patricia infinity cowl

 Last week I found a new infinity scarf pattern from luvinthemommyhood. I was looking for a scarf that would transition well into spring - something light around the neck. I found the patricia infinity cowl which uses six fat quarters of cotton fabric (I'm calling this a scarf. I don't really know the difference between a scarf and a cowl, but since I wear this one looped twice (like an infinity scarf), that's how I'll refer to it!). This is a terrific pattern from a fantastic blog!

I typically don't try something totally new when making a gift, but I decided to make my first one for Sam, who watches Morgan while I'm at co-op preschool with Marcus. Happy Birthday, Sam! Morgan was with me when I went to JoAnn's to select some choice fat quarters. The cool thing about this scarf is that it looks different every time you put it on, depending on which side you feature in which spot.

See what I mean? Hard to believe this is the same scarf! I fell in love with the color scheme for this scarf, and the fabrics were okay. I wish I had used some better fabrics for Sam, softer ones especially. But, after a few washes, I bet this scarf will cozy up quite well. Apologies for the nighttime photos (in my bathroom, no less!). Of course, I finished this scarf up the night before I was to gift it.

I made a second scarf at Thursday Night Sewing Club with Anna. Now, I have to admit to you - the color scheme is not really what I was going for. You know how when you're in the fabric store with your toddler (eeek - she's a toddler now!) and it is going great, then she starts to fuss, then cry, then scream? And you are then getting the evil eye from other patrons? Well, that's how I ended up grabbing a handful of purple fat quarters.

It actually turned out okay. I made this one as a donation for the Bo M. Karlsson Foundation auction. I have a couple of bags to make for that auction, too... but those will come later.

I made this last scarf last night. I only used three fat quarters for this one, then I folded the scarf in half lengthwise and sewed it up. For spring, I like that this scarf is less bulky than the others. I also LOVE the fabric - Dearstella Piper Floral, Zig Zag (Punch), and Scallop (Orange). Next time I would probably shorten it a bit - I like my scarves a little closer to the neck. I tried wrapping this one around three times, but I nearly strangled myself!

Marcus also demonstrates how this scarf can be worn as a hood (the original six fat quarter scarf). It looks ridiculous on me, but on Marcus it kind of works, right? Seriously, I think this kid has a future in homemade fashion modeling. I don't even need to get a display dress form (yes I do!).

:) Shelly

infinity scarf madness!

I've been doing a little experimenting with knits this past week. It went... okay. Let's just say I've done a lot of learning.

This scarf is made from a thicker cotton jersey knit I found at JoAnn's. It is pretty easy to sew - I just used a straight stitch and a very slight tug. I like how it makes a fuller, almost ruffly effect when wrapped twice around.

I found this knit at JoAnn's, as well. It is almost like a lightweight sweater material, slightly ribbed and a little bit fuzzy. It is amazingly light on the neck, and I love the pops of color.

This is also a cotton jersey, lighter than the first scarf but heavier/thicker than the typical cotton jersey. It is hard to see in this photo, but there are small lines of silver between the stripes.

This scarf was made from a rayon jersey knit. It was insanely difficult to work with - probably because it was such cheap fabric. I had to cut it apart after attempt #1, which is why it is a little bit skinnier and shorter than the previous three scarves. I kind of like the turtleneck look, though. It feels very flashback.

The first three scarves are being packaged up and sent to my son's elementary school auction. The last one has too many mistakes to sell, auction, or gift... so I'll probably wear it until it falls apart on me.

I have three other projects in the hopper right now - a cape, two baby gifts, and a bag. All are in various states of completion. I have to buckle down and focus on one at a time! So, I'll be taking a break from knits for now.

:) Shelly

auction totes

I finally finished the totes for the Bo M. Karlsson Foundation auction next month. I was cutting it close, too - I need to hand them over at an auction planning meeting tomorrow evening! Whew! I have many excuses for neglecting my sewing machine and pile of sewing projects lately - the main one is the fact that we are moving in two weeks and I am overwhelmed with packing. It has been a dreary summer in Seattle, though, and working on these bags yesterday really cheered me up. So, I should make more time for my hobby. More time... I need some of that!

