Bags, Bags, and More Bags

So happy to be done with these bags. I think my tolerance level was really stretched by the 4th bag. But now they are done and I love the fabric combinations.



The fabric for this one is Anna Maria Horner Drawing Room Home dec for the main panels and a home dec from JoAnn's for the handles.

This bag is a total copycat from the book Style Stitches by Amy Butler that this pattern came from. You might recall that the main fabric was used for S's coat. The orange solid is Kona.

A couple of home dec fabrics again from JoAnn's. I used the main fabric to re-cover a chid-sized rocking chair in the playroom and had lots left over. Enough to make this bag and part of another bag.

All the fabrics came from my stash and were either left overs from other projects or just fabrics I had lying around.

I'm super proud of myself for using up some of my stash.

Still have lots of Christmas sewing to do. But I think I'm done with the Cosmo Bag.

A Handmade Christmas?

This is what my ironing board looks like today. Three Cosmo Bags all cut up, almost ready for sewing.



You can find the Cosmo Bag Pattern is Amy Butler's newest book, Style Stitches. This is the first bag that I completed over the Thanksgiving Weekend.

Here is an inside view. I added a zippered pocket. The pattern had plain divided pockets like the other side. I also omitted the interfacing on the lining; the bag didn't need the added thickness because I used a home decor weight fabric.

I really like the end result. So much so that I am making 4 and possibly 5 more for my nieces and a friend. It's a very roomy bag that can easily convert into many functions: beach bag, book bag, shopping bag. I like the zippered pocket to keep wallets and keys from falling out. The big covered button and button loop adds a lot of style.

And finally, my friend and neighbor hosted a craft night where we made collages using canvas, modpodge, and scrapbook paper. The idea came from Martha Stewart and she has a couple of ready-made templates on her website. I came up with my own. Not really, I borrowed the Holly Hobby image from the internet and it was just a matter of tracing, cutting and pasting. A simple and quick project and oh so cute!

Hope everyone is enjoying this holiday season!

Another Cinderella Dress

This Cinderella dress is for an 18" American Girl doll that was a hand-me down from S's cousin. I am cleaning her up to give to S as a Christmas present. She will be outfitted in this dress, and packaged with the child-sized version.

I stuck a ruler in the picture above to give you an idea of the scale of this dress. As with all things in miniature, it is even cuter in real life. The pattern is another from Simplicity (5705) and has 5 other disney princess gowns in the same package. I am getting my money's worth from those 5 patterns for $1 each sales at JoAnn's.

In other news, I've been playing around with my new Evolution Babylock Serger. Along with the serger, we bought a really cool sewing cabinet and it was finally delivered yesterday. The serger also came with 16 foot attachments, everything from hemmers to double bias tape binders. I am essentially set up to sew anything and everything.

So finally last night I unpacked the serger and succeeded in threading and serging the doll cinderella gown. Today I will work on cover stitching and maybe playing around with the piping attachment.

Cinderella Dress

I just finished this cinderella dress. It took me all of a day from start to finish, and that is with lots of interruptions; a few minutes here and there, and a solid couple of hours during rest/ naptime. The pattern is Simplicity 2563 in a size Toddler 2. I tried the bodice on S earlier in the day and it is slightly big for her and should fit (I am hoping) for the next year or so. The fabrics I used are all from JoAnn's: a crepe-back satin for the skirt and bodice lining, a stretch panne velvet for the bodice, and a sheer glittery material for the pouf and sleeves. It's hard to tell in the picture but the panne velvet has little dots of silver all throughout and so does the pouf material.


The only change from the pattern was that I put in a velcro fastening in the back instead of a zipper. The velcro made finishing the dress 10 times easier than having to sew on a zipper.


So I am off to hide the dress from S. It will be a part of her Christmas present. Let's hope she doesn't ask about it tomorrow morning.

My New Serger

photo from http://www.babylock.com/sergers/evolution/

I am so excited about my new babylock serger! We sort of went overboard and bought a serger that also does coverstitches, which means that the machine not only serges, it also sews a nice seam at the same time. You don't even have to bother with threading the thing, just stick the end of the thread into a hole, push a button, and the machine threads itself. You can read more about this amazing machine here.

Thanks to my husband for my wonderful early christmas gift. Now I am truly committed to making this purchase pay for itself. The girls will be wearing hand made clothes from now on, up to and including their wedding dresses.