poppy pouch

Another gift for the generous Poppy.

I spotted this ribbon at the Portsmouth Fabric Company. Check them out online or in person. It's one of the best fabric stores I've been in. When I told them this was to be a gift, they offered me the use of their sewing machines since I was on vacation. I passed due to time constraints, and it's a good thing I didn't know I'd have access to a machine ahead of time.

Once I had to have the ribbon I needed to search for some coordinating fabric. These are from the Kaffe Fassett collection.

The pattern was based on one of my Vera Bradley cosmetic bags. To make it a little easier I quilted the exterior fabric on fusible fleece. The zipper pull is made of beads from my stash.

cath kidston purse

Just before I went handwork crazy with all those hexagons I got this book for my birthday.

Fun projects and great pictures, but the best part - it comes with PRECUT pieces for making the purse on the cover. PRECUT! Ready to sew. How wonderful is that?

Talk about a quick way to have a sense of accomplishment. I love to sew - I hate to do the prep work (kind of like painting a room). I did add a lining to the bag to give it more structure and included a zippered pocket, but still, the rest was already cut out!

Now if only all the garment projects I have in the wings would magically prep themselves for sewing. I need some elves to come visit me.

little bit of liberty

Carol sent me wonderful news - Target is going to be carrying lines by Liberty of London in their stores on March 14th!! My calendar is marked.

In the meantime I have these to tide me over:

Trish sent me a yard of this for Christmas. I love having a friend who travels to London on business.

These were made around the holidays to hold back hair that I'm growing out again.

(The bobby pin blanks are from Hobby Lobby. The covered button blanks were thrifted, but are available everywhere. The Liberty scraps are from the fabulous rummage sale I went to with Poppy.)

While I was at it, I made a couple charms for myself.

(All the jewelry making supplies are from Hobby Lobby. The buttons are doll sized. I used a paper glaze, but think it needs a few more coats to look right.)

I plan to be waiting for the doors to open March 14th.

the bangles

How fun are these bracelets? I had to share them with all my crafty friends. They came in several colors - white, cream, pink, jade green and light blue -and three widths.

I bought them at a shop in the Chicago area that doesn't have a web presence. If you're dying for one, email me and I'll send you the store name and phone number.

ring pouch

This came about as a solution to gloves and rings not playing well together. Every winter I have the same problem when we get dressed up and I'm wearing a nice ring (or even just my engagement ring). It's too cold to leave my hands uncovered and I don't want my rings just sitting in my purse or evening bag. And while I prefer mittens in the winter, they just don't look nearly as lovely as gloves for a nice evening out.

The solution:

Super simple to make - I used wool felt and cut 3 pieces. One is 4" by 2 1/4". Two others are 2 1/4" by 2 1/4". Stack them up aligning three edges. Edgestitch all the way around. Trim with pinking shears. Add a buttonhole to the flap (or just cut a slit since it's felt and won't ravel). Sew on a button. Done.

You'll have a pouch with two compartments to store two rings so they won't scratch one another. It's small enough to slip into a tiny evening bag.

They go together fast enough that you have plenty of time to make some if you still need stocking stuffers for the holiday.

Fabulous jeweled ring from the private collection of Ellie MacGyver.

bag o' badges

Have you seen the American Express commercials with the frowns and smiles?

I picked up this bag on the Target clearance rack this past weekend. (It's from the Converse One Star line.)

Shouldn't it have its own spot in one of those ads?

Now it's happy.

Now it's fit for a grown up who's still a girl scout at heart.

Small bits of hand sewing like this are all I've been up for lately.

I promise not to wear it with the skirt.

selvage cuff

I could have sworn I posted this project over the summer when I made it. When I put up the Waste Not, Want Not quilt I was going to reference this as my "starter project". A quick look at my archives and then my picassa account proved it didn't exist in blogland.

So here you are, the project I used to get my feet wet before starting the selvage quilt.

Like a lot of you who have accumulated a decent amount of selvages, but are afraid to just begin, I decided I should do something with less of a commitment.

A simple rectangle of muslin is the base (just as with the quilt blocks). This is where I played with how closely I could edgestitch my strips and how I wanted to balance plain and printed pieces. You can see on this project I chose to elimate any of the actual fabric print.

After the selvage piece was put together, it was sewn right sides together with another piece of muslin with an opening on one long side for turning. Do the usual thing - clip corners, turn the cuff right sides to, and press that baby flat. I closed the opening with two rows of edgestitching, added some vintage mother of pearl buttons and snaps for the closure.

My cuff measures 3" by 7 1/2" when laying flat. I'd suggest a narrower width for anyone wanting to make their own - 3" is too large not to take the widening of the forearm into account, so my cuff is tight on one edge. I also have a small wrist, so you'll probably want to add some length the other way.

