MORE coaster!

Here are a few more coasters that I made these last couple weeks.  The first happy red and blue ones are for Lori and her new abode in Portland.

The second are for my gramma’s birthday earlier this month, it turns out she has been using the same corky-wooden ones since the 70’s, a gift from my uncle, so it seems they are not only useful but appreciated!

These are made from Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts, the same as the last set and the same modification of using different fabrics on each side instead of the same.  The instructions say to use a high-loft quilt batting for the interfacing, which I did for the first set, but as mentioned I thought that a layer of cotton flannel would have the same effect after being quilted.  I didn’t go that far this time around, but on Lori’s I used a single layer of some bamboo/cotton quilt batting that I had instead which was FAR from being high-loft.  Additionally, on gramma’s I used two layers of that same batting.  The verdict?  I like the two layers my low-loft bamboo/cotton in this project far more than the other two variations.  Gramma’s coasters turned out to be just the perfect stiffness, and I think they are going to turn out to have better absorption too, bonus!

This is an easy easy project with almost instant result, my favorite part is the quilting, probably because of the OCD in me making sure all those lines are straight and spaced perfectly.

Problem Solved!

My chronic condition is slowly being treated one project at a time.

PROBLEM:  How do I EFFICIENTLY carry little as possible with me on short outings while still meeting the basic needs of a messy one year old?

Obvious solution:  Throw a few diapers and some wipes along with a snack in a bit of an over sized purse and woosh, I am out the door.  Nope, here lies the problem for you childless people, or even you dads who have not had to face such an embarrassment as crunched & mangled diapers falling out of your purse a THE MOST inopportune times!  Diapers don’t stay in their vacuumed packed state, they get mushed and mangled, quickly!  Who wants crumpled diapers floating around freely in their purse or anywhere else for that matter?

REAL SOLUTION:  A pouch to hold your most valuable of wipe holders and two or three diapers!

While searching high and low the closets solution I could find was Skip Hop’s Pronto, and even it, after I saw it in person was HUGE– for my needs at least, and heavy for an on-the-go quick solution.  So here you have it, the result of a months worth of searching, plus I got to stitch a bit which I have been missing since I finishing this.

This super simple pouch is made from 100% linen, and the lining is a print from Free Spirit that Lori used on Ella’s quilt, we used on her window treatment, and these.  It is coming out of my ears, and I cannot stand it any longer as a prominent fabric in my projects, so it has been demoted to lining fabric only, which I actually really like.  PLUS I wasn’t really sure if this project was going to turn out since it was a bag with a flap that I had never done before.  I always seem to get mixed up with all the right-sides, wrong-sides, and the turning, I was sure I was going to end up with something backwards.  Must be beginners luck!

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to ella on your first christmas, *heart* mom

This is little Ella’s Christmas present from me.  A bit late, YES, BUT it has been complete for a couple months, I just didn’t get around to taking her closeup.  I feel like I must explain the delay, really I have some great excuses!

You see, I received my sewing machine a year ago this week for my birthday, Ella was just four months old!  Not the best time to start a new hobby as involved as sewing with nobody to teach me except my trusty book from Lori!  Well, I didn’t get around to sewing until October, at which time I thought I would commit myself to the loony bin and MAKE everybody Christmas and Birthday presents!  Somewhere in there I also thought I would hit myself over the head and commit myself all together and make Ella this perfect little Olive by Hillary Lang at Wee Wonderfuls.  Needless to say, I didn’t actually start until a couple days AFTER Christmas… after all, 6 month ella won’t know any different, right?  Well, Ms. Olive here turned out to be much more difficult than this inexperienced sewist expected, and after the holiday marathon I wasn’t exactly committed to hanging in there with it.  Somewhere along the way a few months into procrastinating I regained my confidence and popped it out in a night, but then her rear remained un-sewn for a good month until I figured that out too– again, not too committed to the project.  And here we are August, Ella is nine months older, Olive is finally getting photographed, and technically still has no face…

There is a bit of an explanation behind her facelessness too.

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coming soon…

almost out of the funk…

yes, those are cut band-aids!

…wait until you see what I have planned for this guy!

A bit more back project briefing

I made this hankershief for Mr. K this past Valentine’s Day after he not so subtly dropped hint after hint that he wanted something hand made by ME. This created quiet the inner conflict– what the heck do I know how to make for a man, besides a card??? I make lots of things, but turns out nothing is suited for a man! Prior to his prodding I had never taken much thought to this, and was perfectly content not ever thinking about it, but the the request was made. It would not have been wise to bow out of such a challenge, so here enters the timeless monogrammed hanky with a bit of a bright twist. It doesn’t need much explanation except that it was my first stand alone embroidery project, small I realize but oh so satisfying! I used a couple small sheets of Sulky’s tear away stabilizer to help with the puckering on the thin fabric and it worked like a charm. I am not so sure if a seasoned stitcher would need such a crutch, but for my lack of consistent tension it was appreciated.

