Love of Sewing

February 17, Week in Review

2012-02-17T08:27:00.000-08:00

This past weekend started out a little crazy; dinner with friends on Friday, a date on Saturday (thanks to my sister and brother-in-law), cousins spending Saturday night and then our monthly dinner on Sunday night. The week slowed down and has been a fairly quiet week which was nice since Josie started the week with a little bit of a runny nose and has since shared it with her sister.

Josie's eye teeth still have not broken the skin but her gums are enlarged and you can see two of them are ready to come through. She is repeating more words like apple, banana and other sporadic words here and there. We moved her from the baby car seat this week to the forward facing big girl car seat. She seemed pretty excited about that. Thursday morning I had removed her pants to change a diaper and hadn't put them back on when I noticed that she was able to get both her legs into the leg holes. She wasn't able to pull them all the way up but I was pretty impressed with her being able to get each leg into a leg hole.

Ellie started out the week begging me to print her some work sheets off of the computer. After printing her a few she would tell me in an unhappy voice "this is not what I expected". Luckily her Nana Kook decided to buy her a few pre-k workbooks from Costco. She hasn't complained since and has loved doing several sheets every day. She attends Gonzaga's preschool program and their first day back for the spring was on Tuesday. She loves it and has asked a few times about when she gets to go again. This past week she has been really clingy with her daddy. She wants him to carry her everywhere. I am not sure if she is feeling a little insecure or what the issue is but we have come to realize that her love language is quality time and we are looking for ways to make sure we are giving her the quality time she needs.

After transferring Josie to the big girl car seat I washed the infant car seat and it is now ready to go for Maddie in 10 weeks. I believe we should be taking her home from the hospital in exactly 10 weeks! It is crazy how fast this pregnancy is going. I have a few more things to do and then we will be ready. I feel much more relaxed this time around. It could be due to the fact that I still have 10 weeks, this relaxed feeling may go away in the next few weeks but for now I will enjoy it!

I made valentine aprons for the girls while in Montana from this tutorial. I was told by Ellie that she did not so much like the apron and she only liked the old apron I made her. In turn the girls only wore the aprons once (for pictures) and that is only because I threatened.... =)

I have 3 t-shirt quilts to work on this spring and I saw a neat one on Facebook the other day that I have been trying to figure out how to make. I have searched for tutorials and have not been able to find anything. After searching again the other day I found a book called How to Make a Too Cool T-Shirt Quilt and ordered it. I am excited to look at the book and start working on my next projects!

Pictures of our past week.

Buz made cheese Fondue for our monthly dinner! Yummy!

Josie in her Valentine apron I made.

Best picture I could get of both the girls together with their aprons on.

Ellie in her Valentine apron.

Ellie working on her worksheets from Nana Kook.

Ellie's Valentines that are still sitting on my hutch. =(

Michael, when Ellie opened this she said "They got me the bear I wanted"! She was so excited!

A Madeline book that Ellie can read to her sister in a couple of weeks.

A new cookbook and a chef's hat from Aunt Molly's family.

Ellie giving me a thumbs up because her daddy is carrying her.

Josie in her big kid car seat!

Maddie's car seat is all ready for her!

Josie putting on her own pants.

February 9, Week in Review

2012-02-10T06:31:00.001-08:00

Our week has been full of great stuff; Ellie's 4th Birthday Party, cousins spending the night, trips to the park and school play yards, MOPS, tumbling class, small group, hosting a neighborhood dinner, and a Doctor's appointment.

Josie has four eye teeth that seem to be taking forever to come in. There has been a lot of stopping whatever I am doing so that I can cuddle with her and then she is good for short time. She has also started this new thing in the last couple of weeks when I am in the kitchen she will get between me and the cupboards and push against me while pushing against the cupboards so that I will stop and pick her up. She is a very strong little girl and pushes with all her might. She also is getting a "bit" frustrated when she wants something and you don't happen to understand what it is, there is lots of head shaking and she says the word NO very clearly. This week we had some friends over for a play date they have a 4.5 month old that she loved. She was very soft with her and wanted to hold her. She looked so small while holding her! It was encouraging seeing her be so gentle.

Ellie wanted a princess party and the day prior to her party I was wanting to clarify what was important to her about her birthday. I found out that her interpretation of a princess party was getting married to her cousin squishy at the party. I suppose I should have clarified this prior to the day before the party. I had to explain that would not be happening but we could play some games. There were lots of tears and drama at this point so I decided it was a great time for a nap! Once she woke up we were able to discuss the party in a much more mature way and plan accordingly! She had a lot of fun at the party even without getting married! Ellie also enjoyed having her cousins stay over this week, has loved playing outside in this great February weather, had a blast wearing her new ballet outfit and going to gymnastics, and has loved crafting!

