Cafe Thursday – First Purse!

So I finished my first handmade purse for DD this past weekend.  It took a bit longer than it should have, but still it was pretty much a weekend project and I am quite certain that the next one will go even faster.

I picked up the latest edition of Quilts and More to feed my latest passion and one of the first projects listed was this adorable purse.  I checked with DD to make sure she would even want one, and she assured me that any purse would be fine with her, but one in her favorite colors would be most appreciated.

I had so much fun picking out the fabric, ric-rac and webbing for the shoulder strap that I was in JoAnn’s for hours.  In the end I probably spent about $15 on this, but I have enough fabric, webbing and thread left over to make several more purses.  I will have to use different decorations, but then that is half the fun anyway.

My next purse project will be a bit bigger and will have a matching fabric strap.  If I had made a fabric strap on this purse I could have also saved money.  I also could have used some leftover fabric and saved more, or even used some old clothes and saved more. . .the options are endless. . .

Finished Project – Pajamas

I finished my first outfit!  Ok, so I couldn’t possibly wear it out in public, that is ok, I finished my first hand sewn outfit and I really like it.  I hope that next year I will look back and laugh at my silly attempts because I will have graduated to more challenging projects, but for now I am quite happy to have simply finished something other than curtains.

I used the Butterick B3314 pattern (on sale today no less) and found it pretty easy to follow.   Although I will admit to having quite a bit of trouble with the shorts, until I looked around online and found this helpful little tutorial.  I just couldn’t see quite how to attach those legs and do the crotch seam.  But once I navigated that hurdle, the shorts were quite easy to finish.

The shirt, well, I took one of my favorite shirts, added about an inch, and traced around it.  I then sewed it up, without pinning it.  Yes, my greatest challenge in sewing will be taking the time to pin and measure and do things right.  So naturally, my stitches were a bit crooked and I had trouble in a few spots with my thread, so I added the ribbon that you see around the arms and neck…and walla…problem solved.  I do like this sewing thing!

Only one remaining question.  I will have to ask around and see how other people address the cutting of the paper though, because now that I have cut the pattern for shorts, I can no longer use it to make pants unless I tape the paper back together.  I guess I can do that, but knowing me, I will never end up with a straight leg again and will no doubt end up with very strange looking pajama long pants.

Next Project – Pajamas

Ok, I am posting this to push myself to actually work on this project tonight.

As a reward for a very difficult week I

went out last night and purchased the materials for new PJs.  Below is a picture of the soon to be jammies. . .I hope to post a finished product tomorrow or Monday.  They are a birthday present to myself, and I am quickly running out of time!

Sewing Project – New Curtains!

I finally took the plunge and bought a sewing machine.  I hemmed and hawed about it a bit because I just wasn’t SURE I would use it.  I was gathering patters, and material for projects, but I was so afraid that I would buy it and then I would find out I don’t like to sew and would just let it sit and collect dust.  But I decided last Friday that three months of wanting qualified as  thinking it over enough and so I went to Target and got the little Singer Esteem II.

I have to admit that I had to call in a friend who sews to help me figure out how to get the bottom thread to come up and meet my needle, but once I got that figured out, I was ready to sew, but where to start?  I decided that the material I had begged my mother to cut up for me while she was here 3 months ago was as good a place as any to start, and here they are!

Not perfect, I know, but really not too terrible either.   My original plan had been to just put a simple once inch seam all the way around and hang them clip hooks, but my DH didn’t think that looked very good and is pretty partial to these ones that stick up on top.  Lucky for him I was feeling up to the challenge and so while he was the engineer, I was the worker.  We make a pretty good team, right?!

I think my next project will be a simple full length apron, since I have looking at thos too for about a year now.  Or maybe it will be a new summer shirt for myself.  I offered to make something for DD, but she informed me that she will NOT be wearing any homemade items because they all look so “cheesy.”  I can’t wait to use one of my new patterns and some fun fabric to prove her wrong.  Or maybe I will prove her right and love my unique design anyway.  Either way, I can’t do worse than the crap they are peddling in the stores now days.  One wash and most of that stuff is useless.  I am quite anxious to try my hand at making something more unique and lasting.  I did alright with my curtains, maybe I will fashion something out of curtains next.  Watch out Julie Andrews!

Finally Friday Fun – An Apron Giveaway

I’ll admit it, I am addicted to aprons now. I LOVE them. I like looking at them, shopping for them, and even creating easy ones myself. Since sewing my own a few weeks back, I can’t look at a bandana anymore without seeing it stitched up as an adorable apron. I wonder if this is a sickness, and from where did I catch it?

Over at Grosgrain they are giving away an apron! It is one from the Boojiboo etsy shop, and WOW does she ever have some fantanstic aprons for sale!  I like hers almost as much as I LOVE the pattern on the Pretty Ditty Apron site.  So many aprons. . .so little time!

