Nailed. It. :)

Earlier this month I completed my first Cargo Duffle - a free (YAY!) pattern designed by Anna Graham (Noodlehead) :) There are lots of blog posts about this project on the interwebs - sew alongs, hacks and modifications - the pattern looked VERY detailed and scary to me so I did a lot of reading, decided on some simplifications, and then I jumped in.  I haven't taken proper pictures of it because it needs a good pressing to be camera ready, but here it is pre-pressage.

First Cargo Duffle - a New to Me finish :D

I didn't like the pockets on the original so I changed mine to a simple slip pocket.  I QAYG'd (quilt as you go) the outside and lining with a layer of medium weight sew-in interfacing along with a layer of quilt  batting - that's the "recipe" I use for my Retreat Bags, and I love the finish.  After a press, I'll likely be using this bag myself - maybe for hubby's and my Joanns runs ;)

I was so excited about how well #1 turned out, that I started a new one almost immediately.  I have a bit of a stash of Japanese canvas that I purchased from a local quilt store last year when it was on sale for $8 per meter cut.  I bought about 10 meters, mostly boy prints - I believe it's Lecien.  It's PERFECT for this project.  The inside raw edges are bound with the lining fabric (you can see this in the photo below).  It looks lovely inside, IIDSSM.  I changed out the pieced/quilted straps from #1, to webbing (thanks to my friend Nancy for the idea :D), and changed up the design of the slip pocket a bit.  I found a cute 3D car keyring in stash and used it for the zipper pull.  Presenting ... Cargo Duffle #2 ;)

My 2nd Cargo Duffle - nailed it!  :)

This one is a Christmas gift so it will be posted to April's Ho Ho Ho and On We Sew, along with the New to Me linky.  I have one other gift underway that I hope to get finished in the next few days, so I can post it as well.  But I couldn't wait to show off my duffle!

ETA:  OH!  I forgot about my 52 in 16 plans - the green one actually counts as #11 of my attempts to try new designs this year --- #10 has been finished as well but I haven't taken a picture yet, lol.  11 done in 4 months - I think I'm falling behind schedule if I want to get 52 done for the year!

It's raining cat and dog :D

Time for a puppet show!  Here are a couple of hand puppets I finished this week - Portland Puppy and Zoomer Kitty :)  The tutorial and patterns are from Larissa @ just another day in paradise - available here :)   She didn't provide JUST a cat and a dog - NO!  She provided an entire Old MacDonald series, including a horse, a cow, a cat, a duck, a chick, a dog, a lamb, a pig, and Old MacDonald himself - lots of fun!  I'm planning on making the entire series, but for now, I just wanted a couple of critters to send out for a little gifty :)  Thank you Larissa, for sharing this awesome project!

Cat and dog hand puppets - tutorial here :)

A couple of last finishes to post for March --- a tic tac toe zipper bag, which turned out very pretty, so is now residing in my gift box :)  Note the (faux) Mother of Pearl zipper pull I added for fun - I got several of these at Joanns in Florida a couple of years ago - it isn't a flimsy little bobble - it's a nice substantial (for it's size) piece - I'm quite glad I grabbed it :) 

Last up (oddly, Blogger won't let me left justify this paragraph - odd!) - a boxy bag to use up some fabric from a long-ago Joanns purchase - I had just enough to make 2 boxy bags once I added the black/white gingham (also from Joanns) zipper edge :D  The quilting runs in the same direction as the zipper - that was a brain fart on my part, because orienting the quilting in the other direction gives the bag better shape-keeping capabilities, lol.  Hopefully I'll remember to orient properly when I make the second bag :D

Happy birthday Allie -  I hope your day is filled with fun, family and cake ;)

I had a whale of a time ...

... and I should get kicked in the hiney for that pun, lol.   A while ago I pinned a whale stuffy, and recently decided that it looked more like a zipper bag than a stuffy, so I opened up the novelty pouch factory and made a new-to-me - this is what I ended up with :D


Eye close-up - layered buttons :)  This adorable girl - I call her Hermione - went right into my gift box for Christmas, and she shall eventually have some brothers and sisters :D  Not only is she new to me and a Christmas gift, she counts as another 52 in 16 zipper bag design - she's a THREEFER :D

Here's another Christmas present done and dusted - I had a little scrap of the car fabric so I pieced on some more scrap fabric, and added a really REALLY cool tab pull on it :)   This too went into my Christmas gift box because it's VERY adorable (IIDSSM) :)

Close-up of the tab pull :)

Another close-up of the car :D

I made a bunch of finger puppets for Easter for the kids in the family.  I posted some of them here, and here are the rest I finished up.  No dent was made in felt or feather or pompom stash ;)

And a last new-to-me finish - I've made humbug/triangle bags before but a friend recently sent me a link to a tutorial for making them with no raw edges.  I gave it a try, and it worked perfectly, so I whipped these up for the little girls next door :)

Here are the zipper pulls
I made for the pouches :)










This post will be linked to Ho Ho Ho and On We Sew (car and whale bags), and New to Me (whale pouch, and new-to-me no raw edges finish), for the March linky parties :)

DS1 found the "Easter eggs" I left him :)

DS1 just emailed me about what I left on his laptop, HAHAHA!  Here's what I did:

Part 1 -  some fun homepage links - http://suddenlysandra.blogspot.ca/2016/03/more-dolphins-plus-rude-mom-behaviour-d.html
Part 2 - the desktop picture - http://suddenlysandra.blogspot.ca/2016/03/rude-mom-part-deux-d.html

He must not have noticed the desktop photo - I just got this email from him.  LOL me?  Creepy?  Not creepy - 12 year old boy-iffic!!  I do love it when a plan comes together :D

"So I just opened the laptop. You have some rather disturbing tabs there. "Fetish sex goldfish bacon", "reverse mortgage - aka how to screw your children", "swinging for old people and "singers conventions?  I sure do hope that was meant to be seen because if not, holy *censored* creepy."

It's these kind of things that make motherhood worthwhile :)

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!