I'm Tote-ally...Just Gonna Stop There

I made this. And it's probably one of the things I'm most proud of. So proud, in fact, that I kind of don't want to give it away. If only I was more of a Doctor Who fan.

I found this fabric a few weeks ago and seriously debated buying it for pillows in our living room. It was fun, and such a pretty blue, damask until you looked close enough and saw that silly TARDIS- what geek wouldn't love it? Well, this geek, actually. This is not the face of Doctor Who fandom.

Disclaimer: NOT our dog.

So it sat in my cart, calling my name. And then I remembered that giving brings happiness to both parties, so I made that order anyways. I've made a few of these bags before and I'm really happy with the way they turn out. It's such a simple pattern and it has a lot of customizable potential. The cuff is flirty enough to showcase TWO awesome fabrics and although there were no pockets in the pattern- I FREE HANDED THOSE SUCKERS. Yeah, you could say I'm pretty proud.

I ran into some kinks when both pieces of my bag (outside and lining) were cut funny: Spoonflower prints your fabric special, so it wasn't an off-the-bolt kind of thing which messed with my measurements, and Joann's was kind of having an off day at the cutting counter. In the end I just cut a few inches off of my pattern and made a smaller bag- I actually think I like it better smaller. I guess it just means I have to make another one for myself...

The Doctor Who fabric basically chose itself, then the multi-colored chevron was chosen by Mr. E (the color-coordinating master of the house) and I couldn't pass up a fat quarter of London landmark fabric. Especially for the travel-bug bestie of mine. Plus the minty-green inside of one of the pockets was from a homemade napkin at my wedding, so we're all rolled up in symbolism over here. Hopefully that makes up for the fact that I should have totally made this two years ago.

Slam-BAM that thing with a little travelling/Disney-themed cross stitch and you have a Christmas present, my friends. Good gravy I miss being crafty.

Covering More Things

I'm am knocking April projects off my list left and right. I feel in control of my home, of my space and of my project list. For once.

I'm sewing for sanity here. Pants into shorts, gifts for friends (more on that later), finishing pillows, organizing thread...The coup de grace? I made a cover for my sewing machine! 

This project has been in the back of my head for a while, especially once I took a close look at the dust my little Singer has been collecting between weekends. A few yards of free fabric, a coordinating discounted remnant from Joann's and we have a cover!I loosely followed this tutorial- mostly just to get an idea of what and how I was doing. Otherwise, it was pretty straightforward. Two coordinating fabrics (I can classify "coordinating" however I like, thankyouverymuch. Plus, when am I EVER going to have the chance to sew something this loud and crazy?) and you've got a pretty quick project. If you're up to the spatial challenge. By 9:30pm I was not.

I measured my machine pretty generously as I would rather trim and hem than have to re-cut because it was too small. My machine ends up being about 21x10x13 inches. So three middle pieces (including the 1/2in seam allowance on all sides) are 8x38 inches . The sides, originally the second fabric color, are 14.5x11 inches. Pin it up, sew some straight lines and zig zag those edges to prevent fraying. If there's a better stitch option, I'm still playing with my machine. 

The sides were a little tricky, as the tutorial says some mush about center lines and whatnot. This made no sense to me, so I sewed where I thought I should- feelin' pretty cocky. And then, you know, life hits you in the face and I realized that I sewed up one side, but didn't leave any room to sew the top. Good job, Brie.

Sewing teaches me humility. I have all of these plans and patterns and ideas so I rush to the machine, eager to zip through it all, only to realize that before you can run you must realize that you have FEET. And then learn to hold your head up. And then crawl...It's a long process, but I seam-rip a lot more than I would like to admit. And I find the time to laugh at myself, and realize that I need to slow down and enjoy what I'm doing. 

I sewed the sides on correctly the second time, and draped it over my machine. It's a little big and a little droopy: partly because of the fabric being so thin and partly because I was not terribly strict on my seam allowances and measurements. Nothing another seam can't fix.I took in the two middle seams a tad, just enough to squeeze the cover closer to the machine. And now for the pocket. This was my first attempt at tucking/folding and I was only slightly impressed with myself. I think I could have done better.

Once everything was on correctly it was time to hem- I turned the cover inside out and folded the bottom up until it was all even around the edges. Nothing fancy, just a little one inch hem. I trimmed the hanging edge (about three inches worth) and stepped back to admire. Unfortunately- because I was running in the rhythm then- I didn't take a picture of it half-done. Once the tutorial finished I realized that my machine is a bit lopsided. I had a lot of room on both ends because the edges of my machine sort of sloped, diagonal-like. 

