Prepare Yourself Mentally...

A friend of mine posted this little gem on her Facebook this week, and we all got quite a good laugh out of it.  Until I tried my next sewing project, which involved zippers, and was much more difficult than anticipated, mostly because I've never worked with a zipper before.  I really did start to wonder if it would go a little better if I weren't still in my pajamas. 

Sidenote: this summer I have been doing a lot of my sewing in my PJs, mostly because the spare room doesn't have any air conditioning.  So I don't want to shower and change and then sweat all day long.  And I tried putting the fan in there, but having the iron and fan plugged in at the same time seems to trip the breakers as well, and that's just another thing to deal with, ughhhh... 

Here is the bag that gave me so much trouble first off.  I used the pattern from Noodlehead, HERE, but I didn't have any interfacing, so I used acrylic felt to stabilize it.  It made it VERY bulky, so the next bag I didn't use anything, and it was easier to sew, but very floppy.  Apparently I need to invest in some lightweight interfacing.  

At least I had a good reason to use this elephant fabric!  I bought it at the quilt show a few years ago, so hopefully I can find some more of it this year.  I lined it with a burnt yellow fabric.  Sewing around the zipper was difficult, but I think I got the hang of it.  

This is the second pouch, and it came out MUCH better!  Like I said, it's a little floppy, but the sewing is much better, and the construction was better.  I also read some of the instructions a little bit better as well.  And making the zipper tab was pretty easy, so I'm glad I found away to do it easier.  

The lining is a warm dark brown Kona cotton, and now I know why Kona's are amazing!  I like this picture because it makes me look like a pro!  Maybe I can actually put things on my ghost of an Etsy shop soon!  (Hahahaha... ohhh I'm funny....) 

I'm pretty proud of these two little guys!  I think I'll make myself one for pens, pencils, make up, etc.  Maybe even a few gifts here and there.  And of course I'm selling them!  

Tonight after I updated my LLS Fundraising Page, I decided to use the zipper that was too short for the other bags, and adapt the original pattern a little bit.  I was looking through my scrap bin, and I found old iron on transfers of my paintings that I was going to make into pillows (and obviously never did) a few years ago.  So I decided to use this one instead of some scraps.  It's a little lumpy looking because of the thickness of the material, but I think it turned out ok.  

On the front I used the painting transfer, and on the back I used a brown fabric that was the same color as the Kona, but not the same fabric at all.  I think it looked pretty good together.  Especially the green zipper!  

Here's another picture of this little guy.  He measures about 4x6x2" instead of the 6x9x3" of the other bags.  

 I lined the bag with a light yellow fabric that I think goes with the painting.  I didn't do a very good job with the zipper because I tucked it in, which I thought you could do with short zippers.  (I didn't think I needed to turn it out and make a tab if the zipper was the exact length... I was wrong.)  So it's a little wonky on the end (not pictured), but I think it's ok, and hopefully if someone buys this little guy, they won't notice either.

Phew, good thing I was dressed when I made that one.... maybe that's why it turned out better, since I wasn't in my jammies.  But still, I'd like to know what the heck is French chalk?!

Some Summer Productivity

So this summer I've been trying to make more things to sell for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, so I can meet my fundraising goal.  (I even figured out how to add a little gadget on the right so you can keep track of it too!)  So I've made more little drawstring bags, and I'm trying to sell them for a $30.00 donation.  This sushi one might be my favorite so far! 

Here it is all flattened out.  I think these bags are perfect for your running do-dads (sunglasses, gels, body glide, towel, etc..... Or a small wallet/bag for things for the beach, wristlet, etc.... 

I love this sushi print too!  I bought 2 fat quarters of it a few years ago at the quilt show, so I'm glad I finally had a reason to stop hoarding it!  I still have one left, so maybe I will make a different sort of bag with it... more on that later.  

I also made this one with faces, and I've been hoarding it for a few years too.  I need to find a better fabric for the drawstrings.  I didn't have enough gray to make it work, or the lavender.  So I found some purple ribbon, but I don't think it stands up as well, and doesn't have as much structure as the other drawstrings.  

I reeeeeallly love this pattern!  I wish I had bought yards of it!  It's a big pattern compared to the tiny little ones I usually enjoy, but this bag was the perfect size for it.   

Peek-a-boo!  I wish I had designed it myself!

