Weekend Sewing

First of all, if you knew what has been going on in my life the past 8 months, you would forgive me for the lack of posts. Honestly, you would.

For Christmas my husband bought this book for me.

See that pretty skirt on the front?? I made one. I believe it's called the "yard-sale skirt". I loved it. So I started making one for my fabulous friend, Jodi. It was her birthday. She just had a baby 6 weeks ago and when she sent me this picture she wrote, "pardon the 40 extra pounds in the picture". I'm telling you...not everyone can pull off wearing a wrap skirt 6 weeks postpartum, this girl, can! It looks so good on her.
Let me address sewing this beauty. It wasn't easy. It was frustrating. I had bought this fabric (Lacework in brown) on a great sale several months ago in this etsy shop. I was going to make spring outfits for my girls with it, but I know how much Jodi loves this fabric.

The instructions pretty much stink. Except for the french seams part. I did like learning how to do french seams. I had never done them before. However, I started out making the small size and when it was all done it barely wrapped around my size 6/8 frame so I decided to add two more panels. Which meant I was in a time crunch and did not do french seams for the extra two panels. The waist band and ties were not that easy either. Again, bad instructions. But I will say that if you do make one, make sure you make the waistband longer and the ties longer, too. The errata for the book, says to increase the straps 8 inches for every panel you add. But I would expand the waistband to go around the entire skirt and then measure how long you want the ties.

Don't worry, more posts to come. I have been sewing over the past 8 months. Mostly for my etsy shop, but I do plan to blog the other cool stuff I've made, too. I'm moving 678 miles from Houston in a few days, and I'm soon to be a full-time stay-at-home mom. What do they do anyway?? I'll have plenty of time to blog.

Check this out! My new favorite thing...

This is an awesome giveaway from a fellow etsian :) I love her stuff. She also made my announcements when my twins were born. Fabulous work!

I've been so busy lately with work and my etsy shop. You should check it out... there's lots of new stuff.

Also, some fabulous tutorials and great posts on modestmaven's blog. And I'm really hoping my friend Melissa will do a tutorial on this!

Stay tuned for a post on what I made for the twins 1st birthday this year. I can't believe they will be one year old in a few short days!!

Back to sewing one of these!
--Janna--

Pink Penguin Patchwork Drawstring Bag

My mother-in-law's birthday is tomorrow. I wanted to do something nice for her. So I made this adorable patchwork drawstring bag. The tutorial is on this site (along with many other fabulous tutorials). The polkadot fabric on the right (with the pink background) was sent to me by the author of the Pink Penguin blog when I ordered some of these adorable handmade stamps from Japan.

It is reversable. I used the same fabric on the inside that I used on my tabletop ironing board.
I love the Pink Penguin's tutorials so much. So perfect for gift giving.

We filled it with her favorite candy.

I think she'll like it.

Tabletop Ironing Pad

I made this little beauty about 6 weeks or so ago. When we moved in to my in-laws house....I didn't have room for a traditional ironing board. This one goes nicely on my sewing table (over my green cutting mat). I found the tutorial here. At one of my all time favorite websites. The ribbon is for rolling it up and tieing it.

It has actual ironing board fabric and insul brite inside.
The best thing is that when I iron it on...it smells like my grandma's ironing board when someone would iron on it and I'm instantly wisked away to her laundry room in Cardston, Alberta between 1984ish and 2002. They say smells can jog a memory better than anything else and this certainly does. It moves me through time and space. I miss her.
I can't take credit for the whole thing, however. My lovely friend, Jodi, sewed the binding on for me during one or our craft days ( I think I was sewing a ball for my shop at the time).
My next project...making 30 Key Fob Wristlets. I like making them. I include them in orders over $35 in my shop, well, actually, I include one in almost any order :) I love getting free surprises and I hope my customers do too!

A Purple Double Layer Skirt

My little girl turned 3 last month. She loves purple and ladybugs. I bought her a purple ladybug cake from target and made her a purple skirt. This skirt was on my list of things to sew over the summer. I finally did and it's pretty darn cute. Sorry for the lack of quality of the pictures...but this girl doesn't stand still very long.

Here is the link to the tutorial if you'd like to make one, too!

More Toddler Backpacks

Remember this post. My first summer project for 2009. Well, I've decided to sell them in my shop. Check out the two that I most recently made.

Look at all those pins! They are not easy to make. Definately not for the beginner sewer.

I will be listing them in my shop shortly. If you can't wait that long, please feel free to email me or contact me via my etsy shop.
You can also purchase the pattern at this site.

If you want to win the pattern...here's the link!

Double Shopping Cart Cover for Twins!

I'm long overdue for some blogging about my sewing. I don't sew as much since I went back to work teaching, BUT I still manage to sew...some.

Most recently I made a double shopping cart over. The twins are old enough to ride in the double shopping carts that they have at Randalls, Costco and Sam's Club...but they just looked so uncomfortable sitting on those hard, metal seats (my oldest looks equally concerned). Plus, I don't like having to adjust those little seatbelts that are way too high.

So I decided it was necessary to make them one of these...and don't they look so much happier.?!

I got the pattern from an etsy shop. I'm not sure if I would promote the pattern,because I didn't think it was very well done. It was a little confusing and didn't have pictures. Not for the novice seamstress. In fact, I strayed from the pattern because it just didn't have good instructions. It was cheap though, so I won't complain about it too much.

I do like the straps and buckles I put on and the little leg holes. Only thing I might do differently is add an extra layer of batting. It's still soft, but if it were me riding in that, I'd want it extra, extra soft and comfy.

I will not be listing any in my etsy shop, but I could make one for you if you convo me or email me. I think there's a link to my email on the righthand side of the blog.

Thanks for looking and happy sewing!