Somewhere in the Middle

Pretty in Pink

When I heard about a local fabric shop going out of business I decided to check out the goods. Here in Belgium, fabric is outrageously expensive especially if it's by Tone Finnanger, the Norwegian designer of Tilda fabrics. A metre (which is a slightly smaller than a yard) can cost anywhere from 18 € to 26 € ($23 - $34) which is really pricey for quilting cotton. I adore the fabric collections with their pretty designs and colors. The pink & red collection is my favorite... very girly and delicate.

To my surprise, the fabric shop had a great selection of Tilda fabrics and they were on sale for 30%! And unlike the US, Belgium only has sales in January & July so finding an item you adore on sale outside of these months is like hitting the jackpot. These fabrics are also difficult to come by in the US so I went a little crazy and bought a few metres. Yet, now that I have all these beautiful fabrics I'm not quite sure what to do with them. I guess you can say I'm hoarding Tilda fabric! lol!

Last weekend when S & C gave me a Kindle for Mother's day they didn't give me a cover because S wasnt' sure what type of cover I wanted. But I told him not to worry that I was going to MAKE one! And that's exactly what I did this weekend.

I used this tutorial from "A Blue Sky Kind of Life". The tutorial was really easy to understand. I just love when bloggers write tutorials with lots of photos and detailed instructions. I'm a very visual person so this is really helpful for me.

The first case I made was a wee bit too tight. I think it may have had something to do with the batting I used. So I added a quarter inch to the fabric dimensions and this time it fit perfectly. I skipped the part about sewing around the top opening. I was so happy with the way it came out that I didn't want to chance ruining it with a less than straight topstitch. ;)

Needle case for Nana

There's a long list of things I want to sew. Among them are some sewing accessories: a pin cushion, sewing machine cover, and a needle case. But I'm holding off until I receive some fabric I ordered. In the mean time, I decided to try my hand at a needle case that I decided to give to my Grandmother. To help guide me I used this tutorial from "Sewshesews" but what inspired my little needle case was this one from "a cuppa and a catch up".

I wish I could say I whipped this baby up in a matter of an hour or two but no... it took me a wee bit longer. Let's just say my seam ripper was my best friend throughout this project. But isn't it cute. I just love the way it came out and I really did learn tons. I'm crazy about the colors & fabric. Next time I may add some stitching on the exterior like the inspiration case I saw on "a cuppa..."

Nana is in her mid 80's and loves to sew. She's an incredibly talented woman and enjoys embroidery and is forever sewing new curtains and clothes. When I was little she used to make me some lovely halters and matching shorts. And I loved to wear them! 

Every week Nana attends a sewing class in her community. The students mainly work on clothes which they model at a year end fashion show. I love to see photos of the fashion show because she always looks so happy walking the runway. ;)

When I spoke to Nana a few weeks ago I asked her where she keeps her needles when she attends class. She made me laugh when she told me she constantly loses her needles and is always asking her instructor or fellow classmates for a needle. So this needle case is perfect for her. I gave her the case along with a little bag for Mother's Day. And she absolutely loved it!

It's a Bag Marathon

After making Katie Kitty, I decided I needed to work on a project that was geared more towards my level. So I chose these adorable drawstring bags.

I used this tutorial as a guide. Since I wanted my bag to be bigger I played around with the measurements. And from there I went on a little marathon. So far I've sewn six bags and with each one my sewing skills improve. I made two bags for myself & one for my sister, mother, grandmother, and Artsy boy. I love how these little drawstring bags can be used for just about anything. The large bags I made for myself and Artsy boy will be used as shoe bags when we travel. And the little one is for all the chargers & cords I carry when we go away.

Here's the one I made for Artsy boy. I still want to make a few more bags for traveling... one to hold clothes that need to be laundered and of course a couple of more shoe bags.

A house for C.

I've seen little houses like this one all over the internet. I absolutely love the free motion sewing style.

To me free motion sewing has a bit of an abandoned feeling... like you're throwing the idea of perfection aside and allowing your creative self shine. Letting yourself forget about being so precise appeals to me.

Almost every project I've worked on so far has been slightly off either in the fabric measurements or the seams. And I'm ok with that. S joked that I should start a blog called "Slightly Off" to chronicle my journey into the sewing world. So I suppose free motion is right up my alley. I'd love to see myself design some complicated designs. But for now I'm just so happy with how the scallops & little stems came out. One step at a time.

Blowing off the dust.

My poor sewing machine has been collecting dust for about 3 years now! I bought it on a whim right after I made this cute little house. I tried using it a few times on my own but I had so many problems threading the bobbin. Crafty Grrrl tried to help but even she had difficulty threading the machine properly. It was extremely frustrating.

This year one of my goals was to learn how to use my machine properly. So I signed up for two private sewing lessons with a local quilting guru and I'm happy to say I'm on my way!

For my first real solo project, I chose to make Artsy Boy (also known as Lil' C & C) a stuffed kitty.

Artsy Boy was browsing through "Wee Wonderfuls"  a book I received for my birthday a few years back from my good friend, Gio and he fell in love with Katie Kitty. At the time I was feeling pretty confident... I knew how to work my machine and I even made a little chick for Easter. So when Artsy Boy asked me to make Katie I thought, "I can totally make that." Yeah... I don't know what I was thinking at the time!!! I must have been under the influence when I agreed to make this stuffed animal! lol!

Sewing this little kitty or as I refer to her, Frankenstein Kitty was the most difficult project I've made so far! And to chose it as my 2nd project was absolute craziness! This project is for someone well... more experienced than me. But my boy wanted the kitty so I perservered. 

Sewing Katie's head took me a few hours. And her body took days! Her three dimensional head had me completely perplexed. Even S couldn't help me. I just COULD not figure out how to sew the left part of her head once the middle and right side were sewned together. I took it apart so many times I had to cut new material and start all over. And don't even get me started on how I attached her head to her body!  Make a long story short it took me about 3 weeks to complete this cat!

My quilting guru helped me tremendously! She's a true perfectionist when it comes to sewing. But when she took a look at how I attached Frankenstein Kitty's head to the body all she said was, "Let's leave it. Next time I show you much easier way." She was right because I'm sure had I taken the head off I would have been forced to make a new one since the material was fraying at an incredible speed. Once Frankenstein Kitty was done, Artsy Boy picked out the fabric for her dress and changed her facial features. He wanted her eyes to look as if she was smiling. Now that Katie is complete I'm really happy I mader her. I learned so much. But what I love most is how much Artsy boy loves Katie Kitty.