Tuesday, August 31, 2010

We Did It! Wednesday.

Welcome to another We Did It! Wednesday!  Here are a few favorites from last week:

H&M skirt copy from This Mabey Heaven:

Healthy homemade fruit rollups from New Nostalgia:

Lamp redo from Billie Monster:

Casserole carrier from 2 Little Hooligans:

Here's a button for those of you who were featured:

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Here's how We Did It! Wednesday works:

1. Enter a link (specific blog post, not your homepage) using the Linky Tools below to something you made that you want to share.  It can be something you sewed, crafted, painted, baked, or anything else you made that you want to share.
2. Try to check out at least one other link on the list (and I'm sure they'd love it if you left a comment too).
3. Post the We Did It! Wednesday button below to your post or sidebar to let others know your participating.


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Monday, August 30, 2010

Sewing Rooms.

I finally had some time to organize my sewing room over the weekend.  When I say organize, I mean get everything put away and off of the tables :).  It's far from being as organized as I'd like.  I've been trying to come up with some ideas for organizing my fabric, and have been debating between a dresser, shelves, or some sort of combination maybe?  I thought I'd share a few inspiring rooms with you today.

I'm sure you've all seen The Sugar Shop:
Yep, the talented Heather Bailey spends her time creating in there.  Wouldn't that be nice?  I think I'd definitely be more creative in a space like that.

Jenny from Allsorts used bright blue and red to accent her amazing room:

Take a closer look at her fabric hutch:

And since I've always wanted a pink sewing room...
Chaletgirl's room certainly makes me jealous!

Obviously we can't all have sewing rooms like these.  In fact, most of us can't.  Some of us have a whole room to dedicate to sewing and crafting, some have a corner in another room, and some use the good old dining room table when it's time to create.  No matter what space we have available, I'm sure we can all agree on one thing.  Organization is essential.  So here is the question for you:

What is your best tip for organizing your sewing space?

It could be a favorite place to store fabric, a way that you KEEP things organized (a hard one for me), or the great place you discovered to store scissors!  I'd love to hear your thoughts.  Maybe one day I'll get my fabric out of the rubbermaid bins (I seem to like those, huh?) that it's in :).


Friday, August 27, 2010

Noodlehead's Gathered Clutch.


I went down to my sewing room yesterday to work on two projects that I am trying to get finished up.  One is my next pattern, which I'll share more about very soon.  The phrase "Get R Done" has been playing non-stop in my head the past couple of weeks and I'd like it to stop.  I'm pretty good at having ONE thing on my mind at a time.  Multitasking is far from being one of my strengths.  I seem to like to think of one thing at a time, and really obsess over it.  Add in the fact that I'm a procrastinator, and things just go downhill from there.

So when I got into my sewing room to work on my pattern, I decided against it.  I decided I wanted to make something for fun instead.  Not that my pattern isn't fun to work on, cause to be honest, I love every minute of it, but I thought it would be good to force my mind to concentrate on something different for a few minutes.  And guess what?  I was right.


I've been dying to make Anna's Gathered Clutch ever since she first posted her tutorial.  It came together very quickly and easily.  I used some fabric scraps and a purple zipper I had laying around.  I think I originally bought the zipper years ago for a dress that I never ended up making, so I thought this would be a good chance to use it up.  Besides, I think I heard somewhere that purple is hot right now.  ...Or was that last year?  Hmm.


I used purple thread for contrast against the brown and beige fabrics.  I was trying to get the clutch finished up before Weston's nap was over, and in the rush forgot to topstitch around the zipper.  It's gonna drive me crazy forever.  I know I should just keep my big yapper shut about my mistakes, and a lot of you wouldn't even notice it, but I feel like a fraud if I don't give full disclosure on my successes and failures.  Maybe it's a bit dramatic to call my lack of topstitching a failure, but you get the point.  I think the clutch really needed that little extra bit of contrast, but oh well.


As usual, Anna's tutorial was great, and I'm off to JoAnn this afternoon to get some more zippers so I can make some more clutches.  If you want a fast, easy, and cute gift, I think one (or more!) of these clutches would be great!

