Sew La Ti Embroidery [Search results for tutorial] 

A little while back there was a huge earthquake in New Zealand, near Christchurch where the wonderful Deb from Works in Progress lives. She has a giving heart and wanted to do something for those that lost everything....she started a earthquake quilts project, and asked for a little help.

I was able to make up a few blocks to send to her this week. She specifically requested that they be in blues and reds. I hope that they work out Deb, i enjoyed making them.
The first two were made from a simple tutorial she provided in case we were stuck and could not think of what to make.

These wonky stars were made for Deb from my favorite star tutorial at Silly Boo Dilly blog. They always turn out amazing and i always love them!

These last three blocks are for my vintage sheet freedom bee, also started by Deb. I am plugging my way through them so that i can be done in time to have them back to all the other ladies before i have this baby.

for Deb

for Tracey

for Jilly

As I try to put my vacation thoughts and pictures together i thought that i would share with you a few projects that i worked on while i was gone.

I like to have some hand sewing with me when i go away....and this time it was primarily bindings that i wanted to complete....so packed up and off they went with me.

The first one that i finished was this retro potholder/hot pad. My wonderful aunt had brought me one that she found and wondered if i could figure out how to make it...well, honestly, i had no clue how they did it and then one day i ran across a tutorial for one from Going Sew Crazy. It was easy to follow and i learned a few new things. It is not perfect but my aunt loved it and that is what counts.

I also made a matching/coordinating dish rug for her, and another for the owner of the cottage where we stayed. The tutorial was from Jennifer at That Girl...That Quilt. She gave great easy to follow instructions. I modified it a little by using a old bath towel instead of a dish towel...consequently that made it too thick to turn out so i put a traditional quilt binding on it instead of top stitching the outer edge..

i hope to make at least 2 more of these to use the other recycled towel pieces that i have left.

i will catch you soon with more projects and vacation pics!!! it is good to be back!

 For my giveaway this time around I have a pretty little charm pack of  "Ruby" , the latest fabric collection by Bonnie and Camille for Moda. This collection is oh so gorgeous and I really need to get some myself now that I have seen it in person to touch and see the lovely colour palette they have used.

Along with the handmade gift making that is going on in my sewing attic lately I have whipped up a sweet little birdie pincushion and a matching needlebook. The Birdie pincushion was made using this free tutorial here and is really so easy and satisfying to make. I think I will be making more of these in the near future. The needle book cover is made up of tiny little 1" squares of shabby chic fabrics with some coordinating wool felt pages inside taken from my precious stash of Heather Bailey felts.

In order to be in to win this wee collection of pretty sewing supplies just leave me a comment sharing one or more of your handmade gifts for this holiday season or perhaps a link to your favourite tutorial.

This giveaway will be left open till 16th December when a winner will be drawn randomly.

Overseas comments are most welcome and also please make sure I can contact you via email :-)

Hooray, this week i have something to share. Finally. I did this so early in the week that i actually almost forgot i had a finish to share. Poor Avery i had to put her in the stairwell to take this picture because it was the only place i could get her high enough to see the length of my shower curtain.

So, instead of ruffly aprons for the Easter baskets, I went with these necklaces, they took way less time than the aprons would have and I have a list too huge to tackle for all my upcoming shows. The tutorial I found on What did she do today she has a whole list of fun tutorials, here's the link directly to the fabric necklace tutorial. It was super quick, I think it took me about an hour to whip up all three of these. The best part was that it was sneaky crafting which made it kindof more exciting, my husband has been home today and I guess today was dubbed game day. So him and the kids were playing games and I was sneakily finishing up Easter basket gifts :) And now I declare that I am done!

I haven't been able to stop thinking about this skirt tutorial from the Moda Bake shop.

So I made one.

And then had my 7 and 5 year old take pictures for me. I think they did pretty good.

There was a few things I did differently from the tutorial. First, it called for a layer cake and a jelly roll which I did not have, so instead I picked 25 different fabrics from my stash which made it easy because I needed 25- 10 inch squares and 25- 2 1/2 inch strips. Another thing I did differently was I didn't make the waistband, I just folded down the top of the skirt to make the waistband. Also, if I make another one of these (which I probably will) I will serge all my pieces together. I just sewed everything together without thinking about the raw edges. (so now I will have a lovely stringy mess under there, oh well!) If I would have used a layer cake and a jelly roll they would have already had pinked edges.

And I have to say that I LOVE THIS SKIRT!

I finished some small sewing recently that i wanted to share.

The first project was this turtle softie from Bend the Rules Sewing, by Amy Karol. I confess that dolls and softies are not something i am very good at, but this one turned out well enough...it was the crazy felt eyes that made me fall in love. Best of all Delilah loves it and chews on his legs and head often. Her best sign of affection.

Many moons ago i made a pirate quilt for mitchell....you can see it here. This week i suddenly had the idea to make him a matching pillowcase since that is the quilt he uses every night in bed. I found a tutorial from Ashley at Film in the Fridge. It was so easy. I loved it and would definitely use it again.

The kids recently had a week of VBS. Before it began one of the requests from Avery was that she have a bag to carry her water bottle in. So, google came through once again and i found a tutorial from the Long Thread.

I had seen this one before, but this was my first go at it. I thought sewing the circle bottom was going to be really hard but it actually was not. We embellished with fun iron on patches we found and for straps i made Avery's with some fabric i had about and Mitchell got some army style webbing/strapping. Perfect and heavy duty for that little guy.

I might add that Mitch was an excellent model this afternoon so i could get a couple shots of the carriers.

