Better late than never

Today is just one of those days that no matter how much I try to organize things and make things go my way, the universe (more specifically, the weather forecast) seems to have other plans.  I have given up hope that my poor, snow-sodden street will ever be plowed, and the impending sub-zero temperatures are certainly a blow to my morale.  But never fear!  I'm going to stop complaining now.

When going over all of my past posted projects this weekend (have you checked out the new and improved tutorials and things i've made tabs??) I realized that this poor, poor bag I made last fall missed out on its blog debut.  So, to remedy the situation, here is a very belated post of a little book tote I put together last fall sometime.  I'm always in need of bags that are big enough to hold lots of music, and this amazing Anna Maria Horner print that I'd previously ordered was screaming to be put to use somehow.  I found the rest of the supplies I needed from my overflowing bookshelf of sewing disorder, and threw this together in just a day.  

I did some experimenting with details on this bag, so there is a lot going on, which suits me just fine.  I had originally intended to give the top edge scallops, but I cut them too small, and they looked like messy spikes once I assembled the bag.  So I took those off, and added some grey pleats to my now-flat-and-plain-top edge.  I added some peach lace to the sides (I just felt like the blue/grey pallete needed some kind of contrast.)  For the straps, I used some thick cord, covered with plain grey cotton, fastened with gold square rings.  I added a small inner zip pocket, and lined it the same grey cotton that I used for the sides and straps.

I still have every intention of making a scalloped-edge bag, so I plan to mount a second attempt soon.  I'm also beginning to dread the thought of moving my overflowing fabric collection when I finish my degree in May, so I've imposed a ban on buying, and have a good deal of sewing to do between now and then.  Any great project ideas you'd like to share?

Bins and Baking

Today was grey and snowy outside, so it was filled with baking and sewing inside.  Since it's only January and I'm still trying to stay true to my resolutions (just give it a few more weeks!) I finally finished a project that had been collecting dust on my ironing board (...and then on my bookshelf...and then on the floor of my closet...) since September.  I've been meaning to amp up my bathroom storage for a while (read: come up with some kind of storage system at all) and these little fabric bins were just the ticket.  They were pretty simple to put together, and certainly helped tidy up my bathroom shelves a bit.  I'm working on a start-to-finish tutorial, which will be posted soon, but here are my lovely new bins, in all of their organizational glory...

The rest of the day was spent baking bread and my favorite lavender cookies.  Not bad for a Monday, I say!

*The tutorial is now up!  Click here to see it and make a bin of your very own!

Snappy Dyed Wallets

I might be crazy for doing this, but I just signed up for my second half-marathon!  This one is in just a few weeks, but my sister and I picked it out a few months ago and have been training diligently (ahem, almost diligently) so I'm suuuure it will go splendidly.  We chose one in Annapolis, Maryland, and we're going to make a weekend of it and spend a few days with my parents (and of course, their two pugs, Lucy and Ricky) on their sailboat.  I can't wait to parade those little dogs around town, eat ice cream and seafood, and do some exploring in Annapolis.  Here's to hoping I survive the race, as well!

Before I embark on that adventure, however, I have a few more projects up my sleeve: including the second installment  of the dip-dyed adventures (earlier adventures can be seen here!)  For this project, I used a couple of dip-dyed striped pieces.  I have been steadily working my way through them, in an effort to use these pre-cut pieces up before I forget what project I cut them out for (not like that's ever happened before or anything.)  To create the stripes, I folded my fabric pieces, clipped them with clothespins, and then dipped them into the dye, leaving some un-dyed at the top.  Once they were somewhat dry, I unclipped them and set them with a fixative to avoid bleeding.  What a triumph it was to pull my little pieces out of their buckets and to see that they actually had stripes on them!  Once all of the dyeing was completed for the outer pieces, I cut the insides bits and pieces from this great light blue/silver metallic lining that I found last week at Joann's, and already used for some zippered pouches.  I layered the inside pockets to make room for credit cards (or in my case, a vast array of coffee shop loyalty cards) and a few larger pockets for cash, receipts, lists, pet photos, etc.  I put a zippered coin/trinket pocket on the outside, and voila…a wallet!  I hand-sewed a snap button to the inside (post-photo shoot-I'll upload a complete photo as soon as I snap one!) to keep everything tidy and closed up, and declared these beauties ready for their internet debut.  

