Bath Mat

I'm slowly able to complete occasional projects (which is better than not completing any at all!), including this bath mat. We needed a mat to fit in the narrow space between the bath and the toilet. It also needed to be quite long in order to catch as many of the splashes and drips that Rhys produces when he's in the tub. This was the solution. It's a towel folded lengthwise in half with squares from my scrap basket appliqued on. I think it works quite well, and it's washable to boot.

The Amy Karol Bag

So, someday, if I have a small crafting/sewing business.... I'll offer the "Amy Karol" bag for sale. Of course, I'll have to get Amy Karol's permission, etc., but I'm naming this bag after her because of the inspiration I got from making a couple of the Pleated Beauty Handbags from her Bend the Rules Sewing book and bag swap. I modified the construction and size, and added exterior pockets, but I'm very proud of the final product! It is the right size for carrying a good hardback book and a nalgene water bottle, without being too big or floppy. Or I can carry a two-year old's water bottle, a snack, and a couple of play cars... and a good paperback book and a nalgene water bottle.

My Amy Karol bag: wild and crazy, mismatched lining, handles, and pleats! An exterior pocket on both front and back, and much of it made of sturdy cotton duck. I absolutely love it!



And, the Amy Karol bag I made for my cousin, Katie. Somehow, she's always seemed like a perfect purple to me. So, he bag is certainly purple! On hers, the lining, handles, pockets, and pleats are all the same fabric. It has only one exterior pocket, but I also added a magnetic clasp to the main compartment.



If I ever get my business going I'll have to find a cheaper source for magnetic clasps- I think the clasp cost (at Hobby Lobby) as much as all the fabric together for the bag.

Flower Power

Expanding on my new obsession with applique, I refashioned a t-shirt last week. The coolest thing was it only took me about and hour, and my mother's helper was here playing with Rhys while I did it. I took a plain red t-shirt (Old Navy, but I got it at Savers for $2) and added the flower by using other t-shirt scraps (also from Savers) and a fuzzy blue center (a scrap from a crib quilt I made Rhys last year). It's too bad it's so hard to take a good picture of myself wearing it!

Finished Pleated Beauty Bag

Well, here it is. This is a Pleated Beauty Handbag from Amy Karol's Bend the Rules Sewing. I'm in a bag swap, so this is the bag I made for my person, Rachel, in MI. I haven't taken a picture of the bag I got from my person in CA, but will do so at some point. I really enjoyed making the bag- it's a different challenge to know you're making something for someone you don't know. To everyone else I've given things I've made I've always added the caveat: "Let me know if it falls apart and I'll fix it!" With this bag, however, I really made sure I was doing everything very sturdily with extra attention to finishing and the details. I hope she likes it! Even though I'm not an automatic fan of pink, I think I would keep this bag if I weren't set on sending it off. I really like how the reverse applique on the front turned out, and I like how bright and warm it is, too.

First T-Shirt Refashion

Well, here's a new t-shirt that I made from two others. I so love it! And I'm proud of it, too. I went on a Saver's splurge this weekend (mostly because the closest Saver's is 100 miles away and I don't get the chance to do this very often). I took a plain black v-neck and spliced it with a crazy patterned shirt. I've always had a problem with the average t-shirt being a little too short, so I cut off a strip of the crazy red shirt and sewed it to the bottom of the black one. I kept both the bottom hems of the shirts so they look really finished. Then I did a reverse applique thingy on the shoulder and some fancy stitch-work to dress it up. Voila!

Spacey Bean Bag

We went to a birthday party yesterday for our friend Christopher. He turned 3 years old. I made him this bean bag because, well, everyone needs a cool bean bag! I was hoping to find a matching book about space, but didn't find one geared toward 3 year-olds. His mom let me know today that he's had fun tossing the bean bag around (and they like the book I did get him which is about seeds and growing them), which is exactly what a bean bag is for. In my quest for applique, this is another thing that turned out well. It's such a versatile technique!