Pink Penguin Jumbo Lunch Bags for a Favorite Things Party

So I got invited to a favorite things party.  Say what?  I had never heard of anything like that before.  It was so much fun!  You were to bring 3 of something that you love and you would go home with 3 different things.  It was a blast.

Thing is, I couldn't give an empty lunch bag, so I packed lunch in it.  What would my favorite things be for lunch if I could take anything I want and not get fired from teaching?  Glad you asked...  A bottle of wine from our local winery, and treats from our local Sweet Shoppe.  Doesn't that sound like the perfect lunch?  I think that the recipients really liked them.  Who knows for sure because we all have different taste...  The important thing is that it was a fun night out with some great ladies on a cold wintry night.

On a side note - I make my bags much larger than the tutorial.  You could carry a gallon of milk and then some in these bags, although that wouldn't be my beverage of choice!  Increased size measurements can be found here.

10 Open Wide Noodlehead Pouches

I made the medium size Noodlehead Open Wide Pouches for Christmas gifts to give at work.  I was pleased with how they turned out and how well they were received.  I put some candy, lip gloss and lotion so they weren't empty and so that the recipients would get the idea that they might be able to use them as makeup bags.

I am not sure about all of the fabrics but the orange florals and matching fabric are from Denise Schmidts DS Quilts line at Joanns, the green/blue, yellow black, red/black and royal blue are mostly from my local fabric store, the pink/orange fabrics are Joel Dewberry, purple squirrels are Tula Pink and I have no idea where the teal/aqua/red came from - Joann's maybe?

I am not always pleased with how my projects turn out but I am very happy with these pouches.

This is the link to Anna's free tutorial!  And you can find the instructions for all of the different sizes here!

Two In One Pattern Tester for Sotak Handmade!

Oh my goodness I have excited to share this project.  Svetlana of Sotak Handmade was looking for pattern testers for her new two in one pouch and I was lucky enough to test for her!  When I saw she was looking for people I contacted her, never thinking I would get to do it and was completely blown away when she contacted me to pattern test for her.

The funny thing is, I had been wanting to make a double zip pouch for a while and couldn't find a good tutorial or pattern.  I even tried to come up with my own (a zipper compartment within another zipper compartment) and was not happy with my results.  This pattern is exactly the type of thing I had been trying to do on my own without any success.

I used Boho by Urban Chiks fabric and am quite pleased with how it turn out.

Svetlana's pattern is fun and easy to follow.  I highly recommend it!  I will definitely be making more of these for Christmas gifts.
A great big thank you to Svetlana of Sotak Handmade for letting me test your pattern.  You are like a rockstar in the sewing/blogging world and I am just little old me.  What an honor!  What are you waiting for?  Go buy the pattern and make some of these, they are awesome!

KitchenAid Mixer Cover Using a Tutorial from Carla at My Half Dozen Daily

I have followed Carla's blog at My Half Dozen Daily for a few years.  She is such an inspiration.  The lady can budget, cook and sew like nobody's business.
I made this using her mixer tutorial.  It was easier than I imagined it would be.  I added jumbo ric rac not knowing if it would really work out or not.  It fit perfectly into the bias trim that I made with 2 inch strips.  The bias helped to keep the ric rac straight.  I then sewed on top of the ric rac, clase to the edge with orange thread to keep if from curling up over time.  You can see I have a blue countertop and orange walls, so I thought the fabrics were a nice choice.  They are DS Quilts from Joann fabrics.
If you don't follow Carla's blog, you really should.  She is such an inspiration to me!

Open Wide Pouch, Lace Zipper Pouch and More Penn State Items

One of my best friends recently celebrated her birthday.  We don't normally exchange gifts, but she has had a rough year and I felt the need to do something.  I made her a Noodlehead wide open pouch, a tiny boxy pouch with an exposed lace zipper, a Noodlehead Penn State wristlet ( I didn't actually put pleats on this one) and a Penn State key fob.  I also threw in a couple tubes of Almay lip gloss that I got on sale at rite aid!

Sewing is a great stress reliever for me.  I do it at my leisure and am not really interested in doing it to make money.  I feel that making items to sell would put me on the pressure of a schedule and take some of the enjoyment out of my leisurely activity.  I spend a good bit on fabric and supplies, but I feel that it is offset by the fact that I am making gifts for a fraction of what it would take to purchase a ready made gift.  I think that people are very receptive to the items and are touched by the fact that I didn't just go out and purchase a ready made gift.
I also feel that the prices I would need to charge to be fairly compensated for my time would make the items cost prohibitive to buy.  I live in an economically depressed area of the country.  I enjoy my hobby and I want to keep it that way, so sewing for leisure it is!

