Alice'ish

 I say 'ish because it was by no means a traditional Alice costume. But she did inspire it. Too bad it did not turn out nearly as good as I had hoped. The satin got so crumply looking around the lace ups. AT least on it was not so noticeable.

I did like the peplum waistcoat and the poofy sleeve ends though. Comfy :)

The skirt was, well, waaaayyyy short. So I decided to lengthen it by using two different blues. That I did like. Gave it some pop. Oh, and the darker blue is sparkly...not that you can see it in the pics.

And the lace trim, so sweet.

The vest was much too big. But an easy fix. I just need to shorten the straps hat cross behind. I did not bother then since it sat under a closed coat.

Cherry Denim

Denim with teeny embroidered cherries on them that is. This skirt is perfect for work. The length is work worthy...meaning I can move around without flashing any unsuspecting victims. Although, it is only good because I extended it from the original length. I used some grosgrain ribbon on the border of the 2 denims. I did not have enough of the cherry left, so I used some plain stuff I had lying around. It worked.

Closer up on the ribbon border...

And you can see the pockets here....very useful at work.

This is the pattern I used, Vogue 1247...

Dusty Blue Floral Backpack

I've been super busy with the new job, the Rust Belt opening preparations and the wet basement, that sewing pretty much ground to a halt recently.

But I was able to squeak in this backpack. There are about 6 more cut out & ready to go.

I really like the bright yellow surprise inside. Although, if whoever gets this is as hard on their bags as I am, it will only stay so bright & new looking for so long :P

And because the lighting was so poor - here's a better idea of what the fabric looks like:

Biohazard

Another Urban Threads design! I had a hard time deciding some things with this one. Do I fill in the yellow bits? Paint inside the orange circle and bits? Barbed wire - which color? As you can see, I skipped the filling in of parts. Actually, I did start to fill in the yellow and took it out. Didn't care for it. The barbed wire became a compromise...4 grey and 2 black strands :) You can see it better in the angled pic below...

Have you peeked at my shop lately? I have started adding my embroidery pieces :) Yippee!

Next New Handbag

This is the first of the new 6 pack of my Karen handbags.

And this is a reminder of what the first Karen looked like.

That is all for now :) Short and sweet. Off to go ad my new pics from Erin to my shop!!!

WIP Time

My house has been one of ill repute lately...emphasis on the ill. And since I am Mom, I have done nothing beyond caring for everyone else. So this poor bag has been sitting in the sewing area with all it's parts exposed for all to see. Hopefully I will be able to fix her up soon and make her whole.

Until then - have a great weekend. Hope to be back by the end of it.

And maybe with some embroidery completed too. Too bad the sewing machine is right next to the boys' rooms, otherwise I could sew after they go to bed.

Last Blue Dude...er, Gal

I don't know why I think of this one as a she when the other two struck me as boys. Maybe it is the cute slate blue dottie fabric I used for the body. And tail. The tiny one did not have a tail. This one does. It props her up nicely too.


So now there is a whole family. Although one is just embroidery. And the original was a sketch.


They have been in a few treasuries also, which feels great. Daddy is usually found by his smile :)

America's High Five
Monster Need Love Too
Monsters
Smile
All Creatures Great & Small

Another Blue Dude

He's so cute and teeny. That's my sewing machine he's leaning up against and a 4x6 notebook to his left. See...tiny. But not quite tiny enough to be a key chain like the one in my shop. Well, maybe. I need to think about it some more.

I like the little suckers on the feet. And what a goofy grin. I hope he's not laughing at me. I do look pretty silly sitting here on the couch in my sweats watching TV while I sew him up. Or maybe he's just happy to be a part of the family. Papa is still in the shop. I'll have to keep them boxed together to keep each other company until one sells.

Blue Pillows

I finished the blue pillows. I am still on the fence about this first pair. I love the Federal blue color and the Brandon Mably's fish lips print underneath. So I am not sure just what it is that makes me go "eh". Maybe it's the cut outs. Or maybe just because I had so much trouble with them. The sizing was not quite right. The 16 inch pillow I had was too fluffy. I think all I need is a more solid pillow with less puff.



This second set of Federal blue pillows was fun to make. Making the overlapping kaleidoscope circles to match the kaleidoscope print underneath took quite some time, but so worth it.


The backside still needs the piece with the snap for closure. Or maybe it doesn't? I do like the clean lines. Hmmm....what do you think?

