Rainbow Bag

In the recent Surprise Swap on Craftster, I had two partners.  I've already shown you the Luna Moth bag I made for one partner;  I decided I should make a fabulous bag for my other partner too--after all, she stated on her questionnaire that that she is a "sucker" for bags!

This partner had a rainbow pillow on her Pinterest so I used that as the inspiration for her bag.

Here's the front.  Placing all those little rectangles of fabric was really easy because I used HeatnBond lite, but I REALLY should have used the ultrahold version, because I had to sew around the edges of each and every one of those rectangles...and it drove me a little bit crazy!  As I was planning the bag, I thought the stitching would add a lot visually, but with the finished product in front of me, I have to say it would have been fine without the stitching.  So, I learned something!

The back of the bag features one great big rainbow pocket:

The inside of the bag features this luminous blue fabric lining.  The top of the inner pocket is accented with a strip of the rainbow that was  left over from making the back pocket.

Yes, my bag-and-rainbow-loving partner loves this bag!  In fact, the pictures she posted of it show it full of her belongings--she started using it almost the minute she opened the package!  Another success!

Tiny House #2

I've heard from my partner in Australia that she has received the package I sent her for the Tiny House Swap on Craftster, so I can now reveal it to the world!

I let my love of bright colors guide me as I chose the fabrics for this project; when I was done, I was concerned that it was too colorful for my partner, but she says it's great!  I made this 4" x4" house wall-hanging just the same way as the one in my previous post:  I sketched my design on paper, then referred to that as I cut the fabrics free-hand.  I sewed everything together on the machine, leaving all the edges raw.  I included a cat in the window because my partner is a "cat person", and the number on the door is her actual house number.  I finished it with blanket stitching on the sides, and a cord for hanging it on the top.

This cheerful house makes me happy every time I look at the picture!  I might have to make another one for myself!

Tiny House #1

I had two partners in the Tiny House swap on Craftster, but today I can only show one of the houses I made, because my partner in Australia hasn't received hers yet.

There are so many different directions a crafter could go in when making a tiny house--it could be paper, wood, fabric, metal; flat or 3-d--and probably a lot of other things that never occurred to me. I stuck with what I know best, which is fabric; and because I've been on a fabric collage kick lately, that's how I made my partner's tiny house.  It is a 4" x 4" wallhanging; I sewed a brown cord to the top for hanging.

I sketched my idea, then cut all the fabrics free-hand, which is both fun and fast!  The roof of the house gave me the most trouble; at first it was too small and rectangular, so I tried again and made it tall and wonky, like a wizard's hat.  That's why I call this the Wizard's Cottage.  All the fabrics are cotton, except the tree, which is dupioni silk; it has a nice slubbiness to it, and a little shine, which makes it an interesting contrast to the other fabrics.  All the sewing on the front was done by machine.  I then layered it with cotton batting and fabric backing, and blanket-stitched it all together by hand.  I'm quite pleased with it, and my partner is too!

I expect to be able to show you Tiny House #2 later this week; it is constructed the same way as this one, but the look is completely different!

MORE Scissors Fobs

You probably know that I'm working on a challenge on my other blog (365 Sewn Hearts) to make 365 sewn hearts this year.  I want to share a small milestone that I reached this week:  I've filled up a second pint-sized canning jar with heart-shaped wool felt scissors fobs.  The timing is perfect, because my enthusiasm for these fob-hearts has decidedly waned!  It's funny, because for 2 months I've been a fob-making machine, full of excitement and new ideas; but now I am very ready to move on to something completely different.  There are still over 100 days left in my challenge, and I have a good idea that will carry me through a large chunk of that time--if you check my heart blog in about a week, you will see what that idea is!

The two jars full of fobs:

Here they are, all nicely arranged!

You can see how small they are in the picture below, with one resting on my fingertips.  Each heart is about 1 3/8" in each direction.

The two below aren't in the group picture because I gave them away in personal swaps this month, with people on Craftster.

