Category: Sewing (Page 2 of 7)

Minions and pin cushions

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.

Minion pillowcase

Minion coin purse

 

 

 

 

 

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.

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And one more jar cozy.

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So Many Projects and So Little Time

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.

Minion pillowcare

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

Gnome lunch bag

 

 

 

 

 

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

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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.

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Baby Baby

Baby baby, can’t you hear my heart beat… well not mine I guess but I’ve had lots of fun in the last couple of weeks sewing for my niece’s new baby girl.  She actually will arrive in this world June 4th but I really didn’t want to wait.  There are still more babies on the horizon. Not my own grandchildren yet, although maybe someday, but children of folks that I do know.

I made this new little girl a lovely “girlie” quilt.  When I first started I knew the colors I wanted to use but when I cut the first pieces out it seemed too intense so I ended up cutting the strips of fabric and resewing and cutting again.  I’m quite pleased with the result.  It has produced a lovely quilt that is not too jarring but very sweet. It has this cute pink dancing bunny flannel on the back.

pinwheel baby quilt - Starfishalley

bunny quilt back

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the new baby there is also a tag blanket, a new burp rag and a darling sweater that my friend made for me to give her.

Tag blanket and burp rag

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baby sweater

 

 

 

 

 

I had some leftover blocks and decided that I needed to make some fun gifts for the big sister too.  Now the big sister is two and a half and loves to help her mommy.  She is also a great imitator and has a wonderful imagination.  I just knew the big sister needed to have a new baby doll of her own.  With that baby doll, she needed a few necessities to take good care of the baby so I also made her a doll blanket for that precious baby, as well as a few diapers with velcro, some diaper wipes, and a diaper bag.  She also has a soft colorful blanket to cover that baby doll so she won’t get cold.

Baby doll, doll diapers and doll quilt

Doll diapers and wipe case

Doll diaper bag

A couple more pictures

A couple more pictures here. I did make some things for Christmas this year but find I only have pictures of some of the things.. not sure what happened.  Guess I’m out of the habit.

I did make this nightgown for my niece’s daughter. I love making flannel nightgowns for little girls.

Flannel nightgown Starfishalley

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And I made my brother some napkins.

pulled thread napkins Starfishalley

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course there were also a few more zip bags.
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And I also made about 20 of the long rice heat packs. There was a 50 pound bag of rice left at one of my work places so I made many of these.  In fact I even ended up going to Costco for a second bag of rice.

rice bags

 

 

 

 

 

Next up will be several baby quilts and other items. There are at least 3 babies that I know of in the next few months.  I do enjoy the baby sewing and could easily get carried away by that.

A bit more control

Finally I seem to have a bit more control at my house and I want to start sewing more and posting more.  With the challenges the last two years it seems like it’s been a struggle sometimes to just get through day to day.  With cancer and chemo for daughter, broken foot, broken femur and knee cap for husband plus three months of no working and no mobility and my mother deteriorating and passing all at the same time plus many hours of work, it’s been day to day work with a bit of sewing but not much else.  I actually have made a few things and am going to search for pictures and add some other posts. It’s something I look forward to.

Last summer I did make two chemo caps for a friend who was losing her hair.  These are fast, fun and quick to make up and I did making enjoy them.

purple caps - Starfish Alley

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then I made a couple of gifts for my niece’s daughter, an I Spy bag and a small carry all bag that she could put her books and “important things” in and take them with her.

Owl bag - Starfishalley

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

i spy bag

 

 

 

 

 

And then a fun zip bag for a friend from some Laurel Burch fabric from my stash. I do like making these bags.

Linda zip bag

 

 

 

 

 

Now I have to search for more pictures.  I’m usually quite organized about where I store things but this past year has not been  as good so now I’m on a search and organize mission. so until next time..

A long time coming..

This post has been a long time coming.  Sometimes life just gets in the way.  So far this year hubby has broken a foot, and then broke his leg, was in the hospital and in rehab and not walking for 3 months.  Just before he got the ok to start putting weight on his leg my mother passed away.  Now we’re approaching the holidays and I’m trying to get things in order. I think it may be awhile.

I have done some sewing but not much really.  I did make this cute apron for a young woman getting married.  I find that often these younger folks not only don’t do as much cooking but have never owned an apron but are grateful to have one and find they are really quite handy.  I like aprons and have many and will continue to make more.  It was a bit of a shock to count the number of apron patterns that I own and I told a friend that if she caught me looking at apron patterns to remind me I was on restriction!

cle apron

In my dreams..

In my dreams I update this blog frequently with new projects and fun sewing activities.  In reality, I just dream about it because there really has not been a lot of sewing.  I did make a couple of skirts for a daughter’s birthday. I’ve also done a few zippered pouches and a bit of mending.  I’ve also made a few dish towels with some applique. I would love to do more and maybe that will happen and maybe only a dream for a while.  Part of the reason is just far more hours spent working.  You know those adult kind of work things.  I’ve also done some reading and tending to family issues.

This week is camp week however.  After 21 years of attending Girl Scout camp as an adult and many more years as a girl, camp seems to be a part of my summer.  I “retired” from camp a couple of years ago but still have lots of friends who attend and carry on this fabulous tradition.  It looks like they will have a great week this week too.  I try to send some mail but it needs to be sent at the beginning of the week or it will not arrive in time.

Although I didn’t think of this very far in advance I wanted to send mail and thought it should be a bit different. I’ve read about fabric post cards and have some leftover Girl Scout fabric so thought I would give it a try.  Although these are not very elegant or elaborate it was a fun diversion and I’m going to make some more.  Because it was a last minute thought I decided that I would use what I had on hand.  I had some Peltex and Wonder Under so I created my own double stick post card base and then experimented with ironing on the fabric and doing some simple applique.  I got some permanent fabric markers and sent them through the postal mail.  I do hope they receive them and if not I do have a picture.

Off to make a couple more.  I have several friends that were not able to go due to health reasons.  I thought they might like camping@home mail.

 

post card frontpost caard backs

Pincushions

Pincushions are a new interest of mine.  They are small, can be interesting, fun to make and usually not too involved so they can be finished quickly.  I decided to do a Cathedral Window pincushion and see how that works.  My mother in law made sever cathedral window quilts for us and I have always loved them but  really didn’t have the patience or interest to do an entire quilt.  I do remember tracing and cutting out white squares and patterned squares for her however.  She used scraps from many of the clothes I made for my girls when they were little.

For this pincushion, I used some scraps and did a quick job and think I’ll make some more.  It’s not my finest sewing job but I had fun.

Cathedarl Windwow pin chushion April 2014

A Halloween Mat

A Halloween mat is now on my desk at work.  I have this wonderful wooden desk and I hate to put water glasses and coffee cups on the desk.  I also don’t like to put food directly on the desk top because let’s face it, it’s really not very clean!  This is a desk that has been used by many people over the years and is cleaned by a cleaning team at night and I really don’t know what has been on it . My solution has been a little mat, coaster etc. that will serve several purposes.  Protecting the lovely wood and also protecting my lunch.  I’ve wanted a new little mat for some time.  I’ve used the last one every day for about a year and a half and although I still like it, it was time for a change.  I made this little Halloween one in a hurry.  I had an idea in mind when I started that didn’t turn out at all like I planned so this was the second choice.  It’s fine with me.  I like the way it turned out.  Kind of sloppy binding job but I’m really the only one that sees it so that’s fine with me.  This is about it for my Halloween decorations this year.  How about you.  Any decorating at your house?

Halloween mat

 

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