Jamie Dress Sew Along: Winners!

Prize #1: $25 Gift Certificate to Pink Chalk Fabrics - KVita2011 on Flickr
Prize #2: One Sis Boom sewing pattern via instant download - Sharon
Prize #3: Pink Sand Beach (paper) sewing pattern - kate_fox on Flickr
Prize #4: Vintage Spools and Novelty Buttons - Kim
Prize #5: 1lb. of Fabric - Bree

Thanks everyone so much for participating! I hope you will join me in another sew along in future! :-)

Two Peas in a Pod Ava Bag

I'm organizing a sew along (more details to come soon) for 2 of the Two Peas in a Pod Designs sewing patterns, and I received the patterns in the mail yesterday. I couldn't wait to get started on the Ava Bag so I could field questions on it, and here it is! It's very easy (about a 3 hour project...but the first hour was spent cutting and fusing my fabrics), and really cute!

Fabric - This pattern takes 1/2 yard for the exterior panels, 1/2 yard for the interior, 1/4 yard for the exterior front pocket, and 1/4 yard for the straps. I had my heart set on using a Japanese import that I'd been hanging on to for awhile, but I didn't have anything to coordinate with it, so I just used the same fabric for the exterior panels and the exterior pocket and just broke them up a bit by using a yellow cording at the top of the pocket. I had 1/2 yard of the Japanese import, which was plenty for this. I am also a big fan of stiff bags, so instead of the fusible fleece that the pattern calls for, I used Peltex and a layer of fusible woven interfacing for the exterior instead.

Pattern Pieces - This is a paper pattern, and there was actually only one pattern piece to cut out. This piece was used for cutting both the main panels and the pocket panels. The only other thing to cut out were the straps, which were rectangular measurements. Really very easy!

Illustrations/Instructions - These were to-the-point instructions with color photos for the steps. I think the instructions were well-written, although I feel that they assume that the user has some form of past bag-making experience. Don't get me wrong, this is easy enough for a beginner!

When it is time to insert your magnetic snap, the designer has a great tutorial on her website. In the instructions, it doesn't designate where exactly to put the snaps, so I waited until I had assembled the entire thing (since you are leaving an opening in the lining for turning the bag right side out, I was able to stick my hand through and assemble the snaps at the very end) to check the placement of the snaps for the place that I would prefer (which ended up being centered, and 1/2" down).

Conclusion - I really enjoyed making this bag, and would definitely make another very soon! I am sorry that I didn't use two coordinating fabrics for the exterior, as I think it would have really made the bag pop, but when you're working on a small monthly sewing budget, sometimes you just have to use what you have. :-) As I said previously, this would be a super project for a beginner. The design is so cute, though, anyone should be pleased to make it!

P.S. I'm linking up to Sew Modern Monday and Fabric Tuesday!

Giveaway: Cynthia Rowley Sewing Patterns

I went through my box of sewing patterns recently, to organize them into my new Amy Butler tool caddy that my mom got for me at Marshall's. I filtered through some patterns that I might not get to, including these 4 clothing sewing patterns by Cynthia Rowley.

If you participated in the Jamie Dress Sew Along, perhaps you have the confidence to make some more dresses! These patterns are all sizes 4 through 12/16.

I will draw one winner, who will receive all 4 brand new, uncut patterns. You have until Friday, April 29th 9pm CT to enter.

How you can enter:
1. Leave me a comment and tell me if you have ever sewn a dress before (if not, that's okay!). If you have, what dress pattern out there would you most like to make; if you have made a dress before, what's your favorite pattern?

2. "Follow" my blog (if you're already a follower, super!). Then, just leave a second, SEPARATE comment saying that you follow me.

You can have up to 2 entries. I will randomly choose 1 winner, who will receive all 4 Cynthia Rowley patterns! The drawing will close on Friday, April 29th at 9pm CT.

Cathedral Window Block

May is my hosting month for the Modern Stash Quilting Bee! I have been thinking about my block all year. I initially wanted to do a Cathedral Window block, but wavered on it. Now that it's my turn, I decided to stick to my first choice.

The quilt that results from the accumulative blocks will be a gift for someone expecting twin boys later this summer. :-)

I used the tutorials for the block from Melissa at Lilac Lane. I want to say that I read through about 4 or 5 different tutorials on cathedral windows. This is the one that I felt most comfortable with. Melissa's instructions are wonderful and very clear, and are accompanied by some great photos for each step. The tutorial is in several parts, but don't be frightened by that fact, as she was using this tutorial for her sew along. Here you can find part 1 and part 2 and part 3. Her tutorial is for a pillow, but since mine is a quilt block I did it slightly different. The assembly is the same, I just changed a few minor details.

