Friday, November 12, 2010

Mug Rug Maddness...

Mug rug completed!

This is the mug rug I finally finished for my scrappy mug rug swap partner over on Flickr. I had such a hard time with this cute little deer print because I had pulled so many dark reds to match it that I got lost in design for the last month. Seriously I was stuck!

Here is what I started with:
Scrappy mug rug partner do you like red?
and this...
Scrappy mug rug partner

Since my partner likes Red and Aqua, this is what I had to go with... However, I don't usually quilt in reds and aquas so I had to seek out fabric that would compliment each other... Combining the two was just too much for me. I took a poll and people really liked the reds so I went with that and this is what I ended up with:
So I went with the reds, and here is a little tease!

Which was totally cute but SO MUCH RED! And I was stuck for a week and a half. I just couldn't do it. So I started on this new design which literally came to me one evening and finished it that night! I'm so happy with the end result and so happy I was able to combine the aqua and red into one.

Mug rug completed!
Mug rug completed!
Mug rug completed!

Friday, November 5, 2010

Halloween fun!

Happy 2nd birthday!

My little Antonio turned two this Halloween and here he is in his costume. Making this was a little hard since he didn't want to take it off once I made the fittings.

Happy halloween

This was my first time making boxing shorts like this, as there are no patterns or instructions I could find on the internet. But I winged it and used a simple shorts pattern and slightly modified it and it worked out well!

Halloween

The robe was also just a simple toddler robe pattern that I embellished and lined. This was my first time sewing metalic type fabrics and it wasn't hard at at using a serger and a regular machine.

Happy halloween

I found a picture of Gatti's boxing robe and shorts for a match online and tried to make an exact replica. He loves wearing it when he plays with his gloves.

In other sewing related news... these little babies arrived in the mail yesterday!

New plume babies
Neptune layer cake
Hushabye quilt

The last is a quilt I bought on etsy from Ryan, of I'm Just a Guy Who Quilts Blog. It is a baby quilt made from Tula Pink's Hushabye charm squares. It is soooo cute!

Hushabye quilt

And my bag came from my swap partner!!! This is a swap that was put on by SewMamaSew.com.

Cosmo bag swap arrived!

My partner Amie did a beautiful job!

Swap bag close up
Bag swap

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

A tip and some other swap updates

Knife sharpner used to sharpen and smooth rotary blades

Tonight I got fed up with my rotary blade and decided to try and sharpen it with my knife sharpener. Very carefully I took the blade off the holder and passed it through the sharpener turning several times so each surface made it through at least once. The damage I did to it by running it into my ruler a couple times was gone and the blade was sharper than ever.... So if you want to try to revive an old dull blade, this just might work for you!

Super Style Bag Swap finished!

I finished my bag for Sew Mama Sew's Super Style Bag Swap. My partner received her bag last week so I'm now able to post pictures I took before I shipped it off to her.

Super Style Bag Swap finished!

Super Style Bag Swap finished!

Super Style Bag Swap finished!

Little Marisol easily fits inside the roomy centre. We could have fit my 2 year old son in there too but he wasn't keen on getting in there with her.
Super Style Bag Swap finished!

It is a seriously roomy bag.

Super Style Bag Swap finished!

Button closure
Super Style Bag Swap finished!

Finished bag!

The cosmo bag pattern was easy to make and I will definitely make it again. I think the most expensive part of this project was the cost of the woven interfacing. But it is definitely worth the price and the bag stands on its own because of the stability it provides. I think you need something like 6 meters for this bag alone.

The only thing I did not like about the pattern itself was that it was lacking a cutting layout guide. Everything is well written but the whole process gets wordy. A simple diagram would make the cutting process go much faster. I also made freezer paper pattern pieces for the ones only given as dimensions so when I make this bag again, it will go much faster. I also made duplicates of the handles since there is so many to cut from the print fabric and you won't waste as much fabric if you cut them all at the same time using two pattern pieces.

HOHOHO Swap ornament

I also finished my ornament for GenX's HOHOHO Swap. I did the embroidery on my machine then I added ruffles to the sides. It doubles as a holiday pincushion. I hope my partner enjoys it!

HOHOHO fat quarter swap fabric that arrived today!

And I received two of the fat quarters from the swap as well. Aren't they super SUPER cute prints?