Uhhhh...Pennant Duvet, part 2

So I changed my plans. Originally I was going to make this into a quilt, but I decided on a duvet instead. There are several advantages of a duvet. First, I knew it would be mostly white, therefore I knew I'd be washing it a lot. As annoying as it is to restuff a duvet, I knew it would be easier to wash and dry. #2, I don't know how to quilt. That was a big one. And #3 I realized I had just donated any blanket that I could put in the middle of the quilt. And I'm trying to use things I have on hand. So anyway, as of the last post, I had pinned on the pennants. Next I sewed them on, first straight across, and then the rest of the little triangle. Last. Favorite. Part. I did it in probably 3 hour-long sessions. I decided to just straight stitch and let 'em fray, 'cause I thought it'd be cute and the zig-zag stitch and I are not BFFs.

Once I had the front stitched, I picked out a vintage sheet for the back that I had on hand and pinned the top to the bottom. I hope you're not looking for a tutorial, because I made this up as I went along! I picked up some giant red rickrack at Joanne's for a trim between the sheets. I pinned it the best I could, but as I sewed, the sheets moved along and my sides did not match anymore--groan! So, I would re-pin the other sides and hope for the best. Which brings me to another reason a duvet cover was a better choice for me: they can be rumplier and not perfect and it's OK. Whew!

Once I had them all toghether, I sewed some ribbon on the inside corners of the duvet and the corners of the down comforter I bought at Ikea. That way I can tie the comforter to the duvet and it won't shift around annoyingly. When I say this thing is not perfect, it isn't false modesty! Here you can see that on one corner the top sheet is about an inch longer than the bottom sheet. But when it's all tied up you can't tell. :0)

Aaaaand here is a hole I accidentally snipped in the bottom sheet about 2 seconds after I finished the thing. Thankfully it's right at the bottom and when I stitch it up you won't be able to tell. Oy.

Instead of risking more uneven seams, I just made ties for the bottom out of the extra fabric from the top sheet. It'll be easy to get the comforter in and out this way, too.

This is the bottom of the duvet. I used a vintage sheet instead of the fabric I originally intended to use. It was easy to use because it was already finished. Plus, I figure if the top side gets smudged, the bottom side is pretty enough to become the top side until I can wash it.

And here it is! I'm so glad I splurged on the rick rack. I think it really makes it. Can't wait to show you what it looks like on the Big Girl bed! Life has been busy, but we're making good progress on the room, and my grand to-do-before-the-baby-comes list. :0)

Cost breakdown:

Top sheet: $2.50 on consignment (bonus, it's already been washed a bunch and is super soft)

Bottom sheet: free, already had it

Pennant fabric: about $7 for two fat quarters (only used about half of them, though)

Rick rack: $11 with a 40% off coupon at Joann's.

Down comforter: $14 at Ikea

Total: $34.50.

Pennant Quilt

I have been thinking for awhile about making Ava a quilt for her new bedroom. I've seen a lot of really cute stuff online, and think I've found a way to make it easy enough for even me to do!

A few weeks ago, the fam was in Ashland, WI where there is a really cute shop that carries aDORable fabric. I got this for 1/2 price. $4.50/yd! I think it's Moda? I'm not sure how I'm going to use this fabric. Maybe as the back of the quilt and it can be reversible??? Each panel is so sweet:

I'm unashamedly copying this quilt from A Pretty Cool Life. I kinda figured I'd make pennants using all the fabrics in my stash.

But then I realized that part of the cuteness of the quilt inspiration is how she picks the colors and puts them together. So I decided to do some experimenting.


I was kinda liking this, but not getting very far with it:

I originally thought I wanted more primary colors, but it wasn't doing it for me:

Another try:

Then I remembered the fat quarters I had also gotten from the store in Ashland (I think it's called the Painted Cottage?)

I also got some giant yellow rick-rack that I kept nearby for inspiration. It may or may not be used on the bed, but I liked the general feel of it

Once I pulled out those fabrics, I found I didn't need to be limited to 4 or 5 fabrics, but that I could add more. I found that using one pattern to pull colors out of made it alot easier to put them together. I got the darker blues out of there and it started to come together. I also found that a mix of large and small patterns made a big difference.

For the main part of the quilt, I found an off-white king sized flat sheet at a local consignment store. It was 70% off at $2.50. I just cut off the embellishment. Then I cut the sheet to 68x88 (ish.)

To make the pennants, I made a template from a piece of paper. It's totally not perfect. And the cutting wheel sliced off pieces of the template as I went along, so I know some of my pennants are smaller than others. But I don't mind. I think it'll only add to the final product.

I eyeballed what I wanted it to look like, and laid out the pennants. I found that different orders of the fabrics made a difference to me too, so I just played with it until I liked it. Then I pinned it. That's as far as I've gotten. Here's how it looks now!

I'm pleased at how it's turning out so far! I won't be able to get back to it for at least a week, but I'm excited about how it's coming together. :0)

Personalized Onesies

I have two Wendys in my life, and both of them had babies recently! So, of course, I turn to my new friend, applique, to make adorable onesies. I actually copied these from a onesie I saw on my friend's baby. On the first one, I handstitched around the outside with embroidery thread to help the lettering to come out a little better. On this one, I machine stitched right down the middle. That was really hard!

Can't wait to meet the babies that wear 'em!

Renew, Reuse, and Recycle.

Just a simple, frugal project to share today. Mr. Wonderful bought me a cardigan for Christmas a couple of years ago. I've always liked it, but one of the buttons fell off and broke. So I couldn't just re-attach it.
So I found some new ones at JoAnn's. They are the kind that sort of look like leather. Or wood. Or something. Anyway, I love 'em and it feels like a whole new sweater.
I just cut off the remaining buttons and replaced them with safety pins so I knew where to put the new ones, made sure they were big enough for the button holes, hand sewed them on and that was it. It's like recycling for your closet.

