fabric holder tutorial

Okay, so a bit ago I posted a few pictures of some cute, addictive fabric holders that I had been making. I got the original pattern/tutorial from a blog that I frequent called, Sew Mama Sew. The Pattern is made by Jennifer Casa who has her own fantastic blog.

I liked the basic pattern, but ended up folding down the top edges of my first go-round so you could see the inside fabric a bit more. Inside of the one in the pic is a set of 6 fabric coasters that I made with other pieces of the same layer cake.






I then decided that while this was very cute, I might find more use to holders that could sit right next to each other - so what if I got rid of the cute "wings."






They turned out pretty good - you can see the edging stitch a bit - but it is still a finished enough edge that it looks nice. One of my 2 followers (yea, better than none, and hopefully the beginning of more to come) asked if I would make a little tutorial of the adaptation. so....













I still started with two coordinating pieces of a layer cake (or could be any 10x10" fabric choices). I used a mid-weight interfacing on the back of each.





Once the interfacing was attached, I notched out the corners. I decided notch out a 2x2 section from each corner (will become the "walls" of the container).








Do this to all 4 corners so you end up with a layer cake that looks like this:









Repeat with the other layer cake piece.










Sandwich the two layer cake pieces right-sides touching and pin around all sides. Plan to leave a 4" opening along one side (I have to put pins blocking or else I sew right past the part I was going to leave open!)


Sew a 1/4" seam allowance around the perimeter on all but the 4" marked area. Snip small turning slits on the "inside corners" and trim off the corner on the "outside" corners (Be sure NOT to snip/trim past the sewn perimeter as this will create a hole). Turn the fabric right-side out, being sure to get all the corners extended. fold in your 1/4" seam allowance on the 4" opening. I like to iron the seams down at this point. I slid in a small 5.5"x5.5" piece of chip board to give the bottom of the hold a little sturdiness. I slid it in as below, then topstitched the opening closed and around all the sides.




(I have bought chip board from Staples on numerous occasions. They only sell it up at the printing/coping area, and only if you ask nicely. The other option I have used is cut sections of cereal boxes as they are about the same thickness)








Once you have top stitched, start at one corner and align the edges of the "walls" of the holder (making sure the inside corner is the bottom edge and the outside corner meets as the top edge. I pinned in place and folded the center section on top so I could easily fit it to sew in my machine. Repeat on each of the 4 corners.


Voila.






A cute fabric holder it is.

-Sew Sane Jane
(Posted using BlogPress from my iPad)

Baking marathon - eat more cake post

So I generally bake something yummy once a week or every-other week. And I guess it has only been 2 weeks, but I apparently had been "jones-ing" for baking because I went a little mad today.






I made pumpkin bread (same as I made a couple weeks ago - though I added more pumpkin pie spice this time). I decided to try to make some after I found myself going to Starbucks not just for an addictive coffee, but also for a $1.75 tiny slice of their delicious pumpkin bread! Not EXACTLY replicated, but it's getting there!





I am apparently known for my Chocolate Chip cookies at my husband's work. A couple of friends that work with him have been demanding cookies - in fact, they stole a picture off of his desk and left a ransom note, "bring us cookies or you will never see your picture again." HAHA too funny - so I made some cookies for him to take.






I use the TollHouse recipe that comes on the back of the Chocolate chips - I swear - but apparently I have a secret ingredient (brand of one of the ingredients - and No, I won't tell them what it is) that makes the cookies "puffy." Makes my husband hate them (he loves flat, crispy cookies), and everyone else seems to drool over them. The other key - at least 2 days old!! You either need to eat them while they are still warm, or after an Entire day of having sat in an air-tight container. No, really! It keeps the moisture in so they are delicious! No slice of bread to draw the moisture out - put them in a sealed container or even a ziploc baggie.

Then, I made a lemon meringue pie - from scratch.

When I make pie crust I make enough for 4 crusts (either 4 bottom crusts, or 2 bottoms and 2 tops, or other combination). After all that baking I didn't know who I would give the other pies to, so I rolled out the remaining crusts, placed in cheapo aluminum tins, and froze them in a giant ziploc bag. My Grandma assures me this will work fine - I'll have to report how it goes after I try using the frozen ones.