I will be linking up to some of these fabulous parties!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

We Did It! Wednesday.

Thanks for stopping by We Did It! Wednesday!  Let's see some of your projects from last week:

Thrift store dress refashion from Something Pretty:

Cut out canvas from Brassy Apple:

Warning... you WILL be jealous!  Sewing room makeover from Sew Chic and Unique:

Peace applique tee from Sew Teen Generation:

Here's a button for those of you who were featured:
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Here's how We Did It! Wednesday works:

1. Enter a link (specific blog post, not your homepage) using the Linky Tools below to something you made that you want to share.  It can be something you sewed, crafted, painted, baked, or anything else you made that you want to share.
2. Try to check out at least one other link on the list (and I'm sure they'd love it if you left a comment too).
3. Post the We Did It! Wednesday button below to your post or sidebar to let others know your participating.


BLOG TITLE

Copy and paste the HTML text below to your own blog or website.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Don't want to sew a Ruby Lou?



Then you don't have to!  After receiving a number of requests from you for pre-made Ruby Lou Dolls, I am happy to let you know that Kiwi and Kiki now has Ruby Lou's available for purchase in her Etsy shop, and is even taking custom orders.  She has done a great job of making each doll unique and even has one listed with a tutu if you have a little dancer.  You can see her dolls here!

As a side note, I finally got a Facebook page going for Sew Much Ado... Another thing that I've been meaning to do for months.  Better late than never I guess, right?

Friday, August 20, 2010

Flashback Friday: The Pleated Poppy's Crayon Roll

Here's today's Flashback Friday...

My favorite thing about Flashback Friday's is that each guest poster has such a different take on it and we always get something different!  Lindsey from The Pleated Poppy is our special guest today and is sharing her tutorial for a crayon roll that she posted recently on her blog.  Lindsey is always sharing something new and inspiring on her blog, and as a special treat for all of you, she's offering a 10% discount in her shop if you use the promo code SEWMUCH!



one of the long time staples in my shop has been crayon rolls.  
these are perfect for gifts!  
each of my girls have one and silas (2 1/2) has been begging for one, so i made up this adorable one for him.  these are great for throwing in your purse, for keeping the littles busy in the car, waiting rooms, restaurants...  and when they're done, they love that each crayon has its own little home 
and they can roll it up themselves and secure it with the elastic.

so, are you ready for the tutorial?  here you go!

supplies:
2 pieces of same fabric for outside and inside - 5" x 16 1/2"
1 piece of coordinating fabric for pocket - 6" x 16 1/2"
1 piece of flannel for lining - 5" x 16 1/2"
1 coordinating hair elastic
1 button
needle and thread
1 box of 16 crayons (i get mine at walmart)
disappearing ink fabric marker


1. cut out all 4 pieces of fabric


2.  fold pocket piece of fabric in half length-wise and iron flat.  
i have found that it helps to actually PLUG IN the iron, and not the nearby vacuum cord.  
crazy how that works!


3.  lay out flannel piece. 
its just a lining to give the roll a little more stability. 
then lay one of the 5" wide pieces on top of the flannel (wrong side down), 
then pocket piece on top of that, lining up all bottom edges.  
pin at the ends.


4.  find the midpoint of the pocket at 8 1/4".  
with your fabric marker and a straight edge, mark the middle line.


5.  then make a line every inch, until all 15 lines have been drawn.  
see how the space after the last lines on each side is a little wider than 1 inch?  
that's to allow for the seam allowance.


6.  now stitch down the pocket.  
i start at the center line, 1/4" below the top of the pocket, and back stitch (very important!), 
then run your stitch all the way down.  
work your way down the lines to the right, then to the left, until all lines are stitched down.  
trim threads.


7.  if you have a tag to add, do it now.  
also stitch down the elastic on the far right side.  
i take the seam part of the elastic (where its melted together) and pinch it.  
i stitch it down just inside the edge, about a 147 times.   
ok, not really but i really want to make sure the elastic holds when little hands are tugging on it.


