Finished Purse, and 1/2" Bias Tape How-To Link

More happy sewing news in a moment, but first a word of advice: If the still small voice in your head whispers around 8:15 p.m. that you should go to bed, listen to it. And earlier in the evening, when you ask the mom of your middle child's preschool buddy how she's doing and she answers they've all had colds and then D---- (the preschool buddy) "had the gastroenteritis thing yesterday," don't stop to wonder how long your own family's streak of not being sick all winter will continue. Because at 12:17 a.m. it will end and you will wish you'd already gotten 4 hours of sleep instead of just 2 because it's going to be a long night...

And now the happy sewing news: Finished the purse for Keely yesterday, filled it with trinkets and goodies a 3-year-old might like, and got it sent off. Here it is, pink side out, k for Keely...


...and aqua-side out; her nickname is Keelybean, hence the shape of the applique.


It's pretty much like all the bags out there in Internet-land -- pouch, flap and strap. Except that instead of doing the extra step of sewing a "box seam" (or whatever it's called) in the bottom corners, I just fold them a certain way before sewing the side seams and it makes a quick little corner. It's not as tailored-looking as the box corners, but I think it suits these little bags just fine.

Between these purses (and their 1/2" straps) and the aprons (and their 1/2" straps) I've been making, I'm really glad I found a shortcut for making 1/2" straps. A friend lent me her bias tape maker, but it wasn't working as slick as I would've liked, so I went online to see if I was missing something and found this instead, how to make your own "low-tech" bias-tape-maker for people who don't have a "real" bias-tape-maker. Very slick. And cheap. My kinda tip. Thanks, Autum!

P.S. Finished up Sera's Soft Toys too, including a Kangaroo, but didn't take the time to snap a photo of it before boxing it up and sending it off to it adorable recipient. Instead here's the kangaroo for Natalie...
Still needs a little work, eh? And now, I should probably go nap!

Some Softies For Babies...

Preface: Jen and Jenna, if you don't want to see what your daughters are getting for Christmas, avert thine eyes.

Mom and I are working on a quilt for my brother Al for Christmas. A king-sized quilt. For Christmas. Think it'll get done? Hmm, well there's always his birthday in July... Anyway, in the planning stages, when I was browsing for images of "wonky" quilts (to help describe the term to my mom), I found this quilt by Wendi Gratz...

which led me to her website, where I found some adorable little softies she'd made. How sweet are they! She wanted to "stick to simple shapes and let the colors and one embellishment suggest the type of animal."
Can you see what they each are? (Hints: think Mesozoic era, north pole, down under, and super soft & fluffy)

For those who want to try this and need directions, she has a pdf pattern for sale here. Since I'm comfortable doing this sort of thing, I didn't order the pattern, but judging by the tutorials, etc. on her site, I would guess it's very well done, informative, and clear!

So here's what I've made so far...

Lumpy the Elephant (named after the state of his trunk; sounded better than "Crinkly" after the sound his ears)

Squeakers the Chick (named after what happens when you squeeze her tush)

and Bo Jangles the Penguin (because ever since that silly silly movie, penguins can TAP! plus he jingles when you shake him)
The fabric next to him is what I used for his tush-side. So cute. Leftover from my mom's stash from when I was a kid!

Have any ideas for more animals? I'm not sure how many I'll do in all, but at least a few more. Besides, it's an interesting mental challenge: how to capture the idea or essence of an animal in just a few details... I think that's why the elephant is my least favorite of the bunch -- with ears AND a big trunk, he's too complicated or elaborate for the set. Here's pictures of another animal that a reader sent in to Wendi, Bruce the Shark. He's got more than just one embellishments too, but still cute cute cute:

Red Velvet Balls & Oma’s Kuchen

Went to a Christmas party last weekend. Ate Red Velvet Balls for the first time. Made by someone else. They were delicious. So another Christmas party this weekend. Figured I’d make some myself, to bring. I learned something – covering stuff in chocolate is a lot harder than I thought. I remember Jenny’s being so pretty: perfect spheres, smooth chocolate, small sliver of red showing through. Mine: not so much. Lumps of all different sizes. (Sophie helped shape them, so I don't mind that part, Mommy and Me time and all.) The chocolate coating... half of it was sliding off the balls and pooling in vast lakes underneath them as they set. The other half was anything but smooth, especially after I ran out of the Baker's Chocolate and added heaping handfuls of chocolate chips to the pan. And for the life of me, I couldn't get a nice sliver of red peaking through -- it was either half the ball, or nothing at all.