So I adjusted. I tried, really carefully, to fold some of the fabric in, staying mostly with the natural fold of the cover as it fell in on itself. Two long tucks on the left side of the machine and two smaller tucks on the right side, just for balance. It was sort of nerve-wracking to do this, considering I had to sew over a seam or two. I was trying very hard to not mess up what I had just made. 

I pinned initially on the outside- two pins that crossed each other like an X because just one pin would come undone no matter how carefully I turned it inside out. Once the cover was turned, I grabbed where I had pinned and transferred the pins to the other side, so I could pull them out when I started sewing. Thinking back on it now, it may have just been easier to have the cover on inside-out the whole time and pin the folds out instead of in. Hindsight.

I can't decide if it makes me want to sew more- because it's awesome I just made that- or sew less- because it's so pretty.

Link up! Keeping it Simple, SewChatty, Monday Funday, Homemaker on a Dime, Made by You Monday

Thrifty

I love a good thrift store find- in fact, many of my furniture pieces are from thrift stores! I'm drawn to the originality of the furniture there. Need a king size rattan bed? Check. Giant dresser in shocking purple? Check. There's so much life to these things that a little spray paint, elbow grease and a lot of love will bring out!

Case in point: our entertainment console. Mr. E wheeled that baby off the street. It fit the TV I brought with me from college as well as the gleaming hunk of metal Mr. E drools over. Also known as our new TV. We store our video games here, and display some of the things we've picked up on our travels. It also (semi) works for storage. Ideally I'd like to stain it a little darker, but we've stayed our hand since it might not fit when we move. 

We're also crazy about chairs from the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. I was drooling over a comfy wingback when Mr. E spied this one. Faded blue, good condition- it had my name written all over it. 

Then we found these hospital chairs. They're not terribly attractive to look at with that awful fabric, but these are SO. COMFY. Someday I'll have enough time/money/skills to make slip-covers. Or re-upholster. But until then, they don't smell and that's good enough for me.

So when my lab partner confesses his love of thrifting, count on me to suggest a little lunch-break trip! I haven't gone too crazy, considering we're moving and April was the month for FINISHING my projects, not attaining new ones. 

But I just couldn't put Abraham Lincoln down. Look at this face! Does that say stern disapproval or what?! This is actually a two-material-ed cologne bottle (with cologne still), but every blog I follow has a bust or two somewhere. Apparently busts are in. So I took him home, cleaned him off and spray painted him a monotonous soft gray! Ugh, those cheek bones. Jealous...

Of course, it's hard to stop there. Especially when you have rows and rows of fabric/pants/skirts/shirts just waiting to be re-fashioned! Since my little pants-to-shorts event, I picked up more pants (for myself and Mr. E). My pants worked out perfect- they're black corduroy (as pants? shudder) with a really cute waistband. Couple hours on those bad boys and they're shorts too!

Mr. E's were not so easy. I grabbed two pair (8 bucks each, thankyouthriftstores) and while the first pair fit fairly well (we've relegated them to "set pants") the second pair had...a lot of room. 

A LOT of room...below the fly.

 So that's how gangsters do it... 

Here I am, thinking I've GOT this: while Mr. E was on set, I set to work. I felt pretty proud of myself too! Nice straight seams, sewed the crotch together again, yadda yadda yadda. And then Mr. E tried them on and I realized I cut almost ALL of the crotch out. 

He looked over at me with such a pained expression and said, "Baby, you've made me an Abercrombie model."

Oh, well.

My most recent thrift find? Hidden among the pottery and porcelain was this gem: We'll call him Georges. And I love him. Because, you know, I don't have enough stuff on my walls...and while downsizing to move it's almost always acceptable to upsize with cute ceramic cows, right? Right??

Pillow Par

I have pillow fever!

All the tips and tricks I've heard around the blogosphere repeat that pillows are excellent ways to 1) add color, 2) change things cheaply, 3)tie the room together ("It really tied the room together, man"). Cheap? Have they met my budget? Sorry, but $40 for a case (not even the pillow!) is a little eensy bit out of my price range.

The flip side is, buying fabric (and pillow forms) aren't that much cheaper. womp womp

BUT. If you buy fabric long enough ago that you don't remember how much it was and your husband doesn't remember you buying it THEN it's basically free! Right?!

