Spring Bunny Bags

Sometimes while I'm perusing Pinterest I see a project idea, that's totally adorable (like little felt Spring rabbit treat bags for Easter) and I know I want to do it.  And often one criteria for projects I choose is: It looks like a really quick project.

Because we recently discussed how my big projects --like a quilt-- can take me three years!

So quick is good.

And I think, "I will make that quick project,  it will be fabulous and wonderful!

Except I forget that I now have four children, and no matter how quick a project is supposed to be, when you're making four--it is still a substantial undertaking.

 But it's all right, because I started early enough, and hadn't given Emily back her sewing machine yet.  So we made it in time.

Four little bunny treat sacks.  

 And filled with candy. . . Sooo Cuuute!

The little part between the ears is not sewn together, so you just fill with treats and tie a bow around the ears and they stick out all cute.

(And they actually hold more than I expected.)

I liked doing different colors, and I used different fabrics for the ears and different embroidery thread for their faces.  And even tried pinking shears for cutting out the charcoal one.

They weren't tricky, except for trying to transfer where the eyes were supposed to go onto my fabric.  Maybe she had a good suggestion for how to do it in the tutorial, but I couldn't tell you, I'm not really the instruction-reading type.

So go ahead, try it!  There's plenty of time before Easter.  It's a totally cute, really quick project.

(As long as you're just making one!)

Sewing Pit Stop

In the "bleak midwinter" I get a little SAD and find that the only thing that really gets me feeling good again is a nice project to work on.  This year I decided that now was as good a time as any to work on the quilts I started two years ago! (Not the pinwheel quilt--I finished that one last year.)

A bonus of this idea is that I have most of the supplies already lined up to go--so I didn't have to spend any  money to get started working on a big fun project right away--hooray for procrastination.  However, it wasn't too long after I started sewing circles on squares that I realized that what I needed first was the genius sewing machine pincushion idea I saw a long time ago. 

So I momentarily set aside the quilt fabric, and pulled these cute owls from my stash of leftovers. 

This pincushion is awesome.  It is in exactly the place you need it when you are pulling pins out of fabric as you sew along.  And since it is attached to the machine, you can pull pins out if it one-handed, and the pincushion stays in place. 

(Also, I'll admit here the awesomeness of having a designer for a husband--he lets me buy the more-expensive colored pearl pins because "if they improve the aesthetic experience then they're worth the added value".  And yes, they do improve my sewing experience--every time I use them I smile!)

I love projects like this that take 10 minutes and are infinitely satisfying because of their cuteness and utility.

Now, back to that stack of circles and squares. . .  

Handmade Baby Shower Gift

The gift theme for the baby shower was "My Favorite Things", which really is a great theme fora first-time mom and baby. And it was actually Emily--the mom-to-be--'s idea

I decided one of my favorite things is the bapron, so I made her one (This time baby-sized and girly.)

I used the extra corner of some fabric I bought to make a classy, feminine apron for myself--luckily there was *just* enough leftover for a little bapron.  And I found a cute coordinating flannel in my stash. 

Something that was a favorite of my sisters, that she gifted to us with our last newborn was a Boon Squirt Spoon. Emily and her husband had actually seen us using the spoon at church before and thought it was the coolest thing, so I made a mental note to get one for them when they were pregnant.  The store I was at no longer sold the Boon brand, but they had this similar baby food-dispensing spoon of another brand. 

The two gifts made a great pair. 

I was happily impressed by the number of hand-made gifts she received at the shower.  She also received a hand-made quilt, some embellished cloth diaper burp rags, and a hair clip organizer ribbon, with a handful of homemade flower barrettes. 

After the shower the co-host and I were talking about this and asked: wouldn't it be cool if we could have an "all-handmade" baby shower sometime.  Obviously we'd have to be a bit selective on the invite list, but wouldn't that gift-opening everyone would enjoy watching?!

Little Boy Bapron

The first time I saw the bapron I knew I had to make one. Very cute Japanese design. A full-coverage bib. Not velcro-attached, because my kids just rip off the velcro. My resolve was ignited again recently when we visited Jeremy's sister and she had a couple really cute ones my mother-in-law had made her.

On the eve of my baby's second birthday I was feeling disheartened that a different (larger) project I had wanted to make for him wasn't happening.  So I pulled up this pattern for a quick and satisfying project for a homemade birthday present. 

 I altered the pattern--making it "the bapron-XL" for my not-so baby-like baby.

And of course I made it fit for a boy, with a cute (Debbie Mumm--I think) barnyard print.  I recycled an old coordinating receiving blanket for the flannel back.  (Let's hope we need pink blankets for the next baby.)  I mostly love how it turned out--my alteration worked out pretty well, though I do have some ideas for altering the design of the pattern a bit more. . . add that to the project list!

