My Sewing Room Makes Me Happy :)

I have a wonderful sewing room in our house and I love it!  (The lighting's not all that good down there though so the pictures are a bit dark)  Here's my new design wall - a $1.50 clearance picnic tablecloth!  I got that idea from my resourceful sister :)  In the background you can see my new ironing board cover...

Here's a close-up.  I never would have let you get that close to the old one! 

I used an old blanket from when I was a kid, wrapped it around and duck-taped (isn't it great stuff?) it to the underside.  Then I traced my old cover onto a piece of gingham that was in a box of "hand-me-down" fabric and just long enough (whew!).  I serged it together with a piece of muslin (from the same box) and then zig-zagged over the cord that I'd taken from the old one all the way around.  It worked great and I'm so pleased with the results!

Oh yea...on my design wall are the blocks I've made for the Paintbox quilt-along.  I'm making 4 of each and so far have 64 done.  35 more to go!

Thrifty Threads # 9

I got it in my head the other day to make Sophie an outfit. I took one of my husband's pairs of pants that he never wears because they're too short and used this pretty remnant I got the other day for the shirt and cuffs. So...a new outfit for about $1!  Very satisfying!  The shirt is made using the Sweet Little Dress pattern (once again) - I just shortened it.  The pants I just traced from another pair she had but made them a bit longer.  I had wanted to make long sleeves but didn't have enough fabric so for now she'll be wearing a shirt under :)

You can see on this picture how I did the waist. I had leftover non-rolling elastic and stretch fabric from when I'd altered clothes for maternity wear, so I used that to make a nice comfy waistband. The only thing is the rise is a little long so it fits better when I fold it over like in the pic.

9

Last week my oldest turned 9. I'm starting to feel old. 9? Really? I have a kid that old? Only one more year in the single digits.



A RTW shirt with a 9 appliqued on it. I paid $3 for the shirt and used a part of a thrifted shirt for the applique. He liked it but I couldn't get him to model it for the camera. He always wears a hoodie sweatshirt over his shirts. Always. He could wear the ugliest shirts ever and no one would ever know.



A Canada flag cake by his request. He'd like Canada to win a bunch of gold medals.

I'm not good with cakes at all. I don't do cut up and shaped cakes. I do rectangular cakes with decoration on top. This was easy. I just made a stencil from a maple leaf print out. I laid it on top of the iced cake and sprinkled red sanding sugar on top.

What about you? Fancy cakes, plain cakes or bought cakes?

A Merging of Hobbies

Anyone who knows us in real life will know that we (especially my husband) love board games and every once in a while boardgaming meets sewing :).  Many games come with flimsy little drawstring bags to hold the games pieces and they are often too small and/or fall apart.  So this is my latest crafty addition to a much played family game.

It makes the game so much more fun to play!

The tutorial came from here (a great website to check out for reviews, pictures and much more for any and every game that exists!).

Spring has Sprung!

First, I want to thank you all for your comments on my last post. I think I should be able to figure it all out now. When I actually find the time to do it is anyone's guess. Don't hold your breath okay!

I kind of hesitate to post these photos because some of our readers, including Suzanne, might be just a tad jealous. On the other hand, it might convince her of the wisdom of living in this part of the country. :-) We are having an unseasonably warm winter this year. If you've been keeping up with the Olympics I'm sure you've heard how 'negative' this is, but I'm thankful for every warm and sunny day we've had!



I love this next photo! See my kids there in the background? That's the part I love.


This post has nothing to do with sewing or quilting or even making more with less. But now you know why I'm not doing to much sewing. It's too nice out to play in my basement!

Have a good weekend!

Alisa

Bibs; Advice Needed

Did I mention that many babies were born and expected to be born in my church? More babies = more bibs. I wish I had time to make other more exciting things for all of them, but I do enjoy giving a little handmade to each one, if time allows.
Raw edge applique. This will fray when it is washed, but I like that look.
Three sweet little girls.


I've been working on a tutorial/pattern for this bib. Tutorials are alot of work, so I'm not finished. I kind of gave up half-way. I'm totally in awe of the hours some bloggers put into their free tutorials.

Anyway, I'm still thinking of finishing it, but that kind of depends. Do you want a pattern/tutorial for my bib? That leads me to another question. I would like to make it available in a pdf. How do I provide a pdf online? Is there a free way to put it online? If someone can help me out with these questions I might be propelled to finish it and provide it for your use.

Hope you are all having a good week! So far mine is much better than the last three combined. (5 kids + chicken pox in 2 batches + husband working overtime + weaning baby + mom out of town for 3 weeks = tough time! Thankfully I have a m-i-l and s-i-l who came to the rescue a few times. I'm glad to be on the other side!)

Thanks for stopping by our little blog. We enjoy your comments and suggestions.

