The end of the month

While I didn't post every day, I did create every day. (So relaxing! So fun!)

Here's creations from the last few days...


The back of a playlist for the wedding favors I made.



Some button covered paperclips that have magnets on them.


A wristlet I made. I LOVE this fabric.


Handy inside pockets, because I hate carrying a wallet!

in the mail!

My blocks for this swap are in the mail today.



I think I love packing stuff up as much as I love making stuff.

It was iffy at first, but in the end...success!

Sometimes I find myself in the mood for a challenge. A project that I know will require some finesse, some time, and most of all, will push me to the limits of what I can do with my sewing skills. When I find myself in one of these moods, I like to find something that I already make but can make better or differently. Bags, for example. I've been making simple tote bags for months on end and have been too timid to try new patterns because, well, let's face, I'm not the great with directions. While the Knot bag was a success and I've made a few of them in recent days, I wanted to branch out.

I wanted to branch out to something reversible and cute and well, different. Cleaning out bookmarks I came across the tutorial from Lula Louise for her reversible shoulder bag.

For the first time in a long time, I didn't bother to read the directions and rewrite them in a way I could understand them. (That's a first for me!) The directions, while they could have been a tiny bit clearer, were easy enough to follow and the pictures she posted were more than helpful.
My problems:

1. I printed out the tiled PDF and assembled the pattern per instructions. Either my printer was off or the pattern was off, because I had to do some serious adjusting to get things to line up the proper ways. (Should you find yourself using this pattern, let me know how the assemblage goes for you.)

2. Steps 5 & 6 could have been a little more clear in the written instructions area. I think. Perhaps it's just me, but it took me about a half hour to figure out what she meant, and that was with the aid of the pictures.

3. I don't have enough cutting table space for so much fabric!

While problem 3 is my own problem, it was pretty easy to follow and make.

Once I got it all figured out, it was a breeze. I have round-bottom bag experience from a pattern I bought last year, so that part was a breeze. Even the turning out portions were easy, and typically, I manhandle and rip seams.


It's soft and sturdy and going to be added to my shopping bag collection. I would like to figure out how to make the straps longer; while it says you can wear it across your chest (the manner in which I like to carry my bags), this strap isn't long enough for a girl like me. I also need to remember for the next one that the pull through spot at the end should be on the lining so that you don't see the hand stitching on the outside.

Overall: not so frustrating and fun to put together.

Cozies and banners and such

It's been a banner productive week here. (I laugh at my own play on words there.) When I finished Erin's quilt and matching pillow (go a post back or so) I realized I had an entire panel of blocks sewn together with no real purpose. I was in dire need of a quilted cozy for my beloved French Press coffee maker and after some quick measurements, the cozy was born.

It fits like a glove and works so exceptionally well. In an experiment yesterday, it kept my coffee hot for about 2 extra hours and warm throughout most of the day. I certainly call this fly-by-the seat of my pants no pattern or tutorial cozy a success.

Then Wednesday night found me inspired by something that I would normally find more irritating than anything else: the uppity woman who came into the store to buy stuff for a class she was teaching and was rude...but in that I'm going to laugh like I'm making a joke because I think I'm funny way. She was not funny and not very inspired about the class she was going to be teaching, but I did vow to prove her theory wrong once she'd left.

She was teaching a banner making class somewhere else and was concerned that the letters she'd picked out would be too small. They were perfect...I could see it in my head while she spoke and I knew that what she had would work. But she wasn't having it and left after purchasing a few other things. That's when I turned to Erin and said "I want to make something."

This was born:
And this:

And this:


Just a simple banner. Decorative paper mounted on top of an ink colored piece of cheap cardboard. I rubbed the edges with some ink and used the Grunge board for the letters, coloring them with a chalk ink pad. (I don't do paper creations often but when I do, I love the chalk inks. Such fantastic colors.) A little Stickles, some foam tape to give it some dimension, some ribbon, and poof! I had three very cute and whimsical banners.

I think it's one of the best, most adorable things I've ever made. Thanks uppity, unfunny rude teacher lady!

Knot bag? Success!

When it comes to sewing there's only one thing I love more than buying new fabric(s) for my stash (see above) and that's...

