April 2015 Finishes

Since I'll be posting lots of finishes this week, this blog post is also a part of A Week of Finishes, an event I put together in 2013, and decided to revisit again. If you have any recent finishes you'd like to link up, grab a button and please do! (you can share blog posts, flickr photos, or IG photos.) I love to see what other people have been making!

Here are my finishes from April. I don't feel like it was very much... so hopefully I'm not forgetting anything. 


 I made a church bag for Mabel. I made the boys some years ago, to carry their activities in to help get them through an hour long Sacrament Meeting. They still look brand new, and Mabel was super excited to finally have her own!

I pulled out my Heather Bailey stash (since it has such fabulous girl prints) and Mabel picked out this combo.

You can find the pattern for this HERE. Mabel requested two of the larger pockets, instead of one large and one small, and it works really well! Her pocket size Book of Mormon fits perfectly inside it!

Next I whipped up a new bib. This little guy still loves to use bibs, which I love as well. But since he's getting bigger, all our bibs are either really small or really grungy - having gone through 3 other children. I figured it was about time that we had some more really cute bibs around the house! (I have only a few... the rest are old, or boring store bought ones.)

I drafted a pattern and got to work. It needs a few tweaks, but I like it. And I love having the little pocket at the bottom to catch any falling food. I'd love to spend a few hours making a bunch of these to replace all our old ones with.



I love all the leather moccs I see around, and would love to have some for the new baby. But I'm sorry, I'm not going to pay $60 for a pair that won't last long. I found a good pattern on Etsy, and got some good advice on Instagram and went ahead and made some of my own. Unfortunately I had a lot of issues....

But eventually it worked out and I have some finished moccs! But they are too big, so the girl gets to wear them! She's worn them outside a few times and they already look super worn. Aren't they supposed to last a long time?? I don't know.

Anyway, I bought some red leather to make a pair for the boy (these blue ones were supposed to be for him. And some pink leather for the baby. I guess I should get on that! ;)

Anyway, the moccs are one of the items I had on my list for the 2nd Quarter Finish-Along, so I'll be linking these up over at On The Windy Side. Wahoo for a finish!! :D


And that's it's for April!

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If you want to share any finishes you've had for the year, feel free to link them up below! :)

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

No Obligation Sewing

I don't know how it happened, but the other day I found myself sitting at my sewing machine sewing up some pouches that had no purpose! It seems like it has been forever since I've sat down and sewn for fun. Of course sewing is always fun, but it seems like everything has some obligation tied to it, which isn't bad, but ties a ting of stress to it. I've wanted to try reverse applique for a long time, and decided to take a time-out and try something new. It was fantastic!! And I'm pleasantly surprised with what I came up with!

This is the first one I came up with. I wanted to do a "quilty" design and based this design off of HST's.

I stitched the design with the fabric on the back of the linen. Then cut out the linen ONLY that was between the stitches (the only tricky part). I really want to put a tutorial together for this. It is SO simple and quick, and so much fun!

I was really brave to use this fabric for my first go. But I'm glad I did! I love it.

I used some AMH lollipop for the liner as well. I decided I'll send this to one of my Pay It Forward friends from last year (that I never sent out. oops. A new baby and a move will do that.) ;)

Then I went with hearts for Valentine's Day, though I don't think I'll get these sent out in time for that. But that is ok, because these are the PERFECT size for my Just Because... love notes. (I have been using the "thank you" notes for everything!! I love these!)

the back.
I scored a bunch of this raspberry henna garden for a great price, and it's been so fun to actually use it! (it's easy to use the good stuff when you have a lot of it.) ;)

this was actually the first heart one I made. It was hard to photograph the pink with the black. It looks crazy neon, but it's really not. I really love this print.

some Tula Pink for the liner.

I like the quilty designs better and came up with this one. It's my favorite so far!

More Tula Pink for the liner. This will be a #payitforward2013 gift too.

and there you go! I made a few really fun things! I crossed a few things off my to-do list, and I'm blogging! Does it get much better than this?! ;)

What have you been sewing for fun lately?

