Uh oh!

I did it. I just did it. I ordered an absurd amount of fabric online. Enough for 5 new bags and a quilt. So not only am I committing myself to making some more bags in an attempt to sell them, I'm also committed to make Dana's so perfect quilt! Wish me luck.

I have a shop at etsy now, although it is empty. I decided on a name: Paisley Garden. Look for it on Oprah's favorite things next year. Hahaha! I wouldn't be able to keep up with the demand. But I will have some things in there shortly.

I will take pictures when the orders arrive. Can't wait! This is worse than Christmas. Now that I've finally taken the plunge, maybe now I can get to sleep at night!

By the way, if you live locally and are interested, just email me and we won't have to go through my online shop.

my new friend Dana

Do you remember this QUILT giveaway? Well, I was so overcome with the NEED for this quilt that I was really bummed I didn't get picked to win it. Even with my positive affirmations, "I'm a good person, I'm going to win this quilt", I didn't. So I commented on Dana's blog - Old Red Barn Co. - and asked her if she was going to post a pattern/instructions for the quilt. Well, to my delight, she emailed me personally and told me how she made it!! How nice is that!? She is so talented and fun and makes some really great stuff! I love reading her blog and getting inspired. Check out her shop for some great handmade bath products!

One of her last posts was about a stool she recovered and reminded me of a sewing box I recovered last year for Alison's room, we keep her shoes in it. My little box didn't have any fancy-ness to it, just some cute fabric. Then after seeing her stool I remembered that I had just bought some pink pompom fringe! I got my staple gun out and fancied it up! I really wish I had a before picture, because this thing was BAD. It was covered in some dirty old green calico with some sort of lace hem tape around it. Blech. But I can't really complain, I got it for free through Freecycle. And now look - she's like Cinderella after her visit from the fairy godmother!

It's amazing what a little fringe and some staple gun action can do. I was going to title this post Staple Gun Love, but maybe I'll save that for another time. Let me just saw how happy I was the day I went and bought my own staple gun. It's not the cool old red Swingline of my youth, but it's come in very handy! (mom, do you still have that old gun?)

?????'s Bag

So this may be my favorite bag, yet. Wait, I think I keep saying that about every bag I make! I really do enjoy working with different fabrics to see how they turn out, and then each one becomes my favorite, and then I want to keep them all! This is an Alexander Henry print that I actually found at JoAnn's. I love the colors and the whimsical oval take on polka dots.

The ???? in the title of the post are because I made this for someone dear to me, but they don't know it and I haven't shipped it yet. So hopefully she'll like it!

I had to say good bye to my the first 2 bags I made for other people yesterday. It was sad to say goodbye. But I sent them to good homes and I have 2 new friends now! I think that's a pretty good trade.

I've been having a lot of fun the last few weeks meeting people through their blogs - I'm going to continue posting about some of my new finds/blogfriends. Stay tuned . . .

another fun web site

In my week of lounging recovering on the couch I had the opportunity to do A LOT of reading on the internet. And I was pleased to find a ton of blogs with great ideas for sewing, crafting, giveaways and things to do with your kids. One such blog is Make and Takes. Marie is a mom with a new baby and 2 other kids. She has great ideas for kids crafts, snacks and other recipes. I made these grape-sicles yesterday - and Alison thinks eating anything of a stick is cool - so these were a hit!

A great recipe of hers is Rosemary Peasant Bread. I substituted dried oregano since I don't have any rosemary. It is so easy - there's no kneading involved just some rising time. It really does remind me of Macaroni Grill's bread and I can start it on Sunday when I get home from church and still get a nap!!

We made some of these sponge toys and they were so easy it's crazy! And Alison loves playing with them in the bath.

Here are a few more of her posts that I plan on trying out:

Semi-Homemade Donuts

Strawberry Fruit Leather

Muffin Tin Mealtime

Felt Sugar Cookies

Stuffed Fabric eggs

I love how quick and simple all of these ideas are. Thanks, Marie!

