Pilgrims at Oak Ridge

I've really been on a sewing kick lately. Yesterday, I saw a tutorial for a super cute new clutch on one of my regularly enjoyed craft blogs . It looked so adorable (and easy!) that I had to make one right away. And then I decided to make four of them. Because, you know, when you're making one, making four really isn't that much harder. I'm only posting the photograph of one since the others may be making appearances as gifts in the next few months, but this one is mine, all mine. I was totally digging the chevron fabric and bright spring colors. I bought this fabric at a quilt shop a while ago but had been hoarding it to use on something really cute and then it got hidden underneath some less cute fabric. I was happy that I found it while digging through my stash to find fabric for this project.It makes me want to buy a light colored flowy dress for spring and some cute new flats as well. I guess a new bag can have that effect sometimes. I guess it's my new fav...

Remember that quilt that I started almost 18 months ago? The one I hoped to finish by Judah's first birthday?? I actually got the top finished this week! The pile of fabric has been mocking me long enough so this weekend I decided that I was going to finish it. I realized tonight that I made it a little too long, so I'm going to take off the bottom row. I'll probably use the extras to make a pillow sham or two to go with it. My goal is to have it totally done by his birthday. We'll see if that happens.... Reading the last post I wrote about this quilt makes me wonder about my math skills. Last time I decided I needed 80 (!!) quilt squares total. I can't, for the life of me, figure out where I got that number. Because I actually needed only 48. Perhaps I should have had someone check over my calculation for how many yards of fabric I needed for the back before I ordered it tonight.... I have just realized that although I like the idea of quilting and like the...

Pardon the bad photos, but I was so excited about how this project turned out I couldn't wait to post the photos. I realized the other week that our diaper bag is really too big now. Mostly when we go places, all we need are a few diapers, a cup, and maybe a snack trap. Instead of just getting a smaller diaper bag, I decided to make Judah carry his own stuff. I briefly thought about trying to wing this pattern, but when I saw the perfect backpack pattern already made up, I realized that it would be much, much easier just to buy it. I bought this robot fabric a while back but hadn't found a project I was willing to use it in. Since it's just a quilting weight fabric, I used a medium interfacing and also made a lining for it. The pattern was fabulous. Great descriptions, excellent photos, and she included a few alterations as well - the optional lining and a larger version that will fit an 8.5 X 11 folder. I think I'm going to make the bigger one next. I love the padd...

Even though I still make lots of baby shoes, I have a new favorite baby gift. Obviously, this one only works for a girl, but it comes together super quick and with not very much fabric. I think this might be the cutest thing I've sewn in a long time. I also think that I really need a daughter to sew for one day. Dress tutorial found here . Diaper cover here . Other fun tutorials I've used lately: (Sorry, I haven't taken a picture of them, but trust me when I say they turned out well) Tote bag - This is a super easy project that ANYONE could do - actually it would be a fantastic project for someone new to sewing who might be afraid to try something. I also like it because although I normally line my bags, when you use a heavier weight fabric you really don't need to. An unlined bag comes together really fast, and even faster when you just buy the pre-made woven webbing to use for handles. As I have a bunch of decorator weight fabric lying around, I'm going to ...

Looking at craft and sewing blogs can be really intimidating. Everyone has all these pictures of these beautiful, pristine things and you think you could never be that good. I don't want people to get that impression looking at what I sew. Sometimes I manage to make some nice looking things. Sometime I totally mess up. But the only way to get better at sewing is to actually, you know, sew. Here are some of the latest fails: In addition to being so small that I couldn't get it over his head, do you notice what else is missing from this shirt? I promise there is a neck hole in there, somewhere. And here is attempt #2, made after a little pattern adjustment: The neck on this one was too big, and it's long enough to be a dress. I wasn't sure how long to make it, and so I was just going to hem it after I did the rest. Oh well. I am excited to continue tweaking the pattern , though, because both of the shirts are actually made from thrifted materials. And this kind of ...

