Saturday, March 31, 2012

Jan's Purses and Totes

Joy and I have entered a real sewing contest, and we aren't quite ready to reveal the info about it.  I have finished my entry, and it is sooo cute.  I can't wait for the world to see it.  Joy just got home from vacation and hasn't started working on her entry.  We will keep you informed of when the big reveal is.  I'm so excited about my entry.

I have been doing some sewing that I can share.  I recently made a couple of totes that I listed in our etsy shop.  My older sister saw one of them and asked me to make a purse for her.  I made it and mailed it to her last week.  I sent the package priority mail with a tracking number on it.  You never know when your special packages can get lost and need to be hunted down.  She called me this week and told me that her package  had been delivered...but to the wrong house.  Someone else had her purse.  Oh no! To make a long story short, she finally got her package the next day.  If she hadn't, we would have had to put out an APB for a lost purse in Southern Illinois.  Thank goodness, there are still honest people around.  My sister is now one happy owner of a new purse.  If you're in Southern Illinois and you see this bright bag, be sure to say hello.


She carried the purse to work on Friday, and of course, it got rave reviews.  I got a call from my sis that afternoon with an order from one of her coworkers for a little clutch.  I sent her photos of some cool fabric to choose from.  She made a really great selection.  I'll be sure to add pics once I get it all done.  I made a practice clutch this afternoon, because I had never made the pattern and wanted to make sure it wasn't going to be too difficult.  It's really cute, if I say so myself.  I need to add a big green button on the front of the flap to finish it off, and I'll do that as soon as I can find one.


We'll keep you posted on all our sewing competitions.  We'll start our own competition back up soon.  Stay tuned!

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Spring Sewing by Jan

Our March sewing contest is over.  It looks like Joy has won the poll.  She's on vacation right now, and she's in NYC, of all places.  Then she's going to Washington, DC next week.  We were supposed to meet up with them in DC, but unemployment hit.  So we cancelled our trip.  We don't spend big bucks when only one of us is working.  We'll have to plan another trip sometime.

So...we won't spill the beans on our next contest until Joy is back at home.  Since I have a little time before I have to start sewing for the next contest, I thought I would catch up on my other sewing projects.  I have many projects cut out.  and some not cut out.

Anyway, I just listed a new tote that I just made today.  I've been dying to make it, because I love the fabrics.  They are very springy looking.  I love this tote.  It's a cool style.


I also made a couple of infinity scarves out of Joel Dewberry's heirloom collection.  This fabric is voile, which is a silky lightweight cotton.  Perfect for scarves.  I made some of these infinity scarves for myself last week, and had to make a couple more.  I'll add these to my other etsy shop (22marigoldst) later this week.


Friday, March 16, 2012

Jan's Selvage Project

I see that Joy has finished her selvage project.  The potholders look really nice.  By the way, Joy, I have some of the heat resistant fabric that goes in the middle of the potholder.  It really works.  But....I didn't make potholders.

A couple of years ago, I gave Joy a jewelry roll for Christmas.  When she travels, she likes to wear jewelry and doesn't want it getting all knotted up during the trip.  And who wants to wear 5 necklaces all at the same time as you're going through airport security. So......I decided to make myself a jewelry roll, too.  Joy had taken pictures of hers with the measurements, so I made mine out of the same pattern.  There's nothing like making up your own pattern as you go.  I hate it when I have to do that.

Anyhow, here are the pictures of my masterpiece.  I kind of like it.  I used some of my favorite fabric for the inside.  You roll it up like a burrito and then tie it.




Now....let the voting begin.  Not that it's a competition, but if you have a favorite let us know.

Stay tuned for next month's contest.

Joy's Selvage Project

My test potholder is on the bottom. My "real" one is on top.
 I (finally) finished my selvage project.  I wanted to make something that I would actually use.  And I wanted it to be simple. Potholders.  I made the first one (it has the polka dot binding) as a test.  I wasn't sure how to sew the selvages together and I wasn't sure what to put between the front and back.  I know there is a product that you can buy to use in potholders, but I didn't want to go buy anything new.  So I used 2 layers of a thick towel.  An old towel.  It is really thick and stiff though. For the second potholder, I only use one layer of the towel.  I'm not sure if it would be safe to pick up a really hot dish with, but it would be great to put a hot dish on.   I also sewed the selvages to the towel for the second potholder.  It was easier to manage that way and it looks neater. In the first potholder I used just a variety of  random selvages with no theme in mind.  The second one, I decided to use only polka dot selvages.  I like it.  I think I like the second one better than the first.  But I'll use both of them.  Unless my daughter steals one. 



Back of potholders - I stayed with the polka dot theme for the one on the right.



Polka dot selvage potholder

Random selvage potholder

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Update on Jan's Selvage Project

I don't know where Joy's been lately, but she hasn't posted an update in awhile.  I know she's getting ready to leave soon for a 2 week vacation.  Must be nice.  I was supposed to be with her on one of those weeks, but unemployment caused me to cancel the trip.  We just don't spend money when both not working.

Anyway, back to the selvage project.  I worked more today.  You'll see pictures below.  Any guesses as to what it is?

I'm hoping to actually finish the project tomorrow.  I don't see any problems getting it all sewn up.  Joy and I both plan to finish our projects before our March 20th deadline.  So stay tuned for the finished products!!!

If you have any guesses as to what it is, please leave a comment.


Saturday, March 3, 2012

Jan's Update on Selvage Project



Hi! It's a sometime sunny, sometime overcast Saturday here in Ohio. I've been sewing up a storm this week.

My husband has a coworker who is battling breast cancer. His employer is having a benefit to raise funds for her today. I decided to donate a few of my sewn items to the silent auction. So I made a couple of cool new cotton totes, and threw in a couple of wristlets.

I loved the totes so much that I decided to make a third one and add to our etsy shop. The listing just went up today. I plan to make another one for myself. I'm just having a hard time picking out fabrics for mine. It's always toughest to pick out fabrics when you're keeping the item. At least, that's how I feel.

Anyway, back to the selvage project. I haven't done as much work on my selvage project this week, because I was busy making the totes. Now, I'll go back to working on this project. It is shaping up to be something pretty spectacular. We'll see if Joy can beat this.