Thoughts and Projects…

 

I keep thinking I should really try harder to update this blog regularly, but this semester has been crazy and I really haven’t had much time for crafting, let alone blogging. 

I did find time to make a darling little gift for a three year old.  His birthday was last week, and I made a little tote bag with a fire truck applique. 

I also made a c0lorful crayon roll.

I bought the large crayons that are washable.  I made the roll a little bit bigger so that way it can be used for markers in the future. 

It is so colorful!  I secretly want one for my colored pencils, except I would want it to hold all of the pencils and that might be a tad much…  I do have a lot of them. 

Four Dresses

 

These are the dresses I made for my niece for her first birthday.

The first dress is the Tea Party dress from Oliver + S.  I love these patterns.  The Tea Party dress as well as the playsuit is super simple to make, and turns out stunning every time, even when I fail to follow directions and am overzealous with cutting open my button holes.

The bloomers are from Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross, the Ruby Bloomers.  I absolutely adore these bloomers, and I have made about 12 pairs so far.  They make a great, simple outfit for babies – just throw a pair on with a onesie or a shirt, and the baby always looks adorable.

The second dress is really more of a top, and it is a Butterick pattern – 5439, I believe.  I didn’t make any bloomers for this top because I was experimenting with the pattern and some leftover fabric.  I think this will look cute this fall with jeans, over a long sleeved shirt.  This pattern is super easy.

The rainbow dress is mostly made up, vaguely following the smocked sundress from Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross.

I love using the elastic thread.  It is so easy.  If you are making the bloomers, here is a tip: the elastic thread works best on a single layer of fabric.  In other words, don’t use it on the hem where the fabric is three layers, but rather just above the hem.  I have the best luck that way.

And the last one is the same Butterick pattern as the butterfly dress.  Both are reversible. 

I made two pairs of bloomers for this dress – one in ladybugs, one in polka dots.  It is so pretty, and I know it will look lovely on the little lady. 

Hers and Hers Pillowcases

Hers and Hers Pillowcases, originally uploaded by FallingUtopia.

A long time ago (last summer?) I made matching Hers and Hers pillowcases. They are pretty and so lovely, the only problem is... they match. Completely. On both sides.

So now, I am working on making non-matching Hers and Hers pillowcases. Well, coordinating pillowcases at least.. I'm going to stitch a line from one of our favorite sides on one side, and then our name on the other side.

Maybe this way it will be easier to tell our pillows apart.

Buttercup Bag

Buttercup Bag, originally uploaded by FallingUtopia.

I finally made the Buttercup Bag, a free tutorial posted here:
http://madebyrae.blogspot.com/2009/02/free-buttercup-bag-sewing-pattern.html

I love this pattern, and it is super easy to make. I expanded the length a little because I like to have enough space for a book in my bag.

I used a heavy weight cotton -- it works great. I also added interfacing in the top part to give it a little sturdiness. I've already made a second one out of linen, I just need to post it! I can see myself having a whole collection of these bags.

Everyone Needs an Obama Apron!

I found this great fabric, and I thought it needed a great project. I decided to make an apron for my mother.















It's just a little half apron, with some rick rack, bias tape, and polka dot fabric.

My mother loved it, and now I need to make a matching one for my father. Both of my parents are big Obama fans!

Stacked Coins Quilt

Stacked Coins Quilt, originally uploaded by FallingUtopia.

I think I like the bigger picture size better... hmm...

This was for my mom for Christmas.

I vaguely followed the stacked coins quilt from Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts. The fabrics were from a fat quarter set I picked up at Joanns a while back, the brown fabric and the backing were both sheets.

I went a little creative with the quilting, I was feeling a bit brave.

Sushi Quilt

Sushi Quilt
Originally uploaded by FallingUtopia

Just another test post, seeing how this blogging from Flickr works.

This is a quilt I made my dad for Christmas. He loves sushi, so I used sushi fabric. It turned out nicely!