Penn State Graduation Gift with Noodlehead Gathered Clutch

My friend's daughter just graduated from high school and is headed to Penn State.  This is what I gave her for a graduation gift.  Upper left is a basket that I made following this tutorial.  Lower left is a Noodlehead gathered clutch.  I also included a key fob, 2 pillowcases (from this tutorial) for her dorm room and a little bit of cash.  I think it was well received.

This is how it looked all bundled together.

Tablet or Kindle Pouch

I made 2 more tablet pouches but only one is shown.  The other was the same outside fabric with a royal blue zipper, red end tabs and royal blue print interior.  My son took off with it before I could get a picture!  These are so easy to make and the recipients really seem to appreciate and enjoy them!

Tula Pink Birds and Bees Zipper Pouches (Squirrel fabric)

So I needed a pouch for my medicine to keep in contained in my purse.  I was diagnosed with asthma last week and was given 2 inhalers and an antibiotic for an ear infection.  I needed a decent sized pouch and I knew fussy cutting the squirrels in this fabric would yield a pouch with good dimensions for my supplies.  I love how they turned out!  The one on the left has a bold, blue zipper and the one on the right has pale aqua. I had a friend that saw it and wanted one for someone, so that is why I made 2.  I am very happy with the results!

Tablet Zipper Pouch

We have 2 tablets that needed something to make them cozy and warm so I whipped up these pouches.  It was a fast and easy project.  I have made quite a few small zippys and I just increased the size to fit the tablets.

Sunday Sewing

I am going to make a quilt today using this jelly roll race tutorial from Missouri Star Quilt Company.  Stay tuned to see how it turns out! 

Sewing Every Day for a Week - Saturday - Noodlehead Gathered Clutch

I made a noodlehead gathered clutch a long time ago and it turned out really cute.  At that time I cut out the pieces for 4 more and they have been sitting in my sewing room ever since.  I pulled one out and finished it today.  3 more to go!  They are fun but they take me a few hours to make.  Maybe I am just slow!  I did add a lot of details.  It has a detachable wrist strap, a divider and 2 credit card pockets.

I am adding this to my gift stash for when I need a quick gift for a friend.

Sew Every Day for a Week - Wednesday and Friday - Crayon Rolls

Tuesday was the first day of my challenge and I made baby gifts.  Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures before I gave the gift away.  Wednesday and Friday I made 12 crayon rolls.  10 will go to church and 2 will go into my gift stash.  That should restock the church quite well.  Children that are visiting get a crayon roll and coloring book to keep.

I hate to admit it, but I didn't sew on Thursday.  Some crazy stuff was going on and my phone was ringing off the hook.  I can see already that a week is not going to cut it for what I need to catch up on in the sewing room.  I am going to extend it out until next Friday which will make it 10 days of sewing since I missed a day.  I am having fun doing this.

I can't believe how long the crayon rolls took.  It seemed like I was cutting out pieces and interfacing for hours!

I'm Going to Sew Every Day for a Week

Sewing Groove - I am Giving Myself a Sewing Challenge!

I have so (sew) many things I want/need to sew and I have really been slacking, so it is time to set a good goal.  I am going to sew every day for a week for at least one hour (most days it will be more like 3 or 4 hours).  I started Tuesday night and will post pictures when it is daylight on Wednesday.  I finished 2 baby bibs I had started (girl Colors), made 3 more bibs (boy colors) and a jumbo receiving blanket.  I have so much more that I want to do and I can't get it done in a week, but a week will put and good dent in my list.  I am sure I will stray from the list somewhat since pinterest is giving me new ideas daily, but I will sew something every day whether it actually comes from this list or not... 

Are you ready for the scary list?  Here we go!

1.  Catch up on the Lucky Stars Block of the Month from Don't Call Me Betsy.  I am ashamed to say that I only finished the practice block and the January block.  I started February and haven't picked it up since.  I won't get completely caught up in a week, but I need to get a few of them done!

2.  I need to make something for my 2 kitchen windows.  I am trying to get a stain out of an old tablecloth my great grandmother embroidered so I can make it into 2 window toppers.  If I can't get it out I will whip something up from my regular fabric stash.

3.  Make a new lunch tote using the pink penguin tutorial altered to the bigger size that I made twice before.  I love this pattern and it is free on Ayumi's site!

4.  Purse

5.  Tote Bag

6.  A long lanyard for my keys because I keep misplacing them.

School starts in a few weeks and I would like to have #3, 4, 5, and 6 done by then.

7.  I need to make at least 6 crayon rolls to replenish the stash at church.  Done - I made 12!

8.  I have a Halloween quilt top that has been sitting lonely for about a year.  It is not going to baste, quilt and bind itself.