Sewing clothing is not my strong suit. With quilting i know all the steps to follow and what order to do them in...with clothes i get a little turned around , get stuck and then ask myself how am i supposed to do this? Since this is for sleeping i think it will do. The true test will be if she wears it for more than one night!!

**since this is the only significant sewing i have done in a really long while i am going to go ahead and link this up to this weeks edition of sew and tell at Amylouwho's. Say hello to all the ladies who made something wonderful this week**

I finally got Sage's quilt finished!

It is twin sized, the biggest quilt I have finished so far.

Sage picked all the fabrics out herself from my stash probably a year ago :)
I love how it turned out, it is just so happy to me.

Here's a peak at the back, I used a vintage sheet which by chance matched the pillowcase that Sage uses :)

I made it!!!

I'm joining in Amy's sew and tell today!

I am so excited to share Sage's quilt top that I finished! I used this tutorial from Cluck cluck Sew. Sage picked out all the fabrics herself from my stash. I love how it turned out! Now I have to get working on the back, and I think I am going to pay to have this one quilted, I'm not sure if I want to tackle a quilt this big.

By the way, my neighbor's probably thought I was strange, to get this picture (before it started to rain yesterday) I laid it out on the grass in front of our house and climbed up on the porch railing :)

I also wanted to share a Christmas present that I started last night because I am just dying over how stinkin awesome it is going to be. I am making lap quilts for my 3 girls, out of my very favoritest vintage linens, I am talking the vintage linens that I have been collecting for years now and not had the guts to cut into. I am cutting 6 1/2 inch squares and each quilt is going to have 16 different yummy prints in it, in each girl's favorite colors. This one is for the blue and purple loving Kinsley.

I decided to jump in on amylouwho's sew and tell this week. I finished this bag up last night as a present for someone. I can't say who because I haven't given it to them yet. It is made from a yummy blue linen fabric, and then I appliqued a thrifted doily on the front. I love it, and I think I am in need of one now.

I also finished up these string pieced blocks for Sarah for a Notion or Two. I love the way these turned out, I think it is going to make an awesome quilt. They were fun to make too, I used this tutorial from Film in the Fridge.

Ahh, it feels so good to get some of the things done that have been in my WIP pile for the baby. My to do basket is almost looking, dare i say, empty!!!!

I have acquired several cute flannel prints from Joann's with the intentions of making lovey blankets. Some i have had in stash for a long time, like the baby food jars print. Lovies are our favorite and every one we have given as a gift has been favorites for the new families too!!! They are versatile and warm and just so cute! These were made with two flannel prints(i am loving the animals)...squared...sewn right sides facing...turned out and top stitched! Easy Peasy.

I thought the baby food print would be good for some burp clothes. You can never have too many with a little on, i think....and all the ones i had made for my other two have since worn out. New ones were in order. I cut these into 8 pieces and then used the same sewing method as the lovey blankets.

Oh, and last but not least the Katie Jump Rope Hooter Hider!!!! I love this print. I used the tutorial here to make it, as i have for all the others i have made. Pretty simple and straightforward...but with pregnancy brain i am afraid i did some incorrect measuring. I am not sure it turned out the way it was supposed to, but i will reserve my final judgment until there is baby to nurse under it.

i am so thankful for Amylouwho and the motivation she provides!!! I am joining in this week at sew and tell. There are so many great finishes, as usual. Go and have a look and give them a little comment love!

So, what do you do when you are on a tight budget and realize that Easter is a week away?
Fill Easter baskets with handmade gifts! Which I think is better anyway.

I made these bunnies using this tutorial from My little mochi.
I just changed the face a bit. They are about 5 1/2 inches tall and I think I'm in love with them, I hope my daughters will be too.
I'll share all my other Easter basket filler projects this week too. Maybe if you are a procrastinator like I can be sometimes you'll get some ideas.

I know that this is a lot of pictures for one little thing, but bear with me!!

i have made one once before and the second time was definitely smoother. Thanks to Made by the Mama Monster for a fun easy to follow tutorial. Don't forget to go to Amylouwho's and see what everyone else made this week. I have gone and had a peek and there were tons of great things!!!!

What you will need:
Something to embellish, I chose a tank top.
fabric
thread
buttons
rotary cutter, mat and ruler
sewing machine

When I do a shirt, I usually put three flowers on it, you could do as many or as little as you want, I like groups in odd numbers, I think it looks better.
First step: cut out three strips of fabric that are 10 inches long by 1 1/2 inches wide (when I have embellished shirts for my girls, I make them about 1o inches long and 1 inch wide)

Step 2: If you need to, iron your pieces. Then fold back on itself into a circle shape.

When I get to the end, I fold it under.

Then I take it to my ironing board and iron it flat.

I think this just makes it easier to sew it down. I do all three flowers to this point.

Then I figure out where I want the flowers to be placed and I sew them down. I start where the two ends meet and usually in a star shape. Really you could sew them down however you want, you could even hand stitch them down.
Sorry some of my pictures have weird lighting, a couple of them were at night.

Here they are almost done!

The last step is to sew the buttons on! And now you have a cute flower shirt or whatever you want to embellish! I've used these on dresses, bags, and shirts.
Have Fun! I hope this made sense :)

This block was for Russ, he asked us to make a 16 inch block that his daughter would like. I thought a star would be fun and it's something I have been wanting to try, I hope she likes it!
I am having so much fun be in A Notion or Two, I am learning so much!
I used this stars tutorial that I found via One Shabby Chick, which was alot easier and fun that I thought it would be. I think I will be doing more of these.