Starfish Clutch Bag

When planning a costume or outfit one should be aware of the the details and the needs they may have while wearing the outfit or costume. This, of course, means that you need to take into account more than just hair things and gloves - this means a handbag or purse. This also, of course, means I came up with something fun from scraps of my costume that would match perfectly. (Happy Halloween! And enjoy!)

I decided I needed a starfish hand bag with a wrist strap that would be big enough to hold my cell phone, ID, and a little cash. (Plus, it needed to be fun.)


It's a lined, quilted little starfish clutch made from green fabric, black lace, with an elastic wrist strap, and a button/elastic closure. To make it pliable, yet keep it's shape I using felt in between the exterior and lining. (Yes, I needed another handbag. Don't judge me.)

Using a paper starfish template, I cut all my fabric (all eight layers), paying attention to the direction they would be in the end result.

I made a couple stitches on the corners to keep things in place before securing with a few stitched lined on the one side to "quilt" the pieces together securely.

On the other side I cut a slit through all four layers as an opening that would be big enough for my hand and my cell phone. I used a simple blanket stitch to finish the edge of the opening and to secure the four layers together. I added a short piece of elastic and a silver button as a closure. Then I added a few "quilted" lines to that side as well.

Using my wrist as a guide I secured the elastic strap to the top inside of one of the starfish with a needle and thread. I pinned the two side together, with the outside facing out, pinning the tassels as I went to be caught in the machine when I sewed it shut. I then sewed the outside edges of the entire starfish with a zigzag stitch to secure the entire thing as a finishing stitch.

It really didn;t take that long to make and it is just the right size to hang off my wrist.

Black Lace Leggings

While working on piecing together a costume without a pattern, I realized that I needed a little extra flush underneath, but did not want to add a lining or under traditional under skirt. They say necessity is the mother of all invention - this was true as I came up with an idea for something a little different - I took a different twist on leggings with some black lace I happened to have on hand. I am sure to find other uses for these unique leggings.

Flower Pillow for Mom

I made this pillow awhile ago for my mom and decided to share it.

It's a round pillow embroidered with a flower. Each petal represents one of my mom's kids (five kids = five petals) with miltiple hearts in the center. Around the edge is embroideered the phrase "The Power of a  Mother's Love is like an ever-blooming flower."

T-shirt into Yoga Pants

I used an old oversized tie dye t-shirt to make into a pair of lightweight yoga pants fro a pattern I found. When I found the pattern I couldn't wait to try it. They have been a huge hit to breath new life into a shirt that I was only using as a sleep shirt mostly. (If you're anything like me you usually have plenty of t-shirts.)

Find the original pattern HERE.

Clowning Around

Ever thought about clowning around? Laughter is important to life and how we deal with. What better way then to clown around?

Years ago, I attended a weekend workshop on clowning and got hooked. I ended up doing a 4-H project on clowning and the importance of humor, which led to more clowning opportunities at camps, pre-schools, a couple church events, and even at the Ohio State Fair as a 4-H representative. The costume I have used through most of this was one I got to design and build as I continue to get use out of it with volunteering and working with kids of all ages.

The original costume pattern was for a "Hippy" costume that I adapted. I added green triangles to bottom of the pant's original pattern as well patches of green. The pants are purple with flowers with green accented fabric with little bees The vest is made from matching purple flowered fabric. The shirt has a small opening on on the top back made from white fabric with images of smiley faces, word "love," and swirls. The accenting scarf (originally used to cover my hair before I found the right wigs) is from the green with bees.

The hat was a plain black rimmed hat I found and added silk flowers and a bird nest with hot glue. At one time there was a little yellow bird perched on the nest and plain black shoes I added silk flowers to as well. (The shoes and bird have disappeared over the years.)

In later years purple and black stripped tights were added underneath in place of socks (Love post-Halloween sales!) with a bright pink straw bag to hold my toys and twisty balloon supplies and a green and white wig.

Baby Blessing Quilt: Part 8 (Putting It All Together)

A lot of time and heart has gone into this project, but now that it is finished I am very happy with the end result of this Baby Blessing Quilt. (I hope the new mother agrees.)

To be honest I have never seen or hear of  a Baby Blessing blanket before, but it was an idea I came up with a blessing for the new life and the friend who is now a new mother living a few states away. I couldn't be there when her daughter was born, but hopefully this will be something special to her.

Here is an  overview of how it all came together.

