Thursday, August 30, 2012

Sewing: The Lunch Bag




You need a new lunch bag when you start school each year...that's a fact.

I knew I had the cutest Hello Kitty canvas in my stash...I just needed yesterday's earthquake to dislodge it from the top of the shelf so I could find it and it's coordinates that I put in a safe place.

Isn't it just the cutest bag? Hello Kitty canvas...oilcloth interior for easy wipe cleaning during the week...and a cute cotton top with cord so you can close the whole bag up tight.  You can throw the whole thing in the washer on gentle cycle, lay flat for drying, and it'll be ready to go in no-time flat.

Oh, yeah...did I tell you that it closes up tight?  That's the best part!

The bag holds one plastic sandwich container, one yogurt container, one spoon/fork container, one reuseable snack bag, cold ice star (just to make sure everything stays cold), and a water bottle...and there was still a bit of space left for Hello Kitty stickers to decorate all those bright pink containers and a bag of Hello Kitty jelly beans.

I'm thinking you could also use this bag for a mini-baby bag (bottle, wipes, and a couple of diapers), a knitting bag (a few skeins of yarn and needles) or handsewing project bag (think hexies or yoyos).

The pattern you ask?  I used Pink Penguin's tutorial and was able to sew up two bags within an hour.  I have a few adjustments for the next set of bags I do, such as adding an inch or two to the height and maybe a set-in pocket for the cold pack...maybe I'll just have to write up a tutorial for you myself.

PS: Ms. Cutie Patootie loved the bag!!!

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Quilting: An Unexpected Manicure


Yesterday was not a good day (to put it mildly)....

I was cutting up fabric for the school wardrobe oh so carefully...

Had my ruler lined up properly for the three inch strips I needed for the oh-so-girly pink ruffles...

Spread my hand over the ruler to maintain consistent pressure on the ruler...

Opened the safety on the rotary cuter and proceeded to cut....

OUCH!!! OUCH!!! OUCH!!! (There were bad words said, but I'm being polite and listing only the nice ones)

The rotary cutter jumped the ruler landing on my finger...and not just nicking my finger, but landing smack dab in the center of the nail bed cracking the nail.

OUCH!!! OUCH!!! OUCH!!! (There were more bad words said, but I'm being polite, and once again listing only the nice ones)

But the worst of it happened last night once I went to change the bandaid...the top half of the nail got snagged in the bandaid and ripped off parts that weren't already hurting.

OUCH!!! OUCH!!! OUCH!!! (There were more bad words said, but I'm being polite, and once again listing only the nice ones)

So you see that pretty pink Hello Kitty bandaid?  It will be part of my life for the next three months, a little bit less if I'm lucky. I'm hoping I'm lucky...

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Sewing: School Wardrobe Pants/Top


Jumper and ruffled shorts are done...and looking totally awesome if I do say so myself.  I'll post some pictures once I get to see them on the Cutie Patootie.

Today's project is a simple pair of pants with a coordinating shirt...or in my case, it's the top with the coordinating pants.  How could you not use that hot pink shoe fabric for a girl who (a) loves all things bright pink, especially when combined with black, and (b) has a severe case of shoe love even at her young age!

Fabric use:
 - Shirt Main: pink shoe fabric
 - Shirt Tunic and cuffs: white floral print
 - Shirt Ruffles: green print
 - Pants Main: black floral
 - Pants Detail: pink print

Happy fabric...just loving this!

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Sewing: School Wardrobe


I never sewed school clothes for my daughter...it was always easier and cheaper just to go to Target to pick up what she needed.  I did do the occasional Halloween costume, sew on buttons that needed resewing, or hem up jeans when needed....but that was about it.

But this week I'm lucky...I get to sew a few outfits for the BF's cutie patootie...and she is way cool!

I'm starting with a simple jumper and bloomers...animal print is the bodice, large floral is the skirt, directional print is a large border on the skirt, and the pink/white print will be the bloomers.

Should be pretty easy, right? Right?


Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Cosmo Bag Take #2


Apologizing for the photo, but the computer is acting up and not reading my memory card...UGH!

The daughter's new school bag, Amy Butler's Cosmo Bag, is complete except for the covered button...and I need the DH to snap the button together for me. But I wanted to get a picture for you before I pack it up and ship later tonight....


Personal Opinion: If you ever need to make a bag, let me recommend Amy Butler's Style Stitches and Lisa Lam's The Bag Making Bible. The Cosmo Bag is in Style Stitches; however, I need a bit more visual and found The Bag Making Bible to have illustrations not covered in Style Stitches.

And I've decided...the next bag I make will be for me!

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Cosmo Bag


The daughter starts her fourth year at Purdue this month.

Have I told you before she'll be graduating in December with a B.S in Nursing?  Yeah, you've probably heard me say that before...I'm proud of her.

Thinking she might need a new book bag...and after conquering the Boyfriend Bag with success, I decided to make one for her.

Her favorite color...brown.

Brown?

Yes, I said brown....and she doesn't like frosting on cupcakes. Try and understand that one if you can...

Anyway, back to the topic at hand...her school bag.  The brown-muted teal stripe will be the outside fabric, the raffia-toned letter print is the inside, and the chocolate solid is for the handles and accents. It's decorator-weight fabric, so it should be able to withstand anything that's thrown into it...but I'll definitely reinforce the bottom with plastic just to make sure.

My deadline for shipping is Monday...complete with a bag of oreos and a jar of peanut butter for dipping, several bags of turkey jerky for energy, and perhaps some candy.






Monday, August 6, 2012

Edgar: Seven Months Update


Can you believe it?

Edgar is seven months old.

He's a big boy...yes, a big boy....weighing in at 61.3 pounds.

And he still loves his blue monkey...and digging dirt...and chewing ice cubes...and eating watermelon rinds.

What a life he has!