-Sew Sane Jane
(Posted using BlogPress from my iPad)

Something about black today

After I got done working on projects today, I realized I had apparently had a theme - black.
I got myself to finish this binder cover that I started at Christmas at my sister's request. It is for a 1/2size 1" binder that she uses as a planner. She asked for a zippered one, but she is getting a magnetic one instead!















Then, I decided to pull out some fabric scraps from a previous quilt and make another pillow. I got the ideas from this blog. I sewed a few leftover stirs of varying sizes, cut out the circle, and appliquéd it to some plain black fabric for a pillow sham. The sewed on the binding (my first machine sewn binding in fact.






I thought it turned out great and it was a very simple project.

Since I already had that fabric out, I also made a quick cute pot holder out of the same materials. This is one side,



And this the other.






These will be great for throwing in the bottom of my cake carriers when I put pies in them to transport (having the fabric underneath helps prevent sliding - and I always have ugly ones till now!


-Sew Sane Jane
(Posted using BlogPress from my iPad)

Change of plans?

WIP Wednesday (or a little earlier in my case). I am linking up with Naptime Quilter on whose site I posted my plea for help.

So I have been thinking about the hunky dory - awesome lap Awesome lap quilt quilt that I have started...

...And deciding that I don't like it.
I Love the pattern, don't get me wrong. I just don't like my execution - I don't feel like you can see enough of the squares. I'm sure I will try this one again with another set of fabrics and try to do better picking out which fabrics to do where.

This means I need to figure out something else to do with the strips and blocks so that I don't have to change too much of what I already have done. I was going to need to add some border to make this closer to twin size anyway so I have some extra matching fabric.

I was thinking something like This, or This, or something more piece-y and random - united by a reoccurring border/sashing color. like alternating between stripes and squares with blocks of plain-ish cream fabric in between. Can't decide though

Accepting and and ALL ideas!!

-Sew Sane Jane
(Posted using BlogPress from my iPad)

Evil Meringue tammed

So I do a lot of baking from my Grandmother's recipes. Years ago when I asked her about making meringue she said, "use cool whip," and that was the end of it from her. This is VERY unlike my g-ma! She is usually Very excited to con me into a day to hang out with her. So, I did use cool whip for a long time.
Then, two years ago my husband volunteered me to bake a lemon meringue pie from scratch for a co-worker. Without doing much research (in hindsight, this was stupid!) I tried "winging it." The pie crust I have down - not an issue.
The homemade lemon filling actually went very well
It was the meringue that MISERABLY failed! Again, keep in mind that I had not done any research, and I did not really get the concept of meringue. what little I had read said to whisk the eggs until frothy. I thought this meant bubbly; I was wrong. Needless to say, I did NOT beat the eggs strong or long enough. However, I thought they would "magically" rise (cakes do - why not eggs) once in the oven. They of course did not. So I then had raw eggs slightly browned atop my lovely pie. Somehow or another (I think I tried turning the broiler on since the oven wasn't magically making the meringue work) and caught the eggs on fire. Oops. I got them out of the oven, down the garbage disposal, and it was the most successful part of the day!

I avoided meringue for the next 2 years.

