The good, the bad, and the bent :)

The bent:  when your sewing day starts like this, you know things are going to  get grim, lol.  Just kidding - this happened a few days ago and I kept the pin as a reminder to remove them before stitching over them - I don't always do that, and this is the result :D

The bad:  here's a new to me bag (#7 in my 52 in 16 evil plot) - it looks fine in the pictures, but it's not how the bag was meant to turn out.  I decided I didn't need to read the directions in full, and cut the boxes double the size they were supposed to be. The bag should be larger and flat - mine still looks OK (although - the handles don't look good with the size I ended up with) and is completely useable - it's just not what I wanted.

Here's what the straps look like - they actually look cute in this picture but they're just not right. Pay attention next time, Sandra, lol!  I link to the tutorial in the paragraph above this one - it's a free pattern from Craftsy.com, but you do need to have a (free) membership :)  NAYY!

The good:  on to a new-to-me project that DID work out - quite well, in fact!  I've had this pinned for a long time and got to it yesterday.  It's going in my gift box :D  YAY #8 of 52 in 16 :D

The good, part deux:  here are some finger puppets I finished this month- they were free patterns.  The bumblebee and elephant were from goodcritters.com (but they came as part of a newsletter so I don't know if they're still available) and the bunny is here :)  The bunnies are going to houses with very young kids so they didn't get pompom tails, but I have more cut out and they'll be tailed ;)

The good, part three:  one last photo before I run upstairs to get supper started - I made the rocket zippy in this photo, last month.  This month I made the drawstring bag to use as the gift wrap for the gift, which will be the rocket zippy with $$ inside, and some rocket finger puppets :D  The applique is from fourwisemonkeys.blogspot.com but it looks like the site is now private.  I must have printed the pattern before they privatized :)

Will post the mis-sized boxy and the monster zippy to New to Me for March, when it goes live :D

Rude mom - part deux :D

Further to my chicanery from earlier today, I thought of something new and devious :D I grabbed this picture ... and tiled it as the desktop picture on his computer :)  Hope he likes it, LOL!!!  Only scroll down if you have the mind of a 12 year old boy - like mine!  ;)  (I wonder who will look - and who will not?!  :)

Love ya, DS1! :)

More dolphins ... plus rude mom behaviour :D

Rude mom - THEN dolphins ;)  DS1 recently asked if he could borrow his old dinosaur laptop (he left it here when he moved out, so I was using it as a back-up in the craft room) - I cleared my crafty stuff out of it so his friends don't accidentally stumble upon my Pinterest or zipper bag addictions, and added a few Easter Eggs for them to find ;)   I changed the homepage of the browser to show the following websites whenever the browser is accessed (don't read this list if you're easily offended!!):

Reverse mortgages - how to screw your kids over :)
Swinging - how to do IT
Swingers conventions
Fetish sex goldfish bacon

I left some of my regular links - the local newspaper, Buzzfeed etc., but made sure that the freaky searches were front and center so they'd be the first thing to show up, LOL!  It's my job as a MOM to keep him on his toes!  ;)

And now - back to our regular dolphin programming :)  Here are the other zipper bags I made to use up those dolphin zipper pulls :D

Dolphin zippy #6 - front

Dolphin zippy #6 - back - a tic tac toe game :D

Dolphin zippy #7 - front :)

Dolphin zippy #7 - back :)

Dolphin zippy #8 :)

Dolphin zippy #8 - back :)

Dolphin zippy #9 - this was the first one I did - when I made it, I didn't think to embellish the back - I started doing that with later bags, lol.  Poor #9!

Dolphin zippy #10 - front :)

Dolphin zippy #10 - back :)

WHEW!  Enough with the dolphins - those ones are going to Blue Hills, along with the following batch.  I found 4 faux wood goldfish zipper pulls in stash, and had just enough fabric to eke out four bags, using blue linen for the back, and this print for the front:

Goldfish zippies :)

Close-up of the cute goldfish zipper pull :D

Next up will be some very.simple finger puppets I made in the last few days - I have to hunt down all the links so I'll have a record of where they came from - you never know when you'll need to revisit a finger puppet link!  Think ... bumblebees and elephants and bunnies OH MY!  :)

Dolphins and construction vehicles - finishes to report :D

 Here's a set of drawstring bags (about 9.5" x 12") I whipped up using a valance (or table topper?) I picked up at the thrift store a month or two ago.   They're all lined with a light blue fabric that I got on clearance ages ago - the construction fabric is all used up now - it was a good investment for two bucks!

