artsy-crafty babe

I *heart* my pattern testers!

I don't know what I'd do without my pattern testers - they are the BEST!!  

Just look at these adorable Rubies...

Beth made the front pocket version.  That yellow print fabric + navy = perfection.  And those buttons totally make it!

Kara chose to make the plain version, but there's nothing plain about it.  That fabric is excellent.  I love seeing a such a stunning print used in this way.  She said this was the first "proper purse" she's ever made.  Um, it looks like she's a pro.  Great job, girl!

Vickie made a center panel Ruby. Love love love the fabric combo and the ric rack.  She said that she added 2 poskets on the inside, one of which is divided for cell phone, keys and such.  So clever.

My testers have excellent taste, don't you think?

I love that they all chose different versions of this pattern - I had nothing to do with it.  A happy happening, for sure :)

If you haven't gotten your copy of the Ruby Bag Pattern, go get it!!  It's on sale right now ($5), but won't be forever.  I can't wait to see that YOU come up with.

Ruby Bag + sale

Oh geeze, did y'all forget about this one?  I FINALLY finished this pattern.  I don't know what took me so long on this one, but it is done and ready for the world :)  And to celebrate finally getting my act together, I'm offering all patterns in my shop and on the patterns page for $5, including the Ruby Bag.  Easy peasy. 

As I've mentioned before, the Ruby Bag is Phoebe's big sister.  When you purchase the Ruby Bag pattern you gain the rights to make and sell the Phoebe Bag in limited quantities, just as you would with any other purchased artsy-crafty babe pattern, (Phoebe is currently for personal use only).  The Ruby Bag is my solution for all the many requests I get to make and sell the Phoebe pattern.

So there you have it - go forth and SEW!!

*a little bit of trivia - Phoebe and Ruby are both dogs!!  Phoebe was my first fur baby, and Ruby is my current :)

 

a sale, a winner & other stuff

Hi there! In celebration of the holiday season, I want to put everything on sale in my etsy shop.  Use coupon code HOLIDAY11 to get 35% off.  Right now all I have are patterns, but when time permits, I'll be listing all the bags I made throughout the summer, well the bags that I didn't decide to keep!!

Now on to the winner...the winner of the Sew to Swap book giveaway is #42 Patti.  Congrats, Patti!!  You'll love it. 

I feel like I need to dust the cobwebs away from this place.  The good news is that I'm coming out of the newborn fog and feel ready to be here again. My days are still crazy trying to get anything accomplished with a baby, but Ceci is nursing more regularly and taking some naps off my body.  We're even getting out the house now and then for a little shopping, but nothing too crazy.  I'm not ready for all that!  On the crafty front, I have been knitting when I get the chance.  I'll have a post on that soon.  Until next time...which will hopefully be sooner rather than later!!  (couldn't do a post without a current photo of the little one!)

Nanette revisited and a dance bag

The final stop on my 'summer bag tour' is the Nanette tote.  I don't think I ever mentioned that along with re-making all my samples, I also reformatted all my patterns to make them uniform.  When I got to the Nanette tote I decided to add something new, an alternate rounded bottom with darts, which I came up when I was making my blooming bags this spring.

I think I like the rounded bottom better than the original boxed bottom, but that's just a personal preference.  If you've purchased this pattern in the last few months, you received the new pattern piece, but if not, just email me and I'll send it to you if you want.

Now this bag here, I'm quite smitten with.  That black print is a piece of a napkin I bought at Crate & Barrel a few years ago.  I only had a small piece, so I pieced the front of the bag to showcase it.  I LOVE how it turned out.

I used canvas for the interfacing (my favorite), but got a little over zealous on the top pieces.  I didn't take into consideration that the gray fabric is a canvas and the black is a twill, so any interfacing at all was probably unnecessary.  I had to use Richelle to sew through all those thick layers and left out any top stitching.  This bag is heavy!!  I'm thinking of keeping this one for myself because I'm afraid shipping would cost a fortune....and I really like it :)

Moving on to the dance bag for Lily...it only took me a month, but I finally got her dance bag made.  Remember the first version?  I made some tweaks (don't quite remember now what they were), but I think they worked.  Now I need to find that file.  I made the tweaks & printed it right after the first version, and well, that's been a month.  I'm not the most organized person in the world!!

