Technology Bags

Once again, it's been a busy, busy summer.  I was working on a play for part of it, and mostly just avoiding the heat as a general rule.  I do have stuff to post, but for now, just the one item.

This is another Jane-created pattern, based on the cell phone bag that I made.  It's called a 'technology bag', because it's designed to hold a Kindle in the big pocket, with your cell phone in the front. 

I put the scissors there to show an idea of the size.  So far, it's a very popular item. It has the same long strap as the cell phone bag, so you can wear it cross-body for safety. 

Oh, and there is plastic canvas pieces in the front and back to protect the Kindle, and still be washable.

Christmas is over!

Finally!  Christmas is over and now I can post the pictures of what I made.  Oh, don't get excited, they're not all that fabulous. 
A friend of mine asked me to make a bathrobe for her son.  Something warm and wonderful.  He just loved this fabric!

My sister told me that her husband had worn out his bathrobe, so I made this one for him. 

Next in line, I made tote bags for my sister and nieces.   This is the one for my sister.    She's a nurse, so when I saw the nurse hat print, I couldn't resist.  It's one of those totes that fold up into its own pocket.  The pocket is the print with animals on it.

Here are the tote bags for my nieces.  I found the fabric first, decided to do tote bags, then made custom-made zipper pulls, my one and (so far) only foray into beading.  It was fun, but I don't see myself making jewelry.  The ocassional zipper pull will be fine.

So, that was Christmas 2011.  I hope you enjoyed it!

The Great Leather Jacket Project

Oh my goodness, it's been over 3 months!!     The only explanation I can offer is that I haven't done anything worth showing.  Honestly, the bulk of my work is mending and alterations.  I call that 'my bread and butter work'.  It's just fine by me, but there's nothing to blog about.

However, I have something to show you today!  I took on a project a couple of months ago that I had never done before.  Unfortunately, I never could resist a challenge, so I agreed to put a new lining, and new ribbing, on a leather jacket.  Boy was I scared, but it was finished this afternoon and looks just marvelous!

Here are the before pictures.  Note the shredded lining and worn-out ribbing. 

Here's some of the pieces after I've taken the out of the jacket.  This was a *fun* process.

And here's the jacket, with no lining or ribbing.  Well, except for the ribbing on the bottom. That was removed later.

And finally, here's the finished product of weeks of hard work!!

I got the heavy-duty ribbing from Seattle Fabrics online, and the new lining is a flannel-backed satin from Online Fabrics.  The color is called Oyster, but it turned out to be a lovely buttery-color that went very well with the current leather.  The new ribbing is a very dark brown (the only brown they had), but it also went very well with the jacket.  All in all, I'm very pleased with this particular project.

Battenburg Lace

Yesterday I took a class at G Street Fabrics (Rockville, MD) about how to make Batternburg Lace.   It was fantastic!!  I managed to make two small pieces in the 2 hour class, but I learned so much, and I will be seriously thinking about doing this again.    Here's the picture of what I did:

I hope you are enjoying these pictures as much as I am.

Fashion Patterns by Connie

Connie Crawford makes the most wonderful patterns.  Here's her original website:  http://www.fashionpatterns.com/
She knows how to make patterns that actually fit extraordinary woman, like me.  A couple of years ago, Butterick finally got wise and started offering her patterns, so now whenever I see them on sale, I pick up a couple more.  There is a nice collection in my sewing room.   Here is one of those patterns, B5654, made in a rainbow t-shirt knit that I picked up a long while ago.  View B.  I'm not going to say which size, but I am in the 3X-6X range.   The neckline looks awfully wide, but I assure you, my bra straps were still covered, and actually, it looked pretty good on me!  I'm wearing this to church tomorrow, with a black skirt.
Someday I might get pictures of me actually wearing the clothes, but I have to teach my cat how to work a camera first.

The Story of the Bears

First of all, here are two more bears, made from the same fur as the last one.  These are for two more new little girls.

Now for the story:  A couple of years ago, I noticed that I had a whole tub full of fake fur pieces, leftover from making stuff for my nieces.  I was actively trying to reduce my fabric collection, so I wanted to get rid of a bunch, but I didn't want to throw it away (wasteful) or give it away.  So I bought a Carol's Zoo pattern, which was the simplest (yet cute) teddy bear pattern I'd ever sewn.  I chose the 9" bear, the smallest one.

Then I found safety eyes and noses on a couple of websites (Oddly enough, I couldn't find ANY locally!), and ordered a bunch.  Somehow something got crossed and I ended up buying HUNDREDS of these things, so now I have a gallon-size ziploc baggy full.  Oh well, I won't have to buy more eyes and noses for pretty much the rest of my life.

So, having everything assembled, I started making bears.  I never counted, and got very few pictures, but over time I must have made a hundred.  I gave a couple to friends, to friends of friends, but the bulk of them went to my sister, who was working as an ER nurse in the area.  She took them into the ER and gave them out to scared little children. She says that they were very much appreciated.

 The problem was solved.  I used up the fur, and helped a bunch of scared, unhappy children.  Win-win.  Every so often, when I catch fake fur on sale, I pick up another piece with that thought in mind. My sister no longer works in the area, but I'm sure any ER will still love them.

Love that New Baby Smell

My co-worker's wife had a baby recently.  Naturally I had to make a bear for the new little darling.  This is my favorite Carol's Zoo pattern.