The snowman went to Homerof2.  (She is in Canada, and I also sent her a Canadian flag fob; the one in the picture above was the "reject" because I felt that the maple leaf was too tall and skinny!)

This beauty of a chicken now lives with waggonswest

I love looking at all of these hearts; and I expect I will make a few more before the year is out, when I get some new ideas for them.

Two Prayer Flags

I have recently discovered that I LOVE doing fabric collages!  Here are two examples of my recent work in that style, which I made for my partners in the Prayer Flag Swap on Craftster.  Both of these flags are 5" x 8", with a hanging sleeve at the top.

For this swap, we gave our partners several words or phrases to either use as a guide or to actually appear on our flag.  We also mentioned themes and images that appeal to us.  For my first partner, alteredmommy, I combined the phrase "be still" will her love of nature/birds and antique-looking colors.

The egg and the words "crested lark" were printed on fabric that I already had, so I chose the other fabrics to go with that.

I love this little "pile" of textiles.

I filled a glass bottle with lavender buds and the theme phrase printed on a slip of paper, and hand-sewed it in place.  (You might notice that this bottle is different than the one in the first picture.  I realized that the bright green beads I used inside that bottle didn't go with the rest of the colors.)

All the fabric edges are left unfinished, and most of the sewing threads are long and dangling.

My second partner, Phizzychick, likes earth tones and insects, so I started digging through one of my bags of scrap fabrics, and almost immediately I pulled out this fabulous bee!  I had to use it, even though there isn't much of a connection between the bee and the word "thankful" that I already planned to use for the theme.

I found out that this partner also likes bells, and I happened to have these tiny ones on hand.  I simply tied them onto the bottom with string, leaving the ends of the strings showing.

I made this flag like the first one, by simply cutting the fabrics, arranging them so they looked good to me, then machine sewing them onto a heavy piece of canvas.  All the edges are left unfinished.

 Leaving all the edges raw allowed me to work quickly, so it didn't take more than a couple of hours from start to finish for each prayer flag.

I am so pleased with these that I feel like making a set of them for myself!

Cute Outfit

I didn't intend to sew another outfit for my Blythe doll, Bonnie, so soon; but when I was working on a dog-themed heart for my heart blog, inspiration struck--I had seen dolls with headbands with an ornament of some kind... and a flat heart is an ornament...and I have cute scottie-dog fabric that would be a good doll dress...and I could put a scottie dog on the heart...and it became something I HAD to make, quick!

The dress is made from the same pattern as the one in the previous post.  The pattern includes two pockets, but I decided to make it with just one heart-shaped pocket (I wonder what a dolly would carry in her pocket?  I always have a ChapStick and a tissue in mine!)

To make the scottie shape, I simply took a scrap of the fabric with the dog on it, placed it on the black felt, and cut around it with small, sharp scissors.  I sewed the finished heart onto paw-print ribbon, and voila!  A headband! 

It looks cute, but the ribbon doesn't stay on her head very well, and the paw prints are rubbing off from being handled.  I need to come up with something better the next time I make headgear for Bonnie.

Meet Bonnie Blythe

I'm excited about something new--it's a doll named Blythe.

I first noticed Blythe dolls on the swaps board on Craftster;  the doll owners were making and swapping clothes and accessories for their Blythes.  The clothes were really CUTE, and the accessories were FUN, and I wanted to make some too!  But first I needed a doll.

Takara, the company that makes Blythe, is in Japan, and they don't distribute the dolls in the U.S.  There is only one reliable Japanese store that sells them online--Junie Moon--but the prices there are pretty high.  The best place for me to get my doll was eBay.  I started watching all the Blythe listings obsessively, and reading all I could about collecting Blythe.  It turns out that there are a lot of fake Blythes on the market (made from inferior materials), so you have to be careful who you buy from.  Within a few days I saw the particular doll I wanted--"Raspberry Sorbet"--offered by a good seller in Hong Kong; and I didn't even have to play the bidding game, since she was offered as a "Buy it Now" purchase.

