One of my last winter weekends

I don't know where you all live, but here in CT it has been a strange, not-very-winter-like-winter. This was probably the last weekend for local skiing. Unless you go up north (VT or NH) it won't be cold enough to make snow, or keep what they did make...so we tried to enjoy it.

This is my step-son, who is a PERPETUAL teaser, chops buster and all around prankster extraordinaire. Lucky for me, Rob gave me this great photo opp. I NEVER get to pull one over on him, and he had no idea.



The best part though was, that he had a great sense of humor about it, and we both had a really good laugh.



I also have spent some time this winter making home made dog treats, and I think I've perfected this one recipe. I know how to alter it so that the texture is consistent and I can actually easily make these little disk shapes. I got the recipe here.



My daughter had her second horse riding show this morning, and she made such HUGE improvements, she actually took one blue ribbon home today. She was ecstatic.



And the tiny little bit of sewing I did manage to sneak in, was a strip based quilt that I started out of a Kaffe Fassett design roll I got on sale somewhere. Of course, I didn't realize that design roll means 28 strips, not 40. Thankfully though, I had enough to make the quilt. Once I get the top done, I'll blog about the book and the pattern.



Now off to watch the Oscars and eat popcorn. Not bad at all for a non-winter-like weeekend.

Not sure if I should laugh, or cry

I had four days off in a row. I was determined to finish my Cosmo bag. I had made such good progress and I felt like I could finish it if I focused. And focus I did. I put it all together, but I still need a button, I didn't have a 2 1/2" one, but figured I take a picture to blog about it anyway.



And as I went to make my bag look as much like the cover as I could, I realized that my handles.looked.funny. That's right, I sewed the handles on completely the wrong way. This might actually be funny, if I hadn't already made, oh, 2-3 other HUGE mistakes. (Look at the funky curve on the front of my bag vs. the bag on the cover of the book).



I didn't attach the side pockets when I put the outer bag together...they are still on my cutting table. As are the other two interior pockets. Still on my sewing table. The pattern was very good, it was clear, it had plenty of steps. I just didn't really follow them very well.

This is what Amy calls an "easy" pattern. Sweet Baby Jesus. What are the Expert patterns like??

This experience was very humbling. I thought "they're big pieces, the directions are only 14 steps, how hard can it be?" Of course, that doesn't even begin to contemplate that I used my gorgeous Echo fabric and now it's gone (insert sobbing here).


But I am an eternal optimist...and so here is what I am taking away from this massive blow to my sewing ego...

1). It's got a huge inside, that looks wonderful and can hold a lot of stuff.



2.) It is still very usable, although not a polished as the one in the book. I will absolutely carry this bag this summer and proudly say "yes, I made it".

3.) If I ever get up the guts to make another one, I'll know exactly how to make it next time.

What's the worst sewing mess you've ever made with a pattern?

Doing the boring stuff - Cosmo Bag Part #1 (oh, and home made dog treats)

I bought Amy Butler's Style Stitches at Joann fabrics for half price at the end of last winter. I've spent all this time looking at the beautiful bags and wondering when I would have the courage to try one. At my Heather Ross weekend, I bought some Echo by Lotta Jansdotter at Purl Soho to make a Cosmo Bag, but then I got sidetracked by the blouse that never was.

So, since I had a three day weekend, I decided to dive in. WHEW! Was that a lot of cutting to do! Every piece needing a matching piece of fusible interfacing. Then I had to actually FUSE them. That's taken all of my sewing time this weekend...but now, my pleats are pinned and I'm read to start sewing.

It looks like it might be pretty freakin' gorgeous when I'm done! (Sorry for the cruddy iPhone picture). The orange will be the lining. LOVE IT.



I also took a detour from sewing to make our puppies some peanut butter treats. THEY LOVE THEM. And I got the recipe here at Dog Treat Recipes dot org. I chose this one because I had the stuff on hand. There are so many other recipe sites, I'm sure I'll try others.

Christmas Jammies - and it's only mid-January!

I love the idea of making special pajamas for Christmas Eve. So when Melanie (Above All Fabric) offered kits last year I jumped on them. They used Carla Crim's (aka The Scientific Seamstress) super easy pattern for Easy Fit Pants and the fabrics were flannel and super cute.

Of course the fabric sat on my cutting table for a good 3 months, but I finally made the pants. Thankfully the kids don't seem to care that Christmas has come and gone.




