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 :)

Tassimo and Penguins :D

When I came downstairs this morning, this is what I found in the kitchen - a carefully arranged stack of Tassimo coffee/tea disks, perched on my microwave. I don't drink coffee or tea - this was done by my husband. He drinks coffee and tea, our youngest son drinks coffee and tea, and our oldest son was coming by this morning and he drinks coffee. I think between the 3 of them, they certainly had their choice of items to drink! I stick with Diet Dr. Pepper, LOL!

Here are a couple of penguin zipper bags I finished yesterday - they're part of a Christmas gift for 3 year old BFFs - I'll probably tuck some little bubblebath or lip balms inside for fun :)  The pattern is by StubbornlyCrafty (NAYY) :)  I'm posting these to the Ho Ho Ho and On We Sew linky party :)

Bye Bye Slobalt :)

Our youngest son has traded in his old car - Slobalt the Cobalt - here he is changing the tires out before taking it to the dealer for the big switcheroo.

While we have Slowbie out posing for photos, here's a little gifty I whipped up yesterday for part of a birthday gift - Scottie the Scottie (a new to me project from a free pattern here) :)

 OK - time to leave, Slobalt - it was nice knowing you :)  Good luck in your new driveway - be good!

Bye bye!!

No wonder the Slobalt is leaving - look how dirty the snow is around here, lol!

A few hours later - Slobalt 2 - aka a new 2012 Honda Civic SI (187 kms on it) - has arrived and is now gracing our driveway.  Scottie (now wearing his new jingle collar) wants to take the car for a spin :D

Checking to see if there's enough trunk space :)

Where are the keys, human??!!!

New car adventures now await my young man :)  BTW - the Honda only stayed home for about 30 minutes so he could show it to his brother and I - it's now off on the previously mentioned adventures, lol :D

It's been a pretty good day for a happy 23 year old!

New to me projects for March :D

March was a good month for trying out some of my pinned projects, and even a few patterns and tutorials I've got stored away :)  I bet I'm not the only one that feels somewhat guilty about buying or finding projects to do, then never getting around to trying them out :D 

 I should have started making these AGES ago - they're sooooo cute!  Princess tiaras - I changed her velcro closure to an elastic band :)

Earbud pouch (I've made many of these), and heart zippy - the heart is the one I haven't tried before :)

Upcycled bibs embellished with lace and trim :)  I pinned the project a few weeks ago but didn't pin the original url, unfortunately, so I don't know which Etsy shop posted them first.  Here are my versions, made with denim from our youngest son's worn out work jeans :D

Michelle Patterns coin pouch (NAYY) - I bought the pattern a while ago and finally made it!  It's very small - 4"w x 3"t - I made a little error when I was cutting the pieces, so mine may be a touch smaller than it should be.  Not difficult to make, just a tiny bit fiddly because of the small size + my tetchy fingers :)

Bunnies!  3 different bunnies, just in time for Easter :D The bunny on the left is actually made from Lil Boo Blue's bunny zipper pouch pattern - it's 6"w x 9"t.  The middle bunny is Basil, from retromama on Etsy - this one is 10w x 12t - I'm not even going to admit how long ago I bought the pattern :D  The bun on the right was made from a pattern I found and pinned - it was just what I wanted for a baby for Easter - he measures 8w x 9t :)

Drawstring bags - made from a book, Fast Fun Critter Bags (which I bought in 2011!) (NAYY).  The blue one is 7w x 13t, and the orange one is 8w x 14t - I enlarged her to use up a specific piece of fleece I had in stash :D  Great book - I'll be making more goodies from it as time progresses :D

I pinned a monster drawstring bag photo recently because I thought it was adorable - I decided to give it a try, using a pattern I already have - the face from monster bibs by stubbornlycrafty (I've made many of those :D)  This bag measures 11w x 15t - it'll be a gift (a gift that the recipient gives away, hehe) :)

Here's my entry for the Sew Crazy "It's in the Bag" challenge that's running this month over at Crazy Little Projects. I wanted to have several of these done - a huddle of penguins, if you will!! - but alas, time got away from me. I'm very happy with my first one though, so into the contest he goes! [He was originally posted here, but I wanted to showcase him on this page of new to me and contest entry projects :)]

I love this penguin zipper pouch - I'm glad I bought the pattern - I can't wait to see what other designs she comes up with :)  Pattern is f/s on Etsy :D

 Linking up to New to Me in 2014 (March) from Celtic Thistle Stitches :), and the Sew Crazy It's in the Bag March challenge from Crazy Little Projects :)

Crowns and tiaras and aprons - oh my! And don't forget the gift bags :D

It turns out - making crowns is a lot of fun, lol. Tiaras too!   This tutorial is what I used to make the first tiara, then I changed her velcro closure to elastic for the rest of them.  I liked the shape of this one, so I bought the pattern and will try it next :D  I also like these ones and want to try them as well - I think there are lots of crowns and tiaras in my future! 

Tiaras and a crown - tutorial here :)  I changed the velcro closure to fabric covered elastic for these - I think it works better for kids (and their moms!) :)

Toddler aprons - the one on the left is a birthday gift, and the one on the right will go to Blue Hills :)

Fabric gift bags - 7" x 9.5" - I forget which size pattern I used but these bags were modified to use up some scraps I had :D   Pattern here :)

I try to use as many fabric gift bags as possible - at Christmas I noticed I was short on smaller bags, so I've started making some.  This design is from Jeni at In Color Order - she has a free tutorial on her website, but also sells the pattern with cutting directions for bags in different sizes.  I like the free tutorial but I didn't want to do the math for the other bags, so I bought the pattern :D

(BTW - when I post a link for a $ pattern it's usually one I've bought myself for personal use.  I don't advertise, and I don't do affiliate links.)