Travel Duffels 1 + 2

Do you know that it is now time to link up your finishes for the second quarter of the Finish-A-Long over at She Can Quilt?! Well, it is. And that means that I am racing to get at least a few things finished from my list. Yep, if you've been around my blog for a while, I'm sure you know that the last week of the quarter is my favorite time to finish a ton of projects! :) My original 2nd Quarter list can be found HERE. You have until the 7th to link up your finishes.

My first finish is my second travel duffel. I made my first bag in April, so that I could have a big bag to take all my stuff to the hospital in. It was the perfect size!

I used some Amy Butler home dec weight fabrics that I've had forever. Originally I was going to make a diaper bag with them... glad I never did. :)

The same time I started that one, I started a second so my kids could have their own to share when we traveled. I might make a third for my hubby, but not now. Anyway, I never did get the second finished, until now!

More Amy Butler.
I didn't have enough of the main fabric in this one, so the outside pockets are the same fabric as the handles. 

I like that the bags kind of match.

I used this pattern for the Quilted Travel Duffel by Studio Cherie on Etsy. I think you can find the pattern on Craftsy as well. I bought this pattern a few years ago, so I don't know if it's been updated, but I wish there had been a few tips the first time I made it:

• prewash your jute webbing - it shrinks when you wash it, as well as softens up. I think the ink in the webbing might also bleed - another good reason to prewash. (You can find jute webbing on Etsy. Some shops are better priced than others, so look around. I was excited to find some with a light grey coloring rather than the red and blue that was most common. but it really doesn't show, so not a big deal anyway.)
• Cut your webbing LONG. Measure the length she says from the short ends of the angles, rather than the points. The first time I cut it, it ended up being short. The next time I was about an inch too long, so really, I don't know how to cut it, but longer is always better!
• I did not zigzag around all my pieces as often as she suggests. For the end squares, I only zigzagged around them after I had added the pockets.

I can't remember what else...

On the white bag I added zippered pockets on both ends, as well as the pocket between the straps on both sides. I also added one extra pocket between the straps on the inside. I love pockets. I would have added more to the blue bag, but I didn't have enough of those fabrics. Oh well. :)

And I must add that these bags are HUGE!! They don't seem so big just carrying them around, but they hold a LOT. We went on a day trip to the Field Of Dreams movie set and brought a picnic blanket, snacks, water bottles, our baby bjorn, another blanket, some jackets, etc and still had room. We also did an overnighter in Nauvoo and fit all of our clothes, diapers (for the kids and baby), swimsuits, bathroom stuff, etc, in it (that is two adults, 3 children and a baby). Usually we have to bring two suitcases. It was awesome to only have one bag!!! We are driving to Utah later this month and I'm excited to see how much we can fit in these two bags and not have to bring as many bags as usual. :)

Hooray for a finish! 

Stay tuned for more in the next few days. :)

Do you have any fun plans for the summer???

Happy Monday!

End of the Year + Teacher Gifts!

Hunter finished up his first year of school a few weeks ago. He really loved preschool, and as far as I'm concerned, he did amazing! He's grown, matured, and learned so much. I'm so proud of him!! :)

Here are his first and last day pictures :)

Isn't he the cutest?!!! I love this picture!

Last day of school.
He definitely looks older. (bittersweet)

I am so a last minute person. I wanted to make teacher gifts, but of course I couldn't decide on anything until his last day! Why do I do this to myself??? lol. Anyway, with a only a few hours to spare, I got started.

I decided to make each of his teachers a little coin purse. I used the same pattern that I made for the UR Priceless blog hop last year. I think these are so cute!! I was a little weary as to how the Denise Schmidt fabric would turn out, but Hunter really liked it so I went with it. I am so glad I did because it's my favorite!! I absolutely love it!

Front

Back

I even had some time to make some Oatmeal Craisin cookies, put them all in a clear bag and ran off to pick up Hunter and deliver them. I forgot to get pictures with them open, so you can see the inside fabric. Oh well. I sure hope they like them! (I was running late so I didn't get cute pictures of them in the bags (the purses fell over. lol.) But I tried, and I like the concept anyway. :)

Hunter actually started out the school year at a different preschool in another town. We had to stop going there for personal reasons at Christmas time, but lucked out getting him into the preschool that is just a block away. I still need to make his other teachers some gifts, they were so amazing!! And I'm still a little bummed we couldn't finish up the year there. But both schools are amazing and I can't really say that one was better. It's just how it happens. :)

So now it's summer, and things are going a lot better than I had anticipated. :) Hooray!