Denise's Bag and a Short Little Story

Here is the latest bag installment! This bag is for Denise, who cleaned my teeth. I used Moda's Flutterby by Tula Pink (the background on her blog is the same design I used for the lining, cute!). I love the way it turned out! I also figured out that fusible fleece is WAY easier to use than sew-in. AND I found a couple of tutorials at Sew, Mama, Sew! that really helped me out.

Here are a few other shots so you can see what the bag looks like. Wider (6") at the bottom for all your stuff. Long strap that can be worn messenger style (perfect for wearing under a Baby Bjorn and having your hands free without your bag sliding off your shoulder). 2 roomy pockets for diapers/wipes/wallet/chapstick/stuff you don't want lost at the bottom of the bag.

It's wide enough and tall enough to fit in file folders/papers. And soft sided enough to cram in 2 sweaters, 2 blankets, treats, water,bottle,camera,stuffed bear, and a few other necessities (I know! I had to do this one night when we went to an outdoor concert!). I also like that it is easy to dig around in with a wide opening - great for when you are managing a baby and trying to get your car keys out! Really, quite a versatile bag!

I didn't realize I hadn't written about how I started making these bags. So here' s a short little story.

I discovered Amy Butler's fabrics while browsing a Hancock's of Paducah catalog at my mom's house . I thought to myself, "Have I been living under a rock? Why didn't I know about her before?!" I was so excited to see some fresh designs for fabric. Joann's selection wasn't cutting it for me. So I entered the world of online fabric shopping - which was a little difficult, since you don't get a really good feel for how a big piece is going to look. But I needed a new diaper bag and the Lotus Wallflower in Sky was the perfect pick! I got the fabric and was overwhelmed with how unbelievably awesome it was! The colors, print and quality of the weave was amazing. I'm now officially a fabric snob.

I have a problem though. I love looking at the fabric. I'm afraid to cut it up and mess it up! I ordered it in November and didn't start the bag until April. I didn't have a pattern, but knew sort of what I wanted. Sooooo, I drew out some sketches made up a pattern and a bag was born! I was so happy with how it turned out. It's probably my favorite of anything I've made.

So, I went to the dentist a couple of weeks later and one of the hygienists walked by and said, "Hey! Cute bag!". And then she brought someone else in to show it to them. And then my hygienist starting asking me about it. When they found out I made it, they all wanted to know if I was selling them and that if I wasn't I should and if I would make them one and how much would I charge.

So I left the dentist that day with clean teeth and two orders for bags. It was really fun picking out fabrics for them. They let me surprise them and when I went back the next week to show them the fabric they loved what I picked out. I decided that if I am going to sell these then it needs to be fun for me and worth my while. Because really, I have 2 other things more important to worry about (Alison and Andrew!). One of the things that makes it so fun is working with gorgeous fabrics. So I won't be duplicating any bags. How boring to make 10 bags ALL the same. blech.

So I'm taking orders! The fun is in the details! I'm getting ready to open an Etsy shop too - stay tuned! And I'll probably be selling more than just bags. Really this is all just a way to feed my fabric addiction!

Nursing Cover

I suffer from i-can-make-that-itis. Have you seen all the cute nursing covers that are out now? What a great way to use some cute fabric and get some privacy all in one! So I studied a few, bought some fabric and whipped a couple of them up yesterday. I wish I'd had one when I got on a plane with Andrew when he was 5 weeks old. Oh well.

Thanks to my friend Cathy who modeled for me with my baby instead of hers (he was taking a nap).

This fabric is from the Bleeker Street collection by Michele D'Amore for Marcus Brothers Textiles.

Mollie's Bag

Yay! Another completed project! I'm feeling pretty good about finishing anything lately - baby boy is requiring so much more time and big sister is being really patient with me. The unexpected appendectomy a week ago certainly threw a wrench in my attempts at productivity too. Oh yeah, and then my iron decided to freak out on me again this morning and melt the interfacing on the bag. Luckily it was a tiny spot and NOT noticeable. And thankfully Rowenta is paying to ship it to them this time to inspect it. I love my iron - I don't like how unreliable it's been so far. But I didn't want this post to turn into a rant about that. I'm reserving final judgement to see what happens . . .

I used Michael Miller's Multi Posey border print and coordinating pods in pink for the lining.