Cottage Apron

The book, "One Yard Wonders" has been around for awhile, heck I have had it for about a year and I am just now getting around to making something out of it. It is a great book with some really neat projects. I love the premise of the book, everything in the book can be made with one yard of fabric or less and for the most part everything is fairly easy to make.  It is just a great book that really makes sewing seem like something that is doable for everyone. Check it out if you haven't had a chance.

For the first project I made out of the book, I chose to make the "Cottage Apron." I was asked to make an apron for a friend as a birthday gift. My friend wears aprons a lot, mostly the boring square type aprons that are solid in color, very boring. So I thought I would spice up her apron wardrobe I wanted to make an apron that was more exciting than the typical apron but not so flashy that she won't want to wear it, the cottage apron fit the bill. I hope she likes it.

Doggy Leash

Our doggy leash broke the other day, Mr. Smith took our dog for a walk and let out the leash only to find that it no longer retracted like it was supposed to. We can't complain we have had our dog for almost 10 years and owned the leash just as long so I suppose we got our monies worth. I however saw the clasp and thought, that is still perfectly usable so I got to work making another doggy leash rather than going out to buy another.

I used some left over fabric I had laying around in my stash. I wanted to make a cute colorful leash since our dog is a girl but was stuck with manly neutrals since Mr. Smith does the dog walking in our house. Oh I go along for the walk sometimes but I am not the walker because the walker is responsible for picking up after their dog and I don't pick up what dogs leave behind. It's not because I am prissy or anything, I just have a gag reflex that doesn't stop which means I too would leave something behind if you get what I mean.

To make the leash, I cut out strips of fabric that were 2 1/2 inches wide and various lengths. I then sewed all the pieces together until I had one long piece of fabric that was 2 1/2 inches by about 7 feet. I then pressed all the seams open and ironed on some thin interfacing, mostly to give the leash some added strength. I then folded the long strip of fabric in half and pressed.

Back to the sewing machine where I sewed along the short side of the fabric and up the very long side, leaving one short side open for turning. Let me tell you the turning was a pain in the rump. Every time I came to one of the seams, the tube would get all bunched up, I think because it was just too much fabric for such a small area. After working it for quite a while though, I was able to get the fabric turned right side out. then iron your tube again so it lays flat.

For the handle, I just folded a loop about 7 inches long and secured it using several rows of stitching. I did the same to attach the latch to the other end of the leash. Only time will tell if this leash will last as long as our previous leash but even if it doesn't, I can just whip up another leash in a jiffy, only this time I plan to use only one long strip of fabric instead of a bunch of pieces, I am telling you turning that tube right side out was an incredible pain and I am going to make it girly, I don't care if Mr. Smith doesn't want a hot pink. ruffly leash, he is getting one.

Party with Flamingos

Oh what a week...we've had lots of activity going on in our house what with kid's sports. end of the season t-ball parties, end of the school year activities, doctor's appointments, I've been acting as a single mom since Mr. Smith has been away for work and oh yeah, I got braces (again) this week (what was I thinking, I forgot how painful braces were.) So yeah, busy is an understatement. Unfortunately, being busy leaves very little time for crafting. I did however manage to whip up a bunch of flamingo sugar cookies for my son's end of the school year party, it was a pink flamingo theme. Who knows why but it gave me an excuse to make cookies so I'm not complaining. They turned out really cute and the kids loved them. Here's to hoping there is more time for crafting this weekend. I hope you all have a fun weekend, I know I am looking forward to it.

Subway Art My Way

My nephew is getting married in June and his lovely bride to be had her bridal shower this weekend. They had registered for some frames which I decided to get for them however I wanted to personalize one of them with something so I jumped on the subway art craze that has been all over blog land. Except I did it my way, this what happens when subway art meets a crossword puzzle.

Isn't that back ground paper cool, I just feel in love with it.

Looking at the subway art that is all over blog land got me thinking how did this art form that started out as graffiti make it's way into home decor? So I turned to google to answer my questions, I mean isn't that how everyone gets their questions answered in this day and age? I found this little essay that gave me some of the history behind Subway art. Long story short, subway art started as a way for graffiti artists to communicate, it then grew into a type of competition among artists to see who could tag the most subway cars. Soon graffiti covered so many cars that the artists began to search for ways to make their tags standout so they started using different styles of script and adding different doodles to make their tags unique. Ah ha, that makes sense, I can see how "subway art" has made its way from the subway to our homes. Enough with the history lesson, go get your "em-agination" going and make some of your own subway art, it's really fun.