Did you make teacher gifts?? What did you make?

Happy Monday!!
(Can you believe I blogged again, already?!) :)

Hooray for a last minute finish!

I finished up one more of my original projects for the 1st Quarter of the 2013 Finish-A-Long over at Can Quilt! Yay! :) Unfortunately I can't find my camera (instead I found a yucky water bug trying to look for it. I think I'll look for it again later.) So bear with me and my camera phone picture. ;)

9 Reversible Drawstring Bags
Fabric: Top row left: Valorie Wells - Nest, 4 Amy Butler Bags (the 3rd has Michael Miller on the inside) Bottom Row are all Riley Blake, I don't remember the details. Except the shells, I don't remember what that is - not Riley Blake.  The pink one with the flowers and cherries (So Cherry is the line I think) really makes me crave strawberry ice cream. lol.

I used to sell these in my Etsy shop. I still have some there, but haven't made them for a very long time. (obviously since I started these ones over a year ago!) Anyway, they are fun and I love these fabrics. Once I find my camera I'll take some better pictures of them, and probably list at least some of them in my shop. (I have a hard time not keeping them since the fabric is so great! Especially the Amy Butler.) lol.

I hope you had a wonderful Sunday! :)

(I woke up to screaming children,

which makes for a very cranky mom.

I am NOT a morning person.

So I spent a lot of time sewing today to help me recover.

But otherwise it was a fantastic day!)

W.i.P. Wednesday {2/6/12}

Hello! :) Today is the last day to enter the giveaway for a free copy of My First Alphabet, a paper piecing pattern. You can enter HERE. I am loving everyone's ideas for what they would do with it! Thanks for making my to-do list longer. ;)

I feel like I've been having Crafters ADD times a million lately. I am working on so many things, or at least feel like it. I keep going around in circles from one project to the next, but honestly, I think the variety helps keep me motivated and I feel like I'm accomplishing a lot. 

In the sewing area I have been working on my DQS13 mini. Here's where I'm at right now... 

I started with just a corner of it, and actually have one more row to test. I was SO nervous about how these colors were going to come together, but I am really loving it! I hope my partner does too! The single squares are 2.5" finished, and I have 39 more to go AFTER I finish this next row. They are small and the pattern is simple enough, so it goes fairly fast. :) It's my Starburst pattern (you can find it on Craftsy or Etsy).

I am also almost finished with a new cover for our mini trampoline. The original one got shredded!

New! and my little drummers.
I am hoping this one will hold up a lot better. ;)
I used some Home Dec fabric by Jessica Jones. Nice to finally use this from my stash.

All I have left to do is make wholes for the legs to go through. We will be jumping in style now! :)

I've also been slowly adding onto this project:

1" finished HST's. It makes me just a little bit mad (as in crazy) but I am loving it. I will be turning it into a knitting roll, similar to the one I made for the Sew Sew Modern swap. So excited to have something nice for myself for once. ;)

(ps. I'm still waiting for my items to arrive and I am DYING!!! It is so hard to watch everything awesome get snatched up and wonder what is going to be left for me... even though it's all awesome so I am in no way disappointed. The suspense is just killing me!)

While I was waiting for my Woodland Sampler to arrive, yep, I'm jumping on board with that one. I decided to do a little cross stitch of my own and came up with a little surprise. I want to have this up in the next few days... I want to make a million of these! (this is actually my second one!)

I don't think I've done any crossstitch since I was in elementary school, maybe jr. high. I LOVE it! It's so relaxing and fun. I'm really excited for my new, easy to travel with, project!

Though I want to turn it into a calendar instead of just a single panel. I'm using this cute button calendar from I heart Patchwork as my inspiration.

I am also slowly working on my honey cowl. Mostly just in the car while my hubby drives. I think I am officially the slowest knitter in the world! But I'm determined to finish it.

As for a finish, I made up this cute little zippy pouch for a good friend. It was her birthday on Sunday, and since we still had sickies, we all stayed home and it's still sitting on my desk. She'll get it this weekend at least. :)

I used some remix dots (I think) for Robert Kaufman. I picked them up at Sew Mama Sew while they were having a good sale. Love it! And the dots are awesome for spacing out my stitching. Wahoo!

