619 miles

fabric love: Julia Rothman

I've always really liked the illustrations by Julia Rothman. And I'm totally in love with this wallpaper. I purchased two different color samples and I would LOVE to purchase it, but everytime I think about spending the money I think about how awful it was to remove the wallpaper when I moved into my place. Anyway... back to the subject at hand: awesome fabric!

I'm pretty sure I first saw Julia's illustrations on Design Sponge's City Guide series. She did a lot of the city illustrations. Her work is really all over the place and I can't believe I just now learned that she has a line of fabrics. As you may know I love fabrics and I know you do too Kerry, but you've probably already seen these.... maybe?!?!

This line, called Type, is my favorite.

This image, also from her website, shows a variety of projects using the fabrics. I really really want to get my sewing machine out ASAP!

After browsing her site I learned that her work is on all kinds of products, from paper to temporary tatoos to tote bags to tea pots and tea towels.

Those camera tattoos are super cute!

She even has a book that I would love to give to my niece. The book is a look inside different artists sketch books. I think Corinne would LOVE it.

I'm off to browse her site some more and see what other fun things I can add to my ever growing wish list!

 

Huskers Houndstooth Quilt

I don't know about you, but sometimes it seems like I am more productive when I'm sewing things for others. I have a stack of things I want to make for myself, but I seem to sew more for others. I just love to give something handmade that I know they will get a lot of use out of. Kerry's project today is a gift for her new nephew.

 

I had ordered this houndstooth quilt pattern from V and Co. Then when my brother had his first baby and it was a boy I knew this would be the perfect quilt to make for my new nephew. Since my brother is a Nebraska football fanatic I found this 13" patch on ebay and appliqued it to the quilt. I think the final results were pretty great. 

 

 

 

pattern testing : little bow zipper wallet

Last week I saw a call for pattern testers on the blog Michael Ann Made. The call for volunteers did not say what the pattern would be, but I didn't care. I had been itching to sew and I thought this would be a chance to get me moving. 

Now, I am NO professional sewer. I basically taught myself everything I know. I did take a quilting class back in 2008, but pretty much everything else I know I learned from trying out different patterns. I would definitely call myself a pattern kind of gal. Sorta like cooking.... I am not a "wing-it" cooker; I prefer recipes!

So on to the pattern. It's a pdf pattern of a Little Bow Zipper Wallet that you can purchase on Michael Ann's blog. My first thought on seeing the zipper wallet was that it looked quite cute and easy to sew. I wasn't too sure how much I liked the bow, since I'm not much of a "bow person,” but I knew bow making would be good thing to learn. I liked the touch of the ribbon/lace that was added to the front; and I thought that the pattern had tons of potential for not only fun color combinations, but some pattern mixing as well. I read directions completely first and found them easy to follow. I don't sew zippers often, so I very much appreciated the tips and instructions on sewing the zipper. The photos illustrate the written steps very well and are especially handy for understanding the step of putting the outside fabric on the zipper.

This pattern is very easy to follow. There are photos for each step and it goes very fast. It took me about 2.5 hours to make including picking out fabric. I changed my mind like three times! I finally settled on some fat quarters of Lotta Jansdotter fabric. The size is not too small/not too big which makes it versatile. I can see whipping up a couple of these as gifts.

In the end I am super happy about how mine turned out. I even ended up liking the bow in the end. Head on over to Michael Ann's blog to see the other pattern testers and to get a pattern for yourself!

I heart fabric: Paper Sparrow

I finally purchased the Lotta Jansdotter fabric I blogged about forever ago. It was sold out several times but Hawthorne Threads came through for me. As soon as they sent the email that the colors I needed were back in stock I quickly made my purchases. So now I have the fabric. And it sits on the shelf.... waiting to become my awesome quilt. 

I have lots of fabric sitting on the shelf, so I've been trying not to buy anymore, but this fabric is calling my name... LOUDLY!

It's designed by Andrea Lauren of Paper Sparrow, and it's killer! It comes in other colors too. This arrows pattern is one of my favorites. I think it would look awesome as a dress or as a skirt. 

 

arrows - scattered on navy 

She has SOOO many more great fabrics. You need to check them out at Spoonflower. Seriously. Here are a couple of other ones that I'd like to buy:

 

 

Clouds - on navy

 

 

camera star - mint

 

 

vintage cameras - dark teal

 

 

feathers and stripes - navy

 

before & after: storage cube

Last June I showed you how I freshened up a $5 wicker/rattan storage cube with a couple of coats of spray paint. I had always intended on lining it with some fun fabric, but I quickly put it to use and it wasn't until last weekend that I made the time to add the lining fabric. Another motivator to finally finish this project was that I pulled out a sweatshirt from the cube and realized that the over-spray that got on the inside was leaving a white dust on my clothes!

I emptied out the contents and used some fabric I had in my stash. It was quick and easy and requires minimal measuring and sewing skills.

This was a super fast project. I used one large piece of fabric for the front, bottom & back; and then I used 2 pieces for the sides. Once I had the sides sewn to the front large piece, I folded under the top edges and used hot glue to attach it to the ottoman. I was going to use velcro in case I wanted to ever switch out the fabric, but I didn't have enough on hand. The super glue is holding up nicely and most importantly it was quick and easy!

Have you tackled any quick and easy weekend transformations lately?

 

handmade holidays 2011: pillows

My idea for this first pillow came from the fact that my nephew, Brady, is so young and doesn't get to see me but maybe once a year. When he was little he LOVED Reese and would climb all over her and just laugh and laugh when she licked him. When I went down last April, he was a little nervous about Reese at first. So I wanted to make him this pillow so he could always have his Aunt Jenn-Jenn and Reese nearby.

