A Day Late

I know in my last blog post I told you to check back the next day (yesterday) to see what I've been working on lately. The post is a day late though because I got a bit distracted by being offered a JOB!!! A job I didn't even apply for, and the best part? It will be the first job I've ever had that didn't require a food handlers permit =/ I'll have a desk and everything. Plus, no customer service. So that's a definite plus. ANYWAY... on to the actual post =)

First up is my Pay It Forward gift for Christine. I have made several things for her already, so I wasn't sure what to send her for this. I decided on a ruffle clutch and I really hope she likes it. If not, she has an adorable little girl who might like it for dress-up =)

Here's a picture of the inside. I like the little pocket and I'm thinking I might make one for myself.



A friend of mine is having a birthday soon. She loves comic book characters, especially Wonder Woman. I made another version of this clutch using a fabric with Super Women on it. This time I made it without the ruffle, as this friend is slightly less "girly"...

Without the ruffles or the wrist strap, I think it makes a great oversized wallet.



My dear friend, Lizze, and I have a monthly swap that we do together. Up until last month we have both been really good about getting our stuff done and sent off. July was a little crazy for us both though and I didn't get my swap item out in time. We decided on swapping pillow covers and I though a Swoon block would make an awesome pillow.

Here's what I came up with. I never did get a picture of the finished pillow cover, but I quilted it and used a black Kona on the back. I also made her a little zipper bag and a set of 3 magnets for a belated birthday gift, which I did not get a picture of.


I have been having a hard time keeping up with sewing obligations lately and I wonder how I'll ever keep up working full time outside the home. I will just have to say no to swaps, I suppose, and sew for the shop or myself when I have spare time. How do you juggle work, kids, housework, and sewing?!?!

Summer Fun!

For our family, summer is a time of relaxing and spending time with loved ones. When the kids are teenagers I'm sure they won't enjoy family time quite as much so I have to take it while I can! This summer we have had MANY adventures (which is why my blog has been so quiet lately). My kids have been to Idaho, Oregon - twice, and to the lake many times. Also... BBQ's and parties galore!

Camping trip to Soda Springs

Sara and I at a barn party/Alice's birthday

Canoeing at Moses Lake

Me in my "mothership"

Playing at the campgrounds

And a really cool trick for making omlettes that I learned from my sister-in-law! These are great for camping. Slice up your veggies and meat (I used mushrooms, green peppers, tomatoes, onions, and ham). Write your name on a quart sized freezer ziploc bag using a sharpie. Put all your omlette ingredients in the bag, then crack desired amount of eggs in to bag. Squeeze the air out and seal the bag. Squish all the ingredients together and then set your bag in a pot of boiling water. The more eggs you use, the more time it takes to cook, but ours took about 15 minutes. Omlettes for everyone, just the way they like them! We also set out toppings like cheese, sour cream, and salsa. Yum!

I could have shared a ton more photos with you, but you get the idea. We've been keeping busy and having fun. The summer comes to an end with the start of school on August 28th so we are trying to cram as much in as possible.  I have actually had some time to begin sewing again a bit - and I have pictures to prove it! Come back tomorrow and I'll share what I've been working on.

Giveaway Winner!

I promised to post the winner for the 2 pack of patterns from Two Peas in a Pod, and although I am a bit late (as usual) I have a winner today!

I used the Random Number Generator on random.org and the winner is...

Lucky # 8, Carla, said:

Carla GJuly 25, 2012 9:15 AM

Very cute bag! :) I like the St Mary Backpack! :) Thanks for a chance to win! :)

Thanks, Carla. I'll be sending an email to you for your contact info and pass it onto Trish so she can send your patterns!

Pattern Review - and a Giveaway!!!

The lovely Trish Preston from Two Peas in a Pod Designs gave me the opportunity to review one of her adorable patterns. Her patterns are so darling and I love her designs, but had never tried one. I jumped on board with this one and was very excited to give it a try.

I got to choose my pattern, and honestly, I had some hesitation. I was going to play it safe and choose a pattern that did NOT involve zippers in any way, shape, or form. But in the end I chose a pattern that included not one, but TWO zippers!

This is the pattern that I chose. Cute huh?!

I was pleasantly surprised when I got the pattern in the mail. When I opened it up, it was full of full-color photos of her step-by-step process. It was like an online tutorial, but in paper form. Also included were full sized templates.

My original plan was to make this case using my beloved chicken fabric (I love it!!!). But once I trimmed the front pocket piece down and went to unzip the zipper halfway, it stuck a bit and I pulled too hard, so this happened:

I really wasn't thinking when I put the zipper in, and the instructions don't tell you to, but I highly recommend just doing a little straight stitch at both ends of the zipper so this doesn't happen to you! The ends of zipper are frayed (as you can see in the above photo) because I attempted - in vain - to save it by putting the zipper pull back on. I didn't work so I scrapped this project and started over.

In the end, this is the adorable bag that I ended up with. All the kids love it and they have each requested one of their own. I love this pattern and it makes such a cute bag. And the awesome thing is that it gives you instructions and templates for 3 different sizes.

I do have one small complaint about this pattern. Despite Trish and I e-mailing multiple times back and forth, I never was able to figure out the order I was supposed to layer my fabrics to get the linings and backing fabrics in the correct places. In the pattern, Trish used the same fabrics for the inner lining, and the front zipper pocket lining. I suppose if I had done that, I wouldn't have had this problem. But with the photos in her pattern, I couldn't tell which one was supposed to be the inner linings, and the lining for the front pocket. I kept feeling like I was missing a step somewhere, even though I wasn't. I still ended up with a super cute zip bag though, and when I make it again, I will just use the same fabrics for all the linings and the backing.

