Little Bow Zipper Wallet PDF Pattern – Testing by ME!
28 Mar 2012 Leave a Comment
I had a great opportunity to be a pattern tester for Michael Ann over at MichaelAnnMade.com so I took her up on it and go the opportunity to sew up this cute little bow zipper wallet! It truly took only about an hour to do and that is only because I was taking my time to make sure I followed each and every step to the letter. I think next time it may only take me about 30 minutes to whip one together! And there will be a next time…there will be plenty of these to go around!
I love how it came out! I used some fabrics scraps so I didn’t even need to really cut any pieces off of the yardage I have laying around in my sewing area. I just went to my scrap drawer and pulled out a few matching pieces and ta-da..here is a cute little wallet! Mine came out at about 5 1/2 inches wide by 4 inches tall. I even learned a few new things about sewing with zippers and putting together a cute zipper bag! These types of bags always kind of scared me off because I always thought that I would totally screw them up because of the zipper. Yes I have put in a few zippers in dresses for the girls but they still kind of scare me!
This is what the inside looks like! I love it! :)
And the backside too!
I learned how to shorten a zipper with this tutorial, which I have never had to do before. Super simple to say the least! Now I will always have the right size zipper on hand!
If you have any interest in purchasing this pattern from Michael Ann just follow this link to her Etsy store:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/95955568/little-bow-zipper-wallet-pdf-sewing
It is only $5.50 and that is SUCH a deal if you ask me! I can make tons of these for gifts and for the girls and seriously it is paid for after making just the first one!
Head on over to Michael Ann’s Etsy store and check out the cute items she has for sale and this wonderful pattern!
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Life taking over..
26 Mar 2012 Leave a Comment
I haven’t been blogging much this year. The past few months we have all been fighting colds or allergies and honestly I just wasn’t up to blogging about all of our sickies and boring you all.
Melody has been sick the most and is scheduled to see an allergist next week so hopefully we can come up with some type of answers as to why she is sick so often. We all have allergies of some sort so hopefully we can find out what is really making Melody feel so icky all the time and move on to better things. She can be healthy..I know that but it would be nice if it happened more than a day at a time.
Me? I have been feeling icky on and off too. My allergies have taken over my life and I just don’t have the energy I should. Today I woke up feeling achy and tired (I didn’t get to bed as early as I had hoped) and I ended up taking a four hour nap! Me, taking a nap!?? That hardly ever happens! I woke up feeling even more achy and just not myself. Maybe it is the stress I put myself under to get things done quickly in the past few weeks. (Pattern testing on short notice but loving the results.) Or maybe it is the heart ache thinking about how I lost my father 12 years ago this past Saturday. It always weighs heavy on my heart and I doubt I will ever truly be past that type of pain. He was my rock and was always there for me and I miss him dearly. I take on a LOT of stuff for the girls schools/PTO as well, so maybe I need to start saying NO to some things. I go to the Dr. in two weeks so maybe she will have some ideas as to why my allergies are acting up so much this year too. Who knows. I take on a lot all the time but it seems that recently it is more than normal and even though I am not a “working” mother..I am still a MOM who does it ALL!! Sometimes I just feel sad, depressed, overwhelmed, tired, fed up, content, happy and just in general a mixture of it all..so no, I am not insane..just normal I guess. Us Mom’s take on a lot and normally don’t get the credit we deserve.
Well it is dinner time I better get going. Melody is finishing up her homework and Kylie is coloring. Zachary is finishing up one of his weekly chores then likely going to play some video games or read. I just am looking forward to bedtime!
Glass Half Full Quilt by Lindsay Sews
10 Feb 2012 3 Comments
As you can tell by my title to this blog post I will be writing about a quilt. A beautiful quilt. My first official quilt sewn!
Yes, I sew but I never really made a quilt before. I love how it came out and I hope to give it as a gift to someone very soon! This quilt is a crib size quilt 45″ x 45″. How I was involved in making this quilt is kind of interesting. I was checking out Facebook, like I do very often and came across a post from a blog that I follow, Lindsay Sews. She was looking for pattern testers for a new quilt pattern that she made. I was like, well I have never made one before but I am sure I can figure it out. (This was all before I even saw what it looked like!) But I was up for anything! When Lindsay emailed me I was first of all shocked that she even trusted a first time quilter to test it for her but also so very, very grateful. Once she was sure I wanted to be a part of it she sent me the pattern. I printed it up and was like, oh boy, I have a lot of work to do here! It just seemed like a lot when I have never made one before. Once I got started on it the quilt really came together rather quickly! There are two quilt squares that you make multiples of for the quilt top. I made templates out of cardstock so that I didn’t have to stop and measure every single piece cut and it really helped me out in making this quilt. Some people enjoy measuring but me, I love a good template!
This photo was taken with my cell phone so a bit fuzzy but you get the idea I used to make the block templates. :) It really helped me with the cutting to size of the major pieces! (Plus Lindsay used it in the pattern! I am so honored!)
Speaking of pattern you can find the complete pattern for the Glass Half Full Quilt here.
