Monday Makers! #15 :)

I'm always happy to start new projects, so here we have the beginnings of 4 more chocolate wrappers (top row), and 2 quilted zipper pouches.   I think I'm going to add beads to the zipper bags - maybe use them for the eyes ... or ???  Just a few, for fun.  All of these items will be Christmas gifts :)

I did get last week's starts finished - most of them, anyways!  Of the 9 drawstring gift bags I prepped, I have one blue one to finish and the other 8 are done - I just need to get a picture :)  

How's everybody doing with their Christmas prep?  Already finished ... on schedule ... behind schedule ... never-gonna-finish-in-this-lifetime schedule?  I still have a few things to do to get ready for the big day:
* gift sewing and wrapping is almost done, and a few "side items" need to be purchased (i.e. lottery tickets)
* haven't started cards or baking
* tree isn't up, but both kids will be here Wednesday night so I'll get them to put it up for me, and to bring up the decorations 
When I'm finished all that I get to relax and start working on the Toronto Maple Leafs quilt for DS1 for his birthday next month :D

Posting to Monday Makers! #15 :)

Need a cute and quick gifty to have on hand?

Make a bunch of these wraps before Christmas, put them in a basket, and be prepared if someone drops by and you'd like to give them a little "something something" :)

Christmas wraps - guess what's inside?  ;)

YAY - yummy chocolates! 

Tutorial is available here - making one of these will take you less than half an hour.  They take very little fabric --- 2 pieces 10.5 x 9.5", and 2 feet of ribbon :)  Mine are 8.5" x 3" filled - I like Lindor chocolate, so I tucked a little 3 pack in each wrap :)

Posted to the Under the Christmas Tree linky party for Nov. 30 :) ... and the New to Me linky party for November :) ... and to the Ho Ho Ho and On We Sew linky party for November :)

Monday Makers! #14 :)

On time and under budget!  Well - on time, anyways - I'm rarely under budget, unless the budget is "I do what I wannnnnnnnnnnnnt!"  :D

Girl set :)

Boy set :)

Last week I started an owl bag for a little girl - I got it completed, along with the rest of the items for the gift set, and posted it here :)  I also finished the set for her brother :)   I absolutely LOVE the owl drawstring bag (winterpeach on Etsy) - it's a very easy bag to do, and I'm getting better at doing those circular bottoms :)

This morning I cut out some Christmas/winter drawstring bags - some of these are for gifts, some are because I needed more gift bags, lol.  My goal is to get them stitched this week so I can ship the gifts next week :D  I might add jingle bells to some of them - I think that would be a fun touch!

How is everybody doing on their Christmas sewing?  I'm a bit behind my self-imposed schedule, but not by much, so I'm doing fine.  Thank goodness for Nurdan's kick-in-the-pants Monday Makers! posts to keep me in line ... and thanks also to the internet in general for being so bleeping inspirational :D

Posted to Monday Makers! #14 ... and also to Ho Ho Ho and On We Sew :)

Sharesies - turn your volume down ;)

For kitty fans - this isn't my kitty, but (s)he's gorgeous :D  Turn down your volume before you click to play it - it's quite loud :)  I have this looped and running while I'm typing this post - it has me laughing my head off!  Meowing kitty inDEED!  ;)

Here's the bag I started on Monday, along with the rest of the sewn items for this owl gift.  Other than the owl stuffy, these are all new-to-me projects that I haven't made before. Bottom row - Oliver Owl drawstring bag by winterpeach on Etsy.  I increased the size by 50% - the original is really tiny.  Mine measures 8.5" in diameter, and 11" tall.  Middle row - owl stuffy by fluffandfuzz on Etsy - mine measures about 7"w x 6" tall (no resizing done).  Matching owl purse by fluffandfuzz - this pattern is included with the owl.  I resized it down to 80% of the original.  Mine measures 9.5"w x 8.5"t w/out strap, 12"t with strap. Hand puppets made with regular sheets of felt - they measure 5.5"w x 6.5"t (no resizing done) and the pattern is a freebie from Lia Griffith :)  (Don't ask me why the puppet pic background is yellow - all of these pictures were taken in about a 2 minute timeframe in my basement!)

Monday Makers #13 - early :D

Nurdan has been going crazy at work lately so Monday Makers #13 isn't posted yet - I'm sure she'll get to it when she has a chance, but I'll go ahead and post mine since I have things ready ;)  Nurdan take your time!

 Last week I started this wee fox - a free tutorial from Stitched by Crystal - isn't she cute?  She measures about 7"w (not counting her arms) and 17"t including her fluffy little ears :)  She was quite easy to make - the only difficulty I had was that it was hard to tuck her stuffed arms/legs/tail inside to stitch the body back and front together - let's just say that there was some swearing involved :D  I just had to be patient, use lots of pins and go very slowly - and then *poof* - she was done :)  She's actually not fully dressed in this photo - I have 2 ideas in mind to bling her up a bit, and will post another picture when she's embellished to my liking :D  Thanks Crystal for a sweet pattern!

