Superstorm Sandy

Well, my blogging got derailed by a little storm named Sandy.  We lost power on Monday evening, October 29th.  Our house had no power until Saturday, November 10th around noon.  Fortunately, we only lost lots of trees, and there was no damage to life or property.  Also fortunately, we had a wedding to attend in Louisville, KY, so we left our cold, powerless house after 2 days, and didn't return until we were sure we had power.  We're still cleaning up trees, etc.  I did get down to my sewing room yesterday for the first time and tried to get inspired. It's very difficult to think about down or leisure time, when there's still so much yard mess and debris to clean up.

I'll get there, and post new pictures soon.  I promise.

These were beautiful 45 - 50 foot blue spruce and fir trees.  Now they're firewood.

Fortunately, all the trees that fell in back missed the shed.  But one of these fallen trees was an anchor for my hammock!

Until then, Happy Sewing and also Happy Thanksgiving!

Sneak Peek of wedding quilt

My niece, Jennifer, asked all of her female family members and friends to make a crazy quilt square for her, to be sewn together and quilted, for her wedding.  Jennifer chose the color palette and size of the squares, and I'm in charge of the final layout and quilting. I've collected all the squares, and I'm working through sewing them all together.  Each quilt square will have the name of the person who sewed it, embroidered on a label in the corner (Jennifer's Aunt Barbara was in charge of the embroidered labels; I'm just attaching them).  I thought I would tease you what the quilt will look like:

I still need to get 7 more squares to make one more column, but this is a potential final layout.

Here is one square with the embroidered label and frame sewn on.  Each square will have the light blue frame, and then the rows and columns will be separated by a white border.

I will be able to get the quilt top finished by the time of the wedding, so all family members can see it.  This is a really fun, family project, and I can't wait to get it all quilted!

Enjoy the day, and Happy Sewing!

Quick Jewelry Bag project

I recently found a pattern from The Plaid Scottie for this adorable jewelry pouch. This was the weekend I had a few spare minutes to whip one up.  It was very easy, and the results are great.

The Weekender Drawstring Jewelry Pouch by The Plaid Scottie

Fabric is Andalucia by Michael Miller

I added the drawstring stopper, to keep the pouch completely closed without having to tie the drawstring.

There are small pockets around the inside circle, and the large pouch in the middle.  It can hold lots of small items.

Thanks for stopping by. 

Happy Sewing!

Linking back to Sew Modern Mondays at Canoe Ridge Creations 

Busy with Wedding Stuff

I haven't posted for a while -- My nephew, Patrick, is marrying a wonderful girl, Jennifer, in November.  They are having a handmade wedding.  Which means all the family members are busy, busy making things handmade.  My job was the aprons for the rehearsal dinner servers.  I've been busy making 8 full aprons, and 1 half apron.  Here are the results.  My sister-in-law picked out the fabrics and they are wonderful.  The ticking stripe for the 7 full aprons below looks like it's moldy and dirty, but it's new and washed.  So Cute!

     One of these:

     One of these:  (This burlap was impossible! to work with, but so cute)

     And, 7 of these:

Here's a sneak peak at the (Noodlehead) 241 Totes I'm making for the bride and my sister-in-law.  (Of course, there will also be one for me!)

Enjoy the wonderful cool fall weather!
Happy Sewing!

A Flannel Ending

I finally got around to making my flannel pj's.  Now I remember why I stopped sewing clothing.  It's so hard to fit properly.  I thought it would be easy to make a pajama top fit.  Nope.  I had no trouble with the sewing:  collar, interfacing, buttonholes -- No Problems.  I even made french seams so the flannel wouldn't fray.  But Fitting - ehh.  I got lucky with my tailoring on the pants.  They fit really well.  But something about the underarm seams got wonky on me.  It still fits, but I'm going to take in the pattern before I cut the fabric on the next one, and see how it goes.  Anyway, here are the results:

Comfy!

Now I'm ready for fall!
Happy Sewing.

Craft Book Month

I have been enjoying the blogs for Craft Book month, sponsored by Craft Buds.
I have already bought one book that was reviewed in this series, "Modern Patch Work" by Elizabeth Hartman.  It has inspired me to put a quilt on my soon to do list.  There are several other books that are now on my radar for future purchase.

I looked through my own books and found one at the end of the shelf.  It's called "Fast, Fun & Easy Fabric Boxes" by Linda Johansen.  Linda has an interesting way of putting the boxes together.  She uses stiff interfacing, sandwiched between two fabric layers.  Then the sides are folded up, wrapped across each other, and finished with a satin stitch.  Here's my attempt at a recipe box for my niece, Jennifer.

This satin stitching around the edges was a little tricky, but not too hard.  I think the hardest part will be filling in the Recipe cards for Jennifer's bridal shower.  (I'm not a great cook.)

I love boxes of all kinds, and now I'm going to have to make one for myself.
Happy Sewing!

Digital Messenger bag

I've been trying to find the perfect bag for this fabulous fabric.  It's Flower Doodle by Kim Schaefer.  I love the bright colors and I wanted to make a bag I would use.  I bought the Media Frenzy pamphlet from Serendipity Studios and have been waiting to make one of the bags.  This weekend the fabric and pattern came together and I'm really pleased with the results:

There are many times I have to wait for my children at appointments, etc., and I might want to have my iPad with me, but not walk into the office with it.  This bag solves that problem.  The bag is divided into two sections; the back section for a reader, and the front for wallet, keys, etc.  This bag is for an advanced sewist, since the interfacing makes it a little stiff.

The pattern is available here.
The fabric is available here.

Have a great week.  Happy Sewing.