Purse, bag, tote bag, and... oh look! Another purse!

So I've been thinking about this sewing journey lately...

I've had some very basic sewing skills for a couple decades now (you should have been around for my pillow-making phase when I was ten-ish!) but it's only been over the past year that I've really focused on developing this talent. I like to practice new (to me) techniques on things like purses and aprons, before attempting them on actual clothing.

On the left is a picture of the purse I just finished sewing for my mom. The pattern I used is called Birdie Sling, and it's by Amy Butler. It's the fourth Birdie Sling I've made (one for myself, one for Kaylee, one for Wendy, and now this one for Mom). I surprised myself on this one, though... After cutting out all the pieces and ironing on the interfacing, I realized that I didn't know where the instructions were. I continued on, and completed the purse instruction-free! 

Yeah for my memory!!!

As I finished this Birdie Sling, I started to wonder how many purses I've made in this past year.  I scurried around the house, gathering the purses. I looked through the pictures I've taken of things I've made and given away, and came to the grand total of eleven. Yep. 11 purses in the past year, with 3 more that are currently "under construction."

Here's my proof...

Birdie Sling, same as the purse I made for my mom. This one was for Kaylee Jones. The fabric called to me and I knew I had to make it for her. It's just soooooooooo Kaylee!  I gave it to her on 09/24/10 when I was visiting Nashville on a roadtrip. (I quickly took a photo of it in my hotel room before bringing it to her. It's still all wrinkled from being in my suitcase. Oops.)

The purse in the front is called a Two Hour Tulip by Anything But Boring.  I made it for Jessie, my niece. The purse behind it is the other Birdie Sling that I made for someone other than adorable li'l ol' me, and it went to Wendy, my sister-in-law. These were my Christmas presents to the two of them in 2010. (Hence, the snow in the background of the picture!)

And here are the rest!  (Well, including the one I just made my mom... It's on the right hand side.)  Should I admit, in print, that of the eleven purses I've finished, six of them have been for me??  What can I say?!  It's not going to stop me from making more. ;-)

It's "Bow Wow Blankie" Time!

About a week ago, I finished a small quilt as a gift for Liam's 2nd birthday.

Liam is the son of Chris and Jennifer, good friends of mine. I would have posted this earlier, but I wanted to wait until after the quilt had arrived at its final destination in Reston, VA. I've received confirmation that it has been received, and is already being enjoyed, so now I'm able to share my little accomplisment!

I used a pattern called "Bow Wow Blankie," by All Through the Night. The instant I saw it, I knew I wanted to make it for Liam. I was originally planning to make it as a Christmas present, but I came up with other plans for that, and I didn't want to ditch this idea... So with two weeks to get it done, start to finish, I decided to take on the challenge!  I love that the quilt incorporates both pieced blocks (the stars) and applique (the doggie pull-toys). Applique is a skill that I've only had for the past year, so I'm still not completely confident in my abilities with it yet.

Surprisingly, I had the top finished in two days! 

Yes, just two days!  Granted, two insane days of cutting and late-night sewing, but still.... Two days!  The actual quilting part, where I had to sew the quilt sandwich together (top, batting, and back) took quite a bit longer. Pulling the quilt through and around the sewing machine wore my shoulder out really quick, so I had to do it in little spurts with long breaks inbetween.

Justin, a great friend of mine, and, coincidentally, Liam's uncle, helped me design a label for the back. My mind was coming up with this picture of a little girl, wearing an apron and glasses, but I cannot draw to save my life, so I enlisted Justin's help. I added the "For Liam on his 2nd birthday" and the date the quilt was finished, but everything else was pure Justin!  I ADORE how it turned out!  I'll be sending the design in to have actual woven labels made that I can add to the things I make!  I can't wait to see how they turn out!  Even though this particular label was created using my printer and a product called "Printed Treasures," it does not run!  Trust me, I washed and dried the quilt after I finished it, just to make sure!  :)

I have to say, even though I know that I didn't do a perfect job on this quilt (it's obvious, to me, that I'm still a beginner at this) that I'm pretty proud of how it turned out!  I was downright giddy to get this feedback from Jennifer (Liam's mom):

"... By the way Yvonne, thank you SO MUCH for the incredible birthday gift. We came home and the package was there waiting for us. We immediately opened it and were just blown away! Liam LOVES the blanket! Within 15 minutes of opening your gift he was curled up in it, taking a nap given the exhaustion of his wild birthday party. :-) I took a pic with Kaylee's camera and will have her send it to you. It made the trip with us and he used it all day in the car yesterday. It's really too cute...oh, and the tag is the coolest! THANKS AGAIN!"

