WIP Wednesday #24

Considering I had to pack up all my sewing stuff over the weekend to make room for the baby shower, I actually got a lot done this week! I think I've mentioned it before, but my sewing space has been about three feet of space behind our couch in the living room for the past year or so, and hubby has been fighting the entire time to move the couch back against the wall "where it belongs." He's happier with it put back now, but it's hard not having everything all set up so I can sew when I have a few free minutes here & there. Instead I have to take time to get everything out & set up, and remember that I need to leave myself time to put everything away again. We'll come to some sort of compromise, I suppose, and I know I won't be sewing as much once Goose gets here, but in the meantime, I just hope I can continue to be productive until he does get here!

Started: July's block for the String Me Along bee. This month we're making the Avignon Picnic block for none other than Lee at Freshly Pieced. Lee sent pieces from a Central Park jelly roll, and I was so surprised at how quickly everything came together. I think it took me longer to decide on my layout than it did to sew it all together. And even then, I did get a couple pieces switched around.

I finally got started on my pouch for the second round of the Pretty Little Pouch Swap. I don't think I've really said much about it, but I was so excited to get signed up! I can't wait to see what I get. Since it's a secret swap, we have to rely on our partner's participation in the group, and unfortunately my partner has been pretty silent. I sure hope she likes what she gets!

In progress: Unfortunately I haven't worked on Goose's quilt in a while. I did get the rest of the fabric for the back, but I'm putting it off because I haven't been in the mood to do the math or cutting required. I know I need to just sit down & do it, once I do sewing the back together should be relatively easy. Hopefully.

Completed: Here's where I'm actually impressing myself this week. ;)

Finished up the last few of the 22 origami bags first thing Friday morning & I absolutely love how they all turned out. If you'd like a chance to win one for yourself, make sure you head over here & add your guess about when Goose will get here & how big he'll be.

I was finally able to get my June block done for the String Me Along bee. I put off starting it for so long because I was worried about not having enough fabric, or screwing up the paper piecing. I think it turned out pretty good, although I was right that I didn't have quite enough fabric. I might have had enough to do the block full sized, but decided to shrink the pattern down just a bit to make sure. It's only about 11" square instead of 12.5" & I didn't have enough of the background left to add a border to it. I am really happy with how it turned out though.

Like I said, Lee's block was a lot quicker to put together than I expected, so I was able to get it finished up in no time. I really like the finished block, and can't wait to see the quilt Lee's able to make with all her blocks.

Luckily, I was also able to get my pouch & bonus item finished up for the Pretty Little Pouch swap. I was starting to get worried I wouldn't have a chance to get it done before the August 8th deadline, but I'll be able to ship it out this week. I just hope my partner likes it! It's pretty big, about 8"x14", and I made a matching coffee sleeve to go with it. I hope she likes them both!

All in all, I'd say it's been a pretty darn productive week! I don't have any big projects planned over the next few weeks or so (other than that whole having a baby thing...), so maybe I'll be able to make some real progress on Goose's quilt. Fingers crossed!

Make sure you head over to Freshly Pieced to see what everybody else has been up to this week.

Until next time...

Maternity Leave + a giveaway

I can't explain why, but I've actually been putting off sharing all this information for a while now. Why? I really have no clue! Maybe because I'm still slightly in denial (although no less excited!) about what's to come. But August is almost here, which means I'm running out of time! :)

Surely you all know by now that hubby & I are expecting our first little one sometime in the next month. Hopefully you didn't think I'd just leave you all hanging with the sew along! Trust me, I most certainly am not, and I'm just hoping you'll want me back after the next couple months since I'm sure these ladies will run the show better than I can! :)

For August, I'm very excited to have Susan from Living With Punks running the show! She'll be working with you on the Fringed Hobo Bag.

I know Susan is really excited for this bag, so there will probably be nobody better to share it with you. Susan probably doesn't realize it, but she's practically the entire reason behind My Crafty Crap! It was her Pillow Cover to Messenger Bag tutorial that kicked my butt into gear about getting the sewing machine I'd wanted for some time, and got me totally hooked on sewing. So I guess you have her to either thank or blame. ;) Susan answered all sorts of random sewing & bloggy questions for me early on, so I know she'll be nothing but helpful as you work through August's project.

September will be run by none other than Sara, from Sew Sweetness. She'll be working with you on the Blossom Handbag/Shoulder Bag. This is, by far, my absolute favorite pattern from the book, so I can't wait to get caught up & make my own.