I really enjoyed the time I took to make this quilt (about 10-12 hours) and I know it would be great for just us here at home as a lap quilt or as a baby quilt for yourself or the ones you love! Please show some love to Lindsay for all of her hard work in making this beautiful quilt pattern.
You can find Lindsay Sews on Facebook here.
Here are a few more pictures of my finished quilt from the picking of fabrics to pieces, piecing it together and quilting and finally the finished quilt!
This is where I started with my fabric choices before I started cutting pieces to size. I did end up deleting a few and adding a few by the time I was done.
These are the fabrics after washing but before ironing that I chose for the front main fabric and backing.
This is one of the quilt blocks. (I tried to edit it and rotate the image but WordPress won’t save the change.)
The back of my pieced quilt top. :)
The front before I sewed it together.
Quilt back before sewing it together and quilting. I had it laid out on paper because I was going to use spray adhesive to attach the top, quilt batting and back together before I quilted.
Adding the binding.
And the final finished item. Front and back! :) I really love this quilt!
Thanks Lindsay for letting me test this quilt for you!
A bit of a close up of the top after quilting.
If you love it as much as I do please make sure to visit Lindsay’s blog here and also pick up your own copy of this Glass Half Full Quilt here!
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Women of Faith
09 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in Me
This weekend I am heading to Women of Faith in downtown Hartford and I am just so excited. I have been to one of their events years ago and it truly refreshed my soul. It was a year after my father died and it meant so much to me to be there spending that time with other women who understood my pain and also were there to support me through it. This time it is many years later and I am going with a new friend and I just can’t wait! It is going to be so much fun to be there with so many women who want to learn more about themselves and about God.
I can’t wait to see all of the special guests that they have this weekend as well. Natalie Grant, Sheila Walsh, Luci Swindoll, Lisa Harper, Nicole Johnson, Angie Smith, Ken Davis and Mary Mary!! Music, stories, faith, love and joy all rolled into one! I can’t wait to be “refreshed, encouraged and inspired”!!
I need this! I need this time to do something for ME! I am the type of person who does everything for everyone else so I am taking two day of my life and spending time on ME! Again, I just can’t wait! Two more days and I am off to a weekend of happiness!
I will be taking my camera and taking pictures of the weekend and sharing my experiences when I can so stay tuned!
KCWC – Day 4
13 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
So today I got alot done around the apartment and with the kids but I never even got downstairs to my sewing machine. :( I had plans to make another nightgown for Melody today but I will have to get to that tomorrow. It is already 11pm and I am too tired to even think about starting to sew right now. But I did take a few pictures of Kylie modeling her new nightgown this morning before she got dressed for the day. She LOVES her new nightgown and is wearing it right now while she is sleeping like a little angel. :)
I had Kylie try on her nightgown and she was being silly and then started spinning around. I was using my cheap/portable camera so I didn’t get the best pictures out of it but I still find them oh so cute.
KCWC – Day 3
12 Oct 2011 1 Comment
in daily life, photos, Sewing
Today for the Kids Clothes Week Challenge I completed three items! I am pretty proud of myself because I don’t think I have ever made so many things in one day..ever! Well considering I have only really been sewing for under two years that says a lot for me. LOL I love how everything came out with the two fantastic tutorials that I used too! I am so grateful for such wonderful people out there who create these tutorials for people like me to learn from and create wonderful clothing or household items for my family! :) I can never thank them enough!
Please head over to visit Jess at Craftiness Is Not Optional and Jen at iCandy Handmade!
The first two shirts are reglan tees made using this tutorial here at Craftiness Is Not Optional. It went together super quickly and I know I will be making tons of these shirts for the girls and maybe even Zachary. (Just not with the heart fabric for him..lol!) Unfortunately I had to take pictures tonight in horrible lighting with the flash and just on hanging on a hanger but you get the idea. Once the girls try them on I will get much better pictures to share. This one was made for Melody in mind.
The next one was made for Kylie. I love them both. <3
This nightgown I made using the tutorial here on iCandy Handmade.
I have had this fabric in my stash for awhile and figured it would look so cute as a nightgown. So glad I decided to use it because it is so cute and I know the girls are going to fight over it! :) Thank goodness I am making another one tomorrow so they can just take turns wearing them. (They are so close in size now that they can share things like this without any problems.)
So that is what I have accomplished today for the Kids Clothes Week Challenge. Three days down and five more to go. I can’t wait to see what I whip together for the kids tomorrow!
KCWC – Day 2
11 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
in daily life, Sewing
Well this morning I had the girls try on the sleep pants I made last night..only the second time making pants and they didn’t turn out the way I had planned but I was able to fix them with a butt panel into each pair of pants. :D
I then made up and cut out a pattern for the two different sizes I needed for the reglan tee and that was where I had to stop because I had to go and pick up Zachary from school. Ever since then I am sooooooo tired that I don’t think I am going to get any more sewing done today. I will pick it back up again tomorrow and get even more done with some sleep in my system. I think I ended up with three hours of sleep last night and with it now being 8:15pm I am sooo ready for bed! The girls are still awake so I am waiting for them to crash and then heading up to bed myself.
Crossing my fingers that they crash sooner rather than later!!
