Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

I know it has been a long time since I last posted, but the holidays were a busy time for us (as I'm sure it was for everyone else) and also a very emotional time. I had a very rough December, the first since my mom's passing, with my birthday and Christmas. We made it through, and got to share some wonderful times with my sister and her family for two weeks from Christmas to New Years.


I was also working on a surprise present for my siblings, a scrapbook of photos of my mom & dad. So, I couldn't really mention it on here until after the fact. I also sent DVD slide show copies to all of my aunts and uncles.

Halloween

Maybe My Coolest Bag Yet

In my opinion, this may be my coolest bag yet. Maybe because I love the fabric and colors, and also, I did lined pockets this time, much nicer than the basic patch pockets on the other bags.

This material was a little challenging to work with because it was REALLY stretchy (side to side). I didn't inspect it that closely when I bought it, so I was surprised when I went to iron it and it was so stretchy. But I think it turned out well, anyway.

I made two of these bags, as I have all of my reversible bags, and I think this one is so cool I am going to keep one for myself. Added bonus, it matches the new jacket I recently purchased. :)

Polkadot Bags

These bags are 15" long x 12.5" wide, with a 4" flat bottom. The straps are 26" long, and are reinforced for strength. The bag is fully interfaced, and has an interior and exterior pocket. The pocket on the blue/red bag is about 5.5" x 7", the pocket on the black/green bag measures about 6" x 6". Very cute, sturdy, versatile bags.

A Break From Bags

I took a break from sewing bags for the sale and made some bucket hats for my boys. It was a lot of fun to do, but also a lot of work! I don't think I could ever make apparel for sale, but only for love. It took me approximately 10-12 hours to make two of these hats, and that doesn't include shopping for supplies. I decided on the theme by picking out the buttons first, then finding fabric to match.

Ray thinks his new hat is pretty cool, and will wear it outdoors - once we get inside, he tears it off his head.
Uh, Dario doesn't much like wearing hats I guess.



I also made the sign for our booth, and sales tags for my items. I plan to write the price and washing instructions on the back of the tags. Since there are going to be 4 of us selling in the one booth, we all decided we needed to put our name or "business name" on our stuff.

New Beach Bag

Made of sturdy outdoor fabric, great for taking to the beach or just out and about. Measures 11" deep, has a flat square bottom measuring 12.5"x 6". Handles are 25" long. Inside view of bag - unlined, but quality craftsmanship. All seams are finished so the fabric will not fray! Corners of bag and handles are triple sewn for extra durability.
Eye catching gold-tone rings at the handles.

Lacey Community Market

I have been sewing up a storm because I am going to be selling my handmade items at the Lacey Community Market on Saturday September 13th. I am collaborating with a bunch of other moms in a moms group I belong to, we are going to be selling hand made crafts together. Here are some more items I have made in preparation of the market. Please let me know what you think!! :)

12.5" x 13" reversible tote bags with 22" straps. (11" drop) Fully interfaced, including straps, for strength and durability. Machine washable.


12.5" x 13" reversible tote bags with 22" straps (11" drop) Fully interfaced for strength and durability, including straps. Machine washable.

Striped beach bag. Bag has 6" x 12.75" flat square bottom, and is 9.5" deep. Straps are 20" long (10" drop). Straps are interfaced for added durability, made of "outdoor" fabric, spot clean with a damp cloth or hand wash.

In bag: towel, paperback book, wallet, sunglasses, swimsuit, bottle of water, and a granola bar - with lots of space left!

Reversible Tote Bag

I've been sewing a lot lately, here are a few reversible tote bags I made. They measure 12 1/2" x 13" with 22" straps. They are made with home decor fabric so they are pretty heavy weight, sturdy bags.

Digital Scrapbooking Again

I reinstalled my digital scrapbooking software onto our new computer and decided to start making pages with pictures of my mom & dad. I started with this really nice one of the both of them at my cousin's wedding in 2006. I also switched from making 12"x12" pages to making letter sized pages so that I could more easily print them out and put them in a "paper" album later. I thought it would be a nice gift for my siblings, too. Here's the 2nd page I just completed tonight (July 5th) from Christmas 2005.

Lush Makeup Bag

This is my first project out of "Sewing 101" a beginner's sewing book I purchased at Half-Price Books. The flower is hand sewen on, and the lining is also hand stitched into the bag. Everything else was done with my sewing machine. This is the first project I have done with a zipper! If you sew, you know that zippers can be challenging and intimidating, especially for a beginner.

~~~~ UPDATE ~~~~~

Northwest Trek & Sewing

Timo and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary this last weekend. As part of our 4-day weekend celebration, we took the boys to Northwest Trek Wildlife Park for the afternoon. Here we are riding the tram checking out all the free roaming wildlife (mostly hoof animals). Dario really isn't that fat, he is just leaning back in my lap so he looks like he has a huge double chin.

This guy was NOT in the free roaming area, he was in one of the "caged" areas (like at the zoo). It is really nice because the animals here have a lot of space, even when they are in a closed off area.I took a beginning sewing class on Tuesday night, designed to help familiarize us with our sewing machines and learn how to use them, and explore different stitches available on our machines. I finished this denim pillow last night. Timo thinks it looks like the Matrix. I used a varigated embroidery thread (on a spool) to create this look. My sewing machine has alot more decorative stitches than I thought it did! This was a great project for me to do to see all what my sewing machine can do.
I am really enjoying getting into sewing, it is a fun release and I feel closer to my mom when I sew. She never taught me to sew, but she did sew when I was very little, and my sewing machine was a gift from her for my bridal shower. It's funny, I was talking to my sister-in-law (my brother's wife) earlier this week about sewing, and she said I used to make barbie clothes on my mom's sewing machine when I was young, and that is why my mom bought me my own sewing machine when I got married. I really miss my mom a lot. Sewing is also a great way for me to become closer to my mother-in-law, who is my on-call sewing expert. Keep your eyes peeled for more sewing projects to come.

I don't remember if I posted about the tag blanket I made for Dario, but here's a picture of it. I did this about a month ago.

He loves to chew on a tag that is on his blanket, so I thought he might enjoy a tag blanket. He basically ignores it! But, it was fun to make and maybe he will fall in love with it soon. I'm thinking maybe the tags are too large, but he does like to stick his finger through the tags and swing it around sometimes.

On a comletely unrelated note, I have my first mental health appointment today. I finally decided to see a counselor about the depression I have been experiencing and help dealing with the grief of losing a parent and having another parent with a terminal illness. I'll try to post later with how that goes. Please pray for me.