Embroidery Work of Five Pieces
Piece 1 (with short colorful blessing)
Piece 2 (with baby girl's name and birth date)
Piece 3 (with my own blessing)
Piece 4 (with Irish Baby Blessing)
Piece 5 (with Jewish Blessing)
 

The pieces were then sewn together using my trusty sewing machine and ironed. (See Step 6.)

I then added more embroidery and more fleece hearts. (See Step 7.)

I sewed the front to the back (wrong sides together) all the way around leaving a seam to be frayed. I chose a pink and white checked flannel for the back side. (Design choice.) Then using my machine I added swirls all the way around randomly to secure the two sides from creating a pouch inside.

It took awhile, but I then frayed the edges all the way around. This takes a lot longer then a more "finished" edge, but it was what I wanted for this project.

Finished and pressed it's ready to be packed and mailed to the mother and child.

Baby Blessing Quilt: Part 6 (Piecing it Together)

I pieced the small blessing quilt together, first laying it out, then sewing the three pieces of the left side and two pieces of the right side before sewing the right and left side together.

It's starting to take shape... literally.

Medievel Dress

I believe that we are never too old to play dress up. (That does help explain the love of theater and the amount of time I have spent costuming myself and others.)

While still in my 4-H days I made this burgundy and ivory medieval dress as a sewing project one year. It's all one piece with a zipper down the back, made of an under skirt and under skirt, puffing sleeves, and fitted bodice. The burgundy over skirt is made from four panels, each panel big enough to wrap around my waist. The bodice was fitted to my body, but fits a little differently than it did ten years ago.

Over ten years later and it still gets a lot of use, I wore it for a camp skit one summer (with a piece of lace underneath as a kind of modesty piece), and have worn it more than once at for the Ren Faire, and a couple Halloweens.

Damnit Doll - How To

So you have rage? And you need to take it out on something (instead of someone)? Maybe what you need is a Damnit Doll to help you find an outlet.

A Damnit Doll it something you can beat up, smack, throw, and yell at without taking it out on the person or drier next to you. I made a road rage damnit doll for my mom, who spends a lot of time driving and dealing with "idiot drivers." I figured it would give her a safe outlet.

I used denim scraps from an an old pair of jeans that got used for another project, magic markers, my sewing machine, and some poly-fill stuffing.

1) I cut a basic doll shape. Fairly generic, you could make it more personal if you want.

2) I decorated the denim, doll front and back, with magic markers.(You could use fabric markers, but with the dark fabric I stuck with Sharpies. You could also embroider but I knew this doll was being made to beat up.) I drew a basic face and instructions for use.

3) I sewed both sides together using my sewing machine in a heavy duty stitch leaving a space open for the stuffing. (Remember this doll is made to beat up, so double up the stitches if you feel the need.) Depending on the doll and the overall appearance, you can sew front sides together and then turn out or sew wrong sides together and use the stitching on the outside as part of the finished look.

4) Stuff. Finish sewing up the opening with sturdy stitches.

5) Let the rage out... on the doll, not your neighbor.

Apron (Re-purpse those Old Jeans)

Yes, it's another project using old jeans. For this one, I used the back side of an old pair of my brother's ripped jeans and a bit of leftover fabric I made this apron. It's functional, cute, I reused something that night have been otherwise thrown out, and using things I had on hand from other projects it didn't cost me a dime (which always makes things even better).

It's thick enough to keep spills, splats, and hot liquids off of my lap with perfectly places pockets ready to lend a helping hand.

I made one another one that was sold in an auction at a family reunion from the front of a pair of my old jeans with a pink and yellow rose fabric on the back and as a tie. (It was reversible)

Give me time and I will find a way to reuse and recycle almost anything and make it new, giving it a new life. Celebrate Earth Day everyday!

My Sewing Machine

My sewing machine is a beautiful asset and friend. For years I was stuck using one of my mom's multiple machine, ravaged from the years of her sewing projects and our 4-H projects. (Five kids doing 1 or more sewing projects every year... three of them being boys who worked the peddles like a race car.) The final straw was one year after I had cut all of the pieces of a Halloween costume and had started to piece it together, I got into an argument with her machine. Now, you might think a sewing machine, being an inanimate object can not argue back, but they can, in their own special way. I conceded and packed away the cut pieces of the costume and soon forgot it. (No worries, I didn't go without a costume that year - I have an entire closet dedicated to costumes.) Having packed away the costume I was content to keep my sewing to handwork (which as a child I preferred over using a machine).