Anyways, here is the first tote. These totes are just like the one I made for my mom for Mother's Day. The bottom panel and clasp are made from denim and the main panel and lining are cotton. I'd been eyeing this black and white Heidi Grace material at JoAnn's for a long time.

I tried to incorporate some notions that reminded me of Nepal (since that is what the fundraiser is all about!), and though this button is not necessarily from Nepal, the design kind of reminded me of handcrafted items I've seen from the country.

The combination of the black and white fabric with the gold fabric is wonderful. Thank you to Anna who found this lining fabric!

Sorry about the poor photo editing here - I totally cut off the bottom of the bag! But, I'm too lazy to snap another photo. Its funny - I wasn't too jazzed about this material, but when it all came together, I actually like this bag better than the first one!

I really like the button closure on these bags. Though they are not practical for every bag, I think they are great for tote bags like these when used for carrying books, knitting, and whatnot.

And this one is lined with a purple polka-dot. I am excited to turn these in tomorrow night, and I'm even more excited to attend and help out at the auction in August!

:) Shelly

auction preparations

Things have been crazy-busy for me lately, but I am working on a new project. I'm making a couple of bags like the one I made for my mom. I am making these bags as auction items for Bo M. Karrlson Foundation this August.

So far all I've done is choose the fabrics. Anna and I spent our Thursday Night Sewing Club at the fabric store (and at Baskin Robbins) last night since we both had no projects to work on (yet). It was fun to have a night out on the town, even if we were both home by 9pm.

The Bo M. Karlsson Foundation is a wonderful charity that provides funding for women in Nepal to seek higher education. Chris and I worked for this non-profit for several years, and though we are taking some time off, we are still helping out with the Foundation's huge fundraiser event: The fourth annual Mahilaa Night. This year it will take place on the evening of August 13th at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. It is a fantastic social event of Nepali food, performances, and an excellent silent auction. If you are local and would like an invitation, please contact me.

:) Shelly

Auction Success!

Just a quick little update for all of you...

Raise Your Glass!

(our auction to benefit The Bo M. Karlsson Foundation)

was a huge success!

Chris and I are so excited. We are still doing all of the accounting, but we estimate we made over $2000 after expenses - pretty good for a small fundraiser! We had 44 guests, mass amounts of wine, and a whole lotta fun. I was very pleased that my handmade auction items brought in a whopping $300!

I even became quite skilled at the registration desk - you should have seen me rock'n the credit card reader! Jackie and Jennifer were wonderful - they did so much, from food preparation to table set-up to guest check-out. We worked so well as a team, and there is no way we could have managed without them.

Chris was totally in his element pouring wine. He even made fancy framed wine descriptions (complete with regional maps!) for each wine in the tasting.

Chris, Darshan, and Sujan did an amazing job pouring the wine - they were all so charming.

The only thing we forgot to do was take photographs of the event (duh!). Thankfully our friend Stacey snapped these for us. I guess we were having too much fun! Yesterday we spent a good part of our day cleaning up and sorting things out. I had to keep smiling when I looked at this little vase full of flowers. It was such a great night.

We're off on a family vacation this week, but I promise there will be more sewing when I return!

Auction Preparations ~ All Sewn Up!

Whew! I've finished sewing for the auction for The Bo M. Karlsson Foundation (and its a good thing since the big event is TOMORROW!). Chris and I have a few more things to organize and prepare, but the items for the silent auction are all ready. Hooray!

The scrappy clutches (made using this great tutorial by Christine of From an Igloo) turned out pretty sweet!

I'm calling this one "Evocative Evening Bag" and I really like it (even though I put the pleat in backwards - I'm not sure that a pleat can actually be backwards, but I intended this pleat to poke out on the inside instead of the outside). I struggled a little bit with this first bag, especially when attaching the top of the bag to the bottom, but I think this was mostly due to the fact that it was 11:30 pm when I finished the bag.

The lining fabric is very cool - this fabric was leftover from my hallway curtains (and the exterior blue fabric is a remnant from my master bath curtains).

