Category: handmade (Page 2 of 14)

More Babies

January 6, 2017 / Patty

More babies are coming. I’ve made a number of baby quilts and things in 2016 and already working on the first ones for 2017. I do like making baby things because they are fast and I can try different patterns and colors. I can then pass it on but I never really know if they will be used and most often I don’t hear anything or see them being used. Occasionally, I do hear that a quilt I’ve made is an important part of the bedtime routine. Once it’s out of my hands whatever will be will be but it’s nice to know it’s appreciated.

This quilt and the tag blanket and pacifier clips were for a surprise baby. The baby is anxiously being waited for by the family.

Too Long

August 17, 2016 / Patty

I didn’t realize how long it’s been since I’ve been here. I’ll start now and add a few more posts later in the week. It’s supposed to be a very hot few days here so this should be a good time to get caught up again.

The most current project has been an apron for my son’s girlfriend. She is a cat lover and when I saw this pattern for a cat apron I knew it was the perfect choice for her. She also cooks a lot so it should be useful as well. As with all first time projects, this took longer than I expected and when you start at 11 at night there is bound to be some un-sewing as well. It was fun however and I did enjoy the project.

Christmas Sewing is Done!

January 2, 2016 / Patty

Christmas sewing is done. I guess that’s good because it’s the 2nd of January 2016! Each year the holidays feel like it’s coming more quickly.

This has been a calmer year in many ways. I got the “crud” at Thanksgiving and just wasn’t able to shake if so have spent most of the vacation sleeping and doing only what needed to be done. Nice to feel like I have the time for that but oh the plans I had. Looks like I have a new year to carry out all those unfinished projects.

Christmas sewing included some small projects. I made some doll clothes for my niece’s daughter.

I also made some patchwork bibs to save those pretty dress clothes.

Sons girlfriend is a cat lover so I made her a cat pillowcase and a cat key fob. This was a fun project.

Of course there was the ever popular pajama pants for the daughters.

And niece #2 just shared she is having a baby at the beginning of June so I tried a new receiving blanket pattern. This was fun too.

There were several other things that I forgot to take pictures of but it was a fun and low stress sewing season here.

My sewing machine and I will spend some quality “bonding” time together I can spend some time making quilt blocks for a 1930’s Farmers Wife Quilt. Onward 2016..

Minions and pin cushions

November 22, 2015 / Patty

Minions and pin cushions were next on the list. A friend saw the orange Minion pillow cases and wanted a blue one for her college age daughter. It was fun to make and I added a little coin purse. This fabric was great quality and had a great feel to it so it was fun to sew.

Next was a pin cushion for a friend. After reading about other folks using this pattern I was hesitant and ~~I procrastinated~~ it took me a long time to make it. When I was done, I realized there were several things I could have done differently had I known but it turned out OK and wasn’t nearly as difficult as I thought it might be. A win for sure.

And one more jar cozy.

So Many Projects and So Little Time

November 20, 2015 / Patty

So many projects and so little time. That seems to be the story of my life these days. I would love to spend my days sewing all the projects that I imagine and have fabric for but reality is not the same. Guess that’s good for I’d hate to run out of things to do.

I have made lots of little things and couple of bigger things so I think I’ll start back with the smaller items and continue the story.

Minions have been a popular item and topic of discussion in several places. Either you love these little guys or you just can’t figure out what the charm is.

Some pillow cases.

And there was also a lunch sack, napkins utensil holder.

Some jar cozies for packing lunches. These are pint size canning jars in an insulated bag that can be packed in a lunch.

And one more baby quilt. This was a fun one to do and came together quickly. This was made out of 61/2 inch half square triangles.

