Home again, home again

Hello, hello, hello!  I've made it safely back from the land of practicing and hiking (also known as Banff, Alberta, Canada) to the land of practicing and crafting (also known as Pennsylvania.)  Although he's pulled a few naughties since I've been back (he sure does love those trash parties...) I don't think Oliver gave my parents too tough of a time in my absence (or perhaps, compared to their little monsters, his naughties just didn't stack up…)

My little guy's nose and a book, what a little gentleman!

My parents' dog, Ricky, just being weird.

But since I spent so much time away from all things bloggy, I really do have a few things to catch up on.  First and foremost: pies.  It happened like this: the other day, I mentioned to my parents that I wanted to try strawberry rhubarb pie.  My mom wrinkled her nose and offered a non-committal response, and my dad informed me that rhubarb is "hillbilly food."  So, I went to the store and picked some up.  After whipping up Smitten Kitchen's strawberry rhubarb pie recipe, I decided that my parents were undoubtedly and unequivocally wrong about my new best friend rhubarb, and I'm already planning to make another pie in the morning.  I also stopped by the farmer's market in town this morning and picked up some fresh blueberries and peaches, and made them into a pie today, too.  Pies really are something to write home (or online?) about.  

Also, before I left on my long Canadian adventure (pictures to follow, if I ever get around to uploading them onto my computer) I whipped up some packaging for the goodies in my little Etsy shop.  I picked up some tags at JoAnn's (about $1 for 20 tags), tissue paper, butcher's twine, and some stamps, pads, and gold pens.  I made the polka dots using a regular old pencil eraser on a stamp pad (I didn't not feel proud of myself for thinking up that little idea) and now my goodies are all packed up and ready to go!…hint, hint…

Speaking of my Etsy shop, I have some new things in the works, hopefully to be added soon!  I spent the day playing around with some dip-dyeing techniques, and I can't wait to post some pics of the finished products!...Once I get around to finishing them, that is.  Back with more soon, thanks for stopping by!

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!

Back in the saddle

It's been a wild week!  In the midst of finding a new place to live, getting a job, having some lovely out-of-town visitors, running our first-ever 5k, and a little trip to the puppy ER (those darn fire ants!) I got back in the sewing saddle this week.  I put together a few little projects, including the completion of a project using this fabric that I dyed back in good-ole' Pennsylvania.  I used the fabric to make another "Flirting the Issue" skirt, and here's the finished product:

Because of all of the elastic at the top (and also because the results of my first venture into DIY ombre dying were slightly more subtle than I had hoped) I lost some of the ombre effect once the skirt was put together.  But I love my little skirt anyway!  I used a sunny yellow cotton lining, and I just love that the little white dots didn't take the teal dye on the outer pieces.  This is the perfect addition to my Florida wardrobe...it can get pretty warm at this time of the year!

I have a few more projects to share this week so stay tuned!  I hope you had a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Hola [h]ombre!

Hi, friends!  I diverged from my crafty norm today and tried something completely new.  I've been wanting to try fabric dye for some time now, and today I finally plucked up the courage and went for it.  Inspired by the ombre trend that's hit the nation, I picked up some teal Rit dye at my local craft store and tried some DIY ombre patterns.  I started with a plain canvas tote (store-bought and sitting in my craft box for a couple of years) a plain white T-shirt (with the same history as the tote) and some pieces of white polka-dotted fabric that I picked up along with the dye.  I do have a plan for this fabric, but I won't share it with you just yet!  (I can't give everything away, can I?)  Unfortunately, the T-shirt needs a little more tweaking before its internet debut.  In fact, it looked a little less like ombre and a little more like a plain, yet unevenly blue T-shirt.  But here's what I came up with:

While I think my technique needs a little work, I'd call this tote a success!  It was pretty simple, but I did hit a few snags while working outside (mostly having to do with extreme heat and giant predatory insects.)  I can't wait to try this again and see what I can come up with!

While I won't share my plans for these pieces of fabric, I can't help but share a little sneak peek, because I love love love the way the ombre pattern came out on these pieces.  This fabric started as white polka dots on white fabric, and (much to my delight) the dots magically stayed white through the dyeing process.  I'm so excited to use these pieces!

I'm loving this ombre trend and I'm all too happy to jump on this bandwagon.  I can't wait to make more!  At $2 a box, I'm itching to try some more dye colors on more fabrics...the possibilities are endless!  I hope you all had wonderful Mondays, thanks for stopping by!

A cuter cardigan

So I think nature knew I needed a break today and gave me one by way of a snow day.  While we didn't get much accumulation, it was enough to give me some much needed practice time, a little inspiration to update a cozy (but seriously lacking) sweater, and a chance to hang with Oliver.  Since Oliver was just desperate to catch up on some reality tv, we did some of that too.  In terms of reality tv, the day was enlightening.  In terms of my sweater endeavor, I started with this: 

And ended with this: 

All I did was hem the sleeves, take in the sides, and add a couple of colorful details.  I used some scraps of folky chevron-printed fabric for the elbow patches, sewed some orange polka-dotted trim on the front, and re-covered the original buttons in a light blue cotton (because orange and blue is one of the world's best color combos.)  Here are the added details: 

I'd call this sweater a success,  and I'm steadily working through my "needs improvement" pile of clothes (which had gotten a little out of hand.)  I'll have a good chance to try out my new sweater over the next few days, since I'm off to Rochester tomorrow and then I'll be back to Cleveland on Friday (and those are such cold cities!)  Since I'll be gone for another few days, I'll catch up with you all after the weekend...thanks for stopping by!

Late night sewing

After finishing my work for the day and (finally) organizing my fabric a little bit, I couldn't keep myself from making a little something.  I wasn't up for starting a major project (or continuing one that desperately needs to be picked up) so I whipped up a much-needed case for my iPad.  I have a shell and a screen cover to protect from scratches, but nothing with padding to protect it from bumps and bruises...until now, that is!

I picked this stripey fabric up at our local craft store around Thanksgiving, with no specific plans for it (shocking, I know!)  For the lining and the buttons on the front I used some red and white polka-dotted fabric I had left from a Christmas project I did this year.  I used some Velcro pieces I had in my stash to secure the front (and the buttons are just for fun!)  

I used some flat batting between the layers, and after my first-ever attempt at quilting, I'd say the project was a success.  I used one of my all-time favorite color combos, the cover seems to be pretty practical, and it actually fits!

 
And now it is much past my bedtime.  I hope all are well and thanks for stopping by!