I also made a baby boy drawstring bag, with the leftovers I had from making the baby quilts for the twins.  I wish I had larger amounts of a more interesting fabric, but I used them all in the quilts! I had to use more scraps in the lining too, but I think it turned out pretty well.  

Here it is, all flattened out!  I really like the stars on the drawstrings and the flowery stars on top!  

I had to sew several different fabrics together for the drawstrings, but you can't really tell when it's flattened like this.  I guess if you look closely at the first one you can tell.  

Here's the whole gang!  Ready to be purchased, or given away!  Hopefully they will make someone very happy for a small donation to the LLS!!

Crayons for a Cure!

As part of my fundraising efforts for the Nike Women's Half Marathon with Team in Training to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, I am recycling old crayons.

For a $5.00 donation, you can purchase a bag of recycled crayons in a variety of shapes, including:

"Little People" 

"Large Hearts" 

"Small Hearts"

"Flowers"

"Assorted Shapes"

They make great back to school gifts, give away or raffle prizes, or even stocking stuffers!  

Please send me an email at oglesbmc@yahoo.com or leave a comment and let me know if you'd like to place an order.  You can also donate directly to my fundraising page at: http://pages.teamintraining.org/va/nikesf12/moglesbhcr

For an additional $5.00, I will ship your order, but please remember it is summer and hot, and the crayons are made of wax.  

Please help me to raise $3,000.00 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society!  Every little bit (and little bag of crayons) helps!  Thanks for your donation! 

Another finish

After babysitting this morning, I came home to work on another little drawstring bag, in hopes of perfecting the technique a little bit more.  The last one I made a few months ago definitely had some flaws, so I tried to be more careful with this one.  

I started this bag back in March or April, and due to to time constraints or moving, it never got finished.  I had it cut out and ready to go, but today I finally finished this little guy!  

Here he is all flattened out.  I made the main bag and drawstrings out of the same fabric.  I also used contrasting orange thread for the string slots, in hopes of making it a little bit more funky.  

Here it is all cinched together, and I think it turned out pretty well!  

I've been hoarding this fabric for a few years now, and I'm so glad I finally found a good use for it!  I'm definitely going to be making more little bags with it, as the pattern is the perfect size!  

Hopefully I can also make more of these in an attempt to raise more funds for my TNT LLS race in a few months!  I'll most more about that as I have time to whip more of them up!  

(Hopefully very very soon!) 

From PhD to FINISHED!!

So this summer, I seem to have found myself mostly unemployed.  I've done a little bit of babysitting here and there, and I've had a few other opportunities... but I've gotten quite used to my free time.  And honestly, I think the first few weeks of summer were spent just recovering from the school year.  But last Friday, I finally got my butt in gear!  I bought a GroupOn for the Fabric Hut, and AMAZING fabric store in Norfolk, and I bought a new cutting mat, that's a whopping 43x36"!! My old 18x24" Olfa mat was ruined in the move somehow (water and sunlight warped it, apparently).  Then I finished buying fabric to make the baby blankets for C&J's babies, and even some fabric to get started on some pillows!

So... this was my goal, and finally on Monday I FINISHED the baby blankets!!

Here are two photos of the finished blankets!  They are made with the same fabric, but arranged slightly differently.  They measure about 28x26", so they are a little smaller than I wanted, but not too bad for my first attempt at baby blankets!  I wanted to take some photos of the progress, but it was slow but steady going, so I didn't want to stop and distract myself any further.  

 The basic technique was the same as for a pillow.  I stitched the edges (as seen in an example at Quilting Adventures), to make sort of a binding.

This is the back and front of one blanket.  The back is made with minky, the softest stuff around!  I want a blanket with minky! 

Here's a close up of the back and front again... sooooo soft.... 

Here they are, folded and ready to go!  I can't wait to give them the blankets!  I didn't have them ready for the shower, since we had JUST moved, but at least they are finished now!  The babies arrived early, but I still have them ready before their due date.  Maybe I can post some pictures of the babies and mom and dad with the blankets too!  

Alright, on to my next project, which is some new pillows for our new-used couches.  I tried to find some pillows that I liked that weren't too expensive or frilly, and that seemed impossible.  So I'm going to make four pillows, using THIS TUTORIAL.  So far I have planned to use a set of greens, blues, and oranges, and then I need one more.  I bought a bunch of Kona solids, so hopefully I can get started on that later today or Monday.  I can't wait to post more pictures, and more posts, since I'm actually making more stuff!  Woo hoo!