Little Gifts

Both of my daughters had birthday parties to attend this weekend (it is definitely spring- it is birthday season!) so we put together some little gifts- first a knot bag for my 9-year-old's "Cute Things" themed gift swap.

We put a Paul Frank Lip Smackers tin inside- I heard this was super popular and one of the other girls' moms wanted to buy one from me. Remember when these were super popular a couple of years ago? I always planned on making one but didn't get around to until just now. They are very quick and easy, especially if you remember to clip the curves when you are sewing at 11 PM on Friday night after teaching all week ;-) Now my daughter wants to make them with her friends at her birthday party next weekend, too. The tute is no longer on line, but I did find the Japanese Knot Bag PDF (thanks Google!)

My 5-tear-old took this sweet little doll quilt to her fancy salon party. It will be the perfect size for her friend's American Girl Doll. I had made a series of doll quilts last summer, so it was great to have one on hand for gifting. It was really hard for her to choose one to give away though- she wanted to keep them all!

I did get my sewing machine back from the shop, but the jury is still out on how well it is working. I had some problems with it but think it may actually be my walking foot that is now the culprit. In any case, I got out this old sewing machine that I picked up at Goodwill for $20 a while a go and stashed in the garage. I had started reading about how to fix it up and somehow got convinced it was a another fixer machine without ever even trying it.

It's a Singer 201-2 and she is a beauty. She sews so smooth and quiet, and all I had to do was clean out some lint from under the throat plate. I need to look into getting some accessories for her, but she may be taking over as my main machine.

Look at the gorgeous Deco-y plate on her! I think she must be from the 1930s when this model came out. By the '50s, these plates were all vertically ridged. I'm just amazed that my 8 year old sewing machine has at least partially worn out, but this 80 year old one is going strong. I'm hoping to give both these ladies a test drive getting some quilting done this week!

Getting Small

I started making some small projects on a whim this week... small = quick to finish, which is good. Especially when you have a bunch of large tops to work on. They turned into a series of book covers, all starting with this Terrie Mangat panel that has been held in a treasured place in my stash for many years.

She needed some extra rays on the side, and some clovers for luck.

Then the fabric from the rays became a star. A few other fabrics jumped into the mix, just for fun.


Others filled in to use up all the bits.

I really enjoyed working in this scale, just following my intuition and liberating some favorite fabrics from being hoarded in my stash!

Flea Market Bag

The final teacher gift I made for the holidays was this Flea Market Bag by Grand Revival. I loved this pattern! It was easy to make and came out very cute! I used a found home dec fabric- you can't tell in the picture, but it's actually a sparkly silver, not grey. I'll have to make myself the one I planned on when I bought this pattern, too. After the holidays.

Embroidered Ornaments

Here's 2 more holiday gifts for my kids teachers that are finished! I made embroidered linen Christmas tree ornaments and stuffed them.

One is a ukulele, decorated with Christmas lights.

One is a bird, with folk art-ish designs.

Both have the green tree fabric on the back.

Now I just have one more teacher gift to make... and my deadline is tomorrow. I'm trying a new bag pattern so I hope it goes smoothly!

Pretty Patchy Apron

Here's one holiday gift finished! I made this apron for my younger daughter's preschool teacher, who wears an apron every day to school. The patchwork is a pocket... a kangaroo pocket. Are they not the best pockets?


It's reversible too- the other side is one of my favorite Anna Maria Horner prints and has a patchwork waistband. Ach! It's so cute, it makes me want to be a preschool teacher and wear an apron to work every day too!

Now just 3 more teacher gifts to make... and 2 other handmade gifts on my list. Yikes, there's less than 2 weeks til Christmas!

So Long, Summer

Today is my 3rd grader's first day of school, the rain is pouring down, I'm back in polar fleece. Summer already seems like a long-lost friend... but she was so loved while she was here! It was truly a glorious and enjoyable summer, just far too short.

A big part of the fun was crafting with my daughters. We made cloth dolls, with me as the seamstress and them as the art designers.


Nothing better than girls and dolls! They also made dolls out of juice containers, and craft foam "paper dolls." Lots of fun there!

We also celebrated my 4-year-old's unbirthday party (she is a Christmastime baby, so we party with friends at another time of year) A tea party, dress up, hoola hooping and running in the sprinkler in addition to the requisite cake & ice cream. Wheee! I whipped up some cloth favor bags for her frinds to take home their party crowns and stickers.


I am still working on my WIP list, but as I was cleaning up from the party, my rotary cutter slipped and I started cutting squares for a new quilt, just because the fabric was soooo pretty.


