Bitty Bag = big frustration (the Echino predecessor)

I found this pattern at the quilt shop where I used to work.  I love the idea of the bag, and their sample was very cute.  If I'd seen the pattern by itself I probably would have just kept walking, but the sample sold it for me!

I used some older Amy Butler for this bag, I think these are both Daisy Chain prints.
I also made up a Lazy Girl Wonder Wallet to match.

In the end, I changed a lot about this bag.  I also wasted a zipper and some fabric-which led to me having to substitute a bit.  I was working from scraps, but if I hadn't changed anything with the pattern I would have had enough of my original prints.

I have no idea if the fabric requirements are accurate for this, because I just grabbed some stuff from my stash.

My biggest gripe with this pattern was that it had you sewing through LOTS of layers.  I have a pretty nice machine, so when I can't easily assemble something I assume that plenty of others will have the same problem.  I also have an industrial machine for quilting, which I do pull out for sewing things like leather.  But for this little bag, I didn't want to deal with hauling it out.

The biggest change that I made was to omit the batting from the outside zipped pocket.  If I were to repeat this pattern I would also omit the batting from the front outside pocket, and maybe just forgo batting altogether.  I don't used polyester batting, so maybe that would have been easier to work with than cotton. But I think that a lightweight interfacing alone would be the best.  With all of the pockets on this tiny bag, the batting isn't really necessary for structure.  I also chose not to box out the bottom corners, mainly because I didn't want to deal with all of the bulk.

 

The finished dimensions of this bag are 8" tall by 5.5" wide.  I *thought* that I wanted a bag that small, but it ended up too small for me.  I liked the shape, though, which I why I sewed up the Echino bag!

The benefit of this bag is that it includes several credit card slots-both inside the main zipper and inside the outside front pocket.  So it would be easy to ditch the wallet to minimize bulk.  I just don't like the idea of not carrying a wallet. :)

Little Quilty Things

Lately I've been craving some instant gratification.  So I made a few small quilty things...

Camera strap (2" x 23" finished):

(And yes, I broke into some more Heather Ross!  I'm going to create a brown camera bag with some HR accents, too.)

Phone Cozy:

 

OK, I know it seems like a silly thing to have.  But I drop things.  A lot.  The only downfall to keeping my phone in the cozy is that I have to turn the ringer up all of the way.  But it has stayed scratch free so far!

Fabric is Love by Amy Butler.

Ipod case:

  

At 6" wide and 4.5" tall, this little case is perfect for my nano, armband, and earbuds.  I added an inside zipper pocket for my earbuds, which also divides the interior into 2 sections.  I love that everything has it's place, and it's so nice to keep everything together!

Fabric is Love and Midwest Modern 2 by Amy Butler.

Oh, I left the batting out of this case to reduce bulk.  So I guess technically this one isn't quilty. ;)

The simple things in life

Kids are funny.  Spend 3 weeks working on a quilt or 3 minutes working on a pair of pj pants.  Chances are, the pj pants will win out-at least with my 3-year old!

We picked up some Princess and the Frog flannel during a trip to JoAnn's and I told Addy I'd make her a pillowcase and some pj pants.  The problem with making pj pants is that they are so easy, I always end up making more than 1 pair.

And that's just what I ended up doing a few weeks ago.

In 1 day, I finished:
2 pj pants for Addy
1 pj shorts for Addy
pillowcase
2 pillowcase dresses (size 2 and 5T)
2 pairs adult sleep capris

I used a pattern from Weekend Sewing for the pj pants and shorts.
For the pillowcase dresses I used this pattern.
The adult capris were designed after my current favorite pair from Old Navy.

Princess and the Frog pillowcase

Woven cotton snowman pants

Princess and the Frog pants

Knit giraffe shorts

I'm saving the snowman pants for the holidays, or at least until the weather is cooler. :)  And nearly every night Addy asks if she can wear the Princess and the Frog pants.  But with temperatures in the 90's lately, flannel is going to have to wait!

Owl pj capris with knit waistband

The cotton that I used for these is thicker than I realized.  It's too hot here for them right now, but I think they'll be great for the fall!  The second pair is for my sister, her sorority mascot was an owl!

Pillowcase Dresses

These dresses are part of my goal to sew more for others.  I made Addy a dress very similar to the one shown here on the left.  She wore it to my in laws' house a few weeks ago when my mother in law's neighbor stopped by.  The neighbor mentioned that she loved the dress, so I whipped these up for her granddaughters.  She loved the dresses, and I was just happy to surprise someone with such a simple project! :)

Handmade Donations

Somewhere along my sewing and quilting journey, I've established quite the fabric stash!  A fat quarter here, a few yards of sale fabric there...pretty soon I have much more than I know what to do with.

