A bit of Christmas sewing

We have five granddaughters and they are all getting a new purse for a part of their Christmas.  I found this free tutorial* and thought it would be great.  The two black bags are for our eldest grands 

(9 and 8) I changed the pattern to make it a bit bigger for them.  

These were all made from Fat Quarters.  It was fun to pick out materials and lining.

For 'little-bit', she's 19 months and will love this. Lined in purple and black tiger print.

I made some changes to the pattern for our older girls - they need a bag that's a bit bigger.  These are lined with dark grey with a French script.

These are for the 6 year olds - I think they will like them. You can see the lining in the photo below.  Fun coordinating material is great to find in Fat Quarters.

All cut out, interfaced and ready to be assembled. 

* there were tons of ads and pop-up attempts on this site which was a real bummer but a wonderful tutorial and I dealt with it but just a heads up.

For our grandson, who is now five months old, I made a couple bibs that were also from a free tutorial.  I used velcro instead of snaps.

Not tons of sewing but tons of fun and I think they all will be enjoyed.

Happy sewing!

Robin

Simple Cotton Slip

This is a very simple cotton slip.  It had a real tendency to ravel!!  So I did French seams.

I did a search for a slip pattern to no avail.  Do they not make little cotton slips any more??  

This is a little summer sun dress pattern that I've had and thought it would work...  I would like to find a nice pattern for slips - I'll have to check out the thrift stores for some vintage patterns.

Granddaughter #4 has a beautiful new Christmas dress that has a metallic thread running through it, it sparkles and is so lovely, but she said it was a bit scratchy at the waist.  My thought was a little full slip would be the ticket.

We are going to their house tomorrow.  I'll take it with me and have her try it on so I can attach the should straps in the back where they will fit her.

Needle Books

The four older granddaughters have been wanting to learn to sew.  I thought embroidery would be a good way to start learning their hand stitches.  So Needle Books were in order.

                                      

I am hoping to make cotton slips as well for the girls. 

We'll see if  time allows.

Happy sewing!

Robin

Aprons for Christmas

I planned to go out shopping Friday but we had snow and super slippery roads so I decided that a homemade gift might be in order.

I went through my fabric stash to see what was there and I had success.

I have two gifts that I needed for co-workers.  (I purchased the other gifts last year at the after Christmas sales, shhh, don't tell.)

One co-worker loves pink!  And I like to give usable gifts not just 'stuff'...  So I thought this would work for her.

The other gift was for the name I drew from our Christmas gift exchange.  She likes to bake so I'm hoping this will work for her.

This material was a bit thinner so I decided to line it.

I had a blast making the contrasting and matching bias tape.
Happy sewing, Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!
Robin

Some fun projects for fall.

I really haven't been fitting much sewing into my schedule.  We are busy with the bees, granddaughters, gardening, canning, and working at my 'pay money' job.  This fall I'm sure sewing will begin again.  Some ideas I would like to make for the girls are shown below.  They still love dress-up.  And these are so pretty.


   
     

One More...

I really can sew more than this but I find that I sew what I need.  I started sewing my own under garments a year ago See here  And the truth is I like them better than any I've purchased over the years.  They can be made to individual form. 

So once again this is my sewing challenge garment.  I do plan to branch out a bit in February.  I'm thinking a fun spring skirt would be perfect next month.

 

Cotton cut on the bias.  I line with cotton too. 

Very comfortable and wears well.

Robin

 

Judy, this is the picture of the four pieces.  It really is a basic pattern.  I made a change so I could make a button closure instead of the hook and eye.  I just prefer that.  If you ever decide to make one and want to do the button closure let me know I would be happy to send you my extension pattern. 

 

 

As you can see it really is just a piece of paper to extend the side a bit to give me room for buttons and button holes.

Happy sewing!!

 

 

 

 

A Great Nephew

My baby sister is a grandma!  The pictures have been flying our way via text messaging.  So even though we are on the opposite side of the country we have seen sweet pictures of this little one.

Well what's an aunt to do - head to the sewing machine with some fun flannel.  I love large double sided receiving blankets.  I made them for our granddaughters, have made them for shower gifts and now made a couple more. 

 

 

 1 1/4 yard of 45 inch wide fabric per each side makes a nice square receiving blanket. 

If you buy 1 1/2 yards you'll have enough to make a matching burp cloth.

 

You need 2 contrasting pieces for each blanket.

 

Cut your fabric so it is the same size.  A cutting board and rotary cutter works great for this.

 

Put right sides together and stitch around the outside  - remember to leave 6 to 8 inches open so you can turn the blanket right side out.

 

Press

 

Then I like to do a decorative stitch around the outside edge.  It finishes it off and closes the turning opening up all in one endeavor.

 

Happy sewing!

Robin 

 

 

Burp cloth - ;-)