I bought a few fat quarters from the local fabric store (support local!) and sat down to sew my little heart out. I loved this fabric- the little yellow anchors just made me smile- but it was hard to turn down the purple/beige animal print too. They were both so small that I wasn't crazy about putting them together. But, I'm young and I live on the dangerous side- so if I didn't put them on the same side together, I thought it might work.

I think it did.

I am loving the trend of having some sort of graphic on your pillow, and I feel that I'm pretty well-versed in painting fabric. Over time, though, paint cracks, fades, peels, transfers, etc. And I didn't want that on a pillow. So I tried a little simple applique.

Using some felt I had inherited (thanks Grandma!), I free-handed a little Ripley silhouette. It was the right color, she has the cutest head and I'm just a little smitten with my fur baby. I cut the felt out and laid it on right side of one of my fabrics- just an arbitrary choice at this point. I pinned and sewed the tiniest seam I could possibly make, ensuring the needle was inserted in the fabric each time I had to make a corner. It was much slower going than making a straight seam, but in the end I think it was worth it. The felt only puckered a little bit, but it wasn't necessarily a wrinkle, thus I thought it was worth the hassle.

I faced the two fabric pieces, right side to right side, and pinned along three sides, then sewed a 1/4" seam to allow for some wiggle room. Once I turned the case right-side out, and inserted the pillow form I had, I manually sewed the last side together because I have a lot of embroidery thread, I don't like zippers and I make a mean small stitch. Good enough for my couch!

I was so pleased with my Ripley pillow that I carried it through the house, to the bedroom. Our new duvet cover is fairly blocky and geometrical and our throw pillows are slightly floral. So I needed something with the right colors with some sort of pattern between them, ideally with a personal flair. I've had this gray fabric for a while and though it's slightly floral, it's pretty faint so I figured Mr. E wouldn't have a problem with it. 

I executed the same idea as the felt Ripley silhouette- I traced the outline of the state of California in white, then cut a small green heart and pinned and sewed it on Southern California. Both Mr. E and I love Southern California: We met in La Jolla, had adventures all over San Diego, have family in San Marcos, Oceanside and Ramona, live in Orange, will move to LA, etc etc. It was just the perfect tribute, no matter where we may have to move to.

Again, I hand-sewed the last side of the pillow, once the form was in and all. The next pillows I do I'll have to insert a zipper, just to shake it up a little bit!

Link up! Wow us Wednesdays, Wow Me Wednesday, What We Accomplished Wednesday , What I Whipped Up Wednesday, Whatever Goes Wednesday, Inspire Me Tuesday

Short- Changing Myself

One of the things I love the most about having my own sewing machine is the freedom it gives me to make mistakes. To mess up, to fool around. Cutting corners and then realizing I did it wrong, but on my own time with projects for myself. No pressure for it to be perfect, just usable. 

I started a quilt, but haven't finished yet. I took an entire weekend to cut and sew a reversible duvet cover- all straight lines, even! I've been altering and fixing pieces out of our closets, too. Clothes I thought were only good for donating (coincidentally something we've done a lot of lately in preparation for our move), but upon a second look I realized the potential they had. Shirt's too big? Take it in. Fraying ends? Re-hem. Pants look ragged? Make them shorts.

I had two pairs of jeans in my closet that had just seen better days. I haven't bought new pants for a year and a half...which should be good, right? I haven't gained as much as I thought I had, I'm not spending money, etc etc. But I LOVE jeans. I love the way they feel, how they hold their shape. They fit my life-style whether I'm wrestling with the dog, cleaning the floors or playing with babies. So when my jeans start to go it's a little like losing a friend. Except, you know, inanimate and whatnot.

The first pair didn't fit as well as I would like. In fact, apparently these jeans were really keeping it all in there. So while I did make them shorts, they're going to be "around the house" shorts. And we'll keep it at that.

The second pair looked much better anyway. I had a few options for them: hemmed, rolled, cut or folded. I went with a rolled look because I can't stand the frayed ends of cut. Plus, I just worked really hard to make these- why would I want them to unravel as I wore them?

Figuring out where to cut was the easy part. I knew how long I wanted my shorts, and adding length for the roll was pretty easy. I made a small cut in the seam of the pants, but next time I think I'll use masking tape...learned that one from my aunt!

Cutting was a bit of a pain since I knew the fabric had to be straight in relation to the waistband, NOT straight across from the initial cut. And getting the crotch of the pants to cooperate, lie straight, no wrinkles = a pain. But I did it.

I tried the shorts on (and laughed at myself because I gave myself a lot of hem-line wiggle-room) and figured out where I wanted the fold. Then I pinned and cut the outside seam of the pants to make them a little looser around my thighs. It might be nice for pants to be slim, to keep you all in there, but shorts are not as forgiving...