Here's today's start - Barney the Owl - a purchased pattern from Fluff and Fuzz :)  The pattern also includes a matching matching little purse, and I'll be trying it out as well, to go with this little owl :)  I actually cut out 2 owls while I had the pattern out, so that's a head start on another gift, lol.  You can't tell by the photograph, but those purple prints are baby wale corduroy - a sale purchase from a year or two ago - LOVELY fabrics!  :)

Posted to Monday Makers! #13 :)

Monday Makers! #12 :)

Yay Monday Makers! time again - time to start something new! I knew what I was going to start for this episode of MM so late last night I got busy with some pink fleece fabric - I like using Joann Fabrics' Soft N Comfy Dot Fabric - it's like a faux minkee, and I have lots of it in stash from frequent Buffalo runs (I buy it with a coupon or when it's on sale :D).  I'm making a fox stuffy from this tutorial :)

I got all the pattern pieces drafted onto cardboard templates, and traced the pieces onto the fleece.   I started sewing today - she now has a nose and eyes, lol.  I should have her finished soon - she's very simple but REALLY cute :)

Last week's new Monday project was an orange shark - I got him completed very quickly, and am SO pleased with how he turned out.  He's actually going to the brother of the recipient of the pink fox - there will be a 3rd stuffy as well, for their brother - stay tuned - that one will be a Monday Makers! project as well, lol!

Posting to Monday Makers! #12 :)

Gift status: completed :D

Here are a couple of pics of a Christmas gift I recently completed - I love doing a theme set with a book and some sewn and purchased items - tomorow I start a fox gift! 

Shark goodies I recently stitched for a gift - pillowcase, bedbuggs shark stuffy, zipper bag appliqued with "3D" shark :)

Here's the completed gift - from top left:  appliqued zipper bag, shark stuffy, shark pencil box, mini shark squirters, shark book (which I later exchanged for a different book), shark pillowcase and shark stickers :)  The pencil box, books, stickers and squirters were all purchased from Amazon.ca - I love my Prime membership, lol!

Muaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahaha!!! :)

I started sewing this guy last night and didn't stop until he was finished - HE IS CUTE!  He measures about 15"w x 10"t - pattern is from Bedbuggs on Etsy (NAYY).  I've made 3 or 4 of these sharks now - this one is my favourite - I think it's because he's a ginger :D

I'll be posting him as a finish to the next Monday Makers! linky party :D

Monday Makers! #11 :)

*Sandra runs to computer with camera card to quickly upload pic before Monday Makers! #11 deadline!* :)  Here's the project I got started on yesterday - the last Bedbuggs shark stuffy I needed for my shark Christmas gift sets :)   I'd been working on gift bags and forgot that I wanted to get this started, so my goal is now to get it completed this week so I can mark the gift off of my To Do list :D

My plan for last week was to finish my monster backpack, but alas, I can't find the hardware and haven't been able to get to the fabric store to buy more.  I'll try to get it finished this week as well :D

Posting to Monday Makers! #11 - made it with 11 minutes to spare - that was close, LOL!

Progress on the monster bag :)

Progress on the monster backpack - I gave him arms and legs (using the lining fabric), and got the strap holders basted on. I can't find my box of hardware so I need to go to the fabric store to get D-rings and strap holder thingies. The bag doesn't have a gusset - I wouldn't even technically call it a backpack - it's more a flat bag that can be worn like a backpack. Once the straps and hardware are installed, I can just add the lined back and the bag will be finished, with no raw edges (I'm doing the assembly the same way I do Kristin Link's front zip pouches).  Home stretch, baby!  :D

Here are a few Halloween bags I made for some kids I know.  I had fun using up some of my cute Halloween prints, and doing the Halloween appliques :D

Measuring tape bags (top, 4.5" x 8") and quilted appliqued ghost bag (8" x 8") :)

3 little Halloween zippies - about 4" each :)

My new backpack is coming along nicely :D

 A few days ago I posted about a new backpack I decided to try.  It's coming along nicely.  After all the trick or treaters have been treated tonight I'll go downstairs and start on this guy's arms and legs :D This is the quilted lined front, with the zipper installed.  You can see he comes pre-loaded with Wonky Vision 101 ;)

 I whipped this up one day after seeing it's doppelganger on the internet :D  (OK, mine is the doppelganger - I pretty much copied nini.stoff's stitch by stitch :D)

