Edelweiss backpack pattern testing...

The sweet Sara over at Sew Sweetness sent me one of her new patterns to test - the Edelweiss Backpack.  My youngest daughter's backpack was looking a little tired, and I had some fabrics sitting on my shelf just waiting for a project for her.

This was a pretty quick sew, and the instructions were fantastic.  I love how simple it was to put in the zipper, and the outer pockets were a great way to show off some cute coordinating fabrics.

I went a little young and fun with my fabric choices, but this is a great size bag for any age, and the small outer pockets would fit cell phones and keys nicely.

sneak peek...

We're in the middle of Spring Break over here - so far we've made trips to the park and the library, visited with friends, had eye appointments, and spend a morning at the pool. I've only had a bit of sewing time, but this is something I've been working on... a tutorial for a divided bag.

This bag is just my sample, and I need to tweak a couple measurements.  It's a quick sew and uses five fat quarters. It could be used as a project bag, or I plan to make one for myself to take to the gym (it fits my runners nicely in one half).


The tutorial will be posted here and on the Sew Sisters blog (along with a giveaway) the second week of April. I'll be using a set of Kona solids from their Kona Club.

Mystic Forest duffel bag...

My oldest daughter turns 11 today! And for part of her birthday gift, I sewed up a duffel bag for her.  She will be using this for some upcoming overnight trips, but I wouldn't be surprised if she also starts using it as a school bag.

The outer fabric is one of Fabri-Quilt's pre-quilted fabrics - they have a huge selection of prints to choose from. The fabric line is called Mystic Forest, and the coordinating purple print is from the same line.  My daughter actually picked out these fabrics some time ago, but they been forgotten about and re-discovered when I moved everything to my new craft room recently.

The pattern I used is from the Sew Serendipity Bags book by Kay Whitt.  The only change I made was adding an adjustable cross-body strap to the bag, and shortening the smaller straps. I think it looks more like a duffel this way, and less like a diaper bag.  I also stitched her name, 'Elayna' to the outside of one of the outer pockets.

Tonight we're celebrating with her favorites - chinese food for dinner, and ice cream for dessert. Looking forward to it since they're my favorites too :)

little aprons...

Here are a couple aprons done up for some birthday girls lately, one of my 'stand by' quick birthday gifts. One for a sweet little niece...

And another one for a daughter's friend (and a second one is being made for my birthday girl next week).  I had to make some adjustments to my pattern to make it larger, seeing as my oldest 'baby' is turning 11! 

Hopscotch Baby Outifts...

Last week, I sewed up a couple outfits using the Hopscotch pattern from the Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop.  And I may be biased, but these outfits turned out adorable - makes we wish I'd had more time for sewing when my girls were little.

There's a double baby shower this week, so I sewed up two in the tunic length, and paired them with some diaper covers.  This pattern is a quick sew with lots of sweet details. The only change I made to the pattern was lengthening the strip on the bodice and gathering it.

The fabrics were all in my stash - the blue fabrics are from Riley Blake's Sugar & Spice, and the orange fabrics are from Patty Young's Luscious.  And I put my snap press to use with the heart snaps on the backs of the tops.

Thank-you to Peek-a-Boo Patterns for providing me with this pattern to review - it's one I would definitely make again!

self care sewing...

A couple projects were done for myself this week. A purple chevron cosmetic bag...

and a cover for my Kitchen Aid made with some home dec fabrics...

quilt retreat sponsors...

Our 6th annual quilt retreat is coming up!  Each year, we get together with a large group of ladies for uninterrupted sewing and quilting, eating yummy food, and being inspired by each other's work.  This year, we have two amazing sponsors for door prizes for the event, Pink Chalk Fabrics and the Fat Quarter Shop.

Pink Chalk Fabrics sent us a beautiful little bundle of fabrics and a $25 gift certificate to their shop.  Their shop has a great selection of modern prints and patterns, as well as lots of organic and home dec fabrics.

The Fat Quarter Shop sent us some fantastic modern sewing and quilting books, and a charm pack of fabric.  Their shop is where you'll find all the newest fabric lines, exclusive quilt kits, BOM's, and quilt clubs.

