Simple Sewing!

I was bored last night and decided to sew...without patterns much less! Here are my creations!

*Little Tote

This was WAY smaller than I thought it would be by following the directions, but I was still pleased with the finished product. However, next time, and there will be a next time, I will make it way bigger. I love big totes! The book I found the idea in said to use pattern paper, but I just winged it and cut directly on the fabric using the measurements. If you're interested in the exact measurement, comment on the post and I'll send them right over to you!

1. Cut your fabric (2 of main fabric, 2 of lining) and sew each together at side seams.



2. Place main fabric inside lining (as shown) with right sides together matching seams. Pin lining to main fabric at handles only.

3. Turn right side out and press.

4. BEFORE sewing along the bottom, decide how you want your bag to 'sit.' Depending on which way you fold it and sew it, it will look different. Sew along bottom edge using a 1/4 seam allowance. Trim slightly.


5. Turn wrong side out and sew along bottom again using a 1/2-3/4 seam allowance. This will envelope the previous seam done along the bottom of the main fabric.


6. Turn right side out and tie the handle in a knot. You're done!


*Simply Scarf

1. Find a heavy cardstock or cardboard and cut out a 4"x4" square as your guide.


2. Cut out 40-60 squares of whatever fabric you desire. I would suggest a silk material or something of the like.

3. Layout your scarf in sections. I put 6 squares in a section. Lay each square out with one point facing up, overlapping them as little or as much as you'd like. Pin them together on either side of the bottom point. Once you have 4-5 sections, connect them all and head to the sewing machine!


4. Here's the easy part! Start at one end and sew a straight line down the center of the length of your scarf.


5. You're done!

6. Model your scarf :) Matches well, don't ya think?



*Simple Scarf 2

1. I found some extra material lying around and decided it would make another cute scarf. I had actually cut it out to make a skirt that I never got around to finishing so the pieces were perfect. Folding them in half length ways created a triangle of sorts, so I pinned them and sewed around the bottom and the side.

2. Then I pinned the two together (wrong side out) and sewed them as well leaving 1in in order to turn them right side out.

3. Once I turned them it mad a cool twist where I had sewn them together. Not sure if this was due to error in sewing or the way I turned them, but I went with it. I sewed a simple straight line over the twist to keep it in place.

4. Finished!

The Finished Product

As promised...



No modeling this time...but it's a very flattering dress and was pretty easy and quick to make. I will be making more of the same style soon!

Purple Polka Dots

I have been wanting to make a maxi dress lately and I finally got to it this weekend. I had a pattern and tons and tons of fabric, but not enough of anything. So I went through every last piece this weekend and found a really nice silk fabric that my grandmother had sent me from Arkansas.

It really is a simple pattern, made by Simplicity (go figure).


Bodice with lining.


Bodice with midriff attached.


Finished product coming soon! It's done I just don't have a picture :)

Getting Back Into The Swing Of Things

I don't feel like I have been that busy, but I just couldn't find time to sew. I bought a Boston Red Sox patch for my brother, oh say 7 months ago? I found navy fleece material for 1/2 off the other day at Joann's and just couldn't pass it up! So I finally made him the lounge pants he asked for so long ago. He's lucky I didn't keep them. They were SO soft!

I hope I do better on his scarf request...it might be 100 degrees outside by the time I get around to that one :/

Monday.

Saturday was one of my best friend's birthdays. I decided that the perfect gift is one that I make with my own two hands.





















Gage is still growing! About a week ago he weighed 32 lbs.!!













And he loves Landry!











I have been thinking of going back to school for Interior Design. It's been something I have always loved and actually my first thought when it came to my future career. Hopefully something will work out!

Is it cold where you are??? It's April 14th and 40 degrees. Yuck.

I'm Thinking of You

I completed one project this weekend and started two more. The first was a shirt just like the one I made last week, but this one actually fits because I used a stretch material (which is what the pattern had called for, OOPS!) It's so cute!












I started on a little gift for Mom and since it's a gift, no pictures allowed! :) The last project is a vest I am making for a co-worker. She got me some awesome gifts for my birthday, so I thought I'd make a little something for her. She loves loud patterns and when I saw this, I knew she would love it! I'm going to line it with a light gray linen.
You might notice the picture quality is much better than an any of my previous posts. That's because Honey got me an awesome camera for my birthday!
G. Helen, I know you are under the weather, but just know that when I'm sewing I'm thinking of you! I got some wonderful sewing things with my birthday present from you! I also received some books from a friend that talk about thrift store finds and how to convert them into cute outfits. I'll be sure to keep you updated! Love you!

I'm Still Here!

I have still been sewing even though I haven't posted any of my projects. My memory has not been to good when it comes to taking pictures! LOL. But I can still update you on the latest.
I made two pairs of pajama pants. One for J. and one for Honey. J.'s were out of a mesh material I found at a thrift store and Honey's were a flannel. They turned out well and were really easy to make.
I also made a really CUTE tank top and top from the pattern below. I did views A and C:I was very disappointed on both though because they are sized small. I haven't really paid much attention to sizing as I'm completing a project. I just cut out the size I need and sew it. I hadn't had a problem until now. The tank was about 2 sizes smaller than the cut. I awarded the cute tank to my lovely step-mom. The second project was the shirt. I whipped it up last night and had planned to wear it to my pre-birthday dinner tonight, but nope. No go. Same issue with it. I even cut out a bigger size on this one anticipating the same problem.
But lucky J. because she is getting this top! I hope she loves it as much as me!
Sorry for the pic... this camera phone isn't very good. The fabric reminds me of a Chinese print. It has red, black and white in it. The tie is also black. Maybe next time if I use more of a stretch material I will have better results. Mom? You're next!

