Sewing From Within the Stash

I get so many compliments from this GREAT project bag wherever my crafting adventures take me. It has two front pockets, button closure, and is extra roomy inside. When I took it to my monthly spinning group, my friends told me they had "bag envy." I said, "Thanks, I made it myself. No big deal."

 

Really, the bag is a secret up-cycling project. I sewed a pocket on the front of an old conference bag that had potential to be something better. After disclosing this, I told them that I could try to reproduce it. After measuring, cutting and sewing (and ripping back a few times), this is what I came up with:

 

It's the same bag with room for improvements: inside pockets. Seriously though, a few years ago I was obsessed with sewing bags. I made so many I swear that my family was planning an intervention. It's nice to know that I can still whip those things out pretty quickly. And now, without buying a pattern!

 

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Sew Crafty Summer

So summer has come and gone in Oklahoma. We start school WAY before Labor Day, so gone are the carefree days of pools and endless sewing. I look forward to Fall - cooler temperatures bring many opportunities to layer and accessorize.

Here are some things I'm making to get ready for Autumn....

Chunky Rings - tutorial coming soon....These are SO easy to make. All you need are buttons, vintage clip earrings, anything that's flat, glue, and a ring blank...

Big, fat, squishy scarves: large knit or crochet scarves are going to be awesome this year....

Knitted cuffs: I found this pattern on Knitty. What a great way to use up extra sock yarn!

T-shirt infinity scarves: This is SO, SO easy. No sewing involved. If you can cut, and tie knots, you can make this!

Baby Blankets: These are also very simple to create. Just cut strips, sew together and add a back. Tutorial coming very soon because everyone needs a quick baby shower gift!

What have you been creating this summer? Please share below -

Crafty Mondays

I'm not the only crafty one in my circle of friends. Many of my teacher friends have a hobby they enjoy: digital scrap-booking, beading, knitting, or crochet. This summer my friends and I started gathering for Crafty Mondays.

What do we do? Well, we all work on our latest project together and discuss new ones over light snacks.

What's cool is that each one of us is working on something different, but we are all artists: making something from raw materials with our hands. We "ooh" and "ahh" over each other's projects. And laugh over silly stories.

I'm so thankful I have a group of people I work with that I enjoy hanging with outside of my profession.

Summer Craftiness

It's well into summer here in Oklahoma; it's so hot Ava said this to me when we went to get Vincent from camp:

"Momma, it's so hot my brain hurts! Pick me up!"

Summer gives a me a chance to MAKE all the fun accessories I think of during the school year AND find on twitter and facebook. Here are some things I've made:

kindle cover out of up-cycled jeans

FAVORITE ballband dishcloths

princess-size purse

handspinning with Dawning Dreams batting

market Bag in dishcloth cotton

zig-zaggy wristlet
Bustle Backpack
Ruffly Tote from up-cycled jeans

Vincent's Americana Quilt

All of this, plus some more coming! Come back Monday for a Crafty Monday post!

Quick Gift Idea: T-Shirt Scarf

This is such a quick gift. I learned this from Disney at Ruffles and Stuff. Couldn't find the tutorial, but if you can sew a straight line, you can make this scarf.

1. Cut 4" squares from your old t-shirts. It helps to have the same color family.

2. Overlapping the squares, sew a zig-zag down the middle of the squares. Your are sewing the squares on a diagonal.

3. Keep going until the scarf is the length you need. Three medium sized t-shirts will make almost 2 scarves.

Now, go get started!

WHOOO are You?

My classroom theme this year is owls. Every year my class t-shirt uses a very studious owl with the phrase "Caution: Curious Minds at Work." Of course, my class had to have their own owl to be our mascot. I think my students have named him "Hooty" which suits me fine. We pass Hooty each morning as we answer our "question of the day." It helps us stay on track and listen to the person who is sharing.

Inspired by PotteryBarn owls in their catalog, I researched free patterns and one night, late at night, I made almost 8 of them - assembly-line style in my dining room. Here are some of my free patterns:

Modern Mind, Vintage Heart

One Red Robin

My Tiny Star

Toad's Treasures

Each owl definitely has their own personality. I made one for a teacher friend for her class and then a few other teachers just HAD to have one for their class. I even sent some to Kate's little kiddos.

I admit, after making 8 of them, I'm a little done with owls for a while. But message me if you simply MUST have them. Each one is different, so you'll have to trust the process.....

Baby Goodness!

As I was cleaning the craft closet, I found some more unfinished objects. Here they are finished:

Baby things are another way to really work your stash. Babies don't require a lot of yardage and they look cute in any color! Mommies can never have too many burp clothes or blankets or onesies. I have some more onesies to embroider - I use many of Sublime Stiching's patterns or I use them for inspiration.

