Quilt Top

Here is the project that has sucked up the majority of my sewing time lately. This quilt is for my oldest son. He is into everything farms, horses, and cowboys. The majority of the fabric is horses, but there is also a frame of blocks made of a scenic farm print (covered bridges, Amish horse and plow, barns, etc.) Now on to the sashing, borders and quilting!

Easy Summer Purse

I came across the pattern and tutorial (it's free!) for this purse from the blog "Prudent Baby" which you can get here. It's a great beginner project and it finishes quickly. I just used some scraps that I had lying around and I made the bias tape which I love doing. I plan on making a few more of these for the summer because I like to have a lot of random bags lying around to change things up. Plus it's a good project to get some scraps used up.

Birthday Bunting

This weekend was my husband's birthday and at the last minute I decided to make some bunting to be extra festive. It was so easy to make and used up lots of scraps. Basically, all you do is cut the triangles (mine were approx 9 1/2 inches at the base and 10 inches from the middle of the base to the point), sew 2 triangles together (1/4 seam allowance, clip point seams then turn right side out and press) and wedge them in between a long piece of double fold bias tape. Then all you do is sew one long seam down the bias tape to lock all the flags in. EASY!

Table Scarf-Thingy

For lack of better terminology, I made this quilted table scarf-thingy for a friend recently. This block was hanging around in my scrap drawer and I finally made it into something useful. It is machine quilted with Warm and Natural batting. I also had the remaining yardage I had used to make the quilt block, so I used it for the backing and binding.

Reusable Snack Bag Tutorial with French Seams

I don't like using plastic bags for everything so I finally decided to make my own reusable bags to try out. I used a heavier weight quilting cotton but you could also use ripstop nylon or oil cloth depending on how messy your snack is. You can make them in any size you need too and since these are cotton they can be easily washed.

TO START: Cut 1 - 15 x 7 piece of fabric

Now you're done and can flip the bag right side out and stuff it with your favorite snack :)

P.S. You could also add velcro or a button if you want Fort Knox secure snack storage!

Scrap Potholders

I have a lot of food related fabric scraps so yesterday on a whim I decided to make some potholders. I just winged it and made them based on my specifications and I like how they turned out. I quilted them and used soft and natural batting for the insulation. They were really easy to make and used up random scraps of not only fabric, but batting, thread and bias tape. This project also introduced me to the walking foot and now in retrospect, I don't know how I sewed many things without it!

Shrek Slippers

As another part of my sister's Christmas present, I made some house shoes which incidently remind me of the character Shrek. I've made these before (here) and really like how they turn out. They are also fun too because you can use all sorts of wild fabric that may be a little to crazy for ordinary things!

Quick Travel Jewelry Case

I was in dire need to craft today and I also needed a little case for my jewelry when I travel. So based on that, I took some scraps and created this little thing. It's nice and compact and holds just enough for me. It has three zipper pockets so my rings, necklaces and earrings can all be separate. As a side bonus, it also helped clean a few more scraps out of my collection!

Quickie Coasters

I made a batch of coasters back in January which you can see here. They are very easy and quick to make and help clean up leftover fabric. For these, I used 1 layer of Soft and Natural batting with different cotton prints from the Robert Kaufman Metro Cafe series (I love, love, love these prints!) They can be infinitely customized but I chose to go simple with only a little top stitching. I've been sewing a lot of Christmas projects lately which I can't post until after after the big day so it was nice to selfishly make a little project just for me :)

Cloth Napkins

Having three kids means the potential for going through mountains of paper napkins in short order. I made these cloth napkins with odds and ends from my stash. So far I have made about 18, and I am looking for a total of about 3 dozen. The construction is very simple: 2 18" squares, right sides together, sew together leaving an opening, turn, press and top stitch.

