Friday, September 17, 2010

Applique Dogs

My girls won't wear anything unless it has dogs or monkeys on it. So.....yesterday, I turned two inexpensive, plain, sweatshirts into two cute, still inexpensive, sweatshirts that my girls will now wear without tears.
Ellie's Doggie Sweatshirt
Sunny's Doggie Sweatshirt
The funny thing is, they don't like to be dressed alike. So, when I asked them to stand next to one another for a photo, this is the best I got:
They don't like to be dressed alike!
You'll be seeing this dog again because I have a quilt planned that will use this applique along with a few other dog appliques I'm sketching. I also have a few coloring books with dogs in them and will probably copy some from there (the dog applique above was copied from a coloring book). Coloring books are so great for applique ideas!!

Have a happy weekend!

The specs:
Main fabric: quilting cotton
Purple fabric on ears and nose: linen
Wonder Under used to fuse pieces to sweatshirt and then I straight stitched around edges.
Hand embroidery for eyes and mouth.
Applique measures 4.5"X 5"

Monday, September 13, 2010

Arizona + Belly Dancing = OMG LOL!

Yes, I've taken up belly dancing. To say I look ridiculous is an understatement, but it's so fun I can't help myself!! There will be no photos of this new undertaking of mine, so there is no need to shield your eyes from this post.

The sad fact is that my waistline has grown and because I am a working mother of three young kids I eat poorly and rarely have time to exercise. But, there's no time to whine about it because I have a project to show you! And no, it isn't a belly dancing outfit. ;)

Backpacks!
Sunny's Drawstring Backpack
My girls needed backpacks for preschool, so I made them quick and easy drawstring backpacks with fabrics they chose. Of course Sunny chose dogs.
Sunny's Backpack
And Elle chose monkeys.
Elle's Drawstring Backpack
Ellie wanted her name on her backpack, so I did a quick embroidery of her name for the pocket.
Elle's Drawstring Backpack
I used fusible fleece as interfacing on both backpacks. That will add durability to the fabric (it is quilting cotton from JoAnns) and add some cushion. Both bags are also fully lined with contrasting fabric.
Lining in Ellie's backpack
I used a heavy duty grommet kit from Home Depot to install grommets on the bottom of the backpacks to hold the straps. Seriously, if you want good grommets, get the kit from Home Depot. Previously, I had the plier tool from Joanns and nothing I ever applied with it stayed on for long. I also fused vinyl to the corners of the backpacks to help the grommets stay put.

Next, I'm making reusable insulated sandwich and snack bags for Luke's lunchbox. That will save hundreds of plastic baggies from the landfill during this school year. I'll post a link to the tutorial I'm planning to use after I've made the bags.

My sewing room is also getting a mini makeover, so hopefully I can show you some pictures of it later this week. :)

Saturday, September 11, 2010

EQ Users: Help!

Have you all upgraded to EQ7? Do you think it is worth the upgrade? I have not yet purchased an upgrade because after seeing what is new/different from EQ6, it doesn't seem to have much more that I would find useful or easier. So, what do you think of EQ7? What new features do you think make it worthwhile to purchase the upgrade?

Thank you for your opinions!!

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Fabric and Books

There hasn't been too much sewing going on since my kids went back to school this week. I do have two backpacks to show, but I don't have photos yet. Now that the school year has started, I'm looking forward to having lots of sewing, knitting, and crochet projects to blog about!! First, let me show you some stuff I got.

Back in March, I won a contest for free fabric from Clothworks Textiles and yesterday I received it.
It's very pretty, isn't it? It's even better in person! I have a quilt in mind for this.

Then, I saw this fabric (below) at Joann's and immediately loved it. It will be a jacket soon.

It's been ten years since I've sewn a jacket, so I'm still trying to decide which pattern I want to use. I don't want the jacket to be real fitted, but I don't want it boxy, either. I plan to wear it casually with jeans.

Then I got some books on crochet. One is a cute book with patterns for amigurumi dolls. I have so much left over yarn and amigurumi is great for using up left overs! The other book is one about improving your crochet technique...

But, the book I'm really excited about is this one:

With my kids in school, I finally have time to really study patternmaking. My boss is completing her Ph.D in apparel and textiles and used to teach at a university, so I'm incredibly lucky to work for her. She's going to take my measurements for me and help me navigate my way through this book. I'm really psyched!

So, that's all that is going on here this week. Next week the kids will be settled into the new routine and hopefully we can all have a great school year! It's funny how I now live by school years. ;)

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