Occasional Seamstress

When it comes to sewing I'm either totally crazy, can't get enough, stay up until 2AM to finish a project or, well, ...eh...

I don't sew often but when I do, I finish several projects within a day or two. My projects tend to be small, house or accessory related stuff. No clothing or anything that has to be perfectly tailored. God help me when I have to hem a pair of pants (which happens often when one is 5'1").

Bruce couldn't care less about sewing

One of my quickie projects was a stool cozy. I have several pieces of brown, fake leather furniture that just seem to blend into one another. My solution, cover the cube footstool from Target with some groovy fabric.

The cover just sits over the stool so I can easily throw it in the washing machine when one of the cats decides to throw up on it. And it was so easy to make! I just measured the dimensions of the cube and added 1/2" on each side for a seam allowance. 

Here is my fancy pattern:

My next project was a grocery tote out of some random fabric I found in the remnant bin at Joann's. The lining fabric is an old sheet that my dog Lola tore a chunk out of last summer.

I even managed to put in a pocket for my keys, phone and wallet

But, the nicest thing I made was this cute, reversible bag. The pattern (which was so easy to follow!) and instructions can be found on VeryPurplePerson. The pattern fits perfectly on 4 fat quarters (for the non-sewers, fat quarters are 18"x24" pieces of fabric that are sold individually, typically for quilting projects).

I still have two throw pillows to cover so I hope my sewing mojo keeps rocking.

 

Lola says "Hi".

Crafty, Crafty, Crafty

I've been super busy but also super crafty lately.

I've decided to add more bright colors to my home. A few weeks ago I looked around and noticed that everything seemed very brown and earthy with big chunks of red thrown in. To add some color I made new throw pillows for the couch.

I scored some pre-cut, discounted fabric at IKEA and went a little crazy. Both flower print pillows are simple envelope-style pillow cases. Just easy, straight seams. I made the pillow inserts from an old sheet that Lola (pictured above) tore up and a giant bag of cotton stuffing that a friend gave me.

The other two pillows were made from t-shirts that I never wore. My closet is full of t-shirts that either 1) Don't fit, 2) Fit weird, 3) or just end up at the back of the armoire and never get used.

The t-shirt pillows are the same envelope style as the flower pillows. I didn't even bother to hem the edges in the back. I figured they would end up covered in dog hair and in the washing machine every week.

As you can see, pillow covers made out of t-shirts come in handy when one's dogs tend to cuddle up with them.

Lola loves the pillows.