I've given a decent amount of fabric to my sewing friends, but that still leaves quite a bit.  I've been working hard to only purchase fabric for specific projects and sew from my stash whenever I can.  Another idea that I've come up with is to use some of my stash to create items to donate.

I got this idea when I stumbled on the Craft Hope blog.  I missed their first project, but I was able to participate in several so far.


The current project is to create pillowcases for ConKerr Cancer.

  

I came up with enough stash fabric to make 14 pillowcases!  I can't lie, the Castle Peeps are my favorite. :)

Olivia, that crazy pig!

I went fabric shopping a few weeks ago with a good friend.  At the second quilt shop that we stopped at, we found some adorable Olivia fabric.  I remember when the first Olivia line came out.  Everyone was crazy about it, but I didn't love it.  The new line is too cute, though!  And as a bonus for those with boys who love Olivia, they printed this line in a green and blue colorway too!  I can't help but think, "man, that was a smart marketing decision!" :D

For my quilt design, I wanted a simple quilt that Addy could snuggle under and I didn't want to cut up the prints and lose the design.  The center of the quilt is a 42" square.  I added two borders, the first one is a 2" strip of the cream with red pigs.  The second border width was dictated by the fabric repeat - I think it's about 6.5" wide?  I used every last inch of that print-I was hoping to miter the corners, but I was short by several inches.  So I used my second favorite border design with y-seams! :)

For the binding and back I chose a creamy brown kona.  It's a very close match to the brown pig, who Addy has informed me is named Julian.  I just love how the creamy brown looks with the bubblegum pink!  Reminds me of some sort of chocolatey dessert involving strawberries......

For the quilting I used pink thread and quilted an all over loop design.

 

I love this fabric so much, it almost makes me want to watch the annoying tv show!

Echino - for girls and guys

First up, I created this for Matt's iPad.  I wasn't actually sure if he'd like it or use it, but it's a huge hit!  It certainly helps that I used some funky Echino featuring vespas.

I constructed this sleeve the same way as my iPad sleeve, but I cut this one down for a snugger fit.  I prefer the snug fit, so I may deconstruct mine and trim it down a bit.

And with the remaining insanely adorable Echino, I whipped up a few bags.  I've been eyeing a Vera Bradley hipster bag for awhile now, but I can't bring myself to buy one.  With the hipster in mind, I created The Seattle Bag:

Our realtor in Seattle is this super fun, hip mom.  She's just so.....Seattle. :)  And she carries a really simple hipster style bag.  Yeah, naming patterns and projects isn't one of my strengths...

For this particular bag, I created a front outside pocket, which closes with the button tab.  The zipper runs along the top of the bag to keep the style simple and clean.  Inside I included a zipper pocket and another small pocket for things like chap stick.

Top view of the bag.  Button tab is open, showing the outer pocket.

I love the style and shape of this bag, which really allows for showcasing fun fabric.  I may make up a few of these for the shop.


And because I couldn't bear to waste any of this fabric, I made Addy a small bag.  Nothing fancy, just a simple velcro tab closure with a button accent.

I can't get over the funky prints that Echino offers.  And now that I've worked with the fabric a bit, I think I'm hooked!

Amelia, Betty, Lilly and Rufus

I was so excited to find the Patty Young doll panel at my local quilt shop.  And no sooner did I have the fabric in my hands than Addy was eyeing it!  She quickly announced that she wanted the pink doll, which came as no surprise.

The dolls come "wearing" a tank and shorts.  Patty Young also has a great dress pattern on her blog using knits (scroll down on the righthand side).  My sewing skills with knits aren't up to "gifting" standards, so I made each doll an elastic waist skirt and a pillowcase top.

I don't think I can pick my favorite in the bunch, but when you're three whether or not you get the doll with pink hairbows can seem like the difference between life and death!  And so I present to you Amelia, Betty and Lilly.

Addy named her doll Lilly, and of all the dolls that she has this is the only one she has named!  I think it's safe to say that Lilly is a keeper-Addy hasn't put her down for days. :)

Marla, achildhood friend of mine, has a sweet girl who is just about to turn one.  And as luck would have it, Marla's brother also has a little girl who is about to turn one!  Marla was one of my closest friends growing up, and I was very close to her whole family.  So I couldn't resist sending a doll off to her niece as well. :)

Happy 1st birthday, McKenzie and Emma!

And Rufus....

Not only does my friend have a cute one-year old girl, but she also has an adorable son who is Addy's age.  This fun little guy is on his way to wish Spencer a happy 3rd birthday! :)

I used the free pattern here on Denyse Schmidt's website to create Rufus.

I hope the birthday girls and boy enjoy their new friends!  As a parent, I love when Addy receives a gift that doesn't light up, make noise, or require batteries. ;)