A dear friend arrives tomorrow from Dallas. I'll be taking a little break to have some girl time with her.

a bunch of barrettes

I made these a few weeks ago and never got around to posting them:

They're a great way to use up ribbon scraps - each barrette only uses about 3" at most. The barette bases were bought at Hobby Lobby. The first picture has the kind with the spring hinge, the ones below are are the clip kind (you can see them better in the third picture). A little bit of adhesive like E6000 or Amazing Craft Goop on each end holds the ribbon in place. The ribbon is folded around to the back of the barrette about 1/4" on each end. To keep the glue from sealing the barrette shut, I clipped them onto wax paper while they dried.

Instructions for these can be found in Button It Up:

I think some of those liberty scraps on a covered button would be great for my hair.

3 little mittens

The kids' Christmas ornaments are done.

The patterns are by JBW Designs - Red Mitten Collections I & II.

I didn't look carefully at the sizes when I decided to make these as ornaments and very quickly figured out they'd be larger than I would want for the tree. I rethought the plan and instead of doing them in the traditional cross stitch size, used the pattern for petit point on linen going over one thread. The quarter will give you a better idea of size. (Done as recommended in the pattern, they would finish up around 3" by 4 1/2".) These are probably the last thing I will ever do in petit point. My eyes can't take it anymore.

This one is Trixie's. I picked the pattern with words to commemorate her learning to read this year.

Ellie's was chosen for the script since she'll learn cursive in 2nd grade.

Glenn's was the most masculine of the lot.

There's a darling fourth pattern that I might make up in a larger size to display framed.

They're all backed with this scrap from my stash. I crocheted a chain with a strand of embroidery floss for the hanging loops. When backing them with fabric, I used a tiny stitch length to be sure all the linen threads were caught. The tops were left open for turning and then hand stitched closed after folding in the raw edges.

If my kittens lose these mittens, having no pie will be the least of their worries.

have a cuppa

Have you seen these travel mugs? You're able to put pictures or kids' artwork inside them. I picked one up last winter wanting to put some of my favorite fabric in it.

Prints like these:

Problem is - fabric is thicker than paper and not very stiff. It definitely doesn't want to go into the very narrow space of that travel mug. Starch didn't work. Interfacing would make it thicker. The solution finally hit me a few weeks ago - color copies of the fabric:

Three of my favorite feedsacks are on the left. The fabric on the right is a Japanese print given to me by Jan. I think some of my liberty fat quarters would be great for this too. You can't see it in the picture, but the copier (just our HP home printer) even picks up some of the fabric's texture. The colors aren't exact though and the very nice texture of the Japanese print showed up the least. However, I think they're a great representation of the originals.

How could I not smile drinking my coffee out of that? I wonder how I can get the string quilt on the copier...

seams to me cuff

Another project that didn't make it out of my suitcase this past weekend, but I did wear it last week.

Project from Seams to Me

Lavender fabric from Denyse Schmidt

Brown ruffle is of Kona cotton and done with a ruffler attachment

Buttons are from my stash

Loops are made of perle cotton with a buttonhole stitch

Super easy to make, just be sure you don't pull the measuring tape tight when you take the measurements like I did. Next time I need to enlist one of the kids to help measure.

One of these would look great with some linen and embroidered motifs.

poppy's house

What to make for someone so generous with her home?

How about a home for her cell phone or camera:

The project is from Zakka Sewing and may be the only crafty project to ever catch Poppy's eye.

I did all the work by machine rather than the hand embroidery called for in the book. (The only exception was the girl's face. I gave up on a smile because I couldn't keep her from looking deranged. Though, now that I think about it, Poppy may have enjoyed that.) Also, be warned, this case is tiny. It's called a camera case, but I don't think any of the cameras in my house would fit in it. My cell phone will for sure.

Poppy, you even rate high enough for some Liberty lining and strap fabric!

I like how it turned out so much that I need to make one for myself now.

blogher 09 swag

Some people hand out totes with their logo or magnets for the fridge. I'm bringing in frappacino cosies for my roomies.

Blackbird commissioned one to fit her summer drink cup after I made one for her cold weather coffees. (These fit a Starbucks Grande plastic cup, per her request.)

I love how the selvage edge of the linen looks. Not sure on the button for her though - might be a bit flashy. I'm bringing some other options with just in case.

Too obvious? I hope not.

While I was at it, Susie Sunshine got her own as well. She's the first to benefit from my new collection of vintage scraps. They're so cheerful - like her. The buttons were hard to part with, but the pinks were a perfect match.

And the back of hers.

If you spot us on Michigan Ave. this weekend with our frappacinos, say "hello".