The sweet smell of progress

Here is a sneak peek at the patchwork bag that has been taking over my life for the last little while. I still have to do the lining and straps, but that should go much quicker than this part has.

I wanted to do outside pockets, but I didn't make them large enough to do what I had envisioned, so I left them off. Oh well, I still think it's coming along nicely.

Hiccup

Hmph! I had a hiccup with the patchwork bag I am making. I decided it wasn't large enough, so I added more patches. Unfortunately doing that made it too large to cut the lining out of the piece of fabric I bought for that purpose.

I am bummed. I'm hoping that particular bolt is still on the shelf at Jo-Ann. Otherwise I'll probably never settle on something I like just as well.

Four more

I whipped up four more of the cloth baggies this weekend from a Spongebob remnant. Man, I love remnants for projects like this. I get plenty of fabric for the project I need to do and it's really cheap.

These bags were definitely a different experience from the larger bag I made for my husband. I changed up the way I was doing the lining for a much more professional appearance. Of course, a better looking finished product means they were a much larger pain in my rear to actually assemble.



I made the snack sized bag too small. It isn't deep enough to go over the arm of the sewing machine, that was NOT a fun thing to discover. Unfortunately it was a discovery I made after I had already cut the fabric for two and I am way too stubborn to just throw the cut pieces into the scrap bin.

Now I just have to wait and see how they hold up in the lunch bags.

Come to think of it

My last post title could have worked with this post as well. Thankfully, I don't have several more rabbits to make though. Only one.

I used a pattern from Carol's Zoo that I bought quite awhile ago. It was meant to made out of faux fur, but since there were a couple of cotton bunnies in the picture I thought I'd try it that way.



I'm not sure I like it. She's cute and all, but her head seems very small for her body. I don't know if it's because I made it from cotton and had to stuff the arms, legs, and body more firmly than I would have with a faux fur?

Oh well, it's not for me to fall in love with. It's for the kids. Well, this bunny is for my step-daughter...though you'd never know it with all of the hugs and kisses it got from Gabe.



I couldn't find the corduroy like I wanted, so I was toying with not making my son a bunny. An idea that got even more appealing after I saw how his sister's turned out(with the disproportionate head and body). Just look at him loving on that rabbit though! How could I not sew him his own?



Dang cute kid making me do work.

One down

Several more to go. My husband takes two sandwiches to work every day, and as a way to conserve bags, he usually throws them both in one. So I had to make his a lot larger than I will be making the rest. I patterned it off of a one quart freezer bag.

Like the fabric? He has a shirt in almost the exact same pattern. We see it pop up occasionally on reruns of Magnum P.I. Yeah, he's that kind of dork.

Hippity Hoppity

I can't sing that Peter Cottontail song anymore without chanting it like a monk from the "Fantastic Easter Special" of South Park. What can I say? Crudely animated tiny swearing children are just my sense of humor.

My current crafty creations are bunnies for my kids' Easter baskets. I'm doing my step-daughter's first because I'm making hers in a bright spring cotton that should prove fairly easy. I am imagining my son's bunny in corduroy, though and am thinking it will be more challenging.

I'm already thinking about my next project(which coincidentally isn't even on the huge project idea list that sits on the clip board in my sewing room). I was ridiculously excited when I stumbled across a photo of baggies made of cloth in one of my recent Google searches. It was a "D'OH!" moment for me, complete with the Homer Simpson smack to the head. Why hadn't I thought of that?

We already use reusable lunch sacks in this house. We reuse every bag the grocery store has ever given us, recycle it when it can't be used anymore and never, ever take plastic over paper anything if we have a choice. We often skip the bags altogether at the stores and carry our loot out in our hands, or put it in the basket under the stroller. To me, this makes so much sense and is an obvious candidate not only for my next project, but for our next step in being a more earth friendly household.

What she thought of her gift and other updates

She loved it! And I love it when I get it right!

All last week was bright and beautiful here. Thursday and Friday were even warm enough to get rid of the bulky winter jackets and toss on any old sweatshirt out of the closet. Heaven.

Of course, it was the kind of weather that led a certain seven year old girl to believe it was spring. She is sorely disappointed this week at the gray skies, pouring rain and 35 degree temperatures. As a matter of fact, no indoor activity will calm the case of spring fever those sunny skies left her with.

I decided that it was the perfect weather to sit at the sewing machine, and what better thing to entertain a little girl than an afternoon making Barbie clothes. I got my very own Barbie, a pattern for Barbie clothes and some cute fabric for Christmas. I end up with so many tiny little scraps from my creations that I can't bear to throw away, so I was absolutely thrilled with the prospect of making cute little doll dresses from them.

I made one. My Barbie is apparently too bootylicious(and bustylicious)for my pattern. At least I can use it as a base and enlarge it...still though, it is mildly disappointing that it didn't work without alterations.