Initial Frenchy's (and I survived!)

Sorry for my long absence! I am seriously bad at blogging in the summer. Come to think of it I am not that much of a regular in the winter either;)...

Anyway, here is what I have been up to lately:



I trained for and ran/biked in a local biathlon. I even took 3rd place in my age group. I think there were only 4 entrants in my age group so it isn't like it is a major accomplishment, but I ran, I biked, I finished! YAY! That there is accomplishment enough for me:) As an added bonus I get a little award for my "3rd place" efforts.



Exercise photos are SO flattering...NOT!


On the sewing front:

I have been a busy little bee...

I just completed some Frenchy bags that are going to be given as bridal party gifts.



6 bags in total. It really went fast (well after the cutting part-which was A LOT of cutting-I think over 100 total pieces-no lie)and I was amazed how easy they went together. I recommend this pattern to anyone at any sewing level.



Each bag has a bridesmaid's initial which was monogrammed for me by my Aunt. I really want one of those fancy machines! They do some cool stuff.



I lined them in some gray broadcloth cotton and lined the pockets with so of the full moon polka dot. I am totally jazzed about them I think they turned out really nice. I hope the bride likes them! She is picking them up later today:)

Seams To Me Reveal

Tracey has received the item I made for her so I can share finally share the photos.

Here it is...



I decided to make the "I'll Take One of Everything Bag". I love the way it turned out! Although I did think it would be a little larger...I think if/when I make one for myself I will enlarge the pattern pieces so it will turn out bigger. I made it out of Katie Jump Rope fabric from my stash (some of my FAVORITE fabric).

One thing I really love about AMH's book...a lot of the projects don't appear require a huge amount of fabric so I think I am going to be able to use up some of my scraps. This is pretty exciting since my scrap pile is now occupying a rather large box...it could use a little dwindling:)

As promised...and promised

Ok, I know all of you are on the edge of your seats-on a saturday evening-to see pictures of the Weekender...lol! Well here they are:





ALL of those pieces turned into...







I threw some herb seeds, body polish, 1 yard of fabric (per swap requirements) it's Farmer's Market I think. I also attached a cute little Tinkerbelle keychain cuz she matched the bag:)

My partner also won the wallet giveaway I had so that is included as well.





Here are some better shots of the baby shoes too...





Next up is the PDC (pretty darn cute) Nappy Bag that I made for my ready-to-pop-at-any-moment pregnant gal pal.







I am totally digging the cute owl fabric (Alexander Henry) and the Cherry Full Moon Polka Dot by AB. I think I have enough extra to make a cute summer frock for Lyddiebug...but we will have to see because I am done with the bag, but I still have the changing pad and case to finish up...

And last, but not least...



My Weekender Bag by Ellena!! Isn't it totally AWESOME?? I can't thank her enough for making this such a GREAT swap!!

Well, that is the end of my photo slide show...also the end of what I am sure is my LONGEST post ever! I am nearing my 100th post so I am thinking a fun little contest is in order...Any ideas?

It's ALIVE

Ok, I apologize for my brief (if you consider a whole month brief) hiatus! But I am back and in full effect:)...Isn't that a line from a Vanilla Ice song or something...lol!

I had quite the busy sewing weekend!! I will be back tomorrow to share pics with all of you. Here is a little tidbit to hold you over...



I made these cutesy little baby shoes for some friends that had a baby last month. I used this tutorial which is also linked in my blog sidebar. This was a super easy, super fast, super fun little project. If you are ever in a bind and need a quick, cute, original baby gift I would keep this pattern handy!!

Alright, be sure to check back tomorrow (or the day after that, or the day after that-cuz, let's be honest, I am a SLOW mover...)! I will be sharing pics of the weekender I made, the weekender I received (it is flipping AMAZING), and a Nappy Bag in progress (it's PDC if I do say so myself).

Laters:)

Where is the spring!?!

Ok, how is everyone? Sorry I have been MIA around here, but I am just coming off a little bout of Influenza or something of the like. Today is the first day I have been out of my house since Sunday morning, and it is the first day I have driven my car since Friday! Talk about living in the Twilight Zone...

So, now that I am back amongst the living I figured I would take care of a little bloggy business..

1) The Giveaway- The giveaway is now closed and I would like to thank everyone who participated. I will be announcing the winner on Saturday so stay tuned.

2) Weekender Bag progress- Right now I am completely annoyed with my weekender bag...attaching the main panels in all of their Timtex glory to the zipper/bottom panel is turing into my own private nightmare. I am hoping I can just pull it off with out having to start over 2 days before the deadline! I am having an AWFUL time getting close enough to the piping...especially in the bottom corners. There is SO much bulk in the seams! I trimmed the timtex back but I am still having an issue. I have broken about 5 needles so far. At this point I am half considering hand-sewing the darn thing! I hear the lining part is a breeze compared to the step I am at now...I am ready for a little something 'breezy' let me tell ya! Right now I am in the process of taking deep breaths and counting to 10 just to get me thru this...lol!

3) Where is the spring- I don't know about all of you, but I am totally ready for spring! Winter has definitely worn out it's welcome with me! I am ready to go outside for longer than a few minutes. I want to sit on the deck, get into the garden, put flowers in the pots, and crack out the grill! Ok, I am done:) But seriously, we have to be getting close, right?

Weekender Bag Progress Report

Ok, so I have all my pieces cut out for my Weekender Bag project. (Well. almost all of the cutting is complete. I ordered a bolt of heavy sew-in interfacing from Joann's with my 50% off coupon-good deal!- anyway the shipping takes FOREVER from that place! It finally made it here so I really have a couple more cut outs to do of the interfacing). Let me tell you that is a LOT of cutting! I would show pics of all my lovely cut outs, but that would give away my fabric choices...and that wouldn't make sense since I am having a "guess what fabric I picked giveaway".

I am going to start on the sewing tonight. Lyddiebug is staying at the GP's and Andy and Graham have baseball practice...so that means I get the house all to myself for 3.5 whole hours! Cha-ching! Talk about 3.5 consecutive hours of uninterrupted sewing while singing along the to XM satellite radio (the Lithium station-yeah, I am totally stuck in the 90's...lol)! I am a little nervous because I have had some bad luck with covering the cording in the past so to be safe I plan to have a seam ripper on hand...and I think I am going to whip out the antique machine with the old standard zipper foot to see if that helps out at all. My zipper foot for my Brother machine is not very user friendly for me for some reason. Does anyone have any Brother zipper foot tips that might be useful? I hate it because it is so wide at the back which doesn't' really facilitate close sewing to the zipper. Unless maybe I am trying to sew too close? I think I need some guidance!:)

Ok, I am done rambling/venting about my zipper foot...any comments with helpful tips will be much appreciated:) I will take photos as I complete the bag so I can share the construction process later.

Have a good weekend everyone!

The Dollar Dance Bag

I helped my cousin-in-law's fiance make some bridesmaids gifts a few weeks ago and she mentioned she couldn't find a suitable dollar dance bag...so I offered up my services and put this one together for her.



It is the same bag I made for the recent Halloween Swap I was in. It turned out so cute! If you don't have a copy of Pretty Little Patchwork you should get one! There are so many cute ideas in there, and they are fairly easy projects too!

I think as a wedding gift I am going to make them some potholders using Bean's tutorial on SewMamaSew and some cute little coordinating placemats and such. Of course, considering my procrastination problem, they probably won't see them till Christmas...hehe.