My second go-around at making the scrappy clutch was near perfect. I constructed this bag during the daylight hours, which probably helped quite a bit! This one's name is "Vintage Violet". The fabric looks vintage to me, especially the white and black fabric, but it is actually not very old - I bought it about 7 years ago or so from Hancock Fabrics when the store just up the street from my house (sadly) went out of business. And guess what? These fabrics were actually purchased to make curtains, too - but I decided that the purple was too dark once I made them, and we took the white ones down from Chris' office when we changed his office into Marcus' nursery (thus necessitating a definite curtain change). And, guess what I used for the lining of this bag - you got it, remnants from the fabric I used to make the curtains in Marcus' room!

The lining of the second bag turned out much neater than the first - this is because I did the fold over of the fabric after attaching the front of the bag together. I used a basting stitch to keep the fold-over in place, then I pinned the lining down and sewed around. I guess you have to look at the tutorial to understand what I'm talking about. And, doing it the same way Christine explains in the tutorial will probably work out great for anyone else, I am just kind of clumsy and this bag opening is very small - so I had a few unwanted wrinkles inside on my first bag.

Here's the interior of the purple bag, nice and neat.

Charlie really liked the clutches. He immediately grabbed the "Evocative Evening Bag" and filled it with matchbox cars. I'll have to make him one of the Hobo Bags from Made, especially since I didn't end up making those for the auction wine bags - more on that in a moment.

I managed to get the centerpieces for the table done. I didn't want to use real flowers because I feared they would be too aromatic and disrupt the whole "wine nose" thing with the wine tasting. So, I bought some inexpensive carafes from Fred Meyer, filled them with wine corks (thanks Karen for all of those corks!), and stuck some fake stems inside (purchased at JoAnn Fabrics). The glass pitcher in the center will go on the food table - that centerpiece has a (fake) orchid in it to - which cost an extra dollar than the other stems. I thought this was a bit silly considering the flowers are fake and didn't seem to be much different in terms of materials and construction. I guess the company thought that if real orchids are more expensive, fake ones should be, too? Funny (at least to me).

In that last photo you may have noticed the square vase I had in the front. I was going to use that for the registration table, since I wanted a shorter arrangement there that would be hard for clumsy me to knock over. I changed my mind on the square vase, though, and opted for this short cylindrical vase instead. Inside, a tall shot glass is surrounded by corks. This way I can put some real flowers into the vase on the registration desk, which will be placed far from the wine tasting.

So, back to the wine bags I was going to create using Made's Hobo Bag tutorial. I didn't get to these, and decided instead to donate a diaper bag I made for myself just before Marcus was born. This Amy Butler fabric is one of my favorites ever. I made this bag using the Hip Mama Diaper Bag tutorial from A Mingled Yarn. It is a messenger-style bag (strap is long enough to cross over your front) with two front velcro pockets (under the flap), two side velcro pockets, and a back (lined) zipper pocket (please forgive the wrinkles, I just laundered this bag for the auction and still need to press it).

Inside are five elastic pockets for bottles, diapers, snacks, what-have-you. And, check out this equally fabulous Amy Butler fabric - love it. WHY would I give away this bag, do you ask? Well, because I never use it anymore. I found out that a big messenger-style bag was not really for me, and I ended up buying a cute backpack to use when Marcus was itty-bitty and Charlie was still in diapers. Once Charlie was out of diapers (and I guiltily gave up using cloth diapers with Marcus), I realized I could get by with a much smaller bag for all of us. I would actually make this style bag again, I'd just make it smaller with a shorter strap so that I could just throw it over my shoulder. And, I would definitely use that tutorial - it is very well-written.

Plus, I'm definitely making myself a new bag as a reward for all of this sewing! You betcha!

Wish us luck on the auction! I'll let you know how it goes!

Wine Bags, Ruffle Tote, and Wine Charms...Oh My!

A quick post to update you on my sewing marathon weekend. Why did I wait so long to make these things for the auction?! Am I crazy? Wait, don't answer that.

So, Chris calls these "Wine Socks". Hmmm. Not sure if that makes them cute or lame. I figure, since our event takes place only two days after Earth Day, we should have something "green" for auction. Plus, I've wanted to try sewing with a sweater for a while now. These earth-friendly auction items are called "Pretty Pink Button Wine Sock" and "Lovely Little Lady Wine Sock". Yep, I'm going with "Wine Sock". I decided: cute.