 Christmas sewing!  My last shark gift set is now almost completed - I need to make the stuffy, and the book I bought to go with the set is back-ordered on Amazon - it may have to be sent separately.  But I have all the rest of the sharky goodness ready to pack when the stuffy is done :)

Here's a bit of a close-up of sharky's 3D fin - I love that detail on these bags :)




I hope everybody that celebrates it, has a wonderful AND SAFE!!!  Halloween :)  If the weather holds out, we'll probably get about 100-110ish trick or treaters ringing our doorbell - we're ready :D

Posting to the October Ho Ho Ho and On We Sew linky party :)

Monday Makers! #10 :)

Last week I decided to try a duct tape project - I hadn't worked with duct tape before, but judging by the pins I see online, it looked like it would be a fun craft. And - it is :D My first one was rather wonky so I kept adding layers of duct tape to hide my mistakes, HAHA. I also discovered that while you CAN sew a zipper to duct tape, it really does gum up your needle and requires frequent cleaning of said needle :D  Next time around I'll try alcohol on a cotton ball to clean the needle - I read somewhere that it will help with the gumminess :) 

Here's the zipper pull I added - I thought the skeleton was rather appropriate ;)

I recently bought a book called Sewing Stylish Handbags & Totes, because it had a monster backpack in it.  The book, despite the crappy pictures in the Amazon preview, is chalk full of fun and kitschy projects, so it turned out to be a great buy :)  The pattern pages are awful, though - two monstrous sheets of paper with pattern pieces overlaid on each other - dreadful.  The instructions don't tell you what to cut for each bag, or which pieces to use, nor are they very detailed.  I certainly wouldn't recommend the book to a beginner, but someone with some sewing knowledge would be able to figure things out.  This is officially my project for Monday Makers! #10 :)  It's going to be way too big for the little kids I want to make backpacks for, so I'll trial run the large version, then I'll probably shrink the pattern by 25(ish?)% for the kidlings.  Hopefully I like it better than the one I posted about last week, LOL.   A few more pics:

Bag top - outside (quilted) and lining (interfaced)

My new book - VERY cute projects!

 

I'm doing a simple version of the monster bag on the left - mine won't be reversible. 

Posting to Monday Makers! #10 :)

Monday Makers! #9 :)

Oh my - fancy me being on the ball and posting this on Monday instead of Tuesday, LOL!

Last week I started a backpack - it was a trial run to see if I liked the pattern.  It worked out OK, but I'm not thrilled with it.  I did make a major change in the pattern - I quilted the outer pieces onto batting - that changed worked out well, and my quilting looks quite lovely (IIDSSM) :)  Unfortunately the snap closure (I only had black - it would have been so much nicer in white!) doesn't work right - I can't get it open - a small piece inside cracked when I was trying to put the 2 pieces together, and I'm not sure I can get it to work *ughhh*.  I think I'd like to try a different backpack pattern next - I'm just not in love with this design.  I'd like the straps to be adjustable, I'd like a tab on the back so it can be hung on a hook, it could use a pocket or two, and I'd really REALLY like to have the lining fit better :D 

I was busy today so I didn't have much time to sew - I did start a new project for week #9, using a craft supply I've never tried before - duct tape!   I got a roll of tape @ the $ store - for 2 bucks I get to play with something new :D  This will hopefully end up being a kiddy wallet!  :)

And one last photo - this is a pouch I made for my SIL - she wanted a bag made with fabric related to walking, to hold her techy toys for her walks :D  I didn't have walking fabric per se, but did find these in stash - they're Laurie Wisbrun prints, lol.  The finished bag measures 9"w x 7"t x 2.5"w - as per her request :D  The measuring tape tab on the side is a reminder of the miles/kms she walks :)  I think she liked it - who wouldn't like donkeys in rainboots, LOL!

Posted to Monday Makers! #9 :)

Monday Makers! #8 :)

Hehehe another Monday Makers being posted on Tuesday - the Tuesday timing seems to work well for me :D 

Here's the project I started for week #7 - I got it completed a few days ago.  It's part of my 3rd (and final) shark gift set, and will be a Christmas present.   I posted about it here. 

This is my project for week #8 - an Edan backpack (NAYY) from I Think Sew - I want to make a couple of these for Christmas gifts so I need to do a trial run first, to check out sizing etc.  The original is lined, but I'm going to quilt the outside of mine for extra body, so I need to make sure everything works with my change ;)  I got some adorable fabric on the weekend for the gift versions - Smurfs (from the Ogdensburg NY Walmart) and pretty owls (Ogdensburg Joanns) - they should work well for the backpacks :)

Here's shark gift set #2 that I finished recently - it has now been packed up and will be delivered to the recipient in the next few weeks.  The set consists of a pillowcase (top), stuffy, measuring tape bag, cookie cutter, book, pencil box, stickers and water squirters - I think this is a pretty cute gift for a 3 year old :) 

One last finish from last week - a Halloween pillowcase that I need to mail today so it's recipient gets it before Halloween - I hope (s)he likes it ;)






Posting to Monday Makers #8 :)

Venison and ... spetzle? spaetzle? and limburger, oh my!

