Stop staring and start sewing!

A little bias is a good thing

Well, Joey and are are scrambling to get our first pdf pattern finished and it's been more involved than we expected (most of my ideas end up being that way, dangit) but we are close to having it ready.  We are starting with this skirt and have more planned.  I took lots of pictures of the process but some things just didn't look great so I asked Joey if he would draw some of the pictures and look at how cute this is:

Way better than the picture I took.  So we are ending up using both photos and drawings and hopefully that will make it easy to understand. 

In the pattern I share one of my favorite skillz.  I love making my own bias tape. It's one of my favorite ways to spruce up my skirts and it's so much prettier and cheaper than the store bought stuff.  You can use it on any hem and you will love the way a little 1/2" fabric accent can make something so much snazzier.   Let me show you how I make mine!

Pick a fun fabric that looks great with your skirt (or pants, or blouse) fabric. Don't be afraid to pick a "loud" fabric since you will using such a small amount. I really love stripes for this because of the way they tilt (I think I've mentioned that before but it bears repeating I guess).

Cut enough 2" strips on the bias (at about a 45 degree angle from the grainline) to equal the distance around the hem you are embellishing. My skirt is around 60 inches around so I need 60 inches plus enough for seam allowances (so 70" give or take a little).

Now put your ends together and stitch your pieces together like this.

This is what it will look like when you open it out.

Press your seams open and fold it in half making sure your raw edges are even with each other.

Pin it to the wrong side (yes, I said wrong side) of your hem. Leave a 4 inch gap unsewn so you can finish your bias tape to fit perfectly (use a 3/8 inch seam allowance).

Now unfold the bias tape and fold the end over so the sides meet each other. Press well.

Open up your folds and put the two end pieces together. Put your fold lines together and use this as your stitching line.

Trim your seam allowance down to about 1/4" and press your seam open.

Fold and press and then stitch in place so it's sewn down all the way around the hem.

Press your seam open so it looks like this on the wrong side of your garment.

Press your bias tape down on the right side of your garment. Use lots of steam and pressure to get it nice and crisp. Pin it in place if you want.

Stitch in place close to the edge. Don't go too fast or you'll run off the edge and that's annoying. Isn't this a great picture (minus the lint)?

Here's my finished skirt. Doesn't that stripe look spunky?

Go forth and sew! :D

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Addendum:  Bijoux by Heather Bailey (goes with Pop Garden!) just showed up here.  I feel so complete now!

Talk about - Pop Garden!

I've had this song going through my head for months while I've been waiting for this new line of fabric by Heather Bailey.  You have to use the phrase "Pop Garden" instead of "Pop Music" but if you've followed the link you will now have it stuck in your head too.  Sorry.

Anyway, all that is to say.....It's here!!  21 glorious bolts (and more on the way)!

And here it sits waiting for Bijoux to show up (any day now!).

I haven't had the chance to play with them since I've been head-spinningly busy. But I'm okay with it since I was lucky enough to sew some fun things out of it back before Quilt Market.

So anyway, it's in the store (it was pre-loaded so the second that darling UPS guy left, I just hit the "finish" button and within 10 minutes had my first order for it!).   I also have some great new laces and appliques and stuff (they are seriously cute!) and I'm thrilled to have some patterns by Farbenmix and Studio Tantrum (with more coming).  I love love love their patterns and have used them more times than I can count! 

Thanks for all the pillowcase love!  Sofia really likes her new cases (I made 2) in spite of their "froofy-ness" because they are so soft.  I'm so thrilled to know some readers used my tutorial and had great results.  Whew!  I have another fun tutorial I'm working on and should have up in the next few days (I'm playing with Garden Party now).

Oh, and if you love paper crafting, you're going to love this!  I don't do much paper crafting but I may have to start.  Have a great rest of the weekend!

Banish percale forever

I've turned this tutorial into a pdf file. You can download it here.   Thanks! Jona
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One of my daughters just moved into her own room so I've been wanting to spruce it up a bit for her.  It's the guest room (she has to move out when guests come) and it's cute but getting boring.  I've been wanting to make some pillow cases and I'm glad I finally did because it was soooooo easy and fast and the outcome is so incredibly better than store bought cases.  If you want to try it here's how I made mine.