I had an OB visit this week and the doctor let us schedule our c-section. We are scheduled in the OR on April 25th (l0 weeks and 5 days from this post). We now have appointments every two weeks and we will have an ultrasound at our next appointment. We love getting the opportunity to "see" Maddie before she is actually born!

Enjoy pictures of our week!

Rapunzel's Braided Hair

Everyone got to make crowns with jewels.

Instead of pin the tail on the donkey we played hit Flynn with a pan!

Gymnastics at the YMCA.

February 3, Week in review

2012-02-03T09:27:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy week! We traveled back from Montana on Monday and have had something every night since our return and will continue at this pace for then next several days. All fun stuff just a little busier then normal.

Josie has all 4 eye teeth coming in and has been a bit clingy this week. She is always our cuddler so sometimes it's hard to tell if she just wants to be cuddled or if her teeth are bothering her. As you can see from the pictures below she is also our little dare devil. This started right after she began to walk. She would pull out the chairs to the table and climb up onto the table. You would find her everywhere!

Ellie is loving the fact that she is 4 and gets to tell everybody that she will be 5 soon like "Squishy" (her cousin)! She has started to read more words from our 100 easy lessons book and loves to write the letters of the alphabet in random order and then asks what words she has spelled. She also loves "helping" her sister out. Her sister isn't so much a fan of all the "help".

I am 27 weeks pregnant as of Wednesday. Buz was able to feel Maddie moving around for the first time this week. She is moving more and more every day and it is a blessing to feel her squirming around!

I should put a disclaimer on the pictures below. I normally do not let my children jump on or off of my couches. It was rainy outside and we were suppose to go to the park and it was a little hard to be stuck inside all day when your mom promised to take you to the park. The kids started with the big pile of pillows (which is very normal at our house) and then it progressed into jumping off the couch and my pregnancy brain only registered the fact that my children were giggling and having a ton of fun.

Josie standing up on her swing! She is a bit too fearless!

Ellie crafting!

January 27 Week in review and a look ahead

2012-01-27T09:34:00.000-08:00

On Saturday Buz drove the girls and I to Missoula where we met my mother and her friend Shirley. We ate a great lunch transferred luggage from our van into my mother's vehicle and the girls and I took off for a week at the grandparents house!

My father mentioned last night how much he loved it when we came for a week because he is able to watch the girls grow during that time.

Josie said a couple of new words this week; Chase, Seth, Pyper, up, and thank you. She has said up and thank you before but never consistently. This week she has been pretty consistent. She also is our snuggler and one of her favorite people to snuggle with has been her papa. She has also enjoyed snuggling with her Uncle Bill when they watched the kids while I ran an errand.

Ellie turned 4 on Monday. Her father was very heartbroken not to see her on her birthday but her grandparents and uncle, aunt and cousins were very happy he shared her on her special day. She enjoyed receiving a suitcase with wheels from her grandparents, a new dress from us, crafting supplies and a new Nerf gun from her cousins. She has enjoyed a week of crafting with her new paper, stickers, glue, and paint. She has spent every evening with her Nana reading new books on Nana's nook. She watches a movie almost every afternoon with her papa and she told me today that papa always falls asleep during the movie and she tries to wake him up but he won't wake up.

I have enjoyed relaxing without having a to-do list of things to accomplish. I have been able to craft a little bit but nothing to serious.

I did take my sewing machine in to be serviced because I felt like the tension was bad. The tension was perfectly good but I found out some great info;

Use the recommended foot for the straight stitch (or any other stitch). The foot holds the fabric properly and guides the fabric.
If you use a different thread in the top and the bobbin it can mess up your tension.
If you really want to get serious about your top stitch there is a top stitch needle and top stitch thread.

This next week is looking like a bit of a full schedule but should be fun. My goal for the blog is to get a post up about my t-shirt quilts.

Enjoy pictures from our week!

The wind here is ridiculous!

Ellie's Birthday Cake

Jonah, Ellie and Josiah

Nana and the girls "reading" from the nook

Josiah playing with Josie

Josie looking like a big girl on the stairs

The nerf gun. It could get ugly at our house! =)

Week in review and a look ahead to next week

2012-01-20T08:25:00.000-08:00

I decided a blog post with no pictures = no fun. So below are some photo's from our week!

Goals for the week of January 15th:

Devotions/Prayer daily = Fail
Work on a morning routine via FlyLady = Decided to shine my sink instead. I did an okay job keeping up with it.
Make valentine aprons for the girls = Fail
~~Make a breastfeeding cover/burp cloth tutorial~~ = Completed!
Figure out a pattern for Micheal's t-shirt quilt = Fail
Find pictures of my t-shirt quilts and start writing a post = Fail
Add Velcro to the casserole carrier and look at opening an etsy account = Fail
Pack to go to Great Falls for a week = Working on it today.
~~Give Cassie her breastfeeding cover~~ = Completed!