While waiting impatiently for her arrival, I continued reading about Blythe collecting.  There are Blythe blogs and online Blythe forums, and there is even a big Blythe convention taking place in Texas in August:  Blythecon 2012!  (Maybe I'll go next year?!) 
I also decided on a name for the doll:  Bonnie. 

Earlier this week, the mailman rang my doorbell, and I had to sign for the package.  I expected it to take two weeks or more, but she got here in about a week--wow!  The box was wrapped in brown paper and tied with a string, and it was strangely pristine--I've gotten local packages that look like they've been on a long sea voyage, but this didn't have a mark, dent or crease!  Removing the brown paper revealed a plain brown corrugated cardboard box, and inside that was the prize:

And here she is (below), right out of the box and wearing her full ensemble.

I love the hat, coat and boots she came with; but the shirt and shorts she's wearing needed to be ditched fast.  Time to sew an outfit--yay! 

There are a ton of sewing patterns for Blythe online, most notably at Puchi Collective. That's where I found the pattern for this empire waist dress (below).  This is the first time I've sewn doll clothes since I had a Barbie as a pre-teen!  I chose these fabric colors to compliment Bonnie's hair and eyes.  Did I mention that Blythe dolls have changeable eye colors?  They do!  Each doll has four different sets of eyes, and they change when you pull a string on the back of her head.  I'll get busy sewing something to go with each color to show you in the coming weeks.

You might have noticed that her head is "slightly" large in proportion to her body.  All the more reason to make cute hair accessories for her!  I'm dying to make some pretty headbands and fascinators.  She also needs a bed... and a chair...and a table...and a house... and a...

If anyone reading this is a Blythe owner, I'd love to hear about your girl!  Leave a comment below or send me an email (leslieandersen4@gmail.com).

Pretty Apron

I sew a lot--every day, really--but I haven't sewn anything using a tissue-paper pattern in a loooong time...until I had a request from my partner in the recent "Invite Your Partner" craft swap on Craftster.  Jen asked for a "pretty" apron, because all of hers are boring and utilitarian.  She gave me a link to a picture of an apron she liked, so when I was in JoAnn's one day I looked through their patterns and found Butterick #B5125, a "See & Sew" pattern with the words "YES! It's EASY!" on the front.  It looked similar to the one Jen likes, so I bought it, and some fabric, and here's what I made:

I like the ruffle at the bottom, and the shape of the neckline gives it a "girly" look. (I also like having a beautiful model available for picture taking--thanks, Jenna!!)

I have to say that I didn't think it was super easy, compared to a lot of things I've sewn, but I'm sure that has to do with the fact that I don't like reading and following directions!  Adding the ties to the top was the tricky part, because that fabric also served as a binding for the side edges, and the directions didn't seem as clear as they could be...but I managed to figure it out.

I had enough fabric left to make these "Stay-Put" kitchen towels that Jen had on her Wist.  Now THIS was an easy project!  I used the tutorial at Pin. Sew. Press.  I bought a four-pack of white kitchen towels at Target, washed them, and sewed three strips of fabric to each, then threaded ribbons through the casings.  They are meant to tie onto the oven door handle, so they are handy but not falling on the floor every time you dry your hands.

Jen is happy with her coordinating apron and towels, and I gained a little experience with tissue-paper patterns.  Win-win!

Berry Bag

I made a cute little berry bag for a partner in a recent craft swap on Craftster.  She had it on her Wist, and she mentioned it as a big wish in another swap, but it didn't appear that she had received one yet, probably because the pattern isn't available online.  A little research led me to the pattern in this book:

...and because I was in a hurry and didn't want to wait for it to come in the mail, I decided to download "21 Sensational Patchwork Bags" to my iPad.  I wondered how I would copy the patterns, but I threw caution to the wind and went ahead and bought the download.

Just as I suspected, buying the e-version of a pattern book wasn't that great.  I ended up enlarging the patterns (to the size I though was right) on the screen, then placing paper on my iPad and tracing them.  The bag is made of two differnt petal-shaped pieces (one for the berry and one for the leaves), and I was surprised that the "test" bag I made came together perfectly!  The only problem was, I added interfacing (I seem to be addicted to interfacing!) and the bag was too stiff to close properly, so I removed the drawstrings and now I'm using is as a threadcatcher in my sewing area.  I love my "reject" bag!

