With Cuirim Craft Fair happening tomorrow, we had a pow-wow last night to tag auction items, organize small details, and make screen-printed shirts.

Joanna had offered to show us how they’re done, so with all our crisp, white tees, we watched and marveled at the process of screen-printing.

And Joy, so incredibly excited about us having t-shirts for the fair:

We’re all so excited about the fair, and anxious to see how much money we’ll raise for the Cuirim House. We’ll definitely be posting pictures next week, so check back to see how it all turned out. And thanks again to Joanna for doing our shirts for us and letting us use your supplies!

It’s really hard for me to learn something by just reading instructions. If you show me, I will get it quickly and retain it forever. But teaching myself how to do certain crafts is nearly impossible. This is why I tend to stay away from how-to books b/c I feel it’s wasted time and money. However, I’ve recently been intrigued by crocheted items and wanted to move away from knitting and into the arms of crocheting. After flipping through Jen’s copy of Debbie Stoller’s Stitch ‘N Bitch Crochet, I decided to get my own copy and tackle some of the projects. But first thing first - I need to learn how!

I’m a lefty, so naturally I’m already having difficulty as this book is written for righties. But after surfing the internet, I found a video tutorial that was very clear (still for righties, tho) and I was able to do everything backwards and produce a few rows of single crochet. A HUGE step of progress for me. It gave me so much confidence, I can’t wait to do more.

One thing tho: why is my UFO turning into a trapezoid? The ends are decreasing slightly - is this normal? And if anyone knows of any video tutorials for lefties, please let me know and you will be my new BFF.

ETA: For those interested, here is the website I found with the video tutorials. They’re short and to the point - hope you find them helpful!

I wanted to share with you a little project that has changed my knitting life…

My knitting used to look like this:

Sure I have a huge knitting bag with ALL my knitting in it, but what about taking the wip with me somewhere. Oh quick, grab a ziplock.. Sound familiar?

So I came up with this easy drawstring bag. Now I can stuff my knitting in anywhere and the drawstring keeps my yarn coming out nicely from the top. It only has one seam. It is one big piece of fabric folded over and stitched up the side. Tada.. This is a bag I’m working on for my future sister-in-law (apparently I can’t stop knitting bags - help!)
you likes?

I’ve been busy the past couple of weeks with yarn crafts! I found a new love of dying yarn, so I’ve been playing with that a lot. Here are a few of the colorways I’ve dyed up.

The first was my first attempt at kettle dying. It turned out so beautiful, the colors remind me of Easter.

The following are two other attempts I made. These didn’t turn out nearly as well because I didn’t have the water temperature high enough and the colors weren’t being absorbed quickly, causing muddying of the colors. But they aren’t too bad, not as orange as they look in the pictures

This is a soaker I made using the first kettle dye I did. I love how it turned out. Notice how there is no pooling of the colors, that is a huge plus to kettle dying. It is so random and color pooling is minimal. The pattern is a free soaker pattern I found online.

These are some night time shorties that I made from a purchased Belladonna Designs pattern. They are made specifically for night time with a thicker stitch in the crotch, where more absorbency is needed. My daughter wore them last night and they worked perfectly. The yarn is another colorway I dyed, but I didn’t like how it turned out at all. I call it my “dye job gone bad”

The final project is a poncho that I crocheted for my beautiful daughter. The yarn is a cotton linen blend that I received when participating in a “magic yarn ball swap” through a messageboard I’m active on. The pattern was a free one I found online.

And who can resist a picture of a happy girl in her new top?

So there you have it - what I’ve been up to the past couple of weeks Thanks for looking!!

This orange bag is one of the first bags that I have attempted to sew and I have to say I’m pretty proud of myself. I still have some questions about lining and better construction, but pretty proud. I did make the lining a tad smaller in width than the outside fabric so that when I pinned it to sew, it did not line up all the way around. My husband though came up with a clever solution- I readjusted it so that there is a small pintuck in the front center of the bag that is hidden by the flap. (He often is the brains behind my projects!) I sewed two buttons together for more color and I like the way that turned out.

My next mission was to try and make some bags that were reversible. I am enjoying my sewing machine again (it comes and goes) so I whipped up this brown bag. With this second one again I thought I cut the 2 fabrics the same width and yet when I sewed them together there was still more of the outer fabric. Since I love the idea of making these I am now seeking outside of myself for further help. Do you cut both fabrics the exact same size when making it reversible? Does adding the handle between the 2 layers throw it off?

The second challenge I wanted to face was to find a way to make the bags stiffer no matter what fabric I choose. I bought some Iron-on Bond stuff to strengthen my lining and ironed it on the little piece of fabric I had left for the strap. I made the piece of iron-on too wide so when I folded the fabric together it bonded to itself and I had to leave the strap with the seam visible on the outside. Oops! Needless to say I did not want to iron-on to my main fabric. Any tips or feedback?

I have been feeling kinda poopy lately. Brian and I have been getting over a mean cold. It is so hard to be creative when you are feeling bad. I wanted to make something quick just to prove to myself that I’m still a crafting genius. Just something to make me feel better. Ah ha! Glam it up! Of course! What could be more fantastic and more importantly, FAST! I just needed a quick fix. Found this at Michaels for a $1 yippee! You just iron it on. Sweet!

Ahhh Delight. I still have it in me, and my baby’s got bling

Now as long as she doesn’t chew it off we’re good. tee hee.

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 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.

I’ve been wanting to take my sewing to the next level, and start sewing more professional looking items. I’m also going to venture into sewing clothes for myself, my husband and my daughter. Plus, with all the diapers I’ve been sewing lately, I wanted to make that a bit easier too.

So I splurged, and bought myself this:

A new serger!! At first, I wasn’t sure if I really “needed” a serger. Its possible to sew any garment or project without one, you just have to take extra steps to ensure your raw edges don’t fray. I had also heard that the learning curve with a serger can be a steep one, especially when it comes to threading the machine or surging corners and round edges.

However, the one reason I really wanted to get the serger was that I love the look of serged fitted diapers. I think they look really cute, and I had also heard that a serged diaper comes together much faster than a turned and topstitched one.

From diaperkit.com, a comparison of serged and topstitched diapers.

So after lots of debate, I decided to purchase one, and I received it on Valentine’s Day. And I must say, I got so much more than I expected with the machine. You can do decorative edges on your garments, decorative topstitching, and so much more! Plus, I love the fact that when sewing a seam, you sew it and finish the edges at the same time, saving you time. Also, serging goes so much faster than a straight sewing stitch, saving time there as well!

I’ve spent lots of time serging scrap pieces of fabric, learning curves and different methods. I’ve also threaded and rethreaded the machine numerous times, to learn how to do it correctly. This learning time I took was really beneficial, and I’ve already been able to start with projects using my serger!

I serged a fitted diaper for my daughter, and I think it turned out really well for a first attempt!

Of course, the serger didn’t take away all the extra steps you need a sewing machine for, but it sure cut the time to make the diaper in about half for me!

I’m also currently working on a shirt for my husband, and I have purchase a couple of patterns to make my daughter. I also bought a pattern for shirts to make myself, but they are a bit more advanced and I will probably wait until I am more confident with my serger before trying them.

Does anyone else have a serger? Do you think its a good investment? I love mine!!