Lavender Sachets and Bathroom Remodel

I have been a bad, bad, bad blogger. Not only have I not been blogging, I haven't been reading blogs or commenting on blogs. I also did not sew all weekend long. Last Tuesday I did finish up some lavender sachets for the charity shop though. So at least I have a little bit of something to show. I may have to restock some items this week at the charity shop so I made a couple of gadget pouches and coffee cozies last night, but no photos. It looks like the items that I had hoped to put in my Etsy shop will be going to the charity shop instead. Depending on how much sells, I may also pull some stuff of Etsy. We will just have to see.

The main reason I did not sew this weekend is because we decided to remodel the kid's bathroom. I use the term we loosely though because Mitch did most of the work. I forgot to take a before photo, but Mitch snapped this one with his iphone.

We still have a ways to go, but we have made good progress. Here is what it looks like right now.

I haven't forgotten about the messenger bag tutorial. Hopefully I will have that together soon. I also have Christmas presents to make so I need to get busy.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Happy Crafty Tuesday everyone.

Making Progress

Even though I said I was not doing any more orders, I somehow agreed to put some items in a Charity shop to support some local charities. It's hard to say no to a good cause. There's a Facebook Fan page for anyone local who is interested in more information.

I made some recycled magazine bows. I also packaged up some recycled cardboard tags. The packaging is compostable too. Cool, huh? I also made 10 coffee cozies and 6 gadget pouches. I have a few more days to get a little bit more together, but at least I have made some progress.

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I have a couple of things set aside to add to the Etsy shop. I will let you know once I have those items listed. Then I plan on concentrating on Christmas presents. I can't believe Thanksgiving is this week. Yikes.

Happy Crafty Tuesday everyone.

Team-Up Thursday- Siblings

This week Cara and I chose siblings as our theme. Once again I waited until the absolute last minute to get my shot. I kept waiting for the perfect sibling oment to present itself. Before bed last night the kids watched a few minutes of a movie and I was able to capture a sweet sibling moment.

I really like how Cara cropped her shot. It leaves a lot to the imagination. It seems like an innocent exchange of toys, but according to Cara it was not.

Here are a couple of outtakes because they are just too funny not to include. These were taken during an inpromptu dance party.

The posed shot on the couch.

Visit Megan for more Team-Up Thursday.

Anthro Inspired Scarf Tutorial

What you will need:

sweater

contrasting fabric

sewing machine

thread

needle

Start by choosing a sweater. Any type of sweater would work. I had this sweater that was not 100% wool so it never felted. It was soft and cuddly and I liked the color. Since I was lining the whole scarf, I knew it would work perfectly.

After you have your sweater and fabric picked out, make your pattern. My pattern piece is 6 inches wide by 17 inches long. I rounded one end.

If your sweater is big enough you can line your pattern up on the fold to create one long piece. My sweater was not big enough so I had to cut 2 pieces and sew them together.

If you cut 2 pieces, sew them together like I did below.

Then I folded my contrasting fabric in half and placed the sweater piece on top. I wanted to make sure that the lining fabric was one piece so that there are no seams inside.

I cut the lining fabric a little bigger in case the sweater stretched a little bit while sewing the pieces together.

Place the sweater and lining fabric together with right sides facing.

Then sew all the way around leaving a 3 inch gap for turning.

Trim up the edges and clip the curves. Then turn the scarf right side out through the opening. You could then top stitch all the way around the scarf. I chose to hand sew the opening close using a ladder stitch.

Take one end and scrunch it together. I scrunched mine together about 7 inches in from the point. Then hand sew a couple of stitches through to secure it together. Repeat on the other side.

Take a 5 inch piece of sweater and sew the ends together to create a tube.

Turn right side out. Then feed one side of the scarf through the tube placing it over where you scrunched. Now you can place it around your neck and squeeze the other side of the scarf through the tube to secure it around your neck.

You are done.

This is for personal use only. If anyone decides to make one, please add it to my flickr group.

One Step Closer

I am one step closer to completing the Reversible Messenger Bag Tutorial. I finished one more this weekend for my friend's birthday. This time I took photos. So all I need to do now is edit the photos and put the tutorial together. I am shooting for after Thanksgiving. I also need to edit and put the photos together for the Anthro Scarf Knock-Off. I will try to have it up this week.

Here are a few photos.

I used a really soft corduroy. The corduroy seemed flimsy so I interfaced it this time. I like that is has a little more structure.

It has been cold and dreary the last few days so my photos aren't the best. They really don't do the bag justice. Hopefully I can get a few more photos to post with the tutorial before it is given to my friend.

I also finished a custom order of cell phone necklaces. I have made several of these now. She wanted something for her grandmother to wear so that her cell phone easily accessible. I think these would make a great gift.

