sewing sewing sewing

I have been a busy little elf in my sewing room the past few weeks. Sneaking in time here, there and when ever I can when the kids are asleep or occupied. I can show these because most of the have been gifted already and so it won't ruin any surprises.

Kid aprons.

I paired them with a DYO (decorate your own) cookie kit I found at Trader Joe's.

I love the way these came out and they were really quite easy to make. I think they will be a great 'go to gift' in the future.

Wristlet key fobs

These are teacher gifts for O and Fifi's teachers this year. I wanted to come up with something that wasn't the typical coffee mug and while browsing around on Prudent Baby I saw the idea and a tutorial.

PERFECT!

I like a pretty way to keep track of my keys and these were fun and easy (and VERY affordable to make) which is good since O has been in 3 class rooms this past year and has had a bunch of great teachers along the way.

Wide leg lounge pants (amy butler, in stitches)

These are some of the comfiest jammer pants around. They look HUGE, but the roomie-ness of them really makes it perfect for hanging out around the house on a lazy Sunday morning. The best part is, (and this should have been on my list) I figured out how to make a button hole on my sewing machine while making these. I was literally jumping for joy when I got the darn thing to do what I wanted! In the past, the button holes for the draw strings were totally sloppy, but not this time around. This will make # 1 on the list that much easier, should I choose something that needs buttons.

I love a good handmade Christmas!

covered

I have been in the sewing room making goodies for friends and family. Camera straps are a quick and easy gift. Here are a few that I have made lately.

I used a mixture of tutorials, but really all you need to do is find some fun scraps in your stash, some felt and your imagination. Measure out 26x5 inches of felt (this is for the 'backing' and to give the strap a bit of padding, you could also use padded interface if you have it around) Then mix and match fabrics to measure the same length and width (so 5 inch wide scraps combined to equal 26 inches long when sewn together). Make sure to iron the seems open flat so they lay nicely for the next steps. Place the fabric wrong side down on the felt or interface (you will have the right side of the fabric showing and the felt/interface on the back)and fold down the ends over towards the felt/interface and secure with your sewing machine. This will make for a smooth and clean finish to the ends of the strap cover. I then did some free form 'quilting' and sewed the lengthwise along the strap, up and down about 3 or for times. This adds a nice detail and also secures the felt and the fabric together. Turn the whole thing so that the felt or interface is facing out and sew the sides together along the long edge to make a case. Turn right side out and then iron so it lays flat and neat. Slip it over your existing strap and there you go! a custom strap cover. Easy, no?

The next round I make will have a little pocket to slip my lens cap into- I am always loosing it, setting it down or sticking it in a random pocket of my pants or jacket. It would be great to have a designated spot for it to go. I even found a tutorial today that beat me to the punch of this idea on Craft Gossip.

made

Look what I made!

I am loving it with all its funny little mistakes and imperfections. I am already planning my next 'quilt' (I think for O's bed and once Deuce is here and we know boy/girl I will make one for the crib too).

It has already seen some good use over the weekend too.

Just Sew, Ya Know?

I was out checking my google reader and from a post on Uncommon Grace I fell into the rabbit hole that is My Sewing Circle. I just spent about an hour adding projects, completed and those I want to make, to my profile. I obviously have more hopes of sitting at my sewing table then I do time, but a mama can dream right?

My Sewing Circle is like Ravelry only for sewers (is that a word?). It is a new (to me at least) site. I would love to see the ability to link directly to my Flickr photos and to related blog posts like you can on Ravelry and I am sure some bells and whistles will be added to it as more people start using it.  I have most of my completed sewing projects in a folder on Flickr, but I love a good organization tool for those 'wish list items'. This is a perfect place to group all those things I want to make in one spot.  Instead of doing what I do now, staring patterns and tutorials in Google Reader and hoping I can find them later.

Check it out if you have a minute or 60.

Create

So how about a little creative update?

Did you know my blog started out, way back when, as a knitting blog? It had a different name back then but it was knitting that introduced me to the blogging world. (oh man, I cringe at those early posts! how funny it is to read a few of them. Have I really been blogging for 4 years! wow, I knew it had been awhile, just not that long). At some point during those four years it morphed what it is now, I guess sort of a photography/mommy blog? Err, hmm, how would you categorize this silly space I have out here?

