Bedside Caddy

A friend of ours asked me to make a bedside caddy for her daughter.  They had a bargain store version that just didn't hold up to the amount of use it was getting.  I was also given a stack of cotton batik fabrics to go crazy with.

So I measured and thought and measured and drew and measured and dreamed.  And then I measured and added and measured and cut and sewed and swore and ripped seams and sewed and ironed...  And eventually came out with this:

The original version had those fun mesh pockets that I salvaged for the new version.  The finished bucket measures about 4.5" in width, 12.5" in length, and 10" in depth.

Each piece of the outer bucket - pieced together front, sides, back, and bottom - is lined with a medium weight fusible interfacing for durability.

Inside, there is a large flat divider that can be used to hold a book or two, and a smaller divider that separates the remaining space in two sections.  Both dividers are sandwiched with medium weight fusible interfacing as well.

Boy, this fabric looks pink in my pics.  It's really a lovely shade of deep purple...

I made a pocket to slide under the mattress that will hold a piece of cardboard.  This way the whole thing can be washed when you remove the cardboard.  (Shown below is the original "under the mattress" part I cut off the old version and used in the pocket of the new version.)

Then it's just a matter of sliding it under the mattress.

And filling it up with your favorite bedtime items.

All in all, it came together fairly well.  I had a few issues with not measuring properly and cutting pieces that were too small (that's the problem with sewing after you should be in bed!).  And only one other mishap involving not attaching the small divider to the large divider, but we won't go into that.  It all came out cute in the end.  And the little girl I made it for had a huge smile on her face when she realized what it was!  That, right there, is the best part about sewing.

Birthday Dress

July is flying by!!  What a crazy month it has been.  We've been up to our eyeballs in summer camps, cleaning, gardening, and preserving. 

Sweetpea turns 4 tomorrow.  Hard to believe my littlest is going to be 4.  For her birthday, I made her a dress.

I'ts Simplicity 4161 and I have no idea what the fabric is.  I thought it was a cotton, but it may be a rayon or something like that.  It ironed funny...  I made her a size 5, but it was way too big at the top.  I had to take in the seam at the armhole down to the waist by a good good bit.

 (And I need a hook and eye.  That seems to be a downfall of mine - not sewing on the hook and eye.  So tedious!!!)

All in all, the sewing went well.  The pattern was fairly simple to follow.  And... I did my first buttonhole!!!  (Thanks, Nick, for all your encouragement!)  With such cute buttons, who could resist?

I'm hooked!  Or buttoned, rather, since we all know how i feel about putting hooks on dresses.  It was so easy, I can't believe it took me this long to try it out!  Way way way easier than lining up a zipper.

Happy Birthday my lil Sweetpea.

Zippered Coin Pouches

Today, I made zippered coin pouches for Munch and Boy.  Can you guess which is who's?!?!?  Sweetpea will get a different special mama made item in her basket this weekend.  Hopefully, I'll be done with that tonight and can show you tomorrow.

The pouches are nothing fancy, just lined zippered pouches that measure about 5 inches wide by 4 inches deep.

I did some fussy cutting for Boy's so that the space ships would be front and center.  Then I messed up the stitching at the zipper.  Oh well...  He won't care.  He is my biggest fan.

The periwinkle are blooming!  I love those.  They remind me of my Grandpa.  He had a small city lot that had a big hill that took up all but 3 feet of the front yard.  On it, he grew periwinkle.  He taught me how to propagate it by burying parts of the runners.  He also had a small, but productive, veggie garden behind his garage.  I was never allowed in it, but i watched as he gardened behind the little white picket fence. 

Boy's Pants

I made Boy's pants yesterday.  Since Boy is now 7, I was debating whether or not I needed to try a zipper and button pants, or if I could still get away with elastic waistband pants.  I've never done a pair of pants with a zipper and a snap/button.  I was terribly intimidated!!  So, I opted for something in between - flat front/elastic back.

(Funny the difference between him modeling and Sweetpea modeling!!!)