The berry bag in the book is made of patchwork, but my partner had "Wisted" some that were made in batiks, so I used these beautiful batik fabrics for hers.

Making the little balls for the ends of the cords was trickier than I expected it to be.  It took a LOT of stitching around the tops to get the shape just right.

The bag is really small, about 4" wide and tall.

I used the same fabric for the lining as for the outside, but it would be pretty with a different fabric inside.

My partner loves her berry bag!

Going back to the book for a moment--I highly recommend "21 Sensational Patchwork Bags" if you have any interest in patchwork or bags.  There is a lot of information, and a lot of interesting bags in all sizes and styles.  Just do yourself a favor and buy the PAPER version!

Ten More Bags, and a Big Decision

You might remember this post last April, when I did a "show and tell" of the bags I made for Dale of Dale's Floral Designs in the small town of Warsaw, Virginia.  She likes my bags, and so do her customers, so she ordered 10 more bags!  As she did with the previous order, Dale went fabric shopping and sent me a quarter-yard of ten different prints.  I made these bags, using fabrics from my "stash" to augment the fabrics she sent.

From left to right, they are Oriental floral, roses, Gerbera daisies, and cardinals:

Here we have hummingbirds, palm trees, and autumn leaves:

These are red berries, Christmas snowflakes, and leopard print:

Again, I think Dale did a great job of choosing fabrics, and I love all these bags.  (My favorite is the red berries!)


Now for the big decision.  I have been thinking about this for many months, and...

 I've finally decided to close my sewing business! 

What that means for me is that I will no longer spend long hours making large numbers of the same thing.  This will free me to be more creative with my sewing (for myself, family, friends, and swaps), and it will give me time to explore the areas of art that I'm interested in.  For example, I just joined a facebook group called Art Abandonment, with members from all over the world who make pieces of artwork to leave in public places for strangers to find and take and enjoy.  I desperately want to abandon some art, but first I have to make something! 

So, I've told Dale that I will do one more bag order for her before I close; I will close my Etsy store as soon as I get around to it; and I've told Pat at Country Treasures that I will clear out my booth at the end of July.  (I got a phone call from her, asking me to bring in one more batch of my Scrappy Fabric Bracelets.  Apparently there is an older woman who comes in frequently, and she buys these bracelets for gifts...they want to be sure she has all she wants before I close!)

For those of you who are interested in the financial aspect of it...I will say that selling my handmade items has never been very profitable, mainly because I have a hard time charging what my goods are worth.  I have always geared my prices toward what the "average" person could easily spend.  When you add in things like paying for a business license, business property tax, self-employment tax, insurance, and the paperwork hassle of collecting and remitting sales tax, it just isn't worth it any more.  It's time to free myself from this!

I'm looking forward to making new things, and blogging all about them here! 



Another Spoonflower Bag

After I made the Pug Dog Purse for my sister-in-law, her friend saw it and wanted one too!  The friend's favorite dog is a miniature schnauzer...which is perhaps not the most widely known dog breed...and I suspected that it would be hard to find fabric with miniature schnauzers prominently featured...and I was right.  So I returned to Spoonflower, where a wonderful designer called Dogdaze had created just exactly the right fabric for this project.  I had to purchase a yard of it because of the placement of the design...so I have extra in case any of you would like a miniature schnauzer bag...anyway, the purse came out so beautifully, I am THRILLED with it!

I just adore the combination of aqua and black. 

I even had the perfect lining fabric in my stash!

I sent this purse to it's new home just before the July 4th holiday, so I haven't heard from the owner yet, but I can't imagine that she will be anything but pleased with it. 

A Whole Bunch of Scissors Fobs

Since January I have been diligently working on a challenge proposed by my friend Susan to sew a heart every day for a year.  I am happy to say that I am currently 10 ahead in my heart count, yippee!  For the past 34 days I have been making heart-shaped wool-felt scissors fobs for this challenge.  You can see them individually on my other blog, 365 Sewn Hearts, but this is the only place you will see them all together in a single photo!

