Birthday Fun

The past couple of days I have only been working on birthday fun. Three of my four nieces are having their birthday party this weekend and I have been asked to help out with some of the decor. Mostly just make the table clothes out of the fabric Amy bought. I did that, and I added the ribbon to the border of one of the overlays. I was going to sew the ribbon on, but I ended up hot gluing it on due to the beads that kept getting in the way of the needle. The ironic part is the only reason I was even asked to do the table clothes was because I was making fun of Amy for wanting to hot glue the ribbon on. I also made some super cute hair clips for the girls to wear at their party with the leftover ribbon.  I made four of them and I am posing with one in my hair just for you to get an idea of what I made. They turned out really cute, I am very proud of them.

I also have been working on the cutting stage of a rainbow rail fence quilt. The picture shows a sample of what it will look like. I just laid out some of the fabric to see if I liked it. This quilt should measure around 60"x72" when finished, but we'll see about that. I bought all the fabric (except for 1/2 yard of red and the backing) yesterday. The total cost was $12.50 so far, which I am ok with. I can't stand the thought of a quilt costing me $100 for the fabric. I rolled up the fabric into two jelly rolls to save for later. I won't be making this quilt for a little while because I have a long list of other things to make.

• Personal swap stuff (due March 10)
• market bag
• 4 placemats
• 3 towels
• 1 apron
• extras
• Crochet roll (due Feb. 28)
• 2 Nightgowns (I didn't want to do these, but I think I have to now) (due Feb 28)
• Mom's Birthday present (yet to be decided) (due March 11)
• Persephone's Birthday present (yet to be decided) (due end of March)
• Something for me (either the rainbow quilt or a black and white strippy quilt)

I need to make some stuff that I can practice free motion quilting on. I want to do free motion for the rainbow quilt, but I don't want to start on that project. I think I might make a table runner or a bath mat to practice on. I also thought about making a doll blanket to give as a birthday present, but I don't know. I have other things to think about. I better get on top of that list or it will be too late. So, I Sew.

My New Favorite Quote

Around here, however, we don't look backwards for very long.
We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we're curious.....And curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.
-Walt Disney

This is from the movie Meet the Robinson's. I love it because it keeps me motivated. If you don't keep trying and keep going on towards the future, what are we really here for? When I am down I think about this and I realize the past is the past. I hope this inspires you to think positively and 'keep moving forward' So, I sew.

To Do February 22-28

1. Sew 2 singlet grocery bags (Finished 1)
2. Sew 2 lunch totes
3. Sew a workout bag
4. Sew 2 little girl night gowns (decided not to do right now)
5. Finish Child size quilt
6. Sew a fabric basket
7. Sew a work in progress bag
8. Sew 2 large tote bags
9. Personal Swap stuff (45% done)

I finished the child size quilt and 1 grocery bag this last week, I also finished cutting everything out for the personal swap with Peppermom, and sewed up one of the market bags.

I need a Job

So being unemployed is boring. I thought it would be ok, but I am going stir crazy. I am sewing and that is ok, but I feel like I will get bored of that soon. I am going to spend next week really trying to get a job. I am not sure how that is going to happen, but I will make it happen.

I have been doing a lot of sewing lately. I finished the birthday present for Kelahna. It is a small quilt for her when she is in her wheelchair. I am so proud of her, she is such a beautiful, smart girl. I am now working on Maribell's birthday present. I am making her some felt paper dolls to play with. I wanted to make them out of magnets, but with Persephone around, Amy and I didn't think that would be a good idea. So felt it is. I still need to make Ariel's birthday present as well as my mom's. Then I will be done with birthday presents for a little while. Then I can sew fun stuff that I have been wanting to do.

I am 50% finished with the personal swap stuff for Peppermom. I am really liking how everything is turning out. It dawned me yesterday after I had everything cut and ready to go, that I am sending all the same types of things that she just received in two different swaps. I am making some placemats, an apron, some kitchen towels and two market totes. Everything is coordinated and themed. I love doing that! I can't wait to finish it all up so I can post pics of everything. I need to go work on sewing all of it up now. So, I Sew.

To Do February 15-21

1. Sew 3 singlet grocery bags
2. Sew 2 lunch totes
3. Sew a workout bag
4. Sew 2 little girl night gowns
5. Finish Child size quilt
6. Sew a fabric basket
7. Sew a work in progress bag
8. Sew 2 large tote bags

I sewed 2 placemats, a picnic tote and a pair of pajama bottoms from last week. I have decided not to do the other pair of pajama bottoms, due to not enough fabric.