What was I talking about again? oh yeah, creativity and knitting...

Every now and then I get the knitting bug again but it isn't something I am doing non-stop like I was 4 years ago. But, I made the mistake of clicking over to someones ravelry notes and then I was hooked all over again. I found myself throwing patterns into my queue and updating my stash list... and then I cast on for a hat. I am using up the left over yarn from this sweater that I made for MrO last year. Something about the cold weather that happened all the sudden has me wanting to snuggle up with a cup of hot chocolate and my yarn!
Here are my results (ravelry linkage for deets)...


silly cute, no?

My sewing machine definitely sees more consistent action these days than my knitting needles do however. Maybe it is because I can whip something up rather quickly then I could if do a knitting project. And with the little guy around now "quick" is better since I am usually working around his weekend nap times to create. A few of my favorite projects lately have been:

Blankies, burp clothes and custom onsies for new babes,


Crowns for birthday celebrations as those new babes turn into one, two and three year old kids.


Bunting for decorating when we celebrate and a bag to hold all those dirty rags and bibs in the kitchen- I need to grab a few pictures of these this weekend to share with you all. I haven't had a chance.

Over the summer I was happy to take a day off work and spend it painting at a class with one of my favorite art teachers. I have been craving to paint/collage in the past week or so. I need to get my brushes out from hiding.



How about you, what are you creating these days??

PS- happy Friday friends- here's to great weekend

this and that

it was good.

I got my hair cut

My flickr pro account ran out. It said I wouldn't loose pictures, but I seem to not be able to locate some that I know were there before the account lost its pro-ness. weird.

A new season means new ways to entertain ourselves at the expense of the boy, he likes it, really.


Daddy-O is a total goof, I love that about him. (this is his way of saying he is way above just making the condiment tray, this is proof.)

We got to go out on a date. Alone. Wow, food taste good when you have time to eat it and not be worried about someone crying or needing a dirty-d change. Thanks JoJo, your the best.

Been spending a bit of time in the craft room here and there, these are little bean bags. I think I will make more since they are quick and a great way to use up scraps.


Work is starting to feel more normal again- I still can't remember everything I used to know- terms/shop talk/random GIS vernacular, where things are saved, what kind of server we are using and the operating system it is on- ya know, the little things.
That's okay though. It's only been about a week.

Life is good and that is all that counts.

monkeys and cowboys

The big cheese, the Daddy-O and I went to a birthday party for a very sweet one year old this weekend. The lemon cupcakes (didn't get a picture) were fantastic and there were so many little kids it was crazy.

Here is what the birthday girl got in her goodie bag,
custom t-shirts



Every one year old girl needs a tu-tu, right? Heck, I need a tu-tu!

A piece of cake...

Made the cake for the second time yesterday. Again, it was a total hit with everyone at dinner.

Thanks to the Big and Little "test kitchen" for the fantastic recipe. Krista tops hers with powdered sugar, but I took it to the ridonculous next level and whipped up some chocolate frosting... oh man.

I also snuck some time in at the sewing machine and made this . The tutorial was easy to follow and The trickiest part was probably getting the casing sewn around the boning once it was in (I purchased a different kind of boning then used in the tutorial so it was my own doing there).
It took me maybe an hour and a half or less. I can't believe they get $35-45 a pop for these at the stores! I don't really mind nursing in public, but I feel like it makes everyone else uncomfortable when I pull out one of the girls, so this is a good way around that. The cover will come in handy next weekend while we are out and about over the 3 day weekend. (It's Nevada Day, not just Halloween ya know and we get the day off because of it. Be glad this isn't a video blog because this is where I would be tempted to sing you the state song,we take our statehood serious around here gang.)

In other news...
Mr. Man slept 7 hours straight last night. S.E.V.E.N.
It was like a mini vacation I tell you, a day at the spa or something. I had to go in at 4 to make sure he was still breathing. He was of course, not just breathing but snoring away in his little way that melts my heart. I let him keep sleeping, although he did wake up about half an hour later, famished and wet.

It has been a nice weekend and I am looking forward to the short week (read, hubby will be home for more that two days in a row and we get to hang out with him- Fridays are still exciting when you aren't working!)

I hope you all are enjoying or have enjoyed your lovely fall weekend, I sure have.