After years of using my parents' (both of my parents can sew) machines, I received my Singer Inspiration  as a Christmas present. Finally, I had MY machine, that my brothers hadn't messed the tension up, with cords I knew where they were, with my machine accessories where I put them. I no longer had to share AND in spirit of me being me, I added a few personal touches.

It travels some with me when I'm doing costumes or helping sew costumes for a show (I do so love theater). At first I carted it around in the original box it came in (it was better than nothing), but now I have a very nice traveling machine case on wheels with a handle (another Christmas present that followed the machine). The Human Rights Campaign Equality sticker was a dead give away that it was mine (0f course the "Trust Women" and the "No Fur" on the sides probably helped too), when sitting in a costume shop among other machines. One of the actors came in the room, pointed, and asked, "Is that one your's?" I am what I am... no apologies.

New Tote from Old Jeans

You need a new gym bag, what do you do? Go buy something new? Well, you could, but I went another route, turning an old pair of my brother's jeans into a tote for my gym stuff.

The zipper was busted and I don't have a machine strong enough to put in a new one, so this old pair of jeans was added to the scrap bin to find new life in another project. In this case a new gym bag for me. It is a lined boxed shaped bag with a smaller matching denim pouch to stick in side. The roomy bag was made from five mainpieces (front, back, two sides, and bottom), lined, with an added pocket inside and at the zipper. (I could have sewn it shut, but adding a pocket was more amusing.) It was build to ensure plenty of room for my shoes, work out clothes, towel, and shower stuff. Plus, it's totally washable.

It may double for a beach bag on an upcoming trip south.

Embroidered Sleep Mask

The sleep masks were pretty easy to construct, the most time being the hand embroidery work on the front of each. (I'm headed on an eighteen hour car trip with my family for a family wedding. I wanted to make sure I would be able to sleep comfortably, or as close as one can when in a car for that long. It's important to be prepared.)

Once again I used what I hand on hand, which happened to be some scrap from a t-shirt sleeve one of my brothers cut off (the black) and the velvet-like red (left from a big project, the scraps showing up again & again). (I love be thrifty and handy with a needle. What a great combination!)

I made my own pattern using just a piece of paper. I figured the size I wanted the sleep mask(s) to be, then added space to make sure to leave space to sew. I was making two, so I cut two black pieces and two red pieces of each. I used one red front with a black back, and one black front with a red back. It was important that I chose fabrics that were soft and would be comfortable against my face. (A front and back for each sleep mask.)

Keeping with the black and red theme I used a combination of black, white, & red embroidery floss to embroider the front of each mask. One has a Gothic-inspired butterfly design approximately over each eye and the other reads "Let Me Dream" in script bubble letters with a butterfly. (This isn't your grandmother's needlepoint.)

Pin right sides together. (Look, the backside!) Using my machine, I sewing the right sides together leaving a gap on each side where the elastic would go as well as to turn the right sides out. (This was about an inch or less on each side as marked with the pins to keep things even on both sides.)

Trim strings. Turn right sides out and iron.

I cut the elastic the right length and pinned inside the openings on either side. Using a zigzag stitch all the way around, securing the elastic as I did. Then I ironed it again. I'm ready to go.

Do you sew?

Can you hand sew? Machine sew? Both? None of the above?

Take a chance to give your input in the April poll (located on the right side of the blog).

Embroidered Poetry Book

 As a part of April's National Poetry Month, April 14 (2011) is Poem in Your Pocket Day and, of course, I needed something to help celebrate and embrace this idea. (Poetry is important to the human soul.) Generation T had a great idea to make a Poetic Pocket Square, but I wanted something a little different, a little more me. (And something that would hold more than just one poem. I couldn't choose just one.) I needed space for more than just one poem and so came about this Embroidered Poetry Book, sewn together with a little heart and a little imagination. (The best combination for any project.) Oh, and some fabric and embroidery floss, too. (Everything was stuff I already had on hand.)

I embroidered the front outside and inside of the cover with colorful thread colors on green fabric. (I chose to make the 'cover' green and the 'pages' white, but there is no hard fast rule top any fabric or color choices.) For the inside pages of my fabric book, I chose three poems to embroider; including  Emily Dickinson's "If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking," Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken," and Maya Angelou's "The Traveler." I sketched all the fabric with a pencil before sewing the words and details before sewing.

My mind is now full of ideas for another fabric book or two in other themes or purposes. One could make a great, personal, gift for the right person and occasion.

Watch out world - I have poems in my pocket and a trip through the washer won't blur the words.