Summer Shower Snails

WTF, you ask?!?

It's summer.
There was a baby shower.
The fabric is covered in cute snails.

WTF did you think I meant?

See?!  It's a cute little convertible diaper clutch!  Covered in snail-ios.  The pattern is from Fabric-by-Fabric One Yard Wonders.  It's a clutch, big enough to hold a couple of diapers, wipes, etc., AND it opens flat into a changing pad.  Pretty nifty, eh?

I've been enjoying working with metal hardware on my bags.  They add a nice finishing touch and they're durable!  Plus, it was fun to quilt some wonky lines on the clutch.  I figured that snails don't move in straight lines, so why should the quilt lines?

 

Above, you can see (sort of) the inner pocket for holding diapers and such.  I asked around and according to the moms I spoke to, they all agreed that they would have found a smaller, more portable bag really convenient for those quick trips out to the grocery store or whatever.  They didn't always need the giant diaper bag and this would have been nice.






































And I used a fabric scrap to make the gift tag/care instruction tag.

I hope the parents-to-be enjoy it!  And that the soon-to-arrive baby boy finds the pad comfy enough.

Grafitti Cardi

Well ... I made my first sewn garment.

AND I did it out of knit fabric.
(I know, right?!  WTF was I thinking?!  Apparently I like a challenge.  Or am just a masochist.  Potato-potahto.)

I took the project from Sewing In a Straight Line by Brett Bara.  It's the "First Time's a Charm Cardi" and it literally is like 7 rectangles.  SRSLY.  And two aren't even 100% necessary. *

I did read lots of tips from various books, blogs and such on working with knits, but they're still slippery little buggars.  I found this one at JoAnn's Fabrics - part of the April Johnston Project Runway line.  I love the grafitti!  (Believe it or not, the text actually all goes in one direction and I'm OCD enough to make sure ALL my panels, sleeves and facing are going the "right" way.)

Anyway, the construction is pretty straight forward.  The most difficult thing for me was working with the fabric itself.  You just have to slowly and carefully.

My cardi did end up being a little shorter than I would prefer and shorter than the pattern calls for.  When I got to hemming it I realized how much the back panel had shifted while I was cutting.  It was NOT even.  Not even a little.  So off came a chunk.

You live, you learn.  But if I decide I want it longer, I have some black knit that I can add at the bottom, almost like color-blocking.  It's all good ...



* Most knits don't really need to have "finished" edges as they won't unravel.  So one could choose to leave the facing off of the front edge if going for the whole casual/drapey look.  However, I did end up making the facing more of a band.  It made logical sense to me during assembly.  Besides, without the band, there's no way this would have even stood a chance of covering "the girls", if you know what I mean.  Note:  I actually DID do the facing right.  I was just tired at the time and thought I'd mucked it all up!  :)

SEW It SEAMS I'm Making a Garment

Oh, come on.  You had to know that joke was coming at some point.

Anyway, I'm making my FIRST sewn garment.  It's a simple, kimono-sleeve cardigan from Sewing In a Straight Line by Brett Bara.  Why I chose to work with knits for my first garment ... well, I must be a glutton for punishment!  LOL

BUT so far it's going okay.  I read up on lots of tips about working with knits.  Using a piece of tissue paper between the fabric and the feed dogs is totally keeping the knit from getting sucked into the machine.  Plus, I figured out a few new things about stitch length/width with zig-zag stitches.  Fun, fun!  :)

And check out how smooth my seams are!  No puckering!  I'm pretty pleased about that!

Sunshine on a Cloudy Day ...

Sometimes when it rains, it pours.

I have a friend who I thought could use a little cheering up.  Just a little something to maybe shine a little light into a dark day ...

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Ever since making this pin, I've been wanting to make more. 
Playing around with scraps and ribbon and cotton thread ... pieces evolve ... layers change.

I have it propped up on my new lamp.  Technically, it's an old lamp.  Painted a new fun color.  See my favorite lamp was sent to the great beyond by this little fella:

Erebos*, the handsome boy on the left, had a little ... erm, DERP! moment and took the glass -- the beautiful, orange, smooth, round glass -- lamp with him. 

I heard it happen, but I couldn't look. 
I didn't want to see it.
Seeing it would make it real.

I made Chris do it. 
He had to tell me that my favorite lamp was a goner.

Sigh.

On the plus side, no cats were injured in the breaking of the lamp.
Or in the subsequent moments following the breaking of the lamp.

He's lucky he's cute.

* Marishi is the girl on the right.  Ain't she pretty?