Cute little zip pouch

September 20, 2015 / Patty

A cute little zip pouch was in order for a little pair of ear phones. This was for one of my brothers. He was going to take a long plane ride and was complaining about not being able to wear his ear buds for very long and it was going to be a 12 hour flight. I have a pair of the over the ear head phones and have been pleased with them because I too have a problem with the ear buds. They just are not comfortable for very long. One thing I have learned about this type of ear phones however is the mesh over the device that rests against your ear does get pulled off easily. When I put these in a pocket and pull them out again it doesn’t take long and they are coming apart. This of course in my mind equates to some kind of storage device and in this instance a zip pouch is perfect. My brother is also a bit of a neatnik so this is right up his alley. I found this “manly” fabric with arrows on it, in a lovely blue/green and knew it would be perfect. I don’t know how much he actually used the ear phones, we haven’t had much chance to visit since he returned but it was a quick, fun and satisfying project.

Postcards

September 18, 2015 / Patty

Postcards were again on the agenda for my camp friends. I tried to customize them a bit with something special for person. Sometimes this happened to be a name, like Chipmunk or Tigger. I didn’t have any Tigger fabric so had to make do with Pooh instead. And one for a friend whose name was from the Wizard of Oz, and there were several themed ones as well.

A Nature, a boating, a generic Girl Scout, a crafter, a Cat (mouse) and even the kitchen folks. These were fast and fun. I might have made them more elaborate if I had started sooner but…

Gifts

September 15, 2015 / Patty

I was lucky enough to recieve some gifts from friends this summer too. A friend who I chat with many times a week but usually by email, found a pincushion pattern that she wanted to try out so I was the lucky winner on that one and one friend I had made a pincushion caddy for and in turn she created me a beautiful pair of hand knit socks.

It’s always such a treat to receive handmade gifts from friends. (Actually it’s a treat to receive any kind of gift. It always makes me feel special.) I love creating gifts for people and in turn I love to receive the Starfish Alley m as well.

This beautiful wool pincushion was created with love and care by my friend Gretchen.

I feel honored and blessed to be on the receiving end.
For my friend Terri, I made this pincushion caddy similar to one she had see on a website.

As a thank you she gifted me with these hand knit socks. What a lucky gal I am!

Fall is in the air!

September 14, 2015 / Patty

Fall is in the air here in Edmonds. After an unusually warm summer it’s time to get into the fall routines. I’m working on that for sure.

I have done lots of odds and ends of sewing here but really haven’t had the inclination to post much. I’m looking forward however to some updates here and continue to make a record of my finishes. I’ve got lots of plans for the fall so we’ll see how I do.

One of my finishes this summer has been a second baby quilt. This is for the friend of daughter #2 who is expecting her daughter #2. When I started this I really only expected to test the block idea and size but after I had finished several of the blocks I decided that I really like it and it would be perfect for this new baby. I did struggle with the binding for a bit but finally settled on this green stripe. At first after it was done I thought I had made a mistake because it’s so much bolder than I had anticipated but I do think I like it and it does go with the fabrics.

As I was searching for this picture I also found many others.

Another project from earlier in the summer was another pillowcase. This was also for a Girl Scout friend.

For the love of Pinterest

June 8, 2015 / Patty

For the love of Pinterest.. I’ve heard this so many times. It fills my head with ideas and I get excited, pull fabrics, print patterns, make plans and often before I’ve finished one project I’ve started another. There are so many that I would like to do that sometimes I also get bogged down in the ideas and the planning and forget about the doing. This time however I even did the doing part! I’ve made jar cozies/carriers for 16 oz mason jars. Once again I almost got lost in the choosing fabric stage but I pushed through, and made my decision and was very firm with myself about not going back and choosing something better, or more appropriate or any number of other things.

My kids have fixed overnight oatmeal with oatmeal, a liquid and berries, putting it in the fridge overnight and taking it with them to work in the morning. I’ve also given them each several of the colored ball jars that are popular right now and I know they use them for storage and transporting food etc. When I saw these on Pinterest it was a pin from the sewmamasew website, I knew this was what I needed to make next. Like many projects of this type, the cutting preparation is really the most time-consuming part. I cut four of them at a time although when I was done I realized I needed more of the insulbrite cut but I can easily do that part tomorrow. The sewing was fast and fun and I can see making more of these. If I can figure out who to give them to.

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