Dopp Kit #2

I had some leftover scraps from my Blossom bag project and decided to use them for another Dopp Kit (see the first one and the tutorial from The Purl Bee here). This one is a little different though because the inside is trimmed with bias tape (still from the .70 cent pillowcases!) and has some pink top stitching. If you haven't noticed yet...I am a houndstooth fanatic :)
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P.S. The bag looks lumpy but it's actually not. I just take bad pictures and had to stuff it to stand it up!

Another Gathered Clutch and Cutie Pouch

These bags are just fun to make!

Lil Cutie Pouch Tutorial

I am excited about this project and I have some squirrel fabric that will soon become this pouch! It's called the "Lil Cutie Pouch" and the free and awesome tutorial can be found here. This little thing sews up so quick and has infinite possibilities. This one is made from some vintage houndstooth fabric that I found at a funky furniture store in Austin. I always hesitate to use this material because it's vintage but, I thought that it would work well for this project. It has a key ring added so it's super convenient to carry around. This is also a perfect way to use up some miscellaneous scraps cluttering up the sewing room :)

It's Easy Being Green

This is an easy purse pattern that I redrafted from an Amy Butler clutch from the book, "In Stitches." It has a magnetic snap and the outside, strap and flap are made from random Marimekko scraps in my collection (the purse matches the passport sleeve that I made a couple of months ago). I enjoyed making this purse because it doesn't require any interfacing. The entire project is stabilized with Warm and Natural batting which is fantastic to work with. Also, as a side bonus, the whole thing cost me about $3!

Name Book

This book was made for my son's first birthday. While I am happy with the finished project, there are a few things I wish I would have had the time to do. Oh, well, he'll never notice. :) In case you are wondering, the back page (with photo) was made with a square of tablecloth vinyl. If you ever sew with it, lay a piece of paper over it so that the presser foot slides along the paper, otherwise it will stick and stretch. (FYI) The denim was from an old pair of jeans and the cover fabric came from Rachel. I used felt and cotton scraps for the appliques and embroidered the words. I could really get into making these if I had the time (ha, ha!).

Passport Sleeve

I had some really interesting scraps in my collection and I wanted to fancy up my passport a little so I found this lovely and simple tutorial from a super crafty lady in Australia. I love how it turned out and it was really easy. Start to finish, it took less than half an hour to sew up :) Now my passsport can gather dust in style!

Useless?

I made this headband one night on a whim. I had other things to work on but sometimes instant gratification is just so nice. I dug out the scraps from the curtains Rach and I made together long ago. I had a fun vintage-looking flower I got at the craft store, along with some vintage lace trim I found at a yard sale. I like it, but honestly I don't know what to do with it. She doesn't have anything to match it and I feel like it might be 'too much' for her little blond head. What do you think?

Backpack

It all began when I saw a picture of an owl lunch box. I liked it, but I decided I could make one myself. I found a great (free) pattern here for a toddler backpack, and turned something simple into something more complicated. I added a flannel lining, piping and two layers of interfacing for stability. I added the owl's features to the front panels before I began sewing it together. Did you notice I managed to work in some rick-rack? I know what you are thinking....step away from the rick-rack please! I like this pattern because a) it is simple to construct, it takes little fabric, and c) instead of using a zipper which can be hard for a toddler to open, it has a front opening that closes with velcro. This project was made completely with stuff I had on hand: the denim was from old jeans, the lining flannel, felt and rick-rack scraps were in my stash and the interfacing was from a huge hunk we found at a yard sale last summer.

Tea Wallets

Oh, the wonders of the internet. You can find more inspiration and tutorials then you will ever have time for. Here is a project that can be completed very quickly and with very few supplies. Now I have a nice handy way to bring tea to church. The one with the yellow button was made from a vintage handkerchief. The elastic cording, which I used in place of the self-fabric loop, was hijacked from some sort of packaging we had in the house. Now the only question is...what to do with all of them since I only have a home for two of them. Anyone want one????

For the directions, click here.

Easy Project

Here is another headband I made from this tutorial. They are really simple and use very little fabric. This one is made from one of Grandpa's ties.