Firstly, I started with four 12.5" squares of Kona white and four 3.75" squares of printed fabrics (this quilt is going to be a gift for twin baby boys, so I decided to designate everyone to use fabric prints featuring bright green and bright blue fabrics). I did not use the optional batting.

I was really intimidated about all the ironing, as I am not an exact sewer, and I thought that if I didn't sew/press the squares exactly, that it would turn out all wrong. I am glad to say that this isn't the case...mine weren't exact, but I was still successful.

The 'Danish-pastry shape' with the 2" opening at the top for turning.

The instructions tell you to sew the corners into a sort of Danish-pastry shape, with a small opening left for turning the fabric right side out. You can either slip-stitch or topstitch that opening closed (part 2, the first step), and I opted for the topstitching ('cause I hate hand sewing so much). It really looks fine with the topstitching. Instead of having 3 rows by 3 columns (9 white squares to start), I have 2 rows by 2 columns (4 white squares to start).

Using a glue stick to adhere the printed fabrics before sewing them down.

I used a glue stick to temporarily adhere the printed squares to the white, and it worked wonderfully. Another minor thing that I changed is, in the instructions, Melissa tells you to sew each of the four edges of the printed squares down, independently of the background, so they stick out (like wings). I did this at first, and I'm sure it looks great on a pillow, but I didn't like all those edges sticking out, so when I stitched the four edges of the printed squares down, I stitched them through the back (so you can see the stitching when you turn the block around). I left the remaining edges unsewn, so that when I receive the other blocks I can put them all together.

Back of the block...so pretty seeing the stitches through!

This block did not take me a terribly long time to make...I know it looks very intricate, but it probably took me 2 hours total (cutting, puzzling over the instructions, etc.). If I made more blocks, I could probably do one in an hour or less, if I had my fabrics cut out and ready to go.

Block finished! I left the white corners unsewn so I will be able to attach everyone's blocks together.

I hope everyone in the bee enjoys working on this block and doesn't get too stressed out about it. I have to say, this is my new favorite block. It is just so beautiful, and looks like it took so much time and effort, but once you have it down, it really isn't very bad at all. And the best part?? You don't have to quilt it when you're done assembling the blocks. Yep, that's right. Once your blocks are all assembled, you're completely done with the quilt.

Jamie Dress Sew Along: Linky Party

Hello everyone! This sew along has been so much fun, thanks to all of you who put so much effort into your dresses and posted helpful tips in the Flickr group! Just a reminder if you are viewing these posts after the fact, that you can purchase your Jamie Dress sewing pattern at Pink Chalk Fabrics via instant download.

I know I was going to post the linky party on Thursday, but I have been having some health issues lately and I am sort of unpredictable these days as far as staying up at night, so I wanted to make sure I got this post up, lol!! You do, however, have until Friday, April 22nd at 9pm CT to link up a dress.

After that time I will choose 5 winners for the prizes using random.org. If you made more than 1 dress during the sew along time frame, you may link up one thumbnail for each dress (so if you made 2 dresses, you will have 2 chances to win). I figured that was fair, since we were all working within the same time and no one had a head start; hopefully you will agree. :-)

If you don't have a blog, you may link up to Flickr, Photobucket, or whatever your preferred photo uploading software. If you need help linking up your dress, feel free to leave a comment or e-mail me (sara@sewsweetness.com) and I'll talk you through it.

And if you have time, click on some dresses and leave some comment love for someone to brighten their day. :-)

Wonky Star Quilt Block

This was one of April's blocks for the Mod Stash Quilting Bee. The host, Lindsey, wanted a block using teal and orange, for this wonky star design. I'm in-between projects right now, and my UFO's are looming in on me, so it was very relaxing to work with a tutorial that I've already done before. I hope Lindsey likes her block!

Amy Butler Bags at Marshall's

Amy Butler Lotus Tool Caddy - $6.99 at Marshall's

My mom scored some awesome stuff at Marshall's the other day, and I wanted to tell you about it so you could check your Marshall's as well! The first picture is what she let me take home (thanks Mom, you rock!!), the Amy Butler Lotus Tool Caddy. It has an awesome larger coriander print on the inside. My mom got it for $6.99, and I looked and saw it going for $16-$21 online.