But it's amazing what a drizzle of white chocolate and a fancy-looking accessory can do. And they did taste good!


Also, made Oma's Kuchen. That'd be "Grandma's Cake" in English. It's the cake my German grandma always made for us. I don't get to eat it very often anymore -- it uses an ingredient; quark--that isn't available here in the States. But my mom figured out an acceptable substitute: cottage cheese blended to get rid of all the lumps. I love the texture, a crumbly cake base with a cheesecake-y top. And I love the sweet-tart combination of raspberries and sugar. But most of all, whenever I eat it, I love the memories!

Petite Pink Purses

Cindy (a friend-of-a-friend who makes fabulous purses; I added a link in my sidebar) recently commented on my request for tips about zigzagging around curves. I asked her because I'm right in the middle of making another Little Girl's Monogrammed Purse. And I'd like to "streamline" a little. We've been making these as gifts, "we" meaning the girls pick the fabrics -- limited to what's currently in my stash -- and I sew it up.

Here's one we made for our long-distance friend, Kate, a few months ago.


And another we made around that same time for nearer friend Haley.

Updated 12/15/08: this "changing picture" was created at www.picasion.com

And this is as far as I got last night on the newest one, a Christmas gift for niece/cousin Keely. The girls finally decided to mix it up a little by using some aqua but also stuck with their tried and true favorite, the pink with flowers and butterflies. (It's almost gone! Whatever shall we do then?!?) I succeeded in steering them toward a solid pink flap. It'll be the same fabric as the straps...


Considering you end up with a reversible purse, they're really not that hard, just four pieces of fabric plus embellishments. If anyone ever wants more info, let me know. I'd be happy to write up/illustrate some directions but only if someone else will actually use them. : )

I'm back...

It’s been about 5 months and now it’s time for me to jump back in. Not sure where to start (I’ve been sewing up a storm ever since making Jana a camera case in August), so I’ll pick up where I left off…

The playhouse (here you go, Karee) -- that’s how it looked at the end of the summer. Porch done, shingles on, door latches finally installed, window still needs some work. (Notice the window frame laying there on the porch?)
Now it's covered in and surrounded by about 6 inches of snow. And I forgot to bring in all the stuff that was inside! Oops.

The trip I went on to Cleveland in June (that is part of the reason for the long break) is still having fantastic ramifications in my life – yay! It’s always nice when your “mountaintop experience” doesn’t fade into forgottenness after only a week or so.

And my kitchen counters? Well, see for yourself. Here's a reminder of what they looked like in July…

And this is what they looked like last night! Tada! See all the vast improvements? (Other than turning off the flash!)

No really, demessing progress is being made. I’ll get there. See, this is what it looked like after I gave it a little attention tonight. Aaaahhh…

And as my "reward" for tidying up instead of sitting on the couch eating bonbons leftover Halloween candy (I should probably throw that out now, eh?), I worked some more on Lumpy the Elephant and wrote up this blog post. I'd like to show you Lumpy and his sidekicks (I need some advice), but that will have to wait for another day. In the mean time, I’ll show you a project I finally finished over Thanksgiving at my in-laws. I'd already finished the angel, hobby horse, and dove and had cut out all the parts for Santa... back in middle school! As in, 20 or so years ago! I'm really happy I finally completed the set! By the way, to my friend who shall remain nameless: rick-rack is the zigzag trim these ornaments are covered in.
So, here's to finishing, not just starting stuff! Anyone else have a project (crafty or otherwise) that you should REALLY finish up? Any chance it'll get done before Christmas?