mini break

It looks like it's been a little while since I've posted... and it will likely be awhile longer.

I have still been making a few things (mostly embroidery right now) but my main focus for the time being is home organization. EEK. So far, so good, but wow is it exhausting.

Pillow for the couch

I saw an awesome tutorial for Herringbone tuck pillows at the blog Artfully @ Atelier Caroline and fell in love with them. I knew immediately I wanted to try making one.

I decided to make a pillow out of the same fabric I used to reupholster the chair for my living room, thinking it would help tie the furniture in with each other.

Meticulous measuring is not my thing, so I did the best I could in pleating and ironing the fabric with a few measurements. (I've been eyeing up pleating boards for awhile now) I believe I made my pleats every 1" and sewed them at 1/4".

I decided to change things up a bit (ultimately avoiding more measuring) and sewed a bunch of random straight lines at different angles, rather than parallel to each other.

Here's how it turned out:

And, here's the corner of my living room with the reupholstered chair and new pillow for the couch:

embroidered dishcloth

I've totally been in the dishcloth embroidery mode lately. This is largely because it's the only thing I have supplies for/that I can think of that is functional and I can randomly make. I'm open to ideas for other projects if anyone has any :)

Here's one for my Grandma, I haven't seen her yet since making it, so she doesn't know about it (I hope she doesn't see this post too soon!)

(The cat design was from a Brother embroidery machine)

Crocheted blanket...

... done, but not by choice. I had to finish off the crocheted blanket I've been working on the other day. I wanted to add one to two more skeins of yarn to it, but they no longer sell the yarn I'd been using (at least I haven't seen it for the last 2 months at several stores that previously carried it)

So, I used up the rest of the yarn I had, and that was that.

The final measurements of this blanket: 65" wide by 90" long, or about 5.5 feet by 7.5 feet, whew, that took quite awhile! (looks like it was 10 months or so, although I took loooooong breaks from crocheting it)

Here are some previous posts on this blanket:

first post about blanket & information on pattern (April 2010)
the blanket in May 2010
July 2010
July 2010 progress
yet another July 2010 post

My cute little orange cat ate my computer cord a few days ago (which is why I have not blogged lately) but luckily a replacement cord came in the mail quicker than expected. I'm now back up and running :) That cat sure is lucky he's cute... ugh.

Embroidered kitchen towel

Here's the first thing I made using the correct supplies for embroidering:

"Quistie" is a combination of Hubby's name, and mine. Since hubby does a lot of cooking too (and is really good at it!), I couldn't claim the kitchen as mine alone :)

(This dog design was made on a Brother embroidery machine)

Random embroidery

Before I got to the store to get the right supplies to embroider, I made one more item:

I grabbed an old washcloth and wrote something dumb to tease the hubby, hahaha. (keep in mind I was trying this out in the wee hours of the night, and this is all I could come up with :) )

It turned out kind of funky (to be expected without stabilizers or the right thread), but I think things will look better in the future, once I'm set up and figure out what I'm doing.

Embroidery newbie

My parents came over last night and brought me dinner, a craft cupboard they're no longer using and my new embroidery machine! I was beyond excited :) (I've been feeling under the weather lately, so having some of my favorite food that I didn't have to make was incredible)

I don't have embroidery thread yet... but I couldn't wait to try out the machine, so I used some sewing thread I had sitting around to get an idea for what it could do.

Garage curtains

Awhile back when hubby kindly accompanied me on a fabric shopping trip to Joanns, he spotted this dog print fabric and knew we needed it for something.

I thought it was cute too, so we picked up a couple yards, and decided curtains for that pesky garage window that freaks me out at night would be a good fit.

These curtains are split into 2 panels so they can be pushed to the sides from the middle. I had them half done for quite awhile... and finally got around to finishing them. They're just waiting to be hung up where they belong!

How to make a doggie waste bag holder

I've been looking into getting a "doggie waste bag dispenser" for quite awhile, and am too cheap to buy one at the store. (yes, I know, they're only a few bucks) But, they would be really convenient rather than refilling pockets with bags each time we take beagle for a walk.

Instead of getting the real deal, I made a little pouch to loop onto beagles leash. (this can be filled with the plastic bag rolls that fit into the other dispensers or other bags depending on your preference)

How to make a doggie waste bag holder:
(Check out another style of pouch that can be used for a waste bag holder too)

1) Cut some scrap fabric into one long rectangle. Mine was roughly 7.5" wide by 5" tall (when accounting for seam allowances)


2) Fold the fabric in half (halving width to about 3.75"), right sides together


3) Sew the side edge together (that was just formed from folding in step 2)


4) Sew the bottom of the bag together


5) Fray check the top perimeter of fabric (that has not been sewn yet)


6) Fold the top of the baggie down slightly to make a casing and stitch in place (leaving an opening to string ribbon through)


7) String ribbon through casing and tie ends together


8) Flip bag right side out, fill with plastic bags, and loop onto doggie leash

Organizing plastic bags

Plastic grocery bags generally take over our pantry closet, and I've finally gotten around to doing something about it!

Here is how they are usually kept (this actually looks better than normal)

(Hubby uses them as lunch bags, that's why we keep them)

And here's how to make a plastic bag organizer for those annoying grocery bags that pile up so quickly:

1) Recruit some help (only kidding, I had no choice... )

2) Cut 2 rectangles of fabric (mine were roughly 22" long by 7" wide)

3) Sew the two rectangles together lengthwise. (put the fabric right side together and stitch along both long sides, leaving the short sides open)

4) Sew casings on both the top and bottom edges

5) Thread a piece of elastic (mine was roughly 4") through the bottom casing and sew shut.

6) Thread a piece of ribbon through the top casing (the ribbon should be large enough that the top can open entirely up)

7) Flip the bag organizer right side out

8) Fill the bag organizer with those annoying plastic bags

9) Hang the bag organizer somewhere accessible yet out of the way.

A bakers dozen worth of bags fit nicely into this size of bag organizer. We're doing a trial run to see if this is big enough for Hubby's lunch bag collection. If it is... the extra bags that didn't fit in here can finally be recycled :)

This post is linked to:
The DIY Show Off
The Creative Girl

New year, New machines, New goals!

Happy New Year everyone! I am happily saying goodbye to 2010, here's hoping for a better year ahead.

In 2011 I hope to:
* Use patterns more often
* Stock up on my pattern collection
* Make at least one more coat or jacket
* Attempt to make pants or shorts (store bought rarely fit right)
* Post more often on my blog, maybe a post a day? (which it has been lately anyways) We'll see about that... if I get into school or depending on my future job, this may not happen.

I'm so excited for the new year and sewing, as I have new sewing and embroidery machines on their way! (graduation gifts from my recent grad, and 2 years ago) It took me quite awhile to finally pick out the machines, but I think it was well worth the wait.

My Mom is pretty excited too. She let me borrow her sewing machine for the last few months, so she'll finally be getting it back! (thanks Mom :) )