This week I am busy getting together some goodies for a charity shop that will be open during the holiday season. So I should have some good stuff to show you next week.

Copycat Challenge- Tea & Biscuit Scarf Knock-Off

I am going to visit my best friend in New Jersey next weekend. Since the weather there will more than likely be colder than the 70 degree weather we have been having here, I decided that I needed a new scarf. I also decided I would make one today to get it finished in time for the Copycat Challenge over at Sew Much Ado.

It seems like I always turn to Anthropologie for inspiration. I wanted to use a sweater from my stash. I also didn't want anything too frilly or long. I really wanted something very functional. So I decided on this scarf.

Here is how mine turned out. I did take pictures so expect a tutorial hopefully next week. I tried to get my 4 year old to take a photo of my wearing the scarf, but that did not work out too well.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Team-Up Thursday- Curves

This week Cara and I chose curves as our theme. My husband and I had a date night on Saturday night. So we visited the Chihuly Exhibit at Cheekwood. It was amazing.

I am impressed that Cara was able to drive and take a shot of the curve in the road. She timed it perfectly. Her shot makes me feel like we are on a road trip. If only that was the case.

Be sure to check out the wonderful talented ladies over at Mental Inventory.

Destashing Has Begun

I spent all day Saturday going through all my fabric and piles of materials. I sorted, organized, and donated some things that I knew I would never use. It feels so good to have less stuff. I am not sure how long it will last, but as of right this minute all of my fabric is folded in an old dresser in the garage. This was long overdue. I hope it will help me to finish some of my projects. I know it will be a lot easier to find what I am looking for now.

Here's all my fabric.

Here's all my wool. It is a little scary. I also have a bin of vintage sheets, pillowcases and another with t-shirts and knit fabric. Then there is half a closet full of items waiting to be repurposed. This is after I got rid of tons of stuff. I clearly have a problem.

I want to list some scraps in my Etsy shop, but I haven't decided the best way to do it. I am thinking about just putting up a general listing for a flat rate box filled with scraps. Any thoughts?

I did find a little time to make some burp cloths and bibs for a friend. Hopefully my organization will pay off and I will get some good sewing done this week.

Happy Crafty Tuesday.

****edited to add- I now have some scraps for sale in the shop. ****

Team-Up Thursday- Morning

This week Cara and I chose morning as our theme. Cara's shot is the gorgeous one on the left. Mine is the last minute, out of ideas, I sure do love coffee in the morning shot on the right. I think I could stare at Cara's shot for days. I love the blueish-green color in the background and the softness of the photo. It is perfect in every way.

Visit Mental Inventory for more Team-Up Thursday.

Shop Update

I finally found a few minutes to list some items in my shop. I still have several more things to list along with some destash items. I just need to take photos and it is rainy and dreary out. I will let you know as I get items posted.

Thanks!!

Halloween Sewing

I did not do too much sewing this week. I have been trying to get up early and workout instead of working out in the evening. So by the time the kids go to bed, I am ready for bed myself.

I did manage to do a little refashion for Harper. I usually hand down Harper's clothes to family or friends, but somehow these orange pants that were 2 sizes too small were still lingering in her dresser. I decided a little black and white ruffle would make them perfect for Halloween. They did not dress up at school so I wanted her to have something special to wear on Friday. I had just enough black and white fabric to make it work.

Nice pose, huh?

As you can see I did not have any orange thread so the white is very apparent, but I really did not want to buy anything for this little project. She didn't seem to mind. Of course, now I want to add a ruffle to all her pants.

Harper was Hannah Montana for Halloween. I made her a sparkly, sequin tank dress lined with a knit fabric to keep it from being itchy. I drafted the pattern from an existing dress. I was very proud of how it turned out. It actually fits her and is also comfortable. The only problem is the sequin dots are glued on so it is not very washable. It will have to be a dress up outfit. She was very anxious for me to finish the dress. She kept asking me when I was going to make it so it has been finished for a couple of weeks now.

It is kind of hard to see in this photo. Miller is a jokester. Can you tell that he really did not like wearing that mask?

This one is a little better.

I also made her headband, which you can't really see either. She loves the headband. She even wore it to school today.

Happy Crafty Tuesday everyone!!

Halloween 2010

Here are some random shots from some of our Halloween festivities this year.

Lucky Ladd Farm

These are the pumkins they picked out.

Pumpkin carving.

It turns out that these pumpkins were a little tough to carve. I think we will stick to regular pumpkins next year.

Miller's was really thick. We had to improvise.

Here is Miller at his school party. He is the giant looking kid on the right.

I will show you Harper's costume tomorrow. Since I made a portion of her costume, I am saving it for Crafty Tuesday. I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween. I can't believe it is already November 1st.