Sewing and Sadie

We are getting geared up for our big trip out West, so I knocked off this airplane activity thing in hopes of keeping Sadie occupied on the plane ride.

It is it's own purse/bag in transit...

Then turn it inside out and vwaa-laa...

Side one has ribbons to tie toys (and measuring spoons) on, a place for a mirror, a pocket with a stuffed dragonfly surprise, ping pong balls to bobble, and a line up of my grandmothers' old clip on earrings.
Side two has more space for tying things on and a picture window (you can't really see the clear plastic in this picture).
I think I should thank Duralee for providing me with several oversized samples that made this project possible. I also hope Sadie learns about her Designer fabrics and enjoys her Thomas Paul stuffed dragonfly. Insert shameless plug: I can order any of these fabrics for anyone (except the yellow and white Houles floral because it is discontinued).

Now to Sadie...

Our girl just turned 9 months old last week, and we love her so very much. She's seriously hysterical. Okay. Maybe our standards for humor have changed since she entered our life (see below), but she is getting more and more interactive and fun as the weeks roll by. She's still a little small, weighing in at approximately 17+ lbs. She's babbling, working on crawling, and feeding herself lots of new foods. She's also come up with this new smile that cracks me up every time. It's hard to catch on camera, so bear with the pictures below...

Thinking about it...

The wind up (which involves some SERIOUS eyebrow action)...
And TA-DA! Toothless glory. Note the wild hair rages on.
There has also been lots of this...
You nearly need a raincoat.

Speaking of potentially patent leather products, Gram sent Sadie some new driving moc's that are ridiculously cute! Thank you- can't wait to wear them!

Sew Crazy!

Thanks to Jayme, who graciously let me nab her sewing machine for a couple weeks, I've been sewing like crazy. Can anyone say nesting? I had lots of left over fabrics and things I'd been hanging onto. I decided it was time to take action. I feel like I'm gaining some confidence with the sewing machine, so maybe in the near future I'll try something that isn't basically a square. Until then, enjoy these manipulated squares...

Living Room window treatments- roll up shades (sorry this picture is dark)

Okay, so this one is not sewn, but still, I was pretty excited about recovering this slip seat.
Hall bath sink skirt (please ignore everything in this bathroom but the skirt) Baby steps to improvement...
Kitchen window treatment

Another Tutorial...

I am going to do my best to try to break this down... Here is how we made the shade for the nursery.

First, I measured the window and decided that I wanted the treatment to be 3" wider (on each side) than the window casing.  So that gave me my overall width.  I eyeballed the length that I wanted, around 22"-24" finished.  I gave myself an extra 17" of length to account for the gathering, hems, and enough to staple it far enough back on the top mounting board.

When you make a shade for a window that is wider than the width of your fabric, you never want to have a seam in the middle of the treatment.  For this one, I wanted a large center panel and symmetrical smaller panels so that the seams would line up with the gathering.  There is not an exact science to figure out that proportion.  I just went off went felt right.  My seams were 10"-12" from the outside edges.  Don't forget to match your repeat, as necessary.

Next, we cut everything out.  I get nervous that I'm going to short myself on fabric somehow, so I allow 1" for every seam.  You could certainly do 1/2".  I also neurotically draw out my fabric cuts.  I draw a big rectangle that represents my overall fabric yardage.  Then I draw dotted lines to represent the cuts.  This just helps me think through the cuts one more time and insure that I have enough fabric.  It also can help maximize the fabric that you do have.

So here are the three cuts, face down, sewn together.  

We made the same three cuts in our lining fabric, sewed them together, lined them up (face to face) with the main fabric, and sewed those together.  Leave the bottom side open, or you won't be able to put the proper seam in the bottom.  Next, turn it right side out and push out your corners.  Shown here:
You'll probably want to iron it at this point so your seams lay flat.

Okay, hang in there with me, we're rounding this out.  I hope this isn't boring!!

We did a 1" hem at the bottom and then turned that up again 4".  A hearty hem at the bottom will help any treatment hang better.
Sewing in the bottom hem...
Then we wrapped the 1x3 board with extra fabric to cover the ends (see an example in the previous tutorial about the guest room shades).  We stapled the treatment about half way back on the board (also see previous post).  We went ahead and attached 3 "L" brackets to the bottom side of the board.  Tip- make a small hole in the fabric where you are going to attach the "L" brackets.  It will keep you from snagging the fabric.  Tapping in a nail will do the trick.  As far as the placement for the 3 brackets we used, I put one on each end- about 3"+ in.  Then we put one directly in the center.  We cut the board about 1/4" shorter on each end than the width of the treatment, FYI.  I wanted to be sure it wouldn't stick out the ends.

Okay, last step (other than hanging it):  I hand tacked drapery rings along the backside of each seam.  Mine are about 4" apart (based on the size of the bottom hem).  You will need to tack through to the front side of the face fabric so that both fabrics will gather.  When you buy the rings, in the same area should be some hefty string or cording (see it in the picture below).  Once all of your rings are on (I did 4 on each of my seams), you'll take your hefty string and run it through them and tie a bow.  Tie a bow (rather than a knot) so you can adjust it later if you're not happy with it.  If you're sure you love the gathering, just make it a double knot.
Lastly, hang that thing!  Ta-da!  Here's our finished product.
I hope this is fun and helpful.  I would love your feedback!

Guest Room Shades

Hey Friends!

Sorry I've been lame about blogging the last week or so.  There's been a lot going on- more posts to come.  I quickly wanted to get this one out before we head to the flea market (hooray!).  I've been wanting to learn to sew, and I have been trying to work with my Great Aunt's ancient Singer sewing machine that is built into a table.  B-I-G mistake.  I'm not skilled enough to have a challenging machine.  I need one that  makes me look good.  Please keep your eyes pealed for the antique gem on Craig's List.  :)  Nonetheless, when mom was in town we got to borrow my dear friend Jayme's machine so we could make some progress (peep Jayme's adorable creations at her blog).  Our first task was to make fixed roman shades for my guest room.  I had some leftover fabric from college (don't worry former roommates, the crazy bandana fabric lives on).  I mostly used my friend Darby's tutorial, but we made a few adjustments...

First, here are the finished shades:

On the previously mentioned tutorial, Darby hot glued her blackout lining in.  Mom and I thought it was easier for us to sew it in.  Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of that, but just stitch the face fabric and the lining together and then make your finishing edge seams.

We also decided to use a little of the extra fabric to wrap the 1x2's.  Be sure to wrap the ends too so you don't see the wood once the treatments are hung:
Here's a picture of the finished shade stapled to the 1x2, just for a visual:
After mounting it, we tacked in the folds and laughed our heads off while mom tried to actually hang the treatment in the room.  Don't worry, she was able to do it, and she wasn't about to let my pregnant self teeter on the step ladder.

Now I just need to hang things on the walls in there and paint the walls and trim.  I'm thinking white trim and lime wash on the walls- any thoughts?

Enjoy and give this simple task a whirl!  

PS-I think I used about 2 yards fabric.  Hope that is helpful.  Let me know if you have more questions.