One of my many sewing "helpers" taking advantage of some good morning light

My mom and I have also been spending some time on a super-secret project that I will be able to share in just a few weeks (if you can manage to contain your excitement that long, that is.)  I'll be posting a sneak peek this weekend, and the will be revealing the finished project soon, so stay tuned!  Hope your weeks are going wonderfully, thanks for stopping by!

  

Zippered pouch tutorial!

As promised, I worked up a little tutorial, filling y'all in on how I make my little zippered pouches (I knew you were just dying to know!)  Check out the full tutorial after the jump!  As always, I would love to see any projects you come up with, so I hope to hear from you soon!

Adventures in Dip-Dyeing

Hello, there!  I've spent the last few days trying my hand at some dip-dyeing, and I'm so excited to share what I came up with!  This recent dyeing experiment came out of a valiant, if vastly unsuccessful attempt to right a pair of my sister's pants that had been quite wronged by some hand sanitizer.  By that, of course, I mean that she tried to remove some tree sap from her pants with hand sanitizer.  While it took out the sap brilliantly, it also seeped through to the front of the pants and caused some massive bleach stains (oopsies!)  Of course, my first response was "don't even worry about it, we can dye them" only to realize that bleach stains don't really want to be any color than white (or really, some gross yellowish variation of actual white.)  After employing many creative (read: ridiculous and very messy, even for an outside project) dyeing techniques, I threw in the towel (or pants: I literally threw the whole pair of pants in my dyeing bucket in an effort to unify the color, to no avail) and moved on to Plan B, which was dying some lace to match the pants, cutting the stains out of the pants, and adding the lace behind the holes.  We'll just have to see what happens with hair-brained scheme #2.

However, the real up-side to this dyeing disaster was that the pants in question are a great coral color, which I matched by mixing two boxes of Rit dye: magenta and orange.  It seemed such a shame to make a whole batch of dye for just a little bitty stain, so I planned a few projects, picked up come unbleached cotton, and had a blast experimenting with dip-dyeing.  For the most part, I just dipped parts of the pieces into the dye, leaving the other portions white.  For a few pieces (once I had some confidence in my dipping skills, really) I folded the fabric to make stripes, which I'm pretty proud to say actually look like stripes.  I've been making my way through the dyed pieces, cutting lining pieces to match and sewing them into little pouches, wallets, and bags, and I have just a few to share with you today.  

These four pouches were the simplest of my planned dip-dyed projects, so I started with them.  I interfaced all of the dyed pieces, cut linings from some great metallic prints I found at JoAnn Fabrics, and just added a 9-inch zipper to each to make some simple pouches.  I have been meaning to try a half-circle pouch for a while, and I love how they came out!  The only thing missing from these little pouches is a great zipper pull.  I'm thinking…tassels?  Maybe a little pull made out of lace?  So many possibilities!

In other news, I'm working up a simple photo tutorial on how to make your very own zippered pouches.  They've really become one of my go-to projects…they're simple, quite quick to whip up, and leave lots of room for customization (the world is your oyster with this kind of simple project template.)  I hope to have that up tomorrow, so stay tuned!

I spent the rest of the weekend doing lots of running, practicing, spending time with my sister, and of course, with this guy.

  I hope your weekends were as lovely and relaxing as mine was.  

Bonjour, mes amis

Today was one of those perfect days where the temperature is steadily rising outside but inside we're still holding onto the cool from the past few days.  It was supposed to storm all day, but I've seen nothing but sun.  I had some grand plans to take a dip in the pool today, but after careful consideration (I stuck the big toe on my right foot in) I decided it wasn't a good idea (so so so cold.)  Aside from that little adventure, I've spent the day getting a few projects together: lots of little bags, clutches, pouches, and sacks.  Here are just a couple of sneak peeks of what's coming up soon...  

While this last photo is most certainly not a photographic masterpiece, I feel like it just about sums up this day, and therefore felt obliged to share it.  Oliver was quite a pal today.  I hope you get as much of a kick out of it as I do!

Happy New Year!