Whoops! The list gets longer and as long as the rain keeps falling I'll keep sewing and waiting for summer to return again

10 Step Crochet Hook Roll

One of my daughter's friends recently started crocheting, so we made her a crochet hook roll for her birthday. It was a hit- even as a new "hooker" she has already lost her crochet hooks at the bottom of bags. (Aren't the possibilities for crochet puns endless? I'm going to refrain so I don't have to groan at myself when I make another one of these!)

I looked at a number of crochet hook roll tutorials, but couldn't find what I was looking for- just a small, simple roll that would be easy for a 9 year old to use and carry. This tutorial came close, and was a helpful starting point for the size of the roll. I ended up using different materials and construction for a softer roll, though- here are my instructions on how to make it.

This is a great project for fat quarters or larger scraps of material. You can use quilting cotton or home dec fabric.

You will need:

2- 10"X11" rectangles- one for the exterior and one for the inside.
1- 11"11" square
1- 10"x11" rectangle of quilt batting
approx. 30" of ribbon
fabric marking pen or pencil
a sewing machine and basic sewing sewing supplies
About 30 minutes to an hour

1. Have all your pieces cut and ready to go. Fold the 11"x11" square in half and press. This will be the pocket for the hooks.

2. Place the pressed rectangle on top of the lining rectangle, lining it up with the folded edge in the middle, and the raw edges along the bottom of edge of the lining. Pin it in place.

Mark off lines for sewing the pockets at 3", then every 1". This will give you a larger pocket for a small pair of scissors, and about 7 hook pockets.

Sew along the lines.

3. Next, lay the lining on top of the batting.

Fold the ribbon in half and position it at the top edge of the pocket, on the 3" scissor pocket side. Machine or hand baste in place.

4. Place the exterior rectangle right side down on top of the batting and lining. Make sure the loose ends of the ribbon is secured in middle. Pin the exterior in place.

5. Sew around the entire perimeter, leaving a 2-3" opening at one side.

6. Trim the seam allowance, to reduce bulk (pinking shears work great for this if you have them- I like how they reduce the bulk without cutting too close to the seam.) Make sure to trim off the corners on the diagonal and leave the seam allowance along the opening so it's easier to turn right side out in the next step.

7. Reach inside the opening and turn the whole thing right side out. Poke your fingers into the corners and along the seams to get them nice and smooth.

Carefully turn the tabs of seam allowance along the opening in and press, then pin. Also press the rest of the piece so it is flat and the edges are even.

Top stitch all the way around about 1/4" from the edge. Take care to secure the tabs you have turned and pinned along the opening as you top stitch.

8. Your roll can be finished now, but I added a flap at the top to help keep the hooks from sliding out.

To add the flap, turn the top edge down 1 1/2" and press.

Sew along the pressed fold to secure. Now the sewing is done!

9. Finish your work by pulling the loose threads to one side, knotting and burying the ends.

10. Finally, roll it up and get ready to take your hooks anywhere you go!

Stitching Up Some Fun

I've been doing a good bit of library book borrowing this summer, especially looking at quilting and craft books for inspiration. My 8 year old daughter has been really interested in embroidery, and learning some "actual stitches" as opposed to just messing around with a needle and thread, so I checked out Colorful Stitchery by Kristin Nicholas for her.


We liked the book so much- both the instructions and the projects and ideas- that we bought a copy on Amazon. Funnily enough, it's an old library copy....


I designed a sampler for my daughter so she could learn a number of the basic stitches right away.


She did a great job and it turned out really cute! She learned cross stitch, chain stitch, straight stitch, running stitch, back stitch, French knots, lazy daisy, stem stitch and satin stitch. That's pretty good for a little summer sampler! Her 4 year old sister is now asking for one of her own, so she'll get plenty of practice!

Travelling Companion

One of my goals this year is to learn needle turn applique, both because it's lovely and because it's a handy type of project for when I'm away from my sewing machine. I made this cute little hand sewing kit from a tutorial by Sophie of Blocks & Swaps & Patterns & Tips.


It's got handy felt pages for needles & pins...


A big interior pocket (I thought this Momo Wonderland fabric was perfect for this!)...

And some little pockets.

Made mostly of scraps & stash, including thrifted bias binding and button and a button loop leftover from a Buttercup Bag. It was very quick and easy to sew- if anything, I went too quickly on the binding, which could look better at the corners. Next time- slow down and don't rush to finish a project right before school pickup!

I LOVE these colors! I'll be so inspired to applique, and it will work waaaaay better than a Ziploc bag for holding all my pins and things!