Birthday Mail Sack

It's intimidating to sew for a seamstress. But seeing as how she has inspired me quite a lot, and seeing as how she is one of my favorite people in the world, I gave it a shot.

For her birthday, modeled by my lovely stepdaughter, a mail sack. It's a pattern from Pink Chalk Fabrics. I swear, there probably isn't a post on this blog that doesn't link to Kathy's shop. I love it.

The base fabric is by Alexander Henry and is called Noguchi. I made myself one of these bags and used this fabric as well. The thing is, I didn't notice HOW cream the cream in Noguchi was. I put my whole bag together with mismatching creams and whites, and it bugs the crap out of me now.

I literally spent months trying to find the perfect fabrics to go with Noguchi for this purse. I don't think I ever did. I finally chickened out and went with the solid black for the yoke and strap. Kathy kindly sent me a big swatch of another fabric that was black and cream, but next to the Noguchi, the cream just ended up looking like white. So solid black.

The interior didn't quite go as planned either. I ordered some fabrics from my fabric co-op for the lining and the pockets. One of the fabrics didn't make, so I was out of luck there. The one that did make, again, was too white to use for the lining. I still really liked the fabric though, so I decided to use it in the pockets.

Then it hit me. Find a print that didn't have any white in it. I know, so simple. But I have a way of making things complicated. I found a cute green and black print at Joann's that could tie the whole project together. Unless you are Kevin, because he really hated my fabric choices on this one.

I don't know. They aren't the perfect fabrics, but I think it turned out better than the one I made for myself.

Better, if you ignore the fact that I cut the straps while completely drunk, apparently. The strap lining was a good 1/2 inch too short, making the edge of the bag uneven all the way around. But hey, there's a zipper that works, which always impresses me.

Besides, isn't it the thought that counts? I hope so, because way too much thought went into this simple purse. Well, way too much for just the purse. Not nearly too much for the recipient. Happy birthday, Girl. I'm sorry it was a week late.

Blast Off

The tale of the rocket pants. These pants have been in the making for months. I found the fabric in the sale section of Pink Chalk Fabrics and bought a yard, not knowing what I would do with it.

When the fabric arrived, I immediately knew that it had to be pants - with the big rockets around the cuffs.

Instead of buying a pattern, I decided that I could make a pair of simple pants just by tracing some of Little Bird's current pants. I wanted them to be skater length with a simple elastic waist.

I put the pants together in no time. I was so excited to try them on the little guy. The length was great, but the waist was way too small. We sent them to our friend Carter, in hopes that he might be able to wear them, but the waist was still way too small. Maybe some teddy bear might wear them some day.

Not to be outdone, I got online and ordered some more fabric. This time, I also purchased a pattern. I'm obviously not ready to start creating my own projects. The fabric arrived, and I chickened out for awhile.

I really wanted these pants to work. I knew that I had to adjust the pattern some in order to get the border around the cuffs. That made me just nervous enough to stall for about a month. Or two.

Finally, last week, I tackled the rocket pants. They turned out a little longer than I anticipated, but overall I'm pleased with them. The best part is that Little Bird loves them. We learned this little song at our library's Rhyme Time that goes like this:

Zoom, zoom, zoom,
We're going to the moon.
Zoom, zoom, zoom,
We'll get there very soon.
5-4-3-2-1
Blast off!!!!!

As soon as he saw his new pants, he held his little hand up and started counting in his own Bird way, and threw his arms up in the air, crying, "Oooooooooff!" It was awesome.

Another thing I didn't really plan was what Bird would wear with his rocket pants. I found some really inexpensive blanks online though, and they arrived in about two days. This afternoon, I appliqued a rocket onto the shirt and completed his outfit.

I think he really likes it. I know I do.

Superhero T-shirt

Once again, the model makes the shirt. Super J to the rescue!

A rag quilt for Bird

Last year, I made a rag quilt for each of my nieces' and nephews' birthdays. They were varying sizes, and were a great way for me to get a good handle on using my sewing machine. I think they liked them, and I enjoyed giving them something handmade. Of course, I neglected to take pictures of said quilts, because I'm flaky like that.

While I was in that rag quilt phase, I stockpiled flannels from Joann's when they would go on sale. Over a year, I've had flannels picked out to make Little Bird his very own rag quilt. I finally got around to making that quilt this summer.

This time, I cheated a little bit and ordered some pre-cut squares of quilt batting off of eBay. That saved me a lot of time and effort. I really hate cutting quilt batting. I pieced the quilt together at home and then took it with us on our trip to the mountains to get the ragging done.

This week, Bird snuggled up under his quilt for the first time for a little Elmo's World. I think he likes it, and I'm one proud mama.

