A Couple of Finishes and a LOT of WIPs

This week has flown by and I have barely set foot in my sewing room and this weekend doesn't look much better.  We have an out of town wedding to go to that will cut into my already very limited time.  Squeak has not been able to sit still since he learned to crawl so keeping him contained is nearly impossible plus at his 6 month check up a couple of days ago his doctor (who we love!) said it's time to move him from the playpen in our bedroom to the crib in the nursery...it could take up to five nights for him to adjust (5 VERY LONG NIGHTS).

A few things that I DID finish:

 

This fabric was some of the first that I bought when I started sewing.  I used a little bit on a FoldOver Bag that is listed in my Etsy shop and had been saving the rest while waiting for inspiration to strike.  Since I have told myself that I will not buy anymore fabric unless it is for a custom order item I have been trying to use up some of my stash.  I am still trying to build up my inventory for the show in November and send items to Crafted so I figured small items are probably best right now.  Speaking of stash...I have decided to destash and will have a couple of listings up in my shop later this week.

 

I made these with the intention of using them for a dress a friend had requested for her little girl but decided to go a different route.  Any ideas what I should use them for?  A pillow?

 

 

Some more fabric that I've been hanging onto for quite awhile.  I modified Amy Butler's Everything Wristlet to better meet my needs and came out with the perfect diaper clutch.  I think this one will be going to crafted. 

 

This is the first 20" block of the How Far Will You Go QAL and I love it!

 

These are the first of the 5" blocks.  I finally got caught up just in time for the newest block to be released :).  And in the background you can see one of my WIPs.  It is the Riley Blake Halloween Quilt that I've been working on.  It is almost ready to put together.  And I cannot wait to see how it turns out!

 

More WIPS:

 

Super Penguin QAL-the third set of block patterns is printed and ready

Embroidery Projects-I've drawn up several cute designs and just need to get them onto the fabric and get started

Mug Rugs-I must make some of these for the show and stores

Earbud Pouches-lots are cut, just waiting on zippers

Nursing Covers-washed and ready to be put together

Crochet Fedora Baby Hats-pattern bought and printed, need to purchase yarn

Baby Huggs Boots-need to pick out prints and enlarge pattern

And sooooo many more!

 

On another note, after reading this blog post http://www.bijoulovelydesigns.com/2012/09/10-tips-for-better-blog-photos.html?showComment=1348548323044 I will be taking new photographs of all of my ready to ship items to use in my Etsy shop and hopefully increase my sales.  I've known all along that my photos were sub par but wasn't sure how to fix them now I have tons of ideas!

 

Here's hoping for a productive weekend!

First Feature!

I just found out that I was featured in a blog post back in April.  A huge thanks to Lovely And Local.  You can read the whole post here

http://lovelyandlocal.wordpress.com/2012/04/24/shut-the-clutch-up/

Amazing what you find when you google your shop name :)

Focused on the Family

This weekend I had the pleasure of helping one of my cousins pick out the fabrics for her nursery.  We spent about 2 hours at Joann's and ended up with some beautiful fabrics that I hope she will be very pleased with.  I also made up a quilt pattern while we were there...but I cannot take all of the credit.  My aunt was trying to describe the pattern she was wanting to use to make the baby quilt and since I'm a draw me a picture kind of person, I envisioned something totally different.  They liked the way it sounded so we went home, sketched it up, and it was a hit!  I cannot wait to see the finished product.

 

I also thought you might like to see what happens when your child's Godmother takes him to a craft store.  We ended up going home with the elephant :)

 

 

While at the store, we also picked out fabric for a new purse for my aunt.  She had chosen a pattern the night before and I whipped it up for her on Sunday.  I love the way it turned out and hopefully it will fit nicely in the airplane (her one request).  Never thought that I would have someone make that a specification for something I was sewing.

 

 

I have to say that although I love the bag I absolutely loathe this pattern.  Probably the worst written pattern I have ever come across.  After a failed attempt (gifted to my mother-in-law of course :) ) and many alterations, it is definitely one of my favorites.

 

 

Lots of pockets are a must have!

 

 

 

I also FINALLY made Squeak a pacifier leash, only to realize that most of his pacifiers do not have a handle and cannot be used with it :(

 

 

 

My cousin had several requests for Baby Girl T.  This beanie being one of them.  I still need to find a baseball button for the center of the flower.  The stitches aren't perfect but since I pieced together a couple of different tutorials and basically had no idea what I was doing, I think it turned out great!  Still to make for her:  2 nursing covers & Huggs boots

 

 

I have been working on this in my spare time.

 

 

 

This fabric is for a project that I have been planning for over a year.  It is finally cut and ready to be put together.

 

 

I also finished the latest set of blocks for the How Far Will You Go QAL and have printed the templates for the new pattern for the Super Penguin QAL.

 

AND...........I finished my first ever full sized quilt! 

 

I started this quilt with the Vintage Holiday QAL hosted by Fabric Mutt but couldn't wait to finish it so I decided to work ahead a little bit (I always was a bit of an overachiever in school, guess some things never change).  This quilt is FAR from perfect:  when I bought the fleece for the backing the salesperson cut it very crooked and it was therefore too short on the bottom so instead of a uniform border all the way around, the bottom is about 1 1/2" as opposed to the 4" on all of the other sides.  And the back has some pretty obvious puckering (totally my fault, can't blame that on someone else).  One the positive side, I have a good idea of what I did wrong and how to fix it for next time and my mother in law loved it :)

 

 

Nursery...Better Late Than Never

Squeak turned 6 months old this last Monday and today I finally put the finishing touches on the nursery. It wasn't for lack of ideas or planning. The little guy came a few days early and totally threw my schedule off and I never caught up :)

When we started the walls were a color that is best described as prison cell grayish purple. and the trim was white.

