Saturday, June 14, 2008

Sewing Day

(a week after the fact but...)

Last Saturday was rainy (as were most of the days in the last 2 weeks). A perfect day to do some sewing. Well, a lot of sewing actually.

1. A new tote bag for my sister-in-law.
new bag

I just kind of winged it, using a linen panel I got on sale at Ikea last year. It's just a simple bag, lined with a canvas fabric also from Ikea (I forgot to get a picture of the inside).

2. A coffee sleeve for a friend from work. She's been going way way way out of her way to help us get through a really insane work load and I wanted to say thanks.
coffee sleeve 1

I used a cardboard coffee sleeve as a template. It has a velcro closure, is lined with a double layer of cotton flannel and quilted.
coffee sleeve 1 in use
(I attached a tag from a set that my friend made me for Christmas)

I need to make more of these. In fact, when another co-worker saw it at work, she asked me to make her one. Then two. So, of course I did ...
coffee sleeve 2 in use
(made on Monday)

3. I made myself a sandwich wrap, using a post from The Small Object as a guide.
sandwich wrap
I found this vinyl coated cotton at Michaels. It had originally been priced at $13 for a half yard! It was on sale for $1.50 so I splurged (haha). The print is so cool, I think my mom had tea towels in a similar print when I was growing up.

sandwich wrap lunch
(yes, i took a picture of my lunch. what? too much?)

sandwich wrap closed
I think I might need to make another one a little bit bigger. Or two or more...

4 & 5 I made this wallet to carry cards.
Card case
It is great for carrying just a few cards but I quickly realized that if I wanted to carry all of the items I need I would need something a little roomier

new wallet
So I made another one with a bit more room in the card compartments.

new wallet standing
Both of these are made with linen from panels I got on sale from Ikea last year.

(Looking at these pictures taken on my ironing board I realize how icky my ironing board cover is! hmm... new project...)

I spent the morning today experimenting with printing on fabric. I was inspired by Jesse, a talented artist, knitter, print maker whose blog I read. She posted a few days ago looking for people to swap printed fabric. This was a good catalyst for me to try this craft. I need to get some more plain fabric to print on, but I had a number of successful first attempts. I'll take some pictures tomorrow to show off. Thanks for the inspiration Jesse! And, if I end up being obsessed with printing, well, you know it's your fault... haha

6 comments:

  1. The coffee sleeve is a great idea - the cardboard ones don't really do much.

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  2. You have excellent sewing-fu! That sandwich wrap is genius. Everything looks great.

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  3. Wow, you're really prolific! Every project has turned out beautifully, and the coffee sleeve is especially inspired.

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  4. Oh, oh, oh, I do love the coffee sleeves!

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  5. I love the sandwich wrap. I've been looking for this post again for weeks after seeing it a while ago. Definitely going to be making some of these.

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  6. Hey, I've been making the coffee cup sleeves for a while. I spent some time working on the prototype to see what closure would be most effective (snaps, velcro. . .). I ended up just hand-sewing each of them closed. It's pretty rare that you need it sized differently. I never order the largest-size coffee. I wasn't sure if you'd considered that. Yours are cute!

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