Stop staring and start sewing!

Spending time with grown-ups, yay!

It's been a good week! The weather is nice and I've been able to get out of the house and spend time with people my own age.

On Wednesday I joined this great group of local ladies for a wonderful lunch in downtown Phoenix. What a treat!  From left to right:  Bari J. Ackerman, Penny Sturges, Carrie Nelson, Barb Groves, me, Cindy Taylor Oates, and Mary Jacobson.  Such fun!  And such great food!

Last weekend I got to go to a baby shower.  It's been awhile since I've been to one actually.  My peers are done having babies but now their daughters are starting to have them so here we go again.  Baby showers are so much fun and it cracks me up how all of us ladies sit there squealing and clapping as the gifts are being opened.  Being a girl is fun.

I used my burp rag pattern (recently updated with pdf pattern you can download) to make 4 coordinating burp rags from Dena Fishbein's Leanika fabric (I recently found 2 fat quarter stacks for only 25.00 each at Tuesday Morning, score!).  I used a nice, soft, pink flannel for the other side.  I also made a teeny little skirt using a downsized version of my Evelyn Apron Skirt and appliqued a little t-shirt to match.  I just cut a little circle of the fabric for the applique but I recently found a great blog post with templates for animal shapes and applique instructions here at Daffodil Design blog.  Definitely worth bookmarking.

 

I just folded everything in a neat little stack and wrapped a nice, beefy grosgrain ribbon around it and ta-da!  Sweet! 

I actually have a little stash of onesies and baby t-shirts on hand just for gifts.  It's a good idea to grab some if you see any good sales and might be needing shower gifts.  And baby gifts require so little fabric.

I hope you've had a great week!  It's warming up here in Arizona so I'm trying to appreciate it without thinking about the dreaded heat that is coming (and my car's A/C isn't working, ack!).  Have a nice weekend and remember to leave a comment in this post to win the book (on Sunday)!

Another give away (this time it's personal!)

Last year I was asked if I would be interested in contributing a project to a beach themed book by Stash Publishing (an imprint of C&T).  Then acquisitions editor, Susanne Woods, asked if I would create a pattern for a sun hat and although I said "Yes, I'd love to!", in my mind I was thinking "Is she crazy?  I don't DO hats!".  But hey!  Why pass on a great opportunity, right?

So after a week of mulling and sketching I submitted this idea for consideration.

That idea became the Seashore Sunhat on page 36 of Seaside Home:

 

My goal was to create a reversible hat so you'd basically have 2 hats in one.  I wanted a brim that would hold it's shape while not being too stiff and a crown that was soft but not floppy.  Mission accomplished.

 

The seam is hidden along the brim so there's no "bad side" with this hat.  When you want to change the look simply flip it over, pull the strap through the gap, and tighten the toggle under your chin.

Fabric used is from Laura Gunn's Poppy Collection.

You can use a bead or cord lock for your toggle, but if you want a really beachin' hat you can get one of these mini-conch shells and use that instead (I bought a small pack of them at Michael's).

 

Okay, so here it is back on my head after spending months in California getting it's picture taken.  I'm keeping the hat but giving away a copy of the book (I'll even sign it for the winner)!

There are a total of 25 great projects in the book including softies, home decorating, children's wear and more.  Great gift ideas here!  And you don't even have to live near a beach to enjoy all the cuteness stuffed into this book.  So check it out here at Stash Books (and a great version of my hat in this post here).

Just leave a comment and I'll draw a lucky winner next weekend (on April Fools' day, but I'll seriously send the book!).  Have a wonderful week!

Burp Rag Pattern....an updated tutorial (now with printable pattern!)

This tutorial has been getting a lot more attention due to Pinterest (follow my Pinterest boards here) so I thought this would be a good time to update it.  Back then I didn't have the skills to create a printable pattern/pdf file and now I've got some crazy skillz so we're good to go.