The material was in a hand-me-down bag of material.  I have no idea what it is, except that it is woven and unravels fast!!!  I did some super duper things to the seams to keep them from unraveling.  On the inner leg seams and the seam from the front to the back, i double stitched, zigzagged, and then top stitched the seam down to one side.  On the side seams, I just stitched and zigzagged. 

The pattern was just a basic pant pattern (actually a pj pant).  I only put elastic on the back waist.

I double top stitched the front waist for something interesting.

Boy loves them, and would be wearing them every day from now till they rip apart if I let him.  But they are for our Sunday family gatherings.  He really is my biggest fan!!  (Today, he came home from Breakfast with Grandpa, noticed that I cleaned all the mud he left on the floor on his way out, and said "Mom!  I don't know anyone who cleans as well as you do!!!"  You gotta love that.)

Finally, he starts to loosen up in front of the camera...

Sweetpea's Spring Dress (Finally done!)

Remember waaaaay back when I showed you a sneak peak of my "next" project?  It's finally done.

Presenting...  Sweetpea's Spring Dress (drum roll, please.)

I used the same pattern I used for the dress I made her for her 3rd birthday last July, Simplicity's pattern 2432, which I blogged about here.  The adorable orange material with apples and daisies was given to me in a hand-me-down material bag, as was the white linen I used for the lining.  The green striped cotton was from my stash (keeping with the "Use What I Have" theme for the year). 

I had intended to try the addition of little puffy white sleeves.  But in the end, I was not brave enough to attempt an alteration like that.  I had visions of little puffy white sleeves sticking out of the armholes and a little white apron tied around the waist.  Didn't happen.  It's probably just as well.  White.  On Sweetpea.  Hahahahhah!

I seem to have trouble with zippers on garments.  Specifically, trouble matching up one side with the other.  This time, I broke down and bought a fabric glue stick to temporarily fix the zipper to the dress.  Pinning just doesn't cut it for me.  I end up getting so frustrated and wanting to recycle my machine.  It was the best $3 I've spent.  Recently, that is.  I had never used it before, so I was quite skeptical.  But desperate times call for less that desperate measures sometimes.  Next time, I'll have to use a bit more than I used this time to make sure I cover the entire zipper area really thoroughly with glue.  I think that will make it hold better.

I also had never done an applique before.

I thought the skirt could do with something to pull it together more completely with the top.  So I added a couple of cute appliques and some ricrack (which, incidentally, I also had never used before).

Sweetpea loves it.

And she enjoyed modeling it.

I love when stuff I make for the kids makes them so happy.  She didn't want to take it off...

Happy April 1st to you!!

Owl PJ Pants

I decided that I should finally make myself the owl pj pants since I've had the material and plans since well before Thanksgiving.  Today. 

I used Simplicity pattern #2328 and made a size larger than I thought I would wear.  It's very generously sized!  Lucky I didn't go for 2 sizes larger so I could wear long underwear underneath!  I'll have plenty of room for long johns in these.  I love them.  I could hardly wait to finish the hems and take pics so I could put them on.

I used a 100% cotton flannel print that I picked up on sale at JoAnn's long long ago.  It's very soft and warm.

I love the little funky purple owls and the fun flower power flowers.  And backed in brown!!  What more could I ask for?

The whole thing - including cutting out the pattern pieces, ironing the pattern and material, cutting the material, and sewing it up - took me less than 2 hours.  Simple.  Satisfying.

Quiet time is over.  And I have been invaded.  I'm going to watch Planet of the Apes tonight.

Here's a sneak peak at my next sewing project...

Munch's Skirt

Remember these fabrics?

Welp.  I had an idea in my mind for a skirt for Munch.  A playful, fun skirt.  This material sooooo suits her style.  Using this tutorial from Ikatbag, I created the start of a pattern and started cutting.

Both fabrics came from a hand-me-down bag.  Of this flower denim, I had 3 larger pieces and a bunch of smaller scraps.  Somehow, the 3 larger pieces were just enough to cut out 6 of these panels.  It was meant to be Munch's skirt.

In the above picture, you can see my new cutting tools.  I went with the Gingher brand rotary cutter and 2'x3' cutting mat.  Both were purchased online at Joann's, separate times, using 50% off coupons.  Gotta love Joann's for their 50% off coupons.  I couldn't be more pleased with my purchase. They make cutting a breeze!

