Monday, June 22, 2009

Monster Love

I have always enjoyed sewing clothes and other stuff for the babies that I know. However after I thought about it, I realized that most of the babies that I have sewn for have been girls. There are all kinds of cute fabrics and patterns for little girls, but not so much for boys. I wanted to make some thing for my son; I was just waiting to find the right fabric. I was shopping last month with my mom and we came across this fabric with little monsters all over it. Finally something cute that was suitable for a little boy. After searching online for pants patterns for boys, I decided to use the free tutorial and trace around a pair that I already had.

Once I finished the pants I knew that I wanted to make a coordinating tee. I made a little onesie for a friend using the reverse applique technique so I decided to use the outline of one of the monsters from the shorts. As it is washed the edges will become softer. It also gave me an excuse to go ahead and buy the pinking shears that I've wanted. (They help stop fraying on woven fabrics like the cotton of the monsters. I cut the basic shape out using the pinking shears and then stitched around the line i drew using a disappearing ink marker for fabric. After that I cut out the monster shape from the onesie.


One of the things that I'm most proud of in the project was the little non-functional fly that I put in. It is kind of hard to see but here it is.




Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Buttercup Bag

I felt the need to make a new bag recently. A while ago I came across the free pattern for the Buttercup Bag on the blog Made By Rae. You can make the bag with two fat quarters and that sparked my memory of two fat quarters I purchased a few years ago. I loved the fabric but was not sure what I wanted to use it for so it sat in my fabric stash. I did modify the pattern slightly. I added the loop for the button closure and attached the handle to the inside instead of the outside.





I also added a pocket to the inside. I stiched down the pocket to create two sections.





I love the button. This was the first time I used a fabric covered button in one of my projects. I think it is cute with the flowers being highlighted.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Bumpers and Blocks

I finally got around to two projects I have wanted to complete this weekend. I didn't make the bumpers. My talented mother did the sewing of them for me. However, they had been falling down so we decided to try Velcro to fix the problem. The first attempt didn't work very well because the Velcro kept coming off the fabric so I got some that was sew in and adhesive. I also added bows above the Velcro to help hold it in place. So far it seems to be holding.


I also made some blocks for Joel. I loved Annie's so much that I wanted to make some for Joel as well. I found a charm back I liked at a great fabric store in Newton, Kansas, called Charlotte's. It was the Dinosaur Uproar by Moda. I did have to add one block from my mom's stash of fabric so that I could make six blocks.


Here Joel is enjoying his new toys. :)

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Guitar Hero


I found the cutest pair of shorts at a consignment shop for my son Joel. Even though I did not know what I would pair them with I went ahead and got them. Later I found some plain onesies at Target that I picked up, but I still wanted to spice up the outfit. My sister-in-law had recently given me the Sublime Stitching Craft Pad with all these super cute embroidery patterns. I decided to use the guitar pattern in coordinating colors to the shorts. Now I have a little rock star.



Annie's Blocks

Recently my niece had a birthday. I knew that I wanted to make her something; I just wasn't sure what I wanted to make. During the night (this is when inspiration often strikes me) I had the idea to make fabric blocks. I went to the fabric store to see what I could find. I had the idea to use one of the charms packs by Moda to save me the time of coordinating and cutting the fabric. This is the one I ended up with. I had one of the fabrics in my stash so I cut two extra squares so I could make six blocks.


The construction went pretty smoothly. I stitched four of the squares together and then attached the top and bottom, leaving a hole to stuff the blocks. I think they turned out pretty cute. I have plans to make some for Joel when I find the right fabric.