 

 

We painted the walls a nice tan and the trim a dark brown.  Then we took a cheap black Wal-Mart bookcase, painted it to match the trim,and loaded it with books, toys, and all kinds of other goodies.

 

I put some cheap prints that I found in invisible frames to hang behind the glider and the changing table.   I made two quilts for the nursery (the first two that I ever made, gulp).  Both are very simple.  We keep one on the back of the glider and the other on the back of the crib.  The one draped over the front of the crib was handmade by my mother's boss as a present (LOVE IT!!!). 

 

I appliqued little woodland creatures on the changing pad cover that we received.  One of my favorite touches in the room is the little chain pull on the lamp that was given to us my Squeak's Godmother.

 

I found three library/book themed prints for behind the glider.

 

 

I made the tree by cutting fabric and leaves out of some of the fabrics that I use for the quilts then spraying it with fabric stiffener and ironing it to the wall.  I worked so much better than I could have imagined.   As a finishing touch I appliqued a hedgehog onto a pillow made of scraps left over from the quilts and tree.

 

The painting tape I used to stencil the closet bled pretty bad but somehow managed to make it look like it had purposefully been distressed and really worked well with the rest of the room. 

 

All of the shadowboxes on this wall have special meaning.  The top one was embroidered by me just for Squeak.  The one on the bottom left was made by an aunt using my Grandfather's old clothing.  And the third one has items from when Squeak was born:  The bracelets that both of us wore, the scissors used to cut the umbilical cord (uh, yuck?), the shirt he wore while in the hospital, etc.

 

I think it was worth the wait.

Trash to Treasure

I love going to Goodwill, thrift stores, and even garage sales when I have time.  You never know what you are going to come up with and it allows me to buy items that I normally could not or would not be willing to pay full price for.  Some of my latest finds

 

I plan on redoing my sewing space with gray, black, white, yellow and a hint of turquoise so I thought this little bunny would be the perfect little touch for one of the shelves.

 

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the owl.  I originally planned on painting and distressing him but I'm hesitant since he has such a lovely vintage look and I don't want to ruin him.  What would you do with him?

 

The rectangular box with little figures in it is another mystery.  It reminded me of my childhood and I had to have it.  Now I'm not sure what to do with it...

 

The chair pincushion will be getting the royal treatment with fabric paint and possibly some stenciling.

 

I did buy one other item, an amazing antique owl wall hanging with shelf.  It will definitely be needing a fresh coat of paint and some distressing and a fabric backing, then I will have to decide what else to do from there.

 

So many projects, so little time (sigh)...

New Items for the Shop...Finally!

I know that I'm a little late to the party, but I started on the How Far Will You Go QAL Blocks yesterday.  I almost got caught up.  Here are the ones I have finished so far:

 

The tutorial had all three of these blocks made the exact same way but I decided I wanted a little variety and made the center block with different fabrics for more contrast.

 

 

These two were also supposed to be identical...

 

I'm loving the way my fabrics are looking.

 

This piece was a lot of fun to put together!

 

I had promised myself I was going to only buy designer fabrics but when I saw these fat quarter bundles at JoAnn's I couldn't help myself.

 

Now the other projects that I finished...

 

 

The first craft project that I can remember doing was embroidery.  My mother taught me how when I was very young and I loved it.  I haven't done it in about 20 years but when I saw these I had to give it a shot!

 

I love all of the fun colors and anything with birds :)

 

A second attempt at the covered journals.

 

And finally, some new earbud pouches to add to the shop!

 

More to come!!!!

 

 

End of August

August is over and I feel as though I didn't accomplish much at all.  The amount of pictures and half finished projects cluttering up my office tell a different story.  Kale has started to crawl and now sleeps less than ever which cuts into my already limited sewing time.  My husband threw out the idea of possibly getting me set up in a brick and mortar store (my dream!) sometime in the foreseeable future.

Here are a few of the projects that I DID manage to complete:

The second set of blocks for the Super Penguin Quilt Along

 

I'm using all of my different scraps so it will be extremely colorful!

 

I decided to use muslin as the background.

 

I finally finished the pillow for the nursery.  I hand stitched the felt hedgehog applique a couple of months ago and couldn't decide what to do with it.  I thought this would be a good way to use up some of the Moda scraps I had left over from his quilts.

 

I arranged a trade with a lady on Etsy.  I'm getting an amazing Oklahoma necklace and a Happy Camper keychain and in return I sent her this cute carseat canopy.

 

She picked the pattern.

 

And the fabrics.  And I'm very happy with how it came out!

 

My items seem to be doing well at the boutique in Claremore.  After two weeks they had requested more of my small items.  So I sent them a bunch of Keyring Clutches and Earbud Pouches.

 

I also sent them two different styles of Trick or Treat Bags (which I forgot to take pictures of, oops).

 

And with my new found love of paper piecing I had to find a way to make some smaller items out of them.  I found a great tutorial on how to make a covered notebook and my first attempt came out pretty well.

 

These are only a few of the projects that I have completed.  I hope to have photos taken and posted of the rest tomorrow. 

 

Hope everyone has a great, safe Labor Day!