Goals for the week of January 22nd:

I am in Great Falls with my parents this week so it changes up my goals a bit

Daily Devotions/Prayers
Figure out Ellie's birthday party
Stay consistent with teaching Ellie 100 Easy Lessons

PICTURES!

Veggie Tales: The big fib and jr drawn by my little artist Ellie.

Dirty Sink

Following FlyLadies cleaning directions

My Shiny Sink

The girls favorite hiding place.

I was trying to work on a breastfeeding cover. Poor Josie was locked out of the room.

Ellie "reading" to Josie. I love when the girls play together!

Ellie LOVING the snow!

Ellie loved books when she was little and would hand you the book and then back up into your lap. Josie has just recently started doing the same thing and we love it!

Tutorial; Burp Cloth Roll-up for the Breastfeeding Cover

2012-01-19T22:20:00.000-08:00

Here is the Burp Cloth Roll-up for the Breastfeeding Cover. I came up with this idea a few years ago after I ordered a cover on-line (before there were tutorials online for them). It came with a little purse to put your cover back in after you used it. I thought it was a cute idea and made one for a friend. The next time I saw her I asked how she liked the little purse and she said she never used it because it was to hard to fit the cover in each time. I knew there had to be an easier way to keep the cover tidy while in your diaper bag and decided everyone needs a burp cloth anyway and decided to put the two together. I used this myself with my last daughter and really liked it and have heard from other mother's I have made them for who also like the idea. It's an easy project and a nice gift to go along with yesterday's cover.

Materials:

Fabric(washed, dried, and ironed): 9"x18" and 2 pieces that are 2"x18" or 1 piece that is 2"x36"
Terry Cloth: 9"x18" (I like a very soft terry cloth)
Batting: 9"x18"
Thread: coordinating to your fabric
Cutting Mat
Rotary Cutter
Rulers
Starch (I like to starch my hem to get a nice crisp straight line)

Directions:

1. Cut Fabric

Cut 9"x18" of the main fabric, terry cloth and the batting
Cut 2"x18" of the main fabric for the straps

2. Straps:

Iron the fabric in half, open back up and iron both sides so they meet in the crease, fold again and re-iron the first crease. You should have 4 layers of fabric measuring 1/2" wide

Sew a small seam allowance on the left and right side of the fabric from the top to the bottom.

Iron the top down and then down again and sew a seam.

3. Burp Cloth

Put a crease at the halfway point of top of your burp cloth with the print side up.
Pin the straps up so that the straps stay within the burp cloth and you don't end up sewing them in on accident
Lay the Straps within the burp cloth with a tail sticking out.

Layer your fabrics; print side up with the straps, then the terry cloth down facing the print and the batting on the very top.

Pin well. I will use a pin put in sideways to remind me to leave an opening.

Sew a 1/4" to 1/2" seam around the burp cloth but make sure you leave your opening for turning it inside out. I usually will back stitch over the straps.

Remove pins and cut the corners.

Turn inside right and use a turning tool (skewer in my case) to make nice pointy corners.

Iron well and sew a small seam around the burp cloth. Remember to pull the thread to the top before sewing the small seam allowance.

Finished!

Make sure you have trimmed all loose threads and you are done!

Tutorial; Bringing Thread to the Top

2012-01-18T08:37:00.000-08:00

As I have started to write tutorials I have mentioned bringing your thread to the top before stitching. You want to bring your thread to the top to keep your project looking nice and tidy. Without bringing the thread up at times you end up with a knotted mess on the backside of your project which doesn't look very professional.

Here is a picture tutorial showing you how to bring your thread to the top.

1. Pull the thread in the top needle. Use your hand wheel and do one stitch.

2. Pull on the top thread and it will bring the bottom thread up.

3. Pull that bottom thread all the way up as shown.

4. Slide both threads to the side and hold while making your first few stitches.

Breastfeeding Cover Tutorial

2012-01-17T14:21:00.000-08:00

There are a ton of tutorials on the breastfeeding covers so I had debated on creating another one. I have made many of these over the years and when a friend wanted to learn how I tried to find a tutorial like the one I make but I ended up giving her more directions so I figured I would add to the numerous tutorials out there with making one of my own. I also included a burp cloth that you can roll your breastfeeding cover up in so that it stays nice and tidy in your diaper bag. I hope that you find the instructions easy to follow! Tomorrow I will be posting the tutorial for the Burp Cloth Roll-Up.

This project will take about 2 hours to complete.