Once again my fantastic hubby volunteered me to make ANOTHER homemade lemon meringue pie. After I laughed and screamed inside my head, I decided to stop avoiding the mean eggs and figure this thing out. I did some research this time (meringue for dummies, common meringue mistakes, fool proof merginue, etc types of google searches) and I started to understand better. Apparently the keys are:
**NO OIL or fats. Use a metal bowl, metal whisk, wash well and dry with a fresh towel without touching with bare hands (oil from the skin will ruin it).
**USE A STAND MIXER - not all sites say it is allowed, but it is Very worth it!
**Use Fresh eggs
**when the eggs are cold, separate yolk from whites (the yolks hold together better and are less likely to break when they are cold). Separate one, add to a clean bowl, separate the next into a different dish (this way if some yolk does get into the white you only have to toss the one egg and not all of them. **DO NOT JUST SCOOP OUT YOLK and still use the white. if ANY of the yolk gets in - get rid of the whole thing - it really will make a difference in the end. Do your best to avoid touching the whites when you are separating them (I have a metal spoony-weird thing from pampered chef whose job it is to hold the yolk while the white slips through.
**let the white come to room temperature (about 30-45 min usually) before you try to beat them
**turn the mixer on to low and beat until you start to see the eggs froth (little bubbles all over). Then turn it up to medium and add the cream of tarter. Leave it on medium until you start to see the eggs turn white and expand. If after about 5 min there is no white and no expansion, oil or fatty acids from the yolk likely contaminated your whites and you are out of luck - keep trying.
**once the eggs form soft peaks (if you pull the beater out of eggs and flip upright, the white egg matter should be pulled by gravity and fall downward. This means this is time to add the sugar.
**Add it SLOWLY! the slower the better. I often will add it a teaspoon at a time!
Then let the sugar dissolve completely - continue beating until stiff peaks are formed (now when you pull the beater out and turn upright, gravity will be no match for these eggs!)
**top pie filling to the Very edge - get a good seal on the pie - crust to crust to crust.
**bake in oven (350) for about 10 minutes and Voila.


**NOTEWORTHY: you can/should wait until the morning to add meringue if the pie is for the next day. Meringue and the fridge do NOT get along! weeping (water droplets on the meringue) and/or grand canyons (cracks in the meringue) are common after refrigeration.

Mug rug

So I keep seeing these cute, elongated coasters called mug rugs. The idea, or so I am told, is that you could get a mug, spoon, and treat on one contained area. Think cross of coaster and placemat. And since I have what seems like a thousand things on my to do wish list, I did this quick project instead. It's a disease I tell you!

It turned out cute though for using scraps and an hour-old concept.





-Sew Sane Jane
(Posted using BlogPress from my iPad)

MLK day sewing.

So I was off work today which meant I should get a thousand things off of my sewing to do list right?!. Why of course not! I sew in our basement and have a radio on when I sew - I was waiting for the UPS guy today(had to sign for my replacement dishes that I have been without for 3.5 weeks) and was not afraid I wouldn't hear him. Thus, I wasted most of my day upstairs piddling around waiting for him to arrive. By 3pm I finally got down there to begin!

Worked on finishing a cute little fabric holder that I started yesterday

To total now 4 cute containers - these are proving to be cute, quick, and addictive!

Then moved on to bibs. A friend of mine just finished making a real chenille baby blanket. It inspired an idea for a bib. This pic is pre-washing, but cute anyway.

And a recent fabric purchase had sparked the vision of this next one. I actually have a few different animals, but this one was the most complete.

How cute right!

Finally, somewhere in there I pin-basted the sparkling gemstones quilt I am making - I finally bought some batting for it.

Not too bad for trying to turn my idealistic sewing day into a sewing power evening.

-Sew Sane Jane
(Posted using BlogPress from my iPad)

help! - suggestions??

I am thinking about starting an etsy site where a friend and I can start selling our wares.  Suggestions from you expereiences bloggers/etsy-ers out there??
How easy/difficult is the site really to use?  Good experiences or bad ones?  I feel like there is a lot of "competition" out there for this kind of thing - is it worth trying to sell?? 
Any input or insights are much appreciated!

-sew sane jane

Fabri-holic!!

I stopped by the cute fabric store near my work to get batting for my sparkling gemstones quilt and got side-tracked!  I think I might have a problem.  instead of buying batting to finish that project, I added 3 new projects to my to-do list.

This shop sells batting in pre-cut sizes and did not have the size I wanted in stock - darn.  Instead of leaving, I started looking around at fabric.  Since I have a few projects (with fabric already) in my to-do pile, I was trying not to buy.  ooops - dind't work out so well. 

I found 3 different fabric that I thought would make cute bibs (apparently that will be my new obsession for a bit). 

 This "A" is for aligator is perhaps my favorite of the three!

 I saw a Very cute pattern when I was reading up on one of my favorite blogs.  So, while I was trying to NOT buy every cute fabric to start a collection of colors for it, when I saw this polka-dot fabric (a Moda fabric from its "Bliss" collection) I could not help myself.  Thought this would be Great for the white borders.