Sara always shares such fantastic & helpful pattern reviews, and we're getting into the more difficult projects in the book, so I know she'll have some great pointers for you. And good news for any of you who don't own a copy of the Style Stitches book, September's pattern is available for FREE from Sew, Mama, Sew! Head on over now to print your pattern & start thinking about what fabrics you might want to use. You've still got plenty of time, but it's never too early to start planning!

I'm hoping to be back in the swing of things by October, and back running the sew along for the remainder of the year. Of course I'm not going to drop off the edge of the planet during August & September, but crafting may be at a minimum while we get a handle on this whole parenting business. :)

And now for a fun little giveaway. You remember all those origami bags I somehow managed to whip up last week? Of course you do, how could you forget all these lovlies!

I knew all along I didn't really need 22 of them, but I made a couple extra because I wanted to be able to share them with a couple of YOU! I have two to give away, and entering is simple. Everybody gets two chances to enter by guessing when Goose will get here (date & time) and how big he'll be (weight only). The closest guess for each will each get one bag! If the same person guesses both correctly, I'll choose the next closest guess from the date & time guesses. I'll leave comments open for guesses until next Monday, but if he comes between now & then only those who have already guessed will be eligible to win! Obviously the winner won't be announced & bags won't be sent until after Goose gets here, but I'll contact the winners as soon as I can.

I'm sure some of you will have all kinds of questions you want answered to have a better chance at guessing correctly, but I'll only tell you these few things:

- My official due date is August 17

- Like I said earlier, this is our first baby

- Hubby was a whopping 9+ pounder

- I was just under 8 pounds

Good luck!

I look forward to the adventures I know the next few months will bring & hope you'll stick around through my little hiatus.

Don't forget, you still have time to enter your Key Keeper Coin Purse for your chance at July's giveaway. Head over & link up if you haven't already!

Until next time...

Time to share Your Key Keeper Coin Purse

It's that time again! Time to link up to this month's project, the Key Keeper Coin Purse, for your chance to win!

Remember, this month you're entering for your chance to win these absolutely awesome prizes from Jill at Envirocraftiness. Jill is offering 1 clutch of the winner's choice, 2 sets of flower bobby pins, and 2 reversible headbands!

As always, only links entered below will be considered for the giveaway drawing, not links entered as comments. You may enter more than once ONLY if you completed more than one bag, and each bag must be in its own blog post or Flickr photo & have its own link below. Please remember to link to your specific blog post or Flickr photo, not the main page on your blog or your Flickr profile.

Entries will be open through midnight on Friday, July 29. Trust me, even if you haven't started yet, you've still got plenty of time to whip one of these puppies up. Winner will be announced Monday, August 1.

What are you waiting for?! Let's see those Key Keeper Coin Purses!

Until next time...

All done!

And just in time! Twenty-two finished up in a week, which is funny since I couldn't get the original three for the sew along completed in a month!

Picture overload, I know, but I couldn't resist! They're just so pretty all lined up.

Until next time...

16 down, 6 to go

Please excuse the terrible photo, it's dark here. But I'm almost done!

Until next time...

WIP Wednesday #23

It's been a busy week around here!

Started: Twenty-two (yes, 22, not just 16!) extra small Origami Bags from the Style Stitches book. Zipper garland, anybody?

In progress: No official progress on Goose's quilt, but I did get the rest of the fabric for the backing.

I finally got started on my official June block for the String Me Along Bee. I was worried about not having enough fabric to paper piece the block I wanted to make, so I shrunk down the pattern a bit, and will add a border around it once it's completed.

Completed: Seven of the Origami Bags are completely finished. Four only need to be turned right side out then have the opening closed. Eleven need the gussets made in the lining, then turned, & sewn shut. They all need to be done by the time I go to work Friday morning. :)

I'm absolutely loving these bags. I say every one is my favorite as I'm working on them, since they're all just a little bit different. I know everybody is going to like them.

Make sure you head over to Freshly Pieced to see what everybody else has been up to this week.

**********

In other news, Goose & I decided it would be fun to give Labor & Delivery a trial run Tuesday afternoon. I spent about 3 hours there with pain & contractions, but was given a shot that was able to stop the contractions, so he's staying put at least a bit longer. I'm at the point where they won't do anything more to stop labor if it comes, but won't do anything to help it either. We'll just have to see what the next few days/weeks bring!

Until next time...

Key Keeper Coin Purse: Inspiration

Have you started on your Key Keeper Coin Purse yet? If not, what are you waiting for?! I know summer is busy for everybody, so this is a perfect summer project. It's quick & easy, and you end up with a cute little coin purse you can throw in any bag.