Amy Butler Scrapbook Caddy - $12.99 at Marshall's

My mom's next score was this pink scrapbooking caddy. It's very large, around 15"x14", is padded, and has tons of pockets and compartments. She's using it to tote her water bottle and other belly dancing stuff to class. I saw this bag going for $30-$40 online, but my mom got if for $12.99.

I checked a Marshall's store by my house, but I didn't see anything (check in the home goods section, usually at the back of the store). Although, I did see a whole rack of aprons made with various Amy Butler fabrics (mostly Midwest Modern, but all in decor-weight). The fabrics were cute, the aprons not so much...they were sort of scant and in really weird designs. Nothing I would wear, and at $12.99 each, not enough fabric to make anything worthwhile/usable with.

Just thought I would share...I will probably check out one more Marshall's tomorrow before I give up. I'm planning on using my tool caddy to house my sewing patterns (right now they're in a cardboard pattern box that is falling apart).

Jamie Dress Sew Along: 4 More Days!

Participating in the Jamie Dress Sew Along? You have 4 more days to go! And if you haven't started yet...never fear. Check out the dresses already completed in the Flickr group...some of the girls said it only took them 1 day to finish the dress, so there is still time!

If you made a dress, don't forget to come back here this Thursday. I will open the linky party for your completed dress this Thursday, April 21st, and leave it open until Friday at 9pm CT (to allow leeway for anyone who forgot, lol!).

I will randomly draw prizes out of those who link up a finished dress (or tunic, if you altered your dress).

And don't forget that I will be starting a new Sew Along soon! Details to come!

Crafty Characters

Close-up of Violet's Hello Kitty hoodie

Even though handmade items for my kids usually don't get the response that I would hope for (they border on indifferent - my son - to just-plain-won't-wear-it - my daughter), I still decided to make them some stuff for their Easter baskets. I dream of them wearing this stuff every single day and never wanting to take it off, lol!  :-)

The Hello Kitty hoodie

I used this sewing pattern from Kitschy Coo previously when I made this Superman hoodie (see link for pattern review) for my son. If you have kids, it's a marvelous pattern, you really must get it. For the hoodies, I used a cotton woven for the exterior (licensed fabric from Joann's), fleece fabric for the interior that I got on Black Friday for $2/yard, and the sleeve cuffs and bottom of the hoodie is a ribbed knit fabric.

Hello Kitty t-shirt

So I made my daughter a Hello Kitty hoodie (she really loves cats, and the color pink). It's reversible! They didn't have pink "sport" zippers at the store, but I think it looks pretty cool with the yellow zip.

Hello Kitty t-shirt

I also got some white t-shirts at the thrift store for .33 each. Combined with personalized iron-on transfers from ebay ($3-$4 each), I think they make the t-shirts look really awesome! I hope they will at least wear their t-shirts!

Close-up of William's Batman hoodie

My kids (ages 4 and 2-1/2) are also really obsessed with board games. I got my son this family dinner game (he is a tricky/picky eater) for the Easter basket, as well as another board game and a large Lego flat for building on.

The Batman hoodie

For my daughter's Easter basket, I got her some kid-safe nail polish from Piggy Paint, an 84-piece puzzle (she's pretty good, although the most she's done so far is 48 pieces), and the Lego flat for building.

Transformers' Bumblebee T-shirt

And what I am hoping will be their favorite thing in their Easter baskets...I found used action figures from He-Man and She-Ra on ebay...anyone remember that show? I only got them one figure apiece, but I know my brother and I had these from when we were little (I was actually She-Ra one year for Halloween)...I saw a She-Ra and winged horse set on ebay going for $99! Wish I still had mine...well, my mom might still have it somewhere in the basement, she did save a lot of our toys, but who knows where they are. :-P

Super Mario Brothers t-shirt

Hope you have a good Easter!

P.S. It's after Easter, and I'm happy to say my kids wore ALL their stuff yesterday! Yay!!


P.P.S. I'm linking up to Sew Modern Monday and Fabric Tuesday!

Photography Week #5: Quick and Dirty photo editing

Hello there, I'm Amanda from Kitschy Coo and I'm delighted that Sara asked me to contribute to Photography Week. The other guest posters have done a stellar job and pretty much stole at least 98% of the words out of my mouth. All that good advice, technical nous, practical examples... what can I bring to the table? My laziness, friends. I bring my laziness. I admit to finding photo editing software like Photoshop and GIMP completely tedious and time-consuming. It made getting my pictures shop or blog-ready a total chore. But then I found out you could do some Quick and Dirty photo editing using just your standard Windows Photo Gallery.

Please ignore the irony of me posting bad pictures within a post about good pictures.