Materials Needed:

Fabric: 1 1/4 yards - this includes enough material to make the burp cloth (please wash, dry and iron)
D Rings: 1 1/4 inch
Boning: 12" to 16" depending on who you are making it for (not well endowed and on the thinner side 12", well endowed 16", use your best judgment) 1/2" Rigilene Polyester Boning (this is the only kind I will use, you may have to order it via internet)
Thread: coordinating to your fabric
Cutting Mat
Rotary Cutter
Rulers
Optional:
Terry Cloth: 1/2 yard (10" square for the cover and 18"x9" rectangle for the burp cloth, this fabric shrinks a lot. I would purchase 1/2 yard to be on the safe side and you must wash and dry this before sewing it due to the large amount of shrinkage.)
Batting: 18"x9" for the burp cloth only (you will not need this for the breastfeeding cover)
Starch (I like to starch my hem to get a nice crisp straight line)
Card Stock with 1/2" line drawn on it (Thanks Martha Stewart)

Directions

1. Wash, Dry and Iron your fabric and your terry cloth.

2. Cut Fabric.

Straps 5"x25" & 5"x6"
Cover 30"x40"
Terry Cloth Pocket 10"x10"
Boning 12" to 16"

Fold Salvage Edges (that is where the writing is) together.

Square up your fabric by taking a taking your square ruler and lining it up against the folded edge and butting your long ruler up against it as shown and cutting off the end.

Measure 30" and cut, this will be our cover. Measure 5" and cut, this will be our straps.

Fold the cover again the opposite way so that you have 4 layers of salvage. Measure from top crease down 20 inches (due to fold this will give you 40 inches). Cut off the salvage and the remaining couple of inches.
Make sure you have folded this correct and are cutting off the SALVAGE edge.

I use my large square ruler to cut out a 10" square from the terry cloth material.

Cut the boning 12" to 16".

We will leave the strap the way it is for now and after we sew it we will then cut it into two (if you already cut it's not an issue)

2. Straps:

Iron the fabric in half, open back up and iron both sides so they meet in the crease, fold again and re-iron the first crease. You should have 4 layers of fabric measuring 1 1/4" wide.

Sew a small seam allowance on the left and right side of the fabric from the top to the bottom.

If you have not yet cut your fabric do so at this time (25" and 6")

Fold down the top of the long strap 1/2" and iron. Fold again 1/2" and iron. On the smaller strap fold down 3/4" and iron and again 3/4" and iron again, insert the D rings within the fold.

From this point on you will always bring your thread to the top before sewing.

Sew a small seam on the top and bottom of the fold. Sew two seams across the fabric as shown on the D ring strap.

3. Cover:

Take your card stock that has a 1/2" line and iron a 1/2" seam all around your cover (I like to use my starch spray to get a nice crisp line). Then do it one more time.

Iron your 10" square terry cloth material in 1/2.

Sew a small seam at the top of the terry cloth. This fabric is very stretchy and sometimes doesn't like to go through the sewing machine so I will normally start sewing a small piece of scrap material and then feed the terry cloth in. You may notice some stretching after you have sewn it. Get your square ruler out and square it back up the best you can.

Lay your cover down so that the back side is facing you. Place the terry cloth triangle in the bottom right hand corner and pin well.

Sew a 1/4 seam on both sides and the bottom (do not sew the top as of yet).

Take the corner where the terry cloth is and fold it in half. Take your ruler and a marking pencil and mark a 2" line on each side of the fold. Bring your thread to the top and sew from your seam up to where the terry cloth ends for each line that you drew.

Fold the top of the cover in half and make a crease. Fold the boning in half a make a small crease. Match the two up and place the boning inside the 1/2 fold you have already created. Make sure that once the boning is in it is facing the correct way.

Take both straps and fold them up 1/2" at the bottom and iron it. Tuck the longer one into the left side of the fabric so that half of it is under the boning and half is not and pin it. This should be the left side as if the mother was wearing it (unless she is left handed, then do opposite). Tuck the D ring strap into the right side of the fabric so that half of it is under the boning and half is not and pin it. This should be the right side as if the mother was wearing the cover (opposite if left handed).

You will be sewing two seams at the top. Start sewing at right/left hand seam you started/ended with before, making a 1/4" seam allowance. Then make a smaller seam allowance towards the top of the fabric.

4. Finish it up!

Make sure you have trimmed all threads.
Wash, dry, iron and enjoy!
See tomorrow's post for the Burp Cloth Roll-Up

Completed breastfeeding cover with terry cloth pocket and Burp Cloth Roll-up.

Breastfeeding cover all rolled up for easy storing in the diaper bag!

Please leave a comment or link below if you make one!
I love hearing from everyone!

Week in Review and a look ahead to next week.

2012-01-13T13:48:00.000-08:00

I have decided to start reviewing my week and then also planning for my week ahead. I am going to try to be a bit more organized this year. With having two children and one on the way and a desire for a fourth, I feel like the only way to survive raising four children and loving my husband well is to be a little more organized.

Review of the week:

Busy but fun week; Christmas party, play dates, preparing for MOPS, MOPS, small group dinner, neighborhood dinner, never ending laundry, Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons, praying and devotions with Ellie, great naps from Josie, working with Josie on sleeping until 6am instead of 5am, squirmy Maddie in my tummy, and reading great blog posts from my husband. I am 24 weeks pregnant with Maddie and around 17 weeks I started to feel more energetic but now I am starting to have some pregnancy insomnia and feeling worn out again. I am also starting to feel Maddie moving more and more which I thoroughly enjoy!

