Batman Envelope Pillow Cover

Here is the latest sewing project that I made yesterday.  This is right on time for me to link up and participate in Ashley's "You Made It and Love It" link party at her blog Make It and Love It.  This is the second envelope style pillow cover I've made as they are so fun and quick to sew.  As with my first one, I again followed the instructions by TheCraftyGemini on Youtube.  I went shopping on Saturday and purchased the Batman fabric and a 18" Soft n Crafty Classic Comfort Everyday Design pillow form at Joann's.  I was looking for a 14" or 16" pillow form but was only able to find a 18" so I went with that size.  I only bought a yard of fabric thinking hoping :0 it was enough but with that size pillow form, the fabric was a bit short.  If it wasn't a directional print, and the pillow form was 14" it would have been fine but I did want Batman to be face up, LOL!  I checked my fabric stash and found the perfect blue fabric to complement the Batman fabric but I needed the front panel to measure 19"x19".  To make up for the shortage, I cut the front panel to 16x16 and added 1.75" strips (including 1/4" seam allowance) of the blue fabric to all four sides.  I didn't measure the strips correctly at first because I had it all worked out in my head. (oh yes, I can remember all this math and fractions, duh--math--my worst subject in school, oops, LOL) But, of course I forgot and luckily my memory kicked in and I measured the first strip, halfway sewn, and still under the needle!  So I ripped it out, cut 4 more strips correctly and finished up the front panel.  A few more seams and finally the cover was complete!

front view

back view

front view without pillow form

A new year and a quilt from 2013

Wow, it's the first of February and this year seems to be going fast already.  I haven't been crafting as much as I'd like lately but I did manage to finish my first quilt a few months ago!  This was such a long process mainly because I worked on it intermittently over the last 5-6 months but it was worth it!  I didn't create it with much overhang but enough to cover the top of a twin size bed.  It's my first quilt and with very limited crafting space, I made it a size comfortable enough for me to handle. I had some left over Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) fabric from a pillow I made for my son several years ago.  I thought a quilt would be a great use of this leftover fabric plus I've been wanting to make a quilt for a while now.  I did have to buy additional fabric to complement the colors in the TMNT fabric and I think it worked out fine.  And as I've read and heard from other quilters online, there is no quilt police!  You have creative freedom to make it your own!  I had to keep telling myself this to keep my nerves at bay and to keep from getting discouraged, when some of the seams didn't exactly line up, as well as reminding myself that it's my first quilt!  Woo, but I got through it of course, LOL!  I used my basic sewing machine (a Kenmore) and my dining room table!  I created a scrappy binding from strips of the various leftover fabrics.  And the backing? Oh my that was a challenge but I found a video on YouTube titled Backing.wmv by sewandquilt.  I am so glad that popped up in my search because it was the visual instruction I needed.  It helped me a great deal!  Also, one thing I would do differently is to mark the quilting lines before quilting.  I thought I could wing it and keep the lines straight but at one point, I was getting crooked so I tried doing a wavy design but that wasn't working so I went back to a straight line in the middle of stitching; oops, LOL!  Hey, it's the thought and love that goes into making it that counts, right? LOL!  Well, here are a few pictures.  Have a nice day!

  

TMNT pillow form cover

pillow front

pillow back

Last weekend I completed this envelope style pillow cover for my son using this fun Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fabric.  I followed this great tutorial by Vanessa, TheCraftyGemini, on Youtube.  The pillow form I bought was size 16x16 but you can make them in any size!  Check out the video and you will learn how to determine the size you need to cut your fabric.  Happy Sewing!

Square bottom bag

I bought this fun tie dye fabric at JoAnn's a few months ago to make a rag quilt purse.  After cutting several squares I lost my mojo to create that type of purse.  Then several weeks ago, I came across this great video by smarmyclothes on YouTube on how to make a square bottom bag.  This is such a cute bag and the only thing I did differently was to make a thinner strap.  I will definitely have to try and make a larger one soon!  Happy Sewing!

Adventures in sewing

Ever since I took a sewing class over 5 years ago, I've been buying fabric and have accumulated a good stash!  In that class, I made the black bag below. I'm so proud of it and carry it to work everyday!  Of course after this class, I was like, I'm going to buy a sewing machine and make more of these bags!  Well, I did buy a sewing machine but I haven't made another of these bags yet.  This ever happen to you with a project?  LOL!  But, I have been getting some use out of the sewing machine, thank goodness!  I've made an apron and a few pillowcases.  The pillowcases are really fun!  A couple of years ago, the local fabric store had a sewing event where individuals were provided fabric and taught how to sew a pillowcase and then the pillowcases were donated to a charity.  When I wanted to make one for my son (finished pic below) I had to do a search on YouTube because I forgot a few steps and thankfully I found a few videos using the same technique taught at the fabric store.  This is the video I like best (and they have some other great videos too!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrYWCma9wgM .  But most recently, I made a zippered case and a mini four patch bag which didn't turn out too bad.  I'm keeping the projects small for now but hope to work my way up to a larger project such as a quilt.  Happy Crafting!