A late entry

Last week, I pulled my Star Trek fabric for a bag that I wanted to make for my mom, the Trekker, for her birthday. I made it. Here's what the finish looks like:

Going boldly... somewhere.

I had a great time making this bag. It was my first time using interfacing. My first time adding hardware. And my third, fourth and fifth zippers (I'm a pro at zippers without a zipper foot, now). I'm really pleased that I cut my fabrics so straight and got the text graphic in a line. I didn't try to do that, it just worked out (if I had thought about it it would've been completely wonky).

My mom loves it. She did say to her sister that, "you can't tell it's Star Trek until you get right up on it..." What? Sorry, mom, but that is very OBVIOUSLY Star Trek fabric making your Star Trek trizip tote (trizip like tricorder). I love that it looks like a tricorder. My sister wants a bag - not Trek, but a bag - like this one and Mom wants another one a little larger. So, I plan to make more of these bags.

Linking up to Needle and Thread Thursday and Crazy Mom Quilts.

go make something today!

Green

WIP

I can't leave well enough alone. I got the back for my butterfly garden fence quilt finished last night:

butterfly garden quilt back

I'm really happy with it and I can't wait to finish the quilt. But - instead of working on sandwiching and pinning this quilt today, I decided to cut a star surround 48" block. Why? Why did I do that? AND, to add insult to injury, I cut the pieces wrong. I didn't really pay attention to the fabric requirements and cut the fabrics wrong. DUH!

So... I'm putting the star surround away - just for a little while, until I can get the fabrics together for it, properly, and cut it right, paying close attention...

I'm gonna go out to the apartment and get the batting out and sit down on the floor and pin baste my quilt so that I can start quilting it tonight (which is what I should've done hours ago...)

Linking up to Lee @ Freshly Pieced's WIP Wednesday.

Green

Tuesday - Working day

I got some sewing done. Finally. I finished up this month's bee blocks (Simply Solids and Bee(ful) of Paper. Here they are in all their finished and ready to be mailed off glory:

star for paper piecing bee

window pane block for Simply Solids

I didn't have trouble with the paper pieced block this month, but I did struggle with the solids block. I didn't think about making my pieces large enough the first day I worked on it, so I did some rethinking and this is what the result is. I actually have a ton of pieces that are cut off, slabs as it were, of this block hanging out in my scrap box. Basically, 90% of this block is new work. I sure hope Queenie likes it. I also hope that no one else in my group wants this kind of block because it wasn't fun for me at all.

I'm ready to finish up my garden fence quilt. I'm going to be piecing the back and making the sandwich tonight and it should be ready for quilting and a big finish on Friday - that's the plan, anyway.

I got to go and make the dinner. It's meatloaf, smashed potatoes and broccoli tonight. YUM!

Take care of yourself and make some stuff.

Green

WIP Wednesday - not quite in progress

I have to think. I usually have to have the project completed in my head before I can start. I have been stalled on this bag for my mother for a little while now. I want to make her a cross-body bag that she can carry with her to the flea market and other shopping trips. My mom loves Star Trek so I got some neat Star Trek fabric last week to make this bag.

Camelot Cottons Star Trek bundle

She has complained when I make her Star Trek things that are not "In Your Face" Star Trek.

Now for the design. I wanted to make a cross-body bag with a zipper. Then I remembered those cute, little, three-zip pouches that Debbie at A Quilter's Table did a tutorial for. I love those, but I would like something larger and cross-body. Then I saw this and that's what I wanted to make. Now, there's no tutorial for it, so I'll just have to figure out the measurements, but at least I can visualize it, now. I have to run some errands before I start on it later this afternoon, but I'm very excited. Linking up to Freshly Pieced.

xoxo

Yes! I made a roly poly!

I actually made a wearable garment - and it didn't turn out half bad.

I loved this pattern. It was so easy for a noob like myself.  I was confused at first because I didn't quite understand how to take the pattern that was printed on nine sheets of paper and make it into one template for cutting. I figured out how to tape it together and then I  traced the size pattern onto freezer paper so I could use that to cut my fabric. That worked very well (I love, love, love freezer paper!). I also had to learn how to make a button hole. My machine came with a button hole foot, but I didn't understand the 4-step buttonhole process. After I watched a few YouTube videos, I was ready to finish up. I did mess up a little because I planned to add pockets to this on both sides, but then I decided not to add pockets and I didn't cut the fabric in one piece, so there are side seams on my tunic that shouldn't be there. No big.

The fabric is a lightweight corduroy with a sweet bird pattern from Joann's. I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it and knew I wanted to use this fabric for the Roly Poly. The inner fabric is a solid purple, seersucker-ish lightweight cotton. The garment is reversible but the corduroy side is definitely cuter.



I'm linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts and Kelly at Needle and Thread Thursday.

Nothing is working.