Have you ever had a crafting emergency?  In the Carey household, they're not so unusual and come in many varieties (everything from "I-can't-believe-we're-out-of-glitter" to "I-just-can't-believe-I-spilled-all-of-that-paint!")  This most recent emergency involved a brand new needlepoint book and an incoming snowstorm.  Despite the impending snowy disaster, my mom and I packed ourselves into my little car and made our way to a local craft haven to load up on a few projects to keep busy with while snowed in.  (You might be wondering why we weren't heading out for actual emergency supplies-like food.  But I can assure you, we had plenty of coffee and Christmas cookies leftover...what else could we need?)  Since we were in quite a hurry, we were faced with such snap decisions as "Michael's or Ben Franklin Crafts?" and "Will navy Aida cloth work, since they don't carry black?" and "Oh my goodness, they don't have any crewel yarn, what are we to do?!"  Suffice it to say, I had to make quite a few compromises, and spent a few minutes running between the aisles muttering to myself while tossing a strange assortment of craft goodies into my basket.  Admittedly, I felt a little like MacGyver.  I ended up going ahead with my intended project, and just made a few tweaks based on the supplies I was able to find.

I made a piece for a clutch from Anna Maria Horner's new book; she calls this project the "star-crossed clutch."  While she uses many more colors, black Aida cloth, and crewel yarn, I decided to keep with a mostly blue color scheme (partially due to the fact that I didn't want it to be too busy with the blue background, which was all that was available to me.)  Since we couldn't find any crewel wool, I picked up some standard embroidery floss and just made do.  The finished product isn't quite as filled-in as the original (since the embroidery floss was much thinner than wool) but I like it just the same.  I went ahead and added the gold stitching that is called for in the original pattern, and it really brought the design to life...it's definitely my favorite part!

As embroidery projects go, this one was pretty darn speedy.  Considering I started it the day after Christmas and am finished just about one week into the new year, it's definitely a new personal needlepoint record.  Considering my track record, it's a miracle I finished it before next Christmas!  All that's left for this project is to sew it up into a little clutch, and take it out on the town!  Happy New Year!

Party time shoulder bag

Hello hello hello!  Last week when I was at the sewing store, I picked up a few yards of yellow trim...it was inexpensive, I love mini pom-poms, and I have an addiction to buying trim.  I didn't know exactly what I would use it for, but it was too cute to pass up (which is always a valid argument.)  So the other day I used it to liven up a little cotton shoulder bag, and now this satchel is ready to party!

 

In order to hide the cording on the back of the pom-poms, I pieced the bag together in strips (sandwiching the trim between them) rather than sewing the trim to the front of one big piece.  I was worried about having the trim poke out unevenly, but the cording was wide enough that this step was a piece of cake!  And now the cording is neatly tucked on the inside, and all you can see are those cute little pom-poms.  

For the inside lining and pockets, I used some pink and yellow cotton pieces that I had in my fabric pile.  Pink and yellow look so warm and cheery together, don't you think?

I added a magnetic snap at the top, which I camouflaged with two covered buttons, matching the pink lining.  For the strap, I cut one long strip, double-folded the ends towards the center, and reinforced it with a strip of floral ribbon.  It's sturdy, thick enough not to wrinkle up when I'm wearing it (or dig into my shoulder) and cute to boot!  (I just knew I'd find a purpose for that floral ribbon when I bought it back in January...)

Since I skipped any complicated closures and just sewed the strap right into the top of the bag, this was a  pretty no-fuss project.  And by using (almost entirely) leftover supplies, it was an (almost) free new summery bag!  It's lightweight, a practical size, and just festive enough for a Florida summer.  I can't wait to take it out...this bag is ready for some fun!

Bike bag strap: take two

Hi, y'all!  I spent some time yesterday making a new strap for the bicycle bag I made a couple of weeks back.  I had originally tried a braided strap, which gave me a few too many complications.  So I took that off, and went with a wider white strap, double-folded towards the center, and reinforced with some grey bias tape.  I love it, and it's way more functional!  Here's the new-and-improved bicycle bag:

Happy Thursday, and thanks for stopping by!

Pencil pouch

It all started yesterday when I found the most adorable pencils at Target.  Just look at those colors!

And they got me thinking: pencils like this need a proper pouch.  Like something that I can throw in my rehearsal bag and not be embarrassed to take out in public.  So I got to work!  I made a simple little bucket-style pouch, with a zipper on the top.  I made it tall enough that I could put in my pencils and still have room left for my other essentials (like rosin and candy.) 

