This Close

I currently want to take my High Street Messenger bag and light it on fire...or toss it in the ocean. Either way, this bag went from good to bad and took my whole day along with it! I spent hours (HOURS!) working on this bag. It was coming along great, until I got to edge-stitching the pieces together along the top (the 2nd to last step in the whole process). I have ripped it out 5 times! I can't face my seam ripper again right now. I may come back to this one more time tomorrow. We'll see. I may use some of the pieces (the strap and the hanging interior pocket) and add them into a tote bag. I'll have to decide tomorrow, I wanted this finished by the weekend! :-(

Edited to add: Ok, after venting on my blog I picked up the seam ripper and started ripping some of those stitches out. I'm going to give it another try tomorrow. :-)

Guess what!!

I was added to the Big List of Sewing Blogs!!! I'm number 303, if you're looking :-) Yay, very exciting!!!

I've only done a tiny bit of work on the High Street bag, but I'm hoping to get much more of it done by the weekend - stay tuned!

High Street - Ready to Sew

All the pieces are cut out and labeled (Oh, except for the exterior strap. Even though I followed the cutting directions perfectly, I needed to go out and get 1/3 of a yard more to cut the strap. I had to piece the canvas interfacing piece for it as well, keep this in mind if you plan to sew this pattern.). I plan to work on sewing this up this afternoon and I will post my progress later on or tomorrow. Happy Saturday!

Weekend Update

I didn't get any cutting or sewing done this weekend, I just didn't have the chance. However, I just pressed up my fabric for the High Street bag, here they are:

The green on the right will be the exterior with the houndstooth as the lining. You may recognize the green from this bag I made my friend, I always loved it, now it will be a bag for me!

I also went to Joann's and got 3 Simplicity patterns on sale:

And a few New Look patterns, they are cheap enough to buy any time. Now that I have a serger, I need some knit-specific patterns! There are also some weddings to attend in the coming year, which is why I got the dress patterns. Cutting out of the High Street bag should take place over the week, and I plan to start sewing over the weekend (I hope!). Have a great week!

Anna in Action

I am wearing my Anna Tunic right now! I love it :-) I just got back from my aunt and uncle's 30th anniversary party and then I'm heading into Boston in just a little bit. Since I have some time, I took a few pics in my mirror, I wanted to have some good ones to show. Here she is!

I bought fabrics for the High Street Messenger Bag. They are washed and now just need to be pressed up and I can start cutting. The cutting is going to be a long process. I'll show the fabrics off tomorrow. I read a tip somewhere that said using masking tape to label each piece is helpful, so I plan to do that. I have had this pattern for a while, I can't wait to get started!

I am still waiting for my quilting fabrics to arrive. I bought some of the red with white polka dots that I used for my pillow. I am going to make the bias binding out of this fabric. I think I'm going to back the quilt in a light blue sheet. More to come once I actually start work on this, right now I'm going to concentrate on the cutting of High Street.

Skin Deep

Well, it's finally finished - my Anna Tunic! You know that phrase that beauty can be only skin deep? Anna is beautiful on the outside, but has some ugliness on the inside. No worries though - I'm the only one who can see that and the outside looks great! All that is left to do is sew on the buttons and make the flower. You can read my review of this pattern here. I plan to wear this to an anniversary party next week and I'll post a picture of Anna in action!

I went to Joann's last night to get their Fall Fusion magazine which shows fall fabrics made up in Simplicity patterns. I also got two McCalls patterns which were on sale for $1.99 each. I want to make the wrap skirt in tan corduroy.

Upcoming projects - I've been bitten by the quilting bug. I need a blanket for my bed and I have been wanting to try a quilt, especially since I had so much fun making my Patchwork Pillow. I'm going to use Amy Butler's Lotus Brick Path quilt pattern and I ordered a whole bunch of Swell by Urban Chicks fabric. I had a hard time finding it, so this plan has come just in time!

I'm taking a few classes in the fall at the local community college, so I need a new bag! I have had this messenger bag pattern for ages, I think it's time to make it. I plan on making this in a solid color with a fun lining. I'm going to use home decorator weight fabrics so that it's not too slouchy. I'm going to cut out the pattern tomorrow and look for some fabric this week.

Have a great week everyone!

Bags Bags Bags

Ah, welcome weekend! I'm so happy Saturday is here :-) I have the afternoon free to work on my Anna Tunic so hopefully I'll have some progress to post about. I have been seeing it made up on some blogs lately and everyone says it's a pretty quick project - we'll see!


Anyway, here are some links to tutorials for bags I have bookmarked. Of course, I haven't gotten around to making any of these, but maybe soon! I'm planning on printing out these tutorials and putting them into a binder like Jessica did.


I love the simplicity of this bag - shown over on the new website The Sewing Republic.


The Everything Bag would be a great way to show off that little piece of fabric that you just love, but might be too much for a whole bag.


I love this wristlet tutorial - especially how Jody made them up in a combination of linen and prints - another great way to show off a favorite fabric.


This cute bag from Martha Stewart is great for those vintage pillowcases I see all over the internet - I wish I could find some!


I have seen this bag made up on Craftster a lot - seems very simple and cute.


Betsy Ross has a fun line of patterns - here is a free pattern for a "To Market Bag."


Happy Sewing!

Pincushions

Hello again! I'm back with some tutorials for pincushions. I think these are so much fun to make and they are so cute to display or give away! Pincushions make a fast and easy craft and are great for using up your scraps.