Goals for the week of January 15th:

Devotions/Prayer daily
Work on a morning routine via FlyLady
Make valentine aprons for the girls
Make a breastfeeding cover/burp cloth tutorial
Figure out a pattern for Micheal's t-shirt quilt
Find pictures of my t-shirt quilts and start writing a post
Add Velcro to the casserole carrier and look at opening an etsy account
Pack to go to Great Falls for a week
Give Cassie her breastfeeding cover

A Husband's Gift

2012-01-07T19:49:00.000-08:00

In my stocking this year there was a deck of cards with date night ideas on them. I was told I could pick one a week. Today was the day I was to pick my first card and I decided to pick the card below!

Earlier in the morning I had already decided to make a bag I found on Pinterest and had picked out some retro style fabric from my stash.

I showed Buz how to cut the fabric and then he cut it all out.

Buz sewing.

Buz showing off the reversible purse he made for me.

Buz holding up the purse he made just for me!

The finished bag.

The inside of the bag.

The bottom of the bag. I love the size of this bag!

You may be wondering what I was doing while my husband was sewing....

Valentine Wreath

2012-01-04T14:03:00.000-08:00

I made a yarn Christmas wreath a few weeks ago and now that Christmas is over I needed a new wreath. I already had my wreath covered in white yarn so I wanted to find something I could easily change out. I searched etsy and found a cute argyle valentine yarn wreath and decided I could make it.

Materials:
Scissors
Yarn wreath
Red Felt
Pink Felt (9x12 sheet should be perfect)
Argyle template (created in Word and re-sized on the printer until it was the right size, printed on cardstock)
Sewing Pins

1. Trace your template 16 times and cut them out.

2. Place on your wreath and pin down.

3. Cut a large string of red yarn and pin it to the back side of your wreath. Start wrapping it around the wreath. Once you make a full circle start wrapping in the opposite direction. Once you are done you can straighten it out a little more if you have perfectionist issues!

6. The Ribbon;

cut 2 strips of red felt 4.5" x 1.25" and cut a triangle out of the bottom
cut 1 strip of red felt 3" x .75"
cut 1 strip 9" x 1.5"

Pin the 2 strips on the wreath

Take the larger of the two peices of felt and circle it.

Grab the smaller peice of felt and wrap that around the first piece.

Pin the bow unto the wreath.

The Dress

2012-01-02T19:58:00.000-08:00

A few years ago I saw this tutorial about making a men's dress shirt into a girls dress. I decided to make one for my then 2 year old. I drew my pattern and cut it out. It was skin tight on my daughter. At that point a friend had just started a sewing group and offered to help with projects. I brought over the directions and she helped me draw them out. I put the dress together but had not sewn up the sides, sleeves or put in the casings. I tried making the neck casing but being someone who likes things being exact I had a hard time with the casing and kept putting it off. I made it into a bigger issue then what it really was in my mind and it has been sitting in my sewing bin for close to 2 years. At the end of December I decided to finish up some of my projects that had been sitting around. The dress was in the projects but I again put it off until yesterday when I decided I was going to finish it no matter what. I re-read the tutorial and told my husband I should have it done in an hour or so. Well, I didn't know how really frustrating that casing was going to be and the only thing I finished last night after two hours or so was the neck casing. Today I sewed the sides up and did the casing on the arms which seemed a whole lot easier today then last night. I also hemmed the bottom of the dress. I think it turned out okay for my first one and I wouldn't mind attempting another one!

Happy New Year 2012

2012-01-01T11:10:00.000-08:00

It's a new year and a fresh start! Last year my goal was to be more creative and try to sew things I have never sewn before. With a child that was 5 months last January and is only 17 months now and becoming pregnant at the end of summer not as much sewing happened the first 10 month of the year. I believe the only sewing I did the first 5 months complete a quilt and sew a top of a t-shirt quilt. It wasn't until about Halloween that I started sewing again when I made Ellie a cape and appliqued an emblem to her shirt to be Word Girl for Halloween. Around Thanksgiving I finally started feeling more energetic and when I went to Montana at Thanksgiving time my mother and I put together several casserole carriers and I decided to start this blog with my first tutorial on the Casserole Carrier. I have since then completed several projects that have been sitting around and I have even sewn a few things for the fun of it!

My Creativity Goals this year:

Write 2 tutorials a month
Open an Etsy account
Participate in a craft fair
Sew my girls matching/coordinating dresses
Complete some house projects (decorating)

After writing my goals out last night I read my husbands blog this morning regarding New Beginnings and he posted this verse;

Lamentations 3:22-23
²² Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
²³ They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

How thankful I am that his mercies are renewed every morning and I don't have to be consumed by my failures. Even if I fail in my attempt to be more creative this year I will not be consumed by failure for I know my God is compassionate and every morning is new!


