A Farewell To Summer (sort of)

Ahh, finally, back to school!  I always feel slightly mean when I excitedly count down the days until the kids are back in school, but its true.  This year they started a little later than normal, an effort by the district to keep the kids out of very old buildings with no air conditioning, due to the fact that Colorado is quickly becoming a desert. (sort of)  First day of school was Monday, and the high for the day was a whopping 98 degrees...so much for that idea.

We had a great summer!  Had lots of fun here in the city, and still had time to participate in a few Craftster swaps!  I've got a back log of photos of things I made over the summer that I haven't had time to share with y'all, so the next couple of posts will get you caught up on my latest adventures in makin' stuff.

This trio was made for the Sew Something Summery Swap--so much fun to dive in to a sewing themed swap when I still consider myself very much a beginner.  A very simple (and reversible) tote bag, wristlet, and lined zipper purse.

I found some PVC shower curtain in the remnant bin at JoAnn and lined the inside with it.  I didn't write down the measurement of the bag (duh) but it is big enough and designed for a wet swimming suit to be thrown into.  This came out better than expected, and while I didn't have time/will/energy to make more, it is definitely on my list of items to make for the kids for next summer.

 Of course I had to throw in some fancy embroidery to try to make up for the sewing  being so simple.

The center of the flower is all french knots!  Honestly, I was very happy to have a project that would give me the opportunity to make a bazillion of them, is that twisted or what?  Also, any chance to practice satin stitching is a good one, so I used tons of that too!

Ah, I think I'll enjoy the quiet of only have one kid at home for the rest of the afternoon, in the A/C, of course.  Because, back to school may say fall, but around here, mother nature says it going to be 95 degrees today.  Yay summer!

Adventures in Sewing Part 6--Look! Up in the Sky!

Its...Superdude!

This is my absolute favorite sewing project to date!  So much fun to make and all of my own design :)  This was all pulled together for my sweet little buddy in Canada's 3rd birthday.

My original plan was to do the emblem with the fancy freezer paper applique method using regular cotton fabric.  I quickly realized that it was too much thinking/cutting so I switched to felt.  Much easier!  Was not, however, much easier to actually sew down.  I discovered that felt is very hard to keep still while machine sewing, so there was a little bit of puckering at the end of the circle.

When figuring this all out in my head, I remembered when NinjaBoy was little, and that things to tie around your neck aren't always the best things for play!  I was inspired by the old Superman pajamas that had velcro right on the shoulders to attach the cape, and went with it by attaching a strip of Velcro to the back of each shirt and to the inside of the cape.

The cape!  Crazy for this fabric I found at JoAnn!  I cut two pieces using NinjaBoy's old cape that lanikins made him way back when as a template.  My thinking was that it would be too flimsy if it was only one piece of fabric, plus, who wants to see the wrong side of printed fabric?

Yet another project that taught me that single fold bias tape is the devil.  Luckily, I had this lovely satin-y ribbon in the stash that matched almost perfectly!  It was tricky holding it on there for the sewing, discovered quickly that pins left nasty holes in the ribbon so here's a pic of what I used to hold it all together:

Woohoo!  I love clothespins!  Seriously, they are handy in so many ways!

Here's a group shot of the whole costume together!

So whattya think?

Adventures In Sewing Part 5--Popover Sundress

Would you believe I'm feeling so confident making the toddler a-line dress that I actually started feeling bored with it?  I decided to check around the web to see if there were any easy peasy freebies around, just to try something new.  I found an adorable dress from Oliver + S, the Popover Sundress, a completely free downloadable pattern and instructions.  Score!

The great thing about the Kwik Sew pattern is that it takes up almost exactly one yard of fabric with very little scrap.  Downside to the Oliver + S pattern is that it takes up a little more fabric because it is much longer than the a-line dress.   Okay, its not really a downside because it gave me and babygirl a great excuse to go fabric shopping!  This was an adorable adventure, it was so fun to see her picking out fabrics, hefting all those bolts into the cart was so cute!  She made some great choices but boy did I learn my lesson about taking her to the fabric store, girl has less self control than me! ;)

On to the dresses...this was my first time making bias straps, which turned out to be not as bad as I thought it would be.  Ended up having some trouble with the ends of the straps, but thanks to my dear Ruby Murray's brilliant solution of knotting the ends to stop fraying, the day was saved and I finished it up rather quickly.

