Somehow on Saturday I managed to find a chunk of time where I was not being needed by anyone else.  Evie was napping, Zach was watching a movie, and Hubby was on his computer.  I suddenly found myself with absolutely nothing to do.  Instead of sitting doing nothing, I decided to go dig through my fabric stash and whip up a couple of things that have been sitting in the back of my mind for a while.

First up was this cute little camera strap cover.  The strap that came with my camera is fine, but when I’m carrying it around on all day outings, it tends to really rub my neck.  I made the cover out of a soft flannel fabric and it feels much nicer slung around my neck.  It is basically just a tube that slides up over the regular strap so it can be easily changed out for another one or taken off for washing.

Next, I used the same fabric, along with a coordinating striped fabric and made a small makeup pouch to take with me when we travel. I don’t wear a lot of makeup, and actually could have made this a bit smaller for what I do carry, but wanted just a small little bag to throw in a purse or suitcase for those occasions when I want to dress up.

Both were fast and simple projects. I love when I can make something useful and save a little money at the same time!

My cousin and his wife are expecting their first baby at the end of June so I decided I wanted to make them a little something. I normally would throw together a little fleece tie blanket, but since he’ll be a summer baby I thought I should do something a little less warm. This is what I came up with.

The top side of the blanket is a soft knit fabric with a cute animal print. The bottom side is a fuzzy fleece backing. All I did was cut the two pieces of fabric, sew around the edge with right sides together (leaving a small opening), turn right side out, then topseam around the edge. It turned out really great. In fact, I think I’ll be making these again when I need another baby gift.

I couldn’t resist knitting up a little hat to go along with it as well. I packaged it all up, along with two cute little rompers I picked up and shipped it off to my cousin last week.

Now I’m just trying to figure out who’s having the next baby so I have an excuse to make more!

I seriously never thought I would be the type of mom to dress my girl in frilly dresses, make her purses, and put bows in her hair.  (Of course I also never expected my daughter to have such little hair at a year old.)  Guess that just proves that motherhood really does make you a bit crazy!  I finally got a little bit of down time on Sunday and this is how I spent it.

I’ve been collecting ribbon here and there for a while now but never could find the time to sit down and make these.  It was a great way to spend my little bit of extra time.  It still surprises me how much joy I get from making things with my hands!

My mom and I have been searching all over for some little toddler sized purses for my daughter and my niece with no luck. I did find some on the dollar aisle at Target, but I’m sure they would be torn to shreds in no time. My mom wanted to give them to the girls as Easter gifts, but we just never could find the right thing so I decided to pick up some fabric that would match their Easter dresses and make them instead.

Since we looked all over for them and never did find any, I figured there has to be someone else out there looking for the same thing. I decided I would share how I made these in a tutorial so no little girls have to go without purses.

(My apologies ahead of time for the horrible pictures. I had terrible lighting where I was working.)

Supplies:
2 pieces of fabric 9 x 12 inches (fat quarters would work great for this)
2 pieces lightweight interfacing (iron-on)
approx 1 yard of 1 inch wide grosgrain ribbon in coordinating color
coordinating thread
fabric pencil or marker
fabric glue (optional for making bow)

1. Cut fabric and interfacing into two 9×12 inch rectangles each. Iron interfacing onto wrong sides of fabric.



2. Take one piece of fabric and pin a 9 in. strip of ribbon onto each end approximately 1 in. from edge.



3. Sew along the very edges of ribbon.



4. Make bow with ribbon and attach on top of ribbon stripe. I made a simple loop bow and attached it by sewing just under the top loop.



5. Fold in half length wise with right sides facing. Pin sides and seam with 1/2 in. seam allowance, leaving top open. Repeat with second fabric piece to make the lining.



6. Open seams and iron flat, making a point on the bottom edge.



7. Flatten bottom corners. Measure up 1/2 inch from point and draw straight line to box corners. Seam across line on all four corners.



8. Turn lining so that the right side is facing out.
9. Cut 12 inches of ribbon and pin one end along the top edge of each side, centering with seams. Sew ribbon to lining with about a 1/4 inch seam allowance.





10. Insert lining into outer bag with right sides facing (ribbon strap should be inside between the two layers). Pin around top edge to hold the lining and outer bag together.



11. Seam around top edge, leaving about a 3 inch opening to turn bag right side out.
12. Gently turn bag inside out through opening. Fold liner into outer bag.
13. Iron around top edge to flatten, then topseam around edge.



Now, sit back and admire your work!

This is what I did with a big chunk of my weekend:

Tutorial coming soon!

Launching this April is a new website all about quilting! From the team at YouCanMakeThis.com comes YouCanQuiltThis.com, full of quilting projects, tutorials, and patterns brought together by a team of experts and lead designers in the industry. And what’s even better is they are giving away a Marie Osmond 200 Quilter’s Companion sewing machine by Janome! There are several ways to enter the contest, so if you are at all interested in quilting (or just in the sewing machine) I suggest you go enter right away!

Everybody has their off days and when you are a creative type you are bound to have days when you just can’t find inspiration.  What do you do when you just don’t feel inspired?  I’m over at Blissfully Domestic today talking about 10 Tips To Finding Creative Inspiration when you’ve lost yours.  Go check it out and add your own tips in the comments section!

Last weekend I finished off the second Roselette Top.  I love the bright colors in this one, along with the purple accents.  It is slightly bigger than the green one as I used one size larger crochet hook.  I’m hoping that Evie will be able to wear this one a little longer than the other one.  She’s growing so fast these days that clothing doesn’t last long before she’s outgrown it.

Two more Chunky Knit Beanies, in the adult size this time.  One is for me, the other for my mother-in-law.  I’m working on one more for my sister and then I think I’ll have most of this lovely lemongrass chunky wool used up.  I really am loving this pattern as well.  It is just so easy!

When I was in college I worked with developmentally disabled adults in a group home. It was there that I first really got interested in crafts. One of the ladies I worked with loved to crochet and after watching her for a while I decided I wanted to learn. I taught myself from a book, made an afghan, a couple purses and hats and then I pretty much quit crocheting. I picked up knitting a couple of years ago and haven’t even thought of crocheting a single thing since.

Then I came across the adorable Roselette Top over at Craftivist and knew I had to make it. I finally tracked down the pattern at Chez Plum and sat down with some soft cotton yarn and my crochet hook.

I absolutely loved making this! It was very simple and I cannot wait to put it on Evie. I did alter the pattern slightly and left the buttonholes off. Instead I used smaller buttons and was able to use the natural space between double crochet stitches as buttonholes. The whole thing only took me a few evenings (while watching TV) and I am pretty slow since I haven’t crocheted in years. I think I am more proud of this than anything else I’ve ever made. I’ve already bought yarn for the next one!

(And even though I didn’t plan it that way, it will be perfect for St. Patrick’s Day!)