I used 3 fabrics:  the pink is 41 x 25 inches, the blue is 41 x 10, and the red is 41 x 1.75.  I'm just going to refer to the fabrics by their colors even though you will probably want to try different colors for yours (but if you want to copy this one then that's okay too!).

Fold the red and blue fabrics in half and press.

Use a 1/2 inch seam allowance and stitch the red strip of fabric to the edge of the pink fabric (matching raw edges).

Now pin the blue fabric on top with the red fabric sandwiched in between and raw edges even.

Stitch in place (I usually flip it over and follow the previous stitch line just to keep it all even).

Now clean your edges by serging or zigzagging and press your seam out nicely. The red strip should be pressed towards the top (the blue fabric). Looking good!

Now fold the whole pillowcase in half and pin the edges together. Take your time to make sure all the seams match up and especially that the top matches up evenly. Use lots of pins if that makes you feel safer (it's not a sign of weakness and don't let anyone tell you that it is!).

Now stitch from the top down past the seam with the red strip. I use my regular machine to start the seam because I can get the edges to match better this way (they tend to shift apart if I use my serger to start the seam). At this point I remove it and use the serger to finish it. If you are using your regular machine just go ahead and finish the seam all the way down the side and then across at the bottom (then zigzag your edge).

There you go!

Trim your threads and press the seam to the side. On the right side of the fabric topstitch along the side of the seam so that your seam allowance is stitched flat in place. I only do this through top part of the pillowcase where the sloppy seam would show (but now it's not sloppy because you've stitched it down, yippy!).

Tada!!

After I finished the pillowcase I realized that lamp needed some re-vamping (kind of like "If you give a Mouse a Cookie", there's always one more thing to decorate). Here's the old look.

I peeled off the old fabric (which was just some peel and stick fabric I found a few years ago) but kept it to use as my pattern.

I used this spray adhesive for the back side of the fabric (great stuff!), and carefully smoothed the fabric in place on the lamp.

I finished the top and bottom with some folded bias strips (I used my glue gun for this part and didn't burn myself once!). I love using striped fabric for making bias tape because then it tilts like barbershop pole stripes. Fun! So here is my finished set and it was so fast!!

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Editor's note:

FYI: This is a Standard sized pillow case and the finished dimensions are 28.5 x 19 inches. :)

Something fun to try

I was looking at Kay Whitt's blog and she's in the process of making some new patterns.  They are gorgeous and she just keeps coming up with these darling ideas!  I'm really liking her blog because she really encourages readers to try new things and has some great ideas and techniques that make it less intimidating for beginners.  Just be sure you read it with a Texas accent or it will sound all wrong in your head.

Anyway, she's got this dress she made using these gorgeous Flirt fabric and I just had to put something together with them.  I decided to use my Insa skirt pattern from Farbenmix (still trying to set up an account with them) which I used in the Christmas skirt at the bottom of this post.  I just decided to use the bottom layer and when I got it cut out I started thinking it would be fun to spruce up the seams so I did!

I cut enough striped strips (say that 5 times fast)  to go between each panel.  They are 1.5 inches wide and I made enough for 4 strips that are 12 inches long (size 4 skirt).  I folded them in half and then sandwiched one between the two panels I was stitching together (I used 1/2 inch seams).  I hope this picture helps.

I pressed the strips to the side and topstitched them down. Then I added the ruffle. Looking sharp.

Here's a closeup of the finished hem.

Here's the outfit I ended up with. I made a little headband to go with it. Cute! I got the tank top at Walmart and they have lots of great colors and they're only 3 bucks each!

And here is the finished Christmas outfit. I used the bottom half of one of the big panels (I'm working on something with the top half) It was a lot of work with all the appliques but lots of fun!

Joey's back from his fishing trip so I gotta go look busy and come up with an actual dinner because, unlike the kids, he doesn't think popcorn is dinner.  Thanks for stopping by!

