Market Tote!

Awhile back I participated in this fun swap involving reusable grocery bags. After scouring the internet for tutorials on how to make a reusable tote, I came across this wonderful Market Tote Tutorial over at Bijou Lovely. I highly recommend this tutorial - it is easy to follow and it did not take very long to make this bag at all. I love the fact that it can stand on it's own and is super durable. Since my partner is a fan of orange I used a DS flower fabric for the outside with a coordinating print for the inside. Of course I could not resist adding a solid so I finally settled on a Kona solid for the handles and bottom. I am so glad that my partner likes it!

Do you have a go-to quick bag tutorial that you use a lot? Share it in the comments below!

Kawaii Winter Wonderland - Finished!

The flu took over our household this weekend (despite the fact that all members have received the flu shot a few months ago), leaving me with plenty of time to watch silly Christmas movies and finish up my Kawaii Winter Wonderland Sampler.

I really like how it turned out and am pleased with my choice to use the sparkly cloth...even if it did mean I had to make a few minor changes to the original pattern.

My favorite is the penguin and the owl...my husband likes the pickle and the partridge the best. Do you have a favorite?

Overall, I enjoyed working on this winter sampler...it provided some needed on-the-go sewing and relaxing and helped me get into the holiday spirit. Now I just need to figure out how to frame it!

A few finishes...and a WIP

**friendly reminder -- today is the last day to enter the chicopee giveaway! Don't miss out and enter here**

I have been a busy little bee this week -- catching up on all sorts of projects. I managed to finish quilting one of 2 quilts I need to finish for do.good.stitches (a charity quilting group on flickr). I will take better photos when the weather decides to cooperate, but for now this sneak peek will have to do.

Not going to lie, I was a bit nervous about washing it -- although with some suggestions from my lovely instagram friends, I loaded it up in the washing machine with a few color catchers and voila, no bleeding! Thank goodness for online friends!

I've also been trying to piece together a back for my other do.good.stitches quilt, so I spent the afternoon yesterday playing with a few kona charm packs. I am liking how this is turning out - I have a fun idea, but we'll see if I have the time to execute it...and of course it involves a visit to the fabric shop. =)

Finally, I finished my swap item for the Sewing Summit 12 Swap that is hosted on Flickr. I had so much fun coming up with something I think my partner will enjoy...but since she hasn't got it yet I'll only show a sneak peek.

I'll link up to Lee's WIP post...and hope that you ya'all have an excellent holiday!

My very first gathered clutch

So I'm not a big bag maker.

I've only made 1 other bag (my fall fan bag) before, so I'm not quite sure what I was thinking when I decided I needed to make a clutch to use at my sister's wedding. I figure it would be a good step to my ultimate goal of completing Amy Butler's Weekender Bag.

After a lot of research, I settled on making the gorgeous gathered clutch from one of my favorite blogs - noodlehead. There are always well written tutorials and the site provides a wealth of inspiration. The instructions looked easy enough, so I figured I could handle it.

After a few hours of very mild confusion (gather stitches? What does that mean? You don't gather stitches while quilting!) I had my very own gathered clutch:

And ya know what?

I adore it.

I will be making more in the future, because it really didn't take that long -- and now that I know how to gather stitches it should go together even faster. The design possibilities on this one are endless. I am glad that I have made it one step closer to the weekender bag...gulp...

My "Rebellious" Weekend

This weekend my dashing husband spent most of his time studying for an endocrine exam. This left me lots of time to do whatever my heart desired. Of course I immediately wanted to spend some quality time with Nina (my sewing machine) who I have been neglecting as of late...so I did, despite being on my sewing hiatus.

Now before you get all upset about me ignoring doctors orders and the like, I promise I stopped whenever my wrists/hands started to hurt a lot. So it was somewhat slow going. But I did manage to complete a few projects.

First up I completed a quilt and it is easily one of my favorite quilts ever. I know I say that almost every time I make a new quilt, but I am seriously in love with it. I want to show you all so badly but can't reveal it yet. But here's a teaser shot:

Next up I conquered my fear of the zipper. 

As you can see I made myself a little coin pouch with scraps from my previous quilting projects....I even lined it! It wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be and I definitely see a few more projects involving zippers in my future.

What did you do this weekend? Were you at all a little bit rebellious?


PS - don't forget to enter the stockings for kids giveaway!