Some new fabric, a new bag

I got my fabric from one of my partners in the 2009 Fat Quarter Swap. She sent me 1/2 yard of Bright owls and flowers on black, 2 Fat Quarters (fq) of pink with black polka dots, 1 fq of cream with pink and green dots, and 1 panel of vintage toy fabric. She also sent a little iron-on applique Russian doll. I wanted to make a large tote, but I have been wanting to make a purse that Sew, Mama, Sew posted the tutorial for earlier in the week. Within 30 minutes of opening the package of fabric I was off on a crafting frenzy.

I found all the tutorials for all things I wanted this purse to have. It ended up being a total of 4 different tutorials I was trying to shuffle. Out of those tutorials I learned 2 new skills, putting a zippered pocket in, and using magnetic clasps. This purse took me 1.5 hours to make from start to finish, which is a long time for a purse for me. I also accomplished the task of not making any mistakes while sewing it together. When I was finished I couldn't stop grinning. I am so proud of it.

 

I plan on making a wallet and a zippered pouch to go in it. I want to work on that tonight. So, I sew.

I won!!!

So I read a large variety of blogs during my week. I particularly like ones that are crafty related and I found one called Bolsa Chic, that I really like. She has great ideas and inspirations. Well about two weeks ago she was offering up some of her fabric stash to some lucky commenters to her blog. Guess what? I won one of the three fabric packages! I hardly win anything and when she posted a comment on my blog saying I won, it made my day. Thank you so much Bolsa Chic, I can't wait to see what you have packaged up for me.

I have doing a lot of sewing in the past couple days, due to no jobs. I really need to find a permanent job, but that is another post. So, anyway I have gotten a lot done:

• 6 pairs of lounge pants made
• a picnic tote and 2 placemats (late Christmas present)
• an oven mitt
• a pot holder
• some sample coasters
• a crocheted scarf
• crocheted wrist warmers

I also have cut out my next 10 projects, which include:

• Emmeline apron
• 2 lunch totes
• 3 grocery bags
• 3 large tote bags
• Fabric strips for quilt

I still have 4 more projects to cut out that I already have fabric for. I also need to find some fabric from my stash to make a tote bag, and a fabric basket, some placemats and coasters, and various pink goodies.

I agreed to do a personal swap with Peppermom from Craftster. She really wanted to make a purse for me, which was something that she wanted to make for me in the pink swap. I have some great ideas for her, but need to get some of the birthday present sewing done first. I might squeeze a project or two in, while working on the other stuff. I have to send my March 6, 2009, so I have lots of time to get it all done. So, I sew!

Things I can Make for You

I have decided to try and sell some of my goods. I plan on doing mostly custom orders, so I don't have a store. I do have a web album the things I can make for other people though. You can customize the fabric on most projects to fit your needs. I also will not post prices. I believe that custom made items are to be bid out, which means when you show interest in an item and give me details of what you want done, I will give a price. This album will also be a great resource for my swap partners. It will give them idea of what I am capable of making, so they have an idea of what to ask from me. I will try to update this album as often as I come up with stuff to make. So, I Sew.

Things I Make

To Do February 8-14

1. Sew 2 placemats
2. Sew 2 singlet grocery bags
3. Sew 2 lunch totes
4. Sew a workout bag
5. Sew a picnic tote
6. Sew 2 pairs of pajama bottoms
7. Sew 2 little girl night gowns

I finished the Kitchen Swap

Redone

I reorganized my craft room. I made it easier to use the floor area for cutting and fabric layout. I also got rid of the two dressers that were holding all my fabric. I put the fabric in the mesh cubes I have had stored in the garage. Now I can see all of my fabric and how much of it I have. I wrapped all the fabric onto Comic Book Boards and calculated the approximate yardage of each. After totaling the fabric I have about 320 yards in 196 different cuts. There are only 3 fabrics that I have multiple cuts in. I am going to focus on using as much yardage as possible over the next 6 months.

I did all this because I am going to Sew Expo in Puyallup at the end of February and I want to buy some fabric. I have decided that I can only buy the amount of yardage that I use up this month. That way I don't end up with more then I currently have. I have quite a few projects that I want to complete in the next couple of weeks, so I think I may use up a significant amount of fabric.