Download BURP RAG pdf here

When you print it out (you'll need to print 4) you need to chose US LETTER (BORDERLESS) for your paper size option.  If you don't chose borderless then it won't print the upper and lower edges.  Cut out the shapes and tape them together without over-lapping.  Mine has heavy duty interfacing fused to the back and a hole punched through it so I can hang it up.

Here's an example of a gift for a boy that I made.  One side is quilting cotton and the other is flannel. 

 

Here's a girl's version with both sides being flannel.

I usually serge my edges (it only takes minutes to make 4 of them that way!).  But if you don't want serged edges you can add 1/4" seam allowance all the way around and sew them right sides together.  Just leave a hole about 3" long for turning them right side out and slip stitch the hole shut.

Another option is to embroider a monogram at one end.  It will look beautiful and nobody will know you spent just a few dollars on your baby gift.  Just cut a rectangle big enough for the pattern plus about 3 inches at one end.  Trace your pattern, transfer the letters for the monogram, put the fabric in and embroidery hoop and stitch away.  Be sure to add 1/4" seam allowance around your traced pattern when you cut the burp rag out.

This pattern has served me well over the years (for my own babies and those of my friends) and I'll be using it for years to come.  I've never had a disappointed recipient.  So take it, use it, enjoy it!!  Let me know if you have any questions!

What happened to February?

Okay, so I'm here....I didn't mean to be gone that long but I seriously needed it. I went to Portland for a week and had a wonderful time with my nieces and nephews...and great nephews (all 4 of them!)....and sisters....and my mom and dad went too. It was great. I spent an evening with the Sweet Hot Yams, went shopping at Bolt, Cool Cottons (with Sarah Jackson!), and Fabric Depot....I even won 100.00 playing the slots at The Pink Feather.  It was exactly what I needed. 

Then I came home to the stress of a deadline and every major appliance in the house going on the fritz (the chest freezer is behaving though so it's not all bad).  Sigh.

But now I'm back and I've drawn a winner for the cute knit dress from Shabby Apple.  Normally when I hear the term "#2" I don't think happy thoughts but this time I'm thinking....winner!  Congratulations to winner Deb!!  Shabby Apple still has a coupon code just for my readers if you didn't win and want to shop at their cute store.  Just type "stopstaring10off" in the coupon code box (coupon ends on March 19th so don't wait too long).

I've been sewing with a lot of linen lately and I've fallen completely in love with it.  This week I dyed some linen that I got from Dharma Trading Company (I love that site!) and the whole process felt so earthy and organic I just wanted to eat some homemade yogurt and herd chickens.  I used the 4.7 oz linen which was perfect for the skirt I was making.  I'm going to get the lighter weight linen next time and make some summer blouses.  They have an 8 oz linen which I'm thinking might be the right weight for a couch slipcover but I'm going to get some samples before investigating in that much fabric.  This is still very new to me (any linen advice greatly appreciated).

I didn't have a big tub to work with but I did have this old dog food keeper which turned out to be better since I could see through it.  I used the Blue/Grey dye and kept it in there for 20 minutes while stirring it most of the time.  I also dyed a big piece of the fabric scraps with it just in case I want to make a rosette or something else to accessorize the skirt.

The end color is very beautiful and I'd call it a blue/grey with just a hint of periwinkle.  They have dozens of colors to chose from so it was hard to pick but I'm loving this one and excited to try some more. Chartreuse is next.

The only glitch I ran into was on the hem where some of the color really saturated and stayed dark.  I realized after inspecting it that it was right in the spot where my rolled hem had stopped and I'd applied fray check so lesson learned.

And look at what I discovered....my sewing machine has a 1/4" foot!  It was one of those "duh!" moments that actually made my day.  It makes sense that a machine named Quilter's Dream would have a 1/4" foot but since I wasn't quilting at the time I bought it I really didn't pay attention.  I wonder what else my machine does?  I need to spend a little time playing with it I think.

Have a great week!!  Keep on sewing!!