I put the images together in Photoshop Elements and printed it out on printable fabric for Inkjet printers. I purchased mine from Amazon, but then it turned out I already had some... go figure. I added some fabric around the image for a border and used an airplane print on the back. I made sure to use a section that had my plane on it! I hope to go down for a visit soon and I can't wait to see if he likes it.

This next pillow started out as kind of a joke. My brother has been a little down lately and.. well... I have A LOT of cute photos of Reese. I know I may be biased, but she's so cute sometimes it is hard to feel sad when she is smiling at you. So it was with that in mind that I made this pillow for my bro, Jesse:

This one turned out so much better than I anticipated. I used an instagram photo and then backed it with some fabric I've had for years. The printable fabric is very easy to sew on the sewing machine or you can iron it on if you don't want to sew it. I choose to just sew the whole piece as printed and I have to tell you that slip stitching the top closed was rather difficult. It was however, totally worth the effort in the end. That pillow is just so darn cute! I wrapped up the gift and wrote that it was from Reese. My brother loved it, he was cracking up as he opened it.

I'm glad he liked it and I hope Reese's smiling face can make him smile when he's feeling bummed.

handmade holiday 2011: purses

Christmas kinda snuck up me this year, with a crazy busy semester I didn't have much time to think about what I would give for gifts. With not much time, I decided that assembly line was the way to go. I had several female friends and family members and what female doesn't like a purse?!? I also happened to have a brand new pattern that I had been dying to try out. A while ago I purchased this convertible clutch pattern from LBG Studio.

My goal was to NOT buy any supplies for any of the projects. For this one I met that goal. I used fabrics from my stash and dug up all kinds of scraps of interfacing and different materials to use for linings. I loved this pattern. It was very easy and I love how the purses turned out. I cut out a bunch at once and then went to town sewing them. By the third one I could have one done in under an hour (fabric pre-cut). If you want a new simple, versatile purse tutorial to try, I would definitely recommend this one.

Here are the convertible clutches I made using this great pattern. I made four as gifts and one for myself.

I loved the way these turned out and everyone that received one seemed to like them too!

I made this one on Christmas Eve, when I decided that I wanted one too! It was so fast to whip up after sewing all the others.

Check out LBG studio for the pattern!

Holiday Sewing projects

I've got some super cool projects to share from Kerry. While my sewing machine has been gathering dust, her trusty Bernina has been workin' it!

"Here are my holiday sewing projects.

First is the new Anna Maria Horner Art Student Tote.  My sister-in-law was a little jealous of the bags I made my nieces and wanted one. She is an elementary school teacher so I thought this pattern would be perfect Christmas gift for her to carry all sorts of supplies and projects in. I made it with the extension panel option. This was my first pattern from Anna Maria Horner and it was really easy. There were a few spots where I had to read and re-read the directions because they were a little confusing, but the pictures helped out. I'm still not sure that I applied the zipper for the extension panel the right way (she has you mark the start and stop dots for sewing the zipper which weren't on the actual pattern but I eye-balled it and it worked out fine). I like how the d-rings give the bag some more shape than just a square tote.  The fabric is also from her Innocent Crush line. This bag has tons of room and I think I might have to make some more it was so easy.  

The next project came from the Obsessively Stitching Blog.These Angry Bird plushies were so fun to make and I'm still in the process of making more.  My soon to be brother-in-law is currently going through pilot training and his class patch (or theme) is Angry Birds.  I think these will provide his classroom with some stress relief from those 12 hour training days.  They have even been fun for me and my husband to throw around the house...raawwrrrgg! (I'm not really sure how to spell what those birds are always jabbering). 

Oh yeah the picture is also my amateur attempt at bokeh with our Christmas tree, I'm hoping to get some more practice this weekend at the Zoo Lights display at our local zoo."  -Kerry

Amy Butler's weekender bag

Kerry, I am in awe! I love your bag. I have the pattern too, but haven't mustered the courage to tackle it. Seeing how awesome yours turned out I am definitely inspired now.

To the rest of you blog readers: CHECK THIS OUT! Kerry is killin' it with this bag and her fabric choices. love it!

"I decided to take on the daunting Amy Butler Weekender Bag. I was really nervous about it after reading a lot of blogs and how people had trouble with the piping and zipper.  But once I got going on it it really wasn't that bad. I took the advise of using the stitch witchery for the piping, which helped out a lot. I plan on using this blog to make a handgrip. I also added some pockets and a zippered pocket to the inside. I love the combo of the green, blue, and red in Amy Butler's Lark fabric. I added a small coordinating origami bag for toiletries. I think this will be a fun carry-on bag, now I just need a trip to go on!" -Kerry

{photo by Kerry}

You can pick up your own copy of this pattern here on Amazon*.

 

*I am an Amazon affiliate, which means that if you make a purchase through this link I will receive a commission. No one has paid me to recommend anything. I do it because I think it's pretty darn awesome and I think you will too!

new Amy Butler fabric: Lark

I am on a self imposed fabric buying hiatus. I am trying to save up to buy some of Lotta Jansdotter's Echo fabric that I blogged about a while back. Her fabric isn't due to be released until November, which for me is a long time to go without buying fabric. So wouldn't you know it, I open my inbox Friday morning to see that Amy Butler's new line, Lark, is available for pre-sale at Fabric.com. I didn't even know she had new fabrics coming out. Kerry, have you seen the new fabrics yet? There are some really cool looking fabrics. Some are offered in laminate and sateen too. Oh goodness practicing restraint is going to be tough! Here is a look at some of my favorites.

I just love that Kasbah print! It comes in a persimmon color too. You can view all the options at Wesminster Fabrics (my source for the images). Which patterns are your favorites?