Hannah told me that my nephew, Jack, would really enjoy a tool belt. He loves to help out around the house and over Christmas spent many hours piddling around the garage with his Granddad building things out of scrap wood. There are a few tutorials for tool belts on the web, but I didn't see any that gave you a tool belt that looked somewhat like real tool belt that an actual carpenter would wear. Mostly they just seemed to be glorified aprons. Not that there is anything wrong with that. For mine, I used some webbing and scraps of canvas to give it a more rugged look. This was another project that came together really quickly. Everything can slide around on the belt, which is also adjustable. The only thing I'd like to do different next time is to make the pockets a little different so maybe there aren't quite so many exposed seams. There are two pockets and then a loop for the hammer, but I think maybe I'll make either a third pocket or make one of the pockets bigger...

...she had three baby hats! I wanted to get Judah a plain, white baby hat to go along with his halloween costume. Sadly, I couldn't find any that would fit his...um... generous noggin. I decided to make one, but quickly realized that with just one small women's shirt, you can actually make three hats. I bought my white shirt a kmart, because I had to run in there for something else, but this could just as easily be done with something you don't wear anymore or something thrifted for much cheaper. (And if your baby has a smaller head, or you have a larger shirt, you could probably get more than 3 hats.) Here's what I did: First, I measured Judah's head. It's about 18 in. around. So I cut a rectangle out of the shirt that was 8 in. wide (18 / 2 = 9, - 1 so that it will not fall off) by about 7 or 8 in high. I used the side seam of the shirt as one of the sides of the hat so there was less to sew. I cut the rectangle from to bottom seam of the shirt because that me...

I was feeling inspired on Saturday. Or maybe I was just wanting to procrastinate from cleaning the house. Either way, I whipped up a couple more pairs of pants for Judah, this time in a larger size. I also tried to make the bum area a little more generous to accommodate the cloth diapers. I'm not sure I actually did that part right or if they just fit better since they're a larger size, but either way, I can tell these will be fitting him for a while. I also figured out a better way to sew these to make them actually reversible. The first pants I did are sort of reversible, but I probably wouldn't actually ever use them on the opposite side because of how they're finished. But these are truly reversible. I'll have to get a photo of what the other side looks like. I was also proud of myself because I didn't have quite enough of the lining fabric on either pair, but took a line from Tim Gunn a la Project Runway and "made it work." The first pair were som...

As promised, here are some photos of the pants I made Judah: First, from right after I made them, when he was about 3 weeks old. And here they are on him today. You can see his latest trick - standing. He can't pull up, but he tries so hard to that I just have to oblige. He really prefers standing to sitting, most of the time: And in another view. (And no, I do not usually let him play with a coaster on our floor near electrical cords. But that's where the light was the best...) (From Simplicity 3765 - but I made the pants lined)

I made Judah a new little friend yesterday. He's a sock elephant, modeled after the one seen here . I don't have the book, so I sort of winged it. Judah loves him already. Whilst photographing Judah and his new toy, I couldn't resist these little toes. Or his sweet face.

I cut back on the amount of Christmas sewing I did this year. Mostly because I got a late start. But I did manage to pull together a few things. My first project was a super hero cape for Jack. I really love how it turned out. Jeff now wants one, too. It's reversible. My other big project was an advent calender for Melanie. I also am making one like this for myself - but couldn't finish mine because I ran out of time. I spent some time looking at calenders on flickr , and then got started. I used the number templates from Sew, Mama, Sew. I really love this - I love all the fabrics and the linen together. I'm excited about getting mine finished. Thankfully I have some time before I'll need it.

My first fully completed sewing project for the baby: a cute little stocking. I love it - it's simple, but the fabric on the inside is this really nice pop of color. I suppose this baby will one day want one that is larger so as to fit more loot, so maybe this will get passed down to whomever is the youngest. Or the dog. But until then, it's just right.