Illini Zipper Pouch

My fabulous husband is a school teacher.  As a result we (he) gets TONS of Gift Cards.  They have been kept in many different places.... huge wicker basket, desk drawer, gift bag, etc...  In my efforts to get organized I told him I would make him a holder for his gift cards.  

It works beautifully!  I knew that he had many, many to store so I made the bag with bottom corners.  It works great!  Everything fits perfectly.  =)  

I found the fabric down in Urbana last summer.  We don't have have any nifty U of I stuff up here, just your basic patterns.  It was nice to find something different.

 That's all for now. 

 

More Aprons and Towels

 More Showers!!!!  They are so fun!  The bride to be is a family friend and is decorating in greens and browns.  My awesome husband took these pictures for me because I was running late (as usual).  He's the best!!!

I made an apron for her in her colors.  I really do love this apron pattern.  I like the fabrics/colors of this one. I think its simple and fun at the same time.  Again, a GREAT pattern!!  Thanks Lori Holt!  Take a look!!

 
Close up of the pocket ( hubby is so good at knowing what to take pictures of!)  You can get a good glimpse of the brown fabric here.  I really liked it.

I also bought some of the towels from her registry and added some of the apron fabrics to them.  It's too bad that the brown fabric didn't capture well.  It's a very cool brown, with some green, and bronze.  I may have bought some extra for myself.

Her fiance is an avid outdoorsman and likes to cook.  So I found some camouflage fabric and made some potholders for him!!!  

This is the back of the potholder...
I was experimenting with bindings... I think I like the way I did these.  It gets a bit tricky because for these potholders I used two thicknesses of Insul-bright and for extra help I put a piece of warm and white between them.  Plus the camouflage fabric was more like canvas.  They should work well.

And a potholder in the same fabric as the apron.
Have a great day!

Zebra Doggie Bed!

Hello!

Foam was on sale at JoAnn's last week (still pretty expensive).  I bought a bunch to make some cushions for my backyard, and an extra yard to make a dog bed for my puppy.  I happily found a remnant (50% off!!!) of fuzzy zebra print!  It was the perfect size.

 

  

I figured, what better way to practice making corners on foam pieces than to make a dog bed?  I used a scrap of yellow fabric for the bottom (the part touching the floor).  In the end I was very happy with the finished product.

I think Sousa even liked it too!!  He was eager to try it out!!!

Apron from Bee in My Bonnet plus some towels!

Hello Everyone!

I'm so excited to share with you my new favorite apron pattern!!!!  It is a fabulous pattern from Lori Holt of Bee in My Bonnet.  She design fabric for Riley Blake and always has fun patterns as well.  I made the One Yard Apron and it was super fun!  (She even included a recipe at the end of the pattern... I haven't tried it yet, but soon I will!!)

I made this apron for two very special brides.  They both have the same tastes in colors so I was able to make them the same apron.  Again, always making things at the last minute I don't have very good pictures.  

The pattern was very easy to follow.

The above picture is before trim and ribbon ties.

I used some sparkly blue ribbon on the pockets.  It turned out cute and sewed nicely.  I used a fun flowery trim for the bottom.  That was VERY annoying to sew on, but it was worth it in the end.

Finished!!!  

I followed the directions and everything worked great.  The only thing that I added was that I serged the whole main fabric of the apron, and I serged the pocket sides and bottom.  I figured after some washings those raw edges would start to fray.

It's always fun to have more things to open, so I bought a little extra fabric.  I just turned the edges under to encase the raw edges and then I topstitched the rectangle down onto a kitchen towel!  

I have a ton of fabric that I'm going to use for my kitchen.  Soon I'll get those done!  Wahoo!!

Baby Shower Gifts

Hello Everyone!

School's almost out!!!  My dog is behaving!!  It's time to start crafting/blogging again.  I have been making things... just haven't had the time to post.  Today I have some shower gifts to show you!  A good friend of mine is pregnant with her first baby and she and I are both musicians.... I found some very cute music fabric!  =)

Burp Cloths

These are made with flannel on one side and chenille on the other.  After looking through many tutorials I decided on the size of 8 inches by 18 inches.  I simply sewed them right sides together, and rounded corners.  I left a hole for turning.  Turned them inside out and topstitched!  wahoo!

I know its kind of a 'pukey' green color, but I couldn't resist the monkeys!  I figure if he pukes peas on it then it will match.  =)

 

Pacifier Clips

I think I finally figured out how I want to make these.  I basically did the same thing as I do for my tote bag straps.  See the tutorial here.  I did put some interfacing inside for a bit of stability.  I also basted the loops before folding all of the fabric up.  I cut the fabric about 10 inches by 3-3/4 inches.

 

I love these clips!  They are plastic coated on the inside.  I completed the finished strap, slid the clip on and then stitched it down.

I think they came out pretty well!!!

Taggie Blanket

I whipped up another Taggie Blanket.  See my tutorial here.   I bought this adorable panel this summer.  I was very excited to use it.  I sewed some mustardy fabric I had to frame the panel. 

Blue swirly soft furry fabric for the back always works perfectly.

 

Yes, the pictures were all taken in a hurry.  It was raining so my skylights didn't help with lighting.  AND I didn't have time to clean.  yuck.  Someday my craftroom will have a photography 'area' or something.....

It's still rainy today.  Seems like a good day for sewing!

Toodles!