tote bag birthday gift

My best friend had a birthday recently and she asked me to make her a tote bag. As the busy mom of two little boys she needed a bag that was stylish but big enough to hold everything that she carries around on a daily basis.

Here she is modeling the new bag. The only change I made to the tutorial was to give her extra long handles to suit her 'tall drink of water' frame. 

For her birthday I got her a gift card to a fabric store and so chose the fabric and had it sent to my house. I think this is a really good idea if you are planning to make something special for a friend. It was great for her to be able to choose the pattern and style that she wanted. Ironically she choose a fabric that is the same pattern I have on my outdoor furniture but in a different color. There are many reasons we are best friends, which now includes the fact that we have the same taste in fabric. 

We found this bag tutorial on Delia Creates. It is very simple and the pockets are perfect for a mom that carries a phone, keys, bottles, diapers, snacks and the kitchen sink. The fabric she choose has such a great bold pattern that works really well on the bag. 

The only shame is that her birthday was in March and she didn't get the bag until now! Oh, well!

I'm sharing this bag on some fun link parties. Check them out here. 

embroidered onesies - tutorial

Embroidery is an easy way to personalize and beautify simple items. It is especially nice for anything baby related. For this project I picked up a couple of white onesies for about $5 and turned them into something a little more special. 

To start out find the center of your garment so you know where to place the wording. Then using your embroidery hoop to stabilize the garment lightly write out the word you want to embroider in pencil. I write so lightly that you can barely see it but it's enough to guide you and then it will come out easily in the wash. You could also find some word art online to help you design your embroidery but I just free hand it. 

I used a simple back stitch for this. It is the most basic of stitches but it is nice and neat and for a lightweight garment like this it seems to work best. Just remember that when you are starting your first letter that you go one stitch length in from the bottom so you can back up to where you actually want the first stitch to be. 

The felt flowers are simple to make and you can find good tutorials for them here and here.

This kind of project makes for a great baby gift and of course you could personalize the garment with a name. 

I'm sharing this project at some super cool link parties - check them out. 

jammies

The other night my little one started complaining that his all-in-one pajamas were hurting his legs and sure enough they were getting pretty tight. He is 2.5 and I had him in 3T p.j.s but it was clear we needed to go up a size. Off to Target and of course there were no 4T footed pajamas left. I need to go online to get him some as we still have a couple of cold months left but to bridge the gap I scouted through my fabric stash and found this cute little woodland creature flannel.

Wide leg gives lots of room to move around

To cut the shape I simply traced around a pair of pants that do fit him well and sewed from memory. Since pajama bottoms were the first thing I ever learned to make a sewing class and it has been etched on to my brain. I made the leg a little wider than his regular pants so that they would be more comfortable for lounging and sleeping. I love making pajama bottoms - they take about 30 minutes for me to do and there is so little cutting and thinking involved!

The heart really makes I think!

I had some left over fabric so I took a t-shirt that had seen the last of its "day-time" wear (due to chocolate stain I can't shift!) and put a little applique heart on it. Given the time of year I think they are a super cute nod to Valentine's  Day and he really loves them so that's all that matters.

Love those toes :)

Linked to:

Pocket full of pink - Friday Frolic 

Ginger Snap Crafts - Valentine's Day Party 

30 Handmade Days - Pity Party 

Whipperberry - Friday Flair 

The Shabby Nest - Frugal Flair 


Be Different Act Normal - Show and Tell Saturday 


Rae Gun Ramblings - What we wore and made Wednesdays 


The Not So Functional Housewife - Functional Friday 


Tales of a Trophy Wife - Linky #27 


Simply Designing - Friday Link Party 


I Heart Naptime - Sundae Scoop Link Party 


Flamingo Toes - Think Pink Sundays 


Itsy Bitsy Paper - I Heart Projects Link Party 

square 1

You might remember a while ago I got a lovely bunch of fabric for a quilt I was planning to make for my bed. I've made some baby quilts before, simple ones without much piece work, but never anything of large size or real quilt making techniques.

So I have spent the last 2 months procrastinating about what I should do...then I realized that if I didn't make a decision soon winter was going to be over and I wouldn't even need a quilt. I settled on doing a log cabin style pattern using a 5 x 5 inch square of fabric as the center of each square.

Square 1

I made one square a few nights ago. Cutting the strips took FOREVER! I actually didn't cut up all my fabric because I got so bored of cutting strips that I just wanted to start on the square. The first square took a long time as I had to get the technique down. After unpicking a few seams I got the feel for it and finished it pretty quickly.