I also got Moda's "Sunkissed" layer cake.  I wanted to make more fabric coasters - I think they will make great little gifts.  Housewarming, host gifts, prizes for bunco, etc.  I also found a great fabric 'dish' that I think I can adjust the measurements on to make it a holder for ~ 4 coasters (a nice little kit to make it a better gift).








Moral of the story - I have even MORE fabric and just added 3 projects to my to do list.  I am guessing that I am not the only one with this problem - any suggestions on what to do about it?

Recent fabric purchases

Moda has done it again - cute, cute, cute fabrics! Both of these fabrics have been out for awhile, but I haven't bought new material for a quilt in a bit (back log and all of the baby quilts that used yardage) - so I just saw these cuties!
Panache charm packs and some yardage. I love the big print! I am going to use it for the back - but bet I end up reversing the quilt sometimes on our spare bed!

Hunky dory jelly roll and some yardage

Baby bibs - updated

Baby Bibs!

materials needed:
bib pattern (see below for options or online)
fat quarter of cute fabric (or a piece at least 9X11.5)
1/3 yard fleece or chenille fabric, burp cloth, or terry cloth for back (this sould make 3)
a few scraps of coordinating fabric (for initial)
a couple of 3x2" scraps of fusible interfacing if you are going to make initials
narrow sew-on velcro (only need a 1" piece for each bib)
coordinating thread

Okay, so the bib project could have gone better! by the time i got to working on these, my brain was apparently fried. Meaning - I made some funny, silly mistakes!

I started with two different bib pattern options: option one was posted on a cute blog (Handmade by Jill). She calls it a Baby Bib
and option two was from another blog called happythings.typepad.com (although I cannot seem to get to it now).
One seemed big, one seemed small. I ended up making the bibs using the first blog's pattern (the handmade by jill pattern). The seem pretty small all said and done (I think adding a 1/2 in to each side might make it a good size), but we'll see. I made these for a couple of friends who have small children. I'll see how well they fit and let you know about a change in size.

I printed the pattern onto a piece of normal computer paper. I layered the pattern and a couple of pieces of fabric (the cute green and the cute blue) and pinned.

I then cut the fabric by following the edges of the pattern.

I did the same for the fleece that I used for the backing (I think the handmade by jill blog had used chenille and that looked very cute, but I think you could use any "absorbing" material for the back.)

IF YOU ARE GOING TO PLACE AN INITAL ON THE BIB, NOW IS THE TIME TO DO SO! (can you tell this was one of my brain-fried moments. I added the initial after I had sewen the pieces together - which meant the topstitch looked silly on the back)
so....
you can also add the initial of the wearer. I used graph paper to draw out the letters I needed and eye-balled the size I thought would look best. You could be more precise and find the font/size in your word processor and print your pattern too.
I took a 3"x2" scrap of fabric and stuck it to my "steam a seam" interfacing, attached pattern to top using straight pins, and cut. I placed the initial as desired and ironed to keep in place.
I then chose to topstitch around the letter using a coordinating brown thread.

I placed right sides together of cute fabric and fleece fabric. Pinned well. Then sewed using 1/4" seam allowance. ****except for a 3.5ish inch opening at the bottom of the bib. Leave it un-sewen so you can turn your bib.

Clip corners of bib and snip - cut small relieve cuts (edge of fabric to stitched seam) on the larger corners of the fabric - do NOT cut through the stitching you just completed. This will help the bib lay flat after turning.

turn bib right-side out. (I used the blunt edge of a mechanical pencil to help me get the corners turned). I like to turn, then put my hand back inside the opening to help me make sure the seams are completely to the edge.

fold the bottom opening in at a 1/4 seam on each side.

I iron the seams at this point - including the 1/4 seam you just created at the bottom.

topstitch around the entire bib (this will close your opening at the bottom & help keep the layers in their place after washing the bib). I used a brown, coordinating thread for this, but you could use a matching thread so you do not see this as much.