My partner for the Kitchen Swap received so I can post pictures of what I made now. I made her an apron with some pink and lime green polka dot fabric. I also made some pot holders and oven mitts. I made a set of Betti Page magnets for her as well. I bought some rubber gloves and towels that matched the theme I was going for. I like how everything turned out. I think she liked it all as well.

I signed up for a fabric swap.

Getting new fabric is so much fun! This is a fun way to increase your stash and help someone else increase theirs, too. Participants will be sending out 1 half yard and 4 fat quarters to their partner.  In return, you will receive 1 half yard and 4 fat quarters. Participants have the option of sending (and receiving) 1 or 2 packages.

I asked to send and receive 2 packages, so I will be getting a great variety of fabric. I like this type of swap because I get fabric that I wouldn't normally buy or just haven't spent the money on yet. The organizer said that if we wanted we could send from our stash as long as our partner was ok with it. I hope my partner is, because this would be a great way to get rid of some of the fabric that I don't know what I want to do with. We should be getting partners later today. I can't wait. So, I Sew.

I got my Wonderful Pink Stuff

I received yesterday and I love everything Peppermom sent me. I have to preface that when we were first partnered she said she was going to make a purse and all the fun goodies that go into a purse, but then her neck and arm started to hurt really bad so she took a slightly different route. When I got partnered with Kaymadben as the person I was sending to I just knew that I had to make something special. She has been in a rough place for the past couple months, and her and I have coincidentally been paired with each other for almost every swap we have been in together. That is why I spent the time to make the quilt. I never expected Peppermom to send me a package of that caliber, but she did.

Here is a picture of all of it together:

This is also the best picture of the large fleece blanket. It is reversed applique with little hearts on it. As soon as I got home I cuddled in it. My husband tried to take it, because it is one of the largest heavy blankets we have in the house. He said, "I'm bigger, I get it, I don't care if it is girly" I took it back and told him it was mine.

The main picture of all the smaller goodies:

This is sadly the best picture of the Clip board she made. It is a clear clip board with vinyls decals all over. It is super cute and will sit in my craft room with my current project on.

A close up of the key fob, the card, the heart playing cards, the striped Kleenex holder and the supper cute hedgehog. She thinks it looks like a mouse, but with my pins in it, it looks more like a hedgehog.

A close up of the Check book cover, the debit card holder, the book mark and some push pins. I really love the check book cover and debit card cover. I never want to carry my huge wallet around with me on the weekends, so these will be great to just throw in my bag.

A Crafty Day

I did a ton of crafting today and I am quite proud of myself.

First I finished up the Kitchen Swap and sent that today. I can't wait for Classybroad to receive. I hope she likes everything I sent. Even after 10 swaps I still have swap anxiety. The thought of are they really going to love what I spent so much time on, or are they just going to put it to the side and say 'it's ok'. There has been so much stuff that I really love when I receive it, but I'm sure that the part I love the most is not always what the sender meant for me to love the most. Anyway she should be getting it within 2-3 days, so I will find out then.

I also finished my red crocheted blanket that I have been working on. It was another yarn stash busting project. I did have to buy 4 skeins of yarn to make sure that the blanket was a decent size, but I used it all right away, so it never sat in my closet. I really like how it turned out and I am going to put on our bed which I am trying to make more red. The blanket ended up being 45"x60" which is what I was aiming for, but I never measure when making blankets. I just crochet my little heart until the yarn is gone. It is Homespun: Red Covered Bridge for anyone who cares.

The final project of the day were some magnets. I found a blog today that said to use the thumbnails from the back of your old calendars to make buttons. I need magnets, so that is what I decided to do. I used my 2008 Kim Anderson Calendar and the large clear craft rocks. I cut out the pictures and then glued them on with Diamond Glaze. Once the glue was dry I used E6000 to attach the magnets. I love how they turned out. I dug out my 2007 Christian Riese Lassen Calendar and cut all the pictures out for those too. On these I used my Xyron Sticker Maker to attach the pictures to the rocks. It was less messy, but we will see if they can handle the weight or not. I think next time I won't use as thick of magnets. I am not too fond of how far out they stick.

Hopefully I have a job tomorrow, but if I don't I have a lot of stuff that I want to do. I want to take photos of all my fabric so I have a digital copy of everything to take with me to the fabric store to match notions and such. So, I Sew.

To Do February 1-7

1. Sew 2 placemats
2. Sew 2 singlet grocery bags
3. Sew 2 lunch totes
4. Sew a workout bag
5. Sew a picnic tote
6. Kitchen Swap Stuff - 90% done