9.  I have a quilt top that I started in June for my 18 year old nephew who will be going off to college soon.  I ditched the quilt plan and gave him something else.  I thought the fabrics were a good choice when I bought them but I just wasn't feeling it when I started putting it together.  It is tough to pick out fabrics for an 18 yr. old boy.  I gave him a stash of money and some other things for graduation instead.  I will finish the quilt and gift it to a different male in the family for Christmas of donate it to a quilt drive.  It is the first quilt top that I have made that I felt didn't match the recipient.  Did that ever happen to any of you?

10.  A gift for a fellow blogger that I have been wanting to do something nice for...

11.  Finish some noodlehead gathered clutches.  I have had 4 cut out and started for months, but they have just been laying in my sewing room.  I am not sure why because they aren't hard and look awesome when they are done.  I finished 1 so far.

12.  Make a bib tutorial.

I know I will finish at least a few of these things if I sew every day for a week.  I am also sure that I will get off track from this list and make at least one thing not mentioned here!  I made a baby gift consisting of 3 bibs and a jumbo receiving blanket.  I also finished 2 other bibs that I had started and I added them to my gift stash.

WISH ME LUCK!!!

Girl Bibs

A new group of girl edition bibs with ties.  I made some for my brother's brother-in-law and sister-in-law and every time I saw them the bibs were in use.  I don't know about the rest of you crafters but it makes my day when I see people really using and loving the items that I spent time  made for them.  2 years and another baby girl later, I felt it was time to gift them with a few more bibs, so I made them a set of 6.  There are some close-ups below.

Custom Size Dish Mat

I made a second dish mat from bath towel because I loved the first one so much.  This will let me use one while the other is being washed.  Love them!
Here is the one from last week:

It is such a fun and easy project! 

1.  Cut the fabric and towel to one inch wider and longer than the area you want to cover.

2.  Lay the right sides together and sew with a half inch seam allowance.  Leave a couple of inches open on one side for turning.

3.  Press - ironing makes all the difference for a nice finished project.

4.  Top stich around the edge.  Make sure you catch the whole you used for turning to close it securely.

5.  Iron again.

6.  Sit back and enjoy the simple beauty of this 5 minute project.  Others will ooh and ah and think you are a genius.  I can't speak for you, but I am NOT a genius.

7.  Maybe even go and wash some dishes!

 

Note:  I think it might be easier to cut the fabric to the size you want and attach it to the complete towel and then trim the excess towel off after step 2.  This will allow for slight shifting as you are working with 2 completely different materials and textures.

Another Baby Gift Set

This is another gift set that I made for a coworker who is expecting a girl.

 

It looks very similar to the first set I made because I used many of the same fabrics.  The item with the pink terry towel backing is a burp cloth that is about the size of a hand towel.  The item with the yellow flannel backing is a 40 by 40 inch receiving blanket.  The flower print is also flannel.

Both sets are pictured together below...

I think they were well received.

Bibs for Boys

I made a few bibs for my nephew who is almost 2 and drools quite a bit as he is teething.  We headed to Disney a few weeks ago and I thought these would be good for the trip.  They are made with quilting fabric on the front and absorbent bath towel on the back.  The tie is a 2.5 inch strip cut from yardage. 

 

These bibs take a little longer to make than Velcro but they are great for older kids because they tie and can't be ripped off as easily as Velcro.  I am thinking that I need to come up with a tutorial to share.  I really enjoy making them.

Dish Mat from Bath Towel

 

 

 

My dish drainer usually sits on 2 overlapping kitchen towels (see below) and it really bothers the OCD side of me. 

As you can see above, the two towels are different prints and sizes and it just looks yucko!  I measured the area I wanted to cover and added and inch to the length and an inch to the width.  Next you need to put the print side of the cotton facing the towel and sew around with a generous half inch seam allowance.  Don't forget to leave an open space for turning the project right side out.  Once it is turned right side out iron like crazy and top stitch the whole way around making sure you catch the opening that you left for turning.  Press again and enjoy having a mat that is custom fit to your dish drainer area!  I had enough of the bath towel left to make 2 bibs, so this was a really low cost project.  The towel was $3.50 from walmart and the cute kitchen fabric is also from walmart.  I don't remember the price because I had it in my stash, but I doubt is was more than 5 or 6 dollars a yard.

 

 

 

Baby Gift Set

This is a baby gift set that I made for a coworker who is expecting a girl.  The burp cloth is about the size of a hand towel and has a hot pink towel backing.  The blanket is jumbo receiving blanket measuring in at 40 inches square.  The front and the back are both flannel.  The bibs are either cotton or flannel on the front and towel or fleece on the back.  The ties are 2.5 inches by the width of fabric and are made in the style of double fold bias tape.  It was a fun set to make and I think the recipient liked it.

More Crayon Rolls

I made 10 more crayon rolls to help supply the gift box for visitors at church.  They are easy and fun to make.  They really went fast because I made them all at once, assembly line style.

 Football and bright neon colors.  I have a few other ladies at church making some more and that should give us a stash to last through summer.