Taking a break.

The only reason I have been in the sewing room in the past few days is to feed the cat that now lives in my closet.  It's a long story.  Anyway, I am on a hiatus of sorts.  Until the room gets cleaned I won't be ready to work on anything.  Maybe I will get in there tonight after work.  Maybe not.  After having a project with a tight deadline, I am enjoying being a slacker!  Also, my son has been a tremendous amount of fun to hang out with lately, and I am doing as much of that as possible.  So instead of hanging out at home doing housework like we should, we have been going out and getting into trouble.  And I am having a blast.

The crafty mood will strike again soon, I am sure. 

>S< 

Finished just in time!

I am really happy with how this project turned out!

Beanbag fronts

Beanbag backs

**EDIT:  This beanbag pattern is located at

http://chezbeeperbebe.blogspot.com/2010/01/tutorial-and-pattern-counting-bean-bags.html **

I only had one evening to make the tote bag, and I was feeling a little insecure about the bucket bag I had planned on making.  It had a lot of pieces, and construction was a little too complex for me to feel comfortable completing in a night.  So I chose another bag pattern.  It turned out beautifully and took me about 4 hours from start to finish:

I like the pattern and plan on making more of these.  The beanbags fit perfectly in it too. 

I LOVE A SUCCESSFUL PROJECT!!

Now, what's next?  First I am going to clean my sewing room, because WOW.  It is a disaster in there.  My mom is coming to visit next week and she needs to sleep in there.  If I get it cleaned and still have time to do more crafting, I need to continue cutting on a quilt I am making for a good friend of our family who helps us out a lot.  He doesn't know it's coming and probably doesn't read this but I am still not naming names.  :)  I will post pics once I start working on it again.  I also need to select another scrap block to do, since I can't ever work on just one thing at a time.  I am also going to make my son a book, using cuttings from magazines and family photos.  He is just starting to recognize letters, and I figure this will be a good book to get him started pre-reading.

>S<



Broken needles are scary.

I am still feeling rather lucky to have both my eyes.  I sewed over a pin tonight, and broke my sewing machine needle into 3 pieces.  I also bent the pin, and the head came off.  Hopefully it's not in the mechanism of the bobbin.  I took apart what I could, but didn't find it.
 

Yikes!

After my little incident, my sewing machine went on strike.  This is the bobbin side:

It is *most* unhappy.  I am praying it is not *most* expensive to fix.

Luckily, the beanbags are nearly done and can easily be finished by hand.  Most of what I have left to do is hand-sewing anyway.  The tote bag?  Hmmmm....not likely to finish that by Sunday with a cranky machine.  What a bummer. 

Here are my pretty little beanbags, all lined up and ready for their inner pockets to be sewn shut:

I am very pleased with the way they look.  They seem so happy. 

It's late and I am pooped.  I did a lot tonight and I don't have far to go.  Now I just need to decide if I should take my machine in.  It's probably due for a servicing anyway...but financially, this isn't the best time.  But hey, tomorrow I have a lady coming over to hopefully buy all my old maternity clothes, so maybe that can be the beginning of my sewing machine repair fund. 

>S<

55 buttons. Ow.

No pictures tonight, and not a lot of typing.  I just spent 3 hours sewing on buttons.  The beanbags look great.  My fingers...not so much. 

My sewing time last night was derailed by a cranky child.  Teething, or nightmares, or who knows what...he talks a lot but wasn't able to tell me what was wrong.  But he needed mama snuggles, that was clear.  And no matter how important anything else in my life might be, giving that sweet boy mama snuggles when he is having a hard time is my first priority. 

And I am eternally thankful that I am able to provide comfort to him.  Nobody is more deserving of my time and attention.

>S<

Wow, it's been a while!

I have been doing a little sewing here and there...here's some of my progress:

I attached the numbers for the counting beanbags to the muslin backings, and got 6 of them embroidered.  I am proud of these because machine embriodery is not my forte, but I am improving with practice and only curse and rip out about half of what I do, lol.  I am also allowing myself to NOT BE PERFECT.  This is a challenge for me, and something I work on in just about every aspect of my life.  One of the worst things about anxiety is the constant thought that you aren't good enough.  So I try, regularly, to say "that's GOOD ENOUGH" and leave the task I am doing.  This applies to housework, crafting, and just about everything else. 

