Sew & Tell Friday: Mom and Daughter Handbag Set

I was thrilled when one of my previous co-workers asked me to make this adorable set of mom and daughter-sized handbags. I mean seriously, how cute is that?!

I used this pattern by I Think Sew and copied the pattern at 70% for the mini bag. I think the mini bag is my favorite . . . it's just so darn cute! And I love the Amy Butler combo my customer chose. You just can't go wrong with Amy Butler!

I'm linking up to Amylouwho's Sew & Tell Friday. Be sure to check out all the other finishes!

Happy Friday!
Mary

Sew & Tell Friday - The Nigella Bag

Hello and happy Friday! Amy at Amylouwho is featuring me today for Sew & Tell Friday, so if you haven't visited be sure to hop on over and check it out! (Oh, and if you finished something this week and blogged about it, be sure to join in the fun and link up!)

My finish this week is a birthday gift for a good friend of mine. She L-O-V-E-S bags so I knew just what to make for her! It was fun talking with her about features she wanted and styles she likes and having her go through my stash to pick the perfect fabric. She asked for a bag with one strap, preferably more wide than tall, with exterior pockets. Here's what I came up with -

I started with the Mabel Messenger Bag pattern and made several modifications to meet my friend's needs. First I added two exterior pockets on the front and a "fancy" (ha ha) faux leather bottom. The bottom was totally inspired by this awesome bag. I found the faux leather at a local shop that sells home decorator fabrics and it was surprisingly easy to sew with. The only major difference is that you can't pin it, but I sewed using my regular 1/4" foot as well as my walking foot and it worked just fine. Oh, and I did use a size 16 needle for this bag since some parts of it where really thick. I love that the faux leather bottom will help this bag stand up to everyday wear and tear!

I'm not a huge fan of traditional metal snaps. I have tons of the 18mm variety, but the magnet is so strong that I often find it difficult to unsnap them. They can also be a bit unsightly sometimes. Enter the hidden sew-in magnetic snap closure. LOVE it! Although it was a little tricky working with the magnet sewn into the bag since it wants to stick to EVERYTHING - my scissors, my iron, the metal plate and feed dogs on my sewing machine. It wasn't a huge pain, but it was amusing!

My next addition was a metal swivel clasp just inside the bag so that my friend can just clip in her keys and not lose them in the bottom of her bag. The fabric I used for the interior is from Kate Spain's Verna collection.

Then I added metal rectangle rings, just because. These were really great during the construction of the bag since I didn't have to sew on the straps until the very end. It was nice to not have to deal with the strap being awkwardly stuffed between the exterior and interior while I was sewing them together. Also I should note that I deviated from the pattern here and made a fixed strap instead of the adjustable shoulder-to-messenger-bag strap the instructions called for.

And for my next trick . . . an interior zipper pocket! This was my very first one, and wasn't hard AT ALL! The pattern includes directions for this zip pocket, and I'm thrilled to have finally learned how to do it.

The fabric I used for this bag is from Amy Butler's Nigella home dec weight collection. It's so pretty, and luckily I have just enough left over to make myself a new ironing board cover. I sure wouldn't mind looking at this fabric every time I have to iron, and it sure beats the ugly cover I have now!

Well, this bag is off to meet her new owner tomorrow. I hope she likes it!!!

Happy sewing,
Mary

Miss Maven Ruffled Handbag

Can I even tell you how much I love Amy Butler's latest book Style Stitches?

A LOT! A book full of fabulous bags? Yes please!

And after no less than 12 hours of hard labor, I'd like to introduce you to the Miss Maven Ruffled Handbag.

I used Amy's Full Moon Dots print and a Midwest Modern print and I love the combo. So pretty!

The inside of the bag has a false bottom for extra stability. Nice detail! I deviated from the pattern on the pockets and made my own to suit my needs.

