Before Lucy was born I was a sewing mad woman. Things have *ahem* slowed down since then. The desire is still there, just no time. One of the things I HAD to finish before she came was a diaper bag. I put this little ensemble together for our diapering needs. A diaper bag, a changing pad and little bag for my stuff. The changing pad was a towel that I died to match the fabric and quilted it sorta. If you can call that quilting- adding some batting to the back and sewing fabric on the other side. I love it when she’s on it cause it seems so comfy, but it’s too big and takes up most of my space. I’m also afraid to wash it cause the color might bleed into the fabric.

The bag has tons of pockets, I like that but it’s a little too floppy. I made it from some left over ikea curtains we used for our craft room at church and some floral fabric I found at Walmart. I also made the straps so I could remove them and just slip the bag into another bag and still have all the great pockets. Yeah that didn’t work so well. Again, too floppy. darn. Oh, the detail on the pocket is from an old shiny head band I had. You know me, gotta have my bling!

The little pouch for my things is the only thing I’m really in love with. I carry it with me everywhere. I even made a little side pocket for my “business” cards. Brian made me some Bloom cards so I could give out my number when I met a new crafting friend. I also love the bead on the side. It just gives it a little vintage somethin’. I am already designing a new bag in my mind with some Anna Maria Horner fabric that will be bigger and better! We’ll see when I’ll actually get to that…

I’m constantly searching for my crochet hooks, so as a part of my quest to organize my craft area, I decided to sew up a crochet hook case.

I cut two pieces of fabric 12″ x 18″, and a third piece of fabric 6″ x 18″. I cut the third piece of fabric on a slight angle along one long side, so accommodate for different lengths of hooks (this will be the pocket). Take the smaller piece, and iron the edges in approximately 1/4″ to finish the pocket.

Place the two larger pieces right side together, and sew around the edges using a 1/4″ seam allowance, leaving one side partially unsewn to turn the pieces right side out. Turn it right side out, and pin the pocket to the front of it. Ideally, if the same 1/4″ seam was used for the sewing and ironing, the pieces should fit together perfectly. Also attach ribbon for tying the case when its finished.

When I took the above picture, I had placed the ribbon wrong…you want to have both ribbon pieces on the same side of the case, not one on each side. Topstitch around the case to attach the pocket and for finishing. Then you will want to mark lines for the pockets that hold the hooks. I marked them at 1″ spacing, and then stitched over the chalk lines.

I added snaps to my case, so that the top stays put when folded over and the hooks don’t fall out. I’m pretty happy with how it turned out, except that I used a stretchy fabric, which didn’t sew up too nicely, my case isn’t exactly square But that’s fixable with adjusting the tension, and I just didn’t take the time to do that. Otherwise, it does its job and its cute too!

I’m in the process of redecorating my dining room. Because I could do some serious financial damage, my husband has put me on a budget. I’m always at a loss for what to do for a centerpiece, but always come back to the trusty candles-option. I found the perfect candle holders, but ofcourse they were totally out of the budget. So I opted for an even better idea that was cheaper and looked better.

Aren’t they great? And if you look closely, they are just bowls and plates glued together. That’s it! Find some bowls and plates that you like, or use ones you already have. Get some apoxy, let them sit over night, and you have fabulous and original candle holders.

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I saw this cute pin cushion in a book and ran home to try it! I use pins all the time in my sewing but hate how lightweight the cushions usually are, slipping off the table as I try to work with one hand while holding fabric in place. This little pot adds stability to the cushion. The original used a pot about 1″ around larger than the cushion and was filled with sand around the cactus. With a young child I could see that quickly getting knocked over. Instead I made the cactus to fit snugly in the pot with just enough room to tuck in a few other necessary sewing supplies.

I handstitched 3 pieces of felt to make the cactus, one longer than the others to curve under and make the bottom. Then stuffed it in the pot. To weigh it even more you could glue a magnet or washer to the bottom of the cactus and glue that to the inside bottom of the pot. I am going to try this idea with other shapes as well to personalize a cushion for my sewing friends.

I decided to make a bag for my mom for her birthday. I found this great fabric and thought what a pretty bag it would make, so with no pattern or ANY clue on how to make a purse, I began cutting, sewing and assembling. The whole thing took about two hours, mainly because I didnt know what I was doing so I was having to stop every few steps and draw a diagram.

I had some trouble attaching the straps because I did them next to last, when I should’ve sewed them to the lining before attacing the lining to the outter piece. But hindsight is 20/20 and my mom loved it anyways.

I had a good time doing this, and I can’t wait to make some more bags. I found this tutorial for quilted patchwork bags and will be attempting this next week, so hopefully it will turn out just as perdy as hers.

I have a new craft crush. It started with Heather Bailey, when her blog single-handedly changed my whole view on crafting. While I tried to remain faithful to her, another crafter caught my eye and I must share my love of her crafts with you all. If you’re not familiar with Manda of Tree Fall Design, you must go over to her blog now. WAIT! Not now, after you’re done here, okay?

She has the cutest toys for kids, but truth be told, they’re great for adults, too. I have been wanting a Scairdy Cat for awhile and when she put a new batch on her etsy shop, I gobbled up Red Astair.

Isnt he adorable? Love him! And for those who remember my sock puppy attempt, I decided to leave it to a professional and I also recieved Bewley, my very own sock pup (the one I wanted, but was already sold, so she made another at my request – how awesome is that?)

Love him, and best of all – he doesn’t shed. These goodies arrived Tuesday and I squealed with delight when the mailman pulled it out of his satchel. It’s one thing to admire someone’s work via the internet, but to actually be holding a finished product in your hands, and that is actually yours is really cool. And the quality is so good, I was really impressed. So go check out Manda’s blog and bookmark her – you’re not going to want to miss what else she’ll be cranking out.

My husband took time last weekend to frame in and add walls around my craft area in the basement, making it a full fledged room.  Yay!  The problem is, my crafts are out of control and my room is reflecting that.  With all the yarn, fabric, threads, felt, scrapbooking supplies…it looks like a craft store exploded in there!

I’m looking for some organizing tips!  I need help getting this under control.  How do you store your scrapbooking supplies?  Your yarn?  Fabric?  Miscellaneous craft supplies?  Beads?
Thank you for your ideas, and I’m sure my husband thanks you too (he’s tired of looking at the clutter in there )

Since felting has taken over my knitting life I am trying to branch out and employ some new effects. This bag was my first attempt at making my usual solids and stripes into plaid. It was both easier and more work than I thought it would be.

I knitted the main color and contrasting color yarn with random stripes. Then I used a big, plastic needle and a double strand of the contrasting color and weaved in and out about every 4 rows vertically. Since I used a new piece of yarn for each vertical stripe I did not tie knots but just ran it through the brown to secure the stripe. I just cut off all the ends after the bag was felted. This was rather time consuming.

One good thing that I also learned about felted wool is that you can cut off your mistakes! I knitted a flap and sewed a washer (like goes on a bolt, ladies) but somehow sewed up the bottom of my bag crooked resulting in a flap that was not centered. Luckily, I cut the entire flap off and you can’t even tell! This is the wonder craft for me!

I think it turned out to be a cute bag but am wondering if the vertical plaid stripes would have popped out more if I had chosen a more contrasting color. I think I will try bright, solid colors for the stripes next time instead of a veriegated yarn too close in color. If any of you have done this I would love to see your successes!

Here it is guys.. only 3 min long. Enjoy.