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.

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. ****

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!!

Felted Wool Sweater Coffee Cozy Tutorial

It's hard to believe that I have never done a real tutorial on how I make my coffee cozies. I did post these instructions last year, but they were the instructions that I included in my DIY kit. They don't really go into detail about the actual cozies. So I thought it was time to share some of my tips and tricks. Since I have made 100's and 100's of these cozies, I have learned a couple of things along the way.

The first thing you are going to need is a wool sweater. You can read about

how I felt sweaters to learn more about that process.

After the sweater has been felted, you can get to work on your coffee cozy. There are a couple of options depending on the size and thickness of your sweater. If you are lucky you can just use a portion of the sleeve and do no machine sewing at all. You should be able to look at the felted sweater and tell if it is going to work. If the cuff is ribbed, then more than likely you will have enough stretch. If the sweater is smaller or you want to use the sleeves for something else, then follow the directions below.

I would suggest making a pattern, especially if your are going to be making several cozies. Mine is just made of craft felt. It's lovely, huh? This speeds up the process. It also allows you to place the pattern on the sweater to determine where you want to cut.

My pattern piece is 3.5" x 9"

Once you have cut your sweater pieces, you will want to sew the ends together to form the cozy. I always cut my pieces a little larger than they need to be (which is the size of my pattern) so that I have a little wiggle room. The stretch of the sweaters varies greatly so this ensures that I have enough material to work with. It only takes a minute to make the cozy smaller if it is too large.

I use a universal needle for medium to heavyweight material. I also set the tension to 5 or 6 on my machine. You may have to experiment on some scrap sweater pieces before you start to make any adjustments.

When I start to sew the cozy, I backstitch then sew forward a little bit and backstitch again. I also do this when I come to the end. It is not necessary, but you would could stitch the seam twice for added durability.

It's hard to see in this photo, but the arrow points to my seam.

Once the cozy is sewn, I trim up the edges. Start by trimming fairly close to the stitched edge. Then check to make sure the top and bottom edges are even.

Once it is all even, turn it right side out.

You are done. Now embellish your cozy with a cute design. Next week I will give some tips and tricks about how I applique my cozies.

These are a great beginner project as well as a perfect Holiday gift. (Yes, I am already thinking about the holidays). I am still in the process of going through my stash so I should have some cozies in the shop soon. Hopefully within the next couple of weeks. I also have several owls that will be going up as well. I might also have some sweater remnants for those of you that don't want to go searching for sweaters. Let me know if anyone is interested in a kit. I can make up some of those for the shop too.

If you make any cozies, please add a photo to my flickr group.

5 Little Owls

I am FINALLY getting really close to finishing my last wholesale order. I was able to put the finishing touches on the owls this weekend plus knock out some coffee cozies. I have 10 cozies left and I am officially done.

Look the owls now have faces.

Can you tell that one owl is a little different from the other owls? I tried something different with the wings. I am still not sure how I feel about it.

The first owl will more than likely go in the shop along with the 2 Hootie owls and possibly this owl too. I am waiting until I have a few more things though.

Happy Crafty Tuesday everyone.

Decision, Decisions, Decisions

Yes, this is really what my workspace looks like when I am working on an order.

After months and months of mulling it over I finally decided to stop taking wholesale and custom orders. It was a very hard decision to make, but one that just couldn't be avoided any longer. I notified my biggest customer last week about my decision, so it's official.

My plan is to use up my supply of materials for personal projects, gifts or my etsy shop, which I have not updated in a very long time. I want the freedom to make what I want to make when I want to make it. I am really excited about letting my creative juices flow (or not).

I still have one large order to finish (see photo above). Then I am free. Oh, the possibilities!!

Slip Sliding into a Slump

I am in a serious sewing slump. I want to sew. I have a million projects I want to tackle, but time has not been on my side. I have been having thoughts of closing up the Etsy shop and saying no to wholesale orders. The only thing that is stopping me right now is the fact that it is really slow so I have not been busy with orders. I have so many sweaters and other supplies taking up a bunch of space. It is driving me a bit crazy. Really the only things I have been wanting to sew are gifts or items for me and the kids. I am not completely there yet, but I am feeling the need to simplify my life.