Click on that magic 'Fix' button right at the top there. And then you are presented with an editing menu:


Unless you are in it for the laughs, don't click the 'Auto Adjust' button. But you can seriously improve your pictures by adjusting the Exposure and Colour and by cropping. The Brightness and Contrast Bars are enough to really sharpen and enhance your pics. Here are some examples of how viewers might change their mind from Quick and Dirty edits....

Example One: Make-up bags photographed inside in natural light

Before: Those make-up bags are dreary and lacklustre.
After: Those make-up bags are snazzy and vibrant.

Example Two: Apparel shot photographed inside in natural light

Before: You live in a sad and dank dungeon.
After: Your house is second only to Heaven in terms of natural light.

Example Three: Apparel shot outdoors in daylight (proviso: Scottish daylight)

Before: Your child looks happy enough but has the pallor of a zombie or the perpetually unwell.
After: Have you considered surrogacy because I'd like to have a child like this.

There we go then, that's my contribution to Photography week! Seriously, give Windows Photo Gallery a shot if you're lazy like me and want the immediate gratification of being able to edit a whole album in less than ten minutes. I'd say 99% of my photos are edited this way, although I will resort to GIMP on special occasions....

Photography Week #4: What Not To Do

Hi there! I'm amylouwho and Sara kindly asked me to help out with this week's photo posts. But really, as I've read through the everyone else's I'm not really sure I can add anything new.  Maybe I'll show you some what-not-to-dos!

I agree that lighting is key.   Here are some things I've learned in the last few years...

***Morning and afternoon light are great for shooting outside. When shooting quilts outside you typically don't want to be facing the sun as the light shine through your quilt. Like this:

I flipped the quilt around and got a much better shot:

But it was closer to noon and I still think the greens got a little washed out.

***Window light is GREAT pretty much all the time, especially if you have nice big windows.  Which I don't anymore.  :(  The window filters the harshness of direct light on your project.  This is one of my favorite photos (from my old house).  The colors are so true. And this is unedited.

It helps that the Amy Butler print here is so gorgeous!

***I don't ever use my on-camera flash anymore.  I figured out how to turn it off on my little point and shoot too.  And for the record, my pocket Canon Powershot can take a photo on auto as well as my Nikon D40 (the most basic entry-level version of a DSLR).  It's worth repeating that if you know your camera and work on your composition, it doesn't matter what you are shooting with. 

with flash

without flash

 And I took these with my point and shoot.  The on-camera flash can be so glaring.  In all fairness the 2nd shot probably needs to be lightened up a bit.




*It's important to know the light around you.
I have moved to a new house in the last year and have had to scout out new spots to take photos.  I am constantly watching where the sun hits the house, inside and out, to find the best place to shoot so that my pictures need little editing.  Unfortunately, the house is pretty shaded and so a lot of my pics are underexposed.  But that can be easily fixed with iPhoto (on a Mac) or free software like Picnik.  I also have Photoshop Elements, but really, free software to fix exposure is readily available and in a lot of instances, easier.
For instance:
SOOC (straight out of camera)

with a little adjustment in iPhoto (or whatever program you choose):

Here's a pic I shot just the other day, when I found my morning sunbeam in my kitchen, and needed no editing:

I would say that the best way to get good photos is to practice A LOT.  I am so busy with my kids and other aspects of daily life that I don't have hours to edit and all of that.  So I try to get shots I can use right away.  And I'm with Kim, a lot of times I end up using shots that weren't what I thought would be my first choice!

I hope this information is helpful!  Just remember to make beautiful things that you love and you will get beautiful pictures! 

Thanks for having me, Sara!

Announcing a New Sew Along!

Wow, it's busy on my blog today! Make sure you don't miss the guest posts from my friends Joel and Kim. Don't let Joel's long article scare you....it is *incredibly* useful information from a professional photographer that you can use to shoot better photographs! I think if I make those changes to my camera and purchase a tripod and foamboard like he recommended, and also use Kim's editing advice, I can get some darn-good sewing pictures!

Anyway...I know that we still have *seven* more days to go in the Jamie Dress Sew Along before the linky party on April 21st, but I had so much fun (and I hope you did too), that I have already begun organizing another sew along! This one will feature not one, but TWO sewing patterns from Two Peas In a Pod Designs! We'll be working from the Madison and Ava bag patterns!

Trish from two peas has offered a very generous discount on the (paper) patterns for the sew along, as well as some wonderful prizes, and I am working on getting discounts on your fabrics for this project as well.

More information and an official posting to come soon, but I just wanted to get your wheels turning. :-)