Baby, Oh Baby Projects

For Kate's baby girl Em, I made this sweet pink jacket and matching onesie. The jacket is a vintage reprint of a McCall's pattern. It called for ties, but I thought the frog closures would be cuter. I "fussy-cut" flowers to blanket stitch to the onesie.

So dragging out the sewing machine helped me rediscover my stash. I also made a tote bag from Anna Maria Horner's book "Seams to Me." I've cut out 2 more of them for friends who are like, "I want one!"

In the works is a baby quilt. I was a little rusty at binding. I cut the binding width too short and so I'm wrangling it to "make it work." So instead of entering it at the fair, I may just give it away to Catholic Charities. Also, my mom's has a friend who's daughter is pregnant and will need lots of stuff.

So it's chess camp this week in Owasso. Ava and I are going to window-shop or go have a snack somewhere. It's HOT here in Oklahoma and outside is not an option.

Sewing Mojo up and running

I was seriously concerned about the lack of creative sewing I've done with my sewing machine. Little did I know, but all it took was the simple act of taking it out of Ava's closet. Now, it sits patiently side by side with Rich's Memoir '44 game. But I have plans, ha, ha, ha!

Last night, after a fun-filled day in 103 degree weather with 2 kiddos, I dragged it out and started to work. I made a fun jacket for Kate's little one - can't post it yet, I want it to be a surprise. Then BOOM, with that little project finished, the creative juices started to flow. Now, I have cut out a new bag, and 2 coat jacket bags.

Does that look like the sleeve of a jacket? Why yes, dear reader, it is! The lining of my new bag is made of an old early 90's GAP jacket and I used the sleeves to make little bags. The little bags are not for me though, maybe I can sell them or something. Maybe my knitting friends can use them to hold their notions. The purse is from Anna Maria Horner's book "Seams to Me". The coat sleeve bag is from Last Minute Fabric Gifts. I've had both books for a few years and just now have some time to work from them. There are some CUTE projects in both books!

And I'm OBSESSED with this mystery yarn lady who is trying to sell her friend's stash. Like 2500 POUNDS of it. I can only hope that her stash had it's own room or something. I can't imagine what it even looks like. And I thought a closet shelf full of yarn was a problem.....

Happy Spring Sewing!

Now that the birthday cake crumbs have settled, aquarium field trip finished, and most everyone is on the mend from a cold, here are some pictures of Ava's summer dresses.

The first dress is one those criss-cross smocks - she might be able to wear it this week, since the weather's supposed to be actually be spring-like and sunny. The middle is a "repurposed" dress shirt from Rich, aka Da...da! The right is a kimono shirt and shorts. I just need to put the buttons on it.

Now for a little heart to heart.  Those with more than one child: how do you find time to exercise? Aside from getting up at 5am (crack o'dawn) to go run on the treadmill, when do you work out? I still have the last 15-ish pounds to lose and I tried dieting only. It doesn't work, because eventually, I eat a lot of ice cream.  Or chips. Or (gasp!) the cafeteria lunch for the day. In my pre-Ava years, I would work out before I picked Vincent up from day care. Now I feel like there are always piles of something to do + working out.  I guess i fell off the bandwagon when I was pregnant and i'm having trouble getting back on. I love my runner's high and miss it greatly.  When i exercise i drink more water. My skin looks great, my body is strong. I'm not hungry for cookies or ice cream.

So, my goal this week is to get my rear-end up and just go. Cold or not. Sleepy or not. Hungry or not. Oh yeah and start another pair of socks.  

Weekend Sewing

Within the next 2 weeks, there are 3 baby showers at my school. Let's talk a minute about teachers: most of us are uber-planners. Spring is the time to have your babies b/c it maximizes your stay-at-home time. And you don't have to close the school year. Which, most times is a blessing. Well, this year at JEE, is the year for boys. So what to give a new little one but these:

Each mommy-to-be will get 3 blocks for fun playtime. I found the pattern and directions from this cute little blog londonmummy.They were tested by a certain curious 10 month old, who found them quite yummy. And, this fabric came from my stash. Wow. A whole yard gone.

Next are some socks I started recently. So far, I've made 2 pairs of just plain old, well..socks. Now I'm working on using a pattern that extends from the cuff to the toe. It is a baby cable pattern, but I don't have to use a cable needle. Since the picture, I've started the heel. Starting the heel makes me feel like I'm getting closer to the end. Each time I start a sock, the leg/cuff part is a drag. It feels like it takes FOREVER.

SEW! SEW! SEW!...with Sarah.

So, I'm attempting to blog again after the birth of my second (and last) child, Miss A. Hopefully, this will be the place for me to post photos of darling children wearing some things I've sewn. Or at least, pictures of what I'm working on.... Finished a darling hat for my mom (she gets a post soon). Photos are coming.....