Sweet Upcycled Girl's Purse Pattern/Tutorial

I have made tons of these small purses. It's made from a felted sweater, some vintage trim, and a little fabric (I used new) for the interior. I've sold them in my Etsy shop, I've made tons to give away. Now you can make them too!

Here is the link to a PDF of the pattern:

Girl's Purse Pattern

This is what the first page should look like:

Please feel free to use the pattern as many times as you like. You can even share it with friends! If you'd like to use it to make bags to sell, that's fine too! My only requirement is that you don't sell the pattern itself to make a profit.

Enjoy!

Color Me Rad - Hartford Style

What a day I had yesterday! I ran my third 5k, in a race called Color Me Rad. It's a race they set up in lots of cities all around the country. In each city they choose a local charity to raise money for. In Hartford, it was for the Greater Hartford YMCA. But that's not the fun part...

Everyone dresses in white, and at 5 stations along the course, they have volunteers throw colored corn starch at the runners, so when you're done, you look like a giant tye-died person. They give everyone a packet of color at the start to throw around too.

So, here's what I looked like at the start of the race

There were multiple "waves" of start times, and this is what the start looked like from the registration line.

This is what I looked like when I was done.

It was tons of fun. I have no idea what my race time was, but I ran for the first time without music. It was so much fun to see all of the other runners. There had to be at least 10,000 people. It was a wild day.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

My grandmother used to tell me that all the time. Don't worry about how fast you're getting something done, just keep working. Which is what I did this week. I didn't get a lot of sewing done, but I did manage to finish up all of my Off The Rail blocks, and they're ready to put into rows. I chose a few of my favorites...the colors of this line really speak to me. I can't wait to see the top all put together.

I really love this honeycomb pattern, it's so much more fun than a plain polka dot.

I'm finishing up my second tutorial this week! I can't wait to share it with you all. It's upcycled project, and uses an old sweater to make a little girl's purse. Come back next week and take a look!

Thankful to be a Mom

When I see them like this, sometimes I think to myself "Am I really their mother?? Did I manage to care for them and love them bring them to this point?" I am so blessed with such healthy, happy, fun, kind children.

So for Mother's Day, I made THEM gifts. Matching PJs from the great Scientific Seamstress pattern for Easy Fit Pants. The fabric was from *gasp* Joann, and was not designer per se. But it reminded me so much of them. It says "Did you kiss your dog today?". They both love our dogs to death.

The long and short of it is I had a wonderful Mother's Day. I am so fortunate to have these amazing little creatures in my life.

Car Garbage Bag - One Yard Wonders Pleases Again

The reason I can post these pictures is because my mother-in-law doesn't have internet access. Or a smart phone. But she does have a car. So for Mother's Day I made her this super handy, super cute garbage bag for her car. And it won't ruin the surprise because she won't see it early!

This is the page from One Yard Wonders showing the pattern. Gotta love the dog in the background.

Overall, it was blissfully easy to complete. A total of one hour of sewing, 10 minutes of cutting, and a $2.29 buckle from JoAnn later...I had this!!

The main bag is Jennifer Paganelli (a.k.a. SisBoom) Honey Child, and the trim is Sandi Henderson Farmer's Market. Both from my stash, which pleases me to no end. (Read: Excuse to go buy something to replace them!) This is a close up of the box stitching to hold the handles in securely. Not that she'll be putting rocks in here or anything, but sturdy is good.

The back lays nice and smooth, to hang against the back of the passenger seat.

Now for the drama!! When I was sewing the straps, I was leaning in close to be sure I was making a nice straight line. And SNAP!! The needle broke into 3 pieces and one hit my forehead. DOH! I was actually pretty shaken, it was WAY too close to my eyes for comfort. Note to self...when setting the needle into many layers for the first stitch...look away or at least lean back!

Have you had any sewing injuries??? Yikes!

Epic Fail Upcycling Project - Pet Mat

Working with upcycled fabrics, that used to have a former life as something else is one of my favorite ways to sew. The challenge with this, of course, is that it doesn't always work out too well. A lot of the time, I sort of make up the "pattern" as I go along. One of the first "fabrics" I upcycled was a vintage rain coat that had seen better days. It was stained, but it was also this great striped fabric. I made a tote bag with it, and it was the first project I ever blogged about. Kind of like this...

Since then, I've made a bunch of projects using old slickers. I made a fabulous art smock for my daughter, and I made a great lunch bag for myself. With those under my belt, I had this idea to make our cat a "placemat". She's a super sloppy eater, and there's always water and food on the floor when she's done. I have one I bought at Ikea, but I wanted a cool one that I had made. I cut out what would be an applique of her footprints and got to work. And that's where my troubles began. For some reason this jacket had a funky finish on it. When I was trying to sew layers together they literally wouldn't go under the foot...they just STUCK to the plate. The zigzag just would not zig. Or zag. Not. good. Three broken needles and MUCH cursing later, this is as far as I got, and I gave up.

I may try again if I can find another coat without that sticky coating on it. I usually find them at Goodwill for around $5. If I decide to try again, I'll be sure to let you know. What I did manager to do was get half of my rails made for my "Off the Rail" quilt. It's a Jaybird Quilts pattern, and I am using an Anna Griffin "Carmen" fat quarter bundle I got at Sample Spree in Houston the year before last. I had been saving it for something special, and I'm glad I dug into it. It really looks great so far and it's super preppy with all the pink and green.

Last but not least, I ran my second 5k today. It was on flat ground this time. THANK GOD. It was only 3.1 miles (a real 5k) instead of 3.25 miles. And I have to say, I felt like I rocked it. My pace was 10:56, the best pace I've ever ran for the full 5k. And I have this awesome husband who comes to cheer me on and take pictures of me.

That's me to the left in the grey, just about to go over the line in under 34 minutes. Not bad for someone who thought they could never run.

Earth Day Sewing Using Vintage Fabric

Happy Earth Day everyone! One of my favorite ways to be eco-conscious is to use something that's already around or re-use it. I love finding vintage fabrics at yard sales or Goodwill. This fabric came from an amazing estate sale I went to last year where I scored TONS of vintage fabric on the super cheap. My grandmother just re-did her kitchen, so I decided to make her some potholders from some of that fabric. Boy do I love me some orange!

I used the pattern from One Yard Wonders by Rebecca Yaker and Patricia Haskins. It's the first project I've done out of this book, and I was pleased that the directions were good, and the writing complete and straightforward. I'm looking forward to making more from this book!

What are you doing for Earth Day?? Remember, Love Your Mother!!