On a more positive note, I did find a little bit of time to make this cape for my best friend's little boy. He turns 6 this week. Thanks Carrie for your cape inspiration. It's a little wonky, but I was pleased with it considering it was my first try. I used this pattern, but did not make the collar quite as wide. Of course, Harper wants one now, but she wants one that is sparkly. We will have to see.

Happy Crafty Tuesday everyone.

T-Shirt Dress and Travel Purse

I finally set aside a little time to do some personal sewing. Goodwill had their monthly 50% off sale so I set out early Saturday morning to do some thrifting. I came home with 3 bags full of clothes for a grand total of $63. Can't beat that. I found a jacket and a Gap t-shirt for me. I scored a dress, skirt, and top for Harper. For Miller I found a Cars t-shirt, 2 pair of pants, and 2 cute short sleeved button down shirts. Mitch got a brand new Brooks Brother shirt. Then I racked up on t-shirts so that I can make Harper some comfy play dresses or skirts for the summer. Plus three wool sweaters for cozies.

Mitch took the kids to the park so that I could sew. So I made a dress for Harper. I used three different t-shirts. The main shirt was from Children's Place and was a little too big, but I was able to still use the existing neckline so that eliminated a little work.

I am not sure what's going on here. I think Miller was a little jealous that I was not photgraphing him.

The turquoise shirt that I used matched the main shirt perfectly and it had manager on the sleeve. So I used it for the sleeves.

Then on Sunday afternoon I made myself a little travel purse. Not that I have plans to go anywhere, but you never know. It will be perfect for a quick trip to the store or when I just want to carry a couple of things with me.

This was my first attempt at a magnetic closure. It is a little wonky, but good practice. There's a pocket on the outside. I used this tutorial as a guideline.

I added a little pocket inside.

It was really nice to finish a couple of things for us.

Happy Crafty Tuesday everyone.

Finally a Shop Update

You would think since I was snowed in all weekend that I would have found some time to do a little sewing. Well, that was not the case. I finished up my last wholesale order at the end of last week and did not think about sewing until last night. I did manage to make a couple of things for my etsy shop last night. I should be done updating it by the end of the day. Here's a sneak peak.

It seems that being snowed in makes me want to cook rather than sew. While we were home this weekend we made homemade pretzels, larabars, and baked artichoke dip. Yum. The kids went bonkers over the larabars and they tasted just like the store bought ones. I will definitely be making those again.

Happy Crafty Tuesday everyone.

Another Week in Crafts

I finished my last wholesale order that was looming over my head last week. Then wouldn't you know it another one came in. Which is not a bad thing, but it does not leave much time for other crafts. I have really been wanting to do some personal sewing. This last order will bring everyone locally current so I think it will buy me some time. I still want to update the Etsy shop before Valentine's Day, but we will just have to see.

I did manage to complete a taggie blanket that has been on my to do list for months. Now I just need to ship it out.

I also made myself ear warmers from the turtleneck of one of my thrifted sweaters. I have been wanting to make myself a hat, but haven't been able to decide on a design. I had this turtleneck piece laying around so I threw it together really fast. I know you can't tell much from the photo, but you get the idea.

I also made another owl last week. I used the same sweater for both the owl and the ear warmers.

Happy Crafty Tuesday everyone!!

One More Down

This week I finished one more wholesale order and I am halfway through with my last order. These orders are ones that I was not able to finish before Christmas and they have been looming over my head for a month now. So I am beyond happy to have them finished. Now hopefully I will have time to update the Etsy shop before Valentine's day. I am also working on a tutorial for a REALLY easy gadget pouch like the ones that are pictured above. I plan to have that posted by the end of the week.

Here's some craftiness from Harper that I thought I would show you.

Two of her friends have birthdays this week so she decided to make them cards using some of my die cut recycled cardboard pieces. I thought they turned out well. We still need to stamp the names on the front and write a message inside. I have been trying to figure out what to do with these pieces. Now I am thinking make your own card sets might be a good idea. What do you think?

Happy Crafty Tuesday everyone.