Kiss Lock Clutch

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of taking a sewing class at Stitch Lounge in Greenfield, MA.

If you are any bit local to the area, I highly recommend a trip into Jenna's lovely store.  (For those not local, her etsy shop has the sweetest fabrics!)

During the class, we learned to make kiss lock clutches.  Jenna's pattern is perfect for using up small fabric pieces, including these treasured black and yellow florals from Moda.

Unfortunately, I couldn't make my piece of Anna Maria Horner's Good Folks work for the bigger clutch.  Luckily, Jenna had a fat quarter of this pink floral, which ended up matching my lining pretty well.

It was great to be a sewing student, rather than teacher, for a night, and spend some time in somebody else's sewing space.  I think I see more of these clutches in my future! 

Hoping you find something new and fun to create!

 

 

Merry and bright

Hello, my friends.

It has been a long time since I last posted - not for lack of crafting, taking photos or thinking of posts to share. We had a busy, eventful fall and it felt like every week was a call to tend to family, house and friends.

After little A turned 2, we faced a long stretch of illness. Luckily, through it all, we were blessed with good spirit and love, and now health again.

We then experienced the October snow storm that took out our power for close to a week. Again, we were blessed with good spirit, a sense of adventure and good friends to help clear the debris.

November brought two craft fairs that kept these fingers busy sewing for weeks. Both events were successful and fun - a chance to connect to community and friends new and old. We also celebrated two birthdays in our house - one for a furry friend and one for yours truly. While the number hit a bit harder this year, I am thankful for so much and consider myself a very lucky lady.

December is now here and we are in the throes of preparing for Christmas. The decorations are up, the tree is lit (cut from our backyard - it is beautiful!), gifts are purchased and parties are beginning.
It is a magical time of year and I wish all of you the very best for your seasonal celebrations.

P.S. The photo is of a holiday swag I made for a friend using many of the broken tree limbs from the October storm and berries picked on the side of the road. 

Fabric Party Hats Tutorial revised...

Somebody is turning TWO tomorrow! 

In honor of her special day, I wanted to make her a fabric party hat to match her birthday bunting.

This was a great time to try an idea for revising the pattern a bit - using buckram to add stability and including a cute lining fabric.

Here's what to do:

• follow the basic fabric party hat tutorial but substitute one lining fabric for a layer of duck cloth and one buckram for the other layer of duck cloth 
• layer the fabrics as shown below 

That's it - the rest follows the original tutorial! Now you have a cute fabric party hat that has a coordinating lining fabric.

Then, go make another one because the resident 4 3/4 year old would like one, too.





blurry photo of said 4 3/4 year old - still cute though, right?

Wishing you lots of reasons to celebrate...today and everyday!

A little sunshine for a rainy day...

If you are a New Englander, you are probably tired of rain and gray skies.  Maybe that's what prompted me to pull out this very bright, floral knit this past Saturday and sew up a dress for little E. 

The pattern was based on this and this, but I shortened the sleeves and added an elastic edge to give the sleeve a little poof. 

As with the other versions, I'm left thinking I could do something more with this pattern.  Although I'm all for simple, there is something lacking (despite the overstimulating print).  If I can pry it from the four year old's hands long enough to figure it out, I'll let you know.  For now, hope this brightens your day a bit!