Mandy at Sugar Bee Crafts made two absolutely adorable bags for her (equally adorable) girls. Make sure you check them out!

The little hearts on this version from knitaly.cristina are just two sweet! Is it too early to be thinking about Valentine's Day?!

Gorgeous version from BalletAmy

What a genius idea from sillygoosenz to add a ribbon strap!

I'm really liking the contrasting colors on this one from andrea creates.

Beautiful colors from jamleft

Remember, you can upload pictures or ask questions any time in the Flickr group. I can't wait to see more of your coin purses!

Until next time...

Have I gone crazy?!

Ummm...probably! :)

I certainly know what I'll be working on this weekend, that's for sure. I'll be turning this pretty little stack:

into at least 16 (and maybe more!) of these beauties:

Aren't you jealous?!

I am sticking with the extra small size, the same size I made for the Sew Along (speaking of which, I still haven't been able to find the very first one I made!), so I'm not being too ambitious. Oh, but did I mention I'm making them for my shower? Next weekend?! Yeah, that's where the crazy part comes in.

The best part about this pattern is that there really aren't any pattern pieces to cut out, so it took me almost no time to cut all the rectangles for the exteriors. Then I was able to chain piece the exterior pieces together, which saved a ton of time. Probably the most time-consuming part was ironing on all the interfacing. I know I could have ironed it on before I cut out the pieces, but just like I did when I made them the first time, I wanted to do the interfacing after I got the two pieces sewn together. This saves on interfacing (yes, it's only an inch or so per piece, but over 32 pieces...well...you get the idea!), and makes the seam stronger.

I'm using some of the Denise Schmidt collection from J0-Ann. I picked up a few half-yard cuts I just couldn't resist when it first came out without any real plans for it, and now it's perfect for a little baby boy shower! I do have two more prints as well that I didn't cut in to since I've got plans for them to make a bag for myself.

Of the eight different combinations, these two are definitely my favorite:

I used a twin needle to do the top stitching along the seam so I could sew on both sides at once, which saved a ton of time. Luckily I had a jean twin needle, which is just a bit wider than the universal twin needle I have. The stitching is still just a bit closer to the seam than I would prefer, but it still looks nice.

I think I'm going to line them in some sort of grey & use a variety of blue & green zippers.

I got the exterior pieces for all 16 put together last night, so hopefully the rest of the process goes as quickly & smoothly. Since it's supposed to be oppressively hot this weekend, I certainly won't mind being stuck inside the A/C working on these!

Until next time...

WIP Wednesday #22

Not a whole lot going on this week, I didn't get my usual weekend sewing time since we've been busy working around the house to get ready for Goose's arrival. Can you believe he's due in just 5 short weeks! Yikes!

Started: I'm working on the zipper tutorial I mentioned last week, but unfortunately I won't be sharing it until the end of August. I'll have more details about that later though.

I've at least looked at the fabric for my July bee block in the String Me Along bee. It's a start. ;)

In progress: Goose's quilt. I'm still waiting on a little more fabric for the back.

June's bee block. Yes, I know I'm really late by now, and even my excuse of getting the fabric late isn't cutting it anymore. The problem is I really want to make the circle of geese block, but I'm really worried about not having enough fabric or screwing it up. I haven't been able to find another block pattern I like as much, so I haven't given up on it yet.

Completed: The pouch for me! It's not small, I realized last time my picture of the exterior pieces had no size reference & I think most of you assumed they were made of small patchwork. Each piece was actually about 13" square (disappearing 9-patch made from charm squares), so the finished pouch is about 12" across on the top, 9" across on the bottom, 10.5" tall, and 3" deep. Definitely bigger than I was planning, but after I made the patchwork, I just couldn't bring myself to cut it down to make the size I originally wanted. I love the finished bag though, so I know it'll go to good use! And since I still want something to be able to throw my wallet, phone, and a few other little things in, I guess that means I need to make another for myself. Oh darn. ;)

I made my second attempt at an interior zipper pocket, which looks much, much better than the last time. Unfortunately, I wasn't thinking & sewed my pocket fabric in the wrong way, so the interfacing is on the inside of the pocket. Oops! At least this one is just for me, and I've (hopefully!) learned my lesson.

Like I said, it's been a pretty slow week, but that's alright.

Make sure you head over to Freshly Pieced to see what everybody else has been up to this week.

Until next time...

July giveaway!

You didn't think I'd forgotten, did you? I hope not! I'll be honest, it seems like July is already flying by, where did the first week go?

