February Pinterest Project - A Little Sewing

I'm doing pretty well sticking to my Pinterest-project-a-month resolution.  But then it's only the second month of the year.  That's what you're thinking, right?  This month I chose a little sewing project, the Simple Sewing Companion from the Popular Patchwork page.  I like stuff like this because they're relatively easy to make, quick to complete and I can use up small pieces of fabric.  And I end up with something cute and useful.

What do you think?  The project only used two small pieces of fabric, some fusible interfacing, a button, some thread and a tassel.  Get ready to be impressed.  Ready?  I made the tassel myself.  A while back I purchased some not-so-great silk floss from Ebay and figured that even if I don't stitch with it, I'd use it for something.  And here it is!  Note how perfectly it goes with the fabric.

That weird vertical line on the front piece is due to my not pressing out a crease in the fabric before I fused the interfacing.  Sigh.  I learned my lesson, but should have known better. 

The verdict:  I would definitely make more of these.  All of us stitchers need something to keep our scissors in, and it also has little pockets for needles and other small things.  I emphasize the word small because you can only put very small things in this.  For me, though, scissors are the important thing.  No one wants them rattling around by themselves in our stitching bags. 

So there you have it.  My Pinterest-inspired project for the month.  Let's see if I can keep this up!

Valentine Project Revealed

I recently took part in a Valentine's exchange where the rules were that, well, there were no rules.  Just stitch something, and if we wanted to turn it into something, we could.  I took this as a challenge.  I knew that I wanted to stitch something Valentine-inspired, and found a cute heart freebie online.  Then an idea popped into my head.  I could stitch a few hearts and incorporate this into one of my little fabric project bags. 

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The stitching was done with DMC 115 - variegated red - on a slightly off white evenweave.  On a visit to my local Joann's I found an amazingly perfect fabric to use for the outside of the bag and also a cute contrasting fabric for the lining.

A peek at the lining fabric during construction.

Insetting the stitched piece into the bag was a little bit of a challenge because I had to be sure to get everything even and straight.  But I think this is very good for a first try.  I would definitely make another one of these.  And FYI, I used Luann Kessi's quilted bag tutorial which can be found here.  I just used her general instructions for this type of bag, not the quilting part.

Now it's time for "Other People's Creations", simply because I'm not the only awesome crafter in the world.  My sister, Sheila, just finished some lovely beaded lanyards for her girls' teachers.

Just look at these.  Aren't they beautiful?  No boring lanyards for these teachers!  And each one features a swivel clasp where they can add their school IDs.  What a nice thing to do for teachers who do so much for kids.  I'm sure they'll appreciate these!

If you're a new follower, welcome!  If you've been following for a while, thank you!  I appreciate all of my followers and love hearing from you in the way of comments.  I had so much fun at the Grow Your Blog party and with my giveaway.  So much so that I'm going to be having another giveaway very soon.  So please come back and visit!

Grow Your Blog Giveaway Winner!

I'm happy to announce the winner of my Grow Your Blog giveaway!  I used a random number generator to determine the lucky winner --

Carrie (Crafting Paws Blog)

Carrie, I have sent you a message through your website.  I couldn't find an e-mail address for you.  Congratulations!  I'll get your prize in the mail as soon as I have your mailing address.

Thank you, everyone, for entering my giveaway!  I'll be having another cool giveaway very soon, so  be sure to come back and visit often. 

Sticking To The Crafty Plan

Am I the only one who is having fun sticking to resolutions?  Probably not, but I have pretty much amazed myself by diving right in and getting stuff done!  For example, last weekend I barricaded myself in the craft room and put a major dent in the organization project.  The first thing I did was to take everything out of the closet.  Everything.  And yes, it was an awful mess.

Right in the midst of the havoc you can see the label maker.  See it?  It's on the table between the stacks of junk.  That thing got a workout.  Now each container is organized and labeled.  Astonishing.  I can actually tell what's in the boxes.  And there were several instances of "Hey look.  I didn't remember I had that".  On Sunday I did the same thing with the craft cabinet.  I figure I'm about 75% done.  The result: unbelievable accomplishment.  I'll post a picture of the awesome organization in an upcoming post.

Now onto the WIPs.  I am happy to report a finish!  All of the stitching has been completed on Just Nan's "Jasmine Mix".

This little project used about a million different floss colors.  OK, maybe like 15.  So many color changes in such a little design was a challenge for me, but the finished product is so pretty.  I'm thinking that a simple square frame will be perfect for this.

Next I pulled out a WIP that puts me in a springtime frame of mind.  I started "Tulip's Praise" by Gracewood Stitches last summer, but had put it away to get some seasonal stitching done. 

I've made some progress on this one during the past week.  I just love the colors in this. 

One more thing I want to do is choose a Christmas ornament to stitch.  I'm looking forward to that.  At least I'll be able to find everything I need for it in the craft room!

I want to welcome my new followers!  I hope that you'll find this a fun place to visit.  Also, there's still time to enter your name into my Grow Your Blog giveaway!  All you have to do is make a comment on the Grow Your Blog post and you're instantly entered.  I'll be drawing a name on February 14th and announcing the winner on the 15th.