I love to make baskets, buckets and bins to store stuff in.
Recently, I came across this tutorial for an organizer basket which ends up measuring 2 inches high by 9-1/2 inches long. What a fun shape! I’m using one of them to hold my headphones and charger cord, and the other one to hold drawing pencils and pens. If you’re looking for a quick, functional sewing project, this one is quite satisfying to whip up in an hour.
My husband asked me to make new mini quilts to put on our nightstands. He was bored with the previous ones. So I laid out a stack of fabrics I thought he might like, and let him choose two prints for his nightstand and two for my nightstand.
Here’s what his looks like:
Here’s what mine looks like:
He went with a combination of an African safari map and batik fabrics. He also wanted a simple patchwork design, so I used my pattern for my checkerboards (which are sold out). I love how rich they look on the wood stain of our nightstands. I also love how easy and quick these minis were to make over the course of a week.
I made a bag for a friend who shares my love for chocolate lollipop fabrics.
I use my bag to hold my sewing tools and notions in.
She fell in love with it when she saw mine at our quilting retreat this summer, so she requested one for herself.
She sent me a big stack of fabrics, so I thought it would be cool to make this into a trade. She sent me some fabulous dots and basics that I’ve never seen before, so I’m excited to find creative ways to incorporate these fun prints into my stash.
With my busy work schedule these days, it’s been awhile since I’ve done any sewing, so I was pleasantly surprised when this bag took me a little more than an hour to make. Relieved I still remember how to sew!
I am excited to have some fun quilting projects to share with you from my quilting retreat this past weekend!
I finally finished piecing my pinwheels quilt top. I love how Sis Boom fabrics, which I started piecing last fall. I love the way it turned out so I can’t wait to quilt it and snuggle up in it when our air conditioning gets too cold.
I also stippled two sets of patchwork that I’m going to use as bathroom rugs. I finally reached a point where I feel comfortable stippling and love the relaxation of free motion quilting.
One patchwork rug is for summer, and measures 18 inches tall by 31 inches wide, made from Sis Boom fabrics I cut into charm squares.
The other patchwork rug is for fall, measures 22 inches tall by 31 inches wide, and is made from Nature Walk fabrics.
I found these cool coffee prints while fabric shopping, so I had to make a mug rug and a 36-patch mini quilt that I’m going to use as a placemat.
I finally made a ticker tape wall hanging, which measures 16 inches wide by 18 inches tall. I LOVE THIS QUILT! Thank you to Amanda Jean for sharing your inventive and amazing idea with us! And thank you for sharing some of your snippets with me. If anyone has ever been tempted to try making one of these, go for it! It produces fabulous results and becomes addicting. You’ll never look at a tiny scrap the same again.
I also made a new maverick star wall hanging using Gwen Marston‘s liberated star block from fabrics I bought over the weekend. I had no idea what I was going to do with them, so this project was especially fun to dream up as I went along, getting feedback from my fellow quilting retreaters. I added a wide white border so it came out to a 34-inch square, which will make a nice wall hanging.
It felt great to be so productive at retreat, especially when there was so much talking and laughing going on!
I love sewing. I don’t have any local friends to get together with for a sewing day, so I have learned to love to sew by myself. But I cherish the connections I’ve made through blogging with so many other like-minded women, who are also different and fun and interesting. I always try to seize the chance to meet them in person, this time for a weekend together sewing and quilting.
I love making lists, so I made a list of words and phrases to describe our weekend quilting retreat:
New WIPs, More UFOs, Stash Building, Idea Sharing, Inspiration, Advice, Motherly, Sisterly, Friendship, Laughter, Bonding, Heartwarming, AMAZING!
Since most people don’t like to have their picture taken, I took pictures of everyone’s sewing machines and workstations instead. We all love to see people’s creative space, so I thought it would be cool to see our work stations at retreat. (Doris has a group photo, which I think she will share soon.)
Cindy’s work space
Amanda’s work space
Doris‘ work space
Shelly’s work space
Rene’s work space.
Rene’s sister Michelle joined us, but I missed getting a photo of her workspace before she had to pack up to return home. Sorry Michelle!
Toni’s work space
Stephanie‘s work space
Mary‘s work space
My work space (which I photographed in between projects so it looks a little too neat and clean!)
How far would you travel to spend time with a group of like-minded women you know but you’ve never met before? If it means the privilege of getting together with such an amazing group of women, I highly recommend it!
PS – I got a lot of projects done at retreat which I will plan to share with you in another post.
I'm so excited to finally be ready to show you my newest and most favorite products - custom sketchbook slipcovers and zippered pouch sets!
I am offering them in three combinations of sets from my shop.
Set 1 includes the small sketchbook, measuring 3.5 inches wide by 5.5 inches tall, and fits perfectly inside the medium zippered pouch, which is 9 inches wide by 5.5 inches tall. That way, you can carry your favorite drawing tools with your sketchbook.