I started attaching buttons to the backsides of the beanbags and quickly realized they would need to be glued down before I sew them.  I tried sewing them down without gluing first, and I couldn't get them in straight lines.  I am not looking for perfection (I didn't even use a ruler!) but they do need to be somewhat straight.  Yes, I realize I am missing 4 and 6.  After gluing them on, I decided the buttons I bought for 4 were horribly ugly.  And somehow I only bought 3 buttons for 6.  Back to Walmart I go. 

This is what I am filling the beanbags with.  Pony beads alone were too light.  Aquarium rocks were too heavy.  So I am mixing them together.  I don't want to use rice or beans because the minute those get wet, the beanbag is ruined. 

I also finished my purple and blue scrap block and it looks fantastic.  I took a picture of it, I know I did, but for some reason it's not on the camera.  I will add it later.  Now I need to start another one. 

I think that's about it...I have to start the tote bag that goes with the beanbags tonight.  I started pressing the fabric, and I wrote down some cutting instructions.  I am hoping I will have lots of energy tonight when I get home from work.  My son has been sleeping really well so hopefully that continues too.  And I did a bunch of housework today so I could sew tonight with minimal guilt ;)

>S<

Going greener, or trying to.

I was able to do quite a bit of sewing last night.  I finished my tote bag, which is an audition of a free pattern to see if I wanted to use it to make a bunch of grocery bags.  It's cute, as long as you don't look at it too closely!

I am still undecided whether I want to make more of these - the bags are very easy and fast, but lack the structure I was hoping for.  But, a more structured bag will take longer to make.  Such a conundrum.  I have a couple of students who are baggers at the grocery store; I may ask them to give me their opinions.

I decided to make a few big bags for my recycling.  I currently try to re-use plastic garbage bags, but they only last 2 or 3 trips.  I measured off a kitchen garbage bag, cut up an old sheet, and viola!

I really like this!  I will make 3 to start with, but one queen flat sheet could probably make 4-5.  I don't usually let my recycling pile up, so I think 3 will probably be enough for me.  It's all I can fit in my little car anyway!  I do think I will make a more durable tote bag for glass bottles since they are so heavy. 

I also kept working on my scrap block, obviously made from pieces leftover from my walker bag project.  It's coming along nicely and is even still somewhat square.  For now.  I still have a few more strips to add.

I also worked on the counting beanbags a little.  I got the fabric all cut, and then decided they would be too flimsy with just one layer of fabric.  So I am making a little muslin inner bag for the beans:

And here is the fabric I am using for the beanbags, and the numbers all cut out. 

I just love this fabric, but I know not everybody is a fan of orange so I texted this picture to the recipient of the eventual beanbags to get her opinion.  Luckily she loved it, because I had already cut out all the numbers!

I also decided on the tote bag I will make to go along with the counting beanbags - this super cute "bagsket" I found on another blog called Foofanagle.  She hasn't been active in nearly 2 years but she makes some really cute stuff and has a baby about the same age as mine, so I am hoping to see more of her soon!   http://foofanagle.wordpress.com/2007/06/26/bagsket-tutorial/

I am realizing that I have project ADD.  I cannot sit and work on just one thing.  I had 3 things going last night, and I prefer to work that way.  Am I the only one that does this?

>S<

Progress!

After a not-very-productive week (at least in terms of crafting) I feel good about getting a little bit done last night.  I bought some wonder-under and muslin so I could start the bean bag project for my son's friend, and I cut out all the number stencils.  I got them traced onto the wonder-under and chose the fabrics I will be using for the bean bags.  I am waiting for my son to nap before turning on the iron and fusing the numbers onto the fabric...call me a paranoid mom but I prefer not having a hot iron around him.  He is very good, and I am very careful, but still. 

I also decided to make some small zipper pouches to keep in my purse.  I have a bunch of old jeans zippers that I can repurpose so I bought a sharp new seam ripper and ripped one out of the jeans.  It took me a long time, and then I immediately broke the zipper.  Ugh.  Sometimes I think spending the $1 would be easier than trying to recycle things, but I know in the global scheme of things I am doing the right thing. 

And since I had the seam ripper handy, I ripped out the denim tote bag handle that I started but could not finish due to the many denim layers being too hard on my machine.  I am so glad I bought a new seam ripper.  What a difference from my dull old one!  I also recently replaced my sewing machine needle and my rotary cutter blade.  I am not good about doing these maintenance-type things but I can see such a difference when using sharp tools. 

Hopefully more time to craft later.  I need to take pics of the beanbags in progress too. 

Thanks to Quiltincats for leaving me my very first comment! 

>S<

Stop everything!