… and then of course there is always the token card that Mr. K has come to expect.

The red and white polka dots (which I see they don’t have any more, but they were part of the luxe collection) and beautiful chocolate paper are from my beloved paper-source.

long awaited coasters

Since we have been married (4 years!) we have never owned coasters– despite having many nice wood surfaces that tremble at the thought of careless condensation! Pretty lame, I will admit! There is always a scramble for a paper towel, unused place mat, sock, plate, burp-cloth, you name it. It has gone on long enough! But before you jump to conclusions about the many reasons why it has taken SO long, let me tell you about a chronic condition I came down with many years ago called “I can make that.”

Here’s how it usually goes: “oooo, this is GREAT! Honey do you like it!?” “Yea, that is great, lets get it, how much is it?” I turn it over to reveal the price and then tell Honey with disappointment. “That’s not bad, seems worth it,” he says. “WHAT? That is awful… I can make that.” I say as I put it back on the shelf and longingly step away. As we get ready to leave the store Honey says “Aren’t you going to get that?” “What?” “The thing.” “No, I can make that.” “But you don’t!” “Shut up!” And so my list grows, more ideas clog my brain and our lack of coasters continued.

These little quilted gems are from Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts, which I am in love with by the way. I decide to do these coasters over something much more simple because I learned to use my fancy quilting foot, it worked like a charm. Instead of one rectangle to make the folded square that resulted in the same pattern on both sides, I created the rectangle with two different fabrics from Joel Dewberry’s Aviary collection, and then continued the directions by the book. The pattern calls for a high loft quilt batting as the facing which I used, but I am not all the impressed with the idea. They turned out much more flat and non-cushy than I was hoping, I think they would have much better absorption and probably even look loftier if two or three pieced of cotton flannel were used in place of the batting. I am sure that I will be making at least a couple more sets of these as I have proved to be pretty repetitive with new projects, meaning my current obsession with totes and bags, so when I try it I will let you know.

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Happy 1st Birthday, Haislea!

This week Ella and I made a sweet little tote for her new friend Haislea who turned one today! I love the way it turned out and I think that I will finally be making Ella one, that is, after I get done with other gifts for the baby shower I am going to in a week! I am yet to complete anything for us to keep. I really do need to remedy that! Until then, here are the stats:

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sewn thank-yous

These are a few of the Thank You cards that I sent out from all of us at Christmas. I also gave a couple sets away as gifts. They were super easy, and fun to make. I think the simplicity of the cards are great in real life b/c they are set off by my beloved luxe paper from paper-source. Before zig-zagging the fabric on the card I used a small piece of double sided adhesive to stabilize the fabric when I sewed it on the machine. This is one of those small and simple projects that was very gratifying when I finished all of them. I could sit and make tons of these if people didn’t mind getting the same style of thank you in the mail from me occasion after occasion. Next time I will probably print the text so I can say a bit more and have a wider variety of fonts than the stamps I have.

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christmas 2007 gift making

Wow, wee! This is old news, especially for those of you who received one of these bags– but there are some people who have not seen my sewing marathon and have been asking to. These are pretty much my first sewing projects ever. My actual first bag never got photographed before I washed it and it fell apart! I was very bummed, but on the up side I learned a lot about linen and what not to do. The pleated bags for Sheri and my Mom came from the sewing book I learned how to sew out of, Bend-the-Rules Sewing, which my dear Lori gifted to me for my birthday last year. I gobbled the book up as soon as I opened it and have done many other projects since.

I recommend this book as a great first book for beginner sewers, but I can not speak for the advanced lot of you as I am far from that; however, please check out the Bend-the-Rules Sewing errant page before starting a project! Trust me, it is frustrating to be 100% sure that you are doing something correctly and still have it not come out right at 1am, only to find out after much cursing, fist pounding, and loads of disappointment that you are NOT crazy and there truly was something wrong with the pattern or given measurements, honest!

NOTE: Sometimes the botoom photo feed breaks from flickr, I’m working on it, but in the mean time check them out here.

for baby rocki

I made these little gems a couple weeks ago for a new baby along with our favorite and most gental California Baby shampoo and conditioner and with my other trusty standby, the Tide Pen!

I bought this wonderfully 100% cotton flannel print a while back ago on the cheap with just this in mind. The backside is plain white flannel and there is an extra piece inside for additional absorption. If baby Rocki is anything like Ella was she is going to need it for sure! I used whatever rickrack I could find at Joanns, since we don’t have a proper fabric store here. The rickrack its polyester, which I had reservations about at first, but turns out it was great to use on a project like this because I was able to melt the ends instead of worrying about how to finish them. Super simple. I made these burp clothes a bit wider than anything I had and longer. More width and length is a necessity when volumes of yuck come out! Final measurements are 9.25”x15.25”, perfect for any accident baby or toddler.