241 tote

I finally got around to making my first 241 tote from Noodlehead, I've had this pattern for a while and never seemed to be able to pick the fabrics I wanted to use (yeah, I'm a tad indecisive). With spring finally on its way, I decided that it was time to make a spring bag and I pulled out the pattern and settled on this print from Josephine Kimerling's hope chest line. I have hoarded this fabric for a while. I'm usually not a big floral girl but there was something about this print that I just adore. I think it was perfect for this pattern!

The pattern was absolutely cake to follow and I opted for the zippered pocket variation. It literally took me less than three hours from cutting to top stitching, a very quick and easy sew! The one mistake I made was forgetting to add the slip pocket to the interior...oops. I'll just blame the wine and the fact that it was well past my bedtime at that point.

The only thing that I was a bit disappointed about was the size. I was for some reason thinking that this was a tad roomier, but I guess this just keeps me from over stuffing my bag with junk. It's by no means small but I just tend to like more oversized bags.

I will for sure be making another, I'm really happy with how it came together and the ease of the pattern makes it great for a last minute gift.

Yay SPRING!

Honey cowl

Last month, I vowed that I WOULD learn how to knit, after many frustrating attempts. I successfully completed my first project, the seed stitch cowl and I was hooked.

I searched for a good second project and happened on the honey cowl. I saw various posts about the honey cowl, many from people who were new to knitting themselves so I thought is give it a shot.

It's so far from perfect, but I don't care, I love it!

I found the yarn at a little yarn shop, it's Everlating by Dream and it's a cozy superwash Australian Merino. The pictures do not do this yarn justice, the color is just absolutely gorgeous! .

I cannot wait to go back and find some new yarn for my next project: The Sophia Cowl but I better wait a bit before I tell hubby that I bought another 30.00 skein of yarn.

I'm really enjoying knitting so much more than I thought and I'm surprised that I am picking it up easier than I thought. It's still much slower than crochet and more akward but I love the final look. I still need to work on my cast off, as it's a bit wonky but I'm actually knitting!

Wallet Tutorials

I just sewed my first wallet to coordinate with my spring bag and I honestly don't know what took me so long to make one! I put one together with just the leftover scraps from my last bag as it takes so little to whip one up. Such a quick sew that now I'm going to have to make one to go with all my bags. God love crafty blogs that so generously post tutorials, I found so many cute freebies out there!

Some I love:

That Darn Cat 

Wallet and ID Reel at All Wrapped up

Tag Wallet at Second Street

Scrap Ribbon Wallet A Lil Blue Boo

Scrappy Wallet at All Wrapped Up

Dixie DIY Wallet

Bi Fold Wallet From Cindy's Fabrics

Wallet Tutorial From Christy's Cuties

Zippered Card Pouch From Craft Passion

Boy's Wallet From NoodleHead

Little Charmer Wallet by Clover and Violet

Zippered Pouch Wallet by Sew Knit Me

Wallet Clutch By Sisters, Sisters

Men's Wallet by Quiltish

Spring Bag Tutorials

Spring is right around the corner and I start getting the itch to make myself a new bag at the beginning of every season! There are so many fantastic free tutorials out there, I can't pick one! Some to-dos ob my never ending list of bags I want to make are:



It's A Cinch By Sweet Verbena This is easily one of my favorite bag patterns--EVER. It's such a simple but awesome bag!!! I love mine!