The inside with a little pocket.

and I added a zipper pull. :)

It looks more like a St. Patrick's Day present with all the green. lol. :)


OH! and on the computer front (I told you I've been multitasking!) ;) I finished up the UPPERCASE letters of the new My ABC's pattern. Except we ran out of printer ink so I can't test it. It may be another few weeks before this one gets released. I'm excited about it though. and then the lowercase will be next.

Linking up at Freshly Pieced!

On the schedule for tomorrow... potty training. 

Wish me luck!

Sew Sew Modern Swap Goodies - Complete!

It's all finished and will be going out in the mail today! Yesterday was technically the last day to ship for me, but it was Sunday. I wonder if I'm still considered a late sender?? I don't know. Oh well. I had a hard time with this swap... my partners mosaic was amazing, but way outside any style that I've ever made. With not a lot of feedback I kept changing my mind, not knowing what she'd be most happy with. I know a LOT of people in this swap, so it was a lot of fun. I love seeing the amazing projects that everyone makes, but can I be honest? If I don't know my partner, and they are so, ok 90-99% silent, it is not fun. And it's not as fun to throw in a bunch of extra goodies to make their day - because by the end of the swap they still feel like a complete stranger! The fun of swaps is getting to know new people. I've been in a lot of good swaps, and I've decided that your partner can really make or break the experience. The more chatty they are, the more feedback they give, the more active they are in the swap and on Flickr (even if they don't comment on my particular photos, it's helpful if they comment on someone's photos... it still can tell me a lot as to which direction I should go) the better the swap is. The more fun it is to keep it a secret, and the more excited I get about throwing in lots of goodies. I don't want to make my partner feel bad, and I don't mean to be rude. I wasn't the most chatty, but I did try and comment on all the discussion posts, and hit as many photos as I could! I know I missed some, but hopefully my partner was able to gain some insights from the comments I did leave. It's also fun to see everyone's progress shots! Anyway, if I can give any suggestion when participating in a swap it would be: Participate! Even semi-quiet partners are better than non-existent partners. I think I'm going to hold off on swaps for a while again... kind of bummed, but I'm still glad I participated. I just hope my partner is pleased! (But she can't really complain if it wasn't worth the effort to her to comment, so whatever.)


Ok, anyway, now onto the fun stuff. Pictures!!

I spent the most time on this fab knitting roll. I've been storing my knitting needles in it while I finished my second project, you know, just to test it out. :)

I used this tutorial found here:

http://nestingsticks.blogspot.com/2012/02/knitting-needle-crochet-hook-roll-up.html#

The only difference I made was do patchwork on the front. It was a great and easy to follow tutorial. I recommend it if you've been wanting to make one of these. My patchwork strip is about 9" wide with three inch linen strip on the bottom, and whatever that leaves for the top. I figure about 15" will show when the top is folded over.

It's hard to tell, but there are reds and oranges, they kind of just blend here.

The inside with my needles:

The is the first time I really did a lot with linen. I like it, but it's kind of hard... it feels more flimsy and I'm not used to that. I'll have to find more projects to use it in so I can get used to it. ;) I do love how it looks!

I was going to use linen for the tote, but found these two kona colors that I think went better together. It's simple, reversible, has two pockets, and I really like how it turned out. Nothing fancy, but sometimes less is more. At least I hope so! I lined it with a heavy weight interfacing, so it's stiff, which I like. It won't just bow to a point if there's not a lot in it. :)

One side front. 

a close up, kind of.

I continued the stitches around to the back, which I really like. A quick way to spruce up a plain piece of fabric.

Reverse option front. It's a blueish-grey fabric.

I continued the stitches around to the back on this one too. They are a little bit higher than on the black.

There you go partner!! I hope you love it!! And I hope I did job making something that you'll use and love! :)

p.s. Go check out Freshly Pieced today! 

Lee has a great line up of patterns she's found recently.
I feel so honored! ;)

Hope you are having a great day!

We are all lucky to have everyone home today!

Do to the ice storm, the schools and university are closed.

I love having my family home with me!

What are you up to today??