Applique Monkey Quilt

This is my first attempt at making a quilt, granted it is only an appliqued quilt which in my mind is much easier than what I think of as a more traditional quilt made by sewing little pieces of fabric together but I did quilt it which was huge for me. Stippling/quilting (not sure what the proper terminology is) is one of the things that I think makes a quilt a quilt and while my stippling was not perfect and definitely needs work, it was fun to do and it made me want to do more and improve.

For the monkey I free handed a drawing of a monkey hanging  from a tree branch and then cut  the drawing up into pieces for a pattern. I like the over all design of the quilt but looking at it now that it is finished, I wish I would have made the tree branch span across the entire quilt because as it is now, it just looks like the tree branch is floating in mid air which is a little weird.

The backing of the quilt is very cute, it is a bunch of little monkeys in different positions, with the words little monkey repeating. For the quilt top, I used a soft yellow with little white polka dots which are hard to see in the picture. It is all bound with a yellow and white striped fabric.

I am quite please with the quilt and it gave me the confidence I need to try my hand at a "real" quilt. I am thinking it will be a stacked coin quilt for my daughter. Wish me luck, especially since it will be a twin size quilt (this monkey quilt is a crib size) and I am going to try to quilt it myself.

Sailor Skirt for Me

Does anyone else have a fear of sewing clothing for themselves? I sure do! I'm not sure why, I guess it is just because I am afraid it won't turn out and I will have wasted time and fabric with nothing to show for it. Well today I decided to give it a try using some of the left over sheet I used to make these sailor pants for my daughter. I again turned to this tutorial from Me Sew Crazy for inspiration. I followed her tutorial for the sailor pants but instead made a sailor skirt.

To make the skirt, I simply used a skirt I love as a pattern and cut around it leaving extra for the seam allowance.  I then cut these pieces up the middle so that I had 4, 2 front and 2 back pieces just like in the tutorial. From here I followed the tutorial just as it is written to create the flaps for the sailor front.

For the back, I wanted a slit (I'm sure it has a technical name, I just don't know what it is) so I sewed the 2 back piece together stopping about 7 inches from the bottom. I then ironed the raw edges of the slit back 1/4 of an inch and sewed up one side of the slit and back down the other.

I then sewed all the pieces together and created the waist just like in the tutorial. The skirt turned out cute however my fear came true, I put the effort into making something for myself and it didn't fit. BOO! Which is why you are not seeing the skirt on me. I however know where I messed up and will give it another try, I just may have enough left for a take 2. Would you like to know where I messed up? Well, when I traced my skirt as a pattern, I added extra for the seam allowance for the side seam, I however didn't take into account the need to add in seam allowances for the seams that run up the middle of the front and back of the skirt.

I admit, not everything I make works or fits as the case may be. I however learned from this little mistake and will try again, this skirt is so cute, not to. What I need is a mannequin that is made to fit my body, I have seen tutorials on how to make them, I may just have to do that. I am determined to figure out how to sew clothes for myself. Have you had any failures when trying to sew something for yourself? Do you have any tips for me when trying to sew for yourself?  I'd love to hear about them.

Jalapeno Salsa

 

Over the weekend Mr. Smith and I worked on a little project together. We made his favorite salsa, Jalapeno Salsa found in the Ball Complete Book of Canning, also found on Food.com. It is a really spicy salsa made with a ton of jalapenos but has a really great flavor.  We always double the recipe so that we can have lots on hand, it is that good.

Ingredients:

3 3

Servings Size

• pints
  

Yield: 3 pints

• 3 cups chopped peeled cored tomatoes
• 3 cups chopped jalapeno peppers
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons minced cilantro
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 cup cider vinegar

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in large sauce pot.
2. Bring mixture to a boil.
3. Reduce heat.
4. Simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Ladle hot salsa into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1/4-inch head space.
6. Adjust 2-piece caps.
7. Process for 15 minutes in boiling-water canner

I had fun prettying up the jars a little. I started out by using the canning templates found at Merriment Design, they are so pretty. I however wanted to put them on the front of my jars rather than the top of the lid so I copied and pasted them into Paint and then stretched them into an oval shape. Very pretty and ready for some gift giving, if I can pry them from Mr. Smith's hands. Maybe we should have tripled the recipe instead of doubling it.

Yes I know I spelled Jalapeno wrong, I  vote we change the spelling because I would have sworn this was right.