The hard part was finding the right fabric.  She wanted purple, teal, and lime green.  Um, I'm glad we decided on what we did.  I planned to add more pockets and pocket divisions for her shoes, but I knew she wouldn't use them, so I made it as is - one curved outside pocket, one inside pocket.  She loves it.

I've been using the first version as my own to carry my knitting & stuff.  I'm thinking this design would make a nice diaper bag.  I might make another, or just use this one.  We'll see...

Daphne Tote

Well friends, I've been a busy bee (about as busy as one can be while horizontal & exhausted most of the time).  Something came over me and I decided to write the pattern for this tote. 

This is such a simple bag to put together, I had to share.  Just like the bag itself, the pattern writing came together easily.  The hardest part was taking photos.  Oh those photos!  They kill me every time.  It doesn't help that my patio, my usual backdrop, is not looking so great these days.  All my plants are crispy and withered and I have little desire to make it better, not until a little cool front comes through and it starts to feel like fall. Once that happens, I'm sure I'll be on the hunt for some mums & pumpkins to brighten up the spot (can't wait for that!)....and a fire pit.  Yes, we need a fire pit!! And some new cushions! And a spiffy outdoor rug! Sorry, I got a little carried away there.

Back to the Daphne Tote.  Like I said, she's a simple one to put together, perfect for a beginner or someone who doesn't like to make complicated things (that would be ME).  The trickiest part is not sewing your straps into the seam when you're attaching the bag to the lining, but with enough pins to keep things in place, you should be fine.

To make this bag you'll need about 3/4 yard of your favorite fabric for the exterior, 1 yard of another favorite coordinating fabric for the lining, some interfacing of choice (I've been using cotton duck canvas lately), a magnetic snap if you choose, a pretty button for the front, and if you want to get really wild, some piping or other trim for the seam of the bag. I included simple instructions for adding piping if you want to.  Gosh, I'm really into that piping right now. I'd like to try some jumbo ric rac or maybe a small ruffle at some point. 

She's a roomy bag (13.5" wide x 10" tall x 4" deep) - not too big, not too small, my favorite kind of bag to carry.  Big enough for all the essentials plus a knitting project or some hand sewing.  You know me, I always carry some kind of project with me.  There are no fussy pockets, just a simple slip pocket or two if you'd like.

If you'd like to give her a try, the Daphne Tote is available for sale in my shop.  Happy sewing! 

back to the oldies

I'm still on a quest to make new samples of all my patterns.  You can see my journey thus far here, here, here, and here.  This time around I made the Round Yoke Handbag and another Ava Rose Tote.  Yes, I know I just made an Ava Rose Tote, but I had to do it again.  I've been using that bag since I made it and didn't think to take photos of it use for "official pattern purposes".

When making the Round Yoke bag, I decided to try it with canvas as interfacing, my latest favorite interfacing material.  Eh, that was not the best choice. Lesson learned.  When more structure is needed, canvas is not the best option.  I guess I'll stick to Pellon #926 next time I make this one.

Despite the limpness, I still think it turned out cute.  That facric on the exterior is one of my favorites, and the covered buttons, well, you know I have a love for those!  I'm sure once this bag gets filled with all the usual bag "stuff", it will be fine.  I'm just super picky.

Now this one, I knew I would love it.  Blue has become one of my favorite colors lately, especially paired with green.

Once I got it sewn up, I thought it needed a little punch, so flower brooch was added.  I'm not fashion forward enough to carry off one of those babies on my clothes or in my hair, but I have no problem wearing one on a bag.

Like my last one, I added a curved pocket on the front.  It's the perfect pocket to hold a phone, keys, and a grocery list.  With as much junk as I tote around in my bags, I love front pockets!!  

Front pockets, covered buttons, flower brooches, all this productivity got my wheels turning....(i'm not done yet!).

gardening, a winner, and a coupon code

Hi there!  I hope all you Mothers out there had a lovely Mother's Day full of love and pampering - I sure did.  It was probably one of the best Mother's Day yet. There were handmade gifts, notes, and cards all around.  So sweet, that little family of mine!