 

Pleated handbag by warehouse fabrics

Phoebe bag by Artsy Craftsy Babe



Sling bag by Morning by Morning Productions

Ruffle bag Tutorial  by V and Co

Diaper Bag Pattern by Make baby stuff.com

Tohoku Tote by I am momma hear me roar

Too much a lady purse from Sew a Straight Line

Pottery Barn Inspired tote by Hojo Designs

Naughty Secretary Bag by Sew Sweetness

Pleated Purse by Mommy by day crafter by night

Amy Butler Soul Blossom Bag at Sew Mama Sew

Pleated Purse Tutorial by Melissa Esplin

The great granny bag by Emmaline Bags

The Diana Hobo by Think LIz

 
The martina



The Little Betty Bag by Mother Huddle



Bucket Bag Tutorial



Knot tote by me sew crazy


Pleated metallic Bag


Gathered Bag Tutorial by Bumble Bee bliss


Satin Sash Bag by Morning By morning productions

Rediscovery

When I was in high school and the first couple of years into college a lot of my time was devoted to art. I was a full time student and worked only part time, so I had a reasonable amount of "free time" (even though it didn't seem like that at the time!!!).  During that time I don't remember struggling with the creative process, quite the contrary, I couldn't turn it off.  I was constantly thinking up different projects, and was sparked by the world around me. I would have a hard time settling on which of the dozens of ideas I'd had to start on. It felt like such an integral part of me.

Fast forward a few years and my life shifts. Slowly, I lost touch with my creative side. I rarely sketched, painted even less and let all my supplies gather dust. I was just much "too busy" to do work on anything. I think periodically I would long to create something but couldn't figure out where to start. I just wasn't "creative" anymore.

After my son was born, I had even less "free time", I continued on my life with very little time spent taking care of 'me'. My job can be extremely stressful. I work in a residential psychiatry program, we work with kids whose mental illnesses and behaviors are severe enough to prevent them from maintaining in a less restrictive setting (i.e. home). Although they demonstrate a gamut of high risk behaviors, they stay with us for months at a time to develop the skills they need to manage their illness and behaviors so that they can thrive outside of a locked unit. Seeing as how we serve these children for months, in many ways we try to make this as home-like as possible by allowing them to bring personal items and we get an opportunity to really develop relationships with these kids.
The reason I am going on about this is because it's the round about way I rediscovered that creative spark.   

Several summers ago I started working with Ms. M. This girl was sweet, talented and a hot mess. She was incredibly smart and did well in structured settings, not so much outside of locked walls. She would sit for hours and crochet and she was damn good at it. I was fascinated and remembering doing a little hairpin crochet with my grandma when I was a little girl. I asked if she could teach me and she agreed, in a role reversal of sorts. I caught on quick and had a hard time putting it down. I loved it. I crocheted everything (including lots of things that have no business being crocheted). I had a particular affinity for crocheting bags, but these bags needed to be lined and hand sewing was a bitch. So I scoured Craigslist and scored a free machine from a kind gentleman and his wife. I swear it was a hundred years old and only straight stitched but that was all I needed. 

Lined bags are one thing but hey, I can sew a straight line, why can't I sew something else? I made some hideous curtains and enrolled in a class to sew a shirt at JoAnn's. I was the only one in the class so I basically got four hours of sewing lessons for the price of the class. The shirt, although it looks like its supposed to, was very unflattering and something that I will never wear, ever. What that class did teach me was how to read a commercial pattern, and some sewing basics when constructing items that aren't flat pieces of fabric.

I found myself wanting to do more and more, I bought some commercial bag patterns and muddled my way though them. The first couple were riddled with mistakes but I completed them.  After I had done a few I started learning more about the process, and was able to start adjusting little things here and there. I tried a few more shirts, with varying degrees of success. 

Enter Pinterest. So many fantastic sources of inspiration in one place. Who would have thought?!

At this time I was still trying to kindle this little creative spark, I loved finding these tutorials and re-creating these projects but was still struggling to feel that sense of creativity. I felt kinda like I was just copy-catting. Although, I would never steal someone's idea and claim it as my own, it still in my minds eye wasnt "creative" because it wasn't me that came up with it to begin with. Why can't I come up with my own stuff?! I struggled a lot with this. I was convinced that I was no longer creative and was doomed to a life of replicating other peoples great ideas. 