8.  now lay the outside piece on top of all that you have just attached together, 
right sides together, and pin at each corner.



9.  next stitch all pieces together with a 1/4" inseam.  
start at the short end without the elastic, leaving about a 2" opening to turn right side out.  
i marked my opening so you could see my placement.  
clip the corners.


10.  turn right side out and gently poke out corners.  i like to use a chopstick for this.


11.  spray your stitched down pocket lines with water before ironing crayon roll flat.  
sometimes if you don't spray the marker lines, 
when you iron it it makes the ink permanent rather than disappearing.


12.  press all the edges flat and tuck in the edges of the opening.


13.  starting just below the elastic, stitch very close to the outer edge to hold all the pieces together.


14.  organize your crayons (my *favorite* part!) and tuck into pockets.



15.  roll up tight.  
gently stretch the elastic to find where the button should be sewn down.  
sew on the button securely.



16.  you're done!  
find a cute little one to give this to and make their day!


i so hope you enjoy this little project! 

Thanks a million Lindsey!  What a great tutorial, we're so glad to have you today!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

We Did It! Wednesday

Here we are at another We Did It! Wednesday!  After I write this post I'm gonna get my little self to work and get some projects done.  I'm especially excited to show you one that I've been working on, so hopefully I can make a dent in it tonight :).  The party has still been growing bigger each week, which makes it harder and harder to pick my favorites!  Having said that, here they are:

Banded shorts from Create and Delegate (aren't these about the cutest things you've ever seen?):

Towels and hair towels from Mums Notebook:

Baby booties from I Design:

Coat rack from My Backyard Eden:

Here's a button for those of you who were featured:
BLOG TITLE


Copy and paste the HTML text below to your own blog or website.



Here's how We Did It! Wednesday works:

1. Enter a link (specific blog post, not your homepage) using the Linky Tools below to something you made that you want to share.  It can be something you sewed, crafted, painted, baked, or anything else you made that you want to share.
2. Try to check out at least one other link on the list (and I'm sure they'd love it if you left a comment too).
3. Post the We Did It! Wednesday button below to your post or sidebar to let others know your participating.

BLOG TITLE

Copy and paste the HTML text below to your own blog or website.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Jack and Cucumbers.


I know, sounds like a weird title, but it pretty much sums up this post.  First, let's talk about cucumbers.  And cucumbers.  And how about cucumbers?  So we planted our first garden this year.  Actually, Joel planted it, I've only done the weeding (which I basically quit doing a few weeks ago... it was fun for the first while and then got less fun as time went on).  I'd say we were pretty ambitious for it being our first garden.  We planted everything from corn to jalapenos, and it's kind of been hit and miss for what's grown well.
  
It's a good thing that we enjoyed eating our lettuce for awhile, because the cucumbers decided to take over the whole area.  I've never actually seen cucumbers in so many shapes and sizes before, but I guess you could say that they have been successful :).  We've been trying to give them away to anyone who steps foot in our house.


My favorite part is watching Wyatt pretend they're different objects, which ranges from a phone to a baseball bat.  It's pretty funny and I usually laugh until there's a giant cucumber flying at my face.

Our peas were pretty much a bust, and so were our carrots.  I guess it's been a good learning experience though, and we'll know what to plant and what not to plant for next year.

Okay, on to Jack.  Like I mentioned on Friday, we went to the Jack Johnson concert.  I bought the tickets months ago and have been counting down the days.  He's been one of my very favorite artists (cause you have favorites and very favorites too, right?)  before most people even knew who he was, so it's safe to say that that I was excited.  And my birthday was on Thursday, the day before, so it worked out as a perfect birthday present to myself :).

The best part of the night was actually before the real concert even started.  The opening acts, G Love and ALO, were performing on a small stage behind the amphitheater, and we ended up wandering over to listen.  We were so glad we did when they welcomed Jack up to the stage with them!  Heehee, the tiny crowd around the stage got pretty big pretty fast.


We were only a few people back from the front, so it was great.

The "real" concert was so much fun too, which I'll spare you of more details about.  All in all it was a perfect night.