WIP Wednesday #27

I'm back! Well, sort of at least. I can't promise this will be a weekly update anymore, since I haven't had time to do much crafting lately. But hopefully I'll be able to pick it up again soon!

Before having Cooper, I started working on the quilting for his quilt. It seems odd to still call this "Goose's Quilt." :) My original plan was to do random circles all over in different sizes, but I decided instead to make a small circle in each solid square. Yes, each and every one. Yes, I'm probably nuts.

I have a few more done since I took this picture, and I'm really liking it. I know it's probably going to take quite a while to make all these circles, and I may have to wait until winter when it's not so warm, but it'll get done. Slowly, but surely. This guy is totally worth it. :)

I also picked up supplies to make one of these nursing covers from Little Birdie Secrets. I haven't decided yet what fabric I'll use, but I hope to be able to finish it up before this weekend. Hopefully Coop cooperates & lets me have a little free time!

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

Until next time...

Sewing Back-to-School: Inserting Zippers

Remember that zipper tutorial I've been promising the last month or so? It's finally here! I'm guest posting today over at Sew Sweetness as part of Sara's Sewing Back-to-School series. If you're not already following along, you certainly should be! Sara's already had a ton of great advice and information from some other amazing bloggers. I'm honored to be included in such a great line up!

So head over to check out my method for inserting zippers, then make sure you check out the rest of the series.

Oh my gosh!!! I just found out the tutorial has been featured on Craft Gossip! I'm so excited! :)

Until next time...

Fringed Hobo Complete and Link up!

Are you ready to link up your bags? I can’t wait to see what you’ve made! It’s so fun to see everyone’s style and fabric choices.


As you can see, I opted out of the yoke on mine….it would’ve totally interrupted my fabric in a bad way ;) It took alot of thought and fabric waste to center the design but I’m so glad I took the time and energy to get it right.


I love the over all look of this bag. I can see it with a pair of capris and espadrilles with a light flowy kind of top. It’s very boho chic. Hobo = Boho :)


Did you love it? Are you inspired to make another? Show me what ya got!

~Susan @ Living with Punks

Make sure you link up below for your chance to win this month's giveaway from Marci at Marci Girl Designs. Entries will be open until midnight, September 5.

Welcome Cooper Reilly!

Did anybody miss me over the last week? We've been a bit busy around here!

Cooper Reilly was born last Monday evening, August 15, at 5:03. He was 8lbs 15ozs & 21 inches long.

We are all doing great at home now after a few ups & downs in the hospital. Cooper had to spend about 30 hours in the NICU for some transition breathing issues, but thankfully it was nothing too serious in the grand scheme of things. He was also jaundice & had to spend some time under the bililight & was sent home with a biliblanket about a day later than we originally expected.

I've been busy snuggling this little guy & haven't had time for much else! Can you blame me?! :)

The winners of the maternity giveaway are Lisa, who was the only one to guess August 15, & Reene, who guessed 9lbs 3 ozs. Congrats! Please send me an e-mail with your address.

I'm not sure when crafting will resume around here, but hopefully soon!

Until next time...

Hobo Bag Progress

Hey guys!  Have you started your bag yet?  I have gotten through quite a bit of mine and want to let you in on a few details...

Remember how I told you Amy Butler likes to over-estimate her yardage?  Well, the trim is a different story.  I bought the 3.25 yards she calls for in the book and the above picture was where it got me!  Can you say ARRRGGGHHHHH!  So, I had to load up my 3 year old and go back to Joann's for the 12th time this week... but hey, I found some other cute fabric while I was there, so it was a winning situation :)

I chose the LARGE BAG and here I have one side panel pinned to one main panel...It was at this point that I figured out I was making the bag with the short handle.  Another AARRRGGHHHH!
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I usually think of a large bag as a bag with long straps.

So, be warned:
LARGE: SHORT STRAPS
SMALL: LONG STRAPS

Other than that, things are going well.  The trim was easier to stitch on then I had antcipated.  You just have to go slow and stay as close the the inside of the trim as possible. 

How is your progress going?  Have you encountered any trouble yet?

See you in a few weeks with the completed bag!

~Susan @Living with Punks

WIP Wednesday #26

I'll tell you the same thing I've been telling everybody else these days - nothing much to report. ;)

I did get Goose's quilt basted the end of last week. Let me tell you, it was no small feat! This thing takes up practically all the floor space in our living room, and I had to take a few breaks from crawling around on the floor to sit decent. I even had to crank up the AC I was sweating so bad!

Of course Raven had to "help," and try it out.

After taking the picture, I went outside to grab the mail, and she got excited when I put my flip flops on & started spinning circles in the middle of the quilt. Luckily enough of it was already pinned together so she didn't make any extra work for me.

What do you say? I think she approves of "little brother's" blanket. :)

Hopefully, hopefully I'll have a really big finish next week! ;)

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

Until next time...

August Giveaway

Are you excited to get working on your Fringed Hobo Bag yet? After Susan's inspiration, I'm wishing my sewing stuff wasn't all packed up & put away! And you know I wasn't even crazy about this pattern!

