an accomplishment and an announcement

So, I did it - I finally finished the second, larger version of this bag that I have had cut out for at least two weeks! Nothing like a funk and a cold to slow you down. Today the sun was bright and shiny and it was making me feel bright and shiny, so I hope the funk is gone and I know the cold is gone because I can breath with my mouth closed for the first time in four days.

So, the bag...it's quite large - perfect for packing all sorts of fun stuff. I was thinking diaper bag when I made this, so I lined the entire bottom with pockets and added a cell phone and small pocket to the top half. I think I'll leave the small pocket out on the final version - it was just a little too much pocket and didn't really fit.


I also quilted the top part of this, but it took forever and it was really hard to make it all straight (maybe I was just trying to go too fast), and I'm not sure it really added that much to the bag (except for a lot more thread!), so I think that won't be part of the final version either.


I did decide that this one was good enough for giving away and now it's all packed with fun baby goods and ready to give to Peter's speech therapist who is having her first at the end of the month. Today is Peter's last session with her until May - I hope he transitions well to the substitute.

And my announcement (oh, wait, I just realized what you all must be thinking - no, no it's not that) - it's a new blog!! I've moved over to Typepad. So, take a minute, stop by, and change your reader subscription to jumpupanddown.typepad.com! I will probably just post one more announcement here in a day or two (for those who didn't make it to the end of this post) and other than that, I'll be completely on Typepad now. Hope to see you there!

Down to the Wire

Have you submitted your bags for the Sew, Mama, Sew Bag Month? Today is your last day, so get on over to the Flickr group and put in your entries. There are some fab prizes, and even if you don't have any bags to enter, the photos are amazing and will certainly inspire you in your own bag making efforts.

On Saturday, I put together this bag, made in the same style as this one that you have seen before, but with Amy Butler fabric, like the one I made for my friend. And now, it's in the shop.

And my pattern review, also on Sew, Mama, Sew, was published today, so here is the bag I made for it. It is Betsy Ross' All for One Shoulder Bag.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend! From your blogs, it seems that many of you were reading instead of sewing. I'm letting DH have first stabs at Harry Potter, so I'll just have to be careful not to have it spoiled for me.

Don't forget to comment on my last post for a chance at my 50th post giveaway. I'm thinking the prize might just be a bag!

Checked Off

Yesterday was a day for finishing up loose ends. I had a couple of projects around that have almost been finished for a while now, so I worked on getting them out of the way so I can get started on some new things with a clean slate.

First, I finished this pennant banner made from bright, fun fabrics. I made two of these for a custom order last week and I like how they turned out so much and I had enough leftover flags to make another. Most of these fabrics are from my Mom's stash (which is much, much larger than mine), so does this count toward the Use What You Have Challenge? My Mom could probably never use her stash all by herself, so I was glad to help her out - thanks Mom!


Second, I finished this tote. I made the body of the tote a while back when I was making one for Natasha for the My Favorite Things Swap. I wasn't sure if I would crochet the handles for this one, so it got left undone. I finally did decide to crochet the handles and that took a little while too, so now here it is. And if you were wondering, the inspiration for the fun ric rac and trims at the top came from my shower curtain. Maybe you saw it in Target last year - a fun blue curtain with horizontally placed ric rac and trims. I had my eye on this curtain for a long time and eventually found it in on clearance for $7, which made it even more lovely.


It's nice to have both of these projects out of the way. And now they are both in the shop.

I also finished up my sewing projects for the Sweet Goodness Swap. Now I just have to gather up a few more items and send off the package. My partner, Jane, is new to blogging and an amazing artist and quilter, so stop by and say hello.

Motivated by Friends

Just before I left for Yellowstone, a friend of mine wanted me to make a couple of gift sets of baby items for some friends of hers. So, I made a bib and burp cloth to coordinate with some of my decorated onesies. I was glad she had asked me to do this, because this was something I wanted to do anyway and it gave me an excuse to do it right away. And then last week I got a request from another friend to make a set with a different onesie. Here they are and you can also find them in the shop:


And again, last week when I was talking to another friend who had looked at my aprons and told me that she would love to have some for her kids. Well, this is something that is also in my plans. So, now as soon as I get done with a few other commitments, I know what I'll be working on. And there will be aprons for boys too- as a mother of two boys, I think there are not nearly enough cute things for boys out there.

Thanks to my friends for being excited for me and my little shop!

What I really did last week.

Last week I worked on lots of projects that I couldn't show, but I got them finished and in the mail by the end of the week. Now they have been received (I am impressed with the US Postal System - very fast) and I can share them.

First, I put together some things for Natasha for the Favorite Things Swap. I made her a hostess apron and tote. I also included a subscription to Blueprint, my new favorite magazine and some chocolate. Chocolate is definitely right at the top of my list of favorite things, right behind air.


I also made a bag and diaper wallet for my good friend, Phoebe. I forgot to take pictures before I sent it away, but she blogged about it here if you want to take a look. I used an Amy Butler print and I really like how it turned out. I'll be doing more of these for the shop in the near future.

And, I also got some fantastic mail yesterday. Jenn and I swapped some items from our shops and mine arrived yesterday. Look how lovely! I put them right to use and then took a picture of my great sewing book and pin cushion. It looks like she's got another set in her shop, just in case you want one of your own.