I have to tell you, this was THE.MOST.DIFFICULT. bag I've ever made. The pattern is listed on the "Experienced" level and they aren't kidding! When I first read through the directions I didn't think that any one step sounded too hard and I dove right in. But I must have overestimated my skill level because this sucker gave me run for my money! I had broken thread drama making those ruffles, and don't even get me started on making and attaching those adorable handles! I can't even tell you how many times I pinned and re-pinned and stuck my fingers. But then it was done and it was so worth it!

I'm really grateful for the deadline of the Amy Butler Sew & Tell Challenge to keep me going, because I might have given up otherwise! My bag is far from perfect but I feel really good about working through such a difficult pattern.

After making this crazy hard bag I need some serious quilting therapy. My next task is quilting a baby quilt for a friend, and believe me, that's EXACTLY what I need!

Happy sewing!
Mary

At last . . . a finished "Man Quilt!"

Last January, I set out to make my husband a quilt.  A manly quilt.

He said it couldn't be done.  (The manly part, that is.)  But if there's one thing you can say about this quilt, it's definitely not girly!  I fear I may have gone overboard with all that Kona Black, buy hey, it's manly!  The rest of the fabric is Authentic by Sweetwater, which is such a great, unique line!

The back is mostly the "Dictionary" word print with a strip of patchwork at the top to make it a little more interesting.

I especially love the Authentic number print for my number-crunching husband who's getting his MBA in Accounting.

I really like this green stripe for the binding.  At first I was bummed that I didn't cut the stripes horizontally, but now I kind of like them running vertically.  (And yes, I machine stitched the binding to the back of the quilt.  Don't judge - this is a BIG quilt!  For me, at least.)

Here it is resting on our couch, where it will spend most of it's time!  I'm not crazy about my quilting (concentric diamonds) or thread choice (off-white.)  I wish I was comfortable with free-motion quilting, because I've heard that's easier to do on large quilts.  I was also really stumped on what thread color to choose.  Maybe I should have used a variegated thread?  Oh well, my husband likes it and that's what matters most!

The Man Quilt measures 70" x 80" and is by far my largest yet!  It took over my entire breakfast nook while I was basting it.  In this picture I'm standing where the kitchen table should be.  We squished it into the family room so that we could have dinner with my parents.  Yep, this is what it's like to live with a quilter!

 

All in all, this my least favorite quilt so far.  It's a little too bold and geometic and it was big and heavy and awkward to work with.  However, it's DONE and that is a very good feeling indeed.  And now Mr. PinSewPress doesn't have to steal my quilt that's way too small for him anyway :-)

I'm linking up to Amylouwho's Sew & Tell Friday.  Be sure to check out all the other great finishes!

Happy sewing!
Mary

Procrastination Sewing

Does anyone else out there engage in procrastination sewing?

I have a bunch of other things I should be working on . . . the man quilt, my DQS9 quilt, a tissue box cover . . . but last night I just HAD to make this little case for my iPod.

I recently signed up for the The Biggest Loser 5k, and this is my motivation to take my iPod to the gym and go running.  Running is definitely NOT one of my favorite fitness activities.  If only sewing burned more calories . . .   :-)

I just love this adorable Kokka cheater print.

Oh, and that buttonhole?  My first ever!  And it was nowhere near as hard as I expected.

For the binding and lining I used this fun green polka dot print from the adorable Rainy Days and Mondays line.

EDITED: I somehow completely forgot to mention that I made this with the Pink Penguin Super Simple Camera Case tutorial.  Be sure to check out Ayumi's great tutorial!

I'm linking up to Amylouwho's Sew & Tell Friday.  Have a great weekend!

Mary

Sew & Tell Friday: A little bit of sewing and little bit of telling

Well, after nine consecutive days of grandparent house guests (my mother-in-law and my parents, back-to-back), I haven't accomplished much in the sewing arena!


I did, however, make this grocery bag dispenser for my mom.  (Tutorial here.)  I finished it just in the nick of time before they had to leave!




My mom and I have very different taste, color-wise, so this one is really different than the first two I made. However, it was lots of fun to put together a color combo that was "out of the box" for me, and she really likes it!