There's a major late winter storm headed our way ...

so I ran out to the front porch and took a few pictures while I still had sunshine :D

Gong Gong wearing his blinged out tiara - very regal :)  This was my first attempt at a crown - I'm not too fond of the velcro closure, and will do elastic next time around.  Tutorial here -  IIRC she doesn't say what size this is or what age it's for, so I'll test drive it on my neighbour's 2 1/2 year old little girl :)  If it fits her she can have it, and I'll make more!

My first penguin pouch, pattern purchased on Etsy :)   This one measures 9.5" wide x 6.5" tall - it'll hold LOTS of goodies.  More of these to come - this was fun to do :D  The pattern designer - Lisa @ Stubbornly Crafty - is designing more patterns so "watch this space", lol!

A "use up the scraps of this owl print" tall pouch :D  Measures 9" wide by 10.5" tall x 3.5" deep :)

Getting through the bunny list :D

Mesh and zipper bags, to go with the beach bag I made earlier:)  Mesh bag (for seashells) is 11x15, and the zipper pouches, made with scraps from the beach bag, are about 8.5x9.5 :)

A few more Lil Blue Boo bunnies, along with their gift wrap (aka the drawstring bag) :)

The last batch, at least at this point, lol, of Lil Blue Boo bunnies for Easter gifts :)  Now that all the bunnies are stitched I'm making gift bags for them :)

Happily, the worst of winter may finally be over, although I'm sure we're going to get hammered at least once or twice more before we can count it as done.  The sun is shining ever so brightly, and the snow has started to melt, but oh my it's muddy and dirty out there.  I took these bunny pictures on my front porch a few minutes ago - it's windy and the wind was actually holding the bags in place, LOL.  Suction wind!

More February sewing

Sewing tends to ensue when weather conditions include words like cold or blustery or snowy or bone-chilling - that's a good thing ;)

Another batch of Lil Blue Boo's bunny zipper pouches for a brother/sister/brother combo ;)

**New to me project - drawstring gift bag from Zakka Handmades by Amy Morinaka :)**

Toddler apron - the smallest size (they say it's size 3-5, but I say it's more 18m-2T!) - a gift :)

Superhero cape (sz. 4) and matching zipper bags (using up the scraps) :)

Superhero capes for a gift - sz. 6 :)

Beach tote :)

**Linking up to New To Me in 2014 over at Celtic Thistle Stitches **

Photographic evidence of productive snow-days :D

The weather has been crappy - cold and snowy and polar vortexy - I've gotten a lot of sewing done, but hadn't felt like doing any photography because it's just so dark and dreary.  The projects were starting to pile up in the dungeon basement sewing room so it was time to get out the camera so I could put them away!  Also - I made a few new-to-me items (either from pins, or from patterns) and wanted to boast share :D  I actually tried a couple that turned out so badly (user error, not designer error) that I threw them in the garbage, and will never speak of them again ;) 

Christmas pillowcases using Dr. Seuss fabrics bought on sale from my favourite Toronto quilt store - Sew Sisters :)  This project posted to the Ho Ho Ho and On We Sew linky party here :)

My new addiction - bunny zipper pouches - free tutorial from Ashley @ Lil Blue Boo :D 

Reacquainting myself with a project I first tried a few years ago - the Ditty bag by Michelle Patterns :)  This one is a size medium :)  (NAYY)  Finished to 7" tall (excluding handle) x 6" wide x 1.5" deep.

(Collage photos were made with Fotor)

**New to me project - double zip pouch - free tutorial @ Sweet Bee Buzzings :)  Finished to 8"w x 6.5" t.  Thanks Bethany for a great tutorial!**

Suzy's Sack - (NAYY) - another new to me project :)   I made a few mistakes during construction but I really like the pattern, and I'm sure my next attempts will go more smoothly :D  Finished to 4.5" wide x 6" tall (excluding strap) x 3" deep.**

Yet another new to me design - a monster pouch!  HA!!!  This guy is so cute - I pinned this a while ago and finally got around to trying him :)

And just for fun - our oldest lad one day last week when he came by for supper - he was very happy about the Cranberry Awesome Cake I made him :)  He's being goofy in that picture - he's not actually constipated :D  He's also just gotten to our house after work, so that's why he's  filthy :D

**Linking up to New To Me in 2014 over at Celtic Thistle Stitches **

Cinnamon Rolls :)

I came across this recipe this morning, and since I had all the ingredients and I'm trying to bribe DS2 from moving out of the house for a while yet (we're not sure if he's joking or serious, but he has started to talk about moving out by the spring ... colour me rather sad!), I decided to whip them up. The original recipe calls for them to be rolled into a heart shape - yeah - right - I could barely get a log roll made because the dough kept sticking to my counter, so a roll that looks somewhat like a roll is as good as it gets :D They still look pretty good, iidssm!

Cinnamon Rolls - recipe courtesy of Mennonite Girls Can Cook :)

I don't think he'll starve :D

I got this picture tonight from DS1 - something tells me he's dining fine in his new house :)  It doesn't look like he's pining for mom's cooking!

Greek Pasta Salad - by Chef Nick ;)