The fobs are all made of wool felt, embroidery floss, sewing thread, baker's twine, and polyfill.  They are all sewn entirely by hand.

Here they are in the pint-size canning jar I challenged myself to fill with fobs.  It took 34 of these little hearts to fill this jar:

And here they are, all laid out :

The bright flower fob, below, is my favorite.  Which one is yours?  If you leave a comment and mention which ones you like best, you might just win one of them!  On July 11th I will randomly choose three lucky winners to receive one fob each.  Please be sure I have a way to contact you if you win.

Two More Felt Badges

I really love working with wool felt!

I am currently in the second round of the Felt Badge Swap on Craftster.  This time we are making and sending two felt badges to our partner.  These are the badges I sent to farmerswife in England.

First, a hen, because she really IS a farmer's wife, and she is lucky enough to have chickens!  (I am so jealous of her!  It's a running joke here at my house that I wish I could have chickens...I just think they are super cute.)

 I made a paper template for the shape of the hen, then I cut all the smaller pieces of felt free-hand. I love the folk-art feel of this hen; I might have to make another one like it for myself!

Second, a "lurking" owl (that's what he's been called in the swap gallery--and I guess I can see why!)  Farmerswife has a few owl-themed things in her Pinterest, so when I saw a card with this design I knew it would be great as a felt badge.

This one was a fun challenge, with the "wood" overylay.  As with the hen, I started with a paper template for the opening in the tree and the owl, then cut the smaller pieces free-hand.

Each of these felt badges is approximately 2" x 3".  Farmerswife has received them and she loves them.  I can't wait to get mine from her!

Lavender Sachets and Pincushions

I've been making lavender sachets; this is one of the projects I promised to show you that requires baker's twine.  Two readers have told me that after seeing my post about baker's twine, they placed orders from Talking Twine and Trim--the etsy store where I got mine.  That's awesome, fiddlegirl8 and Lime Riot--I hope you like yours as much as I like mine!


I made these lavender sachets for two reasons:  first, I was trying to come up with new heart-shaped things for my other blog, 365 Sewn Hearts (I need a heart for every day of this year!); and I need stock for my little booth in a local shop.  This project was so perfect for both!  I've made lavender sachets before, but in a different style, so it was nice to make something new.  I had lavender on hand, so I jumped right in!


Sixteen lavender sachets:

The picture below shows how I started.  I printed out words and phrases on the computer, then traced them onto white fabric using my light box and a micron marker. I have an assortment of the micron pens, each with a different sized writing tip, so for different projects I can use whatever size works best with the font size I've chosen for my letters.

I cut out a bunch of hearts from various fabrics, and ironed interfacing onto the back of each to give the finished heart a more "solid" feel.  Then I cut out the words and phrases, and machine sewed them to the front of each heart.  I took all the hearts to my sewing chair in the family room and watched TV while I hand-sewed a running stitch with embroidery thread around the edge of each phrase, using the machine stitching as my guide.  (I always try to have some kind of handwork ready near my sewing chair--I don't like to watch TV without it!)

Then I chose two buttons to accent the front of each heart, and sewed those on.

Back at the sewing machine, I sewed the heart fronts to matching backs, stopping at the top to add two 12" lengths of baker's twine.  Then I turned them right-side-out, stuffed them with lavender, and sewed the openings shut. 

I packaged each heart in a ziplock baggie with my business card, and put them in a basket to take to Country Treasures.

I thought I had an endless supply of lavender in my closet, so I was surprised when it ran out before I had finished filling all the hearts!  I decided to turn the remaining hearts into pincushions.  To keep pins from poking through the back, I cut plastic food-container lids into heart shapes and put them inside the hearts before filling them with polyester fiberfill. 

The front and back of un-stuffed pincushions:

Eleven pincushions, all finished!

This is my favorite one, because I love the the print and colors of this fabric.  I think I will keep this for myself!