After cutting out the panels, I went to work figuring out the orange "peek-a-boo" pieces that I intended to sandwich in between the bottoms of each panel.  This part proved a bit tricky.  If I had known what this style of skirt is called, I could have looked it up somewhere and had some help.  But I didn't know, and still don't.  So I went with what seemed right to me at the time.  And that piece (I don't have any pics of it, sorry) looked like a wide pie piece - basically a triangular wedge with a curved side.

I sewed each triangular piece to the sides of each panel, sewed the panels together along the rest of the sides, added a zipper to be on the left side of the skirt, and I had my basic skirt.

The skirt was screaming to have a separate waist band put in, so I obliged it, and sewed one in, adding a lovely button and a child's hair band for closure.

  

The hem was the most challenging part for me.  The curve of the triangular pieces was quite dramatic, making a nice neat hem nearly impossible for me.  I tried hem tape - blaaaaahhhhhhhhh!   It sucked.  So I scrapped that idea and did my best with a regular rolled hem.  I measured and cut the whole bottom so that it was all the exact same length from the waist to the bottom, ironed up the hem, and went at it with the machine.  I don't think I breathed until it was completely sewn.  It's not the most beautiful hem, but it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be.  And it's DONE!!!

All in all, I love the skirt!!

And the little bursts of orange peeking out.

Munch loves it too.  It's so cheery!

Spurts

I go through spurts.  Spurts of creativity.  Spurts of productiveness.  Some of them are forced upon me - like when the tomatoes are rotting and I need to be canning sauce and salsa, or when the house needs cleaned because we are having a party.  But some of them totally come from within.  For the last month I have been on a negative spurt - or whatever is the opposite of a spurt.  Our last year was full of non-stop spurts.  We had a super long growing season (sooooo not complaining), that moved right into preparing for Munch to turn 11, which left little time to recover before the holidays (and finishing up all the canning and preserving).  After Christmas was over, I sorta went on a mental crash.  I didn't want to make any list of things to do.  I didn't want to follow any that might have been laying around.  I just wanted to curl up and stare at the wall.

Last night, I could feel a spurt coming on.  Like I said before, I plan to work with what I have this year as much as possible.  So far, I have been doing fairly well with that (although someday I'm going to break down and buy some pencils so we can stop spending 30 minutes in search of one before each time Boy sits down to practice his math!!!!).  I've been using our stored foods for meals, hoping that I'll have the brilliance to actually remember, or write down, the things that we ran out of just too quickly for next year.  (I'm not such a good record keeper.)  And last night, I got the sewing bug in me again.  I was given a bag full of scraps that are much more than just scraps.  I'm hoping to make a dress for Sweetpea, a skirt for Munch, and a pair of pants for Boy.  Oh, and Boy's bday is coming up at the end of the month, and his gift this year is a patchwork quilt made out of old jeans.  I made one for Munch when she was 3.  Since Boy is turning 7, he is way overdue.  And with Sweetpea already a seasoned 3 year old, I thought I'd better get moving.

I have no hopes that the quilt will actually be done before his birthday.  But a good start is in the plan.  As far as the clothing goes, I would love for it to be done before the OEFFA conference, which is the weekend of February 19.  That is probably doable.

So, today...  I'm going to make some red pepper cream sauce using our own roasted, pureed, and frozen red peppers.  And I'm going to design and hopefully cut out Munch's skirt (more on that as I get things done.)  Hang on, I'll take a pic of the material.....  (hold music playing softly in the background)


Ok.  Here it is:

The flowered material is a denim.  Cute as can be and sooooo very Munch's style.  The orange looks to be a linen.  I'm not very good at knowing what materials are what just by look and feel, so don't quote me on any of that.  heehee.  The design floating around in my head is a knee length paneled skirt with triangular pieces of orange in between the bottom parts of the panels.  I'm sure there is some technical name for a skirt like that, but I have no clue what it is.  Keeping my fingers crossed that I have enough material, and that I can figure out how to make it.

Here's to spurts!