The cat's away so we're playing

Joey is in Oregon fishing so I'm sewing like crazy here while the kids watch dvd's and play with their Playstation.  We're also dogsitting for our next door neighbor while he's gone and he has a new pool so the kids are putting that to good use, so it's not like they're sitting around all day long.

Anyway, I hate to be a one trick pony here with all these girls clothes I'm sewing but I'm trying hard to pay off my girls' classes from last year and start paying on the next year so I don't get behind again.  Although we are officially homeschoolers I try to farm them out as much as I can since I don't want to re-learn algebra and other things.  They enjoy the classroom setting and I enjoy the break! 

The sewing would be a burden (as if!) except I just love all these new fabrics so at least I'm having fun.  I'm working on this happy little outfit made from Mary Engelbreit's Christmas fabric (you know how much I love her) and it's really turning out cute.  I know it's July but ebay boutique shoppers are already getting their Christmas wardrobes lined up!  I get my Christmas outfit figured out on December 24th!

Look at the front panel of the skirt.  Isn't he cute?  I used a part of one of the big fabric panels for the elves and candy.  I did some tricky cutting and stitching to get his little hand to hang over the cuff of the stocking like that and I'm pretty proud of myself!

With the two side panels.  Getting cuter!

And then here's the shirt so far.  Really cute if I do say so! I have one more Christmas dress to do after this and then I've got to get a back to school outfit done. Crazy!  Oh and I'm going to extend my sale on this Christmas fabric for 2 more days (until the 17th) because I'm too busy sewing (or just too lazy, whatever) to go change all the prices back to normal.

I spent a little more time playing with the Ava Rose fabric. I really really love it and I think this outfit turned out so cute. Darn my girls for growing so big!

Well, back to work. Joey will be home tomorrow night so I've got to strike while the iron's hot while burning the midnight oil and reaching for that brass ring as I keep my nose to the grindstone. Got that?

On being Two

Our littlest guy Skate (aka Levi but we call him Skate because his brother decided we should when he was in utero and the name stuck) turned 2 yesterday and today he woke up with a new outlook.

When you're two....

You need to pull your weight around the house...

But, you get to eat cold pizza for breakfast...

and kick the cat...

and act sorry...

but not really mean it.

You get to take a little time out to contemplate the true meaning of repentance (while chewing pizza).

But then get up and work on your bar routine...

and stick your landing!

All the while, still eating your pizza.

Yep, all in all, it's good to be two!

Super Secret Sources....The sequel

I was at IKEA the other day and found all these crib duvets on clearance for 5.00 each.  I bought 5 but I'll probably grab more when I go back to pick up the cutting table extension that I ordered.  Anyway, the package has a duvet and pillow cover so I cut the duvet open at the seams and had two panels.  Here's what I turned it into.  I used the Farbenmix Anna Wrap pattern.

Isn't that cute?!  I used more of Tanya Whelan's striped fabric and some of Amy Butler's Lotus Dots (I love the lime, it goes with everything!).   I lined it with some white poly/cotton that I got at Walmart (1.97 yd and I love it because there's no ironing!).  Fun!  And I may just have to make a little backpack with the pillow cover.

Here's my birthday gift from Olivia.  It's so cute and funny and we got a kick out of the baby trying to open the door!  I think it's Smurfette's old place.

And I got a big box of patterns to day from Sew Liberated (the artist formerly known as Montessori by Hand). More Emmeline aprons and the new Lola apron (L-O-L-A Lola!), which has both a mommy and daughter apron (the Lolita). So much fun!!  And already in my store (with a list of supplies in the description).  Cute times ten.

Yippy for Ava Rose!!

Well I finally got my shipment of Tanya Whelan's new line called Ava Rose and I'm in love!  It's so pretty and feminine but a little bit spunky and the colors are beautiful (especially the aqua).  I was fortunate enough to meet Tanya at quilt market and it makes me love the fabric even more since she is so nice and had such a touching way of sharing her inspiration (her daughter).  Here's my first go 'round with her fabric. 

