WIP wednesday #45

I wish I had more things to show you in this post, since it's a two weeks span WIP... 

COMPLETED PROJECTS:

- hair clips board for Smurfette#1

- light-blocking blind for the girls' bedroom

- napkin pochettes for Sis

- little pants for Smurfette#2

PROJECTS IN PROGRESS:

- basket ball holding net handle: (on hold - still don't have a clue for this...)

- lunch bag: on hold

- Secret project #2: planned, all fabric supplied, partially pieced. 

- craft room restyling: still lacks wall paint and minor details

- family room restyling: writing post for the 'before' and planning the 'after'

- Paths in my Garden quilt (king size quilt) - on hold 

- Secret project #1 (lap size quilt) - on hold

- Chains of Love quilt (twin size quilt) - on hold for priority reasons

THIS WEEK:

completed projects: 4

in progress: 8

new projects: 3

sew modern monday #36 @ canoe ridge creations

Very productive week end, finally!

I made little pants for my Smurfette#2:

Then some napkin pochettes for Sis:

And then worked some more on my secret projects #1 and #2:

That's all folks! See you next monday!

sneak peek

I've been working on Secret Project #1 and #2, which are Christmas presents for very important people... :)

I can't obviously show you anything specific, but here is a little peek:

There will be more hints, but nothing too 'complete' till Christmas, I'm afraid...

napkin pochettes

Sis is in her best could-you-please-do-it mode. After my last napkin pochettes she asked for a new set.

Promptly I made the four of them. I salute, Sis.

Since the Smurfs are little boys and can't read yet, I attached a different colored flower for each name.

The pochettes are lined with the flower fabric I used for the stripes on the outside. The beige fabric is a cotton-linen fabric (very soft). Gracie (my sewing machine) embroided the names in red (isn't she great?). The flowers are appliquéd with a very tight zig-zag. All in all, I like this pattern and I think I'll use it again... maybe for Christmas presents...?

twin mug rug

Remember I made a provence-style mug rug? Well, I'm making a twin one. I want to give them both as a gift to one of my friends.

I plan on finishing soon, this week. Should be easy.

pants (baby size)

I've finally had the chance to use my serger and try sewing some (easy) garment.

I made little pants (no patterns, just a pair of pants in the right size) for Smurfette#2. She tends to sleep without any cover (what's with my girls and sheets already?!?), so I have to dress her with something...

I had one yard of knit fabric of the right weight, and cut the parts. Ok, I cut twice, 'cause the first time I didn't count enough allowance... but hey! I've learned.

That was actually the hardest part, 'cause sewing the pants up only took me no more than 10 minutes... waistband included.

That's the result:

Maybe not haute couture, but it's nice and it works. That's fine with me (for now).

sew modern monday #35 @ canoe ridge creations

Hi to everyone! This week was all about crafting, but little sewing I'm afraid!

I do have something to show you, though.

I made some more and smaller oilcloth pouches, 'cause they're fun, you never have enough of them and mom asked me (no point in risking mom's wrath):

Then I finally made the light-blocking blind for my Smurfettes' room (lots of nap time... convenient, isn't it?):

And that's all folks! Hope next week will be more productive as for the sewing department.

light-blocking blind

One more thing off my to-do list! I promised I'd make a heavy-cotton blind for the girls' bedroom, 'cause the roof window has not an embedded blind and sometimes there's just too much light in the room, especially for sleeping.

I already made the lighter version, and I already had the right fabric for the heavy one.

Gunilla @ Ikea - I used the orange one

I opted for a simpler version of the blind than I originally thought, so I only needed two extensible bars and a 65cm x 150cm piece of the fabric above.

I serged (eh eh eh!) the raw edges and refined everything with my sewing machine. It took only 15 minutes to complete. And I love the result.

the window is open, that's why the blind is bi-color 

And you know the best part? Only 6.35 EUR!!! (3.10 EUR for the bars, 3.25 EUR for the fabric) And the priceless satisfaction of making something with your hands that meets perfectly your specifications. Simply wonderful!

hair clips board

I can't find any more the post that inspired this... sorry. I've found the post @prudentbaby.

My Smurfette#1 has lots of hair clips which I find anywhere in the house, but never when they need to be found. I got tired of this, and that post gave me just the right answer.

This hair clips board is very simple: it only takes 10 minutes to make and no effort at all. This is what I came up with:

Smurfette#1 was very happy that I make her something and told me: "Thanks, mommy. It even goes with my beauty shelf! you're good". Thanks, sweetheart....

(Yes, she has a beauty shelf: it's a shelf with all her 'make up', brushes, a mirror and a lamp. Figures.)