Remember, this month we are making the Key Keeper Coin Purse. Are you choosing to make yours to match your Teardrop Bag from last month?

This month's giveaway is sponsored by Jill at Envirocraftiness. And this month, the winner will hit the jackpot! Jill is offering 1 clutch of the winner's choice, 2 sets of flower bobby pins, and 2 reversible headbands!

I already told you all I'm accepting no excuses this month (well, I'll give cmelvin a slide since your sewing machine broke...bummer!), so I expect a lot of entries for these little beauties from Jill! One of you is going to be very lucky this month! Although, I think we're all winners since we get this adorable little coin purse in the end.

Good luck & get sewing! :)

Until next time...

June winner!

Thanks to everybody who linked up this month! I always love seeing how everybody else's bags turn out, usually better than mine! :)

The winner of this month's giveaway from Sharon at A Prairie Sunrise, their choice of a custom sketchbook & piece of jewelry, as chosen by Mr. Random is:

Congratulations to #10, SwallowDesigns! Please send me an e-mail so I can put you in contact with Sharon for your prizes.

Until next time...

Just a little reminder

Don't forget tomorrow is your last day to link up your Teardrop Bag to enter to win the great prizes from Sharon at A Prairie Sunrise! If you haven't finished it up yet, you've got until midnight tomorrow! So get sewing! :)

Until next time...

WIP Wednesday #21

I told myself I wouldn't complain about another week being gone, again, but then this weekend I lost a week. Seriously, lost an entire week. Or my mind, I'm not certain which. We met a few new people at a BBQ, and of course everybody was asking about when Goose is due, and I was telling everybody he's due in 7.5 weeks. Then in church on Sunday, everybody was asking how I was doing & how much time I had left. Only 7.5 weeks! Woo-hoo!

Then, on our way home from the furniture store Sunday evening, I started thinking about it for some reason, and it seemed odd. Wasn't I 33 weeks last week? But that would mean I'm going to be 34 weeks this week. But that means I actually have 6.5 weeks left. So I whipped out my phone & counted the weeks. Sure enough, only 6 weeks left! I freaked out in the truck & hubby just laughed at me. I lost an entire week! But like I told him, I suppose it's better to lose a week than to think I'm further along than I really am. Because let me tell you, at this point, I am so ready to be done with this whole pregnancy business! Don't get me wrong, I know I've had it easy, and I know Goose will never again be this easy to take care of, but I'm ready to have my baby, & get my body back to myself, rather than sharing it. :)

So anyways...yes, it's Wednesday again, which means it's time for another WIP post.

Started: Something new! And not only something new, but something for me! I'm really excited about this. I got this great Moda Punctuation charm pack from a friend & have been trying to figure out what I want to do with it, and finally decided I need a little pouch/clutch to throw a couple things in when I have to run quick errands on the weekends. Sometimes I hate taking my whole purse, but I'm always afraid I'm going to set something down in the store when I just grab my wallet & phone.

I'm going to do a quick tutorial on this pouch later to share how I put in zippers. I've had a few people ask, so I'm happy to help.

I fully intended on getting all the pieces cut & start putting blocks together for my Kaleidoscope quilt this weekend, especially since I'm a couple weeks behind. But when I went to cut out my template (which I know I printed!), I couldn't find it anywhere. Hopefully I can get started cutting this week & start to get caught up soon.

In progress: Still plugging away at my June bee block. I'm starting to feel really bad about not having it done yet, even though I didn't get the fabric until two weeks late. I did finish up the second practice block (cutting "pattern" pieces worked great, and definitely cut down on the waste...sort of...), but haven't played around with placement yet. It's high on my priority list!

Goose's quilt top is done!!! I can't even tell you how excited I am about this. I've also decided how I want to make the back, if I can order a bit more fabric. I'm just waiting to hear back about that. I suppose the quilt top is a finish, but the full quilt is still very much in progress.

The nursery is almost done! We finally went to get the crib this weekend and got pretty much everything set up. We (well, mostly just me, since hubby doesn't really care) absolutely fell in love with this crib this winter. I'm so glad we were able to get it for Goose!

The only other thing we still want to pick up is a changing table, which will go along the wall on the right. The room is a bit crowded, especially right now with the swing in there, but it's not terrible considering how small of a room it is.

I do have a few things to hang up on the walls, but otherwise it's pretty close to being done!

Completed: Goose's quilt top! It's not much, especially since I only had two seams left, but it's still something. Even Raven likes it. :)

Make sure you head over to Freshly Pieced to see what everybody else has been up to this week.

Until next time...