Oh, to give credit where credit is due... All of the fabric (and the pattern, too, come to think of it) was purchased at Fabrics, Etc. here in Bellingham, WA.

The Bopple Ball Challenge!

Since I had never seen anything like this before, I'll explain it as if noone has seen anything like this before...

In other words, with a LOT of pictures! 

Introducing, the Bopple Ball! 

As you can see, the Bopple Ball is a ball with a MILLION  little arms coming off of it. Okay, maybe not a million... really there was only 14 of the little buggers. It certainly felt like a never-ending amount while I was in the process of stuffing those bad boys. More on that later.

THE REASON:

A good friend of mine, that I've known for over two decades (EEK!) gave birth to her fifth child - a not-so-little boy named Joshua. I wasn't sure what to make. My mind automatically defaulted to the rag quilt that I'd made previously, but since this whole sewing blitz is still rather new for me, I wanted to try to make something I hadn't made before. Babies are great for experimentation. I mean... trying out new sewing projects.. not mind games or mazes with little pacifiers at the end. Hmm... 

BACK TO THE SEWING PROJECT!

As his name implies, he's a boy, so all the cute little girl outfits I'd seen were obviously out of the question. I was walking around Fourth Corner Quilts (yes, you can find me there quite regularly) when I came across the Bopple Ball pattern by Vanilla House Designs.

THE PROCESS:

If you've read my other posts, you have discovered that I have been known to sew aprons, quilt blocks, purses... I've even made a lined, princess seamed jacket, complete with a mandarin-style collar. (I'll post about that later.) Yeah. This thing, at times, felt like the hardest thing I've ever made. Granted, it had some really cool sewing shortcuts, like folding one piece of fabric in half, right sides together, and drawing all fourteen arms on it, sewing on those lines, and THEN cutting them out - BRILLIANT!  Mainly, my frustration came from the turning and stuffing of said arms. I was trying to find a rhythm for completing them... Nope. I tried distracting myself so the process wouldn't seem so arduous... Nope. I was in the living room, with the TV on in the background, and my mom walked in and started laughing at me.  Why?  Because I was repeatedly shoving the back end of a crochet hook down the end of one of those wretched little arms to get the stuffing as firm as I wanted it. She seemed to think I was getting out some frustration... Hmm. Maybe I should approach it from that tactic!

THE RESULT:



IN ACTION!  Thank you, Mom, for being my hand model! ;)



So, all of my ranting about the arms aside... The trouble was worth it!  It's irresistable - you can't help but want to play with it!  It was universally liked - my DAD even thought it was cute!  Best of all - the look on my friend's face when she saw what it was and that I made it. Can't beat that feeling. :) 

ps... In case any of ya'll are thinking that I'm somehow wonderfully talented at sewing, let me show you Exhibit A, which will demonstrate how false that idea is... The pattern required that, after stuffing the ball, that the opening be stitched shut...

(cue the evil music) 

BY HAND!

As the picture makes clear, this is an area where I have a LOT of room for improvement.

 

Has It Really Been Four Months?!

Apparently my need to update my blog has been almost completely eclipsed by my need to sew, sew, SEW!  Currently, I'm working on a birthday present, a baby shower gift, two purses (a matching mother-daughter set - aww!), a dress that comes from an old shirt that I thought I had to throw out, and a quilt for li'l ol' me. Oh!  I'm also attending a quilt class, each Wednesday night for three hours, to help me work through some of the more challenging blocks from the 2011 Western Washington Quilt Shop Hop.

Whew.  I just wore MYSELF out! 

Long story, short - I have plenty of upcoming blog posts in me.

To catch you up on a few projects that I've completed since we last saw each other...  As I mentioned in my last post, I have been working on blocks for the quilt shop hop from 2010. I've just about wrapped up the blocks for that project, only about a dozen more to go. (That's not so bad when I started with 58 to make!)  Here's another one that I designed myself. I took pictures of the flowers that appeared in one of the fabrics from the hop and then enlarged them in my dear, precious, couldn't-live-without-it Photoshop.  After that I traced the flower shapes on to some Steam-a-Seam 2, and played around with the three flowers to get them to all fit on one 8.5" block. TA-DA!  It looks like I was able to pull off a little magic with this one! 

Now we come to a scarf that I made a few months ago...