(I don't have a beauty shelf, in case you're wondering...)

craft room restyling - take 2

Every now and then (too often, if you listen to hubs) I feel the need of a revolution and begin to paint walls, haul furniture around and generally turn a supposed mess into something more pleasing to the eye.

My craft room (being my space and all) is frequently subjected to some kind of reorganization, sometimes minor, at times major.

As much as I'd like to own a big enough house to have a specific room to call 'lab', and being conscious that I'd never reach the fabulous levels of some of your craft spaces, I'm trying my best to keep my little corner in the best condition I can.

You may remember the beginning:

craft room 1.0

craft room 1.5

I didn't have the storage I needed, so I upgraded to version 2.0:

craft room 2.0

This version had some things I needed to change, both for practical reasons and aesthetics.

First of all, my table (on the left in the photo) was directly under the air conditioning system, which was noooo good for my health. Plus, light hit the table from the right, and with me being right handed it was simply poor. The other light points where placed on the left (not shown in photo) and under the shelf in the right, under the roof window. All wrong.

The chest of drawers on the right was used as change table for Smurfette#2, and in the drawers I had to keep her clothes and all. Lots of no crafting space.

The white square shelfs (Ikea's Expedit, in case you're wondering) where not so practical as library: things were sparse and my sense of proportion was a little offended by this 'highness' near another (the fabric storage). I didn't really like also that they were so different in style from everything else.

Then there was the wall color. I'm more in tune with something pale green, almost sage green, but very light. The creamy is not so flattering in this room any more.

What did I do?

I moved the Expedits in the girls' bedroom for toys storage (perfect), I swapped the table and the chest of drawers (Smurfette#2 now has her own change table in the bathroom - waaay more convenient) and I bought a smaller Smadal shelf at Ikea (same line as the fabric storage, yuppie!).

craft room 3.0

Now everything is better. I didn't paint the wall, 'cause I didn't have time, but I'll do it as soon as I can. I already have the paint. Also, I didn't finish to repaint the chest of drawers (I'm making it cream white), but I promise to complete this project soon.

I'm satisfied (for now, at least).

WIP wednesday #44

This week has been quite feverish, being the first week in primary school for Smurfette#1 and the first week in kindergarden for Smurfette#2... let's not dwell on that for now, I'll post about it another time. Aside from that, I got a serger (which I've not been able to use yet - remember the feverish part?) and sewed and crafted and planned...

COMPLETED PROJECTS:

- kindergarden bag: for my youngest nephew, Smurf#2

- pre-school bib: for another nephew, Smurf#1

- oilcloth diapers pouch: an organization issue is often the starting point for a new project...

- more little oilcloth pouches: after seeing my diapers pouch, Mom's asked me for smaller versions to keep in her bag for cosmetics, tissues, ... you can't say no to Mom, now, can you?

this is Smurfette#1's shot, complete with our feet... (!)

- basket ball holding net (the fishnet): I've finished the net, and now (   ) I have to invent a practical handle...

PROJECTS IN PROGRESS:

- heavy girls' bedroom blind: planned, now I need to get supplies (plastic rings, wood sticks, string, ...)

- lunch bag: on hold

pre-sewn lunch bag

- Paths in my Garden quilt (king size quilt) - on hold 

- Secret project #1 (lap size quilt) - on hold

- Chains of Love quilt (twin size quilt) - on hold for priority reasons

- Secret project #2: it's a Christmas present for very important people :) - planned and partially supplied with the right fabric...
- craft room restyling: I know, I'm repeating myself, but don't you think that once in a while some restyling is in order?
- family room restyling: this is a very much needed project, and we are slowly progressing. I'll post about it later, it deserves a specific post.

THIS WEEK:

completed projects: 5

in progress: 9

new projects: 8

uhmmm... not so good, but I hot to do better next week!

basketball holding net

Finally! I finished the fishnet I was knotting a while ago. It really is a show, isn't it?

Now I need to figure out how to refine the top and the joints, but the most boooooring part is complete.

meet Sergej!

Look who's joined the fun!

Remember that I named my sewing machines? And that I firmly believe that a serger is a 'he'? Well, meet Sergej (hubs: why Sergej? and why russian? - me: dunno, that's the first name I thought about when I built it... - hubs: nonsense - me: yeah, right...)

After Bernie's comment and the following emails, I went to my favorite shop and had a heart to heart conversation with the owner, who basically told me the same things as Bernie. Therefore I decided that I didn't really need electronics nor super-stitches, but I actually needed an entry level machine. After all, I'm not a professional and I don't plan on making top fashion garments...

This beauty, however, is a top hobby level serger which works beautifully (I tried him at the shop) and makes just the things I need, so I'm HAPPY!!!

Can't wait to play with him (maybe tomorrow...?)!!!