Felt Heart Chain Garland

Oh, Pinterest is so much fun--isn't it?  Today I did a little project combining two different ideas I'd seen on Pinterest--folded felt hearts and a paper heart chain.

Oh, It just makes me happy.

First cut a bunch of felt strips.  I just eyeballed the cutting, but they were basically 3/4 inch by 2 3/4 of an inch.

Start the chain by sewing the first two strips together in a "V". 

Fold the Ends of the "V" down and meet them together under the point of the "V".  Add the next two strips for the next heart and sew together.  Sew through all four layers of felt about 1/8 inch from the bottom edge. 

If you are doing all one color heart this next tip isn't necessary.  If you are alternating colors I found it looked better to sandwich the two new color strips a little over the edge of the tip of the previous heart.  Then I zigzag stitched it together over that hidden edge.

I love the little hearts and different colors.

With a thicker felt, like wool felt, you could hang the garland and it should hold its shape.  This one I will use to drape around my piano-top valentines display.




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Victorian-ize a Blouse

I have found a quick and easy way to modify a normal blouse to make it look more Victorian and work better for my steampunk costumes. I've done two versions now so here is my tutorial for how to steampunk a blouse. 

I start with a very structured button-up blouse.  The style was to wear blouses that looked almost like you were wearing a jacket.  I really liked a lot about this blouse, all except the turned down pointed collar which just doesn't look very Victorian at all. 

Start by flipping up the collar and cut off as much of it as you want to.  I have cut both of mine just above halfway. 

Then starting on one side tuck 1/4 inch of the raw edges to the inside and pin them all the way around.

Sew right along the edge with a machine or by hand. 

Now the collar will stand up straight giving it the feeling of a period blouse.

Me in Paris.

On my other blouse I tried to get the ruffly collar look of the Victorian era. 

 

Here was the collar previous to my mod.  

I cut this one down halfway as well.  To make it ruffle a little bit I pinched the fabric of the collar about every 3/4 inch and sewed little pin tucks--just sewing as close to the edge as possible to make the fabric pinch together-- alternating on the inside and the outside of the collar fabric.  I did this along the center line of the collar--not sewing the tuck all the way up to the hem.  This was enough to make the collar ruffle a bit.

Obviously there would be better ways to actually sew a Victorian blouse, but this is an easy way to mod an existing blouse to look more Victorian without needing to buy any other fabric or expend much effort at all.

Making It Up As I Go--Begining Quilting

I saw this amazing pack of fabric when I started looking for fabric for the circle around quilts.  It's called "Gypsy" and I loved it.  It just seemed kind of bohemian, kind of 70's, but with really bright versions of 70's colors.  Technically it was marketed as a "quilt kit", but in reality it was just a set of coordinating fat quarters with an extra large piece of fabric for a binding, along with a quilt pattern.  But I saw the fat quarters as basic supplies for any quilt I wanted.  So when the ridiculously overpriced kit went on sale 50% off I bought it.

The quilt pattern that came with it was for a smallish full-sized quilt.  So I began by laying out trace paper--gluing it together at the overlapping seams--to the size of a full quilt.  Out of curiosity I laid out the fat quarters on my quilt pattern.  It looks like there would be enough the cover the surface of the quilt twice.  So I'm curious with all the cutting and sewing to see how far the fabric goes.

Looking at my inspiration quilt, I identified the lines of the main quilt segments.  The first line goes straight across the middle.

So I took my huge trace paper quilt pattern and folded the bottom half up (valley style).  Then with the points to the center of the quilt I folded it in even thirds.

You can see how the pieces are not just triangles.  The center top and center bottom pieces are triangles but the other four pieces are trapezoids.   I then cut the six segments apart--labeling the top side up and labeling the seams that will have to be matched back up ("A" to "A" etc.).

Then I began sewing the pieces using the paper-pieced string quilt method that a friend suggested to get the look I was going for. 

This center piece is not yet completed but here is the progress.  I decided to cut each of my fat quarters into two six inch and two three inch strips, and I am sewing those together in an organized-random fashion.

I am very pleased with the results so far. 

I am undecided as yet of how I will finish it.  When I first bought the fabric I thought I might make a new bedspread for my and Jeremy's bed.  But I've also been contemplating the need for a dedicated family picnic blanket and think this fun pinwheel-esque pattern would be fun for a picnic quilt.  If I was going to do that I would back it with a more sturdy fabric, and maybe use no--or very thin--batting?  These are all ideas I hear, but really don't have much experience with.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Another nice thing about large quilt pieces is the quilt comes together more quickly.  I have to say this is nice for two reasons.  First anyone beginning a hobby likes to be encouraged to continue by quickly seeing substantial results.  Second, mom's of three busy boys don't get a lot of free sewing time.  So when I only have 20 minutes of sewing time in the evening (after set up and put away time is factored in--because I won't tell you what happened last time I left my sewing machine up and unattended during the day time. . .) it's nice when I can see progress each night.