One evening, while I was blog-stalking, I came across this fantastic tutorial on Make It and Love It. (By the way, thank you Amber Weyland, for pointing this blog out to me. Yes... I still want to make those alphabet bean bags that you mentioned!) I had been in such a rut with purses and aprons, this came as a breath of fresh air. It also looked like the perfect project to use some voile I had found at Fourth Corner Quilts. If I do say so myself, I was right! I never really envisioned myself as a ruffle kind of girl, but I may just have to change my tune!  Speaking of the ruffles, here's their close-up shot: 

Now I just have to figure out the perfect outfit to wear it with. OH!  I almost forgot!  If you want the directions to this pattern, the very same one that I used, click here.

Last update of the evening!!!

It seems like lately, there's been a non-stop baby train. I have so many friends that have either recently had, or are about to have, a baby.  The last baby shower I went to was for Jolene Thayer. Since the shower, she gave birth to Liberty, on the 4th of July!  CONGRATS!  For Jolene and Liberty, I tried my hand at a rag quilt. I've seen them around for quite some time, but I hadn't taken the plunge. I started by choosing an adorable pink owl fabric, and some coordinating pinks and greys, from Two Thimbles Quilt Shop, also here in Bellingham. 

It's such an easy quilt to put together... All the directions I needed I got from this picture I took while I was at The Quilted Forest in Salem, OR. Granted, the instructions are a bit vague. If you have questions, let me know. I'll just leave it at that! 

Here is how my first attempt turned out:






Jolene liked it, that's what matters most to me!



A close-up on the "rag" effect.

Ode to an Owl

Since I last updated my dear little blog, I've made: a purse, a quilt block, an apron, and a scarf. Needless to say... I've got some catching up to do on here!  A personal family emergency has come up that's made it absolutely necessary to keep myself distracted, so - Blog time it is!


Today, I'll be discussing the purse and quilt block. (I feel like I'm addressing a class or something, weird.) If it hasn't been obvious before, I'll spell it out for you - I have a thing with owls. While waiting for the one-and-only bathroom at JoAnn's (really?  Is that wise when they have sales???) I happened to be standing next to the aisle that has iron-ons. There was an adorable owl, in design, but I didn't like the colors, the size, or the price. So... I took a picture of it with my phone (that's probably a no-no, oops) and decided I would play around with it at home.

Apparently, I liked him so much that I used him twice!

I've had a purse pattern that I had been wanting to make for a little while. It's inside a book called Sew Liberated. Forgive me, but I don't have it near by to give you the author's name. It had an oversize flower print for the interior lining of the purse, and they cut out one of those flowers and used it as an applique on the front of the purse. I decided to go with two of my loves - trees and owls. I bought the cute-yet-simple tree fabric from Fourth Corner Quilts. The exterior is a wanna-be-wool suiting from JoAnn.

To use the picture from my phone, and turn it into a workable applique design, I worked a little Photoshop magic. I uploaded the picture to my computer. Resized the image. Changed it from color to black and white, and then printed it out. Then I used this miracle product called Steam-A-Seam 2 (I have no clue what happened to poor old Steam-A-Seam that it needed to be updated and cast to the side, but I'm sticking with it's updated version). You trace the design on one side of the Steam-A-Seam, then iron that on to the fabric... I've totally lost you, huh?  I'll show you some time, if you ask me nicely. 

As for the quilt block, I used the same owl design, but I used fabrics from 2010 Western Washington Quilt Shop Hop. For info on this year's hop, you can click here. With 2010's shop hop, there were 54 quilt shops in Western Washington (hence the oh-so-creative name of the event) that each design an 8.5" quilt block using, and inspired by, a set of fabric that was produced by In The Beginning Fabrics in Seattle. (Supplemented by additional fabrics by ClothWorks.) If you go to their store during the hop, they give the pattern for the block, along with a few little pieces of the fabric, for free!While I was slaving away, answering back-to-back calls at a T-Mobile call center, my parents drove to each and every one of those 54 stores! Mom got herself a set of blocks, and my Dad was sweet enough to go into each store along the way, so that I would end up with a set as well. So, since July of last year, I've been plugging away at them from time to time, learning new techniques along the way. (I'm also gaining admiration for the generosity of some stores, and a deep loathing sensation for the intricate detail some shopowers inflict on their poor, unsuspecting patrons.) I am determined that I will make all 54 blocks, but then the problem is, how to set those blocks in a quilt. It's not an easily divisble number, as far as quilts are concerned. I decided that I would design two of my own blocks to bring the grand total to 56, then I'll set the blocks seven across and eight down. (That will undoubtedly make more sense when I post a picture of the completed product.)  This quilt block, with the owl applique, is one of those two blocks! I'm actually pretty proud of myself for getting this one done!