Heard on the news station as I turned on the TV this morning @ 7:00 a.m.:  "Something smells good in the kitchen (referring to the kitchen in the studio where I guess they have guests cooking sometimes)!  What is it?"  Chef replies:  "Thanksgiving dinner!  Venison and spetzle!"  I look at the TV and see 5 bottles of wine on the counter where they're cooking.  *chat* *chat* *chat* *chef pulls out LIMBURGER cheese* *Sandra changes the channel because UGHhhhh, lolol!  Heather - please don't make us eat venison and spetzle and limburger on Sunday!

 Here's the shark bag that I started on Monday for Monday Makers! #7 - I got it done yesterday - it's cute :)  It measures 9"w x 12.5" t - the royal blue shark print at the top/left is the lining fabric (purchased from Joanns).  His fins are 3D for extra fun :) Shark gift set #3 is now officially underway, lol!

Monday Makers! #7 :)

This week I'm a bit more organized, and am actually posting to the linky party, on Monday instead of Tuesday :D 

Happily, I finished my shark stuffy (NAYY) from week #6, and that was the last item I needed to complete this particular Christmas gift, so I'm VERY happy about that :) Those seashells are from our trip to Florida last year :D

I got two of the 4 drawstring bags completed, and will finish the rest this week as I need to pack them up soon.  My friend No Blog Amanda had a peek at them a few days ago and wants to make some, so we're going to have a gift bag making hen party :D  This will involve junk food, much talking, not much sewing, and general mayhem and hilarity - the perfect recipe for a hen party! ;) 

New make for this week - I cut out a new shark applique bag for another shark gift set :D  I'm only picking one project this week as our Canadian Thanksgiving is this weekend, and we'll be heading to Osgoode to visit family, and to EAT TURKEY, yay! 

Posted to Monday Makers! #7 linky party @ Hug-a-Bit Quilts :)

Monday Makers! #6 :)

Time for another Monday Makers! update - as per my usual efficiency, I'm posting it on Tuesday ;)  Last week I started several new projects, and I got 2 1/3 of 3 goals finished ;)

Set of 4 drawstring bags (about 10" x 16") - done :) 

Chickeny denim bibs - done :)

Flex frame bag - 1 completed of 3 - this one measures 4.5" x 7".

A finish from Week 4 is the last of the scrappy zipper bags made with scraps from previous projects - I'm glad I'm finished with these prints - I'm sick of them, lol.  The few bits and pieces left over went into my scrap quilt pile - I won't have to look at them for a long time :D

Goals for this coming week are to finish a shark stuffy  (NAYY) and another set of gift bags. I started these last night while I was watching Blacklist - I seem to get very productive close to midnight, LOL! 

Shark stuffy from BedbuggsPatterns store on Etsy :)

Drawstring bags from a FQ set from a long-ago Joanns shopping trip :D

And now I'm off to check out this weeks' links - I want to see what the others are getting up to :D

Posted to Monday Makers! #6 @ Hug-a-Bit Quilts :)

Monday Makers! #5 :)

I had some fun last night (at 11:00ish p.m., lol) starting some new projects for this week's Monday Makers :D

First up are a couple of bibs that I decided to make to use up that chicken ribbon - I had about a meter of it and thought it would be cute as an embellishment :D

These are future flex frame bags - the outer fabrics were all scraps from previous projects, just big enough to make some cute flexies :)

Last, but not least, in the new Monday projects, are a set of 4 gift bags using up some FQ's I bought at Joanns a while ago.  You can't really tell by the picture but I've already assembly-line stitched the top band to the main part of the bag.  I got some cute green polka dot fabric yesterday @ The Quilt Store, for lining :)

Here's my progress from week #4.  The plan was to use up a small bag of scraps to make zipper bags - I figured there were enough scraps for 3 bags, and 1 is now completed.

Snap tape bag with 3D shark applique.  Cute, right?  NO!  It was a disaster from the moment I started working on it - it was one of those projects where everything went wrong, LOL.  The biggest problem is that somehow I managed to crack (almost in half) the measuring tape inside the casing at the top - if the bag had worked out better I would have replaced it, but since the bag wasn't going well anyways, I'm not bothering.  Sorry Nancy - it is NOT worth salvaging!  This one will be redone - I hadn't done a snap tape bag in a while so I'm considering this one to be a refresher project :D 

Posting to Monday Makers! #5 :)