So today I walk in to work and one of my friends is there studying.  Her little girl is turning 2 later this month, and I gotta make her something fun!  They are such a nice family - we have done things together with our kids many times and her daughter is a sweetheart.  I am leaning towards making these Counting Bean Bags, though I may do them alphabet also, haven't decided. 

http://chezbeeperbebe.blogspot.com/2010/01/tutorial-and-pattern-counting-bean-bags.html

But what a cute project, not difficult at all, and I know her daughter will play with them AND learn from them.  Best of all, when I mentioned that I sew, my friend got really excited about receiving something handmade.  Yay!  I am excited to start.  I shouldn't need to purchase anything besides the filler, which makes it even better.  I have been on a mission to use up my scraps, and this is a terrific use for them.  I will also make a tote bag or backpack to keep them all in. 

I also found this in my travels - http://crafthope.com/    The current project, which will be sent to hospitals in Haiti, is a pre-assembled birthing kit which includes some very inexpensive medical supplies (like a razor blade, a pair of gloves, and a bar of soap) along with a baby blanket if desired.  There are other projects too, like pillowcase dresses for girls in a shelter in Mexico.  These projects all have a specific destination and a deadline, and none of them are difficult or expensive to make.  I look forward to reading more (and participating) when I have more time. 

I made some lace-up cards for my son from free printables I found online, and he isn't very good at them yet but he does enjoy playing with them!  I love, love, love homemade toys.  If you have any good ideas or patterns, by all means share them! 

>S<

Pics of completed walker bag.

A gift for my grandma - just because.  I am happy with how this turned out, and it was fun to make.

I sort of made the pattern myself, but if you want details I am happy to share. 

>S<

Too much to do.

Last night I got a little bit done - although I wasn't tired, I wasn't very motivated either.  But I did start a Mors Bag, and probably would have finished it but I had some technical difficulties along the way.  I was going to make the bag handles out of denim, because it coordinates well with the floral bag fabric, is durable, and I have lots of it.  But my sewing machine was not happy about having to sew through 8 layers of denim, and let me know I needed to change my plan.  So tonight I will re-make the handles out of the lighter floral fabric and try again.  The pattern itself is very easy, but I found that the lack of exact measurements makes me a little uneasy!  The detail freak in me needs more direction I guess.  I am trying to relax and roll with it.

I also need to go back to all those cool links and blogs I found, and do more reading.  I have badges and buttons to put on here and not a clue how to do it, so I need to figure that out.  My layout needs some work.  I also have some photos to post, so I need to figure that out as well. 

Lots to do...not a lot of time.  I slept terribly last night, but I had a good nap with the little one, so hopefully I will be good to go for a couple hours after work.  I want to craft but I also have a lot of tv shows on DVR that need watching so I can delete them.  Maybe what I need is a tv and dvr in my craft room!  (As if there is any room.)

More later, perhaps?

>S<

And more links

No sewing last night.  I was too tired.  But I had a great day with my little one and a long nap, so I am feeling good about tonight.  My goal, if I get into the sewing room at all, is to finish the blue and purple scrap block and start a grocery bag.  Maaaaybe finish a grocery bag, but at least START it.  I need to decide on a pattern but there are too many to choose from.  For simplicity's sake I think I will start with a Morsbag ( http://www.morsbags.com/ ) because the pattern is super easy.  I am concerned with the durability of the bag but it's hard to judge that until it's actually made.  The fabric I bought is a heavy cotton, somewhere between quilting cotton and duck fabric.  And I have denim to use for handles and accents if I feel like getting fancy.  Oh and I am going to tempt fate and NOT prewash.  It's the rebel in me, what else can I say.  I just want these bags done.  Every time I go shopping I feel bad that I don't have them.  I do reuse EVERY plastic and paper bag we get (unless they have slimy gross stuff in them) but still. 

Following a bunch more blogs.  Man, these people are so creative and brilliant and awesome.  Not only do they make really cool stuff, but they take the time to write tutorials too.  Crafters sure are cool people.

Grocery cart caddy - must make one of these.  http://www.bluecricketdesign.net/2009/08/cart-caddytutorial.html

Cute fabric envelopes to help keep you organized.  Could be a good idea...  and there is a long list on the right side of other stuff that might be worth looking at.  http://www.boltneighborhood.com/2010/06/envelope-it-a-tutorial.html

A mail organizer that I don't really need, but I *do* need a toiletry organizer for the bathroom.  Lots of other cool stuff to see here too.  http://www.noodle-head.com/2010/05/mail-organizer-tutorial.html
http://www.noodle-head.com/p/tutorials.html

30 minutes til I leave work.  Yay!

>S<