Apparently, Being Sick Works for Me...

This past Saturday, while dealing with the medicated fogginess of a head cold, I completed not one, but TWO sewing projects! 

One was the apron, pictured to the left. The other was a large purse. Admittedly, I had the fabric all cut out for the apron, and the purse almost completely finished, prior to Saturday, but it still makes me feel better to think that I made two things in one day. It's alllllll about bragging rights, even if I'm just bragging to myself!  ;-)

The apron was made following another one of the Simplicity patterns I bought during that Presidents' Day Sale at JoAnn. (I'll update the post once I hunt down the pattern number.) The pattern itself is pretty cute, it comes with three size options (adult, child, and doll) for each of the three apron styles it shows. Hopefully that will come in handy sometime in my future. 

As I continue along my sewing adventure, I'm starting to notice that, even when I'm following a pattern, I still have my own style...  And that's totally okay. There's always fabric choices, and that instantly makes a pattern/project your own because YOU'RE the one that chose them. While on the topic of the fabric choice, I have to pause to gush over the main fabric for this apron. This past fall, I was soaking up some creative energy at Fourth Corner Quilts when I came across this fantastic Halloween print. I adored the colors, LOVED the owls, and bought two yards of it on the spot, without knowing specifically what I would use it for.  To me, when it's paired with the citrus-y polka dot, it looks much-more-Spring and far-less-Halloween.  Wouldn't you agree?

Back to the style thing... On a purse I made last summer, I messed up the first time I did my edge stitching. This may be hard to picture without, well... a picture, but when I first attempted to attach my lining fabric to my exterior fabric, I didn't catch all of the lining fabric in the seam. Instead of taking it out and doing it over (the RIGHT way) I made another parallel seam, about a quarter inch away. That fixed the problem, with the added bonus that I really liked how it looked!  I found myself making those parallel edge seams on this apron too, even though it didn't call for it. I like how it makes the stitching part of the "look" instead of just some necessity that has to be dealt with. I think this is now becoming part of my own signature style.

On to the Purse!!!

One thing I figured out pretty quick is that I adore Amy Butler!  If you don't know her work, you really ought to check out her website.  I'm in love with her bold fabrics, and her patterns make me feel like a sewing wiz!  Even the most complicated projects, and trust me, this purse was not a walk in the park, (for me) are made totally managable with her step-by-step picture instructions. She sells many individual patterns, but this is from her book Style Stitches. It's the Cosmo Bag. I'm not even joking, I have plans to make about 75% of the purses that are in that book!  This is a really big purse. I'm talking HUGE!  This past Sunday, I used it, instead of my typical Women's Conference tote bag, to haul all my primary stuff to church (ie, Primary songbook, binder, dry erase markers, magnets, Mint Truffle Hershey Kisses, you know... the essentials). AgaIn, all the fabric for this project came from Fourth Corner Quilts.

In this next picture, it's a little easier to see the red batik used for the lining, along with the big black button (that I got at JoAnn). I mentioned earlier that the purse was almost completely finished before this past weekend. Yeah... Sheepishly I have to admit that I only had one seam to finish (the inside of one of the handles) and it sat, uncompleted and lonely, in the studio for about two months. I had finished the same seam on the other handle, and it took me those two months before I got up the courage/insanity to finish the other side. Okay, fine!  I had lots of other stuff I had to work on, some of a time-sensitive nature, that delayed the process, but still. You get the idea.

Next up? 

I'm going to knock out some more blocks from the 2010 Western Washington Quilt Shop Hop. Stay tuned!  I should have some pictures up tomorrow!

Seven - No EIGHT Yellow Birdies on an Apron!

EXTRA! EXTRA!  READ ALL ABOUT IT! 

Receiving my incoming tax returns + Presidents Day Sale at JoAnn = 28 new Simplicity patterns and 1 completed apron!

What can I say?  Patterns are part of my sewing addiction, but buying them isn't always cheap.  The regular price for patterns can be anywhere from $15 to $30+, so Mom and I have devised an ingenius plan... Whenever we happen to be at JoAnn, if it's not too crowded and we aren't in a hurry, we look at patterns. The last time we did this, we wrote down the numbers for the patterns we wanted, and decided to wait until there was a sale. Sure enough! 

