today (notice that I oriented the fabric wrong again on one of them, lol!) :)  These are the bags I'll be handing out on Halloween night to the neighbours' kids that I know :D

Craft Book Challenge entry :)

Craft Buds is hosting a craft book challenge this month - we're to choose a project from any craft book - and make it!  Most crafters will understand why there might be a need to be challenged to actually get around to using our books instead of just perusing them *ahem* :D

Here's what I made for the challenge - this is an Origami Bag Set from Amy Butler's book "Style Stitches" :)  The book has instructions for 6 sizes, and I chose to do the 3 smallest -- a mini, a small, and a medium.  They're plenty big, so I'm glad those were the sizes I chose!  I pretty much made the bags according to her instructions, although as usual, I cut out the boxed corners instead of folding the corner to a point.  I'm very happy with how they turned out!  I think I'll tuck them in my gift box - you never know when a pretty little bag set might brighten someone's day :)

Amy Butler's Origami Bag set for the Craft Book Challenge :)

Large bag 13.5w x 6t x 2.5d

Medium bag 12w  x 4.5t x 2.5d

Small bag 10.5w x 4t x 2w

And now - if you'll excuse me, I'm off to check out the other projects posted - I've already been peeking and I see some adorable goodies!  BTW - the bench that I photographed the bags on, is a bench I made about 17 or 18 years ago for our front porch - it has sat out there winter and summer since then, and we still use it!

ETA:  Entered into the Purse Week 2012 challenge Oct. 4/12 :)

Corduroy and yoyos :)

Here's a quick little bag I completed the other day - it's from Pretty Little Purses and Pouches by Lark Books - it's called Yo Chica (what a dreadful name, lol) but I just call it the corduroy bag with the yoyos :D  It was easy, and quite fast to whip up!