I sewed and sewed today and I didn't do it right. I wanted to make some houndstooth blocks and I just didn't do them right so I ended up with these:

I was so proud... do you see the mistake?

Then, I got clever and cut the strip sets the right way just a smaller size ... there's still something wrong.

all the wasted fabric wahhhh! :( 

okay... I can make some of these blocks or something else with these little squares.

So I realize what I did now - I needed five strips in my set instead of only four. I will try again and make it happen.

Then, my daughter had her first sleep over tonight and I just miss her. She couldn't wait to get rid of me, either. And she didn't call. She's three-and-a-half and ready to leave home.

I did get to Kinko's to print out my paper piecing bee pattern for September and one that I'm considering for my month to try out. I also printed out my Roly Poly pattern, but I'm unsure how to use it. I bought the fabric and I'm ready to make it, but it was expensive to print out and I don't want to mess it up. I suppose I should make some tissue paper pattern pieces, but I don't know if I have enough tissue - I'm a mess and nothing is working right. I should've picked up a six pack at the store this afternoon.

I guess I'll go make something! Linking up to Freshly Pieced.

Barbies!

I'm obsessed with Barbies. My daughter and I went to Joann's yesterday and my mother's house and picked up a whole mess of fabrics and trims to make Barbie clothes. I have been studying up on YouTube and think I have figured out how to make most things. I'm firing up the sewing machine right now.

I was thinking about having a Barbie clothes blog hop. If ya'll are interested, I'll set it up and get some prizes and we'll have a rockin' Barbie kinda time.

Happy Friday! Make some stuff.

Green

A winner, a finish and a new direction

First off, I forgot to draw a winner for my hand warmer/sachet yesterday. Here it is now:

The winner is Gwendellyn who loves eucalyptus (the King of all fragrances). I will get that to you in the mail as soon as possible. Congratulations!

I got some work done yesterday. I finally finished up the three  tablet covers that I had been working on for the last few weeks. The first two that I made worked up pretty fast and these three were hanging around for a little while - assembly line doesn't work well for me. Eh! You live and you learn. I have four more that I need to work on - a project for another day.

Three pretty tablet covers all in a row.

Simply Style and Road 15 (I love my little labels, too)

Geekly Chic tablet cover - MINE!!!

New direction refers to Barbie clothes. We are having a bit of a Barbie obsession in my house these days. I talked about my Barbie roll idea in my last post and I have since moved on to think about Barbie clothes. My mother bought my daughter five  Barbies at our flea market but they didn't come with any clothes. I started a teeny sweater last night with some sock yarn and thought I could make some black leggings out of an old t-shirt but I think a trip to the fabric store is in order. Now, I have never made a wearable garment. I have bought a few patterns, but I haven't been ambitious enough to try to make them yet (I'm thinking about it, though). I think constructing a Barbie outfit is the same as making person sized outfit... hmm... I'll have to keep you updated.

Barbies waiting for a carrier and some new clothes - I worked on their hair last night :)

Linking up to Needle and Thread Thursday. Go make something!

My name is Green and I'm a slacker

Or, I'm just lazy - I don't know. When the Autumn crispness starts to hit the air, I get, like, Fall fever. Fall is my favorite time of the year and I love the contrast in the weather that we get around in New Mexico. The sun is out and shining and hot, but the air is fresh and cool. It is really the very best season here. Also, the smell of roasting Hatch chile everywhere is intoxicating. I always carry a jacket with me and I start to want to knit. And knit. And knit.

I love sewing, don't get me wrong. I just am not the best at it yet and so knitting is so comforting and zen for me that I just start looking for yarn and new projects to knit. I love to wear hats - so do my husband and daughter - so I knit a lot of hats. While searching for yarn in my backyard apartment this morning, I found two completed hats and one that was just about finished and then abandoned (I think the head part was too short to fit). I'm always so surprised when I find these knitted pieces that I started and cannot remember a thing about starting them. Why did I put them aside? Why didn't I finish it? If it's finished, why is it in a bag in the closet of the outside apartment? Crazy. Anyway...

I found this houndstooth mitt pattern and am going to start working on a set of these today. I still have to finish up some other sewing projects and have a few starts in my head - I'm a little bit obsessed with houndstooth today. Also, I need to make something for Barbie storage/carrying. My daughter got five Barbie dolls over the weekend. My mom got them for her from the flea market. She already had two, but Lulu has been trying to eat them since they have become a favorite (always out in the open) the last few weeks. Doctor Barbie's left hand underwent a finger amputation to which my daughter told me, "Mom, that was Barbie's favorite hand." I'm thinking about making a Barbie-roll. I think it could be cute and look like a multi-doll sleeping bag. The only Barbie that won't fit is the snow princess (a.k.a. Queen Barbie) because her dress is too big. She may have to have her own, special carrier. She is the Queen, so it should be okay.

Make some stuff today!

Green