10.17.09
Large Ottoman Cover
I started this ottoman cover at least a year ago and ran into problems while piecing it(stretching, fit problems) so I set it aside and procrastinated about finishing it.
It took two hours this morning to attach the last two sides and fit it to the ottoman.
I’m glad I only spent $12 on this fabric because it didn’t turn out as well as I’d planned.
Oh well, it’ll help protect my furniture from the kids and their spills.
Sorry if the color is off in this picture, my computer monitor had lost its’ red pigment so everything appears black and blue on our screen. So I can’t tell if the colors are true or not.
08.30.09
Dalmation Baby Quilt in Progress
Yesterday I finished piecing the top for the Dalmatian baby quilt.
I ‘designed’ it myself from a one yard cut and 4 fat quarters. I wanted the paws to look like they were walking all over the quilt.
So far, 2 hours designing, fabric prep, and math + 1 1/2 hours cutting and more math + 4 hours piecing, pressing and trimming =7 1/2 hours.
I underestimated how much backing fabric to buy. I figured in the store to make a 3′X4′ standard crib size and my design turned out to be 4′X4′. I really need to remember the 25% rule(figure what you need then increase it by 25%). Maybe I should just double what I think I need to be extra safe?
It wouldn’t be such an issue except that the nearest fabric shop is a 40 minute drive away. I bought my batting online at Joann’s. Maybe my fabric will have to come that way now too. The fabric for this project was bought in Lancaster, PA during vacation.
Anyway, enough jabbering, right?!! Here are the pics..
08.23.09
Reusable sandwich wraps
I finally got completely fed up with washing out baggies and turned to the internet to find an alternative. Well I found some clever vinyl wraps on a ‘green shopping’ site but I didn’t like the vinyl idea. I also didn’t like the $7 each price tag.
After more browsing I came to this great tutorial: www.craftstylish.com/item/43227/how-to-make-a-reusable-sandwich-wrap
Of course I didn’t have any PUL on hand so I browsed for an alternative material. Someone suggested ripstop nylon and I had a scrap of that so that’s what I used.
07.31.09
Pretty Little Pincushions
Finally got around to making something cute to replace my 15 year old hand-me-down pincushions. I just made them as simple as possible, out of felt, fabric scraps and a couple of buttons.
They’re sized to fit into the compartments of my sewing box. Wish I had thought of that when designing my needlebook. Oh well. Note the ugly old pincushions outside the box. ****((shudder))****
You can’t see it well in this picture but look in the bobbin compartment. I read on another blog about putting baby sized ponytail holders around your bobbins to keep them from unwinding and tangling all over. I had a bagillion of the hairbands since my daughter can’t stand anything in her hair. It works great! (Thanks Jean!)
07.22.09
More beautifying the sewing area!
I’ve spent a lot of time over the past year purging my craft and sewing supplies, organizing my tools and notions better, and dedicating a space to work in instead of hauling projects and my machines to and from the dining table.
I’ve succeeded in that part of my mission! I can actually work in the space and find everything I need. The next stage is ‘beautifying’. That’s what I’ve been focusing on this month.
On my list of things to do:
machine covers
shelving unit cover
curtain
skirting
pincushion
needlebook
threadcatcher
covered/decorated cork-board
I’ve been sewing for about 20 years and if you can believe it, never made a pincushion. I use a hand-me-down tomato. I’ve also never used a needlebook or a threadcatcher but they are handy items to have!
I finished the needlebook and shelving unit cover earlier this month. You can see the unit cover in the pics below. It’s very….. red. And today I finished the machine covers!
Here’s a shot of what I was using: the cheapo cover that came with the serger and a t-shirt bag…
I used some of the most expensive fabric I’ve ever purchased($8 yd!!!). I wouldn’t have purchased it if I wasn’t using both a coupon and a gift card. But I digress. The lining and stabilizer layers were cut from a black duvet cover I got at the thrift store. The finished covers have a thick and stable shape.
They’re probably the wildest thing I have in my house. I’m really trying to challenge myself to live with prints and more intense colors.