1 more day until 24!

Remember, tomorrow is when I get to wear this:

Sewing=Success

I was very productive this weekend in the sewing department. Here's the dress I finished yesterday. I love the way it turned out.


Things I learned from this project:

*read the directions
carefully

*directions aren't
always right

*satin material is HARD
to work with




*how to use
interfacing

*how to correctly do
an ease stitch

*how to make a dress

*One Word: improvise





*being short comes in
handy sometimes

*basting is still a good
tool

*sometimes your way
is better

*it's okay to go slow; it
might actually save
you time later

*sewing isn't always

relaxing

*getting a project
done in 2 days is
COOL

*people are getting
impressed with my
skiiiiiiillllllls

Keep that Heartbeat Racin'

I have always wondered why we classify someone by where they're from. I was watching House Hunters a few nights ago and the couple was from Nashville. The opening line was "Let's Two-Step on over to Nashville, Tennessee!" I asked J. why we were always made out to be "Redneck Hicks." He said, "I don't mind being classified as that." ha ha. But the same is true about anywhere else you are from. North, West, where ever. It's just something to think about. But just so you know, we do owe shoes and most of us do have all our teeth here in the South ya'll!

But as my brother pointed out, some of us our posers...

(this is his hick look, I guess?)

Him and a friend ventured up to Bristol this weekend for the NASCAR races. I've never been, but would like to. If not only just to say I did.

But what I did today that keep my heart rate up was starting another sewing project. My g-mother summed it up well when she asked, "why do you always pick the complicated patterns?" We were both about to pull our hair out when we decided to stop for the day. I finally started my dress. Needless to say I will be proud and so happy when it's over. I'll post some pictures from our next sewing session.

And tonight, I continued the anxiety by watching Vantage Point. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes fast paced "thinking" movies.


Warning! This synopsis contains some small spoilers






President Ashton (William Hurt) is attending a global war on terror summit in Spain. Thomas Barnes (Dennis Quaid) and Kent Taylor (Matthew Fox) are two of the Secret Service agents assigned to protect him. This is the first action that Agent Barnes has been in since he took a bullet for President Ashton six-month earlier. We really dont know if Agent Barnes is up to the challenge of protecting the President. Shortly after President Ashton is escorted to the stage in the plaza by the Secret Service, he is immediately shot twice by a rifle from a window and falls to the floor. The crowd is in shock and chaos breaks out all over, especially, when bombs begin to explode. Howard Lewis (Forest Whitaker) is an American video-taping the event to show to his children that he was actually there at this historic event. He believes that he has the picture of the man who shot the President. Agent Barnes sees the tape and has a clue to that person. Several different people witness the event, and only through their eyes do we see the truth behind the assassination attempt. Douglas Young (the-movie-guy)

But seriously, it's worth the $9 it costs to see it in theaters.

I also have something pretty exciting happening next week, so keep your fingers crossed! I know my heartbeat is racin' for sure.

12 days 'til my birthday!

It's in My Blood

Recently when my g-mother came for a visit, she expressed her joy in the fact that one of her girls had inherited her love for sewing. She said that my mom nor my aunt wanted anything to do with it and my aunt's girls never did either. My mom actually has shared her "horror" stories with me of when she would be drug to the fabric store while my g-mother looked through pattern books and fabrics for "hours". She also hated having to try things on while my g-mother made them. I can understand being a young girl and being bored with these activities. It was kind of an accident that I started sewing I guess. I just realized that I wanted to always carry apart of my g-mothers with me. What better way then to learn one of their skills! It turns out I'm not half bad.

I have throughly enjoyed the time I have spent with them and learning new things about sewing like terms and symbols. When I finish something, I am proud of myself. That is something I think everyone forgets to feel sometimes. So, your project for the day it to be proud of yourself. It really does feel good and sometimes it's okay to be full of pride. So with all this said, let me bring you up to speed on my latest projects...

After work on Friday I went over to my g-mother's to start on my dress.

I'm using a chocolate brown for the dress and a satin magenta for the sash. We got as far as cutting out the fabric, but will probably work more on it this week.



I finished my brown vest on Saturday with some helpful advice from my g-mother and step-mom. It actually looks like something you could buy at a department store!

See for yourself...


It turned out so good, I decided to make another shorter version yesterday. It was the first time I had started and finished something in the same day.



(You will have to forgive the wrinkles ;) )
It's black with a silver lining and I love it!







I hope you all are having a great week so far!
The countdown has begun:

24 days until my birthday!

Long Time No Blog

Our baby is 14 weeks today and weighs 19 pounds! A big change from just a few weeks ago. When I look at pictures from when we first got him, I can see how he is maturing in his face.


He has been testing authority a lot more lately and it's becoming quite frustrating. He is a smart puppy though. He knows Sit, Come, No, Down, and Drop It (speaking of a toy/bone). He is really good at fetch too! Landry still doesn't know this one :( He be really excited when you throw the toy, run over to where it landed and sniff it and then run back excitedly. But Gage gets it.

I started working on my vest on Monday night. I tell ya, I'm getting good :) I got the shell done, but didn't have any fabric to do the lining. I need to get some before I can finish. But what I finished went by very quickly.



The front of the vest is on the left; a closeup of the detail on the right, and the back below. It looks really good, and will look even better when it's finished!