The quilt I finished in April.

Ellie in her costume giving her "stink eye".

Christmas Tree

Breastfeeding Cover and Burp Cloth

Tyler's Quilt

Update on the unfinished projects

2011-12-31T20:51:00.000-08:00

I was able to complete most of the projects but I did forget that I needed to buy velcro for the casserole carrier and "the dress" is just kind of overwhelming to me because I really have no clue what I am doing. I will admit I didn't even look at it the last two days. I may need some additional help with it.

Added the decal to my husbands bag.

Mitered corner napkins; sewn, washed, and ironed.

Double Handed Pot Holder; binding has been stitched on.

Casserole Carrier; seam ripped, sewn, dowels cut out and inserted as handles.

Josie trying to take over the sewing machine!

Unfinished Projects Part 2

2011-12-30T07:26:00.000-08:00

Below are some of the items I will be trying to complete before the new year. These projects have been sitting around making me feel guilty for never completing them! I am hoping to relieve some of that guilt before the new year!


I need to add the decal to Buz's bag.


Dress; I started this a few years ago for Ellie and am not confident in completing it so I have pushed it off for too long.

Double Handed Pot Holder; need to add the binding.

Mitered Corner Cloth Napkins; They are cut/ironed and only need to be top stitched.

Mitered corners on the cloth napkins.

Casserole Carrier; little bit of seam ripping, re-sewing and cut the dowels

Tyler's T-shirt Quilt

2011-12-29T17:27:00.000-08:00

This quilt top has been completed for a few months but with two small children I haven't been able to carve out the time to quilt and bind it. My husband encouraged me to finish it by taking the children for a day. I wasn't able to complete that day but just getting started on the quilting processes re-energized me and I managed to get a day of quilting in with my children and a few hours here and there to finish it. This morning I finished sewing the back of the binding on and put it in the wash. I love the look of a newly completed quilt just after being washed and dried!

I didn't work on any other projects due to my sick little 3 year old. Doesn't she look pitiful?

Josie giving her sick sister loves.

Ellie looking pitiful.

T-shirt Quilt

2011-12-28T09:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I finished quilting this quilt. I am hoping to finish the quilt today!

To-Do:

Remove safety pins
Trim all threads
Trim quilt (batting/backing)
Make binding
Sew binding on
Wash quilt
Once over for any threads I missed
Fold and send to Tyler

My Unfinished Projects

2011-12-27T10:25:00.000-08:00

Today I am trying to finish up some projects that are in need of just a little bit of my time.

This morning I just completed a breastfeeding cover for a friend who is due at the end of January. I had started this a couple of weeks ago and needed about an hour to complete it. I like to add a small pocket on the nursing cover so that the mom is able to put her nursing pad or the child's pacifier in there. The pocket is made out of soft terry cloth just in case she needs to wipe up some spittle. I also made a burp cloth to go with the cover that can be rolled up with the cover inside and tied. It makes it nice to always have a burp cloth with you and it keeps your cover nicely folded up in the diaper bag.

Nursing Cover and Burp Cloth

Nursing Cover Rolled Up Into The Burp Cloth And Tied

The next project on my agenda today is to finish quilting my husband's cousin's graduation quilt. I have worked on it a couple of times and I am almost finished. I am hoping it will not take much time today. I will then need to start working on the binding. My goal is to have it completed by the end of the week! The picture below is of my little "helper" and the quilt!

Tutorial; Easy Applique Using Fusible Webbing

2011-12-26T06:22:00.000-08:00

My sister was over the other day asking how to do an applique project. She wanted an explanation so that she could go home and do it herself. She is a visual person and likes directions so I searched for a tutorial that would help her out. I found several different ones but none the way I do my applique. I hope this helps make applique a little easier for her and for you! Enjoy!

Materials needed:
Fabric (pre-washed without fabric softener)
T-shirt (or whatever you are going to applique onto, make sure it is also pre-washed without fabric softener)
Heat n' Bond Lite
Iron
Sewing Machine
Scissors
Coordinating Thread

Directions:

1. Find what you want to applique. Today I am making a circle with the letter A to put on a onesie. I made this in Word and printed it out and adjusted the size until it was the size to fit on a onesie.

2. You will need your Heat n' Bond Lite Iron on Adhesive and a pen. You will trace your letter backwards to make the applique correct. You can do this by making a mirror image on a computer program or you can turn your sheet of paper over and trace it with a black marker (by doing this you will be able to see the letter through your Heat n' Bond). You will then put your Heat n' Bond Lite over top of that and trace both the circle and the letter.

3. On the Heat n' Bond cut around the circle and the letter. This does not and should not be exact as you can see in my picture.

4. Place the letter on the backside of the fabric that you have picked out. Iron it down as stated on the Heat n' Bond Lite directions. Do the same for the circle.