Has spring finally sprung where you are?  We're practically in the heat of summer at this point, but I can't complain because we really have had a nice spring.  I finally got my patio cleaned up and put together right before Ava's party.  It's so nice to have a little space to enjoy outdoors when the weather cooperates.  I'm trying to spend as much time out there as I can before it gets too unbearable.

I'm loving my hydrangea, which is finally starting to bloom.  I was afraid that I'd miss out this year because a scissor happy little miss decided to give it a good pruning this past winter. Never a dull moment, I tall ya!

My little garden is chugging along.  Though I was late in getting it planted, it didn't waste any time taking off.  I spy my first tomato - so exciting!!  Seeing veggies grow never gets old, at least not in my book.

Sorry to drop the ball on the TYV Crafting with Kids giveaway - oops.  I managed to close comments on the appointed day, but then, oh well.  Without further adieu, the winner is #73, Lisa!

One last thing - throughout the month of May everything in my shop is 25% off, just use coupon code MAYFLOWERS at checkout.  Happy shopping!

a slow return

I hope I don’t jinx myself, but nausea is slowly leaving me.  Tired and worn out, yes, but not as nauseated...unless I'm hungry.  Lordy, the pounds are packing on!!  I hate to be a whiner, so I'll stop at that :)

Something I am happy about is that I'm  starting to feel a bit inspired.  Oh my, how I’ve missed that!  My wheels have been turning and the sketchbook has been pulled out and doodled in, but unfortunately the energy to complete such plans isn’t there.  One sure sign that my creativity is returning is a fabric order I placed the other day.  Gosh, it has been ages since I looked at fabric.  I must admit, it was kind of fun.  It was even more fun playing with it when it arrived.  

Though I haven’t completely felt like it, I have been making myself do a little sewing here and there.  In the end, I know that I’m better for it.  My latest creation is a re-visit to a design I came up with last spring when I did my Dottie Vintage collection.  Instead of using regular straps, I decided to use wide bias binding as straps and trim.

It still needs some tweaking, but that's no surprise (I like that part of the process).

I’m thinking this will be my next pattern, after I finish up the two that are currently 99% complete.  I’m such a dufus, it wasn’t until someone asked about a pattern for this bag that I remembered that I had started working on the pattern for these bags last spring. I managed to find the file, so I’m back working on that, when I feel like it.

With those other patterns so close to completion I should be working on those, but what fun is that?  I'm never one to complain about a happy distraction when the mood strikes!

Pssst- there's a coupon code for my shop on my facebook page.  Go check it out!!

blooming bags

Little by little…over the past month or so I’ve been working on these bags.  A little appliqué here, some stitching there, picking out the colorful floral prints to mix and match.  I love this kind of process, really. 

 
My in-progress appliqué and bag of scraps have been my constant companion.  I had to stop myself from making any more appliqués before I got too ahead of myself.  I tend to go a bit overboard when I first fall in love with a project. 

 
I chose to turn these blooms into bags – two in the new style that I’ve been working on and another in a modified Nanette tote.  They’re super soft and comfy, they type of bag you want to grab on your way out the door to hold something good to read, your wallet, your water bottle, and maybe a little knitting project.  I’ve been using my butterfly bag for just that – a supplement to my purse for the fun stuff. 

 
And really, can you not think about spring with all these pretty floral prints?  This time of year all I want to create with are these vintage beauties!  I’ve had a few requests for some dresses from my girlies, so that may be next on my agenda.  We’ll see… 

If you're interested, these are available in my shop.

 

in due time

My goodness, I'm not as spry as I used to be!  I'm STILL trying to recover from my weekend.   I need my downtime and rest, neither of which happened.   Yes, it's Wednesday and I've gone to bed at a decent time for the past 3 nights, but I'm still lagging.

Tired or not, tonight I WILL make time to be with my sewing machine.  I have a little something in the works that I'm eager to tend to.  I can't wait to show you.

One thing I was able to do during my busy weekend was to do a little update to my shop.  All those Nanette totes I made weeks ago need a proper home.  I'm ready for some more making, which means clearing out the old (not that those are old or anything).

***look at that! my paperwhites, planted before Thanksgiving, finally decided to make an appearance!  imagine my surprise when I found these on my patio :)