For the main exterior of the pouch, I used some fabric I had left from this project, and a beige 7-inch zipper.  To make the bottom a little more sturdy (and a little more resistant to dirt) I used some floral brown cotton I had left from this project, and I stuck some crocheted trim on top.  For the lining, I used some white dotted fabric, left from this project.  Nothing like using up bits and pieces from the scrap pile!

This was such a quick and easy project...perfect for a rainy day off!  On top of this little beauty, I also got some great practicing in, and got the oil changed in my car.  What a day!  And I've got some more projects on my to-do list for this week, so I'll (hopefully) be back soon!  Thanks for stopping by!

Bicycle bag

To anyone that knows me, it's no secret that I love purses.  While I've pared down my collection considerably (I use all of the ones I have now, I promise!) I still always seem to have too many bags.  Despite this, I always seem to have one favorite that I use almost every day.  Lately, it's been a little across-the-shoulder bag I picked up at a vintage shop in my hometown.  Although I love it (and it's such a practical and summery white) it's started to literally disintegrate, and its retirement is looming over my shoulder.  In preparation for this, I came up with a new bag this weekend, using some fabric that I've had forever but not quite known what to do with.  While I may do some tweaking to the strap (the braided strap didn't turn out quite as neatly as I had hoped it would) I love the shape, and I'd love to try this shape in a few different dimensions as well. 

The fabric I used is called "Go By Bike" in grey, and is from the Weekends collection by Erin McMorris.  I ordered a few yards of this fabric months ago because it was so cute I just had to have it.  For a long time, I was too scared to cut into it because I wasn't completely sure of what I wanted to do with it, and I didn't want to waste it on a project that wasn't going to work.  But the other day I was feeling bold, and just decided to go for it.  And I'm so happy I did!  Fabric is meant to be cut!  It looks much cuter now than it did when it was folded up on the bottom of my fabric pile.

I interfaced the outer fabric of the bag (so that it would hold its shape) and I lined it with a plain grey cotton.  I added an inner zippered pocket (which I just had to line with pink polka dots) and I put on a pearly button snap on the front flap for a closure.  For the straps, I made three strips (one of each of the three fabrics I used on the bag) and I braided them together.  For now, I just attached them to the inside of the bag, but I'm planning to remove them and replace them with something that's adjustable.  I'll let you know what I come up with!

Despite the fact that I'm still figuring out what to do with the strap (for some reason I always have the most trouble with that part) I love my new bag.  The print is perfect for summer, and just neutral enough that I can assume it will go with just about everything.  It's not too big as to be cumbersome, but just big enough to fit all of my essentials.  I'm so pleased with the way it turned out, it should make the retirement of my previous go-to bag much easier.  Mission accomplished!  Hope you had a lovely weekend!

 UPDATE:  See the new and improved strap here!

Belated billfold

Hello friends!  I know I've been absent and I apologize!  I've had a wild couple of weeks that included yet another move and a great deal of training for my new summer job.  It's been exciting, but busy!  I popped in to share a project I made some time ago for my mom for Mother's Day.  I somehow got it finished, packed up, and mailed on time (which is nothing short of a miracle for me) but I just never got around to posting it on here.

For the last few years, my mom has been using a cheap "wallet" that she found in the attic, even though it doesn't really fit any of her cards or money, and it doesn't have a pocket for change.  After trying (and failing) to convince her to get a new one for herself, I decided I should make her one for Mother's Day, and this is what I came up with:

 

I used pretty blue and white fabric for the outside, and lined it with pink polka-dotted fabric.  I put in an inner zipper pocket, two larger inner pockets for bills, six credit card pockets, and two clear card pockets in the front for ID cards.  It closes with a snap button tab, and I used pink thread for the top stitching (I thought it looked so cute against the blue!) 

I lined the inner pockets with the outer blue fabric, just to make the inside more interesting.  I love the way it came out!  This was one of my all-time favorite handmade gifts.  I completed it in a reasonable amount of time, and it was pretty fun to put together!  This could easily be changed around in terms of pocket layout; the possibilities are endless!  I can't wait to make some more wallets!

Happy Saturday, everyone!  I have some projects planned for the new house this week, so I'll keep you all posted!  Have a great weekend!

Big-boy bag

Today was a wonderful day off.  I finally got around to cleaning my car, cooked a nice dinner, and I did a whole lot of nothing.  It was great!  I did knock one thing off of my "to-do" list, though, by creating a new "Things I've Made" tab with quick links to all of the projects I've blogged about so far.  Check it out if you get a chance!