While I haven't been sewing much, we have definitely been enjoying the great outdoors! I love spring weather in Myrtle Beach.

Be sure to check out the other fabulous finishes over at Sew & Tell Friday.


Have great weekend!
Mary

Sew & Tell Friday: Director's Chair Makeover

Is it cheating if my "Sew & Tell" is actually something my mom created?

Even so, this project is pretty awesome and I want to brag about my mom's skills a bit.

To start, here's a chair my parents bought for me when I was a toddler:

Hey, no giggling at my middle name!

Last summer my mom decided to give the chair a little makeover so that Lauren could use it.

It took lots of sanding, lots of stain, lots of varnish, my mom's awesome sewing skills, and a little help from her fancy embroidery sewing machine.  (I did contribute by picking out the fabric and stain color!)

Doesn't it look great?  Totally modernized and re-personalized.

This is Lauren testing out her chair for the first time last summer.  She was so happy to have a chair her size!

Thanks for all your hard work mom!  

I'm linking up to Amylouwho's Sew & Tell Friday, so hop on over and check out the other finishes too!

Have a great weekend!

Mary

Sew & Tell Friday

Thanks goodness it's Friday!

I was up late sewing last night, which is becoming the norm for me on the night before Sew & Tell Friday. But it's just so satisfying to end the week with a nice finish!

First I finished my Nicey Jane Grocery Bag Dispensers:

And since this "recipe" was from the Moda Bake Shop, it only seemed appropriate to use some Moda twill tape for the hanging tab.

I finished these before midnight (which is kind of early for me on a Sew & Tell Friday "eve"), so I decided to start a whole new project and whip up this adorable Patchwork Pencil Pouch:

This pouch was designed by Vanessa over at Little Big Girl Studio, and the awesome tutorial can be found here.  It's quick and fun!  Even the zipper was super easy to install.

This project was perfect for using just the tiniest bit of Verna fabric from my stash, and I just love patchwork.

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend.

Happy sewing!

Mary

Sew & Tell Friday

Three pretty camera cases!

I admit that the one on the left is recycled from Tuesday's post, but when I made two more today I couldn't resist photographing them all together.

(Fabric: Left - Tula Pink's Plume; Center - Sandi Henderson's Ginger Blossoms (teal) and Patty Young's Floura and Fauna (grey); Right - Sandi Henderson's Ginger Blossoms)

The pattern is Keyka Lou's Camera Case Wristlet.

Be sure to check out all the other finishes over at Sew & Tell Friday!  

Have a great weekend!

Mary

A Quilt for Lauren

Remember the quilt I started on Monday?  It's done!

It's a bit busy for my taste, but Lauren (my 2-year-old) absolutely loves the fabric as has lots of fun pointing out the owls, snails, turtles, trees, flowers and birds.

I used straight line quilting for this, mostly because I'm not brave enough to try free-motion quilting yet!  I quilted straight lines 1/2" apart on the sashing, and eyeballed straight-ish lines approximately 1" apart across the blocks.

The fabric is Love U by Deb Strain for Moda, and I think it's perfect for a fun 2-year-old quilt.

Here's a peek at the back:

I just love those owls!

I used this tutorial by Elizabeth from Oh, Fransson! for the quilt pattern. Since the tutorial is for a baby quilt, I modified it a bit by adding 1 1/2 more charm squares to the width, and two additional rows to the length.  I wanted this to be large enough for Lauren to use at night on her toddler mattress, although she hasn't really gotten the hang of sleeping under covers yet!

I was also feeling particularly brave yesterday and decided to hand-sew the binding to the back of this quilt.  I usually machine sew my binding, and to be honest the result doesn't bother me much.  I guess I'm not a "binding snob" . . .  yet!  But I was intrigued by the romantic notion I seem to hear about from all the other quilters - of curling up on the couch with my husband for several hours, chatting and watching tv while hand sewing binding.

