Halloween Hot Pad

 I mentioned that I practiced using my new free motion foot and ruler on a piece of Halloween fabric to make another oversized hot pad with. 

You can see the quilting in this closeup. I thought it looked really good.

The practice was so I could get the hang of it before trying to quilt the baby blanket I was making.

Which I then realized was much too large to do that with on my little machine setup. And gave up on.

But, once I got the baby gift bundle done, I came back to my new hot pad to finish it up. That began with trimming the edges nice and straight for binding it.

Then, I just needed to add a binding. I made that out of some other Halloween fabric I had. I think it turned out quite cute.

These were both yard cuts I got from the clearance aisle at Walmart after Halloween one year for a couple of dollars each. Not too shabby, huh.

So, my baby blanket didn't turn out quite like I was hoping for.

However, I still got a cute little Halloween hot pad out of it. And how timely! The weather is just beginning to change.

A Baby Gift

 Our congregation has gotten larger in the last few years. And one way we can tell is the nine (count 'em, 9) babies that are due in the next few months.

One of the staff suggested that our sewing ministry might start making a gift for each new baby. It was a project we could get on board with. So we were each assigned to make a bundle of  two or three things to give from the sewing ministry.

Mission accepted.

The most obvious gift was a baby blanket. However, I am not a quilter. I stink at it. So I was trying to think up some other things.

I pulled out this little nursery rhyme fabric I had and went to work. The fabric was perfect because all but one of the new babies are boys. I almost feel sorry for the one little girl. Ha.

First up was these sweet burp cloths. I made one side of the pretty little fabric and one side out of diaper cloth. The diaper cloth should be more absorbent than the cotton would be. I used the pattern for these found here. They are a little different than a pattern I already had but I think they turned out quite well.

Next up was a bib. I also used the pattern for the same site found here. I decided to use a panel of the diaper cloth on it as well just for absorbency again. I treated it like an applique and just used a zigzag stitch around it.

With a little snap up top, I think it is quite cute. I would have liked it better without the panel, I think, but I wanted it to be useful and I think it probably needed that.

I still had a large enough piece to make a blanket, but I wasn't sure I could handle it. However, I recently got a free motion foot and ruler for my sewing machine so I thought I might give it a go. 

I decided to try it out on another oversized hot pad using some Halloween fabric I had. I loved the way it looked. But once I started doing it on the blanket, I realized why so many of the videos using it that I've seen have sewing machine tables rather than just a portable machine. Suffice to say, an oversized hot pad is still a lot smaller and easier to handle than a baby blanket. 

Fortunately,  I had only done one long line of it so I could chop that off and still have enough for a baby blanket. My mom suggested I make the sandwich and then just get another lady in the sewing ministry to quilt for me (my thought was preferably one who owned a long arm machine for quilting). 

But, as I made the quilt sandwich and began to even off the edges, it occurred to me that I had some yellow flannel. I could probably just have the fabric on one side and put flannel on the other for a super soft but cute receiving blanket of sorts. It would just be a little larger -- perfect, in my mind, for laying on the floor for baby to work those tummy muscles or sleep on at Grandma's. Sounds like a plan to me.

 I was pretty pleased with how it turned out. It's also pretty light, which will be nice for the babies born in the next few months here. I even got a little fancy and used one of my decorative topstitches (my simple little machine has like 3 total, lol). 

So, there was my bundle. But I had one other thing I wanted to add. It only took a scrap of fabric to make but they are so useful.

It's a pacifier clip. Or you can use it for keeping baby's favorite toy attached too. These are incredibly easy to make! And so very helpful! I found the pattern here. The suspender clips are inexpensive and easy to find. And it can be literally made from scrap fabric in a snap.

 

I really wanted to make a bag to hold it all together too. I still had the strip of quilted blanket I had cut off so I thought I might do something with that. Once I started putting it together I realized it needed a different bottom though because the yellow strip just wasn't wide enough to still show without something extra. I ended up with a tote bag of sorts.

This did not work out at all. It was quite wonky. The bottom wanted to stay up but not the top. And despite using the same measurements, I ended up with a lining that was short. I think I may have just been done with it at that point. I probably should have taken a break. 

But I had a timeline. Unfortunately, what I didn't have was more fabric. I was down to bits and pieces at this point. What to do now?

I went back to my trusty drawstring bag. But I knew if I wanted everything matchy matchy, I would have to figure out how to do that. Looking over some pictures on the internet gave me the idea to just make some blocks and alternate them with the solid cream color I had used on the tote. So I went to work.

It isn't my best drawstring bag ever. But I don't know that the mom will even keep it or use it either. I didn't have enough to cover the back so I just used a solid cream color panel for it. It still turned out alright even if I was thoroughly annoyed with the whole thing by the end.

And, for kicks, I made a cutesy little one of my tags to go on it telling what was inside. 

I may have to work on some of these to see if I can get better at making them. I really want to be better at it.

It's That Time Again

 Only one more of these first day photos to go. Time moves so quickly!

Roll Up Pen Holder

 I mentioned before that Rugrat loves to collect ALL the colors of the markers and pens she loves. I recently noticed this little gem on one of the sewing groups I follow and thought it might be just the ticket.