Success!

I found this Japanese Knot Bag tutorial recently and against my better judgment, I bookmarked it. Adorable bag, I thought. But it's probably difficult and I'll never get through it, I thought. Yet I bookmarked it anyway. Then the other day while looking for a new project I kept going back to it and finally decided to give it a go.

What the hell, I thought, if I fail, I fail. It isn't my fault my brain isn't wired to read patterns and whatnot.

40 minutes later -- with no rewriting in a way I could understand it -- I had myself my very own Japanese Knot bag!


It was so easy and the directions were clear and for the first time in a very long time, I didn't have to rewrite the entire thing in a way I could understand it. The seams came out brilliantly, it's adorably reversible, and even though I had a little bit of a hard time with the handles, I got it worked out and found success!


(Above: inside the Knot bag if you couldn't figure it out. I don't take the best pics!)

I'm using the red one to carry my Wednesday night craft supplies around and I've gotten a few comments on it. I've already made 6 of them to give to my friends, hence the delay in my posting here for a few days. It's simple, pretty projects like these that really give me a much needed boost in my sewing self- esteem.

The Business Card Holder

I did sit back down and try that last project again, the mini-travel frame, but I'm afraid I gave up half way through when I realized that my frames were two different sizes. I chucked the project in the trash, cleaned up the felt, and put a little "Failed" notation with the date. The rewritten tutorial will go into my project book and I moved on. Ideally I'd like to go back and retry failed projects, but we'll see. Sometimes just thinking about them inspires frustration.

I moved on to another project, this time the business card holders found here.

I admit, while I was sitting there drawing out my template and cutting fabric, I thought to myself, "You know, if I fail at this one that's two in a row and I might have to deem myself some kind of...craft failure."

And as I cut it out and sewed it together, I thought the same thing. As I turned it inside out and ironed it, examining my work, those thoughts went away and I knew I wasn't a total craft failure. Not even when I realized the tiny little mistake I made when I tried to put my business cards into it to see if it fit:


I wasn't thinking and stitched up the top. A couple of ripped stitches later, I had success.


It's a little wonky at the top but it is, after all, my first attempt. I'm going to try again and then one more with felt, because I have it in my head I need to use some felt from my stash...so I can buy more!

Why yes, I can make a pencil pouch

Pencil pouches in different sizes!

My friend Erin requested a few pencil pouches for her upcoming art classes. Truth be told, I said "Hey, I want to make zipper pouches, want any?" which is basically my way of saying I'm bored, let me make you something. So Erin requested a few pencil pouches for her art supplies.

Actually, what she requested was one that was essentially round on each end and more make-up case looking than pouch looking. Unable to find a tutorial and/or pattern for one, and knowing I probably couldn't make it work, I found this one instead and went with it.

Here's my approach to tutorials:

1. I read them about 90 times.
2. I rewrite them into a notebook in ways I know I'll understand it
3. I try it. If I don't nail it on the first try, I usually toss the project (and the instructions) in a fit of frustration and pout about my brain being unable to follow pattern instructions.

This tutorial, though? Not so difficult and quite easy to understand. The pics were a GREAT help to me and I only had to refer to them once. They were clear, they were concise, and best of all, I didn't really have to rewrite them in my own craft speak to get them to make sense. I love when that happens.


Bonus: I finally, FINALLY, from this tutorial, have gained a clear understanding of how to use my zipper foot.
It's a pretty zipper!
I made them in different sizes once I got the first one down. Even with a zipper installation I had no issues creating these cute and simple little pouches in the desired sizes. I did, somehow, though run into a small problem on the large pouch: I got a little fraying. I don't know what I did but I somehow managed to have the inside seam stick out more than it should have on the outside of the pouch. (If you read the tutorial, you'll see that she guides you through how to make the inside seam nice and pretty presentable!)


I also made a little draw string bag out of some strange linen-like fabric I had in my stash (it frayed so badly) and some of the scraps from one of the pouches for storage.


I love this tutorial and I plan on making zipper bags like this to go with any new handbag I make. It's going to bug me, though, that I made these four in different fabrics that don't at all work together and will be tempted to redo them in things that coordinate...but I really want to move on to the next project I have in mind!