Finally Friday Fun – A New Apron For Me

Well, it isn’t as pretty as I had hoped, but it isn’t as ugly as I   feared either.  I have only been wanting a pretty new apron for about a year now, but each time I have gone to buy one I have felt like the money could really be better used elsewhere so I  haven’t ordered one yet.  I am glad I waited though.

I ordered some new goodies from Mary Jane’s Farm a couple of weeks ago and one of the items that I ordered was a copy of her 9th issue, the Artists in Aprons Magazine.  In that issue she gave instructions for making an apron out of hankies.  Well, my DH has never worn hankies that I am aware of, but I have a ton of bandanas lying around the house due to our frequent motorcycle rides and I thought they may just work.  And they would have, but a trip to JoAnn Fabric for some supplies for DD had me looking at new bandanas and since they were cheap, I decided to buy a couple of new ones for my apron project.  I think in total, with ribbon, bandanas, and new sewing needles I spent under $10 for my apron.  Now in my mind, that is a deal, as most of the aprons online that I was looking at were at least $30 or $40!

Two things I will change about this apron when I make my next  one (yes, now I need one in every color and seasonal design).  First, the bandanas that I purchased were large, I didn’t note the size, but they are not hankie size and so my apron is too big.  So secondly, if I use this size in the future, I will not include the side flaps that the pattern calls for.

She sure isn’t sell worthy, but this new  apron that I made with my own two hands makes me smile every time I look at it.  And while DD is sure it is a fire hazard, I will be careful and wear my apron with great pride.  I can do it!

My Creativity is Back – Weekend Project

I still remember my first trip to a craft store.  I was 21.  My mom wasn’t a big crafter, she was a school teacher so she had plenty of creativity, she just used it on bulletin boards and lesson plans.  We would often go to the “teacher” stores but we never frequented craft stores.  So you can imagine my shock, and awe at my first visit to the craft store.  I still get that feeling every time I visit a craft or fabric store.  I am getting that feeling a bit too as I look through various craft blogs online.  There is just so much creativity out that that it amazes me.

Well, I decided to quit being overwhelmed this weekend and picked a small project which I was pretty sure I could complete in an hour or so just to get my feet wet.  While I have a couple of  projects up the air:  I am currently working on a scarf I am knitting, I have cut the fabric on a skirt that will be my first sewing project since Jr High (just a couple of years ago), and I bought fabric for some sew-less curtains thanks to some inspiration from the Nesting Place, but I really wanted a finished project.  I now have one:

My old lamp shade was very tired and very plain.  So I created the one above with some silver fabric and some adorable rope I found at Hobby Lobby.  I know, it isn’t much, but for me it was quite an accomplishment.  I now know I can do the two really big ones in my living room that are screaming out for help!  And do you know, I forgot how awesome it feels to create something that makes your home look better!  They need to bottle that.

Finally Friday Fun – Paper Craft Fun

I have been working on some new content for the site, I just haven’t organized myself quite enough yet to actually get the new content up and viewable.  I hope to remedy that this weekend.  I have been working on some natural recipes and sampling some new organic foods from my home state of Michigan that I will be highlighting in the weeks to come.

In the meantime, let me suggest this little paperstore for some really fun videos on how to beautify your home and life with easy to watch and copy video paper crafts.   If you are looking to a weekend with nothing planned yet, definitely stop by this site for some ideas.  I spent hours here putting together ideas for some ways to spruce up the house this spring.

Finally Friday Fun – On Saturday

Friday came and went and I didn’t update the blog.  I was too busy.

Here is a picture of what I was too busy with.  I am knitting!  Anyone who knows me knows that this is not something that I would normally do, but I am actually enjoying it.

I included on my bucket list a couple of days ago that I wanted to learn to sew, and I do.  But in order for me to learn to sew, I am going to have to run into the local JoAnn Fabric Store and take some actual lessons or someone (most likely me) could really get seriously injured.  It looks like February will be my month to learn to sew, as that is when the night classes are.  However, if I get too  into this knitting thing, I may just be too busy to making matching hats, mittens and scarves to sew until a bit later in the year.

This all started when I was shopping for stocking stuffers over at the Escape Adulthood site and saw this cute scarf kit and thought my DD may like it.  She was less than impressed, and not wanting the kit to go to waste, I thought I may as well dig in.  Worse thing that can happen is I get a funny looking new scarf.

I think this kit is a good one, but I did need to visit two other very helpful sites to get some videos of just what I needed to do with my hands and needles to make the scarf.  First, I was able to do a Long Tail Cast-On by watching the featured video at KnittingHelp.com, and then I was able to continue with the knit stitch by watching this video over at VideoJug.  What fun.