This fabric was an absolute STEAL!!!  Had only planned to buy two yards to make the Popover Sundress, but when we got to the cutting table the employee told me that it was only 58 cents a yard!  Woohoo I bought all they had left, a little over four yards.  It reminds me of Little House on the Prairie for some reason, and ERL called it "the carrot fabric", but babygirl loves the dress so much!  What to do with the other two and a half yards?

A few days after making the carrot dress, ERL came home early and took all three monsters to the library so I could have a little peace and quiet (he's so cool!).  Decided it was a great chance to get some uninterrupted sewing time and make another sundress.  This fabric babygirl calls the dandelion fabric, and after a closer look i realized the little circles do kinda look like her favorite phase of dandelion :)

She's attempting some sort of fashion diva pose here, the silly girl.  Took a bunch of photos and this was the best one, heehee.  This was done in just over two hours and was completed with ZERO seam ripping involved woooooohooo!

We've got a laundry basket full of fabric for babygirls' future dresses, and I compulsively bought four yards of this at IKEA the other night...

I'm thinking its about time for momma to get a sundress...anybody know a good commercial sundress pattern for women?

Adventures In Sewing Part 4--Not A Drawstring Bag

A while back, I found this adorable fabric in a remnant bin, somewhere...maybe Hobby Lobby?  It's like that with remnants, I never remember where they came from and I never have a real plan for what I'm going to do with them.  I was excited to find some "boy" fabric though, as I've realized my stash is quite floral!

I have a little buddy in Canada with a birthday coming up, so I thought a little bag would be a great way to practice some sewing skills while making a cute gift/book/toy bag.  Found the Book Buddies tutorial over at Sew, Mama, Sew! and set to it.  This was my first attempt at making a bag with a lining, which would have been pretty funny to watch, I'm sure, except for those easily offended as there was a high level of swearing involved.  And seam ripping.  And more swearing.

Long story short, I managed to get the stinkin lining in but somehow sewed it wonky, not allowing for the casing I was supposed to make for the drawstring.  Oooops.  I threw it.  I picked it up, took it to my bedroom and threw it on the floor in the closet.  It sat there a good two weeks.

I finished up my other birthday gifts for my little friend, and decided to pick up the wadded up "bag" and give it a look.  I decided that all of that ripping and swearing would be wasted if I didn't do anything to the bag, so I made some little straps for it.

The straps match the lining, which I forgot to take a picture of, but was another random remnant from somewhere.

Hooray for forced ingenuity!  Lanikins always says sometimes the best things come from "winging it" and in this case, I don't think it came out too bad!

Adventures in Sewing Part 3--At Least Two More Dresses

Per babygirls request, I have been slaving away at the sewing machine!  I'm really starting to get the hang of this particular pattern, which is handy since she doesn't want to wear any of her other dresses anymore!

I still think zippers are a major pain, and they both were semi-botched in one way or another, but I'm ok with it!  I keep reminding myself that these are dresses for a four year old to jump around in, no need to be perfect!

This one was made in record time, just over 2 1/2 hours.  Not bad!  Also, I only used the seam ripper once!  Woohoo!

New Adventures coming soon!  I have several projects in the works, one of which I'm drafting my own "pattern" for!

Adventures In Sewing Part 2--Gardening Apron For Mom

Time to share another successful sewing project!  This one comes from the awesome book One Yard Wonders and was made for my lovely Mommy.  Mom is an avid gardener and I always get her something related to playing in the dirt for Mother's Day, so this seemed a perfect gift and a perfect challenge for my beginning sewing skills!

A whole lot of "firsts" with this project....first pockets, first loop-y things and first time using bias tape!  I confess I almost chickened out on the "loopy things" but then talked myself down with the realization that it isn't really a gardening apron if you you don't have a place to hang your tools!

