Saturday Night Bean Bags

Tomorrow morning we are having the youth at our church lead games for the younger kids. Yay! Should be lots of fun. One of the games is bean bag toss . . . and as I was planning for tomorrow it occurred to me: we don't have any bean bags! LOL

Minor detail.

So off I go to the sewing room. I love scrap projects, they are my favourite kind of project. This is also great because I've been wanting to make bean bags for Morgan for a while now! I made a set for Silvia's 1st birthday, so it was a great reason to get busy!

I was in a bit of a time crunch, as I started this at 9:30 pm tonight, so instead of doing a neat and tidy whip stitch, I cheated and did a messy, ugly straight stitch with the machine. Ick. Someday I will seriously regret this!

So here are the 'front' sides . . . lots of funky fabrics!

'Back' sides, also lovely.

Let the fun begin <3

Today was sew busy

*Whew*

I am quite proud of myself today! Not only did I have a productive day with my sewing machine, I also managed to clean the house, run errands, and keep the baby alive and fed. Go me! LOL

I had a lovely request from Maggie to make a few outfits for Baby, Louise's baby doll! Baby was supposed to come to my house to get 'babysat' for the day so I could take her measurements and make sure everything fit okay. However, she spent the day in Maggie's car while she was at work. Poor baby.

I made her 2 dresses. Please keep in mind I have NOT attempted clothing of any type yet. I was glad Baby needed some, it was a very welcomed opportunity to learn and practice! Maybe someday I'll be brave enough to make something for one of the real children! :)

I have no idea what I did or how I did it. haha. Are you shocked? … I'm starting to see a pattern…

I did try my best to figure out the pillowcase dress based on a variety of tutorials on Pinterest. The second dress I was mostly winging it. For the gathering of the skirt I proudly remembered how to make a ruffle, as Joyce taught me back in October!

Oh yes. I forgot to mention, I had to use Teddy bears to make sure they would fit Baby, but I forgot to take pics without the bears! Oops! Maybe the bears can borrow them someday!

I also spent the day conquering my greatest fear: Binding a quilt! *Double Whew* I finally just sat down and figured it out! Well, the truth would be that each side gets a little bit better than the last. By the 4th side (or aka the LAST chance side) I think it turned out okay!

I said this on my FB already, but I think it is true: At least by he time she is old enough to notice all my sewing flaws she will hopefully be old enough to appreciate a home made quilt from her Momma! :D

Alrighty, nighty night!

Krinkles and Taggies

When I first re-started sewing in September 2011 I really needed to start learning all over. It had been about 10 years since I had even touched my machine!

One of my first project was a krinkle taggie blanket. It was ok, but far from perfect! I've since made one for a lot of babies: Jack, Alice, Silvia, & Morgan... Each one getting a bit better and less terrible!

Tonight I made the cutest one yet! A mini patchwork one, hope Morgan loves it!! Made %100 from scraps:
Ducks- from Jessica's project we did in high school
Daisies- from my childhood best friend Allison when we were in grade 7 family studies
Cats- from grade 8 family studies, had a pair of pj pants with them
Orange- from Michelle, she gave it to me to use as accents on an apron for Louise

Love pulling all these treasured bits and scraps out to create something new and fun!!

Clothes Pin Holder

With all the nice sunny days we have been having lately, I have been getting very excited for spring! I was able to hang the clothes on the line a few times in the last 2 weeks.


I have always just kept my pins in a cute wicker basket on the deck. However, it's not uncommon for me to spend the first 5 minutes of laundry-hanging-time searching around the lawn for the pins that have blown out of the basket. Why have I waited this long to find a better spot for them?


So I made… a super cute Clothes Pin Holder. (Yes, another easy project. You may start to see a theme, I don't have time to invest in long-term projects!)


No, this is not a proper tutorial. I can hardly remember how I did it, and I forgot to take pics!


You will need: a shirt, scissors, sewing machine, thread


Step One: Find a fun shirt to use. I used one of my sisters shirts… I highly recommend this!


… haha, Okay actually it was a hand me down, it just never fit right but I love the colour/pattern … 


Step Two: Find the size of the bag you want to create and cut through both sides of the shirt, using the neck hole as the top/centre of the bag. Do not cut any of the top on either side of the neck hole, this is going to stayed sewn. (This is where I really did no measuring… all just guessing and eyeing)


Step Three: Flip inside out. Sew all three sides cut. I double stitched, 1/4 inch and 1/8 inch seam.


Step Four: Flip rightside out. Use your scissor tips to push out the corners.

Step Five: Find a hanger, I used a baby hanger :)

Step Six: I sewed little loop holders to help it stay on the hanger. I was worried it wouldn't hold up in the wind without them.

Not sure how to describe what I did. I cut 2 little strips, folded them in half, sewed along the edge, flipped them inside out, and sewed them in as loops. No, I  have no idea what the measurements are! The loops are lined up with the notches in the hanger, so it won't fall off or blow away!

Step Seven: Fill with clothes pins and hang on the deck :) :)

Step Eight: Wait for another sunny day… 






No, this project didn't turn out perfect and there was a lot of guess work in it, but it's not hard… you will figure it out. If I can, anyone can!

Baby Legs Recap!

Last week I mentioned that I made a pair of baby leggings for Morgan. I could easily indulge myself and buy a million pairs of these for my little love bug, but I haven't been able to bring myself to pay $15 for each set!


I decided to make some and it honestly took me 20 minutes to make 2 pairs. (I made a matching pair for my sweet niece, Silvia). I followed a few different sets of directions that I had found through Pinterest and I think they turned out alright :)




You will need: Socks, Scissors, Thread, and Sewing Machine


Step One: Buy a pair of socks. Should have been knee socks, but this was all they had. Luckily Morgan's legs are still super short :) These were only $2 at WalMart… can't beat that for a trial run!

Step Two: Cut off heel and toe.

Step Three: Take the piece from between the foot and heel. Fold it inside itself. I'm going to call this piece a tube.

Step Four: Slide the remaining piece inside the new tube. Make sure to line up the unfinished edges.

 Step Five: Sew 1/4 inch all the way around, through all 3 layers. I chose to do this twice around, just to be sure!

Step Six: After sewing, flip the tube portion right side out.

 Step Seven: Find a cute baby to use as a model!

What a fun project this was! Can't wait to make more. I am thinking about making some funky non-matching ones out of all the stray socks I have not been able to bring myself to throw out!