In fact, my mom did the same thing for my jacket last winter. My winter jacket has been with me since about 2002. It's a wool toggle coat from the LL Bean outlet store in ME. I was all ready to toss it out and get a new one when I realized that the ONLY thing wrong with it was that it needed to be cleaned professionally and it needed new cording to hold the toggles. It was a consumer wake-up call for sure. So I took it to the cleaners and Mom fixed the cording. Perfectly good coat. In fact I still love it.

Here is a really great post about converting your boot cut pants to skinny pants. I haven't tried it yet, but I think it would be a great way to use some of the pants I already have and update them. I'm trying to be hip by wearing skinny jeans, but now I'm confused by that beer commercial where they make fun of that guy who is wearing skinny jeans. Did the moment pass on that trend, or am I still with it? I'm just a stay-at-home-mom who is trying to be cool, people. Help me out here.

Applique--the new love of my life!

Stitch-by Stitch: Project #2

Hopefully by making this look more official it'll keep me on track to keep with my sewing projects. I loved this project. Applique. I've always been kind of intimidated by it, especially the special fusible webbing you need (ps, don't get fusible interface. Not the same thing...). But it wasn't too hard to use. Also, I forgot to use stabilizer and it wasn't a big deal. At least not yet...:0)

Step 1: find a onesie or t-shirt to use
Step 2: google "bird template." Find one you like. I picked a bird because that's Ava's nickname :0)
Step 3: trace it right from the computer screen and cut it out.
Step 4: Stick it to the fusible webbing.(follow manufacturer's instructions)
Step 5: Cut out around it.
Step 6: Iron it on. Press the steam button a few times. Lift the iron off every once in awhile because you are afraid to burn it.
Step 7: Zig-zag stitch around your shape in a fun, contrasting color
Step 8: Draw little legs with a disappearing ink pen.
Step 9: Straight stitch on the lines you drew.
Step 10: cut out a wing from a different fabric (I used felt)
Step 11: Stick it on the fusible webbing and cut out around it.
Step 12: Press it
Step 13: I didn't stitch around the wing because I used felt, but you certainly could
Step 14: Freak out because I didn't prewash anything. D'oh!





So it might not hold up to the wash, but live and learn, right? Also, my sewing machine decided to throw in a few straight stitches with the zig zags. Does anyone know why that might be happening???

Aaaand, our photographer Ava's first picture:

What a talent!

Sewing Pep Talk

I went to the sewing shop the other day. I had dutifully attempted to clean my sewing machine of lint, and oil it like I should. I followed the instructions I got with it. But it sure didn't work when I put it back together!

So after seeking advice from a friend I contacted the Fashionette Sewing Center. Sound like a blast from the past? Well, it is. Ralph, the man who runs the shop is turning 85 next week. He started fixing machines when he was 21. So he has a few years of experience. He offered to clean and oil the machine while I watched so I could do it myself next time, and he gave me a little sewing lesson on the ins and outs of my Sears Kenmore 1320. He spent two hours teaching me and I think it was the best $50 I've spent in awhile. You just don't find that kind of service anymore! Highly recommended. If you go, make sure you have some TIME.

I got a great sewing book from my sister for Christmas. It has a lot of projects that kind of build on each other. Now that my machine is running again, I did one of the mini projects in the book. You are supposed to draw out a picture and then "free" stitch over it. Meaning, you are supposed to put the feed dogs down and really take control of the machine.

Well, I couldn't get that to work, so I just kept the feed dogs right where they were and stitched on my design, which I nabbed from The Graphics Fairy. Bad picture, blah, blah, blah, but it was kinda fun. I used a fancy disappearing ink pen from Joann's. Here's the book:

I'm excited to get sewing now that my machine is working lickity split.

I have adopted this as my sewing mantra (from the book): "You're the boss! (Not Tony Danza--YOU) Don't let that machine sass you, or make you feel like you can't do this. You can. That's just a machine and you're in charge! Be the boss!" Each time I sew I'm going to find a mirror and yell this at my reflection Jack Donaghy style. I think it's going to work.

Some Ava pics for you. Overalls courtesy of Aunt Jen:

This scene is becoming more and more familiar when I pick up Ava from her nap:

A friendly wave (wearing mom's mittens):

Have a good day!

the Mama Bag

Woot! The sewing bug has bit again. And the venom is sweet.

I tried out another bag from Handmade Home by Amanda Blake Soule. This one is called the Mama Bag. That's right. I sewed myself a purse! Mr. Wonderful laughed at me because he thinks I have too many purses. I did buy myself a purse this summer at a rummage sale, but believe it or not, it's TOO big. It's so cavernous that I can never find what I need. I wanted to downsize. And I wanted something less...hippie-ish. Don't get me wrong, I love hippies! I just don't want to carry their purse all the time. :0)

I added some pleats to the front ala Gussy. Gussy makes me want to pleat and ruffle everything in sight.

Can I tell you that I was like a woman possessed during this project? I finished it in a day, using one whole 2 hour nap and probably another hour during the evening. I couldn't stop myself! I am so excited about how much better I'm getting at sewing! Next I want to try tackling patterns. Patterns are very intimidating to me. With their fragile nature and their tracing chalk. They are kind of like bobbins to me. Although I think I am slowly conquering the bobbin!

I think what I have learned from sewing is to just go for it. Yeah, maybe your idea won't work, but you can always tear it out and try it again. And I've learned to be a little more careful with my work. I think having a young baby I got in the habit of being happy if things just got done, and didn't worry about the quality of the job. So I took my time with this purse, and got a little nitpicky with it. It paid off!

Now get out there and sew!