Last month I decided to start using up some of the ebay craft supplies I've bought over the years.   My first pick was a set of 10 rather ugly dolphin pulls (they looked nicer in the auction, than they did when they arrived, lol).    I decided to make zipper bags (surprise!) using denim jean scraps, zippers from my extremely large zipper supply, and assorted batiks and scraps for the linings.  I think operation Use Up Ugly Dolphins was a success ;)

Dolphin zippy #1 - front

Dolphin zippy #1 - back 

Dolphin zippy #2 - front

Dolphin zippy #2 - back

Dolphin zippy #3 - front

Dolphin zippy #3 - back

Dolphin zippy #4 - front

Dolphin zippy #4 - back

Dolphin zippy #5 - front

Dolphin zippy #5 - back

That's it for now - I need to go put a ham in the oven to get it ready for supper, LOL.

February was a dreary month!

Happy Leap Year Day!  With the grey weather, like so many others, I didn't get as much sewing done as I would like :D  I did get some nice finishes in, though :)

 Lips pouch - tutorial is here - I was just trying out the pattern and didn't bother to put the tab on the zipper ... which would have made the pouch look a lot nicer.  Nothing wrong with the tutorial - the problem was ME :D  Will do it properly next time, but this not-great finish will count as a new project for me (#6 in 52 in 16 :D), despite the fact that it isn't as nice as I hoped :D

Sorry about the pink background in this picture - I had to run out the door to go to a luncheon where the bag was The Gift, so I was in a hurry.  It's just a simple denim bag, lined with some pretty royal blue fabric.   It was sized to hold a specific gift, which I hope the recipient likes!

Here are a couple of beaded Retreat bags (without the frame).   You can't really see the beading in the top bag - it's clear seed beads attached to each bra where the cups meet.  Very low key :D

The orange one has more beading, but it's storming outside and I can't get a clear picture inside.  These are both going into my gift box for Christmas - and it's only February!  :)

Last, but not least because this one is my favourite of the finishes, a rocket zipper pouch :)   This (purchased, NAYY) pattern is by Filles a Maman :)  The window is vinyl so the recipient will be able to see whatever it is he tucks inside ... which will be a $20 bill since this is a gift for a young lad :)



Posting to the Ho Ho Ho and On We Sew ... and New to Me linky parties for February :)

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!

This little zippy went adventuring ...

I dashed outside today to check the mail, and it was so sunny and bright that I thought I should get a picture of my new bag, out there in the wild :D  She couldn't decide which spot she liked best - my garage door ...

... or tucked onto my neighbour's Christmas tree (outside ready for town pick-up) :D

This was a new to me project - as I mentioned in my last blog post I'm trying to make NEW designs of bags this year - I'm aiming for 1 new bag a week (aka 52 in 16) to finally get to some of the tutorials and patterns I've been hoarding for so long :D  This tutorial is from Sew Can She, and is called a 2 Sided Zip.  The tutorial is VERY well written and photographed - I was nervous about making it because of the curved zipper but it was no problem - the bag was very easy to make.  Next time around I'll add an inch in length and in height to make it a bit bigger (and of course will use a longer zipper).   I'll definitely be making more of these - thank you to Caroline for a wonderful tute!  And this counts in as 2/52/16 ... HA!

P.S.  Sheila Perl - I can't reply to your comments as I can't find your email address - could you leave it for me in a reply (I'll delete it before publishing) or email me through my About Me link - I'm dying to check out your Pinterest boards (and your blog, too, if you have one?) - thank you!  :)

A new year, and a new monster :)

I hope everyone had a good Christmas and a happy (and safe!) New Year :)  We spent time with hubby's family, and had a big luncheon on New Years Day - there were glitches, but it went fairly well, nobody went home hungry, and we now have folding tables, extra plates, silverware and glassware for 24 people - massive shopping was involved :D  And on to 2016!

I didn't specifically make "resolutions" because they never work for me, but I did make a decision to try to improve a few things - eat less, move more, shop less, sew more - those are the main ones.  Along the sewing front, I want to try making new designs of bags (zipper, drawstring etc.),  from the thousands of pins I have, the (hundreds) (dozens) (tens) ones of patterns I've bought over the years, and the dozens of tutorials I've saved to my computer :D  One a week would be fabulous, since I certainly have the fabric and notions to do that - kind of a 52 in '16 goal, if you will :D  I don't know if I'm up to it, and as we all know - stuff comes up - but at least it's something I'm aiming *towards* :)

Here's the my first new-to-me bag for the year - I spotted the original for sale in someone's Etsy store, and thought he was sweet :D  I wish I'd made his legs smaller and spaced his horns and eyes closer together, but overall he still came out pretty cute!  He's wearing his New Years 2016 border from Pizap, and it's possible he might still be a bit hung over ;)  He counts as 1/52/16 :D