So I'd like to extend a HUGE THANK-YOU to these generous sponsors!  Door prizes always add some fun to an event, and I'm looking forward to seeing some of my fellow quilting friends get these great prizes!

new door decor...

Last week I received a gift that came in a couple burlap bags. Then I saw a cute wreath made with burlap on someone's door, and it inspired me to create something for mine.

The chipboard letter (it's the first initial of our last name) came in a box of scrapbooking supplies from my sister, and the fabric was left over from a bench cushion that I made for our front entry.  The 'wreath' is just a circle cut out of cardboard.  So this was a very thrifty project.

Now I have one more burlap bag left, off to Pinterest I go . . .

mini quilts...

A couple mini quilts got made in my craft room  - perfect size for tucking in a favorite teddy bear or hosting a pretend picnic. Fabrics are all flannels, except one is backed in minky.

bee blocks...

My January and February bee blocks for Do Good Stitches were sent out. Each month a different quilter tells us what she wants, we all make our blocks, and mail them to her. This time the requests were purple 16 patches and Valentine-inspired butterfly blocks. My turn is coming up again soon, so I'll be looking for new ideas, any suggestions welcome :)

a new tote...

One of my sisters asked for a tote she could take to work, big enough to fit her lunch along with her purse items and other stuff.  I was happy to oblige, especially since this is a sister that I haven't made much for in the past.

The pattern is from the Winsome Baby book by Nancy Halvorsen. The only changes I made were using a magnetic snap closure instead of velcro, making the straps a bit wider and adding more stitching lines, and skipping the accent strip on the outside of the bag.  I also added a layer of fusible fleece to the lining, which made for a bit of a challenge when sewing the bag together in the final steps - thankfully I own a walking foot and a jeans needle.

It turned into quite the thrifty project. My sister picked the blue fabric from my stash, which also happens to be a fabric that was given to me by another sister of mine (she decided she didn't see a future in sewing and gave me all of her fabrics one day). The black fabric is a home-dec weight, and came from my mother-in-laws stash, and the fabric used for the pockets inside were left over from another project.

This was also the first project from start to finish done in my new sewing room!  My fabric is all on shelves now, and I'm pretty happy with how the room is set up.  I just need to hang some things on the walls yet.  I'm also hoping to make a design wall for my quilt blocks - I have a bunch of high-loft batting laying around, but I can't seem to find an online source that says if this will work or not?  Otherwise, I think I'll be wrapping flannel around a board to make one. I just can't see myself using warm n' natural - I'd be too tempted to rip it down when I have a quilt to finish...

my kids being crafty....

I'm not much of a crafter outside of fabric and a bit of paper-crafting. But I have 9 and 10 year old daughters that come up with creative requests and ideas ALL THE TIME. So with Valentines day coming up, and 48 Kinder Surprises gifted to us from Kinder - I gave them a craft to do. Just using wrapping paper and tape, they made little gift bags (there are lots of tutorials on-line, we didn't have a favourite).  Then they helped their little brother and sister put the treat in them, and write out their cards.

But then my older girls clued in that their classes weren't getting anything, so they insisted on making home-made treats for them. We made a quick dough recipe - then they rolled, baked, iced, and sprinkled.

If I give my girls some room and tell myself not to micro-manage their work, it really turns into an enjoyable afternoon. And most of the time I can sit back and watch, or get some other work done in the kitchen while keeping an eye on them. But best of all, the girls LOVE that I give them the opportunity to create or craft, which equals happy thankful kids.

new craft room...

Over the past week, I have been painting, moving furniture, packing up my old craft room, and starting to set up my new one.  We decided to convert our large playroom to a bedroom for two of the girls, and turn my old craft room into a mud room/Wii room.  This freed up a bedroom upstairs for me to turn into a craft room, but it will also have an area for the kids crafts. 

As you can see from pics of my old room, I haven't unpacked and organized all my fabric in the new room yet, and I'm sure I'll be filling up a box to donate and a garbage bag along the way. The new room also comes with a large closet filled with shelves which will make my job a lot easier. And since I'm itching to work on some sewing and quilting, I'll hopefully have it all in order soon.