For some reason, I've had bags on the brain a lot lately.  Even though I haven't been doing a ton of sewing, I keep getting ideas for new bags, searching out patterns online for new bags, wanting to buy new bags...it's never-ending!  In an effort to keep up with this, I decided to share with you all today a bag that I made for Sean this year.  Since he was graduating and moving on to big-boy things, I decided he needed a new big-boy messenger bag.  I found this great tutorial, and gave it just a few tweaks.  Here is how it turned out: (photos courtesy of Sean)

I used heavy duty black canvas for the outside of the bag, with faux leather trim for the strap and to embellish the body of the bag.  For the insides, I used some light blue canvas to line the flap, and I used some hounds-tooth printed cotton for the lining and inner pockets.

 

Aside from fabric weights, I didn't really make any changes to the inside of the bag pattern, because I love the way it was laid out.  There is a perfectly sized laptop pocket, while still leaving plenty of room for other papers and books.  There are also some pockets for writing utensils, phone, wallet, and even a key fob!  While I was nervous to work with the "leather" trim, I'm glad I took the risk.  I think it gives the bag just the right amount spice on the outside.  I couldn't very well send Sean to work with a boring old messenger bag, could I?  Although I did try to keep the fabric choices professional, so that Sean wouldn't be the butt of any bag-related water cooler jokes.

I hope everybody had a lovely Tuesday, and thanks for stopping by!

Have lunch, will travel

Hello, friends!  I am back from my trip safely, but inundated with out-of-town rehearsals; cars were made to be driven, right?  I'm thrilled to have the work, but not so thrilled that I missed the Bachelor last night...boo!  Thank goodness for TiVo.  I know posts have been a little spotty lately, but in addition to my travels, I've been working on some top-secret projects that I won't be able to share until later in the month (stay tuned!)  So I'm back today with another early project of mine to share.  A couple of summers ago when I was on my first serious sewing kick, Sean had just started an internship down in Florida.  So one of my first real projects (that made it to completion) was a lunch bag for him to take to his new job.

In an effort to be practical, I lined the insides of everything with a clear, plastic fabric.  It was difficult to sew with (that stuff sure is sticky!) but I wanted the bags to be spill-proof, and I think the lining did the trick!  To avoid needing so many plastic baggies to pack lunches, I made some smaller baggies (also lined with plastic) to complete the set.

 

I made the baggies from some leftover fabric scraps.  They both have Velcro closures; one is sandwich-sized, and the other is just a little pouch for snacks.  I've made many, many lunch sacks since this one (most of them following Martha Stewart's instructions in this book) but I'm still pretty happy with this fully-lined set of my own design.  I lucked out with the striped, heavyweight fabric for the sack, and I just love the clouds on the cotton.  Every project needs a dash of fun (and Sean works at Disney World, for crying out loud!  Any workplace that has "costumes" instead of "uniforms" calls for something more exciting than your average, run-of-the-mill lunch set.)

If I were making this bag now, I would have done some things differently (like lining up the stripes on the sack, adding a closure to the sack, hiding the seams better on the pouches, etc.) but I love that these look handmade.  I also love looking back on old projects and seeing that I've improved!

Thanks for stopping by to see what I'm up to.  I hope you all had wonderful weekends, and I wish you a happy Tuesday!   

The whole kit and kaboodle

Since I had a relatively free day on my hands, I spent the day practicing and sewing.  Today I worked on an Anna Maria Horner kit I received for Christmas. While I was a little scared to cut into the fabric that came with my kit (it's just so cute!) I dove right in, and was able to complete the project in a few hours.  The process was undoubtedly slowed down by two things: my little helper (see below) and  my valiant attempt to sew while also watching The Bachelor .

 

Despite my numerous distractions, the Ruthie Clutch was a success!

I used the kit as intended, with one small change.  While I had enough fabric to line the bag with the main exterior fabric, I realized that if I swapped out the lining for something else, I would have enough of this lovely print left for another project!  How exciting, right?!  So instead of lining the bag with the exterior fabric, I swapped it out for some light blue cotton I had laying around.  I think it's a nice contrast!

The bag is a cute shape, a practical size, and a smart design.  I can't wait to use this pattern again and again!