I made more and more and tried to learn some new things, the more I learned, the more I wanted to make. The more I made the more confident  I felt. The more confident I felt, the more I felt empowered to make adjustments on the way. The more adjustments I made the more "creative" I felt. I started to come to the realization that this idea of "creativity" was not this tangible thing, you can't quantify your creativity by some sense of originality. The creativity was in the process. 

Once I had this epiphany, the gates opened. The more I quit worrying about having these completely original ideas and started looking at these sources of inspiration as ways to spark the creative process and realized that in making these items and adjusting them to my tastes, needs, wants etc was no less a part of the creative process.  The more I operated on this idea and quit putting myself down, the more I wanted to make. 

I felt liberated in a way,  and then I started having more of the original ideas that I wanted. Coming to the realization that you didn't need to reinvent the wheel to be "creative" allowed me this sense of creativity that I had been seeking. 

Now, I want to do so much, I'm back to that can't turn it off drive to create. I once again feel inspired as I go about my day but seemingly random things and I'm constantly thinking of new ideas. Now the problem once again is picking out just one thing to do. 

Once I quit allowing myself to be constrained by the vague idea of creativity, I found that I had what I was looking for all along.  This was just my way of rediscovering that side of me. I still don't sketch or paint much these days, and I find that I miss it less than I used to, probably because that creative spark has gone a different direction
and I'm ok with that, I feel like I've reconnected with a part of me I didn't realize I missed so much.

Charmed Bag and is it spring yet?!

In my last fabric order, on impulse I bought a charm pack. I really like the Mama Said Sew line and when it arrived in the mail I spent more time than is reasonable just looking at the little squares of yummyness. While this may seem reasonable for a quilter, I am most assuredly not a quilter. What on earth was I going to do with a bunch of five inch squares? (42 to be exact). 

I asked myself that same question every time I would look up on the shelf above my sewing machine: "why on earth did you buy that? What are you gonna do with it?!". I'd pick it up, look at the pretty squares, and set it right back on the shelf. 

Until last weekend. A friend of mine made a request for a black and red bag. I cut out all the pieces for her bag and thought, " I kinda want a black and red bag too." Then the lightbulb, I can use the charms for a bag! Perhaps if I had any experience quilting, I could have done some fancier piecing but I was not wanting this to turn into something I couldn't get done RIGHT NOW. Once I get started on something, I have a hard time stopping so I was impatient to get my bag done. 

Initially my plan was to have a recessed zipper, but I ended up liking it on the top of the bag above the exterior. Can a bag have a popped collar? This one does. I added a pocket the length of the bag inside so I could use it as a divider, as this was initially planned as a work bag. I also added a "C" appliqué on the front. 

I love how it came out and I'm so happy I found a proper usage for the charms! I have about a third of the pack left and I may use them in an itty bitty hexie project. 

Hexies

I can never leave well enough alone. Just when I seem to have enough things to fill my brain and my time, I start something new. Enter hexies.

These awfully cute fellas are deceptively addicting. I sat down with some paper hexie templates and a couple tutorials right after the holidays but quickly put them aside for other projects. At that time, I didn't see what all the fuss was about. Sure they were great scrap busters but much too time consuming.

Then one of my favorite things in the world came back, The Walking Dead. Yup, I'm a complete sucker for zombies and I look forward to Sunday nights like a kid longs for Christmas. I'm that dork. The show has movie like suspense and to keep my palms safe from my fingernails I must have something to do with my hands. I usually crochet but right now I'm infatuated with knitting. Unfortunately, I'm also not very good at knitting and it requires a lot of concentration for me still. The solution to this dilemma? Hexies! 

My hubs is having knee surgery tomorrow, so my day will consist of a lot of time sitting around. I'm hoping I can start sewing these together into something potentially useful. I've tried various conglomerations of placements and I think I like the random the best. Maybe I'll just start sewing them up and see hoe it turns out! What they will end up as? I have no idea yet!