Here's a close up of the hem. Such great colors! I am working on getting some patterns out and this is one of them.

I also got 6 bolts of Anna Maria Horner's Garden Party fabric and I swear it glows! Really! I will be getting more soon but these 6 bolts are enough to get me into trouble. This one is going to be responsible for the re-doing of my kitchen and I'm not sure how happy Joey will be about that. I swear fabric should come with a disclaimer on each bolt like cigarettes do. "Warning: the Quilter's General has determined that the collecting of fabrics can be dangerous to your marriage." Or something like that.

I've spent all morning (and a great deal of the weekend) tinkering with my store. I now have a Sale page, a Dots and Stripes page (I really like that idea!) and will be adding a Coming Soon page. But for now, go check out that Sale page because I desperately need to make room for Pop Garden, Bijoux, and Farmer's Market. So if you could help me out that would be great! Do I sound like a fabric salesman? "Now tell me...what would it take to get you into this high quality designer fabric today?" Smarmy, huh? I like it!

I love the smell of fabric in the morning

I've been having some fun playing with Tina Givens' new fabrics.  I just adore these colors and the scale.  These prints are pretty big and I just love that.  The birds on the blue print are almost 7 inches long.  Fun!  Anyway I first made this little outfit from the ladybug print (the ladybugs are 1 inch across and a gorgeous blue color).  I think it's cute but it's not knocking my socks off.  You know how you start something and you get to the point where you realize you're either crazy about it or not?  I kind of had to force myself to finish it.  I like it but I'm not falling all over myself about it.

The coordinating fabrics are from Mary Engelbreit's new line and Dena Fishbein's Sun Drop line and I carry all of it in my store/playroom (sometimes I call it a "studio" to be fancy but honestly I have so much fun there it's more like a playroom to me).

Now this one I love. I love all the colors and patterns and this print (Cade's Treehouse in Azur Tea) is so whimsical (my kids think it looks like something from Dr. Seuss).  I'm really looking forward to trying the "Fairyland Coco" color, it's lavender but just as rich as this one.  Look at how big that flower is (this shirt is a 2T)!

I accidentally sewed the two main skirt fabrics together without the orange Bell Bottom print in there and debated whether to undo it all and start again (I had it top-stitched and everything). I'm glad I took it all out and re-did it because I love the way the spunky orange breaks up the daintiness of the other two prints.  Look at that bird's plumage!  Isn't it cute (and kind of wacky)?

These outfits are both listed on ebay. That's how I make my coffee money.  Well it used to be my coffee money but now it's my gas money.  And coffee if there's anything left.  Dang.

I'm expecting the UPS guy today (he'd better not disappoint me!) with some fabrics new from Tanya Whelan and Anna Maria. It makes me growl when I see it in other stores already (and that's not pretty).  But at least I'm getting exercise running back and forth from the window.

The happiest day of my parents life (snicker)

I get to pass out presents on my birthday (and I'm okay with that)!  Two lucky gals each get a lovely stack of Mary Engelbreit's Isn't Christmas Jolly? fat quarters.   Jessica, who left a comment on June 30th at 4:49 AM gets one.  (Obviously it's a case of the early bird getting the worm.  Email me Jessica!)  And Angel of Tada! Creations (nicest person, seriously cute stuff, and a baby on the way!) gets the other one.   Fun!

I'm expecting 23 bolts of fabric from Free Spirit any day now and the anticipation is killing me!   I received some of Tina Givens new line already and it's just gorgeous.  The funny thing is the colors are totally different that shown on the Free Spirit site (way prettier!).  This is not a rip on Free Spirit since their job is just to present a sample.  Sometimes the finished product is different than the original presentation.  Anyway here's the picture from their site:

Here's the picture I took.  This fabric is just gorgeous (I'm playing with it right now!):

Have a great day!  I'm going to see if I can find some birthday cake (forget the stupid candles, they'll just set off the smoke detectors anyway!).

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I forgot to mention my vertigo is all gone (whew!).  Turns out "it's not a tumah".  Thanks for the great advice and well wishes!