Just Because

Here is a dress I made for my girl. Why? Because I can, that's why. It is made from less than a yard of some beautiful brocade fabric I had in my stash. The pattern called for 1 1/4 yards, but I am the master of making the most of things! It did help that I had a scrap of velvet leftover which I used for the collar and sleeves. I added horsehair braid I had leftover from my wedding dress to give the hem some good twirly-ness.

The Quick Eyemask

I was in need of a new sleeping mask because mine bit the dust a while ago so I consulted my handy Amy Butler book, In Stitches, and cranked this little number out using a pair of old pajama pants. The mask is quilted and holds on with elastic. It's more of a practice/prototype for now but I will definitely be making a better one soon!

One Yard Wonders

**Technical Difficulties fixed!!**


What's not to love about a project that only takes one yard of fabric?! Rachel has the book One Yard Wonders and we have been passing it back and forth excitedly sewing through the projects with wild abandon. Here are a few of my recent Wonders. The dress is kind of an updated take on the pillowcase dress. The only problem is that the 2T size is really big, but hey, it'll fit her one of these days, right? The shirt, on the other hand, is a bit small for a 2t. It is very short on Katie, so we decided that it fit her bear just fine (even if it is on backwards). I've already tweaked the pattern so I can make a few more that actually fit!

Quilt

I finished this quilt last week, finally. I don't really think I should call it a quilt because its really not 'pieced,' but whatever. Its something to keep her warm and it matches her room. I added rick rack because, well, I LOVE rick rack. The binding is pieced together with several different fabrics, including a shirt that Rach convinced me to buy long ago. I never could bring myself to sport the epileptic-seizure-inducing polka dots, but it did make a great binding!

Another Apron!

Here is another apron from the One Yard Wonders book. This one found a new home with Mom. The book calls for gathers along the waistband, but Rachel had done one with pleats and I loved that, so...I stole her idea!

One Yard Wonders...Again:

Hanging Car Trash Bag

Ever feel like you need an innovative trash solution for your car??? Look no further! Once again, the book One Yard Wonders was called upon for inspiration and thus this bag was born. It has two pockets and secures around the head cushion with a parachute clip. The ironic thing is, once I sewed the bag I realized it wouldn't fit in either of my vehicles...I guess I should've checked that first :) However, all is not lost because it is working quite wonderfully as a bag for balls of yarn and crochet hooks.

Yoga Bags

I really enjoy yoga but I do not enjoy paying the price for trendy yoga accoutrements. Why pay $30 or $40 for a boring, generic mat bag when you can pay $7 or nothing to make your own. This is precisely what I did. The bag on the far left was a whopping $7 and was made from a pattern in One Yard Wonders and is complete with a little pocket on the outside and D-Rings to keep the mat inside. The other two bags are made from my husbands old jeans and my sister's old table cloth - total $0! The pattern for the upcycled bags can be downloaded for free from Amy Butler's website and is listed as the Nigella Yoga Bag:

http://www.amybutlerdesign.com/

Scrap Inspiration: Coasters

I have a lot of scraps hanging around and I came across a crafty lady on the Burda Style website that made coasters for her house. So with her success in mind, I machine quilted a set of 10 coasters. I would like to add that I am big on the upcycling so one of the coasters is made from a bag that my dad brought me back from Germany and another coaster is from a bag I bought from Bath and Body works.

Christmas Craftiness!

Without turning this into a blog of excess exclamation points, I would just like to say that crafting for Christmas is so much fun!!!!!!! Well, when you are crafting for people who appreciated handmade stuff, or at least pretend they do. ;) The following are pictures of some of the things I made for Christmas.

This is a tea party play mat I made for my daughter. I saw a similar idea online and kind of used that to inspire me. The tea bags, plates, cookies, tray and teapot are all removable (with velcro). I also made a zippered pouch to fit it all nicely inside. She loves to play with her 'tea poddy.'

A pile 'o bibs I made for my baby boy, because what do you get for a kid who is just pushing 6 months? I used reclaimed fleece and flannel for the batting, which turned out to be a nice way to use that stuff up.

And what is the must-have accessory for every handsome, chubby little baby boy? Why, tie onsies of course! Made from reclaimed mens' dress shirts.

And for my sister and bro-in-law, 'his and hers' bathroom bags. Cheesy, I know, but Rach inspired me by braving zipper installation when she first started sewing earlier this year. Zippers used to scare me. I decided to overcome my fear by making various box pouches. While the zipper and I are not yet 'fast friends,' we are now on speaking terms.

Monograms

A few months ago, Mom bought a monogram book to do a little embroidery. Little did she know that I would end up borrowing the book and going a little bit monogram crazy! For Christmas gifts, I monogrammed a scarf, a vintage handkerchief (the 'J'), and several sets of pillowcases. Fun, fun!

Hooray! Yippee! Monograms :)

Phil's Pillowcase

Tea Towels

My Pillowcase

Apron Mania!

I love aprons and I am a firm believer that you cannot have enough of them floating around your house. One day you may need a simple half apron as you brown chicken for piccata or another day you may need an apron to hold scissors as you sew. Whatever the reason, they are as diverse as the people that wear them. This year for Christmas I sewed aprons for Mom and Meg (and 2 for myself) and they turned out better than my little novice sized skill set could've hoped.

The solid orange and yellow lemon aprons in the picture above are the "Granny's Clothespin" aprons from the book One Yard Wonders. The blue apron with pears and apples is the "Kitschy Kitchen" apron from One Yard Wonders and the Asian print trimmed in orange is from the Amy Butler book In Stitches.

Oh, My

Behold, the Granny Apron! (from the book One Yard Wonders) Oh, my goodness. I think I might have to make 27 of them, give or take a few. This apron went together so darn quick, and I do believe I might sport it around the house for no good reason but to look sassy. Rach made one of these for me for Christmas too, and I love it! Who says you can have too many aprons?!

The Coat

This is the coat that (almost) never was. I made this coat from a great pattern I received from a very talented lady. I had a very particular fabric in mind for it, which of course I couldn't find. Then, I found the perfect fabrics last summer at two different yard sales. The shell fabric was as musty as can be, and I had to wash it several times to remove both the smell and the strange backing that was disintegrating off the back. The lining is a really cool vintage Noah's Ark print. The buttons came from Grandma Kate's sewing box. While the coat turned out to be one of my favorite sewing projects ever, it did not last very long. It met its demise via one orange and one purple crayon, placed in the wash by a helpful toddler after being worn only a few times. Tragic.