Set 2 includes the medium sketchbook slipcover, measuring 5.5 inches wide by 8.5 inches tall, and has a velcro strip on the back to attach the small zippered pouch, measuring 7 inches wide by 4 inches tall.
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The idea here is that this small pouch attaches to the sketchbook slipcover so you can carry your favorite pens and pencils when you’re out and about.
All the sketchbook slipcovers have a double elastic loop, one attached to the front of the cover and the other attached to the back cover. When you slide the pencil through both loops, it keeps the slipcover closed.
Set 3 is the mother-load with all five pieces!
The large zippered pouch is 12 inches wide by 7 inches tall, and all these goodies fit inside. It’s a stylish way to carry your sketchbook and drawing tools.
The pencils and my handmade sketchbooks are included. The best part – these slipcovers are all reusable! When you fill up one sketchbook, replace it with another.
I am listing these as custom orders so you can pick and choose your own colors.
Ever since enrolling in art school, I have wanted to find a way to combine my passion for sewing and my new love for drawing and illustration. This is a fun start! Stop by to check out my new goodies!
In case you’ve been wondering whether I still sew, the answer is yes, I sew a lot. Most of the stuff I’ve been making lately has been fun goodies for my shop.
I have been carrying around this small clutch for the past few months.
I love this little clutch, but it’s actually better for going out at night, not for carrying all my usual purse stuff and a few extras when traveling. So I decided I needed a new purse.
I wanted something a little bigger to fit a sketchbook. It’s an 11-inch square just like these other purses I made for my shop. It has darts in the bottom corners to expand the inside of the purse just enough to hold my purse goodies.
I also wanted something youthful and a little funky, but still functional. In my true style, I always like to add piping for that extra finished touch. This bag has a zipper pocket inside to hold loose items, and an open pocket on the other side to slip in a notebook.
That’s what I came up with – fun, isn’t it?! I really love it.
I have also been wanting to make a messenger bag to carry art supplies when traveling.
I wanted this bag to be big enough to fit a sketchbook and drawing and painting tools. Since I couldn’t find a pattern I was in love with, I made up my own pattern for this bag, which measures 13 inches wide by 11 inches tall.
Once again, I wanted this bag to be youthful and fun, while still being functional. I like having the long natural webbing strap to sling across my shoulder.
I added a little pocket with velcro closure on the inside of the flap to hold my headphones.
This one is just the ticket! I used a print from the Drawing Room home dec collection by Anna Maria Horner for the outside and a print from her Garden Party collection for the lining. I wish all home dec fabric were this soft and lovely to work with! Hmm, wonder if she has plans to do more home dec fabrics.
Speaking of headphones, I made a tiny little pouch to store my headphones in my purse.
To give you perspective, I used a 4-inch zipper on this one! That is small. But it’s a great way to keep my headphones from getting tangled and tossed about in my purse. It is big enough to fit an ID and credit card, so I could also use this as a wallet.
It’s always fun to have new purses!
I am excited to share lots of shop updates with you today!
First up, I added a whole bunch of sketchbooks to the shop, from reusable moleskin covers to these fun cereal box sketchbooks. They are about 4.5 inches wide by 5.5 inches tall, with 50 sheets of paper in each spiral-bound book. They have been featured here!
Here’s a small sample of fun NEW moleskin covers with handmade sketchbooks included.
The smaller ones fit a 3.5-inch by 5.5inch notebook. The size in the middle is a custom 6-inch square.
By the way, NEW slipcover styles and sets coming soon, so stay tuned!
Then, I started making a couple new party purses over Spring Break (back in March!), which I finally finished and added to my shop.
These are very similar to the purse I’ve been carrying the past couple months – perfect size (7 inches tall by 9 inches wide) for going out!
I also started making prototype of two new purses over spring break, and finished them recently as well.
These purses are also 9 inches wide by 7 inches tall, but they have a 2-inch gusset, making them roomy for carrying more purse stuff.
What a relief to finally have all these new items in my shop!
I put a couple laptop bags on sale (20% off) recently. If you’re in need of a new bag, stop by for a looksy. Speaking of laptops, my Pink Lady laptop bag has been featured in a Summer Pink Treasury!
Next on my list was to finish a custom laptop sleeve ordered by a friend and fellow classmate. I love how it turned out so I can’t wait to deliver it.
Finally, I have decided to offer my products as PDF to Print patterns! I’ve received several requests and encouragement from several other people to offer patterns, so that is the next big step I will be working on.
Hope you are keeping busy with creative fun too!
I can’t believe I have another finished quilt to share with you. This is so exciting! I started to grow this little forest a few months ago.
Thank goodness for spring break last week, when I had time to work on this project too. I am so happy to be able to show it off a little.
I love how it turned out, so I can’t wait to hang it up!
