Mother's Day Gifts

I finished my mother's day gifts at the eleventh hour last Saturday. Although, that's not entirely accurate. Two of my grandmothers are out of town, so I *still* haven't finished their gifts. But I will. I will.

I spray painted a bunch of frames....

Then I made a mat and covered it in fabric for an interesting photo presentation. This one was for my Mother in law. I made smaller versions of this for Madeline's three great-grandmothers.

I spray painted 8 of these watermelon frames...

And then my sister and I took pictures of ourselves and our sisters (yup, there's 8 of us!) for my mom. We're all holding up a number for our birth order. Mom loved it! I still need to get a picture of them hanging on her wall. It looks pretty awesome.

(click to enlarge)

This tote bag was for my mother in law, super easy bag and very practical, I think.


I loaded it with pockets.

And did a simple button closure.

A ruffled clutch for my sister, who is quite possibly the best mother in the world:

This clutch was a pain in the butt to make. At one point I ripped out every single stitch and started over. The finished product is pretty cute, but I have no idea how I got there, my design process was totally flawed. I do love the lining and card pockets, though!

I also made another bag that was intended as a gift, but I loved the fabric too much to part with it, so it became a mothers day present to myself. I've been using it for a week, and it might be too early in our relationship to make these kinds of statements, but I think I'm in love. At the very least, I'm smitten. It deserves it's own post, so I'll introduce you guys later.

A big thanks to everyone who voted for my top in Made By Rae's Spring Top Week. I think I ended up in 4th place out of that group - not to shabby, right?

Molly

I made the cut!

I'm so seriously stoked about this! One of my tops made the finals in Spring Top Week! Since this challenge was the first (but certainly not the last) time I've ever sewed tops for myself, it just makes "making the cut" all the more sweet.

So, if you really want to make my day, go over to Made By Rae and vote for me today. Pretty please? I'm up against 11 other fantastic tops, all competing for a shot at the finals. If I don't land in the bottom spot I'll consider it a victory. :-)

Okay, that's all. Back to your regularly scheduled programming...

Molly

Quilting: The adventure begins

Ever since I laid my eyes on this fabric, I've known it was meant to be a quilt for Madeline. But, there's one small problem.


I've never made a quilt.

So a couple months ago, I started reading and researching quilting. What fabric to use, what kind of batting to use. Sashing, cornerpost, pinwheels, log cabin squares, borders. Different methods of basting, spraying, pinning, clipping. Quilting with a walking foot, free motion quilting, long arm quilting. Birthing a quilt, binding a quilt, mitered corners, blind stitches...


It's enough to give me a headache.


But I still want to do it. She's still in her crib, and I'm crossing my fingers that we'll be able keep her in there until I have a chance to get educated and get her "big girl" bedding done.


So. We all have to start somewhere. I purchased a walking foot for my machine and started simple. I saw this great tutorial over at the Polkadot Chair and thought it would be perfect with the minimal cutting and straight line quilting. But even though it was simple, it still gave me a chance to practice making my quilt sandwich, basting, quilting and binding.


It was fun! It didn't take me nearly as long as I expected and I have a sweet table runner to show for it. I even successfully mitered my corners.

So, I'm feeling a teensy bit more confident about this whole quilting thing, and I'm planning on attempting some free motion quilting on this adorable doll quilt as soon as my darning foot arrives. Hopefully I'll be ready to start on "THE" project sometime in the next decade. :-)

Molly

Spring Top - Take Five!

Okay, okay. I know I said I was done with Spring Top Week...but you're allowed five entries and it was nagging at me that I had only entered four. I have my dad's blood - competitive to the core. Not that I have the slightest chance of winning - have you seen the other entries? Like this one? Or this one? I think this one is my favorite. Amazing work.

Okay, on to top #5. This top was SO easy to make. It took me less than an hour from cut to finish. It's just a basic pillowcase top - but the fabric is what makes it special.

I found this gorgeous duvet at the thrift store for $1. I knew I could do something with the unique print.

I strategically cut the pieces to make the best use of the pattern, sewed the pieces together, used homemade bias tape for the armholes, hemmed the bottom and sewed a quick strap to loop through the casing.

I was SO sad to cut up this duvet - I love blue (as you can see, I even painted a room of my house that deep blue color I'm so fond of) so I almost thought of saving it for when I get sick of the bedspread in our blue guest room. But it was $1, folks. And I have enough left for at least 3 or 4 things for Maddie.

So, total cost for this top? $.25. Can't beat that.

Molly

Spring Top - Take Four!

Unless I'm hit with a sudden burst of inspiration, this will be be my fourth and final entry for Spring Top week. Sewing for Madeline is much easier and much more enjoyable, I gotta tell you. But I've had fun with this "selfish" sewing challenge - and I really do like this fourth top.

It's fun and feminine and Maddie told me I was "bootiful" in it, so that makes it a favorite already.

I cut the yoke on a bias so it's stretchy enough to be a pull over, and added a ruffle for interest. I'll definitely make this style again, it was an easy project and the fabric is one of my favorite Heather Bailey prints.

This was my own design, I didn't use a pattern. I had planned for it to have little puff sleeves, but with the busy print it was a little much. I think it's pretty great as a simple sleeveless summer top!

I may be done with tops for the time being, but I'm not done sewing for myself - I picked up an amazing vintage dress from the thrift store the other week. The fabric is old and yellowed, but the dress is a beautiful fit and will be perfect for a pattern. Yay for thrift store finds!

What's your favorite thing to sew for yourself? I'm all about simple, quick projects, so I love a cute skirt, but I'm branching out here, people! What's your go-to adult pattern?

Molly