Friday, April 15, 2011

Randomness

Has it really been almost 3 months since my last post?! Oops! Well rather than make some lame excuses I'll just share some finished projects.


This hat was a birthday gift for my sister. Pattern is the Star Crossed Slouchy Beret (Ravelry link). The picture isn't the best but it's the best I could manage using a crappy bathroom mirror.



This bag is intended for one of the ladies in my knitting group. She mentioned that she liked all the project bags that everyone had so I told her I could whip one up for her. It measure 11"x 14" is lined and has a zipper at the top. I also made the bottom a little wider so it can accommodate skeins of yarn a little easier.


This fabric has been laying in my stash just waiting for the perfect project. I seem to have a fair amount of unfinished knitting projects laying around and not nearly enough time to finish them. So this baby should at least help keep everything together.


Next up, more bags for my shop. I know, I know. I still haven't opened my shop. I've been a little insecure about the process so I've decided to do a trial run. My mom and sister participated in a craft fair last year and this year it just so happens to fall in the two week period that I will be back in Iowa before our move to Florida. So I'm going to go in on a booth with them and "test" the market to see which bags sell the best.


This is my favorite bag so far. I absolutely love this print. Anytime I find a yard or two on Etsy I grab it. I was so nervous actually cutting into it the first time. The pattern can be found here.


I love this blue print too. It's probably a good thing that I don't have much use for a small purse these days (with diapers, sippy cups, and all that comes with a little one) otherwise this little guy would be mine! Pattern here.


Last but not least is this beauty. I originally bought this fabric to use as a Christmas gift but ended up using something else. Boy am I glad I did because I just love the way this bag turned out. Same pattern as above.


Ok that wraps up the FINISHED items. I'm working on finishing up all my "in progress" items before the big move so hopefully I'll have more FOs to share soon. Thanks for stopping by.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Assembly Line

I made a few mini clutches. I thought that making the same pattern from multiple fabrics at the same time would speed things up. You know like an assembly line. Great idea, in theory.
Just one problem. When I made a mistake on one, I systematically made the same mistake on several others before I noticed. So I also systematically used my seam ripper.
In the end I had to scrap two clutches and have two that had to be ripped back to square one and are still waiting to be reassembled. But I did end up with six new mini clutches destined for the shop.
Pattern is the easy envelope clutch from my favorite pattern shop, keykalou.









Sunday, January 16, 2011

Wedding Crafts

I'm finally getting around to posting about the projects for my sister's wedding.
First up are the mustaches on a stick. We didn't make nearly as many as originally planned and in fact the whole idea was almost scrapped. But Mom and I had already put in too much time cutting them out to let them be scrapped all together. They sure made a good photo prop for the wedding party in the end. Plus the kids still play with them.

The most daunting task was the cake. I can't complain because I totally brought this upon myself. My sister had originally planned to make the cake but decided to order a cake from the local Hy-Vee. I asked her if I could give it a go and after many You Tube videos, articles on cakecentral.com, and a failed attempt at taking a class at Michaels, this is the result.

I had planned on a butter cream frosting but unfortunately on the day of the wedding my frosting decided to rebel, despite my many practice cakes. Fortunately I had a couple boxes of fondant on hand, just in case. I wasn't as practiced with the fondant so it wasn't as flat as I would have liked but what can you do.

The fondant was so thick that they had to stab the cake. :) Good think there was a sheet cake.

The vest for my son turned out really well.

It was hard to get a good full length shot because he was on the go the whole time.

He was not interested in wearing his hat and although I didn't make it I'm glad we at least got one picture with him in it.

(Just ignore my horrible hair please)

Although I didn't have anything to do with it I had to include a picture of my sister's dress. My Mom made it! Maya, the flower girl, is wearing the dress that my niece, Emma, wore at my wedding! Maya was only a couple of weeks old at my wedding and I can't believe how well the timing worked out and that if fit her.

Congrats Meg and Adam!

Friday, January 14, 2011

Bounty of bags

I love making bags. They are so quick and satisfying. I am so close to having a large enough inventory built up for my etsy shop. Over the holidays I cranked out a few more while I had access to my mom's machine which is so much smoother than my own. So here's what I managed to make.
This zebra number was a gift for my niece who loves zebra print. The lining is bright pink.
This red clutch is headed for my etsy shop (once I get that up I'm going to have to go back through my blog and make a ton of links).


The pattern is from my favorite shop, keykalou and the fabric is from Moda's Wonderland collection.



I made this green clutch using the same pattern.
I will definitely have to take better pictures for the shop.



This pattern is also from keykalou along with the pattern for the matching wallet.

In hind sight I should have made the pockets on the inside with the floral print and used the dots for the lining.


Well that's it for now. I have a ton of fabric waiting to become more clutches and coin purses but I have to make (another) run to Joann's before that can happen.
It won't be long now!







Handmade Holiday

Every year I try to make as many gifts as possible for Christmas. Unfortunately, time (and ideas) usually runs out and I end up buying stuff for half of the people on my list. This year was no exception but I do feel as though while the quantity of handmade gifts didn't go up the quality did IMHO (in my humble opinion).
First up are three jewelry organizers that I made for two nieces and a cousin. Each organizer has four zipper pouches for the girls to store what ever treasures they may desire. These things were pretty big (11x24) and very time consuming but I really like how they turned out. To add to the gift my husband (!!!) made bracelets and necklaces for the girls. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of those.

I found this pattern in a magazine and for the life of me I cannot remember the name and the magazine is back in Iowa so I can't go look.
This blue and brown combo was my first attempt. In hind sight I should have chosen a different fabric for the tie.


This green and white organizer was made of mostly fat quarters which weren't quite big enough for the measurements in the pattern so I had to do a little adapting but it still turned out nice.



This one is by far my favorite. Were I not so crunched for time I probably would have made a second organizer with these fabrics for myself. :)


I also made two tutus, a flower hair accessory, a coin purse, and a purse (which I will post later). I also managed to get a few more bags for my Etsy shop which is getting closer and closer to becoming a reality. I'll share more about those in the next post.
Maybe I should start sewing now for next Christmas.....