OHC Apron Swap

Stacey got her apron from me last week for the One Hour Craft Apron Swap, so now I get to share it! I made a ruffle apron from the tutorial at One More Moore. I made a couple of modifications to give the apron a more finished looked. First, I backed the apron with a piece of the same fabric that I attached the ruffles to (no picture of this). And second, I used iron-on seam tape to cover the unfinished edges (see picture below). This worked great! It was so easy and then I just sewed over it to make sure it wouldn't come off. I should be receiving my apron from Stacey any day now - can't wait to share it. In the meantime, enjoy all the OHC Apron Swap aprons here.

For a Friend

This bag is for my super eco-friendly friend, Kate (if you're reading Kate, sorry to ruin the surprise) and I love how it turned out - it is made entirely of thrift shop or garage sale items, even the thread! I crocheted the handles, the outside is a tea towel I picked up last week at an estate sale (my last hurrah before joining the Use What You Have challenge), and the inside is a thrifted sheet. I love using thrifted materials - it creates a unique, one-of-a-kind look, I love the thrill of the hunt to find them, and of course, I'm saving them from entering the landfill and cutting down on resources used to make new items. All good things in my book. For more on the subject, read here.


And Christina has tagged me for a to-do list, so here are the first five things that come to mind.

1. Get a notebook so I can make a Father's Day Book like this one for Ryan.

2. Mail the Robocut that we sold on ebay this week. It didn't really work for our family, so hopefully it will get some use in its new home.

3. Start sewing and collecting the items I want to send for the Favorite Things swap.

4. Anticipate an e-mail informing me of my partner for the Sweet Goodness Swap. You still have today to sign up.

5. Figure out what we will eat for dinner tonight. It's Friday, right? Maybe we'll just order pizza.

Have a lovely weekend!

p.s. does anyone know why sometimes I have my lines are single spaced and sometimes 1.5 spaced (that's what it looks like) and how I get them to be 1.5 spaced because it makes for an easier read?

The Smaller Bag

Here is the smaller version of this bag. I rounded the sides a bit more and took a few inches off the body of the bag, but other than that, the design is the same. I also used my one and only red crochet flower to embellish it, along with a the yellow one that I made when I was figuring out the flower pattern.

Front View

the Flowers

Back View

I put it in the shop today.

Is anyone else getting more done now that all the TV shows are over for the season?

Summer Skirt

I finished my skirt for Skirt Month Sew Along at Sew, Mama, Sew! It was a lot of fun to make. I was able to put it together quickly and it fits well. I was inspired by the top border of a vintage sheet. At first I thought about making it into the bottom border of the skirt, but then I saw New Look 6569 and thought it would work out really well to be the vertical border on the wrap skirt. I love wearing skirts in the summer, so this will be a great addition to my summer wardrobe.


Check out the other skirts here.

A Green Project

I hoped I would finish this for Earth Day, but I think I started only about two days before that, so instead I finished it today. It is the first of at least a few more of these shopping bags. We have an insanely large collection of plastic bags that I feel more guilty about every time I go to the store, so this seemed like a great idea. The yellow-orange variegated is thrifted and the green/white combo on the bottom and one of the straps is from some leftover from other projects. I decided not to make the envelope because I figured I would rarely go to the trouble of folding up the bag and that it would be easiest to store it on a hook. I also think the pattern makes the bag way too large (especially because it stretches so much), so I think for my next one I will cut off 5 to 10 rows. I might also make the base a little larger - maybe an extra two rows. Last week I picked up a lot more thread at the thrift store because it was all tagged with the half off color tag, so hopefully I now have enough to make at least four more, although it will probably be a while before I get them finished or even started. The ink finally came so I hope that I can figure out some tags and get my hand-crafted items in the shop. That and a refinishing project(of some thrifted furniture) will be my main projects this week.

The furniture is a bit overwhelming. I've never really done anything like this before, so it's turning out to be an experiment and an adventure all in one and all I've done so far is start stripping off the layers of paint. So far I have seen green, gold, peach, purple, black, blue and white paint. I'll try to get out and take some pictures tomorrow when there's a little bit of natural light in the garage and you can see all of the fun.

The Sun came out...

so I was able to take some pictures of my weekend projects!

These are some dish towels that I fancied up and along with some dish cloths I crocheted a while ago will make a great wedding gift for my cousin.

Here are some crochet hook cases (or as my sister-in-law pointed out, make-up brush cases) that I finished this weekend. My favorite part of them are the buttons - two of them are from the stash that I picked up on Saturday at that great thrift store. As soon as I figure out what to do about tags, I will be able to put them in my shop.

the Banner is finished, now where's Spring?

Welcome Spring! Too bad the weather isn't cooperating - still cold and rainy today. This was so much fun to put together and I love how it turned out. It adds a little bit of spring to my boring kitchen wall. We moved here about 5 months ago and haven't done anything with this enormous white space yet, but this looks good for now. So, I ended up making two of these and I think it will be one of the first handmade items that I put in my Etsy shop. This week I started listing vintage patterns. I have always loved looking through the patterns in thrift stores and this has given me an excuse to buy all of the ones that I like. So much fun! And I sold my first one the day after I listed my first set, so the next morning I put together a hang tag for my items. It was so exciting to take it to the post office and send it off.
I have wanted to sell my sewn and handcrafted items for some time. A few months ago when I discovered Etsy and sewing and crafting blogs, I knew I had found my perfect outlet. I think I will be ready to put my handcrafted items in the shop in a week or two. I need to come up with a fabric/cloth tag to put on my items. I have been looking for some place that won't make me buy a bazillion but still makes a good quality tag - does anyone know of any good tag sources?

hope you all have a good weekend!