I sewed two seams- one on the top of the fold and one on the bottom to make sure everything would stay in place. I might have been able to get away with just one at the top, but I didn't want to leave anything potentially unfinished. 

The end result! I love these shorts. They're much longer than shorts I usually buy when I'm out- thank goodness! Can't wait to put them to good use!

Link Up: Made by You Mondays, Craft-o-Maniac, Keeping It Simple, SewChatty, Lines Across, Titus Tuesday, Not Just a Housewife

Print Your T-shirt with Crayons!

I couldn't leave that white shirt hanging. I just couldn't.

So when it came to decorating, i turned to my pins. Pinterest is one of those addicting sites where you can spend hours ooo-ing and aww-ing over photography ideas, quick recipes and easy decorating tips. The problem is, once I pin, I forget, so I have to do a re-cap every once in a while to make sure that I'm actually DOING some of these projects. 

alphamom.com

This one? Crayons, sand paper and an iron. Of course, now we're out of sandpaper and my crayons are broken, but who was using those anyway?

I found this tutorial, and although it's a craft primarily for little kids (which I will totally do), I used it because I don't have freezer paper. Or fabric paint. which are the much-loved and many-tutorial-ed ways to decorate shirts.

I measured (whoa, seriously?) where I wanted to put my graphic on my shirt- not too high and not too low. This was made a little more difficult by the fact I had a plunging V-neck. 

I chose the colors I wanted to match a scarf I have and started coloring. You're going to use A LOT of the crayon. And there will be little pieces of wax on parts of the sandpaper you don't want. But that's all part of the effect, so come to terms with it now. This will not be a smooth and clean print.

Once I had finished coloring- which took much longer than anticipated!- I arranged the sandpaper on the shirt, arranged the shirt on the ironing board and covered the to-be-ironed space with paper towels to avoid burning. Hold for 20 seconds as the wax melts and transfers to the shirt.

Pull up a little -carefully!- to see if you have the amount of transfer you want. There will still be some on the paper, but most should be on the shirt. 

I pulled it all off, grinned like a fool, then threw it in the dryer for 20 minutes to "set" the wax. This was a little nerve-wracking as some people said that the wax melted off (maybe they were using different crayons? The wrong dryer setting?) at this stage. Luckily, this didn't happen and I was left with a rockin' shirt. 

This would be something fun to do at a party- for kids, for bachelorettes, for baby showers?! Happy ironing!

Run for Cover

I have made my first duvet cover.

I have also made my last duvet cover.

Yes, covers are expensive. Yes, finding the "perfect" shade of gray wasn't working (after a year and a half of trying). But sewing your own? Is. A. Nightmare.

At this point, my mother is thinking "I told you so." with a twinkle in her eye. The kind that only shows up when I declare some far-fetched goal and she gets to sit back and let me do it on my own because otherwise I'll never learn, but she's secretly laughing the whole time. 
Yeah. That twinkle.
Mothers know best.

I loosely followed this tutorial- because it was the only one I could reliably find on Google search, and with a little faith, a little trust, and some REALLY old math skills, I was able to come out with this.

My reasons for deviating? I wanted a reversible cover. Gray was all well and good- a nice neutral, not too light it'll show all stains, not to dark it feels masculine- but I needed something fun to break up the monotony. The stripes are a little thick to actually feel nautical, but generous and blocky that it doesn't look too feminine either. See, sweetheart, I was thinking of you all along.

I bought one set of gray sheets from Target in a CalKing (because I wanted as much fabric as  possible), one white flat sheet (in King) and the blue was a Full fitted sheet that split when I tried to manhandle it to fit our mattress. Use what you have. 

Overall, in fabric, I spent $40 (since I already had the blue) for a CalKing duvet cover. The insert was $30, from Ikea, the cheapest (and lightest) they had. So we're looking at a difference of EASILY $40, if not more, PLUS I was able to customize the duvet the way I wanted. 

I reached back into high school geometry sketched out the dimensions of the duvet, keeping in mind the dimensions of the duvet I wanted. This may have led to an issue down the road, but even now I concede that my thought process was intact. I wanted 6 stripes, and in no particular pattern, threw them together. Gray, white, blue, gray, blue, gray. This makes a duvet that is 104" give or take an inch, AFTER the stripes are sewed together (with a seam allowance of 1/4" for each inside stripe and 1/2" for the top and bottom).

