I won!
Posted on: February 5, 2011
I am so excited! I won a craft blog giveaway contest 🙂 Here is a photo of the quart-sized berry basket I won from Stoney Creek:
I’ll post another picture when it arrives. I have an idea where it will go, but that could always change 😉
I still can’t believe I won! What fun!
New Placemats
Posted on: January 24, 2011
I am one that cooks dinner every night for my family. I love to cook & take pride in putting a great tasting and great looking meal on the table. Eight times out of ten, my placemats are in the wash – thus my quick fix is putting dishtowels under each place setting. While my family doesn’t seem to mind, it does take-away from my overall presentation (in my mind anyways). So why haven’t I whipped together some new placemats, you ask. Well, that is a VERY good question. 🙂
What could be simpler? Cut a rectangle, sew four straight lines (leave a hole to invert the project) and voila! a placemat! It really doesn’t get much simpler, so I started going through my fabrics.
The majority of my fabrics have been purchased from the remnant bin…after Halloween 🙂 I have several great black patterned pieces (not so obviously Halloween), some obvious Halloween patterns and a great piece of Orange. I knew I wanted to make a double-sided placemat and I could get 4 cut pieces out of a black with white polka-dots and that great piece of Orange 🙂
To make sure my pieces were cut straight, I pulled out my cutting mat, rotary cutter & ruler. I measured twice (ok, 3 & 4 times) and began my game of Twister. I don’t know what it is, but I cannot use my rotary cutter without getting all tangled up in myself! LOL! All pieces cut, I began pinning & sewing.
I was so excited to have 1 whole placemat completed by the time it was time to start dinner 🙂 No, I am not the fastest seamstress in the west, but sometimes slow & steady wins the race.
Tomorrow I plan to finish up the other 3 mats & will post pictures of my finished product.
Pay It Forward – Complete
Posted on: January 23, 2011
Hi everyone! I am so happy to say I have 3 participants in the Pay It Forward giveaway 🙂
Thank you to all that entered & I can’t wait to get started on your gifts! Remember to post the Pay It Forward giveaway on your own blog.
For those who would like to participate, check out the following blogs:
http://www.elowezil.blogspot.com/
http://craftytammie.blogspot.com/
Thanks!
Giveaway: Pay It Forward
Posted on: January 20, 2011
My cousin, Lindsay of Lindsay Sews, just shared a great giveaway with her readers. If you like to create, share (and receive) this is project for you. Here is the message she posted:
I promise to send something handmade to the first 3 people who leave a comment here. To be eligible, you must also post this in your blog, offering the same thing to 3 other people. The rules are that it must be handmade by you and it must be sent to your 3 people in 2011.
While I worked on a few projects during the holidays (which I need to post), I haven’t worked on anything since the New Year began. I thought this would be the perfect way to get back into the groove. So, if you are one of the first 3 people who would like to participate & Pay It Forward, just comment on my post & you will receive a handmade gift from me 🙂
I’m not sure what I’m going to make, however I can’t wait to get started. Let the adventure begin!
Bias Tape…..Friend or Foe?
Posted on: December 8, 2010
- In: Grab Bag
- 2 Comments
Over the weekend I completed another apron for my youngest daughter. I guess you could call it a smock as it wears like a hospital gown. It was quite a simple project that came together quickly… until the bias tape. This was my first time working with bias tape. How hard could it be, right? The first section I finished off was a piece of cake! I was really excited at how easy it was and how polished my project looked. As I read the directions (that is a post in itself) I was to take one long piece of tape and “outline” the entire apron with this piece. Things were moving right along when I hit my first speed bump. There was a major S-curve in the project and I couldn’t quite get the bias tape to mold and fit the shape. I kept working and working with the tape and finally got things matched up to my liking. I began sewing the tape to my project and felt I was doing a good job. I picked up my finished project for final inspection and found a few places on the S-curve didn’t get sewn into the tape, thus leaving me with a hole (if that makes any sense). A little stitch-witchery and the hole was fixed 🙂 A few more speedbumps and my project was complete.
Overall I enjoyed this project. I have not sworn off bias tape. 🙂 In fact, now that I have used it, I feel more prepared for my next bias tape project. I am finding that the best lessons learned are from mistakes made along the way.
Ah-ha!
Posted on: November 21, 2010
I had an Ah-Ha moment this evening. I saw something that inspired me and I am beyond excited to try and sew my own!
I have one messy eater in my 16 month old. She has been since day one. As she is not a fan of bibs (she always rips them off), I have tried and tried to come up with something to keep her clean. I am in the process of making her an apron, hoping that will work.
However, I saw the “perfect” bib tonight. It was truly and Ah-Ha moment and I can’t wait to try my hand at making my own pattern and sewing my own “perfect” bib 🙂
Making my own pattern…..hmmmmm…..let the adventure begin!
Sewing 101
Posted on: November 18, 2010
A ballet bag – that is what inspired me to try my hand at sewing. All I wanted was a simple bag for my daughter to keep her ballet slippers in.
I have never considered myself to be a “crafty” person or an artist in any way, but I try. While browsing at my local fabric/craft store, I looked into the sewing classes they offered. I also found out that they offered the classes at 50% off the published price if you signed up during one of their “open houses”. I signed up for 2 classes; absolute beginner & a class called “Lazy Pants”.
Absolute beginner was just that – machine features, threading the machine, stitching styles and tour of the fabric floor. It was perfect considering I hadn’t touched a sewing machine since the 7th grade (long, long ago)
Next up, Lazy Pants….let the adventure begin 🙂
Hello world!
Posted on: November 16, 2010
Hello World!
This is my first blog post – ever. Kind of scary, kind of exciting! These posts will chronicle my adventures in sewing, a new hobby I have embarked upon. In fact, I have a sewing class tonight 🙂
If you are taking the time to read this, thank you. Please feel free to offer any sewing advice, fun projects or great sewing sites to visit.
Welcome to My Adventures in Sewing!
My Adventures in Sewing 