07.07.09
Nifty Needlebook
I saw a cute organizer for sewing needles on Etsy and decided that it was something I really needed!
My needles have always been loose in a compartment in my sewing box. It is such a pain to find a needle the right size for a project.
Of course I wasn’t about to pay $18 for one when I had the materials to make one and the option of coordinating it to match my other sewing accessories.
Using felt, embroidery floss, eyelets and an eyelet punch, lace, vintage ribbon and rick-rack , salvaged ribbon bits, a purse ring, and some vintage buttons I made this:
Here’s ‘page 2′:
Page 3:
Page 4:
And page 5 with its’ thimble pocket:
I have got to start taking pictures outside. The red in real life is a true crayon red, not fluorescent as it seems to appear on screen.
I used a drinking glass for my circle shapes just in case you wanted to make one yourself. 
The purse ring will allow me to quickly attach a pair of scissors to the needlebook or to attach the needlebook to a work-bag.
Now I just have to dig out all my needles and sort them!
07.05.09
Disc Golf Accessessories Part 1
Now that hubby and I each have our bags and used them I’ve discovered that we need a few accessessories to enhance our game. Disc place markers, clip on towels and strap pads are needed.
Today I made the place markers.
I made hubby’s from an inner ‘beanbag’ that was filled with recycled plastic beads, an outer bag from leftover bandanna fabric and because hubby wanted a stiff feel to the marker I also inserted two circles I’d cut out of old drink mix canister lids. You can see those materials and the finished marker in this horrible lighted picture:
I made mine as just a simple bead filled ‘beanbag’.
They’re about 4 inches across, completely washable and not so awesome that I’m afraid of losing them on the course.
FYI, these markers are used to mark your throwing point from wherever your disc lands. You would place this marker immediately in front of your disc location and then pick up and bag your disc. This way if you throw another disc and walk off you’ve only left the marker behind and not a disc which I’ve done about 4 times now. Of course you’re supposed to pick up your marker but if you forget then you’ll just have lost a beanbag and not a $9 disc(or a $4 mini disc that you can buy for a marker).
2 Bandannas
Yesterday I spent about 4 hours trying to make a project work only to be completely frustrated. So today I needed an easy project to give me a mental boost. I needed a win.
Seemed like the perfect time to make some bandannas for my hubby from some fabric we bought in Lancaster last month.
I cut my 22 inch squares and pressed a super narrow double fold hem all around and prepared to sew.
But my machine decided to rebel by creating masses of loops on the under side of my fabric. *sigh*
I replaced my needle, rewound the bobbin, adjusted the stitch length and tension and then warmed up the machine by sewing scrap fabric for 3 minutes. All better!
So after fiddling for 10 minutes with the machine and another 5 picking out the loopy stitches on a bandanna I was able to actually sew.
And the bandannas themselves were finished in less than 5 minutes. 
Yey! I win!
01.19.09
Hankies
I thought I’d have to spend all morning learning how to adjust my serger to do rolled hems but I was amazed to discover that it took 5 minutes. Wow. (I have a Brother 1034D, btw) So I cut out 16, 10.25 X 10.25 inch squares of the lightest weight fabric in my stash and serged away. It took about 2 hours start to finish to make them, only because the rolled hem stitching is so dense. I’d like to make at least 14 more.
01.16.09
Sewing Again
I spent about a month not sewing at all because of the extreme disorder of my house. We were laying new hardwood flooring in our living room so the sectional sofa was in our eat in kitchen. I’m so glad the house is back in order now and I can sew again!
One of the last things I made before the mess was a batch of birthday decorations to replace the cheesy plastic ones I’d thrown out last year. Those dollar store plastic ones are big and flashy and cheap and look it. I reused them for as many years as I could because I’m painfully frugal(i.e. miserly, lol!) about one day decorations. Now I don’t have to worry about the decs looking cheap. Homemade stuff is just a thousand times better! I made an applique banner, 3 colorful pennants and a rag garland. Along with balloons these looked very festive for my kids b-days in December.
Let me know you dropped by!