Action shot of me trying it on, you can see the loopy things better in this photo.

This project was a blast, and for those of us keeping score--I only used the seam ripper twice!

Adventures in Sewing Part 1--Toddler A-line Dress

Upon bringing home my new sewing machine, Babygirl immediately insisted that I make her a dress.  Definitely an intimidating request for a beginner that is just now getting over the fear of sewing through my finger!  I set out to find the most simple dress pattern I could find, and after looking through tons I was too chicken to attempt (ruffles, darts, gathering, etc) found Kwik Sew Pattern 3862.  Can't get more simple than an A-line dress!

I'm proud to announce that I only used the seam ripper 3 times for this project!  But I will also publicly confess that the inside is an absolute mess and I am afraid to see what happens to it once its gone through the wash!

This was my first attempt at putting a zipper in anything, come to find out it really wasn't as difficult as I had invisioned.  (action shot of the back--ah the fun of photographing a moving target!)

During the process I kept reminding myself that it doesn't have to be perfect, this is a learning process and hey, its a play dress for a four year old!  Turns out she loves it and it took me a full 24 hours to peel it off of her!  She's now requesting "at least two" more dresses just like it!

Sewing up a storm these last few days so more projects to follow soon!

On Learning to Sew...

Pretty much sums up my experience thus far in learning to machine sew!

After successfully completing a few envelope back cushion covers, I decided to venture out and try something a little more difficult for dear friend and (biggest cheerleader) as her birthday was coming up.  I came across this lovely, seemingly easy to follow for a beginner, tea wallet tutorial and set to work.  Amazingly, it came out right on the first try!

The stitches aren't even all that crooked! ;)  Must have a few more photos because I'm so proud of it!

This was the first time I sewed something without lanikins looking over my shoulder for support.

Not bad for a newbie eh?  Feeling very confident, I set to make another using some lovely fat quarters I bought a while back.  Breezing along, thinking how wonderful I am I can do this no problem.....

This is how it ended up.

Sigh.  Swear.  Throw things.

Fortunately for me, I have two amazing seamstresses as mentors, the lovely Ruby Murray and dear sister lanikins.  Both have been awesomely encouraging, reminding me that EVERYBODY has to use a seam ripper now and then.  I'm not going to give up!

Working on a "simple" (sarcastically worded, since everything seems complicated to me right now!) a-line dress for Babygirl, hope to share successful results with you soon!

Have you seen this beautiful machine??

Drool worthy, isn't it?  Pricey too!  Here's the details, if you're interested.  This gorgeous beast does tons of awesome things and will very soon be delivered to dear sister lanikins' house.  Jealous!  However, it means that I will be getting her old machine!

The last few Crafty Friday's have been spent practicing on the machine, with lanikins patiently answering my stupid questions and telling me to stop being a chicken.  One of the projects was this neck pillow for NinjaBoy out of a fabric remnant I picked up super cheap that has been sitting in a drawer for the last six months or so.  (compulsive buying much?).  I have enough fabric left over to make a removable cushion cover for a pillow form that was also purchased on impulse because of its drastically reduced price.  See?  Hoarded things get used eventually!

Last night, Mom and I had a little outing to the Not-So-Stinky-Thrift and I found these lovely and completely necessary books.  I've only spent a few minutes browsing through the Singer book, but I can tell already it will be a valuable reference book to have on hand.  The other book is just so much fun, and it is the oldest craft book I've ever found at a thrift store, published in 1966.  I will definitely be giving some of these old projects a try, especially since it is full of groovy sewing and embroidery patterns, as well as lovely recycling projects to do with the kids.

Also found at the thrift, a lovely assortment of vintage thread for a mere $3.49!  Pretty nice selection of colors for a grab bag too.  These will definitely be used in the very near future as I gain confidence and read up on sewing.

And once they're used up, most of them are on wooden spools that I can't wait to re-purpose!

Anybody else have an inspiring crafty find this week?