A First Toddler Purse

This was one of the first things I made early in 2009. I made it the same weekend I made the matching skirt with my friends.

3 Little Girls' Purses

My husband's cousin has twin girls and a younger daughter as well (all toddler/preschool age). (I feel lots of empathy for her!). At any rate, my mother-in-law commissioned me to make some purses for this crew. I wanted them to be similar, yet each unique. The youngest girl's purse has a short hand-strap. The twins' purses are to be worn cross-body style. All three are lined.

First Skirt

This is a simple girl's skirt that a young friend of mine (and her mother) and I made. We made two: one for my daughter and one for my young friend's younger sister (the skirts are matching). We used this tutorial. 2009 Project

Mom's Sunday School Tote Bag

My mom requested a tote bag to carry her Sunday School materials in (she teaches an elementary school aged class). She said she wore a lot of black, wanted the bag to be dark enough not to show dirt, and it needed to be moderately sized. Here is what I came up with! (She also wears a lot of turquoise/teal--hence my choice of contrasting ribbon.) It's all decorator fabric and lined, with stiff interfacing as well. The inside fabric is the same striped fabric as the top of the bag. The paisley fabric forms pockets (6 total). I got the basic pattern/idea from this. 2009 Project

Erin's "Mom Bag"

I'll be making more of these, but here is the first one... (I couldn't wait to take pictures, so I snapped these photos before I even cut off all the stray threads!). This bag is slightly bigger than a medium LLBean Tote.

It is fully lined with a contrasting pocket inside; the pocket is subdivided into 3 smaller pockets. The bottom is reinforced with duck cloth; the rest of the fabric is quilting cotton. There is some stiff batting in it as well. I made it for my sister-in-law, Erin. (2009)

2009 Sewing Projects

I need a place to keep track of these, so I figured this blog would be a good starting point! I posted about my Christmas sewing projects a couple of days ago. This is a list of all the projects I've made this year with my trusty sewing machine....

First, a bit of history: I had an old, black, cast iron Singer that I inherited. It did one straight stitch--and did it splendidly...until I was finishing up the 5th of the 6 Christmas stockings I was making last year. And it was a couple of weeks before Christmas. And it died. Kaput. May it rest in peace.

So, my wonderful husband heard about a sewing machine sale and sent me off to get a new one. WOW... the newer machines can do so many things!!! I got a Janome mid-price model and have used it so much ever since. I never knew what I was missing! My husband may regret that purchase because since then I've spent a lot of time sewing...and not as much time cleaning house :).

I've definitely become a better seamstress this year and am glad I've taken the time to practice and make some smaller projects. It's very rewarding to gain expertise in a skill and hobby you enjoy.

So, without further ado, the list of projects (links to pictures are being updated as I get the pictures up...):

• 5 toddler purses (blue, pink, and a group of three)
• 2 tiered "twirly" skirts for my daughter (short and long)
• 1 queen-sized bed quilt
• 2 basic reversible totes
• Mom's Sunday School tote
• 1 passport neck pouch
• 3 window valances
• 2 tea cozies and matching finger grips
• 3 drawstring bags for preschool girls
• 6 women's aprons
• 1 men's apron
• 1 "mom bag" for Erin
• 1 tablerunner

Christmas Sewing Projects

This blog seems an appropriate place to list my Christmas projects for this year (and this will explain why I never contribute to this blog--I'm rarely bored! :) ). Sewing is a terrific hobby if you have young children because you can stop and start easily and even put a project on the shelf for 6 months (unlike cooking or gardening or other more time-sensitive pursuits). It's also quiet--even if your machine is noisy, you can always cut and iron fabric during naptime and get all the prep work out of the way.

Here's what I made for Christmas this year (as I type this, I'm keenly aware that I should be working on the remaining projects... ahem... items with asterisks (*) still need to be completed....).

6 women's aprons (* 1 left)

1 man's apron*

3 toddler superhero capes*

2 tote bags

1 table runner (that, alas, has been rejected due to recipient moving into a new house!)

On the docket for January (items for upcoming birthdays and/or requests from the peanut gallery)

1 t-shirt quilt

3 tote bags (plus 1 for me if I can squeeze it in)

3 laptop sleeves

1 apron

1 preschooler's dress :)

1 purse

Someday, when I have time, I'll post some pictures of my projects. They're getting better, so it's been rewarding to see what all the practice has done for my skill level.