5. Cut the circle and letter out. You will be cutting on the lines this time.

6. Peel the backing off of the pieces you have just cut out.

7. Place the circle on the t- shirt. At this point I usually use an applique pressing sheet or a piece of scrap fabric over top of the applique so that if there is anything on my iron I will not get it on my white shirt.

8. Place the letter on the t-shirt and the pressing sheet/scrap fabric on top of that and iron the letter down.

10. Pick out your coordinating thread and sew a small seam with a straight stitch around the circle applique. You do not need to back stitch when you start your stitches because you will end up coming all the way around your applique and at that point you will sew on top of your beginning stitches and then back stitch. Change thread if you need to and do the same for the letter.

11. I hope I have made applique a little easier to understand!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T05:27:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

Feel free to read our family Christmas letter posted at my husband's blog.

XO

Jolen

Christmas Subway Art

2011-12-24T07:19:00.000-08:00

I found a great 16x20 Christmas Subway Art for free on Pinterest. The majority of the free subway art out there is for 8x10 and smaller but I felt a 16x20 would make a larger impact and love it. I had an old 16x20 frame in our basement that I spray painted red. I then downloaded the subway art file unto my thumb drive and took it over to Staples to be printed. It cost around $15. You can find the blog post and free download here.

Christmas Yarn Wreath

2011-12-23T07:21:00.000-08:00

I made a wreath a while ago at a MOPS craft night. I really liked it but it had been hanging up for a while and we were in need of a more festive wreath. I searched Pinterest and Etsy and found one that I liked for around $40. I knew that I could not afford to spend that and I knew I could make it so that is what I did. I assumed it would be easy and didn't search for a Yarn Wreath Tutorial which I do regret. Instead of using a smooth wreath I used a Styrofoam one that you couldn't push the yarn around. Live and learn sometimes, right!

This is the book wreath I made at MOPS.

The Yarn Christmas Wreath I just made.

Close up of the wreath.

My daughter was using the old wreath to be a "lion".

Gingerbread House

2011-12-22T05:00:00.001-08:00

On Tuesday I took a break from crafting and made a gingerbread house with my family. This is the first time I had attempted to make my own gingerbread house and needed to find a recipe. I luckily found this one while searching on Google. I loved her tutorial and all her pictures. Here are a few of our pictures from our time making the gingerbread house.

Cutting out the pieces.

Baking.

After all the pieces were cooled.

Using the cans to prop up the pieces while the frosting dries.

Using the cans to hold up the roof while the frosting dries.

My husband, daughters and our niece and nephews.

After it was all decorated.

Before my daughter took a "few" pieces.


The "after" photo!

Please note the candy canes extending from the roof. My nephew informed me that those were guns. Really, what gingerbread house is complete without two gun turrets extending from the roof?

Christmas Wish List

2011-12-21T06:00:00.000-08:00

There are so many things I wished I had time to make this year. I will be putting the following items on my to-do list for next Christmas!

I am loving the circle garland. The tutorial she has for this is great!

I put this big sign on my mother's to-do list.

I really love it and I know she could make it for me!

I found this on Pinterest but was unable to find the correct link for it.

We have wrapped a book a day for Ellie and now Josie for the last two years instead of an advent calendar. I would like to do a better job at wrapping them and displaying them and I love how she did it!

Click here to go to her blog post.

These are just a few things I am hoping to do for next year!

Framed Felt Board Tutorial

2011-12-20T05:00:00.000-08:00

I recently saw a felt Christmas tree on pinterest that I was inspired to make for my girls but I knew that I needed a felt board before I made the felt Christmas tree. It didn't take me very long to do this project at all.

Enjoy!

Materials:
Frame
Thin piece of wood that can be inserted into your frame
Spray Paint (if you wish to paint the frame)
Upholstery Nail Gun
Spray Adhesive: I purchased this at Lowe's
Felt

1. Spray Paint your frame

2. Spray your insert with the spray adhesive. You will need really good coverage on this, especially around the edges.

3. Lay down your felt onto the insert and make sure your felt is straight with no bubbles.

4. After your felt has dried onto the insert cut the extra felt away.

5. Insert your felt board into your frame and staple it down so that the insert stays in place.

Casserole Dish Carrier Tutorial

2011-12-05T14:48:00.000-08:00

Between Thanksgiving, Christmas, MOPS and all the other activities I am involved in, it seems I am always carrying a hot pan of food along with me. I went to visit my mom at Thanksgiving time and we normally try to sew something while I am there (usually it is my one of my many projects). This time my mom had borrowed a friend's casserole dish carrier that she was in love with. She had wanted to change it up a bit and needed a little help. After reviewing casserole dish carriers on the internet and trying to find a tutorial for one that reflected a style that I wanted, I decided to design my own by incorporating elements of a few different carriers.