Our patience was rewarded! 

The Presidents Day sale had Simplicity patterns 5 for $5, limit 10!  Between the two of us, and more than one trip, we got 28 new patterns. According to our receipts, we saved about $425 on those patterns alone!  Totally ridiculous, right?!  I have to confess something... Of those 28 patterns, 11 of them were for aprons! 

Aprons, really?!  Yes... I am a bit transfixed by them at this point in time. I have good reasons, I swear!  (At least, they sound good to my all-too-often non-sensical brain.) I usually don't have to worry about if they'll fit or not, as most of them come with adjustable straps in the back (a HUGE benefit to a woman that's working on losing weight). They're a great way to showcase newly found favorite fabrics - such as this one. (I ADORE the occasional little yellow bird that peppers this fantastic home dec fabric I found at JoAnn, ALSO on sale - SCORE!!) Finally, the variety of aprons out there really helps me to learn new techniques, without having to commit to a seemingly-impossible headache-in-the-making.

This apron was a breeze to put together!  I made it, start to finish, this past Saturday. I even did a couple things that the pattern didn't call for, to put my own touch on it. I flat felled the seams along the shoulder and side (see previous post - see!  SHE CAN BE TAUGHT!) and I embellished the pockets with a few buttons (again, part of the JoAnn sale!). My plan is to make several new aprons that I can use interchangeably in association with my calling at church.  I'm the Primary Chorister, and the kids, especially those in Nursey, get a kick out of finding out what I have hiding in the pockets of my apron.  I wore this apron, my latest creation, during Primary yesterday. My favorite part?  One of the little girls was so entranced by the new apron, that she came up and asked to count all the birdies on it. According to Erika, there were seven. I had a trick up my sleeve, err, in my pocket, though!  One of the birds is on the fabric behind one of the sewn-on pockets, so there are actually

eight little birdies on the apron.

Green Birdies on a Sling??

Okay... So one of my FOREMOST goals with this whole sewing adventure is to learn the techniques and processes that I need to be able to see something and recreate it, without a pattern or some wise sewing guru (ie, Mom) standing over my shoulder - telling me how it's done.

Don't get me wrong...

Without the help and wisdom of those that have gone before me, I would be a ship lost at sea. I fully intend to gather as much light and knowledge as I can along the way.

Enter the baby sling!!! Chrissy (an awesomely-fantastic friend of mine) showed me this cute baby sling she found online. She asked if I thought I might be able to make something like it. I glanced at it, and with bravado that I was unaware that I possessed, I instantly said, "Why, of course I can make this!  It would be mere child's play!!!" Well... I most likely didn't use those exact words, but I was pretty darn confident. There was this nagging problem, though. I had two little hurdles to overcome... 1 - I'd never completed a flat felled seam before. 2 - I didn't have a pattern for the measurements of the sling.

Ultimately, this was the perfect project for facing both of those challenges. After years of off-and-on piece-quilting, I'm a whiz with a rotary cutter. I measured twice, cut the fabric once. I did a little mental figuring here and there. Chrissy said that she wished her original sling was a little smaller, so I took that in account as well (I'm good like that).  The sling is pretty much a glorified tube, or a modified pillow case that's open on both ends, however you want to look at it. So the pattern portion of the events was a total non-issue. Now, the flat felled seams intimidated me, I'll admit it.

For those that don't know the difference between a "flat felled seam" and a regular seam, let me give you an example... Grab a pair of your favorite jeans. That seam that runs from the bottom of the zipper in the front, down and around and back up between your two back pockets?  It has two parallel lines of thread?  That's a flat felled seam. It's meant to be more durable than a regular seam, like that one that runs down the side of your jeans. Mom did a great job of explaining how to sew it in simple, uncomplicated terms, as to not set off my internal panic alarms (which were totally poised and ready to go).

The end result:  The seams weren't perfectly straight or even, I'm still working on that, but... If I do say so myself, the baby sling turned out cute and, my favorite part, absolutely functional!!!  I even made one improvement on the original. I added an interior flanel lining (that's the striped fabric you see) to the bottom two-thirds.
Lessons learned: How to flat fell a seam, and a little more confidence in my ability to make something from scratch. I gave it to Chrissy, as a belated birthday present, and as thanks for giving me the challenge in the first place.
YEAH FOR CONQUERING SOME FEARS!!!