Aqua Terra Diamonds

If your initials are T.S. or Y.B. please don't read this post. That is, if you are related to me and have those initials.


Okay, now that we have that out of the way I can go on to Sew and Tell my recent finish.


Remember the little peek?


It's now a complete quilt all ready for my brother and his fiance. They are getting married on April 23, DV.



The fabric is from Connecting Threads and is called Aqua Terra.It measures about 65 x 75 inches.I found the pattern here, but I didn't really follow the directions as it would have wasted alot of fabric.
I had my doubts while making it that it would turn out okay, but now that it is finished I love it! The back is a chocolate brown flannel. It is soft and snuggly, just perfect for keeping them warm on the couch.

Giveaway winner! and what I've been up to...

The winner of the Sleepsack Pattern is Anne from Film and Thread! Congratulations!  She was the first winner but just emailed me saying she really doesn't need the pattern so...

...our second random number is...#10

Laura, who said "Love the pattern and would love to give it a go! Yours looks great!"

I don't have an email address for you so if I don't hear from you in the next day or two we'll pick again :)

(can you believe when I did the random number generator it was #5 again??  Are you sure you don't need it Anne?)

Here are my next three colours for my "not-so-paintbox" Paintbox quilt.  I made 4 pairs of each colour so I have 48 done so far - almost half way :)

And a little something I'm working on to spruce up our basement...

Simple Seams Sleepsack pattern review

I have a good friend who has come out with her first pattern a few months ago and she gave me a pattern to try out and review.

Here's how mine turned out...

First a little blurb from Karen...

Hello!  I'm Karen from Twice as Nice Boutique.  I am a christian, wife, mom, and sister.  I am grateful to God every day for all he has given me - a wonderful husband of 7.5 years, 2 daughters, loving parents, 6 (yes 6!) sisters, one brother, and the ability to sew!  

I love my kids, and also love being able to incorporate sewing into my weekly schedule.   I have made them coats, shirts, skirts, dresses, doll clothes, quilts, costumes and anything else that can be made.  When I go shopping with my girls, and they see something they like, they ask "Mom, can you make me one like this?!?", and when we get home, run and pick out the fabric they like for it!   I tend to buy fabric by the bolt now, and my fabric stash (and scrap bin) grow on a weekly basis! 

I love what I do - being able to take fabric and mold it into something new and usable is a rewarding experience.  I began to sew Sleep Sacks in March 2009.  The number of sold ones too date is 111. Some are in Australia, a few in Ireland and France, and most in Canada and USA.  My older sister encouraged me to sell them, and after trying a commercial pattern, I came up with my own design.  I wanted to have my pattern produced so others, like me, could make their own, out of fabrics they had and adored, in any or all sizes they desired.   In November of 2009, my pattern was ready to be sold.  To date 17 people have purchased one.  I am still in awe at how fast all of this has gone.  I never dreamed that so many Sleep Sacks would sell so fast. 

Well, that's all, I hope you come check out my shop- TwiceAsNiceBoutique.etsy.com, and my blog, TwiceAsNiceBoutique.blogspot.com

On to my review...

I pieced two fabrics together just because I love the look.  And used flannel I had in my drawer for the inside (hence the different colours)

I cut it at 12 months and it fits my teeny tiny 13 month old with room to grow. I made one mistake and cut the front neck line at the 6 month line so it's a bit high in the front but still works just fine.

It's a great pattern for a beginner. The hardest part would be the zipper but it's a great project to try one on for the first time if you haven't yet. I love the fact that everything is nicely finished (no raw edges anywhere) and that you can make it thin for summer or add an extra layer for the colder months.

The one thing I'm not sure I love is the narrowness of it.  The sleepsacks I've made before are all roomier by the legs giving room to kick.  I've watched her move around in it though and she doesn't seem to mind.  I think it might just be personal preference.

Oh Sophie...we love you!

One more thing...we have a giveaway for you!  Karen is giving away one pattern to one of you lovely readers!  Leave a comment, let me know if you're a follower and/or let others know about the giveaway on your blog (separate comment for each) and I'll pick a random winner on Monday, Feb.8th in the evening.

I'm linking up with Amylouwho's Sew and Tell.  Go on and check out what everyone else has been up to this week!

Thanks for visiting, have a wonderful weekend!

Baby Gift

Suzanne and I have a new little nephew. He's just a couple of weeks old and was baptized yesterday. I sent a little gift and he's got it so I can show it to you too.
A double-sided bib.

And a double-sided receiving blanket.

It appears I was in a two-sided mood.

I wish we could see Justin for real. We'll have to wait until April for that.

One last thing. Thanks for all the comments on my last post. I started to reply back to each one, but didn't get to them all. I'm really enjoying the making of it and I'll show you more progress as time goes on.