What's your favorite ice cream?

My poor neglected craft blog. My poor neglected sewing machine. There have been a few projects here and there, but mostly, I've just been collecting patterns and materials and building my to-do list. Currently it stands here:

1. Three handbags. Mail sacks from Pink Chalk Fabrics, to be exact.


2. A pair of pants for Little Bird. With a rocket ship border at the hem.


3. A fleece blanket for Lovely.


4. Two rag quilts for Lovely and Luke.


5. Hand puppets for a new miracle baby's big sister.


6. An apron.


7. Pillowcases for Birds' little crib pillow.


8. Three more t-shirts to applique for him.


9. A birdy quilt, my first foray into real quilting.


10. Some stuffed bunnies.

That's enough for now. I'm sure if I walked up to the sewing room, I would find a dozen more, but anymore on that list and my hobby will start feeling like a weight around my neck.

 I have finished a few things, but forgot to take pictures. I made a tu-tu for Bailey, one of my favorite little princesses, and I made a "Super Juni" shirt for our friend Junius across the street. I thought that one turned out pretty okay for being hand sketched. I am so not an artist.

One of my favorite applique projects was a whim. I almost waited too late to work on this little romper. Bird actually only got to wear it twice before it was just wedgie city. In honor of the ice cream party from Edy's that Cyndi won for our neighborhood, I whipped up this little cutie while Bird napped. Three scoops on a sugar cone, please!

A Robot and a Puppy

I actually have been doing more than just appliques, but I have forgotten to take pictures. I've been making some drawstring bags, just the right size for shoes, as gifts. I like the simplicity of the project and the fabrics I can use. Plus, I just really like bags. All sorts of them.

Another thing on my plate other than appliques is a fabric co-op that I joined a few months ago. It is pretty overwhelming - I don't know exactly what is going on, but I finally decided to just jump in. They were filling bolts of Timeless Treasures, the maker of the pink scooter fabric I used for Tara's apron. I put in for several different fabrics, some of which I have a plan and some of which I don't. I think though, if the bolts don't fill, that I won't get those fabrics. I'm not exactly sure. Did I mention overwhelming?

And now for the pictures. These are the other two t-shirts I bought from Old Navy for $4 each. The first one had the Stratocaster on it, and now to our applique collection, we add a robot and a puppy. The robot is a self-design, which is why I had to tell you it was a robot. I do really like the button eyes, and the zigzag stitch mouth. I also like how he's a little lopsided. I did have an issue with my sewing machine going wonky on one of the arms. Trying to remove all the knotted thread left a hole inthe shirt. Instead of panicking and cursing (well, I did curse a little), I just cut out a new arm, positioned it on top of the hole (slightly lower than the original placement), put some interfacing on the back of the hole, and voila. A wearable robot t-shirt for Little Bird. Only slightly ghetto.

The puppy you can find here on Anna Maria Horner's website. I think it's a very cute puppy. The fabric choice for the puppy took me by surprise, but I love it. I think it goes really well with the shirt, and the pointillistic pattern is reminiscent of fur. It's a fabric I bought on sale at Pink Chalk Fabrics, and had no idea what I was going to do with it. Of course, I still have a lot more . . . I'm going to have to work on knowing how much fabric to buy. It's becoming a problem. A fun problem, but a problem. I was debating on an eye for our puppy, but I think I like him just as he is. The fabric is pretty busy, and the shape is obviously a puppy, so he's going to stay just so. His name is Pupstar.

It's a Strat, not a Tele

The birthday shirts have paved the way into more applique. While I made Little Bird's birthday shirt out of a plain white Carter's onesie, Pippi's mom picked out a cute white t-shirt from Old Navy for her birthday shirt. That inspired me.

I have bought a few t-shirts from Old Navy like the one shown here. I also picked up a color blocked tee from Target.

After collecting some solid Kona cottons, I started trying to decide what to put on the shirts. I was a little disappointed in how the color of the Kona changed once the Heat 'n' Bond was applied. The orange was a bright, sunny orange before, but once on the shirt, it had more of a rusty hue.

Of course, there had to be a guitar. I'm hoping to create a good silloutte of a jazz archtop in honor of Kevin, but for now, we have a Stratocaster. What I can't decide is if it needs detail. If I do humbuckers, then I'll feel like I should do strings. Strings would lead to tuning pegs and then it would look funny with no knobs. So I think I'm leaving it as is. Although I'm open for suggetions.

I used a decorative stitch around the edges. I'm not sure that I like it very much. The traditional applique stitch that I've seen? I don't think my machine does it. At least I haven't found it yet.

There are three shirts left to do. I'm planning a robot, another guitar, and a dog.