My Jo Morton club is having a block swap on Tuesday. We are supposed to make up 6″ blocks in Jo Morton fabric that we can swap with other club members. Mine is a fun block pattern called “Thrifty” that uses a selection of red, blue, and yellow fabrics. However, after made up the first block I wasn’t entirely satisfied with the blue and how it looked with the other colors. I played around with some other blues from my stash and ended up making four variations.
Which color scheme looks best?
As you know, I am a huge fan of Creative Thimble’s Professional Tote pattern. I’ve probably made at least 20 of these in different fabrics and I love how they all turn out. I decided it was time to make myself one to take the beach – with a few modifications.
This bag is 2 inches higher and wider than the pattern, which provides extra room for towels and other beach supplies. There is no center zippered pocket – again to provide more room for the supplies. The idea is to have enough room to roll up three beach towels so they can stand on end inside the bag (thanks for the idea Amy :)).
I thought about creating a water resistant pouch with some oilcloth, but figured it would be too bulky. Anyway, a grocery bag works fine for storing wet bathing suits. Of course I had to select beach themed fabric for this – I love how the lining turned out with all the shells!
My son had a birthday party a few days ago and the theme was Outer Space. My plan was to make individual drawstring bags for each child with this cool spaceship fabric I found at JoAnn’s. Needless to say, I was running short of time and didn’t have a chance to sew a bag for each child. (I did manage to personalize ready-made canvas bags for them – which still were super cute). Instead, I used some of the fabric to make myself an apron to wear to the party.
I love the colors, especially the orange ruffle and pocket. The pattern is by Cindy Taylor Oates from her “More Retro Aprons”. The yellow rick-rack turned out well – it was all I had to choose from in my stash.
On another note, I was able to get a great dress form from my friend Laura. She had this in her attic for years and sold it to me for a great price. She is about my height, so this is a petite dress form. My polka sundress (which I finished last week) fits perfectly :).
I’ve worn this a few time and people always ask me wear I got it. My standard reply is “this old thing? I made it myself.” They usually don’t believe me – one person swore she saw the same dress at target awhile back (then she asked me to make her one). I have the pattern and fabric for my next dress, so it should be finished in the next few weeks.
I am working on my next free pattern, I know it’s been awhile – so please hang in there!
Sharon Stewart of Liberty Rose scores again with another great pattern! I took a class from her to make these adorable snowmen! The original plan was to make three snowman with a top hat, but while I was in class I suggested we also create a Mama and a Little Boy snowman. Sharon whipped up some new ideas on the spot for the ladies’ red hat and the child’s ear muffs. I am very pleased with my snowman family! Now if there were only a way to create a pet dog snowman….
These will make great gifts and are so easy to make. I will probably make more with some different faces and hats. Christmas is only 6 months away, so it’s time to start planning!
Wow, I can’t believe how long it’s been since I’ve posted. I’ve been busy working on some wool projects (hope to post some pictures this week) and also sewing my first dress. After I successfully made matching Hawaiian shirts for my son and husband, I decided to tackle something more difficult – a sundress. The pattern is McCalls 4444:
I still have a few things to complete – the zipper, neck strap and hem, so no pictures of the finished product yet. Hopefully it will be finished this weekend. So far, the pattern has been fairly easy. I got a bit confused when trying to sew the straps onto the halter top, but the diagrams in the pattern were very helpful after I studied them for awhile.
It looks like the size will be OK, although I did have to let it out in the hips a little. If I sew more dresses, I am thinking about getting a dress form. Dritz has a very fancy dress form that seems to do everything – any advice on whether it is worth the investment?
I’ve wanted to make a red, white, and blue purse for awhile and finished this just in time for Memorial Day! The original pattern was Charm Party Tote, a tote that was open at the top.
However, I wanted this to function more as a purse, so I added a zipper.
The bag has fusible fleece on the interior and exterior, and features some light quilting. I am going to experiment with using different combinations of fusible fleecing for the lining to see if I can find one that makes this less bulky. The outside uses 24 charm squares, and then I used the leftover squares to make the pockets.
Here’s a fun little quilt made entirely of Jo Morton fabric and a pattern from “Little Quilts: All Through the House.” I’ve been wanting to make a house quilt for awhile, and this one is prefect because it didn’t take anytime at all! All the houses are pieced together with 2″ inch strips, so it is a great stash buster. I grouped my scraps by color so the houses would be more distinct. When this is quilted, I am going to applique “Welcome” on it with wool and hang it my my front foyer.
I think it would have been cute to make all the houses red and blue. The green is nice, but they blend into my grass strip a bit.
Not much time to sew for the past few days. I went to Atlanta to celebrate my Grandmother’s 90th birthday! She is still going strong and even treated the whole family to dinner on her birthday. It’s hard to imagine how much change she’s witnessed in her 90 years. When she was born, cars were pretty rare and of course no TV or internet. How did they get by without internet back then??
My grandma sewed most of my clothes when I was younger and even attempted to teach me a few times. However, it never really stuck with me until I start sewing when I was pregnant. She made me the most beautiful party dresses for dances, and very dapper suits for my brother. I was lucky enough to get her old treadle sewing machine when she upgraded to an electric sewing machine a few years ago. She doesn’t sew as much anymore, but she does crochet and knit like crazy. I think everyone she’s ever known has received a crocheted afghan from her – we have three!
Happy Birthday Grandma!!
Here is this year’s spring bag – made with one charm pack and one yard of fabric! This is a really cute pattern called the Borsa Bag. You have to sew the squares together in a specific grid pattern, and then you start sewing the seams to turn it into a 3 dimensional bag. You really had to put your thinking cap on to get it put together correctly – I had to wait until my son went to bed so I could totally concentrate on it.
The pattern is cool, because you can use any size squares – 5″ charm squares make a nice sized handbag, while 8″ squares would make a nice roomy tote. I used the left over charm squares to make a little zip topped bag, it still needs some tweaking. However, once I get it just right I will write up as a pattern and post it for you :).
I gained some weight while working on this Professional Tote. Don’t the donuts look yummy? Seriously, I had to go to Dunkin Donuts to get a strawberry glazed donut after I finished this.
I am made this delicious looking tote for Arlene – she picked out the fabric and thought it would make the perfect bag for her trip to California. She had taken a professional tote class from me last fall and wasn’t too keen on making up another tote, but she really loved the fabric. She asked me to make it for her, and I was more than happy to!
Keep it Thimble 