showing off: snack bags

I thought I'd take a break from posting recipes -- since there are lots more to come -- to show off my latest creation, reusable snack bags!  I bought a pattern off of etsy months ago (there are plenty of free versions out there too, by the way -- not sure why I didn't use one of those), got stumped by the pattern, and had to wait until my friend, Leah, was able to come over and show me how to do it.  I'm not sure these are any cheaper than plastic bags, but I suppose I feel a little good about not throwing as many plastic bags in the garbage as before...



Fun, right?  Stella thinks so.

projects on the horizon

Since I finished my nephew's quilt, I've got about 5 or 10 other projects on the near horizon.  And since I'm low on blog material, you're getting a sneak preview.  Lucky you!

This one's a birthday gift that's about a month late now.  Whoops.  I couldn't really justify working on a birthday gift when I desperately had to get that baby quilt done.

Diamonds...  Any guesses what I'm going to make with this?  Hint:  It's all along a patriotic theme.

Fall fabric.  Again, not exactly my style.

I'm going to use this yellow/teal/orange line from Joel Dewberry for one of my next two quilts.  I really do love this fabric, but unfortunately, it's going to be a gift.  (Fabric is from Lilly Bella Fabrics.)

Since CJ and I love -- no, are obsessed with -- the beach, I had to snatch up this line from Going Coastal to make a quilt for us.  All this fabric is cut, so I'll be starting in on this one soon ... as soon as I finish that belated birthday gift!  (Fabrics from Lilly Bella Fabrics and The Little Fabric Shop.)

Not sure why, but Bridget took a particular interest in my scrap fabric pile.  I'm going to be tearing into this one soon.  For starters, I've gathered quite a bit of scraps so far, even though I haven't really sewn that much.  But then I found a super cute pattern for a quilt that uses scrap fabrics only.  I'm probably more excited about this quilt than the others.

Stay tuned.  I know you're all excited.

first quilt...and nephew!

I finished my first quilt ... finally, and just on time!

Henry was quite bored by the entire process:

Here's the final product, nearly a full square at 41"x42".  Bridget wanted to help show off.

Here are a few close-ups of the fabrics.   (I love them.  Can you tell?)

I definitely learned quite a bit throughout this process.  The binding was by far the worst part.  I've got a few ideas for the next quilt I'm going to make, but I may need to call on some experienced quilters to help me out.

But anyway, who cares about a quilt when there's a cute new baby in the family?

Welcome, Carson!  We're so excited you're here!

sewing help needed!

Only three people have taught me to sew:

1)  My 7th grade Home Ec teacher.  I can't remember her name, but I do remember she didn't have a lot of patience.  I made a pillowcase and a pair of elastic-banded shorts.  Both were in Looney Tunes prints.  Hot, I know.

2)  My grandma.  She taught me how to make the pillowcase when my Home Ec teacher couldn't/wouldn't.

3)  My friend, Leah, who re-taught me how to make a pillowcase fifteen years after Home Ec class.  (That class was 15 years ago?  Yikes.)

My point today?  I've pretty much only made pillowcases and I'm starting on a quilt.  I'm experimenting with other fabrics.  And when things screw up, I need to find someone to help me out.  This is where you, dear readers, come in the picture.

Here's what happened with the bobbin thread:

If it helps anyone, the fabric you don't see is 100% cotton and what you see here is terrycloth.  Oh, and try to ignore the fact that I can't sew in a straight line.  I'm a beginner.

Any ideas why the thread messed up like that?  Problem with the bobbin?  Do I need a different type of thread or needle?

strip quilt: day 2

For those of you playing along, I'm making this strip quilt for my (soon-to-be) nephew.  (If you want to peruse my fabric choices, you can read my first post.)  I've been working on this pretty slowly -- one, because I was kind of busy with school there for ever the past several weeks, and two, because I need blog fodder.

This one is pretty easy so far.  I just cut my strips and then started to sew.

So I was complaining about ironing earlier, thinking that that part was over.  Wrong!  Turns out you have to iron down seams too.

And here's one strip:

I'm sure I'm already boring people with the details, so I'll come back later when I've made more substantial process.  (I'm just hoping it looks right, all said and done.)

the two day long pillow

I own the best pillow ever.  It's meant for propping yourself up in bed.  The bottom half of the back of the pillow is filled with beads.  It's awesome.  (Oh, yeah.  I'm not getting paid to promote it.  Although I got it on sale, I definitely paid for it, too.)  Unfortunately, the best pillow ever also came with the most boring pillowcase there ever was:

Forgive me for the crummy picture.  I forgot to take a before picture so I just stuck it up there.  Whatever.  It's boring, so it doesn't matter anyway.

For awhile, our pillow was out of commission (mostly out of laziness).  I couldn't settle on a print.  When I did, I cut without measuring properly.  Then I couldn't settle on a new print.  I finally came up with this fun one:

As if I didn't learn my lesson from not measuring properly, I decided that I was more of a sewing pro now (since I've sewn so much in the past six to nine months) and that I was just going to make some very rough cuts and sew it up.  No problem.

Turns out the thread didn't want to cooperate with me.  I don't even know what caused this problem:

I fixed the problems and got it all done, chuckling to myself that I could boast sewing a big pillow that only took me ten minutes to complete.  (Because, you know, sewing a square is really difficult stuff.)  Then I realized that I left two edges unfinished and that it was several inches too big at the top.

Henry was pretty bored by this whole process:

Learning my lesson (okay, probably not - I'm still going to cut corners), I went back through and made proper cuts, sewed all the edges, and took my time.  And, hours later, I finally had an appropriate pillowcase.

I think I'm in for a long sewing career if I can't learn how to be patient.

strip quilt: day 1

Remember my post a few weeks back, talking about how I was going a bit fabric crazy?

I've started to channel some of that energy and have started a strip quilt for my nephew.  He's due in October, so that should give me plenty of time to get my act together.

As a side benefit, walking everyone through my process step-by-step gives me that much-needed blog fodder.  And it allows me to show off the cool fabric I've purchased.  CJ doesn't seem to appreciate it at all, so I hope someone looks at some of this and thinks it's cute.

So...  Step #1:  Ironing.

I hate ironing.  I avoid it at all costs.  I don't have a full-size ironing board, because it's just a giant waste of space in this small house.  This is probably the thing I hate most about sewing.  But, side note, isn't that owl fabric super cute?

Unfortunately, I picked an awful lot of fabric for this quilt and it all had to be washed (which is also a giant hassle) and ironed.

The cats typically keep me company when I'm sewing:

And now I'm starting to sort out all that fabric.  I was clearly indecisive when choosing the fabric.  It's just all so cute!

Stay tuned for more in between now and October!

sewing table

I've decided to take up sewing in my free time.  (HA!  Free time?!)  This is one reason why we decided to make the guest bedroom multi-functional.  We searched around for tables CJ could make for me, and although this wasn't our first pick, we ended up with one that definitely meets our other criteria -- that it's functional and space-saving.  Plus, I think CJ did a really good job with it.

Here's the finished product.  The bottom, larger box will hold my sewing machine, and the other will hold my supplies and whatever else I can fit in there.

And here it is, folded up:

And here it is, folded up against the wall, completely out of the way:



I only have about ten sewing projects lined up, so now I just need to get a sewing machine and find some free time, and I'll be good to go!