Similar idea for the width- each stripe had to be cut (omg, nightmare) to a width of 86" plus 1/2" seam allowance (1/4" and 1/4" French seam again) which left us with 87".

Thus, my duvet (ideally) would be 87"x 105 1/2", but when trimmed and hemmed down, 86"x104". Right? Sure.

How does one cut straight lines on carpet, by ones' self, in a space that does not fit 107" of fabric? I freaking engineered that shiz, ya'll. I became mighty technical and in a burst of inspiration (and do-not-try-this-at-home-ness) I broke out the 6ft level we have lying around. And the painter's tape. And my cardboard cutting mat. And my Target scissors. (I'm sparing you all the pictures of my frustrating genius)

This is where my mother is starting to go red in the face because she's laughing so hard. I know this. But bear with me. If there is a will (to make a FREAKING DUVET COVER), there is a way (even if no seamstress in their right mind would attempt this).I cut, and lint-rolled (damn, we need to vacuum) and ironed my little heart out. With each edge I painstakingly created the will to finish this project both grew and fell. We were walking on pins for a while. Literally, sometimes

I won't lie, I had to seam-rip these bad boys pretty often. The edges I made were not straight. The seams I made were not straight. There were many hours of Doctor Who watching, sewing, seam-ripping and lint-rolling involved. 

But it all came together when I at last cut my top to fit my dimensions. And then cut my bottom to fit my dimensions (the bottom being the huge CalKing flat sheet). I cheated alittle bit and used the top part of the flat sheet- you know the part where they fold over about 4 inches and make a seam for you?- as a straight edge. Plus, I was able to leave the bottom undone also because flat sheets are hemmed nicely. 

I pinned the two sides together and left the designated "bottom" open in preparation for the buttons that this behemoth will eventually sport. The awesome thing about French seams is that you sew the top and bottom to each other the way the will look in the end. As in nothing's backwards or inside out. You'll sew them this way and THEN turn it all inside out and sew it the other way and when you turn it all rightside in for the last time, your beautiful seams won't have any fraying or raw edges and it all looks hunkydory.

This is the INSIDE of the cover: the edge seam on the top and the horizontal stripes are the frayed colors.

Except when you just in case lay it on the bed after the FIRST seam and realize THE COVER DOES NOT COME DOWN THE SIDE OF YOUR MATTRESS ENOUGH. Cue screams of frustration. Apparently, I didn't think to measure my own duvet cover (I thought it was a Queen so it'd be too small anyways, right?) OR my mattress. I just assumed a CalKing duvet would be much bigger than a Queen so comparing wouldn't matter, right? 

Regardless, I was left with stripes that came down just perfect to the edge of the mattress. As in, if you were to get under the covers with your husband and your dog and your plethora of pillows you wouldn't fit. And that's the whole reason we were making a bigger duvet in the first place. I hemmed and I hawed (see what I did there?) and decided what I needed was a border since I had plenty of scraps and extra fabric from all three colors.

My first attempt at a border I thought 2" would be enough. So I cut 4, ironed it in half and started to pin when I realized a seam would take away at least 1/4". So my little border would be this pathetic line on the edges. And still didn't give me the length I wanted. So I went back and measured and taped and cut (6 foot level, painter's tape, really crappy scissors) two 10" pieces (to fold over for 5"). Much better.

I have absolutely no doubt that this is what my mother envisions when I tell her these sewing plans of mine. I was a semi-permanent fixture on my couch, fingers cramped around my pins, my seam-ripper, my remote, trying frantically to finish this CalKing-size project because I just want it DONE already and did I tell you that patience is not my strong suit?

I pinned both sides, hemmed, then realized that I pinned one of my borders to the INSIDE. And then I sewed it there. But it was almost midnight (and on Mr. E's side of the bed) so it all looked fine to me. He could just sleep with a wonky duvet. My side was perfect.

After all the freaking woman hours I put into this thing, I still think it looks really nice. And it feels really nice. And it attracts dog hair like a motherflipping magnet. We'll just tuck a lint-roller in our nightstand drawer, shall we?

I do love the huge stripes. I love the colors. I love the border, actually. I love the pops of green around the room and the feel of the sheets- no soft enough to sleep on, but not as tough as I thought. 

I done good. But I will never do again.

Link up: The Foley Fam, Lovely Crafty Home, Homespun Happenings, No Minimalist Here, Show Off Your DIY, Not Just a Housewife, Chic on a Shoestring Budget, Craftionary, Emily A. Clark, The Peaceful Mom