Monday, December 31, 2012

2012 Sewing Wrap Up

As 2012 comes to an end and we get ready to ring in 2013, I took some time to look at how much sewing I was able to accomplish.  While I traveled more for business this year than any other, I still managed to get quite a bit of sewing accomplished.  Here is what I sewed this year:


  • 59 book bags
  • 14 embroidered towels
  • 12 quilts
  • 11 pillowcases
  • 10 drink cozies
  •  8 table runners
  •  5 aprons
  •  5 lingerie bags
  •  5 laundry bags
  •  5 travel cord bags
  •  4 eyeglass cases
  •  3 shirts
  •  2 shoe bags
  •  2 tote bags
  •  2 scarves
  •  2 handbags
  •  1 embroidered baby bib
  •  1 credit card holder
  •  1 pillow
  •  1 sleeve board cover
  •  1 chemo cap from selvages
  •  1 travel iron carrier and pressing pad
  •  1 sewing chatelaine
  •  1 pin cushion
  •  1 yo yo Christmas garland
In addition to sewing down some of my stash with charity projects, I want to get more garment sewing accomplished in 2013.  I have signed up for a fitting retreat in February and many PR Review and Craftsy classes so I have new excuse.  Garment sewing, here we come!

Friday, December 28, 2012

Drink cozies

Gifts for my friends this Christmas - drink cozies.  Using machine embroidery, I made these in three messages:

Eat. Sleep. Sew.
Eat. Sleep. Quilt.
I'm outdoorsy in that I like getting drunk on patios.

The pattern is self-drafted by taking apart one of the cardboard sleeves as the base pattern, enlarging it and putting Velcro on both sides for closure.  In between the two fabric layers is a layer of insul-brite and cotton batting.


Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Paris apron

This fabric reminds me of a wonderful trip to Paris many years ago.  I gave it to my friend who joined me on the Paris trip.

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Travel set gifts

More travel sets.  The fabric is from Joel Dewberry's line.  The print was too busy to have embroidery show up so I appliqued white onto the fabric then the embroidery.  Each travel set includes a laundry, lingerie, shoe, and charger cord bag.  I had enough of this fabric to make two sets.


Friday, December 21, 2012

Apron and matching towel

I love this reversible apron and made a towel to match.  It was the first time to use the flower design and I put it a little too high on the towel.


Thursday, December 20, 2012

Christmas apron

A modern twist on the Christmas apron.  It turned out so cute I'm not sure I am going to be able to give this one away.


Monday, December 17, 2012

Eyeglass cases

 And for the fourth item of the travel set - eyeglass cases.  These coordinate with the laundry, lingerie, and charger cord bags.  I used a layer of batting between all layers.



Saturday, December 15, 2012

Mad Hatter pin cushion

This is the second project we did at the sewing Christmas party last weekend.  While the others in the group used wild colors and ribbons, I used sewing themed fabrics that I love.  It turned out pretty cute.  Note to self:  Since this pin cushion is so tall, only use large head pins and no needles.


Friday, December 14, 2012

Christmas towels

Got the embroidery machine out again.  These towels coordinate with the a couple of the aprons I made and will also work as hostess gifts for some parties left to attend.


Thursday, December 13, 2012

Sewing chatelaine

My annual Christmas sewing party with friends was last weekend and we made two projects.  This is the first project - a chatelaine (I hope I spelled this correct) to put around your neck while sewing.  You can see that I have a pin cushion, place to attach scissors, hold my stylus and seam ripper.  We each received some of the tape measure fabric and the felt yet each of our chatelaines turned out quite different.





Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Travel bags for charging cords

I am still working on the travel accessories for my co-worker gifts.  These bags are half fabric and half clear vinyl and are meant to hold charger cords for phones and iPads.  I used an in-the-hoop design from Anita Gooddesign for these and they went together pretty quick.



Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Laundry and lingerie bags

My work team travels a lot so I wanted to make something for the team members that would make travel easier or nicer.  Since I have traveled with them and we all use plastic bags now, I thought these would be a nice addition.  I will post later the additions I am planning for these gift sets.





Sunday, December 2, 2012

Embroidery club towel

I just joined the embroidery club at my local Baby Lock dealer where we meet once a month and do a project.  This towel is the December project and was created by embroidering over mylar to make the ornaments shiny.