I found this awesome tutorial that finally made sense of the hand sewing process for me.  And after a mere five hours, I can finally say that I get it!  It really does look pretty good, compared to machine sewing, but it sure did take a LONG time!  And it was kind of nice to spend time with my family while sewing, and be a bit more productive while watching tv . . . but did I mention that it took a long time?!?!  Well, at least I overcame my fear of hand-sewing, but I can't promise I won't go back to machine sewing binding, at least some of the time!

I'm linking up to Amy's Sew & Tell Friday.  Hop on over and check out the other finishes too!

Have a great weekend!

Mary

Sew & Tell Friday

I missed last week's Sew & Tell Friday due to major frustrations with a zipper at the 11th hour.
So this week I was determined to make a comeback!

I didn't have patience to deal with the zipper again, so I started with something in my comfort zone.

Coasters!

These aren't just any coasters.

They're the new cousins of the potholders I made on Tuesday for the Potholder Pass 2.

See?

They were meant to be together.

And I'm really grateful that these turned out well, because this next project . . .
not so much . . .

Don't you hate that when you spend a bunch of time working on something, and then it doesn't turn out well and you feel like you wasted your time?

We'll just call this a learning experience.  No more sewing while I'm tired!

At least the fabric is pretty - Heather Bailey's Nicey Jane.

On a happier note, today is my husband's birthday!

Happy 29th birthday to my best friend and favorite person ever :-)

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Be sure to check out all the other finishes over at Sew & Tell Friday.

Mary

Turning Twenty-Nine

Yikes!

I'm turning 29 today.

(For the first time, I promise!)

I sewed myself a little something for my birthday.

This is the Quilted Bible Cover by Amy @ Park City Girl.  (Free tutorial here)

I've been meaning to make this for a while - 

my Bible was looking a little worn and needed some dressing up!

My mom (who also loves sewing!) spoiled me with a trip to the local quilt shop.

Hooray for new fabric! Thanks mom!

(Bonnie & Camille - Cotton Blossoms)

She also made me this awesome Heather Bailey pincushion (based on this tutorial)

(Top and bottom shown)

I love that flower button!

And then she further spoiled me with a new ironing board.

I'm soooo excited!

Never thought I'd say that, but my old one was about 10 years old, the cheap one we bought when I was heading off to college, and it was really sad looking.

I didn't care much (and didn't iron much!) until I got into sewing 6 months ago.

But now that I spend a significant amount of time ironing (oops, I meant pressing)

it's really, really nice to have a new one!

Well, it's my birthday so I think it's time to log off now.  

I'm linking up to Sew & Tell Friday over at amylouwho.  Better late than never!

Have a great weekend!

Mary

Quilting Hangover

Well, I've done it again.
Stayed up waaaaaay too late sewing.
3:30am to be exact!
But I finished my quilt and it was well worth it.

I've been working on this quilt for a couple months now.  It's a gift for friends of ours who just had a baby, and I had promised myself I'd finish it by the baby's due date.  Well, the baby came three weeks early, but I still managed to meet my deadline since the baby was technically due yesterday :-)

This quilt is based on the Sweet Menagerie Nine Patch Quilt from the Moda Bake Shop.  I used Tula Pink's Hushabye fabric, which I absolutely love!  In fact, this quilt is a "cousin" of my first quilt.  I had tons of jelly roll strips left, so this pattern worked perfectly.

Here's the back:

And here's a another picture of the front.  In this one you can see how I quilted it.

(Yes, it's laying on the back of my car - part of my photography experiment of the day!)

The quilting was inspired by Ashley at Film in the Fridge.  I really love her methods of straight line quilting!

And this is my "Little Helper."  We really enjoyed the sun today.

I'm linking this to amylouwho's Sew & Tell Friday, which was a great motivation to go ahead and get this quilt done!  So thanks for the motivation Amy, and now I'm off to nurse that darn quilting hangover . . . **yawn** . . . and figure out what to feed the family for dinner!