The white fabric was supposed to be my inside lining, and the backing fabric shown in the bottom photo was supposed to be the lining for the zipper pocket shown in the top photo.

Overall I am pleased with the finished product and I will definitely be using the pattern again to make a few more!

Now for the giveaway part!!! Trish has kindly offered to give one reader a surprise 2-pack of her patterns. Isn't that great?! She has so many wonderful designs, and one lucky person will win 2.

As much as I would love you to follow my blog, I'm not going to make that a condition for you to win (but you should still totally do it anyway, hehe.) All you have to do is visit Trish's website HERE then come back to this post and leave a comment telling me which of her patterns you would love to win. That's it! The winner will be chosen via random number generator on Wednesday, July 29th.

Good luck!



It Worked!!!

I don't know what I did, but the problem I had with my photos seems to have miraculously fixed itself. I'm pretty excited to be able to write a post today after my little hiatus from the internet.

Before I moved, my summer was pretty lazy and relaxed. Now that we live near family again, I am finding that summer is no longer as relaxing as it once was. Every weekend has been filled with parties, guests, and BBQ's. Not that I am complaining. It has been great. But it hasn't left much time for me to keep up with everything else! I have spent most of my free time sewing in order to keep up with the farmers market. Wanna see?!?! Yes, I thought you might.

Here's my Washi Tape Kindle Fire sleeve. And I just heard this fabric line has been retired! I love it so much and I'm so glad I was able to get some recently. I'll definitely be using it selectively until it's gone.

And a Nook Tablet sleeve. I made this one for a custom order, but my customer never came to get it. From now on I think I'll be asking for at least a partial payment in advance.

I have been loving making these key fobs! I rarely throw scraps away and I have been able to really start using up some of them!

I've been making a ton of zipper bags too.

And some super cute cross body bags!

Lots and lots of market bags

And a couple of pretty awesome pincushions =)

In between all of this sewing we have been camping, boating, and having birthday parties. I also worked on a secret project reviewing a pattern for Two Peas in a Pod Designs and I'll be having a giveaway in a couple of weeks! Yay!!!



Attempting To Write a Post...

I had every intention of finally sitting down to write a LONG overdue blog post today. I also had every intention of listing all of the items I have recently taken pictures of. I plugged my media card into my computer, resized and edited all my photos, and BAM! They are all missing now. Don't know where they went, but I hope I can figure it out. Otherwise I'm off to buy a new media card and retake about 75 photos *sigh* If anyone has experienced this issue, please let me know if/how you were able to fix it!!!

Yes, I Am An Artist Too

No photos or anything to share today. Just a little something that has been bugging me lately and I wonder if anyone else has thoughts on this topic.

You may or may not know, that for the last several weekends I have had a booth set up down at our local farmers market. I did not originally plan to take large quilts down there. I wanted to have small items (bags, small quilts, etc.) that I thought would sell better. My husband convinced me to take my big quilts as well; not because he believed they would be big sellers, but because he thought it would help advertise the things I can do.

I have a bed sized quilt that I have hung in my booth for the last 3 weekends. It is very heavily quilted, so  much so that it took me nearly a month to complete JUST the quilting part on my small machine. I could only work on it a bit at a time because shoving that huge quilt through the 7" throat on my machine started giving me back and shoulder problems. I have a $400 price tag on this quilt, and to me, because I know how long it took and what I went through to finish it (and the fact that for fabric and batting alone to make it I paid over $200), it is worth even more than that. I have people who look at this quilt, comment on how gorgeous it is and how much work it must have taken to make something so lovely. Then they look at the tag and make an audible gasping noise.

Don't get me wrong. I know that most people cannot afford to spend that kind of money on a covering for their bed. What I want to know is, why is it okay for an artist who paints or sculpts to charge thousands of dollars for their work and no one bats an eye? Is painting more difficult than quilting, or is it just considered a higher art form? Maybe a person cannot afford $4500 for a painting or sculpture, but they certainly don't guffaw in the artists face and insult them by asking "why does this cost so much?" in a condescending tone of voice. It is expected that "art" costs a lot. So, is quilting not an art? Because to me and many other people who quilt, it absolutely is. It is a passion. It costs time and money. We put our heart and soul into these quilts. How are they any less artistic than splatters and colorful streaks on a canvas? (For the record, not talking down to painters, sculptors, or artists of any sort. All art is derived from a passion in the artist, and ALL art should be viewed as such.)

This goes beyond quilts as well. Anything handmade seems to be viewed as being less valuable. I had a sling bag that I made for last weekends market and a lady walked by multiple times, looking at it. I had a price tag on the bag. If she didn't want to pay what I was asking, she could have said nothing and moved on. Instead, she clears her throat and says very loudly "I just love this bag. It really is very pretty, and all the pockets are great. But really? I can't see $50 for this." and proceeded to walk away.

Why can't people be nice? I understand thinking someone's prices are more than you're willing to spend. I've been there. But I would never go out of my way to make that person feel like their work or their time is not valuable to anyone.

I have met some very nice people during my time at the market so far. I don't plan to let a few people's comments stop me from going and putting my work out there. I will continue to promote my work and I will continue to charge what I believe to be a fair price. I'd be lying if I said those things didn't upset me, but you have to shake it off and move on. This is probably something that every quilter/crafter/sewist experiences from time to time. I just wish there were a way to make people see what goes into what we do, and we could get away from the 'handmade = cheap' stigma.

On a brighter note, I am taking this weekend off and going on a camping trip with my family. I really need some down time and it will be a much deserved break! Next week though, I will have a post with some pictures because OH MAN have I ever been busy!