It was fairly simple to make. Three rectangles of the same size make up the inside, outside, and pocket. The pocket piece can be the same fabric or a different one (which I think is cuter). Then it's a matter of what you want to use for the tie. In this case, I used a piece of skinny bias tape that I just sewed shut. I was afraid a ribbon might fray with too much use.

You also need some interfacing and a piece of batting. So the ingredient list is pretty small. And even the rectangles aren't too large. You could use a couple of fat quarters to make this. They usually have some really cute ones to choose from.

Rugrat carried it off as soon as she saw what it was. It isn't nearly big enough for all her pens and markers. But I did tell her it would work nicely for trips in the car or other times when she really shouldn't take all of them with her.

It was quick to make and fairly easy too. I didn't even change out the foot on my sewing machine for the 'quilting' part as I usually do.

This is the tutorial I used. I didn't remember how similar mine turned out to hers. LOL

If you make one, share a picture. I'd love to see how it turned out!

It's the Little Things...

 We are in the last week before we start school again so I haven't been posting much. But I've still been sewing.

Gotta finish up that Summer Sewing Series with a bang, right?

So what have I been up to?

Well, I made another zipper bag. I know, shocking!

I actually really like this fabric for it. I'm surprised I haven't used it for one before now.

It's fully lined with boxed corners and a tag/handle/loop... whatever you call that thing.

I don't honestly remember which tutorial I followed to make this one but they are all pretty similar so you could probably just pick out a video that looks good and whose host doesn't annoy you to use. I think that was what happened with this one.

Because I had just finished this Zola Pen Pouch and I was pretty annoyed with it.

I think I just don't jive with this pattern maker person very well. I tried another of her patterns and I didn't enjoy it either.

I may give up on her site. If you find that her patterns are the stuff of your dreams though, go for it. She has a lot of cute ones there.


You may remember that I made some pad holders too. Well, I decided to make another sample just for kicks and giggles.

I think this one is really cute. I wish I had tried this fabric for some of these sooner.

 In fact, I decided I might try another zipper pouch in it. Don't worry, I won't bore you with it yet. :)

This tutorial can be found here.

Finally, I got around to something I've been needing but putting off doing. 

The black cord there is kept in my car. I use it to plug my phone in for trips or using the Android Auto app. I have purchased multiple shorter cords but they seem to wear out very quickly -- or, at least, stop working. So, I end up going right back to this 6 foot (I think) cord for something that only needs about 9 inches. 

As a result, the cord ends up hanging over into the floor of the passenger side, getting stepped on, wrapped around feet and purses, and generally being bothersome.

But that hasn't happened since I finally sat down and took the few minutes to churn these out. I keep thinking "why did I not just go ahead and make these?"

These are another thing that take almost no fabric. I literally throw away pieces that are this size when I am cutting out fabric for another pattern.

The fastener is the biggest decision you have to make. There are several ways to do it. I saw patterns for velcro, snaps, and, of course, this button and elastic. There was even on that used a ponytail holder. It seems there might be a few others too.

There are also lots of ways to make these. A simple search can bring you tutorials for pocket type cord keepers or a roll up organizer for cords. You can find different styles and decorative ones too. I saw one that had a kitty head on it. 

Here's a tutorial similar to what I made. I can't remember which one I used before. If you'd like to try a different type of fastener or style, just google 'sew cord keeper' and you'll have enough options to make your head spin.

So, that's what has been keeping the sewing machine busy at our house. How about yours?

Another Fun Scrapbuster

 As I mentioned, I have been trying (pretty successfully, I think) to use up some of my small scraps this summer.

In looking for ideas, I have come across this little memory game project. The biggest issue with it is that you have to be able to get two of the same little picture out of your scrap pieces. But it is definitely possible.

You just cut out your squares that are pictures. I applied some light interfacing to them although I really think I could have and probably should have skipped that part. 

The backs are easier because they will all be the same. So I cut out strips of the right width and just trimmed them as I went.

Then sew one back to each front leaving a little space for turning.

And make sure the right sides are together. I wasn't paying attention on my first piece. Oops.

It's not a sewing project until you've gotten out the seam ripper, right? 

So, what was I saying? Oh yes, sew them together.

And this is kind of nice because you can just do them one right after the other and then clip your threads at the end.

Before you turn them, clip the corners. I decided I probably should have trimmed them a little more too.

 Then turn them and iron them flat.

And topstitch around the edges, catching the open space you used to turn them so that it is closed.

The sewing itself is pretty simple stuff. 

I found it difficult topstitching them though because I had a left a little too much bulk so some of my lines are not as straight as I would like them to be.

All that sewing really wore out my co-worker.

After that was done, I made this little drawstring bag to hold them. I boxed the bottom so it would sit flat. I think it turned out pretty cute.

And then it was done.

Guess I'll have to find someone who might want it seeing as how there aren't any littles around here that might play with it.

I found this tutorial for it that I used. I ended up having to make my pieces slightly larger (I think it was a half-inch larger) than hers. My pictures needed a little more space and I still ended up cutting off an edge here or there.

Happy Independence Day!

 Hope you're celebrating the Fourth with family and friends.

And remembering how truly blessed we are.