Almost there...
Velcro closure: take a small piece of sew-on velcro (to size I just held up against the small section where it was to go. I made it a little smaller than the actual width of fabric. One piece of velcro will go on the fleece fabric, the other on the cotton fabric. Sew on velcro - making sure to backstitch the beginning and end points (I usually just make a square/rectangle around the outside edge leaving about a 1/8ish inch allowance - sewing around the edges of the velcro, but I have also seen others sew it on by using an X in the middle, a zig-zag stitch along the outside, etc). DO NOT USE STICKY BACK VELCRO. I have used sticky velcro before on projects, in the era before sewing machine, and it just comes off in the wash. I thought I would try using sticky back velcro with my machine once too - only makes a mess, makes it difficult, and causes you to need a new needle and a good machine cleaning!

VOILA, done with a cute bib that may or may not fit an infant. Again - I will get back to you about the size thing.

***Update:
I also made a bib from the bigger pattern that I found.  It seems big!  I wanted to have one of each to take to my friend to try on to see which would be better.  I still haven't given them to her, but I thought I would post pics of both sizes.

-Sew Sane Jane
(Posted using BlogPress from my iPad)

Stitch and b!t@) success

Yesterday was our monthly stitch and b!?@) session. And by this I mean that a friend and I wanted the motivation to get projects started/done so we organized with for us and friends - three months running it has been just the two of us ;). That's okay though, we end up working on cute little projects.

Made a couple of bibs - this was actually my third project of the day and i kept making silly mistakes in the process!

Also made a few cute fabric coasters. These were my first project of the day and turned out pretty great if I do say so (I though about putting, If I do say sew- but that would have been pretty corny huh!)

Better description of each project to follow.

I also got a few bindings made for quilts in progress, and helped my friend work on a couple of things. Overall, stitching afternoon=success!!!

-Sew Sane Jane
(Posted using BlogPress from my iPad)

Paper Cake - Baby shower cake

So I am Sometimes crafty in other ways too.  I was throwing a baby shower for my sister-in-law and wanted something unique.  I had seen the diaper cake thing a lot at the last year or two of baby showers  - so etsy/google searching I went.  Jackpot!  I found a "paper-cake" idea.
1) Take cute scrapbook cardstock (it says to use 8.5X11 but I wanted a 3 layer cake so I used 12X12 cardstock and just taped the template to the larger stock),
2) cut using box pattern, score(I used the back side of my exacto knife), then fold into cute "piece of cake" shape (the pattern I used - I enlarged on my copier to 150% for the middle layer, 125% for the top layer and 175% for the bottom layer.  Laid out just right - I could get 2 cake boxes from a 12X12 paper for the top two layers.
3) glue as needed (I found these amazing glue strips that were the Perfect size and Not messy at all) and finally,
4) fill with goodies(I used baby themed mints, silver and pink hershey kisses).
Sounds like a lot of steps, but it went fast and I listened to some good audiobooks while I worked.
5) then tied ribbon around each layer to help hold them together.
Finished project:

Hunky dory update

Since I was once again unprepared, I moved on from the gemstones quilt to piecing the hunky dory quilt this afternoon. (I really don't know what I will do when I go back to work next week, I will surly go through sewing withdrawals!). I had previously cut the jelly roll strips as the pattern stated, and started piecing the "frames."

I finished the frames, trimmed them with my ruler square, and sewed 9 sets of three frames. I pressed the seams and set aside.

I found that trimming each block helped!  used my square to even up the edges and make sure that each side block was the correct length.





before trimming

after.

I like to sew seams that face opposite directions.  I find that I get a better, straighter seam.  So when I ironed the seams for each block, I ironed the two outside squares of each set to the 7.5" pieces and the middle block of each set to the middle.

I then sewed three 14" strips together (long sides together) for a total of 6sets of these (except I think I ended up with 7 and had an extra - still trying to figure out what I did wrong there). And sewed three 27" strips for a total of (6) sets of these (again, I think I actually made 7, so I had an extra).

I then laid out the sets of frames - one per row with a total of 9 rows. Then laid out the strip sets - trying to avoid having the same pattern or colors too close to each other.