Ready to see what you can win by participating this month? It's yet another fantastic prize! This month's giveaway is sponsored by Marci at Marci Girl Designs. Make sure you check out Marci's blog & Etsy shop, she does some beautiful work!

The winner this month gets their choice of these gorgeous Louise Pleated Wristlets. I envy the winner, but not having to make the choice! But since orange is my favorite color, that almost makes the choice easy!

Not only do you get your choice of those beautiful clutches, you also get your choice of a set of hair pins! I think this first set is my favorite, but they're all great.

What are you waiting for? Get sewing so you have a chance to win these fantastic prizes!

And to anybody who's wondering, yes, we're still waiting for Mr. Goose. ;)

Until next time...

Fringed Hobo Inspiration

Hey My Crafty Crap readers! Susan here from Living with Punks. I’m overly excited to be sitting in for Bree while she takes a break and has that baby Goose!

Honestly, when I first purchased the Style Stitches book and went through all the bags, the Fringed Hobo was probably my favorite. I seriously thought of dropping everything and running to get some fabric and make it right then and there….then Bree told me about her sew-along and I calmed down a bit and decided to wait…until August! Do you know hard it’s been?

Anyway, I wanted to share with you all my fabric choice for this bag…

Rrrawwrrr…it’s Tula Pinks Parisville and I have had it on my shelf for months now, waiting. I went back and forth on whether to use home dec or not, but since Amy gives the quilting weight option, I decided to save some mullah and stick with the cheaper stuff. Speaking of which…does anyone else think she is overly generous on her fabric yardage requirements? Yikes! Sometimes I have so much left, I can literally make another bag out of it…

Onto the inspiration…

Here are a few Fringed Hobo’s I found floating around…

How completely awesome is this? I love the colors Claire chose… there is something about that interior fabric that really completes it… and that wooden bead fringe? I must have it so my life will be complete.

Sarajmcvey made this beautiful Hobo. Loving that yoke fabric too!

AlisonK318 models this fabulous bag. How fun is that on? So summery!

Mareike23 opted out of the fringe and gave it a more sophisticated look. A button closure was added to secure the top a little better too. Great idea!

Do you have your fabrics picked out yet? What about trim? Trim was the hardest part for me and I think I have it narrowed down, but then again I might go to the fabric store tomorrow!

Until next time…

WIP Wednesday #25 - the back is done!!!

I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am this week. Finally, finally I made myself work on the back for Goose's quilt & it's done! I took the time to sit down, do the math, and cut all the pieces for the back one evening last week. I already had most of it figured out, but had to double-check everything before I started cutting.

I was so paranoid making those first few cuts. I only had 1/2 yard cuts of the fabrics for the back, and was cutting them wider than half the width, so if I screwed up I would have to come up with a different way of doing the back. Luckily my original math was correct, and it came out exactly the size I planned, which is a few inches bigger than the top.

Next up I have to baste this bad boy, and I can't even begin to think about how much fun that isn't going to be. I had to crawl around on the floor a bit to pin the pieces together while I was working on the back, which wasn't easy with this little bowling ball in the way. I'm not sure how I'm going to crawl on the floor for an extended amount of time to baste this thing. Anybody want to come visit to help me pin? And by help, of course I mean do all the work on the floor while I sit & watch. :) It's certainly tempting to wait until after he gets here so I can move around a little more easily, but I'm actually still kind of hoping to get this all finished up before he comes. We'll see!

Of course I still need to decide for sure how I'm going to quilt it. I'm really leaning towards hand-quilting with random size & placement of circles all over. No other great ideas, so that's probably what I'll stick with.

I need to measure again & see if the striped pieces I have left from the jelly roll will be enough to bind the whole thing. If not, I'm leaning towards using just the bright blue dots, which will match the vertical stripe on the back (and some of the squares on the front).

Nothing else is really in the works right now since I don't really want to start any big new projects right now. My biggest "in progress" has yet to make his debut & seems to be staying put for now. We sure are anxious & excited to meet him!

Until next time...

August: Fringed Hobo

Like I told you last week, Susan from Living with Punks will be running the show this month, but I wanted to kick things off quick before I let her take over. Like I mentioned before, this month we'll be working on the Fringed Hobo Bag.

We've officially moved into the "advanced" portion of the book, but don't let that scare you! Remember, we still have yet to come across a pattern that has been harder than the very first "easy" Cosmo Bag! :)

If you're not crazy about the fringe, I've already seen some great versions out there without the fringe, or with other types of trim. You've got plenty of options if tassels aren't your thing!

This month's giveaway is sponsored by Marci from Marci Girl Designs. Marci has a great Etsy shop with lots of beautiful & unique items. I'll share more about the giveaway as the month goes on.

Even though this isn't my favorite bag in the book, I'm almost looking forward to seeing all your bags even more than normal since I know your talent can change my view of this pattern!

Until next time...

July winner!

As usual, thanks to everybody who linked up this month. I've enjoyed seeing everybody's Key Keeper Coin Purses.

This month's winner from Jill at Environcraftiness, as chosen by Mr. Random, is:

Congratulations to #5, BalletAmy!

Please send me an e-mail, so you can choose your prizes from Jill!

Until next time...