Now I just need to decide whether or not I am taking the pillow covers to the Riverside's December Holiday Art and Crafts Sale. I do not have enough inserts for all of them. Between allergies and personal preference for pillow fillers, I figure less than half of the people would need one. But still, very bulky to have sitting out. Maybe I just keep them home & put them in my shops online. Which means photo shoots. Hmmm....

Pillow WIPs...Circle Cut Outs This Time

I have started on another batch of pillows. I loved the olive circle applique one so much that I decided to make more with the round cut out.I also varied the sizes, some as large as 20 inches. I love big pillows, so cozy.

There will be blues...

Pinks...

And olives...

I decided to use the cut outs on some of the pillows as well. In the end there will be solid pillows with print peek throughs and print pillows with solid color circles appliqued to the front. I hope. In my head it looks great...we'll see.

I'll be making the hair WIPs alongside the pillows since the machine will already be threaded with the right colors. Yes, lazy can determine the order of getting things done. But I prefer to call it efficient.

Ocean Blue Stripey Pillows

I made two of these pillows last week using the leftover strips from my drapes. I love the shade of blue for the pillows. I may need to trim down the size just a scooch though. Or not. I suppose it depends on whether or not people prefer tight fitting or loose pillow covers. Well? Opinion anyone? Thanks :)

And this is the backside. I kept with the coordinating cover piece that snaps the overlap. The other pillow has a slightly smaller piece with only 2 strips.

You can see a the window behind the sewing machine that I took the idea from.

Given that the strips had raw edges, I thought I should toss them in the wash to make sure everything held together. I knew I ran the risk of destruction, but I did not want to risk destruction happening to someone who buys it :P I still need to trim the edges, but they turned out great. Well, I like them. But then again, I love the raw edge look.

This is a close up of the rawness. The color is off, but the edges show very well.

So now the question is to pre-wash or not to pre-wash. Perhaps I will not pre-wash and just use these pillows as examples of what the pillow would look like post-wash. And let people decide from there what they want. Depending on how the pillows would be used, they may go ages without a washing, especially if they were more for show than actual use. How often do you have to wash your throw pillows?

Fabric Baskets in Blue

The past couple weeks have been busy with family things, but I did get more baskets done. I showed off the fire truck basket that I gave to my son already. These are the remaining blue themed baskets.
I did take the "easy way out" and used pre-quilted cotton fabric for the insides. But I do think it looks nicer than the one I made myself with cotton batting last year. They also stand up nicer.

I have a trio of brown coming soon as well. I still need to figure the pricing on these, so they probably won't be in my shop until after the 1st craft show this season...May 1st, so only a week away!

I know I want to make some smaller & possibly different shapes. But I am trying to decide if I want to make any larger ones. These are about 10-12 inches tall & oval shaped, about 9x6. What do you think? Larger? Or just stick to different shapes & smaller?

Blue Quilt is Done

I have finished the blue quilt. And I don't like the pink patches too much, but I am still pleased with the fact that I did it patternless. Plus, it keeps my tootsies warm at night.

I had a frustrating time with the binding. I went cheap & just used pre-made stuff. So i suppose that part went well. But I ran out part way through - always a bummer. Once I made my way to the store & brought back some more, I got frustrated again. It was a little off and left me with a ripply binding. Which is not exactly the end of the world.


There were some puckers and "squish" points here & there in the quilting as well. This can be a hazard even with a pattern, so I didn't let it bother me. Besides, isn't that part of the charm of a handmade item? The little flubs that make it unique & special. I read once that women used to make small mistakes" on purpose with quilts. Something to do with the only perfection being a creation from god. Heck - who wants perfect? That'd be boring.

I have about 5 or so quilt patterns to scan & share soon too. I have a box full of the fabrics I plan on using for each too. I think that will keep me busy for quite some time.

Quilt Update 2

This is a quickie update. If it weren't for the fabric gift bags I goofed up & had to redo...which made me feel silly because it is such a simple thing...I would have had this quilt sandwich made sooner. But it is sandwiched, taped & ready to, well, quilt. I went with irregularly spaced lines (well, cross hatch lines) for the quilting to match the irregular rectangles. Now I just need to choose a blue thread. I may go with the eeny-meeny-miney-moe method. Anyway - the next update may be of a completed quilt :)