It took about 3 hours from start to finish in order to complete. This project is recommended for the sewer that has some experience.

Materials Needed:

Fabric (Washable Home Decor Fabric): 2 yards that you will pre-wash (I used 1 yard each of coordinating fabric for the inside/outside of the carrier)
Thread: 1 spool that coordinates with the fabric
Insulated Batting: 1 yard
Oval Plate
Dowels: 2 7/16” diameter cut to 14"
Peg Board: 9 3/4" x 15"
Velcro: 2" wide, 2 pieces cut into 6" lengths each

Sewing Machine
Cutting Mat
Rulers
Rotary Cutter

1. Wash, dry, and iron your fabric (not the insulated batting).

2. Cut out of each of your coordinating fabrics and your insulated batting (17" wide and 11.5" wide).

Detailed directions below:

Take your first piece of fabric and fold in half with selvage edges together.

Take the top fold line and fold it again down to the selvage edge.
Line up your square ruler to find your straight edge and use your rectangle ruler to "square" the end of the fabric.

Make your first cut of 17" and then your next cut of 11.5"
Do this for both yards of your coordinating fabric

Your insulated fabric is most likely already folded in half one time. "Square" the end as stated above and make your two cuts of "17 and 11.5"

At this point you should have 3 layers of 17" wide materials and 11.5" wide.

3. Layer the 17" wide fabrics (Right sides together and make sure the insulated batting is facing the correct way according to its directions).

4. Cut off the selvage edge from one end and measure the below inches toward the other end and cut. You will want 30" if you want a sleek, small carrier that fits a 9x12 pyrex with a cover or 38" if you want a carrier that will also hold a bowl.

5. With the 17" x 30" layers pinned together you will want to grab your oval plate and decide the depth you want your handles. I had mine about 4 to 5 inches. I marked my plate with a marker and made sure my marks were even by lining it up on my cutting mat. I then made sure I had it even on my fabric by making sure I had the same number of inches on each side. You may also see that I notched the batting. I did this so that when I turn my fabric right side out I can square my corners better.

6. Layer the 11.5" fabric, right sides facing each other and making sure the insulated fabric is laying the correct way according to the directions. Cut off the selvage end and then measure 43 inches and cut (43" does not need to be exact, just get as close as your fabric allows).

7. Sew 1/2" seam allowance leaving a 4" opening to be able to turn the fabric inside right. On the wider fabric sew right on top of the markings you made from the oval plate.

8. Cut 1/2" seam where you sewed around the half oval.

9. Cut "mountains" inside the oval as pictured below.

10. Trim the corners.

11. Turn inside right and get ready to iron.

12. Iron down the spot that you left open and the rest of the fabric so that it is nice and flat. Pin the opening closed.

13. Make a small seam around the entire piece of fabric (you can see my little helpers feet below).

14. We need to layer the two pieces now.

15. Fold the wider piece of material in half and mark the half way point with a pin on both sides of the fabric.

16. Fold the thinner piece of material in half and line up with the halfway point of the wider fabric. Mark each end with a pin onto the wider fabric so that you know where to lineup the thinner piece onto the wider fabric. Do this on both sides of the fabric.

17. Fold the wider fabric in half width wise and make a crease in the material at the halfway point. Fold the thinner material in half length wise and make a crease. Line up the creases with the thinner fabric being on top. Your thinner fabric should line up between the pins you made in the previous step plus line up with the creases you made. Make sure you have an even amount of thinner fabric on each side of the wider fabric and pin it in the corners.

18. On the thinner piece of fabric sew only one long edge down. Sew right on top of the seam. Leave the other seam open to allow you to slide in the peg board as shown below. Flip the fabric over and sew on top of the seam of the wider fabric. Sew both edges. When you are done it should look like the picture below.

19. Fold down your carrier handles 1 1/4" down, pin and sew straight line right on top of the seam leaving an opening on both sides to be able to insert your handle all the way through.

20. You should now have a product that looks like this.

21. Adding the Velcro (2"wide 6" long); place your Velcro 1" from the top and 1" from each side and sew them onto the front of the fabric. Sew the other pieces of fabric on the backside of the fabric 1" from the top and 1" from each side and sew them down. This will hold your 9x12 pan tightly in your carrier.

22. Place your dowels through the handles. Insert your peg board and trim the board if necessary. You are now ready to take a casserole anywhere this Holiday Season!

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Linked to the following link parties:
http://simplydesigning.blogspot.com/
http://funtocraft.blogspot.com/
http://www.fingerprintsonthefridge.com/
http://www.happyhourprojects.com/
http://naptimecrafters.blogspot.com/
http://www.lovelycraftyhome.com/
http://shabbynest.blogspot.com/
http://itsahodgepodgelife.blogspot.com/
http://www.mineforthemaking.com/
http://thecraftyblogstalker.blogspot.com/
http://www.katiesnestingspot.com/
http://raegunwear.blogspot.com/