fathers day gifts

what do you give dads.....they give us so much! there is no gift to repay what they have done for us so i like to stick to functional practical gifts for the daddy's

this year it is a car kit filled with all the goodies that dad might forget...but will be glad when he finds them in his car kit! this project was easy and fast...also a great project if your are wanting to work with zippers but intimidated, because there is no turning or top stitching you just lay them flat and sew them on!

i used this tutorial from not martha....a place i like to visit from time to time (i want to totally steal her name because that's how i feel sometimes)

so, i followed her tute and it came out great!i thought the appliques were cute but not for our fathers,  i didn't want to make a trip to the fabric store so i rummaged through my stash and came up with this list of items for my supplies:

• drop cloth canvas-for outer
• old dress shirts-for binding (just the back panel of the shirt made about 4 yds bias tape, way more than needed)
• old laundry bag-for pocket mesh
• zippers from old laundry bags 

the only thing i might have done differently is to add interfacing and another layer of drop cloth just for stability, but i don't think its that crucial 

i hope they like em'

casserole carrier or......

"tater trailer"as I call mine due to the cutest vintage trailer fabric ever!

I meet with a few friends once a month to sew for a few hours at night and this is the project we chose for this past month.  After reviewing many tutorials we chose this one over at 2littlehooligans.  When we meet and agree on a project it is always interesting and fun to see how we each make it our own, so one of us chose to not quilt the layers just like in the photo, she finished her project first.  The other 2 of us, myself included wanted to quilt, it took us longer for that step, Then when it came to the handles we each had our own style again, one stuck to the tutorial, and I made my own based on the knowledge I had from make straps for other projects, we also added a little handle closure thingy to help keep the handles together when carrying.

This project can be fast and it one for the gift pile, now I need to have an excuse to use it........

doily table runner

I am sure you have seen these doily runners popping up all over blog land and pinterest, well it was time I got one!  I have a box of lace and other sewing treasures that was given to me and I thought I remembered a number of doilies in there so I thought I would check it out....well I not only had enough for me I had enough for my friend to make one and probably a few gifts to come.... well here is my rendition, I sorted them out according to size, color, and style.  Then alternated for the layout, we probably fiddled with the layout for a few hours, then I decided to zig zag mine together, some others tied them but that was a little to tedious for me on this project, I was needing some instant gratification that day! So when you're shopping yard sales or antique stores and you see a pile of doilies...pick em up! (do you see my new Bernina in the back? thanks to my honey ;x )

free pants!

I have been gone for a long time I know.... but since I got my iphone I surf and check email on it and don't turn my computer on every day like I used to so.....I don't blog :( BUT! I have been sewing and have lots to share so here is what I did today and am excited about so the free pants go first! So there are shadows and my pics arent the best but thats what you get when you have to take pictures of yourself in the mirror.

Saw this pin on pinterest and knew I had the perfect pair of frumpy pants to try it on, they were going in the goodwill pile so if I ruined them I wouldn't care. So I tried them on inside out and started marking just like in this blog post, then I pinned the fabric together and sewed a straight line just as instructed in the mini tutorial.  It took me a few tries at the crotch and hips but I got it, I am a mother of 5 and have some teenagers (don't want to look like I squeezed into one of their pants!!! that's hilarious just to think about...I have unfortunately seen moms that look like this) so the supper tight look is not for me, but I think you will agree with me that this is a HUGE improvement! So examine your closet and I bet you will find some paints or skirts that are in need of an update.  This does not take any major sewing skills but if you are a little timid you can brush up on some sewing basics and tailoring skills here on Burda, they have great how to's

a couch makeover and a single girl block



Its always nice to brighten up your living space with a fresh pillow sham!  I made covers for my ordinary couch which has a geometric fabric in warm Autumn colors...which I love in the fall and through the holidays it is very complimentary and cozy...but.....when the sun starts to come through the blinds I want to freshen things up so the white curtains go up and fresh shams.  I made these with Joel Dewberry Aviary line, they just make me happy.

before

after

I also recovered a floor pillow with the single girl pattern from DSQ a great scrap buster. I inserted a zipper along one whole side for easy removal and washing.

love the result!

quilted advent calendar

December 1st is almost here are you ready?

Last year for Christmas I made 2 of these wall hangings for gifts and cut a third one out for myself, I figured I had all year to finish it...no hurry right?.  Well its been all year and I didn't make it so now that we are close to the time when you hang it on the wall I needed to get going! So here is the tutorial that we followed from Sew Mama Sew (when I say "we" I mean my friend and I who also made them with me, between the two of us we made 7, we bought yard cuts and shared the fabric) Since my squares were already cut and matched up (pattern wise) which is the time consuming part, I got right to it.  If you will notice the different styles of numbering that can be done....you choose what works best for you!  The first one I embroidered with colored thread on white fabric, cut out squares and sewed them on by machine, the second I used the printable fabric paper which went faster, and for mine I just freehand embroidery on circles of felt and then stitched the circles on the squares randomly (which might be my favorite method...quick and cute)

I followed this pattern close with thees exceptions:
The Numbering

I did not use the wonky piecing to stagger the pockets

I quilted stitch in the ditch instead of stippling

I added a greeting for each recipient as well as a 25th pocket on the back

So let me encourage you to make this lasting treasure for you family to enjoy this season.

I bought the fillers from fairy tale pumpkin on etsy and they are perfect!

I took theese pictures with my iphone and the instagram app, its fun to play with the filters, they make it look old tyme!

tuttie tute tutorial: closet organizers

quick and easy baby gift

I used 5x10 scraps

3x3 strips of clear vinyl

I did not take step by step pictures of this project.  But here are the basics:

I sewed the side seams then placed the fabric folded in half and traced the hanger to get the diagonal top and added a clear pocket for the front to place the label in so it can be changed as you need