Square 2

Then last night I started on a second square. Only after I put the two squares side by side did I realize that I had done a different pattern with the fabrics!! That's what sewing late at night when your brain is fried will do! Actually I prefer the second pattern because I think it shows the beauty of the fabric patterns better so I think I will use the first one as a throw pillow and stick with the second style.

Side by side

This project is going to take a while but as it is my first big quilt project I will continue to post my project. Wish me luck!!


P.S. Apologies for the lighting in the photos - I sew in a cave (in my basement) and the light is really bad!

christmas bunting

I am so excited! I have completed my first holiday project of the season and my first using felt. Felt is so easy to work with, no fraying edges, so easy to cut and to glue. It is the perfect material for applique.

This mitten bunting is a total knock-off of this garland from The Land of Nod. I got the catalogue a week ago, saw these and thought, I can do that. So I did. I made my bunting 12 mittens long and I created my own designs for each mitten. 

Although I don't usually decorate until after Thanksgiving once I put these up I found it really hard to take them down. They are so cheery and fun!

P.S. I have made another strand just like this available in my etsy shop. I am also offering custom lengths.


This post is linked to Today's Creative Blog.

happiness is....

New supplies! A box of beautiful fabric arrived yesterday from fabric.com and I was so excited. My husband looked at me as if I had two heads while I fawned over the fabric! 

I ordered this lovely stack for a quilt I am planning to make for our bedroom. 

I have been wanting to get a supply of felt for a while because I have so many ideas for it. I've already started working on something for Christmas which I will share next week. 

I also have to say that Fabric.com is awesome. Not only were the colors of the fabrics so true to the images on their site but they also sent me a free queen size quilt batting. It was as if they knew what I was planning to make. They have won my future business for sure. 

quilted laptop sleeve

I got a new laptop a couple of months ago and up until recently I have been carting it around without any protection - shame on me. I had a couple of hours to spare the other day so I whipped up this little item from some bits and pieces I had in my stash. It is so easy to make a lap top sleeve I think I will post a tutorial so anybody can make one. Watch this space...

  You need no longer neglect your laptop.

I used a free quilting technique on the sleeve. It is so easy to do and you don't have to be bothered with drawing lines or concerned about making mistakes - just let your needle run free man! 

I had my laptop at class the other night and when I took it out of my bag a classmate complimented the sleeve and asked me if I bought the sleeve on Etsy. Why no, I said, I made it myself!

quilting tip

Lately I have been working on some projects that require quilt stitching either on the diagonal or straight across and I came up with a way to ensure the lines are straight and equally spaced - painters tape! I have a stockpile of various different widths of painters tape from past painting projects so they can be switched out depending on the desired space between lines. The great thing about painters tape is that it doesn't leave any sticky residue on the material as something like duct tape might do.

I line up the tape with the straight edge of my material and then sew along the tape edge. When that line is finished I just move the tape down and sew again.

Easy peasy!

fly a kite - applique baby blanket

I completed the baby blanket project and I am so pleased I have already started another applique project. I am really enjoying creating new designs with this technique. The blanket has a layer of thin fusible fleece inside and measure 30 x 25. It's available on Etsy.com for purchase.

Here is my next project. I think I will do a pillow to accompany the blanket. I just love these little elephants!

patio furniture redo

When I took our patio furniture out earlier this summer I realized the cushions were very faded and really needed a makeover. I selected fabric to compliment our table umbrella. I bought the fabric at Joann's and it was on sale at the time so it cost about $60 for 5 yards of fabric.

For the seat cushions I simply enclosed the entire old seat cushions in fabric and I machine sewed the closure. The fabric can be spot cleaned with a sponge so I didn't see the need for a cushion that was removable for washing. For the pillows I cut open the old pillows and filled the new ones with the stuffing. I ran a bit low on fabric at the end so I had to improvise. I made a panel cushion using two of the fabrics and I made a long roll pillow using a leftover section of fabric.

I am really happy with the results and I can't wait to get out there and enjoy it - now that the sun is finally shining again!

mother's day gift

In Ireland Mother's Day is in March so I only have one mother to plan for this weekend - my mother-in-law. I decided to make a variation on a project my inspring neighbour Cheryl has on her blog, aprettycoollife.com. You can see her project here which I adapted to make quilted placemats.

M.O.L. loves shamrocks, so much so that even her license plate says SHMRK. I used 'shamrock inspired' material on one side and a more traditional pattern on the other side creating sort of a day-to-evening look.

This was an easy project and only took a few hours to complete. I hope she likes them!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies out there. We rock!