Here is a cute little patchwork cushion from paper.string.cloth.

Craftstylish has an article about making pincushions that you can embellish with embroidery. Check it out here.

This pretty cushion is put together by hand - a relaxing craft to do while watching your favorite TV show perhaps???

I adore Heather Bailey's fabrics - I ordered a whole bunch of Freshcut so that I will have it before production stops - I might make one of these little guys up in my favorite colors from the line.

Tiny pincushions from one of my favorite blogs - How About Orange.

Last but not least, I have a tutorial from the Queen of Craft - Martha Stewart! This one is for a teacup pincushion using felted materials. Great for recycling your old sweaters!

Enjoy!

Baby Gift Ideas

Hello there! I meant to post these links on Monday, but didn't have the chance. While looking through my bookmarks I noticed that I have several tutorials that can be grouped together into one category, including baby items, pincushions and purses. Today, I bring you the baby items I have found. I'll post again this week with the others! And again, if anybody makes anything of these tutorials, I'd love to see a pic!

Bibs make really cute and fast gifts - Here is one I found that looks pretty easy and here is one from the Purl Bee blog. Also from the Purl Bee is this quick and cozy blankie.

This website has free patterns for baby bibs, booties, burping cloths and more - looks like they will be adding more soon.

This little lamb would be great to tuck into a basket of gifts for the new baby.

Lastly, here is a tutorial for appliqued onesies - the possibilities are endless!

Just to let you all know, I have not used these tutorials myself, so I don't know how easy or difficult they each are. I have just been bookmarking them to use at some point and thought it might be nice to pass them along. Good luck!

Progress and Pattern Review

I began work on my Anna Tunic today. I didn't get the time to spend the entire day in my sewing room, but I did serge the side seams of both the tunic exterior and the lining. I plan on taking my time with this one, I really want it to come out good. Check out those serged seams:


*sigh* I love my serger! Sorry, no pics of my t-shirt yet, I totally forgot today. I plan on making a few more, so they will appear at some point!

I also put 2 new reviews up on Pattern Review. This website is a fantastic source of information for sewers. I love browsing through the reviews for patterns to find new inspiration and I checked here before purchasing my sewing machine and my serger. I plan on adding reviews as I work on patterns or read sewing books, and I will let you know here when I do. You can find my review on my Singer Ingenuity sewing machine here and my review on Sew U: Home Stretch right here.

And, a first for me - I've been tagged! Mama de Saga from Bon Souvenir has tagged me and I have been thinking all day of clever responses. I don't know how clever these will be, but they certainly are random!


1. I am obsessive about grammar and spelling. I think I should have been an English teacher. Whenever I read something with bad grammar or spelling mistakes, I want to break out the red pen!



2. My taste in music runs the gamut from country (Kenny Chesney and Keith Urban) to anything 80's to Metallica and Nine Inch Nails. You might even find a tiny bit of rap on my ipod - just no classical!



3. My first job ever was at McDonald's, and it remains one of my favorite jobs ever! I believe I have worked 8 different jobs over the past 15 years, but this one was so much fun! My store was in the mall and everyone I worked with was friends, it was just a great time. I was a manager at 17 and I even got a scholarship from them! Writing this just made me remember how excited I was when I would get a 25 cent raise - imagine that! :-)



4. I hate being touched by strangers. When my mother and I used to take the subway to work together, she would always let me sit at the end of the row, so that she would be the only person next to me - thanks Mom!



5. I'm a giant Red Sox fan - GIANT - I'd rather stay home and watch the Sox than go out - and if I'm out during a Sox game, you can bet I'm watching them on the TV's! They even won the 2004 World Series on my birthday :-)



6. I have been watching soap operas and reading soap opera magazines for years and years. I don't get to watch them as much now, since I work during the day, but I still read my magazines. I keep up on all the shows, but my favorite always has been General Hospital. In high school, if I didn't have an afterschool activity, you could find me on the couch with a bowl of mac and cheese watching GH and when I first went away to college, one way to combat homesickness was to get an ice cream and go to the student center where they played GH on a giant TV.



Well, hope those were random enough! Since this is my first tagging, I want to tag anyone who reads this - so consider yourself tagged! And thanks Mama de Saga, that was fun!

Stretch It Out

I set up my serger today and quickly got to work....this machine is so easy to use! Once I read through the manual, I got it threaded and started to practice. Eventually I got out my Sew U Home Stretch t-shirt pattern and made it up! It's not perfect, but for my first garment on the serger, it's pretty good! I'll show a picture tomorrow when I can have someone else take the photo for me.

I cut out Anna, so work will begin on that tomorrow!

Built By Me

I finished my Built By Wendy top! I love this pattern, it's such a confidence builder. If you haven't tried sewing clothes yet, I suggest starting with this pattern. You can see a million examples of it made up on flickr. And, my serger arrived!!!! I can't wait to get it set up and start playing around on it. I bought some gray knit at Joann's to practice with. I'll definitely post about it in the next day or two.

My party was a success, all the food came out great and everyone had a great time. It's tough work hosting :-) I was up late doing dishes - my next place has to have a dishwasher!!!

Here is Friday's tutorial - an ipod case. I need to make one of these soon - my ipod is just stuffed into my purse or gym bag. Next week I'm going to share a few links to baby gifts. There are a ton out there, these are just my favorites. I also have a few pincushion tutes I will pass along as well. Hope everyone has a great weekend!