Tuesday, October 29, 2013

More bags


You can't go wrong with Disney.  I just hope I reinforced the handles superbly. I needed some grocery bags big enough for pizza boxes, but you never know when a clerk might load it up with canned goods instead.  Totes like this are super simple to make. Skip To My Lou has the tutorial I essentially used. 

My zippered pouch (tutorial thanks to Noodlehead) was supposed to have bigger box corners and I had issues with the zipper as well.  The box corners are my own fault- I just didn't make them big enough.  Box corners, by the way, are super easy.  I was scared to do them for a long time for absolutely no good reason. As for the zipper.....hmmmmmm.......months ago I went on a quest for a zipper foot.  I didn't think I could put on a zipper without a zipper foot.  Good way to put off trying something new and scary.  I was in Joann Fabrics thinking for sure they'd have a zipper foot.  After all, they are a fabric store, right?  Well, they didn't.  Maybe they were just sold out, I don't remember, but it was the sales associate who told me that you don't really need one.  And you know what? You don't.  I still don't have one.  I'm certainly not a master zipper layer, and someday I hope to still get one, cheap, but until then, I won't use it as an excuse not to put in a zipper.  A regular sewing foot works just fine. 



Monday, October 28, 2013

Owl bag 2

I like this bag loads better than that goofy round one.  I don't know what the heck I"m going to do with that thing (the round one).  Guess I should have left it as a pillow! 

But back to the current bag.  This applique business is a pain in the butt.   I think that's what I'm attempting to do on the wings, eyes and beak anyway.  Maybe I should actually look into the proper way to do it, and then it won't be such a pain in the behind. 

I was inspired by "Rocking the Owls" by Gingercake, but I certainly wasn't going to buy a pattern.  Oh no, I'm way too frugal for that. Especially since she claims the bags are fast......fast must mean easy, right?  Actually, they were fairly easy, minus the pain in the butt applique.  For the most part, I just dressed up a standard tote bag (tutorial here)!


Jiffy cornbread mix

The secret to fantastic corn bread made from this mix, is to make it according to directions but to also add 1/3 cup of sour cream or plain/vanilla yogurt. Doing so will keep it from turning into a rock. You can also add corn and honey, but I think sour cream is the real trick.

Owl bag

Well,,,,,,,,,I like owls.  I used to think I was unique in liking owls but then discovered that this was hardly the case.  I don't like that I'm not unique, but at least that means patterns are available for owl crafts.  Of course I chose the one without a pattern.  Because it seemed easy enough.  And it relatively was.  So much so that I decided to get creative. I should really stop doing that.  This "Give a Hoot" owl project was for a pillow, but I didn't figure that I needed another pillow.  But I love a good bag.  The result is not a good bag, lol.  It's an oddball bag and I forgot the ears.  Oh well.  For trying to figure it out myself, it turned out okay.



Sewing Case

There is so much wrong with this "quick and easy sewing case" that I attempted that I'm almost embarrased to post it.  It was not "quick and easy" for me.  I had problems with making the tassel, for pete's sake! And then I had to keep redoing parts of the stitching, because I missed the edge of both fabrics (ie sewing only one fabric, so when I turned it right side out there was a hole).  Originally I wanted the yellow fabric on the outside, but I messed up sewing it together, and when I used the stitch ripper to remove the thread, huge holes remained in the fabric.  At this point I really considered just tossing it.  But I didn't.  Why?  Because I hate wasting material and interfacing, and I hate to put all that work into something for naught. Don't get me wrong, it still might get tossed, but at least I followed it through to the end.  And now I can chalk it up to a learning experience.  I'm sure I learned something, though I'm not really sure what.

What is my point?  The point is, I suck at sewing.  But I still try.  I have a friend who won't even attempt to sew because she's "afraid her finger will get pierced by the sewing machine needle." I kinda really doubt that will happen, but it's really sad to not even see her try because of her fears.  Look at me. I suck at sewing. I've broken needles. I've wasted countless time and energy and fabric and supplies.  But at least I try.  I give myself kudos for that. 

l

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Just got back from a trip to Utah!  Check out some photos here!


Sewing again!

I am a notoriously lazy sewer. I don't like to measure or cut or pin. Needless to say, sewing clothes is not a good idea for me. I like to sew bags and even then, I'm bound to do at least one thing wrong. The stitch ripper is my best friend and worse enemy, lol.

Anyway, I haven't sewed in about a year, so I'm trying to get back into it. First project was a reversible messenger bag from crazy little projects.  Of course I had issues right off, namely, I couldn't get my printer to print the pattern.  It looked simple enough so I guessed at it.  Hmmmmm.......You might not be able to tell from the photo, but the flap is a bit too short-- it doesn't want to stay flopped over the opening of the bag.  But of course I didn't discover this until the very end (since I don't like to measure anything).  I cut my pieces and then started sewing...........and of course quickly discovered that I had sewed the wrong two pieces together.  Out comes the stitch ripper.  Then I had an issue with the long strap....it just didn't tuck very nicely into the bag.   I think that's more of a pattern error than a Kathy error though.  Overall I think it turned out pretty good for my first return attempt.

I think learning to make use of the iron really helps. 


UPDATE:  I never really liked how the straps attached to this bag, so I took them off.  And then I just turned the whole thing into a pocket-- that is I attached the entire bag to a larger bag that I had.  I just knew I would never use it as it was.