And here is the poor sweater that sacrificed its life for the "Wine Socks". (Amy, I love this sweater, and I've worn your gift many, many times... but I've recently decided that I look neck-less in turtlenecks. And, I don't think that neck-less will ever be in style.)

I was feeling quite generous when I donated this charming little lady button in order to spruce up the "sock". I still have one more, so I'm not that generous, I guess.

Anyways, the sweater was extremely stretchy, which made it difficult for me to sew with. There are some imperfections, but hopefully they aren't as bad as I think they are. I didn't make this little owl. Instead I photographed it from a magazine page (Parenting) that I ripped out of the magazine while waiting at a doctor's office. There's my confession - now my guilt is gone. I want to make this owl, but I will find a non-stretchy sweater to use first. I did really like the idea of a sparkly silver sweater owl, though.

Since there was no owl to be made, I decided to try to incorporate some of this stretchy sweater into a bag. I'm going to call this bag "Supergirlie Ruffle Tote". I think that any mom of a little girl will bid on this at the auction - it even has pockets inside! And, you know, a grown-up supergirlie could even carry it because, hey - we live in Seattle.

Did you notice the bias tape? I think this is becoming my signature notion. The lining of the bag is that black polka-dot, and the pocket has a pink strip across the top - totally darling, I wish I had remembered to snap a shot of it!

Wine charms. Lots and lots of little itty-bitty beads. I totally owe Anna, who made about half of these with me and then had to vacuum up about a thousand little beads from her living room carpet a couple of weeks ago. Anna, I love you for doing these things for me.

So, some are butterflies...

And some are ladybugs. Sorry about the dark photos. Trust me, they are pretty cute.

Only two more items to make: clutches and drawstring wine bags. Today I sewed nothing... Because it was 70 degrees and sunny outside... And, you should have seen my yard... So, that's my excuse.

I guess I better bust a move tomorrow.

Night, night!

Hostess Aprons for Auction

Despite a kind of freaky week, I have been sewing like mad. I've finished my first batch of items for the charity fundraiser Chris and I are hosting at the end of this month. This is the first fundraiser we've designed and hosted for The Bo M. Karlsson Foundation, an organization we've volunteered for over the last four years. The foundation provides scholarship funds to women in Nepal who are pursuing higher education. It is a fabulous organization, and our fundraiser will be a super fun silent auction and wine tasting - who couldn't like that?! Especially when there are hostess aprons to bid on, like these which I made from this tutorial. Jona from Fabritopia! graciously gave me permission to make these aprons (using her fabulous tutorial) for our silent auction.

Hostess apron #1 - "Little Birds & Ladybugs"

Here's a close-up - this fabric is absolutely darling, isn't it?

Hostess Apron #2 - "Springtime Sweetheart"

Charlie looked at this one and said, "Mama, that one is for a girl." I replied, "Totally."

Hostess Apron #3 - "Retro Blossom"

I went back and forth over whether the dots should be the trim/tie or the main panel of the apron. I'm happy that I did it this way - I love it!

Hostess Apron #4 - "Cherry Dot"

I'm starting to think everything is better with polka dots (that is, everything except velour pajama pants... please excuse my attire in that photo - it was very late at night when I finished this apron).

Hostess Apron #5 - (Argh, what should I name this one? Help me!)

I was a little unsure about this combo, but this apron turned out to be one of my favorites.

Hostess Apron #6 - "Floral Forest Frolic" (Try saying that seven times.)

This apron is my favorite. I admit that I totally wanted to keep it in my own kitchen and pretend like I had never made it for the auction. But, in the end I managed to restrain myself from being a selfish, greedy apron goblin.

I also have some wine glass charms done (much thanks to Anna - you rock the house!). I'll show you those next time. In the silent auction project hopper are: reusable wine bags, a couple of scrappy clutches, and maybe a set of coasters (?). Um, did I mention that I only have ten days to finish these projects? Whoa. Wish me luck.