t-shirt re-fashion oops!

re-fashioning clothing is all the rage right now, I had some shirts that my twins had out grown and thought I would make the sleeves longer so they would get one more season out of them. Here are the shirts and fabrics I plan on using.

This is the second time I have tried to use thermal material and again without success!

The fabric stretches and gets out of proportion, so it did not work, I used a stretch needle and a stretch stitch so I don't know what happened but as you can see it did not turn out well.....

so....I decide to stick to t-shirt materials, using a long sleeve boys shirt and an old whit t-shirt I make new sleeves and a band for the waist, success!

neck roll

the perfect gift for anyone......create a warming neck roll for those cold days when you have worked hard and want to relax, just pop it in the microwave for 2 minutes and then rest it on your shoulders and warm up as you relax your muscles.

cut 2 pieces of fabric 5x19" each. I used a cotton top and a fleece backing, sewed Velcro in the top for ease of washing and then sewed the three sides up. Fill with dry beans, rice, wheat, flax, buckwheat, you can even add some herbs like lavender or rosemary.

peggies

As you may know I love to give handmade gifts. I wanted to give a family gift that small children would enjoy as well as adults, so I had the idea of a personalized game. I made the game in cloth book form and found little peg people on a clever etsy shop naked peggies. You can buy the peggie people in natural wood or have the artist create a personalized set for you.

handmade christmas count down

sew mama sew is one of my favorite sites to visit, they have posted a handmade holidays master list. This list is wonderful for finding ideas for the right person...check it out.

I adapted this Toy Bucket into an Art Bucket by adding a crayon roll type pocket to the front instead of the toy pocket. Following this tutorial it sewed up quickly and the instructions were accurate, I think I will be making some more, and will definitely be tucking this pattern in the quick gift ideas box.

happy birthday!

It was time to pull out the birthday banner again, I love this banner and the idea of it.

This banner is made up of old jean pockets from the whole family, I then wrote on the pockets with a paint pen, I did not like the look, so I sewed on some binding over the marking and think that was a better match for the denim. My friend who was making theese with me used the paint pen and they turned out great, it was just a difference of fabric. Give these a try they are fun and easy.

baby boots

Apparently I love to make shoes, there are so many easy fast and cute patterns that I can't resist. What I like most is taking a pattern and making it my own. Found this boot on this cute blog, saved it a few months ago waiting for the time to use it....well my cousin had a baby boy and they live in a cold climate so....camo boots for baby Trevor.

weekend sewing frustration

I love getting books from the library, thumbing through them and looking at all the beautiful pictures, and projects created by professionals. These books make us think we can do it too....well sometimes we can and sometimes we can't. I had a problem with The Guest Room Slippers, I made the largest size, I stood on the pattern to see if it would fit and it seemed close but I was willing to give it a shot. I could not find anywhere in the book or the on the pattern pieces if you should cut a seam allowance or if it was included, also when piecing the she together there was not reference to a seam allowance, so I made the smallest that I could since they were already close to not fitting, some of the instructions were confusing but I have made enough shoes to keep going. In the instructions she refferes to a buttonhole and a carpet in the last step, I have no idea what she is talking about? Well the shoes came out cute as can be BUT THEY DON'T FIT! So I loved them enough to modify the pattern and give them another try...I am pleased with the result but as you can see in one of my pictures I have the first pair which is the smaller one and then the revised size, its not just a little.....it's SO small..... still love the book and will try some more projects with caution.