I made two pair in an hour. Not a bad return for your time!

WELCOME 2012 - Tula Pink "Field Study"

Happy New Year everyone! I've had a wonderful 10 days off from work and it's going to be tough to get back into the swing of things tomorrow.

I am thrilled that I can start the year off with a blog post of a FINISHED UFO so soon. Both of the kids had friends over today so I got time by myself to sew and finish up this quilt top.

It's Tula Pink's Field Study pattern.

A few quick observations...I actually seem to cut smaller pieces much more exactly than I do large pieces. These blocks are 12 1/2" and my squares were not so square.

The pattern was well written, clear, and I LOVE that it's color on glossy paper. I'm rough with patterns and this will last well, and I will certainly be able to use it again. It went together quickly, when I actually WORKED on it.

(Clearly, one of my goals for 2012 needs to be improved picture taking!!)


This is the first quilt that I made entirely from my own stash. It was actually really satisfying to buy the pattern and "shop" on my shelves for what I was looking for.



I also am hopeful that this size quilt will be good practice for my very so-so quilting skills. I'll be sure to post when it's all made up. I truly love how it came out, so I'm motivated to get it done.

Do you make up entire tops from your stash?

Getting things accomplished! Hand sewing and shop update

I hope everyone is enjoying the last day of their Thanksgiving weekend. I had a wonderful weekend with my husband's family in New York, and we took the kids to see the Muppets movie last night. All that and I still have a day left.

I often struggle with going away for the weekends, because I miss sewing time. A lot of weeks, the only time I get to sew is on the weekend. I haven't been a big hand sewer in a long time, and I find that with embroidery, I can only take it with me if it' already started and I know what I'm doing. I can't start a project away from home. Weird, I know, but true.

One of the things I've been dying to try is making hexagons. I had gotten some pre-cut paper forms this summer (because I am too lazy to cut my own) and they've been calling to me to use them.

I for the life of me, couldn't figure out how to tack down the sides once I cut the fabric. I had to go onto Youtube and look at a video of a 9 year old girl making hexis to understand...you have to baste THROUGH the paper. I was trying to avoid the paper, forgetting I would be pulling out the basting stitches, and would be able to pull the paper out. Can you say DUH?


This is my first four...


Once, I got going...I LOVED it. Making these absolutely feeds my need for immediate gratification.


I already have a bunch more cut and ready to make the next time I have to sit still somewhere.


Yesterday, once I got home and SOME of the laundry done, I made some napkins for my etsy shop. I didn't want this fantastic Christmas print to not make it to the shop before the holidays.



and I had a few scraps left from a remnant I bought at a Sis Boom sale last year. If you live anywhere near here, and you can get to one of Jennifer's sales, I strongly suggest you do. She has one coming up next weekend.



What do you all take with you for sewing when you travel?

Izzy N Ivy Addie Jo Pattern Review - Adorable Skirt pattern!

I got this pattern as part of a kit from Above All Fabric. I love Melanie's kits. She does a great job choosing fabric choices and makes it easy to get the package in the mail and start sewing right away.




This was the first Izzy N Ivy pattern I've made. I always love trying new pattern designers, and this one did not disappoint. The pattern comes with 5 different style choices. My daughter chose version C, which had a ruffle at the bottom of the simple skirt top. This was my absolutely FAVORITE pattern type. The directions were very well written, with clear diagrams inside and it was easy to follow along with which version of the skirt I was making. The directions were fairly short, none of the versions of this skirt were very complicated. I made a modified size 6. My daughter is a skinny Minnie, so we have to really decrease anything with a big waist or too much fabric. This worked out perfectly, between the elastic waistband that I could cut to fit her, and the "just right" amount of fabric for a nice twirly skirt that was not too much to overwhelm her little frame.

Also, it came in a ziploc bag, which is wonderful. The cellophane with a sticker I always manage to make a mess of, rip the sticker and the cellophane gets stuck to another pattern. The directions were on nice thick stock, printed in an easy to read font. Perfect.




I would absolutely make this skirt again in another one of the versions. It went together very quickly. Including cutting, I would say a total of 2 1/2 hours. The only reason it took me that long is that I am NOT a good gather-er. I always break at least one set of gathering stitches and have to start over. Thankfully, this time, it was only once.




Who are your favorite pattern designers? For quilts and for clothing?